Three undefeated teams remain, and two of them kept that up on Sunday with double-digit wins. There should be no talk of possibly running the table, but there’s something to both teams in the bigger picture – as well as their coaches. And there’s some irony in who the teams are.
Michigan beat Indiana 74-63, using a strong first half to build a double-digit lead and not letting the Hoosiers get back in it. This Michigan team, let’s not forget, lost a good deal from last season’s national runner-up, so understandably a lot of people figured they were a borderline top 25 team in the preseason and would have some growing pains. If they have had any, they haven’t done so with losses.
What we’re seeing is that John Beilein belongs in the conversation of elite coaches. Here’s a guy who has won at every level he has been, often in places where it was not easy to attract talent relative to the level of play. He’s long been respected for what he’s done, but never thought of as one of the elite coaches in the game – but he should be now. And while known for offense, this team has won often with defense, although on Sunday they shot 50 percent from the field. While Juwan Morgan had 25 points for the Hoosiers, it took him 22 shots to get there (he was 9-22 from the field). Another key way they won this one was by giving the ball away just three times, so they didn’t hurt themselves.
This team is a story of players developing, players like Jon Teske going from being a bit player to a solid starter and more than just an inside presence – even a threat to put up a double-double. It’s players like Charles Matthews finding a home and now becoming an All-America candidate. To be sure, Matthews was thought to be good enough to be just that coming out of high school, but Kentucky clearly wasn’t the right fit, and he was a solid complementary piece last season. This year, he’s been their best player. It’s players like Zavier Simpson becoming more than just a good defender, but now an even better one and a solid floor leader with a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Michigan’s great play has overshadowed a lot of the Big Ten, which tells you something because the Big Ten was very good in non-conference play. It’s in a much better place right now than at this time last year.
A little later, Houston beat Memphis in somewhat similar fashion, taking home a 90-77 win. Before getting into this game, it’s worth noting that the game was broadcast on ESPNNews on a light Sunday of action at 6 p.m. – if you doubted where the American Athletic Conference is on the perception spectrum, that might tell you something.
The Cougars are now 15-0, winning the possession battle and taking full advantage of it. This is a team that lost their best player in Rob Gray Jr. and leading scorer and third-leading scorer Devin Davis from last season’s team, as well as spot starter Wes VanBeck and reserve post player Nura Zanna. In short, they lost a good deal, and this is a program that had been irrelevant for a while. This wasn’t a season in which contention for a conference title was expected.
Yet here is Houston with an undefeated mark that includes wins at BYU and against Oregon, Oklahoma State, LSU, Saint Louis and Utah State in non-conference play. While LSU is the only team close to an NCAA Tournament lock in that bunch, none of those teams are stiffs and most are good enough to contend in their conference. (They have also knocked off NJIT, a solid road team that should contend in the Atlantic Sun.)
This is a reminder of something we knew before, but perhaps it got lost in the mix of NCAA issues: Kelvin Sampson can coach. He won at Washington State, which is very hard to do, then won at Oklahoma including a Final Four trip and an Elite Eight appearance a year later. He won over 20 games in each of two years at Indiana before resigning late in his second season after more allegations of NCAA violations, which led to a five-year show-cause and some time in the NBA. Now that he’s out of the show-cause, he’s where he has done very well – in the college ranks.
Two teams, both still undefeated, both with coaches that have won a lot of games and not all at the easiest places to do so. And lest we forget, these two schools met in a game with a memorable ending last season in the NCAA Tournament, ironically enough.
Side Dishes
The Big Ten had a busy day besides Michigan’s win. Wisconsin dumped Penn State 71-52 to move to 3-1, while Iowa finally got their first Big Ten win by dropping Nebraska to 1-3 with a 93-84 win in Iowa City. Illinois joins Penn State as a winless Big Ten team after Northwestern edged the Fighting Illini 68-66 in Evanston.
Marquette bounced back from being blown out at St. John’s by handling Xavier 90-72, getting 26 points and eight assists from Markus Howard, while the other Big East game of the day saw a surprise as DePaul edged Seton Hall 75-74.
In the lone ACC game of the day, Miami led by as many as 15 in the first half, but Louisville got the lead down to just one at the break. The Cardinals then took over in the second half to get the lead and pull away for a 90-73 win in their opener. The Cardinals wore down the thin Miami frontcourt, getting a big game from Malik Williams (19 points, 11 rebounds) and a few good minutes from Steven Enoch as well, though the box score won’t show it.
The Atlantic 10 remains hard to figure out early on. Saint Louis beat Rhode Island 60-53 in a game where the two teams were tied at the half. George Mason didn’t have a good non-conference showing but is now 2-0 after beating St. Bonaventure 68-53, and the surprise is George Washington going up to Saint Joseph’s and beating the Hawks 70-56 to drop the Hawks to 0-2.
The last game of the day saw USC pull away from Stanford late to take home a 77-66 win, which gives them their first 2-0 start to Pac-12 play in ten years. Nick Rakocevic led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Yesterday, we noted that Kansas was without big man Udoka Azubuike due to a right wrist injury. On Sunday, an MRI revealed that the injury was worse than first thought, as the Jayhawks were cautious but seemed optimistic that the injury was not serious. Azubuike has a torn ligament in his right hand and will miss the remainder of the season since it will require surgery. His college career may be over, as Azubuike declared for the NBA Draft without an agent after last season, but opted to return. This time, with more injuries in his history – he missed several games last month with an ankle injury – it would not be a surprise at all if he opts to leave for good. The Jayhawks have not shot the ball as well from long range without him in the lineup, as he tends to occupy a lot of defensive attention, so now they have to make more adjustments since they won’t have him the rest of the way.
Tonight’s Menu
The championship in the College Football Playoff naturally takes center stage, so a very light slate is ahead of us.
- In the lone MAAC game of the night, Niagara visits Fairfield (7 p.m.)
- The MEAC has a busy slate: Coppin State at Delaware State, Howard at Maryland-Eastern Shore and Savannah State at Morgan State all tip at 7:30 p.m., while Norfolk State hosts Florida A&M with an 8 p.m. tip.
- The SWAC also has a busy slate, with Texas Southern at Southern, Prairie View A&M at Alcorn State, Jackson State at Alabama State and Grambling at Alabama A&M all tipping at 8:30 p.m.
- The last game of the night is further west in the Big Sky, with Eastern Washington traveling to Northern Colorado (9 p.m.)
