Good morning. Hoping all had a Merry Christmas and are enjoying the holidays.
A brief cameo as Hoopville czar Phil Kasiecki gets a hard-earned few days off from doing crazy heavy lifting on the Morning Dish this year. Phil also took a look yesterday at the state of conference races as we get ready to hit conference play full tilt soon, and with a light slate yet today and over the holidays, we’ll also go league-by-league at some of the biggest surprise storylines so far this season.
Today we start with the America East and work up through the Big West:
America East: New Hampshire at 6-6 has already topped its win total from all of last year, when the Wildcats finished 5-24. Sophomore forward Nick Guadarrama is much improved, averaging just under 16 points and nine rebounds.
American: Wichita State is back. The Shockers are off to a 10-1 start, have wins over the likes of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and VCU and are knocking on the doors of the national rankings. Gregg Marshall has another deep team, with 10 players averaging double-digit minutes and 12 playing at least 8.6 minutes per game.
ACC: North Carolina’s struggles have been highly visible and well documented. Also sticking out, though: Boston College is 2-0 in conference play while Notre Dame is 0-2. The Irish in particular have been a surprise on the negative side, with injuries but also not the improvement expected by most.
Atlantic Sun: In a league where Liberty appears to be the runaway best team, Lipscomb has slipped more than most may have expected. On the positive side, Stetson already has five wins-just two below its 2018-19 season total-and isn’t far from much better with four losses by six points or less.
Atlantic 10: Davidson has been a disappointment to some with just a 6-5 record. Richmond has been a pleasant surprise with a 10-2 mark and name-brand wins over Boston College, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin, but we’d also note St. Bonaventure’s season. First, the Bonnies got off to a 0-3 start including home losses to Ohio and Vermont and a loss at Siena, stunning for a squad that was a few minutes from the NCAA Tournament last year. Just when it looked bleak, though, Bona is 8-1 including a win over Rutgers that looks a lot better than it did in mid-November.
Big East: Providence has been among the biggest surprises in the country in the negative for its unexpected struggles. St. John’s has been the opposite, a team with light expectations now 11-2 with wins over Arizona and the only one to beat West Virginia so far.
Big Sky: Sacramento State is always stubborn to play against and a tough out, but the Hornets this year are arguably the Big Sky’s best team so far, with a 7-2 mark that includes a win over Pepperdine and a 4-0 mark against the Big West. The Hornets are holding opponents to 52.1 points per game.
Big Ten: Michigan State has notably struggled more than most expected of a team in most everyone’s top five entering the season. On the other hand, Ohio State is more improved than we would suggest anyone had a right to expect of a team that barely reached the NCAA Tournament last year. The Buckeyes are 11-1 and have as impressive a collection of high-end wins as anyone.
Big 12: Not a lot has been truly surprising yet, but Kansas State’s struggles qualify. The Wildcats-Big 12 regular season champs last year-are just 6-5, including losses in five of their last seven. Even last year K-State was offensively challenged, and this year just two players (Xavier Sneed and Cartier Diarra) are averaging more than 7.6 points per game.
Big South: Campbell tied for last year’s title but with mega-scorer Chris Clemons gone was expected to struggle-Blue Ribbon picked them 10th of 11 teams. Instead, the Camels are 8-3 with three true road wins-at Coastal Carolina, The Citadel and Florida Gulf Coast-and are now incredibly balanced, with no one averaging more than newcomer Cedric Henderson Jr.’s 11.9 ppg but ten contributing at least 5.2 per game.
Big West: UC Irvine has had an uneven start, a 7-7 record including some disappointing performances and frustrating losses (such as a late meltdown at the free throw line costing a win at TCU) but also wins at Boise State and San Diego. UC Riverside, though, is maybe one of the bigger surprises in the country, at 8-5 for second-year coach David Patrick with wins at Nebraska and San Jose State. The Highlanders were 10-23 last year and have just one winning season in 18 years in Division I, but they’re holding teams to 37.2% shooting and also are a healthy +6.8 in rebound margin.
Tonight’s Menu: A healthy Christmas break for many teams continues with just two Division I games on the slate, both in the state of Maryland.
- Massachusetts-Lowell is at Loyola (Md.). The River Hawks had won four of five before falling to Boston University Saturday, while the Greyhounds are quietly 7-4 and have won four straight, though this is just their second game and their first D-I opponent in nearly three weeks. Loyola’s Andrew Kostecka (21.2 ppg) is one of our favorite unknown players out there.
- Starting at the same time at 7 p.m. Eastern is Coppin State at Mount St. Mary’s. For all its typical MEAC road march struggles, Coppin actually has four decent wins: at Loyola (Ill.), James Madison and East Carolina, plus Cornell at home. The Eagles appear ready for something of a breakout this year under former Maryland star Juan Dixon. The Mountaineers are winless in December but were respectable in November losses at Georgetown, Washington and Kentucky.
Have a great third day of Christmas.
