The week-that-was saw ranked teams go on the road and go down, while a few pulled away from their hotels with a win in hand. As you know by now, every Tuesday we preview our Games of the Week.
Villanova 90, St. John’s 72: We start this week with a look at Villanova’s double-digit win at St. John’s. Before getting too far into the Wildcats and how they were able to get back to their winning ways, it seems fitting to give a shout out to my pick for Big East Player of the Year, D’Angelo Harrison. While he may be a long-shot for the award at this juncture, due to the struggles of the Red Storm, Harrison poured in 25 points in efficient fashion, while avoiding a single turnover. Bravo, sir!
Down one-point at half, Villanova sprinted out for 56 points in the second act—no, that isn’t a typo. This is what makes them so dangerous, that at any given time, their accuracy from deep and efficiency inside of the arc can explode in a defense’s face. Scoring 90 points on the road, in college basketball, against a talented team with shot blockers like Chris Obekpa and Sir’Dominic Pointer isn’t just rare, it’s the sign of a team to be reckoned with. Following their loss to Seton Hall, it made sense that folks, including myself, had begun to question whether or not Villanova had what it took to run away with this conference and ultimately, make a run in March. This was a statement win, if for no other reason than the style in which the won it, so look for the Wildcats to grab three more before heading to the nation’s capitol to face Georgetown.
Arizona 80, Oregon 62: With teams like Arizona, you truly have to pick your poison when dealing with their offensive attack. That isn’t to say that the Wildcats are particularly lethal on that end, but they’re diverse. One night, they’ll pound you inside and make a living with put backs and trips to the free throw line. Another night, they’ll force you into tough shots on one end, before leaking out for highlight dunks on the other end. They got a bit of both in Eugene during their 80-62 win over Oregon. All five starters registered double-figures in points, led by T.J. McConnell and his 21 points. When McConnell is effective offensively, he gives Arizona its only real threat to shoot off of the dribble, opening up driving lanes and rebounding opportunities for guys like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson.
As for Oregon, it’s going to be hard for them to win many games when Joe Young shoots 4-for-15 from the field and turns the ball over four times. What I like from Arizona most here is that they imposed their will defensively while also being extremely efficient offensively. That’s the kind of complimentary basketball that last year’s team so often displayed, and it’s what would have made them the title favorite had Brandon Ashley not been hurt. The Pac-12 is down this season, and Utah is the only threat to UA’s hopes of a conference championship.
Michigan State 75, Iowa 61: If Villanova’s second half performance was impressive and rare, then what Michigan State did to Iowa was borderline illegal. Trailing by 11 points at the break, the Spartans put on a shooting display for the ages, knocking down trey after trey en route to their 75-61 win in Iowa City. Travis Trice was unconscious, hitting 7-of-8 threes, while Denzel Valentine was 4-of-7, while also dishing out six assists and grabbing nine rebounds. Branden Dawson looked like himself, scoring 14 points and securing 15 rebounds.
So, what happened to Iowa? First, Aaron White was invisible for much of the night, showing no ability to create easy opportunities for himself outside of a few trips to the free throw line. Gabriel Olaseni was tremendous (18 points) but wore down in the second half. Most of all though, Iowa didn’t defend. Normally, you have to concern yourself with MSU’s ability to pull down offensive rebounds and kick to their shooters on the perimeter, the best time in basketball for looks from three. But the Spartans were limited to eight offensive rebounds. Instead, their guards ran off screens with a purpose, penetrated and dished with a purpose and, in some cases, hit some tough shots. This was, without a doubt, Michigan State’s night. If they can continue to give those types of efforts, while getting guys like Dawson and Javon Bess comfortable, they could emerge as the third true contender in the Big Ten.
Xavier 69, Seton Hall 58: My upset pick of the week came through, with Xavier notching a home win over visiting Seton Hall. With freshman star Isaiah Whitehead out indefinitely due to a stress fracture, it was a matter of time before the Pirates ran out of steam during this sizzling start to conference play. Without him, if Sterling Gibbs suffers an off night, they run the risk of scoring a season low in points, like they did at Xavier. At this point, I’m not terribly worried one way or another about Seton Hall. I’d like to get a better idea of exactly when Whitehead will return to start talking about their hopes in March, but they’ve overcome his absence before and I have little reason to believe they can’t do so going forward as well.
Kansas 56, Baylor 55: Lastly, Kansas proved that people like me might be passing their conference torch a bit too soon. Their gritty one-point win in Waco against a talented Baylor team is the kind of win we’ve been wondering if they had in them: Hostile environment, tough opponent, off night for your stars. As Bill Self so often does, he proved that his Jayhawks are still the class of the Big 12. Jamari Traylor was the star, ironically, but it’s still the play of Frank Mason that makes this team go–though Wayne Seldon’s late-game shot making was still crucial. I’m coming closer and closer to reverting to Kansas as my favorite moving forward, in the Big 12.
