6 things we learned after an exhilarating slate of males’s

Dec 16, 2024, 09:00 AM ET

Dec. 14 was a date college basketball die-hards circled around on their calendars before the season began. While a few of the appeal was taken away provided numerous groups’ bad starts to the campaign, it was still as filled a nonconference Saturday as we’ve had in some time, with 18 ranked teams in action.And it lived

approximately expectations.There were buzzer-beaters– we’re taking a look at you, Dylan Harper and Jordan Gainey. There were rivalry games, with Kentucky, Cincinnati, Oklahoma and Rutgers amongst those beating their greatest in-state opponent. And there were massive top-25 upsets, with Dayton over Marquette being the greatest one.As conference play across the nation inches closer and narratives are starting to take shape, ESPN college basketball writers Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf break down the biggest talking points from a hectic weekend of nonconference showdowns.UConn’s three-peat mission is far from finished After the UConn Huskies won at Texas last weekend, coach Dan Hurley had a comment about people crossing out his group’s chances at a 3rd straight championship game.” Possibly individuals with the shovels and the dirt, perhaps they were too quick to get the shovel and throw the dirt on us,” Hurley said. After Saturday’s 77-71 win over Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden, that declaration looks much more prescient.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Because losing three games in 3 days at the Maui Invitational, UConn has won four in a row– consisting of triumphes

over Baylor, Texas and

the Gonzaga Bulldogs in a 10-day stretch. The Huskies are protecting much better on the boundary, and freshman Liam McNeeley had a true breakout performance against the Zags: 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 helps, 0 turnovers. McNeeley was great in the second half and looks like a prospective go-to guy for the Huskies moving forward.UConn now gets in Big East play– and while no league game, especially on the roadway, is a simple match, the schedule does look friendlier for a couple of

weeks. They must be favored in every game in December and January, with road games at Villanova and Xavier likely the hardest ones on the docket. By the time UConn heads to Marquette on Feb. 1, there’s a chance Hurley has the Huskies back in the leading 5.– Borzello Kentucky continues to win, but defensive obstacles ought to not be ignored The return of Lamont Butler(33 points, 10-for-10 )from an ankle injury triggered a 93-85 win for the Kentucky Wildcats

over rival Louisville on Saturday, giving Mark Pope another triumph to satisfy the program’s rabid fan base. Kentucky’s wins over Gonzaga and Duke, along with the other quality wins the program has amassed, have put the Wildcats in the early running for a top seed in the NCAA tournament.They’re dipping into a top-25 pace, linking on 37%of their 3-point efforts, and Pope’s system has likewise allowed five different players to complete with a team-high in scoring over the course of their 11 games

. Against Louisville, however, the Wildcats also gave up 85 points (116 points per 100 possessions ). The Cardinals devoted simply 7 turnovers in a high-paced game, too.Right now, the Wildcats are ranked 45th in adjusted protective efficiency on KenPom. Given that the 1996-97 season, there hasn’t been a nationwide champion end a season ranked lower than 22nd. While some of the champs over that span improved in the postseason, the one-month mark of the season is a strong snapshot of where a team stands.And the fact is that the Wildcats need to be more disciplined on defense to reach their ceiling. They gave up 50 points in the very first half against Gonzaga before their excellent comeback in Seattle previously this month. They missed out on crucial drop in a loss to Clemson, too. Part of the challenge is the Wildcats play a defensive design that doesn’t consist of a lot of gambles to force turnovers. Kentucky entered the week ranked 340th nationally in challengers’ turnover rate. The Wildcats are so varied and reliable on offense that their protective lapses have not exceeded their offensive gifts. But even a marginal protective enhancement could elevate the program to another level in the weeks and months ahead.– Medcalf Arizona is the most disappointing preseason top-10 team It’s only mid-December, but the Arizona Wildcats ‘season is currently spiraling into the danger zone after falling to 4-5. The Wildcats collapsed down the stretch on Saturday against UCLA, blowing a 13-point lead in the final 10 minutes. They didn’t

score a single basket in the final 8:45, shot 2-for-16 from 3-point variety and turned it over 22 times. Caleb Love, coming off his best season as a college player, shot 3-for-10 and ended up with seven points to continue his big-game struggles as a fifth-year senior. Considered That Tommy Lloyd had molded Arizona’s attack into among the very best in the nation the previous 3 seasons, the offensive struggles are a surprise.Making matters even worse is that Arizona will lack Motiejus Krivas forever after the Wildcats ‘7-foot-2 Lithuanian center suffered a lower leg injury recently. His hasn’t exactly broken out over the very first month, but he’s revealed flashes of his NBA ceiling and his absence puts more pressure on freshman Carter Bryant and redshirt sophomore Henri Veesaar.After a couple of home games to round out nonconference play, Arizona begins its very first Huge 12 project. A home game versus a diminished TCU team isn’t a bad opener, however roadway games at Cincinnati and West Virginia will instantly test the Wildcats’toughness in 2025.– Borzello Purdue’s obstacles seem to unlock for Illinois, other contenders in the Big 10 Entering the season, the void left by Zach Edey– the very first back-to-back

Wooden Award winner in 50 years– was apparent. One player can’t change him. But the Purdue Boilermakers still seemed the team to beat in the Big 10 with crucial players– Trey Kaufman-Renn, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer– returning. After Purdue’s loss to Texas A&M, nevertheless, the league race appears more wide-open than preseason forecasts suggested.While it is still a fantastic offensive team, Purdue has actually suffered on defense without Edey. Which

decline has actually led to Purdue suffering its 3rd loss Saturday, a year after the group didn’t lose its 3rd game up until mid-February. And Illinois is its biggest risk. While Brad Underwood’s program suffered a 66-64 loss to Tennessee, the No. 1 team in the nation, on Saturday, the Vols needed a buzzer-beater to leave Champaign with a victory.(Rick Barnes utilized a play from Morgan Wooten, a legendary high school coach, to win the game.)But Illinois handled to

manufacture the most effective protective effort versus Tennessee this season, as the Vols were held to just 100 points per 100 possessions, their lowest mark of the 2024-25 campaign. Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis( 42%from beyond the arc)is a likely All-American and projected first-round choice. He had 22 points and 7 turnovers in an unstable trip but will remain in the running for Big 10 player of the year at this rate.Elsewhere in the Big 10, UCLA has actually won 8 in a row (a run that consists of wins over Arizona and Oregon)with a defense ranked top-five on KenPom. Michigan State has made 59 %of its shots inside the arc to accompany a top-20 defense. Dirty May’s twin towers lineup with a set of 7-footers will be a match problem for any team.Also among the contenders, Oregon (wins over Texas A&M, Alabama and San Diego State)is appealing, as is Maryland, whose star Derek Queen(17.5 PPG, 8.7 RPG)continues to grow. At the end of the season, the Boilermakers may be on top. But it appears as if their own obstacles and the league’s broadening list of possible contenders has actually certainly complicated that path to a Big Ten title.– Medcalf Maybe there should be more buzz about Texas A&M It wasn’t always quite– however that’s not the brand name of basketball the Texas A&M Aggies play. Nah, this group tends to prosper when things get awful. In its 70-66 success over Purdue, ranked leading 10 in adjusted offending efficiency on

KenPom, Buzz Williams coached a team loaded with protective stalwarts to another excellent win. And they pulled off the accomplishment at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, which was essentially a home game for a Purdue team that is based 65 miles away.Trey Kaufman-Renn, who has actually been a reputable successor to two-time Wood Award winner Zach Edey, completed 3-for-9 and committed 5 turnovers. Braden Smith, a preseason Associated Press All-American, committed 6

turnovers and missed every shot inside the arc.The Aggies, the leading offensive-rebounding group in America, understand how to reduce the effects of the most significant opposing danger on the court and put the burden on a less capable player. This is all happening as Wade Taylor IV (38%from beyond the arc over the previous three games)has found a rhythm. The offensive concerns for the Aggies are uncomfortable(31 %from the 3-point this season ), however their defensive talents have actually helped them score wins over four top-50 KenPom groups(Ohio State, Creighton, Texas Tech, Purdue ). This may be an SEC sleeper worth acknowledging.– Medcalf Don’t expect another second-half collapse from Memphis The Memphis Tigers had about as strong a bounce-back efficiency as a group could have, rebounding from last weekend’s humiliating 13-point home loss to Arkansas State by entering into No. 16 Clemson– which was on a six-game winning streak and hadn’t lost in your home considering that Feb. 17 of last season– and beating it in overtime. Cent Hardaway’s team now owns wins far from home over UConn, Michigan State and Clemson, all of which were ranked in last week’s top 25. Yes, it was only last season that Memphis started 15-2 and rose all the way into the leading 10 of the AP survey before going 7-8 in its last 15 games and missing out completely on postseason play. So that’s theoretically in the Tigers ‘range of results. But this group feels different. This is the very best offending team– and the very best shooting group– Hardaway has had at

Memphis, with veteran shotmakers Tyrese Hunter, PJ Haggerty and Colby Rogers leading the way. They are among the oldest groups in the nation, too.The AAC is also even worse at the top than it was a year earlier, that makes Memphis ‘existing four-game stretch so important. The Tigers play at Virginia on Wednesday, then return home for games against Mississippi State and Ole Miss before starting league play– where they ought to be a preferred in every game. If Memphis can rack up a couple more quality wins in its next three games, it will be kept in mind on Choice Sunday.

— Borzello