CBB Saturday: Winners and Losers from All The Action
For the first time this season, a college basketball Saturday felt like a college basketball Saturday.
There were five ranked vs. ranked games, and even with college football conference championship games, college hoops drew major national attention.
But who (or what) were the biggest winners and losers from Saturday’s slate? Here’s what you need to know:
WINNERS
Iowa State’s NET ranking — The Cyclones walked into Mackey Arena and not only handed Boilermaker fans the worst non-conference loss they’ve ever seen in that building, but the largest non-conference defeat at home by an AP No. 1 team ever. A 23-point win over a top five team will do wonders for Iowa State’s NET ranking (No. 7 coming in). TJ Otzelberger has now won three-straight games against No. 1 ranked teams, and none of the wins have come at home. More on why the Cyclones are a title contender here.
Duke/Arizona’s quest for a No. 1 seed — After beating Michigan State in the Breslin Center, Duke’s resume features wins over Sparty, vs. Kansas-Arkansas-Texas on neutral floors and Florida at home. They’re also the first team in the country to hit 10 wins. The Blue Devils are in great shape to receive back-to-back No. 1 seeds. Arizona is looking like that type of team as well. Routing Auburn to cap off the night gives them another marquee win to add to Florida, UCLA and UConn. Arizona shot 61% from the floor against the Tigers.
Louisville’s 3-point shooting — Just days after shooting 22% from three against Arkansas, Louisville’s perimeter rebounded, knocking in 13-of-31 (42%) shots from deep vs. Indiana. Every time Indiana made a run to have some hope, Louisville hit a dagger shot, and senior guard Isaac McKneely was often the culprit. The Cards have the No. 4 offense in the country on Kenpom and just beat a ranked opponent without a big offensive performance from Mikel Brown Jr. (9 pts, 3 ast, 2/8 FG). Pat Kelsey’s team still looks the part of a contender.
Keaton Wagler’s draft stock — The freshman guard has been sensational to start the season for Illinois, and his 16 points and four triples against Tennessee led to the Illini to a 75-62 win. Wagler has great size, rebounds well for his position, and he’s shown he can hang physically against elite competition. You also don’t have to run anything for him. He just plays basketball. NBA executives drool over players like that.
Rick Pitino’s psyche — The head coach of the Johnnies was all smiles in the Peacock postgame interview after a 63-58 win over Ole Miss. After giving up 80+ points in three straight games against Iowa State, Baylor and Auburn, the defense finally looked like a Rick Pitino defense again. The Rebels turned it over 20 times and shot 2-of-16 from 3.
Penny Hardaway — Memphis was reeling after starting the season 1-4, but it’s now three straight wins for the Tigers. Today’s win over Baylor, a likely NCAA Tournament team, should be a major confidence booster. Forward Aaron Bradshaw coming to life (17 pts, 7 rebs) could be huge for this team to turn the corner.
The Mountain West — Colorado State beat an undefeated Colorado team at home. Boise State went into Hinkle Fieldhouse and grabbed a win over Butler. Then New Mexico dismantled a Santa Clara team that was ranked No. 54 in the country coming into the game on Kenpom. The Mountain West hasn’t had a dream start to the non-conference, but today was huge for the league and its hopes to secure multiple NCAA Tournament bids.
LOSERS
Braden Smith’s NPOY candidacy — The Boilermaker point guard hasn’t been bad by any stretch. He’s actually been pretty darn good. But the numbers just aren’t standing out, and 11 points and eight assists with six turnovers against the Cyclones won’t help. Smith is now averaging 13.8 points and 7.8 assists while shooting 36.7% against top-75 Kenpom teams. That doesn’t exactly scream NPOY.
Michigan State’s offense — When Duke went zone in the second half, the Spartans’ offense stalled. Michigan State was 6-of-13 from deep in the first half and were at 1.06 points per possession. In the second half, it was just a 2-of-9 clip (with freshman Jordan Scott making the only two) and .897 ppp. Tom Izzo will have to find an answer offensively when teams pack the paint and dare Jeremy Fears and others to beat them from the perimeter. The Spartans allowing rebounds off free throw misses didn’t help either.
Nate Ament’s readiness — The Tennessee freshman is super skilled and will probably be a top-5 pick in the NBA Draft regardless of the year he has with the Vols because of his potential. But he’s clearly lacking physicality. In Tennessee’s last four games against top-65 Kenpom opponents, Ament is averaging 12.3 points on 25.5% shooting. He needs to be a 15-20 ppg guy for Tennessee to be a contender, and right now it doesn’t look like he’s ready to be that guy.
The Big East (again) — Butler had the pulse of a possibly tourney team, but the Bulldogs fell to Boise Staet at Hinkle, 77-68. Marquette also dropped to 5-5 on the season after getting blown out by Wisconsin, 96-76. The Golden Eagles are down to No. 92 in Kenpom and are 0-4 against power five opponents. Seton Hall (9-1) may be the only hope at a third bid after beating Kansas State in Manhattan today.
Subscribe to The Field of 68 on YouTube
Subscribe to The Field of 68’s Daily Newsletter
