Dietz’s Debrief is a weekly college basketball column dedicated to the ever-changing college basketball landscape. Each week, there will be updates on Tuesday and Friday, going over the games of the week, notable upcoming games, and bracket implications as March nears. If you’re into college basketball, tune in!
Because this is the first issue of the column, it is important to start out looking at the bigger picture in the college basketball world right now. The undefeated Arizona Wildcats, backed behind the star freshman pair of Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, are the current number one team in the nation, followed by the UConn Huskies – who have won two out of the last three championships – and the Michigan Wolverines. Duke and Nebraska have sprouted their way up into the top five with the Blue Devils only having one loss and the Cornhuskers being undefeated.
Along with the teams who sit at the top, there have been some surprising additions to the top 25 with Miami (OH) being one of the three remaining undefeated teams at 20-0. The Saint Louis Billikens are also having an impressive season out of the Atlantic 10 Conference, sitting with an overall record of 19-1 and undefeated in conference play.
Apart from looking at the rankings and the overall college basketball landscape, this column will also highlight and recap the games of the week.
Games of the Week:
Last Saturday’s games were elite with many conference games coming down to the wire. The North Carolina Tarheels —who were coming off back-to-back defeats to Stanford and Cal —were able to turn things around with a huge win on the road at Virginia. Led by standout freshman forward Caleb Wilson and the three-point shooting of Alabama transfer junior forward Jarin Stevenson, the Tarheels were firing on all cylinders. Having key wing senior guard Seth Trimble back from injury has also been a tremendous help for the team as they won 85-80.
In a Big East clash, Villanova and No. 2-ranked UConn battled it out in a game that would end up in overtime. Despite the efforts of star freshman guard Acaden Lewis, the Wildcats didn’t have enough in the tank, to take down Head Coach Dan Hurley and the Huskies who are experienced, led by senior wing Alex Karaban as they won 75-67. Karaban finished with 17 points all of which he scored in the second half, and guard Silas Demary added 10. Tyler Perkins had 16 for the Wildcats in the loss.
The Houston Cougars had the game of the weekend against Texas Tech in a rematch from three weeks ago where the Cougars beat the Red Raiders 69-65. Unlike their last game, the Red Raiders shot the ball extremely well and junior forward JT Toppin put on an amazing performance. Unfortunately for the Cougars, Texas Tech maintained consistency throughout the game in their home arena and came away with the win, 90-86. Although Cougars freshman guard Kingston Flemings dropped 42 points in the game, it wasn’t enough to get the win.
Similarly to Flemings, freshmen across the country were going crazy this weekend with Illinois’ young guard Keaton Wagler dropping 46 points to clinch a win at Purdue, one of the most intimidating places to play in all of college basketball. BYU’s star forward AJ Dybansta also had himself a day with 43 points to lift the Cougars to a 91-78 win over their rival Utah.
Notable Upcoming Games:
The schedule this week starts off with a bang with Arizona playing BYU in a top 15 matchup and Duke playing Louisville in another ranked game. On Tuesday, undefeated Nebraska will take on one-loss Michigan in Ann Arbor in what will be the ultimate test for the Cornhuskers and their undefeated season.Vanderbilt, who started the season off undefeated and has since lost three of their last four, will look to get back on track with a win over a red hot Kentucky team.
Bracket Implications:
After being safe in the field for many weeks, the USC Trojans are currently not in the projected field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament.With back-to-back losses to Purdue and Northwestern, the Trojans’ tournament chances were looking bleak, but with a huge road win at Wisconsin, USC is back on track and must take care of business in their upcoming games against Iowa and Rutgers.
Another bubble team, Cal, got a huge win over Stanford which has inched them closer to making the field. Seton Hall in the Big East started the season off strong, but with four straight losses, most recently DePaul, the Pirates are no longer in the projected field. UCLA and Missouri – both bubble teams – got huge wins last week, with the Bruins upsetting Purdue and Northwestern, and the Tigers hitting a buzzer-beater to win in overtime over Oklahoma.
March Madness is approaching fast with conference tournaments starting in just five weeks. Starting now, every win is crucial, especially for the teams on the bubble. The only other way to reach the tournament with a lackluster resume and record is to win your conference tournament, which is not a reliable way to make the field of 68. The college basketball world is heating up, and there is no better time to watch!