Michigan and Virginia roll 7s
The first month of the college men’s basketball season is in the books and it was one of the wildest Novembers in the sport’s history, accounting for two historic upsets of thenNo. 1 Duke and then-No. 2 Kentucky at the hands of mid-major giant killers Stephen F. Austin and Evansville.
While teams mature over the course of the season, November outcomes still impact resumes for the NCAA tournament selection process. Although there’s much to unfold in the next three months before March Madness begins, here’s a look at some of college hoops’ biggest overachievers and underachievers through November’s game slate.
Overachievers
Michigan: The Wolverines (7-0) unexpectedly won the
Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in a stacked field by dispatching No. 4 North Carolina in the semifinals and then convincingly beating No. 7 Gonzaga in the title game. Under new coach Juwan Howard, Michigan hasn’t seemed to skip a beat in the post-John Beilein era. Veteran returners Isaiah Livers (17.0 points per game) and Zavier Simpson (9.7 assists) are steering the early success. The Wolverines will face a major test Tuesday at Louisville.
Virginia: The Cavaliers (7-0) are the reigning national champs, but they lost their three best offensive players to the NBA draft from last year. But Tony Bennett’s methodical offense and smothering packline defense didn’t go anywhere, and returning starters Mamadi Diakite and Kihei Clark have helped steer the offense. UVA leads the country in defensive efficiency, per KenPom, and might be better on that end than last year. The wrist injury to second-leading scorer Braxton Key will challenge other role players to step up in December.
DePaul: After their first winning season in 11 years, the Blue Demons are an impressive 8-0, the program’s best start in
three decades. The run includes impressive road wins over Big Ten foes Iowa and Minnesota. It’s been over 15 years since DePaul has been in the NCAAs. Expect to see this team in contention to go dancing in a crowded Big East. Blue Demons guard Charlie Moore (17.1 ppg, 6.6 apg) has been off to an impressive start.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes started off ranked No. 16 thanks to a core group of returners headed by big man Kaleb Wesson. They’ve proved to be better than what was advertised on paper, having upset Villanova and also beaten Cincinnati to start 7-0. Freshman guard D.J. Carton gives coach Chris Holtmann a dynamic playmaker to make OSU a Big Ten title contender. Ohio State will face a big test at home against North Carolina on Wednesday.
Underachievers
Michigan State: Ranked No. 1 in the preseason, the Spartans (5-2) have gotten off to an unexpectedly subpar start, first losing its season opener to Kentucky and then suffering another setback to Virginia Tech in the Maui Invitational. Coach Tom Izzo’s group, hurt by the loss of Joshua Langford, has work to do to become the national title contender it was forecasted to be based on returning talent from last year’s Final Four squad. The non-conference schedule doesn’t get any easier, with a clash against Duke on tap for Tuesday.
Duke, Kentucky: The blue bloods looked like Final Four threats in their opening Champions Classic victories over Kansas and Michigan State. Yet both the Blue Devils (7-1) and the Wildcats (6-1) suffered two of the worst nonconference losses in recent memory.
In Duke’s case, this still looks like a team worthy of playing in April and perhaps this will be a wake-up call.
“Every single night we have to play with the same hunger and the same toughness, no matter who we are playing. We have to know that everyone is coming for us,” Blue Devils All-American guard Tre Jones told reporters after the loss.
For Kentucky, injuries and the Evansville loss have offset a seemingly strong start. Forward Nate Sestina, a key transfer from Bucknell, is out with a wrist injury, which the school reports to be the eighth different Wildcat to suffer an injury this season.
Villanova: The Wildcats (4-2) have lost to good teams – Baylor and Ohio State – but after starting off as a preseason top 10 team there’s reason to question if this is the year the Wildcats surrender their grip on the Big East. Collin Gillespie gives coach Jay Wright a floor general, but this team is struggling to manage tempo and find its identity early on so far with a lot of young pieces shouldering the scoring load.
Florida: The Gators (6-2) were a preseason top 10 team, and now they’re close to slipping out of the Top 25 thanks to losses to Florida State and Connecticut. Kerry Blackshear Jr. has the potential to be an All-American, but the Virginia Tech transfer hasn’t been as dominant as hoped early on.