Freshmen were all the rage in October and November.
Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle. Aaron Gordon. They would dominate the sport. Only, it hasn’t worked out that way.
Instead, the best player in the country — the front-runner at this moment for National Player of the Year honors — is Creighton’s Doug McDermott, who has led Creighton to a perfect 4-0 start in the Big East and is averaging 24.3 points per game, second-best in the country.
The senior torched Xavier on Sunday, dropping in 35 points despite a sprained a left shoulder, in just the latest impressive performance from the star forward who will be making millions at this time next year.
1. Arizona (1): Defense still wins at this level, despite the new offense-friendly rules. Arizona is proof of that. The best team in the country is 116th in the nation in scoring, averaging 75 points per game, but is allowing only 56 a night — fifth-best in the nation — holding opponents to 37 percent field-goal shooting and 28 percent from 3-point range.
2. Syracuse (2): The ACC has fallen well short of the lofty preseason expectations as the country’s best conference, but Syracuse has held up its end of the bargain. One of four undefeated teams left in the nation — Arizona, Wisconsin and Wichita State are the others — the Orange are well on their way to earning the top seed in the East Region of the NCAA tournament, which would likely mean a trip to Madison Square Garden, their home away from home, in late March.
3. Wisconsin (4): Is it too soon to call this Bo Ryan’s best team in 13 years at Wisconsin? The Badgers certainly looked the part this week, knocking off Iowa and hammering a good Illinois team to improve to a program-best 16-0. This team can win in a variety of ways, via defensive struggles or offensive shootouts, and looks very much like a Final Four contender.
4. Florida (5): Nobody in the country has dealt with adversity better than the Gators. Injuries, suspensions, absences of key players — Florida has seen it all up to this point, and it has thrived nevertheless. The latest issue is leading scorer Casey Prather dealing with a bruised right knee. He missed Saturday’s victory over Arkansas and coach Billy Donovan has ruled the senior wing out of Tuesday’s matchup with Georgia. In Prather’s stead on Saturday, Dorian Finney-Smith stepped into the starting lineup, and produced 22 points and 15 rebounds, the latest example of this team’s ability to shake off misfortune.
5. Wichita State (6): The Shockers faced their first true challenge Saturday night, and they handled the stern test like it was routine. Down 19 to Missouri Valley Conference foe Missouri State on the road, Wichita State staged a relentless rally, and behind 22 points and 14 rebounds from Middleton, N.Y. product Cleanthony Early and late-game heroics from Fred VanVleet, prevailed in overtime, extending the best start in program history to 16-0.
6. Michigan State (7): The Spartans have yet to click, but they are tied atop the Big 10 — unequivocally the best conference in the country — and are 15-1 despite a brutal schedule. Imagine what happens when Tom Izzo’s team really finds itself?
7. Villanova (9): The Wildcats didn’t blow us away Saturday afternoon against St. John’s at the Garden, but they won and did so going away, turning up the defensive pressure and executing on offense down the stretch. Basically, Villanova did what it has done all season — prevail without much flash.
8. San Diego State (10): Xavier Thames’ leap, from role player to star, is a major part of San Diego State’s brilliant start after it lost leading scorers Jamaal Franklin (NBA) and Chase Tapley (graduation). The Aztecs have only lost once, at top-ranked Arizona, and are the class of the Mountain West by a wide margin.
9. Oklahoma State (12): There figures to be an NBA scout summit Saturday afternoon when Oklahoma State visits Allen Fieldhouse, and likely top-five picks Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart take center stage. Remember: Smart said Wiggins needed to prove he is worthy of all the hype he received in the preseason, which only adds spice to the first of two showdowns between the two Big 12 contenders and future lottery picks.
10. Kentucky (14): The Wildcats are still waiting to hit their stride, but in the meantime, this four-game winning streak will do. One area John Calipari has to be happy with: rebounding. Kentucky, led by Julius Randle and Willie Cauley-Stein, is fifth in the nation in that category, averaging 43.9 boards per game.
11. Creighton (20): A week from Monday, in Philadelphia, will be a must-watch for all Big East fans, and college basketball enthusiasts in general. Creighton visits Villanova in what will likely be an early first-place showdown, a matchup featuring ranked opponents and an opportunity for the Bluejays to land some much-deserved national attention.
12. Kansas (21): Bill Self’s young team showed a lot of maturity over the last week. It responded to its loss to San Diego State like a veteran club. The Jayhawks found a way to win at Oklahoma and followed that impressive effort by dominating in-state rival Kansas State. The performances bode well for Kansas, which continues a daunting stretch against Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Baylor over the next week.
13. Iowa (22): The fourth time proved to be the charm. Following heartbreaking losses to powers Villanova, Iowa State and Wisconsin, Iowa finally sealed a signature victory, notching an impressive 10-point win over Ohio State in Columbus. Fran McCaffery, the former Siena coach who led the Saints to three straight NCAA tournaments berths, has done a fine job turning this program around, just three years removed from an 11-win campaign.
14. Cincinnati (23): Quietly and without much attention, Mick Cronin’s kids have leaped to the top of the AAC, playing the kind of physical, defensive-mind basketball his program has been known for. Cincinnati could enter the Jan. 30 showdown at Louisville riding a 12-game win streak considering the soft schedule on the horizon.
15. Memphis (18): We’ve seen it all year from Memphis, one loss leading to a winning streak, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see the Tigers rebound from their loss to Cincinnati with impressive victories over Louisville and Temple.
16. Ohio State (3)
17. Iowa State (8)
18. Baylor (13)
19. Louisville (15)
20. Massachusetts (NR)
21. Duke (11)
22. Pittsburgh (NR)
23. Oklahoma (NR)
24. St. Louis (NR)
25. Gonzaga (25)
Dropped out: Colorado, Oregon, Missouri, Illinois
Stock Watch — Up
Jim Boeheim
The older he gets, the more we hear about retirement, the better his teams play. Syracuse was supposed to take a step back this year, moving into the ACC, yet here are the Orange at 16-0, looking like a cinch for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and perhaps another Final Four run. And consider this: Syracuse is only going to get better. Boeheim and his staff are recruiting at an extremely high level — they have a consensus top-20 class for next year and the makings of an even better one the year after — improving what is already an impressive brand. Boeheim, 69, may want to coach into his late 70s at this rate.
Kyle Anderson
The New Jersey product is unlike any player in college basketball, a 6-foot-9 point guard nicknamed “Slow-Mo” because of his lack of foot speed and plodding style. The former St. Anthony of Jersey City star is effective nevertheless. Anderson is putting up huge numbers — 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game — in leading UCLA to a solid 13-3 start. In a near upset of Arizona last week, against a team full of NBA prospects, Anderson had 16 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals. He’s proven to be one of them.
Stock Watch — Down
Duke
Freshman Jabari Parker is in a rut and Duke has started 1-2 in the ACC for the first time in seven years. The Blue Devils’ struggles may seem surprising, but if you look at their resume, their quality wins aren’t all that impressive — over an up-and-down Michigan team at Cameron Indoor Stadium and an inconsistent UCLA squad at the Garden. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has said from the season’s outset this team has a long way to go, and his words are being proven right.
Colorado
Sunday morning, the Buffaloes looked like a serious Pac-12 contender, capable of pushing Arizona. Then the Washington game happened. Colorado lost, but far more upsetting, star guard Spencer Dinwiddie suffered a torn ACL. The junior, who leads the team in points and assists, makes Colorado go, and with upcoming showdowns against UCLA and Arizona, his absence will loom large.