Week of 3/4/24
There is one more week left of college basketball, and many teams need to step up in order to grab a good position in the tournament. Other teams need to just keep doing what there doing, which is winning.
One of those teams that just needs to keep winning is Houston. Last week, they took down Cincinnati and Oklahoma. Against Cincy, L.J. Cryer led the way, as he had 22 points off 7-15 shooting. J’Wan Roberts also had 15 points and 5 rebounds, but 4 fouls. Jamal Shead had 9 points, 4 steals, and 11 assists, adding to his stellar season. Shead is averaging 13 points per game, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. He’s also shooting 42.5% from the field. However, he shot 2-11 against Cincy. Emanuel Sharp had 11 points and 4 rebounds, but shot 3-12 from the field and had 4 fouls. Javier Francis had 6 points and 5 rebounds as well. Houston got 4 bench points, and they shot 2-7 combined. Houston led the whole game, with their largest led getting up to 17. Houston forced 19 turnovers and scored 15 points off that. The Cougars had 15 steals as well. Houston also drew 23 fouls, and shot 27 free throws. They did only make 66.7% of them, which was good for 18 makes. Houston shot the ball pretty well, going 39% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. Houston was out rebounded, as Cincinnati had 12 more rebounds. Cincy also dominated in the paint on offense, as they had 30 points in the paint to Houston’s 24. Houston coasted to a win over Cincy, but that wasn’t the same case against Oklahoma. Houston still won, although it was 87-85. It was back and forth throughout the first half, and then Houston started to pull away. Their led got up to 15 before Oklahoma started to come back. OU came all the way back to tie the game at 85 with 11 seconds left. After a timeout, Jamal Shead missed a shot, got his own rebound, and then made the game-winning shot. Shead finished the game with 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. He didn’t have the best game, as he went 0-3 from deep and had 4 fouls. L.J. Cryer had 23 points off 9-17 shooting, the 8th time he’s shot 50% or better in a game this year. Cryer is averaging 15.5 points per game and is shooting 41% from the field. Roberts had 20 points and 5 rebounds, while Sharp had 11 points again. Francis played just 12 minutes and scored 1 point. He had 5 fouls. As a team, UH shot 57% from the field and 52% from deep. Once again, they were out-rebounded, this time by 5. They forced 8 turnovers, scoring 8 points off them. Although they were out-rebounded, Houston won the battle in the paint on offense. They had 32 points there to OU’s 30. Houston didn’t do the best job in the clutch and when they were trying to protect the lead. Houston takes on UCF and Kansas this week to end the season. With the way that Kansas is playing, Houston has a very good chance to finish the season on a 9-game winning streak. However, the last time they played Kansas they lost. Just like Houston, Purdue’s game on Saturday ended close. Not nearly as close as the Houston game, but still pretty close. Purdue won 80-74, with Zach Edey dropping his second straight double-double. He had 32 points and 11 rebounds. This is also his second straight 30-point game. Everyone knows the hype around Edey, and his numbers reflect it. He’s averaging 24 points per game and 12 11.8 rebounds per game, second and third in the country, respectfully. Edey has helped Purdue win a share of the Big Ten title this year, their second straight. Braden Smith played all 40 minutes and dropped 23 points and 9 rebounds. He’s averaging 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists this season. Smith will most likely be the first option for the team next year. Fletcher Loyer had 15 points as well in 31 minutes. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Lance Jones had bad games, scoring 2 points and 1 point, respectfully. Jones shot 0-6 from the field and 0-4 from deep. He’s going to need to have good games in both the Big Ten tournament and March Madness if Purdue wants a shot at the title. Mason Gillis added 7 points off the bench. Purdue shot 51% from the field and 50% from deep in the win. Purdue drew 25 fouls, and made 20 of their 30 free throws. Purdue led in almost every stat, which helped them win. Purdue will try to win the Big Ten outright when the play Illinois on Tuesday. After that, they play Wisconsin to end the season. UConn also played just 1 game last week, beating Seton Hall by 30, 91-61. Stephon Castle led the way with his 21 points. He also shot 9-12. Tristen Newton had 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists. Newton’s averaging 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists this season. He’s also shooting 41% from the field. Alex Karaban had 13 points, while Donovan Clingan had 19 points and 11 rebounds. UConn shot 56% from the field and 33% from deep, forcing 11 turnovers in the process. They scored 24 points off them as well. UConn also had 12 more rebounds. UConn had 23 assists to Seton Hall’s 4. UConn had 22 more points in the paint as well. UConn rolled to an easy win, and that earned them their first outright Big East title since 1999. UConn goes on the road twice this week, taking on Marquette and Providence. Following UConn is North Carolina, who took down Miami and NC State. RJ Davis set a career-high against The U with 42 points off 14-22 shooting. He also went 7-11 from deep, and added 6 rebounds. Davis is averaging 21.4 points per game this season, which is 10th in the country. He’s also shooting 43% from the field. Harrison Ingram had 8 points and 10 rebounds, but shot 3-13 from the field. Cormac Ryan also shot 3-13, and had 7 points to show for it. Armando Bacot had 5 points and 12 rebounds, averaging 14 and 10 this season. Elliot Cadeau had 6 points in his 27 minutes as well. Off the bench, Seth Trimble and Jaelyn Withers combined for 7 points. UNC shot 44% from the field and 34% from deep in the game. Although RJ Davis set a career-high, the rest of the team didn’t do too much on offense, which led to UNC only winning by 4. North Carolina dominated in the paint on offense, as they had double Miami’s points in the paint. Miami played pretty well, but RJ Davis put UNC over the top. Davis didn’t have the same production against NCSU, but he still put up solid numbers. Davis had 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 36 minutes. Harrison Ingram led the way for North Carolina, as he had 22 points and 6 rebounds. Ingram is averaging 12.5 points and 9 rebounds per game, and he should play a big part in North Carolina’s postseason. Bacot had 13 and 7, while Cadeau had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists. Ryan added 5 points, and the bench combined for 10 points. North Carolina shot 47% overall and 37.5% from deep. North Carolina pulled down 34 rebounds and forced 9 turnovers. UNC had 12 more points in the paint, and had 8 less fouls. North Carolina played an all-around good game, which led to the rivalry win. Speaking of rivalries, UNC takes on Duke next Saturday at Cameron Indoor. Before that, they face Notre Dame. Finally, Tennessee comes in at number 5. They took on and beat the 2 Alabama teams last week. They beat Auburn 92-84 and beat Bama 81-74. Dalton Knecht had 39 points off 12-21 shooting to led Tennessee to the win over Auburn. Zakai Seigler had 17 points and 9 assists, while Jonas Aidoo had 14 points. Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James both had 2 points. Vescovi had 4 rebounds and 2 steals, while James had 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Tobe Awaka had 9 points and 5 rebounds off the bench, Jordan Gainey had 7 points, and Jahmai Mashack had 2 points. Tennessee shot 51% from the field and 53% from deep. UT also forced 16 turnovers, scoring 18 points off them. Tennessee grabbed 37 rebounds, 7 more than Auburn. Tennessee trailed in almost the rest of the stats, but Knecht’s 39 points helped Tennessee win. Then, for first place in the SEC, Tennessee beat Alabama. Zeigler led the way with 18 points and 4 assists. Zeigler’s averaging 11.4 points per game and 6 assists, making a very good second option for Tennessee, especially on offense. We all know who the first option is, that being Dalton Knecht. Although he had just 13 points against Bama, Knecht is averaging 20.6 points per game and 5 rebounds. He’s also shooting 48% from the field. He only has 4 games under double-digit points. He’s had 6 games where he’s scored 30 or more points as well. Knecht should be the SEC player of the year, and his game against Auburn showed it, as he carried them back from down 8 late. Aidoo added 12 points and 7 rebounds, while James had 11 and 13 against Bama. Vescovi had 8 points as well. Gainey had 9 points, while Mashack had 8, 6, and 4. Tennessee had a bad shooting night, going 35% overall and 30% beyond the arc. Tennessee did force 12 turnovers, scoring 17 points off them. Alabama did win the battle down low, as Tennessee had 2 less rebounds and 6 less points in the paint. Tennessee had a big week, and now with a 1 game lead in the SEC, they have to not let up against South Carolina and Kentucky, two very good and ranked teams.
The second half of the top 10 consists of Arizona, Duke, Creighton, Iowa State, and Marquette. Arizona had blowout wins over Arizona State and Oregon, and hold a half game lead of first place in the Pac-12. Zona went into Tempe to take down their rivals, 85-67. All of the starters were in double-digit points. Kylan Boswell led the way, and he had 17 points off 7-9 shooting. Caleb Love had 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Pelle Larsson had 12 points, while Keshad Johnon had 10 points and 5 assists. Oumar Ballo had 14 points and 13 rebounds as well. Arizona got a kick off the bench, as the bench players combined for 16 points. Zona shot 54% from the field and 38% from deep, and led for the whole game. Arizona had 13 more rebounds as well. They had double the amount of assists that Arizona State had, and 24 more points in the paint. Arizona coasted to a win over ASU, which is the same thing they did against Oregon. They went into halftime up 51-30, and although they were outscored by a point in the second half, Arizona still won, 103-83. Caleb Love led the tame with 22 points and 7 assists. Since transferring from UNC, Love is averaging 19.4 points per game, 5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. He’s also shooting 43.5% from the field. Love has led the way for Arizona all season, and he should do the same in the postseason. Larsson also had 22 points and 6 assists, while Johnson had 21 points. Ballo had 11 and 12, with Boswell adding 19 points. Jaden Bradley had 8 points and 5 assists as well. Arizona shot insanely well, going 61% overall and 56% from deep. Arizona had 8 more rebounds as well. Arizona had 13 more assists and 10 more points off turnovers as well. They also had 19 more fast break points. Zona’s largest lead once got up to 28 points. Arizona takes on UCLA and USC this week, both on the road. They’re going to need to win both of these games in order to win the Pac-12 for one last time. Duke also went undefeated last week, blowing out Louisville and Virginia. They got the advantage of both games being at home as well. Against Louisville, Duke won 84-59. Jeremy Roach led the way with 19 points off 8-11 shooting. Mark Mitchell had 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Jared McCain had 14 points. Tyrese Proctor had 8 points and 7 assists, while Kyle Filipowski had 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists after the court-storming incident. Duke also got 17 points off the bench. Duke shot 56% from the field and 50% from deep. They also had 43 rebounds, while Louisville had 24. Duke had 12 more assists, 10 more fast break points, and 12 more points in the paint. Duke dominated against Louisville, which happened again against Virginia. Duke won 73-48, with Kyle Filipowski finishing with 21 points and 7 rebounds. At points midway into the first half, Filipowski had more points than the entire Virginia team. Duke went into half up 40-18, and their largest first half lead was 25. Their largest lead in the game was 29 for Duke. Filipowski is averaging 17 points per game, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Filipowski is also shooting 50.4% from deep. Proctor had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, Mithell had 10 points and 5 rebounds, while McCain and Roach combined for just 13 points. Duke didn’t really need McCain and Roach to have to good games, as Duke’s defense was on their A-game. Sean Stewart had 6 points and 8 rebounds off the bench as well. Duke shot 49% from the field and 31.6% from deep. They had 13 more rebounds than UVA, 26 more points in the paint, and 7 more points off turnovers. Although Duke forced just 12 turnovers, they forced Virginia to shoot 31% from the field and 29% from the field. Duke gets another home game to finish the season, this one being huge, coming against UNC. However, they have to play NC State first. Following Duke is Creighton, who had a big upset over Marquette. They beat the Golden Eagles at home, 89-75. Baylor Scheierman led the way with 26 and 16, while Trey Alexander had 18 points and 11 assists. Ryan Kalkbrenner had 19 points off 9-12 shooting as well. Francisco Farabello had 12 points off the bench as well. Creighton shot 54% from the field and 40% from deep. Creighton had 7 more rebounds and 12 more assists Creighton had a great game, and played their best when they needed to. With that upset and the prior upset over UConn, Creighton has a very good tournament resume. Creighton also had a win over Seton Hall earlier in the week. Kalkbrenner had 23 points off 10-10 shooting. Scheierman had 20 and 11, Alexander had 15, 5, and 10, while Steven Ashworth had 10 points. Isaac Traudt had 11 off the bench as well. Creighton shot 54% from the field and 40% from deep. Creighton should continue to roll into the Big East Tournament, but first they have to play Villanova. Iowa State was on cruise control this week, taking down Oklahoma and UCF. It was a very poor game against Ou, as ISU shot 33% from the field and 25% from deep. They did force 14 turnovers and grabbed 5 more rebounds than OU, which makes their case a bit better. Demarion Watson led ISU with 15 points off 7-7 shooting. He also had 9 rebounds. Curtis Jones had 11 points off the bench as well. Watson and Jones were the only players for Iowa State to go over double-digit points in the game. For the starters, Robert Jones and Tre King both had 3 points, Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert both had 8. Milan Momcilovic had 4 points as well. He had 4 fouls, while Jones had 5. It was a horrible game for both Iowa State and Oklahoma, but that wasn’t the case for ISU against UCF. Iowa State shot 46% from the field and 24% from deep. They forced UCF to go 1-19 from beyond the arc. King had 16 points, Gilbert had 11, Curtis Jones had 11, and Momcilovic had 11 as well. ISU’s defense continued to shine last week, and hopefully they can do the same against BYU and Kansas State. Marquette went 1-1 last week, beating Providence and losing to Creighton. Against Providence, Kam Jones led the way with 17 points, while Stevie Mitchell, Chase ross, and Tyler Kolek all had 12 points. Oso Ighodaro and Tre Norman both had 8, while David Joplin had 13 points. Although Marquette coasted to an easy win, shooting 57% from the field and 54% from three, they lot Tyler Kolek to an injury. He was out against Creighton, which is a reason why they lost. Tyler Kolek is great at setting up his teammates, as he’s averaging 7.6 assists a game this season. Marquette had just 7 assists in the game, while Creighton had 19. Marquette shot alright, going 30-64 overall and 9-29 from deep. That’s 47% and 31%. Kam Jones had 23 points, Joplin had 21, and Mitchell had 15. Kolek is out for the rest of the year, which means he’ll be out against UConn on Wednesday, and I think there is no chance that Marquette wins that game. I could be wrong, but for right now that’s my stance. Kolek’s absence is also going to hurt Marquette in the Big East tourney. After the UConn game, Marquette takes on Xavier.
Just outside of the top 10 is Illinois, followed by Auburn, Kansas, Kentucky, and Baylor. Illinois took down Minnesota and Wisconsin last week, and still have a chance for a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Against Minnesota, Terrence Shannon Jr. had 29 and 6, while Marcus Domask had 22, 7, and 5. Coleman Hawkins had 20, while Quincy Guerrier had 10. Dain Dainja had 11 and 6 off the bench as well. Illinois could not stop Dawson Garcia and Cam Christie of Minnesota, who had 29 and 23 points, respectfully. Illinois shot really well, going 38-62 from the field and 10-22 from deep. Illinois did dominate in the paint, as they had 8 more rebounds than Minnesota and scored 60 points in the paint. Illinois couldn’t force that many turnovers, which is why Minnesota stayed in the game for as long as they did. Illinois played a very similar game against Wisconsin as well. They shot 52% from the field and 56% from deep, and forced just 8 turnovers. They had 31 rebounds once again, but just 32 points in the paint. Even though they had less points in the paint, Illinois still got the win, 91-83. Domask led the way this time with 31 points and 8 rebounds, while Shannon had 23 and 5. Hawkins added 13, and Justin Harmon had 10 off the bench. Illinois didn’t play the best game against Wisconsin, but they have to bring their best on Tuesday when playing Purdue if they want a share of the Big Ten title. From there, they play Iowa to finish the season. Auburn went 1-1 last week, losing to Tennessee but beating Mississippi State. Against Tennessee, Johni Broome had 23, 9, and 5, but Auburn couldn’t protect their 8-point lead with 12 minutes left. A reason why that might have happened was Chad Baker-Mazara’s shooting. He shot 3-10 overall, and ended up with 13 points. Denver Jones had 11 points and 3 rebounds, but he couldn’t stay out of foul trouble. Auburn did get a very good kick out of their bench, as Jaylin Williams finished with 12, 3, and 4. K.D. Johnson had 10 points as well. Auburn didn’t shoot bad, as they shot 46% from the field and 41% from deep. They did have 30 rebounds to Tennessee’s 37 and turned the ball over 16 times, however. Auburn couldn’t protect their lead against Tennessee, but that was the opposite against Mississippi State. They won by 15 points, and their lead got up to 19 at one point. Broome had 17 points and 6 rebounds, while Jones had 15. Both Williams and Baker-Mazara had 10 points as well. All of the bench players except for one scored, with them all having 3 or more points. Auburn shot 50% overall and 47% from deep. They also forced Mississippi State to shoot 39% from the field and 35% from deep. Auburn forced 13 turnovers and never trailed in the win. Auburn takes on Missouri and Georgia this week. As for Kansas, they continue to slide. After previous upsets to Texas Tech and Kansas State, Kansas beat Oklahoma and Texas to get back on track. However, they fell right off the tracks against BYU. They lost 76-68, shooting 39% overall and 20% from deep. They turned the ball over 11 times, 4 of them coming from Johnny Furphy. Hunter Dickinson finished with 17 and 11, while Furphy had 10 and 9. Furphy did shoot 0-5 from beyond the arc, however. K.J. Adams had 11 points, while Dajuan Harris Jr. had 12 points and 6 assists. With Kevin McCullar Jr. out, Kansas hasn’t played their best ball, but him coming back didn’t seem to matter against Baylor. McCullar played well, scoring 20 points. He also had 5 rebounds. He did shoot 0-5 from deep. He didn’t have the worst game, but obviously not the best. Dickinson also had 20 points, and Harris had 12 points and 9 assists. K.J. Adams had just 6 points and had 4 fouls. KU shot a bit better this time, as they shot 55% from the field and 31% from three. Kansas was not as physical as Baylor was in the game. The Jayhawks had 23 rebounds to Baylor’s 31. Another deciding factor in the game was the fouls. Kansas had 18 fouls, which resulted in Baylor shooting 20 free throws. Kansas only drew 7 fouls, and they shot 8 free throws. Kansas needs to improve on their overall game if they want to make a deep run in March Madness. Kansas takes on Kansas State and Houston this week. After Kansas comes Kentucky. Kentucky beat Mississippi State and Arkansas last week, winning 91-89 and 11-102 respectfully. Reed Sheppard started the week off nice against Mississippi State, putting up 32 points off 11-14 shooting. He also had 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He also made the game winning shot with 2 seconds left. Rob Dillingham had 9 points, and he continues his good freshman season. Antonio Reeves had 21 points, while Adou Thiero had 11. D.J. Wagner had 10 points and 4 assists. UK shot 55% overall and 33% from deep. They also forced 15 turnovers. Sheppard continued the great week, as he scored 10 points and had 5 assists in the win over Arkansas. 6 other players got into double-digit points as well. Dillingham and Aaron Bradshaw both had 15 points, Justin Edwards had 10 points, D.J. Wagner had 19, Zvonimir Ivisic had 12, and Reeves led the way with 22 points. UK shot insanely well, shooting 58% from the field and 45% from three. Kentucky’s win over Arkansas marks their 6th game with over 100 points. Hopefully they can reach that mark again when they play Vanderbilt and Tennessee this week. Baylor had a great week as well, beating TCU and Kansas. Ja’Kobe Walter had 16 points and 4 rebounds off 4-13 shooting. Yves Missi had 16 and 5, while Jalen Bridges had 15 and 8. Baylor did have just 1 bench point, which could be a concern for later. Baylor shot 38% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc. They forced TCU to shoot 33% and 26%. Baylor had 41 rebounds to TCU’s 29. They forced 14 turnovers as well. Baylor had a very productive game against TCU, headlined by their defense. That was the case against Kansas, too. RayJ Dennis had 19 points and 10 assists, while Jayden Nunn had 18. Missi had 17 points as well. Baylor shot 55% overall and 41% from three. Baylor forced Kansas to go 4-13 from deep. They also had 8 more rebounds than Kansas. Baylor’s been a bit inconsistent this season, but they were great last week, and they need to finish the season great against Texas and Texas Tech.
The next 5 teams start with Gonzaga. Following the Zags are Alabama, Washington State, South Carolina, and SDSU. Gonzaga took down the two other great teams in the WCC, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s. Both games were on the road tow, further helping Gonzaga’s case for the tournament. After going into halftime up 1, Gonzaga pulled away in the second half to beat San Francisco 86-68. Graham Ike had 26 points and 7 rebounds off 9-12 shooting. Nolan Hickman had 22 points, and Ryan Nembhard had 15, 9, and 6. Gonzaga shot 62.5% overall, but just 30% from deep. However, they took just 10 three-point shots. Zaga out rebounded San Francisco by 9, which helped them win big. Gonzaga then demolished their rivals Saint Mary’s on Saturday night. Ike had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Nembhard had 20 points and 10 assists n all 40 minutes. Gonzaga played their best to end their season, and are the 2 seed in the WCC tournament. As for Alabama, they went 1-1 last week. They beat Ole Miss on the road 103-88, and lost to Tennessee at home 81-74. Mark Sears had 26, 5, and 4 in the win over Ole Miss, while Aaron Estrada had a triple-double of 18, 10, and 10. He did it in 38 minutes off 7-11 shooting. Rylan Griffen had 14 points as well, and Davin Cobsy Jr. had 15 points. Alabama was behind for most of the first half, falling down 14. However, they fought back, shooting 50% overall and got their lead up to 15 before the game ended. Mark Sears had another good game, scoring 22 points. Estrada had 16 and 8, while Nick Pringle had 13 and 9 off the bench. Those were the only real good performances, which is a reason why Bama lost. They also shot 38% from the field and 24% from deep. They did mount a comeback in the second half, but their lead evaporated. Alabama will take on Florida and Arkansas this week. Wazzu took on the two southern California teams last week, beating USC 75-72 and UCLA 77-65. Wazzu shot 50% from both the field and deep in the win over USC. Andrej Jakimovski and Isaiah Watts both had 18 points, Myles Rice had 16, and Jaylen Wells had 13. Wazzu forced USC to shoot 20% from deep. Wazzu’s largest lead was just 4, while USC’s was 12. Washington State then went out and dominated UCLA, especially on the boards. WSU had 39 rebounds, 15 more than UCLA. They had 10 more offensive rebounds and 5 more defensive rebounds. The Cougars also drew 24 fouls, making 24 of their 33 free throws. Washington State will take on Washington this week. South Carolina had a very close week, beating Texas A&M 70-68 and Florida 82-76. Meechie Johnson had 22 points and 5 rebounds off 50% shooting. Zachary Davis had 16 points, including the game winning layup off a Meechie Johnson assist with 3 seconds left. SC shot 46% from the field and 32% from deep. They forced A&M to go 38% from the field and 12% from deep. Then, against Florida, SC came back from down 10 to win by 6. Johnson had 25 points, while Collin Murray-Boyles had 15 and 11. Jacobi Wright had 16 off the bench. SC didn’t shoot as well, going 25-53 from the field and 9-24 from beyond the arc. South Carolina takes on Tennessee and Mississippi State this week. San Diego State had a pretty uneventful week, as they took down San Jose State, 72-64. Jaedon LeDee had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Elijah Saunders had 10. No one else had double digit points, and SDSU shot 25% from deep. They didn’t play their best ball, but their supporting cast took them over the edge without doing anything crazy. The Aztecs play UNLV and Boise State this week.
Finally, Dayton, BYU, USF, Utah State, and Saint Mary’s round out the top 25. Dayton beat Davidson but fell to Loyola Chicago. Koby Brea came off the bench to score 17 and lead Dayton to the win. They went into halftime up 40-21, and although they were out scored in the second half by 5, Dayton still got the 14 point win. All 5 starters were in double-digit points, with Nate Santos and Javon Bennett both having 10. Kobe Elvis had 11, Enoch Cheeks had 15, and DaRon Holmes II had 14 and 10 in the win. Dayton shot really well, shooting 54% overall and 43% from deep. The script was flipped against Loyola Chicago, but they still shot well. They shot 52% from the field and 47% from beyond the arc. Holmes had 20 and 9, while Cheeks had 16. They still lost, however, and are now 3rd in the A-10. They’re going to have a tough time winning the A-10 tourney this year, which could knock them out of March Madness. BYU had an upset win over Kansas before taking on TCU. Dallin Hall and Jaxson Robinson both had 18 in the win. Against TCU, Fousseyni Traore had 21 off 8-11 shooting. Trevin Knell had 20 points as well. BYU has a tough matchup against Iowa State before finishing the season against Oklahoma State. USF enters my rankings after a win over Charlotte. They won 76-61, shooting 48% from the field and 40% from deep. They forced 11 turnovers as well. Chris Youngblood had 17 points in 31 minutes, while Kasean Pryor had 16 and 9. USF takes on Tulane and Tulsa this week, and are looking like the favorite to win the American. Utah State had a close win over Fresno State and then beat Air Force. Against Fresno State, the game went into overtime, with Great Osobor leading the way with 21 and 11 of 8-12 shooting. Three players had 15 points, one of those being Darius Brown II. Brown had 15, 11, and 6 in the win. USU shot 53% and Ian Martinez had 21 in the win over Air Force. USU plays SJSU and New Mexico this week. Saint Mary’s suffered a setback to Gonzaga last week, losing 70-57. SMC shot 37% from the field, and could never get anything going. They did have 11 more rebounds, but turned the ball over 13 times. With a previous win over Pepperdine, however, SMC is the 1 seed in the WCC tournament.