Welcome back to the Starting 5. The Starting 5 is written multiple times per week by Adam Spencer to keep you up-to-date on all the news and events in the world of college hoops. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamSpencer4 and @SDSBasketball.
Alabama made a huge mistake at the beginning of Saturday afternoon’s game at Mizzou.
Wanting to spark his defense to play better, coach Nate Oats had the Tide come out in a zone defense. That didn’t go well. Before you could blink, Mizzou had a 9-0 lead.
The Tigers simply stuck Kobe Brown in the middle of the zone and let him go to work. He had 6 of the Tigers’ first 9 points, as you can see below:
The zone wasn’t the only problem, of course. When you lose the opponent’s best player on a simple screen like this, defense is a huge issue:
Even with those defensive struggles, the Tide made a game of it in the second half, but this steal (started by who else but Kobe Brown?) helped Mizzou seal the win:
That’s obviously a bad loss for Alabama, but the Tide still have wins over 2 of last year’s Final 4 teams in Gonzaga and Houston. They’ll play No. 4 Auburn on Tuesday night. Can they pull off another big win? We’ll find out soon enough! More on that game at the end of the column.
Auburn is the standout best team in the SEC so far this year, and the polls reflect that. In Monday’s AP Poll, the Tigers jumped all the way up to the No. 4 spot after an impressive 85-73 win over Florida on Saturday night.
Auburn blocked 9 shots in that game. Yes, the Tigers are an elite offensive team, but the defense, particularly in the post, deserves plenty of credit, too.
The Tigers have blocked 122 shots this year, which is by far the most in the country:
Walker Kessler is the catalyst there. He’s a massive presence in the lane, blocking 62 shots on his own already this season. That’s a ridiculous number.
Then, of course, there’s the offense. The Tigers have so many guys who can beat you on any given night. Wendell Green Jr. consistently does things like this:
And KD Johnson is one of the best heat-check scorers in all of college hoops. He had 23 points vs. the Gators:
This team is absolutely deserving of the No. 4 spot in the AP Poll, and with a game at rival Alabama coming up Tuesday night, the Tigers have another chance to add a big win to their resume. More on that game in a bit.
Now, let’s move on to some Big Ten stories.
Winning on the road in the Big Ten is never easy. The league is so deep that even teams toward the bottom of the league standings are dangerous on their home courts.
Purdue and Wisconsin, a pair of the Big Ten’s top teams, found that out this weekend. Purdue trailed in the first half before coming back to beat Penn State 74-67. Wisconsin, meanwhile, nearly blew a 21-point lead at Maryland before holding on for a 70-69 win.
The Nittany Lions held Purdue star Jaden Ivey to only 12 points, but big man Trevion Williams saved the day off the bench. He had 21 points and 9 rebounds and was hitting tough shots all day:
He’s also an able and willing passer, putting up 2 assists, including this beautiful one:
Purdue was much better on Saturday when Williams was on the floor.
Meanwhile, Tyler Wahl made sure Wisconsin wouldn’t lose, scoring a career-high 21 points and showcasing some nice post moves:
Big Ten Player of the Year contender Johnny Davis also stayed hot, racking up 19 points and 7 rebounds for the Badgers. Now, Wisconsin hosts Ohio State later this week. More on that game in a bit.
Next, let’s move on to the ACC.
The Miami Hurricanes were a feel-good story, starting ACC play 4-0. But, surely, a Saturday trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on then-No. 2 Duke would bring them back down to earth, right? … Right?
Wrong.
The Hurricanes pulled off one of the most surprising wins of the year, taking down the Blue Devils 76-74. This basket from Kameron McGusty clinched the win for Miami:
At first glance, it would look like Duke won the game, as the Blue Devils out shot and out rebounded the Hurricanes. Duke shot 45.8% from the floor to Miami’s 45.7%. Duke had the edge in 3-point shooting (28.6% to 25%) and free throw shooting (82.4% to 72.7%). The Blue Devils had 44 rebounds and 19 assists to the Hurricanes’ 30 and 8.
But, this was a game decided by turnovers. Duke coughed the ball up 17 times, compared to only 5 for Miami. That ball security led to more Miami possessions ending in shots, which is imperative in a tough road game.
Now, shockingly, it’s Miami atop the ACC standings at 5-0 (13-3 overall). The Hurricanes play at Florida State on Tuesday night before hosting North Carolina this weekend. Speaking of UNC:
Now, let’s look ahead to the next few days of college hoops action.
We’re in the heart of conference play now, and that means a loaded midweek schedule of games. From the SEC to the Big Ten to the Big 12 to the WCC, there are plenty of great games on the docket this week. Here are the 5 games I can’t wait to watch between now and Friday:
Now that the College Football Playoff is over, we can expect more big college hoops games showcased on more nights. It’s an exciting time to be a college basketball fan, and this week is just the start of a great stretch of conference action!
Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on Twitter @AdamSpencer4 or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.
How many first-round picks will the ACC produce in the 2025 NFL Draft? Who will…
After going unselected, some of the ACC's top players in 2023 will have to try…
Even though some didn't get drafted as high as they'd have liked, these former ACC…
This website uses cookies.