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.
I know I’ve talked about Jaden Ivey a bit already this year, but we’re going to dive into the Purdue superstar’s play once again to start off today’s column. He’s that good. Just ask North Carolina and Villanova.
In a 93-84 victory over North Carolina at Mohegan Sun on Saturday, Ivey scored 22 points to go with 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. On its own, that’s a great stat line.
But, it’s more about how he puts up those numbers.
Take this 1-minute stretch, for example. With the Boilermakers and Tar Heels tied at 65-65 with 9 minutes left in the second half, Ivey took over. In the clip below, he grabs 2 rebounds, dishes out 2 absolutely ridiculous assists (leading to 6 Purdue points) and then goes coast-to-coast to draw an and-1 opportunity:
That’s a 9-0 run that Ivey created before UNC could catch its breath. And, you’ll notice that the Boilermakers won by 9 points. That was a soul-snatching stretch of dominance from Ivey.
Those assists show off his NBA-ready court vision, and he’s also able to jump out of the gym with his athleticism. Just watch him throw down these 2 huge dunks on back-to-back plays:
Those highlights came against then-No. 18 North Carolina. Surely, he couldn’t back it up against then-No. 5 Villanova, right?
Well, it wasn’t a double-double, but he once again showed his all-around prowess, scoring 10 points, grabbing 7 boards, dishing out 7 assists and blocking a shot.
But, as you can see here, when his team needed him the most, he delivered, making several incredible plays (including another ridiculous assist) to help the Boilermakers take the lead:
Ivey is getting some top-10 NBA Draft buzz, and he’ll likely continue to rise up draft boards with performances like this. His driving ability, ball-handling skills, court-vision and spot-up shooting prowess bring to mind James Harden.
He makes everyone around him, including Purdue’s fellow standout players like Zach Edey, Sasha Stefanovic and Trevion Williams, better. That’s the true mark of a great player.
With Harden (er, Ivey) leading the way, the Boilermakers are legitimate national championship contenders this year. First, though, they’ll need to navigate what is always a brutal Big Ten season.
Not to pile on North Carolina, but we have to start the SEC section with the Tennessee Volunteers, who went 1-1 at Mohegan Sun over the weekend. After not getting anything going on Saturday against Villanova, the Vols bounced back in a big way against the Tar Heels on Sunday, winning 89-72.
After the loss to Villanova, I explained why I wasn’t worried about the Vols’ struggles in this short Twitter thread:
The Tar Heels were always going to be a better matchup for the Vols, as UNC’s players haven’t played together as much as Villanova’s guys have.
Rick Barnes had a great game plan. UNC’s stars — Brady Manek (24 points), Armando Bacot (16 points, 12 rebounds), RJ Davis (14 points) and Caleb Love (12 points) — got their buckets. But, the rest of the team combined for only 6 points.
Meanwhile, the Vols got a surprise performance from Zakai Zeigler off the bench. He scored a team-high 18 points, knocking down 3 3-pointers. He also had 5 assists. He showed a real knack for scoring in the paint with tough layups:
Zeigler was only a 3-star recruit coming out of New Jersey in the 2021 class, so he didn’t get the hype that 5-stars Kennedy Chandler and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield got. But, if he can continue to contribute, watch out for the Vols this year!
Now, let’s take a look at some Big Ten headlines.
Outside of Purdue, it might be time to start talking about this being a “down” year for the Big Ten. The poster child of the league’s struggles is Michigan.
The Wolverines were No. 6 in the preseason AP Poll, then rose to No. 4. Since then? Losses to Seton Hall and, over the weekend, to Arizona.
Hunter Dickinson got absolutely worked over by Arizona big man Christian Koloko in the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas on Sunday night. Koloko had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks:
He’s a game-changing defender who had a little extra motivation since his mom was watching him play for the first time ever:
What a great story that is. Arizona should bring his mom to every game!
Where does this leave the Wolverines? Well, they desperately need some scorers to step up. Michigan shot an embarrassing 1-for-14 from 3-point range. Arizona didn’t have a good night from beyond the arc, making only 4 of its 21 tries, but it was good enough to win.
My colleague Dustin Schutte probably said it best:
The good news? There’s still plenty of time for the Wolverines to turn things around. Once they figure out who their scorers are, expect that turnaround to begin.
Now, let’s head over to the ACC and also look at some other big news around the country.
If you’re Virginia, you don’t want to be in a battle with Georgia. But, that’s what happened on Monday night in the Roman Legends Classic in Newark. It has been that kind of year for the Cavaliers.
But, their experience won out down the stretch. Georgia is also not a good team this year, but the Bulldogs don’t have the veteran leadership the Hoos have.
The Cavaliers won 65-55 and it was a breakout performance for 1 of their key transfers — former Indiana guard Armaan Franklin. Without his 23 points, this would have been a different game, as no one else on the Virginia offense was consistently hitting shots.
Franklin scored 23 points, snagged 6 rebounds and had 3 steals. He kept them in the game early:
And also hit a couple of key shots down the stretch when no one else was making anything:
Virginia continues to be tough to watch. But, the defense remains solid. Georgia only made 3 of 21 long-range shots, which absolutely killed the Bulldogs. In the past, Virginia’s slow, grind-it-out style of play wasn’t this hard to watch. Only barely managing to squeak by a Georgia team that might be the worst in the SEC isn’t a great sign:
Next, let’s look ahead to the next few days in the college basketball world.
Like in Friday’s column, I’m only going to rank matchups that are already scheduled. Keep your eye on the ongoing preseason tournaments, though, as there are great games taking place every single day this week! Here are the 5 games I can’t wait to watch between now and Friday:
These early afternoon hoops games are always so great, in my opinion. Nothing better than turning on the TV at lunchtime and being able to watch elite matchups until well past bedtime. Enjoy it while it lasts!
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.
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