College basketball week 4: 5 biggest takeaways
By Chris Stone
Week 4 of college basketball featured several top 25 matchups. Here’s what we learned.
The week after Feast Week didn’t deprive college basketball fans of the top 25 matchups that they got used to during the early-season tournament action. UCLA-Kentucky, Baylor-Xavier and Gonzaga-Arizona combined to create one of the better Saturday slates of the season. So, what can we takeaway from the week that was? Here’s a look.
1. The evolution of Villanova’s Josh Hart continues
Before the season, there were plenty of questions about how the Villanova Wildcats would be able to defend their national title without senior leaders Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu back on the court. As the team’s starting point guard, Arcidiacono made the Wildcats’ offense hum. Many expected sophomore Jalen Brunson to shoulder the burden of replacing him and take over the duties of being Villanova’s primary ballhandler in 2016-17, but he’s had some help.
After emerging as an All-American last season, guard Josh Hart has thrust himself into the National Player of the Year conversation as a senior. Hart is already well-known as a scrappy defender who typified the role of star who does everything well. Think of a college basketball version of Draymond Green who plays guard. Now, though, Hart has become one of the best offensive players in college hoops. Of players who have been on the floor for more than 200 minutes in 2016-17, Hart ranks number one in Offensive Box Plus/Minus, a statistic that measures the overall offensive impact a player has on his team.
In addition to being a ridiculously efficient scorer — his 68.4 true shooting percentage ranks 57th nationally — Hart has also become a go-to creator, helping fill the void left by Arcidiacono. As a senior, the 6-foot-5 guard has raised his assist rate over 10 percentage points from 12.4 to 23.7 percent while increasing his assists per 40 minutes from 2.5 to 4.8. Hart’s full arsenal was on display in the Wildcats’ 88-57 win over Saint Joseph’s on Saturday as he dropped Villanova’s first triple-double since 1986.
Hart may not be the Wildcats’ point guard in name, but he has become the team’s best initiator on offense often receiving the ball in hand-offs from Brunson before calling up one of his frontcourt players to play pick-and-roll. With his evolved offensive game, Hart is firmly in the Player of the Year conversation and ready to help Villanova defend its championship.