Week 3 of college basketball has come and gone. Here’s what we learned from a Feast Week full of action.
College basketball isn’t just a sport for March. If you’ve been following along over the last seven days, you’ve seen an awesome collection of matchups during November’s Feast Week tournaments. Baylor pulled off an impressive comeback against Louisville in Atlantis. Iowa State nearly did the same to Gonzaga at the Advocare Invitational. And Kentucky’s Malik Monk continues to deliver highlight reel dunks worth tuning in for. Now, here’s a look at what we learned from another exciting week of fall hoops.
5. North Carolina is playing like the best team college basketball
There are, of course, arguments for others. Current No. 1 Kentucky has won each one of its six games by more than 20 points. Villanova is the returning national champion and owner of one of the season’s most impressive victories, a road win over Purdue. North Carolina, though, is playing the best basketball of anyone in college hoops.
The Tar Heels spent Feast Week winning the Maui Invitational. Sure, one of their wins came against Chaminade, but they also dismantled a solid Oklahoma State team and made a quality Wisconsin team look bad.
On a macro level, North Carolina has answered many of the questions it faced entering the season. Even without Brice Johnson, the Tar Heels are still rebounding 46.6 percent of their own misses, the second best mark in the country. They are also knocking down plenty of three-pointers, shooting 39.2 percent from behind the arc. Sophomore Kenny Williams (8-of-18) has been a big help in that regard. North Carolina is even getting the job done defensively, avoiding sending teams to the free throw line and holding opponents to just 40.5 percent shooting inside the three-point arc.
All of this is happening without forward Theo Pinson who is still recovering from a stress fracture. Pinson figured to be one of the Tar Heels’ most important players and the fact that the team is playing so well without him is a good sign of how good they may be come March.
4. Baylor has the country’s best resume and could spoil Kansas’ Big 12 hopes
Last week, we wrote about how Baylor has rounded into form as the second best team in the Big 12 conference. This week, the Bears proved just how dangerous they are. Scott Drew’s squad took down the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament during Feast Week, defeating three teams ranked in the KenPom top 40 — VCU, Michigan State and Louisville — in the process. Now, this is starting to look like a team that can challenge Kansas’ streak of 12 straight Big 12 titles.
After scoring 29 points in the Bears’ first two regular season games, forward Johnathan Motley had the breakout everyone has been waiting for in Atlantis. Motley averaged 20.0 points and eight rebounds over the three game stretch while shooting 52.4 percent from the field. The 6-foot-10 junior has a versatile face up game on offense. He’s capable of attacking opposing power forwards off the bounce or by knocking down mid-range jumpers. His skill set has an effect beyond his individual stats. With Motley on the court this season, Baylor is scoring a very solid 1.16 points per possession, according to Hoop Lens.
Because of just how good Kansas is at Allen Fieldhouse, the key to the Bears’ Big 12 title hopes will be whether or not they can hold serve at the Ferrell Center in Waco. History isn’t on their side. Baylor has lost two or more home games during league play in each of the last six seasons. Still, with Motley starting to fulfill expectations, history may not matter that much.
3. Wisconsin’s slow pace and poor shooting are making things tough
With the Big Ten’s Preseason Player of the Year and three players on the preseason All-Big Ten team, Wisconsin entered 2016-17 as one of the favorites to win the Big Ten conference title. The Badgers returned 85.0 percent of their minutes played from last season, the highest mark in the country. It was that continuity, and the quality of the returnees, that made analysts optimistic.
After losing to North Carolina in the finals of the Maui Invitational, Wisconsin is now 5-2. It’s rare that losses to the Tar Heels and Creighton would sound alarm bells, but there are some concerning signs worth keeping an eye on, particularly on the offensive end.
One of the hallmarks of Badger basketball is a slow, methodical pace. Out of 351 Division I teams, Wisconsin currently ranks 349th in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom. Playing at such a glacial pace means that you can’t afford offensive mistakes. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happening in Madison. The Badgers have committed a turnover on 21.0 percent of their possessions this year, up from a solid 17.1 percent last season. With fewer possessions, there are fewer chances to make shots and turning the ball over takes away even more of those opportunities.
The problem, though, is that Wisconsin is also missing a lot of its shots. The Badgers have taken 43.9 percent of their shots from behind the three-point arc, but have converted a mere 31.3 percent of those attempts. The stars aren’t helping either. Both Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig are shooting worse than 30 percent from deep this season.
In order for Wisconsin to be as good as expected, they’ll need to clean up their act on the offensive end by protecting the ball and knocking down some outside jumpers.
2. Gonzaga is once again a Final Four contender
Gonzaga won the Advocare Invitational on Sunday afternoon for the third time by knocking off Iowa State in a thrilling finale. The Bulldogs also took down one of the SEC’s best in Florida in the process. While he may have plenty of Advocare Invitational titles, the one thing lacking from Gonzaga head coach Mark Few’s resume is a trip to the Final Four. After several near misses, the Bulldogs once again look capable of making the final weekend of the college basketball season.
The team has a balanced attack that features five different players scoring in doubles figures, but the return of a healthy Przemek Karnowski gives the Zags’ offense a unique dimension. Karnowski is a very good passer from the post and his size often forces double teams that leave shooters open along the perimeter. That’s a dangerous combination when you consider that the Bulldogs have made nearly 40 percent of their triples this season.
Through six games, Karnowski is dishing out an assist on 22.8 percent of Gonzaga’s made shots when he’s on the floor. For perspective, that’s a higher mark than any player on Duke’s roster and makes him just one of three centers who have played more than 100 minutes this year to have a better than 20 percent assist rate. Having that kind of vision in the post can help open up an offense and is one of the reasons Gonzaga looks like a Final Four contender.
1. Lonzo Ball is making basketball in Los Angeles exciting again
The most exciting thing about UCLA basketball in the last year was head coach Steve Alford giving back his contract extension after a disappointing 2015-16 season. That’s a tough thing to say about one of the sport’s most storied programs. No worries. One freshman is looking to change the story in what is likely his lone college season.
Lonzo Ball has only played seven games in a Bruins’ uniform, but has already become must-see TV for college basketball fans. The 6-foot-6 point guard is one of the most impressive passers in college basketball with the type of court vision that would make many NBA guards blush. Seriously, watch Ball grab a defensive rebound and then whip an on-point pass the length of the court like he’s former UCLA big man Kevin Love:
Another look at that pinpoint, fullcourt Lonzo Ball pass. pic.twitter.com/yMvGGzyygI
— Derrek Li (@DerrekLi) November 28, 2016
Ball’s generosity is spreading, too. UCLA now ranks sixth nationally with 67.9 percent of its field goal makes being assisted. That’s up from 108th last season. The Bruins are playing an exciting brand of basketball that seems to emphasize giving up good looks to get even better ones.
The results have been positive. UCLA is now 7-0 with a Wooden Legacy championship under its belt after knocking off Texas A&M on Sunday. The Bruins’ biggest test of the season is on the horizon, though. They head to Rupp Arena to face off against Kentucky on Saturday.