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College basketball heat check: Seton Hall, Luka Garza ball out; Virginia’s tourney hopes on life support

By Mike Phillips

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 22: Seton Hall Pirates guard Myles Powell (13) reacts after a made basket during the first half of the college basketball game between the Seton Hall Pirates and the Providence Friars on January 22, 2020 at th Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 22: Seton Hall Pirates guard Myles Powell (13) reacts after a made basket during the first half of the college basketball game between the Seton Hall Pirates and the Providence Friars on January 22, 2020 at th Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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In the first edition of FanSided’s college basketball heat check, Seton Hall is on the rise while Virginia finds itself stumbling.

In order to help you get caught up on the big headlines in the world of college hoops, FanSided is debuting its weekly heat check, where we will track the risers and fallers from the previous week of hardwood action. Let’s start with a look at our three rapid risers, headlined by Seton Hall.

Rapid Risers

Seton Hall

In a season where there is no truly dominant team, there may not be a scarier team out there right now than Seton Hall. The Pirates have won six straight to surge to the top of the Big East standings and a top 10 spot in the AP poll. They also have a bona fide star in Myles Powell, who averages 21.9 points per game and is a legitimate candidate for the national Player of the Year awards.

The Big Ten

There may not be a deeper league in America right now than the Big Ten, which has six teams in the latest AP poll and could send as many as 11 schools to the NCAA Tournament. Traditional powers like Michigan State and Maryland are taking care of business, but the resurgence of programs like Illinois, Rutgers and Penn State has made the Big Ten the roughest league going right now.

Luka Garza

One of the ascending teams in the Big Ten is Iowa, which is ranked no. 18 in this week’s AP poll, and it is in large part due to the presence of junior center Luka Garza, who has emerged as a star. Garza is dominating the interior for the Hawkeyes, averaging 23.2 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per night, pouring in 33 and 28 points in wins over Michigan and Rutgers last week.

Fast Fallers

Virginia

The defending national champs are in trouble, and it is largely because Virginia is sporting one of the worst offenses in the nation. The Cavaliers are scoring just 56 points per game, and they have dropped four of their last six games in a mediocre ACC. That run could have been five losses in six games since Virginia needed overtime to beat a Wake Forest team that entered the game 9-9 and was without its top two scorers.

The Big 12

While the Big 12 traditionally claims it is the deepest league in America from top-to-bottom, the middle class of the league is struggling, with four potential tournament teams (TCU, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech) each having six or seven losses before the end of January. The league also suffered a massive black eye with the ugly brawl at the end of the Kansas-Kansas State game last week, resulting in the 12-game suspension of Jayhawks’ forward Silvio De Sousa.

Butler

For the first two months of the season, Butler looked like it would be one of the year’s best Cinderella stories, surging to the top of the Big East after being picked to finish eighth in the conference’s preseason poll. The Bulldogs have crashed back to Earth, dropping three straight games in league play before escaping with a four-point win over Marquette in overtime. Games against Georgetown and Providence this week offer the Bulldogs a chance to right the ship, but their outlook isn’t nearly as rosy as it was just two weeks ago.

Next. Can the ACC get more than 3 teams in the NCAA Tournament?. dark