College basketball tip-ins: Michigan State so inconsistent, can San Diego State run the table?

In this week’s college basketball musings we delve into the return of North Carolina’s star, why Tom Izzo’s team is underperforming and whether or not we will see an undefeated team enter the NCAA Tournament.

Cole Anthony is back

After missing nearly two months of action, star freshman point guard, Cole Anthony is back on the court for the North Carolina Tar Heels. In his absence, the team dropped seven of their 11 games and now looks like a long shot to make any postseason tournament this year.

This is clearly the worst group that Roy Williams has had during his time on Tobacco Road, the veteran coach even said so himself (just not as bluntly). This roster was clearly built around Anthony and having him — as well as quite a few other rotation pieces — miss extended time has sent this year flushing down the drain quickly.

The point guard is a critical piece in Williams’ system but the team has not gotten steady play from that spot all year. Out of Anthony, Leaky Black, Anthony Harris, Jeremiah Francis and K.J. Smith, only Smith has been healthy for a majority of the Tar Heels games this year. In the two games Anthony has played since making his return, North Carolina has lost both by a combined seven points. For the year, Anthony is averaging 19.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

This team is going to need a miracle to get back into any type of March talk but if Anthony plays up to his hype he could pull it off.

What to make of Michigan State

Much was expected of the Michigan State Spartans heading into the 2019-20 season. Big Ten Player of the Year, Cassius Winston was coming back for his senior season. Joshua Langford was projected to recover from a foot injury that sidelined him for most of his junior year (he re-injured the foot and will miss the entirety of this season).

Xavier Tillman and Aaron Henry opted to come back to school rather than enter the NBA draft early. Joey Hauser elected to transfer in and was applying for immediate eligibility. Mark “Rocket” Watts was a prized in-state recruit who would bring additional scoring and firepower to the backcourt. On paper, Tom Izzo’s team looked to be absolutely stacked. However, transferring the hype from paper to the floor did not go smoothly.

Izzo was so perturbed by the denial of Hauser’s waiver request that he left the National Association of Basketball Coaches in protest. When the games started, the team sputtered out of the gates. They lost three of their first eight games, including being upset by Virginia Tech in their opening game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

On the season, they have lost six times — including three of their last six — of those six losses four have come against unranked opponents. If the good folks of East Lansing are hoping to celebrate any new additions to their banner collection in the rafters, they are going to need their team to get their stuff together and stop playing down to their competition because the Big Ten is deep this year.

Can San Diego State run the table?

Last week, we highlighted the San Diego State Aztecs as one of the teams that were taking advantage of the lack of powerhouse teams in the NCAA this season. This week, the narrative turns to whether or not the Aztecs are in fact a powerhouse themselves. As of this post, they are a perfect 23-0 on the season.

Only six of their wins have come by single-digits, they are thoroughly outplaying their opponents this season. Now that we are in February it feels appropriate to ask whether or not this team will enter March Madness with an unblemished record.

There are six games left on their regular-season slate and then they will have to survive and advance through the Mountain West Conference Tournament if they want to pull it off. While they are head and shoulders above the rest of their conference members in the standings, teams like Utah State, Boise State, Colorado State and are no pushovers.

Each of those three teams should finish with 20-plus wins on the year. San Diego State will have a target on their back until they do lose. Win out and they likely receive a one seed in the West region, lose and they could find themselves in the same bracket as an Oregon or Gonzaga with a much tougher road to Atlanta when March comes around.

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