1 National CBB Thought
After three months of NCAA hoops, it’s apparent that there is no true king of college basketball; yet. In 12 weeks of AP rankings, only four teams (Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas and Tennessee) have held the crown, with Duke controlling the top spot five separate times.
All of these top teams have demonstrable flaws, however, which makes the chase for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament all the more interesting.
Gonzaga has an 18-2 record and one of the most talented rosters in NCAA history, but they won’t play a meaningful game until the tournament. Throughout Mark Few’s tenure at Gonzaga, the Zags have been lulled into submission during conference play, often entering the tournament unprepared to compete with the caliber of competition requisite to win a national championship.
Duke also has an outstanding starting five that features top NBA draft prospects Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish. However, Duke’s production has fallen with their starting point guard Tre Jones out with an injury.
Since Kansas lost Udoka Azubuike for the season to injury they’re only 7-3, with bad losses to Arizona State and West Virginia. Tennessee, on the other hand, suffered their only loss of the season to a healthy Kansas team, but has struggled of late against Vanderbilt and Alabama.
It’s clear that Tennessee (currently ranked No. 1) is playing the best basketball in the country. They have two legitimate national Player of the Year candidates in Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield and a litany of auxiliary guys who can take over any game on their own.
It’s unlikely that Tennessee flies through SEC play unscathed, but a 30-win season and a SEC title to support it should guarantee that the orange and white secure the top seed come March.
3 Ole Miss Things
The Devontae Shuler injury situation is teetering on becoming untenable. Shuler’s stress reaction in his foot hasn’t kept him off the floor yet, but he came from the bench against Arkansas and played limited minutes versus Alabama. The stress reaction is a direct precursor to a stress fracture, which would likely sideline Shuler for the remainder of the season, so Kermit Davis is treading lightly.
If Kermit Davis can get meaningful minutes out of Shuler on Saturday vs. Iowa State, it seems logical that he should receive a few games off in the following weeks. There is no scenario in which Ole Miss has any chance of making noise in the postseason if Shuler is shelved, and with winnable games in the near future, the Rebels could survive the dog days of SEC play if it means Shuler is healthier come conference tournament time.
Where in the world is Blake Hinson? After dropping a career-high 26 points against Mississippi State in Ole Miss’ most important road win of the season to date, Hinson has averaged an abysmal 4.3 PPG on 26 percent from the field in the last three games. Kermit Davis isn’t expecting 20 a night from Hinson by any means, but after showing that he can indeed fill up the box, he certainly expects more than what Hinson has showed of late.
After opening conference play with the best game of his career, dropping 31 against Vanderbilt, Breein Tyree has cooled off recently. In the Rebels’ last five SEC games, Tyree is averaging four points less than his season average while shooting just 25 percent from three on nearly five attempts per game. In losses this season, Tyree only averages 13 points per game and nearly four turnovers.
Tyree is a dominant off-ball player, so the injury to Shuler certainly hurts his ability to run off screens and break free for open shots. But irrespective of who’s handling the ball, Tyree must ratchet up his play going forward if Ole Miss has any hopes of succeeding in SEC play.
1 Look Ahead
In the last 1-3-1 column on Nov. 28, I looked ahead and predicted that after opening the season 3-2, there was a very legitimate shot that Ole Miss could close the remainder of their non-conference schedule undefeated. They did, ripping off ten straight wins en route to a top-25 national ranking.
Now, despite a 14-4 record and top-20 national ranking, the Rebels sit in their most vulnerable position since their early season loss to Cincinnati. After suffering two immeasurably bad losses to LSU and Alabama, a loss Saturday to Iowa State could send the program into a vast tailspin. Both of Ole Miss’ signature wins—Auburn and Mississippi State—are looking weaker by the day as both teams are likely to fall out of the national rankings in next week’s poll.
A loss to Iowa State would make three losses in the last four games for the Rebels, but a win would likely reconcile the prior two losses with the national media. Of Ole Miss’ 13 remaining games, six are against teams in the NET top-40, with two in the top-10. Most bracketologists have the Rebels slated anywhere from a 7-10 seed right now, but with a stretch of monumental games on the ledger, Ole Miss has a golden opportunity to increase its position—or leave the conversation altogether.
