When you do something for the first time in more than 20 years, you can get excited. Iowa, behind Jarrod Uthoff, already beat Michigan State on the road for the first time since 1993 (ending an 18-game losing streak) and the Hawkeyes seem to be poised for an incredible run this year. Iowa’s three losses are to NCAA Tournament teams (Notre Dame, Dayton and Iowa State) and it started 5-0 in Big Ten play for the first time in 19 years. A huge home game against Purdue awaits on Sunday after a game at Rutgers Thursday. Keep this in mind about Iowa. It only plays Purdue and Maryland once. After its Maryland game on Jan. 28, it plays home games vs. Northwestern and Penn State followed by a road game vs. Illinois. The Hawkeyes can make a serious run now with two wins over Michigan State in its pocket. How great is this for the Iowa program? Three of its top four scorers played high school hoops in Iowa. It helps a program when you can just get kids without going over state lines. Iowa quietly is one of the most underrated college basketball jobs in the nation.
No reason to Pac it in
Some really good things going on in the Pac-12 with two coaches with who came into the year with not many expectations and even a little bit of pressure. Andy Enfeld was 23-41 in his first two seasons at USC. Lorenzo Romar’s Washington squad has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2011. Both were picked towards the bottom of the Pac-12. USC owns wins over Monmouth, UCLA, Wichita State, Arizona and New Mexico. Sophomore Jordan McLaughlin and junior Julian Jacobs are an exciting backcourt, and remember the name Chimezie Metu – he is a 6’11” freshman with unreal potential. For Washington, a bunch of local kids are following the lead of senior Andrew Andrews, who became the first player to get 30 points and 12 assists in a game this year when the Huskies won at Arizona State. UW already has two road wins in the Pac-12, and they have a chance to really get some momentum hosting Colorado and Utah this week.
Bigger is better
All the talk about expansion a few years back and most of it was regarding football. You know who else benefitted from the conference shuffling? The Atlantic 10. Six teams have a very good chance to make the NCAA Tournament, with Dayton, George Washington, St. Joseph’s, Davidson, St. Bonaventure and VCU all with good computer numbers in mid-January. Davidson’s Jack Gibbs is averaging more than 25 points per game, while Dayton already has wins over Alabama, Iowa, Monmouth, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.
It’s all about give and take
Want a crazy statistic? Right now the national leader in assists is averaging more than 25 points per game. Yup, that is happening. Kahlil Felder from Oakland is lighting it up, as he has scored 20+ points in each of his team’s first 18 games, while also dishing out more than eight assists per contest. If the Golden Grizzlies get in the dance, he could be a star. The problem will be trying to get by Valparaiso in the Horizon League. The Crusaders are 16-3 and already beat Oakland handily earlier in season.
– Bill Frieder
Former Michigan and Arizona State head coach Bill Frieder is an analyst for Westwood One’s coverage of NCAA Basketball. In his weekly blog Boxed Out, Bill scours the box scores to bring you interesting stories from the world of college basketball.
