WASHINGTON — All right, college hoops fans. It’s time to get serious.
No more breadsticks in the form of VMI, UNCC or IUPUI. The appetizer course of our winter meal is complete. Conference play is fully under way (the old man yelling on his porch in me still thinks league play shouldn’t start before Jan. 1) with more than a few area teams either in the rankings, receiving votes or near the top of their league standings. Even Howard has a chance to break an infamous streak (more on the Bison later).
Maryland (14-1, 2-0 Big Ten) finds itself ranked 11th by the writers and 9th by the coaches — its first appearance in the top 10 since Steve Blake was on campus — after a gritty, double-overtime win at Michigan State and a double-digit victory at home against Minnesota. They’ve also done this without two of their anticipated offensive weapons for much of the season: Evan Smotrycz has missed eight games while Dez Wells has missed seven, both due to injury. Credit freshman Melo Trimble (16 points/4 assists per game) and graduate transfer Richaud Pack (29 minutes per game) for providing a spark and a steady hand. Junior Jake Layman has also become the player many thought he’d be when he set foot on campus.
Now that Smotrycz and Wells are back, will the dream season continue in a league that boasts only two other ranked teams? The schedule maker was kind: Maryland meets Rutgers, Nebraska and Penn State twice in their inaugural Big Ten year.
Georgetown (9-4, 1-1 Big East) bounced back from a New Year’s Eve loss (what’s worse — learning that there’s no Santa Claus, or that some portions of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rock’n Eve were previously recorded?) to Xavier by topping Creighton. L.J. Peak is the early leader of an impressive freshman class — the 6-foot, 5-inch swingman logged a team-high 35 minutes against Creighton, while leading the Hoyas with 31 minutes against the Musketeers.
Fellow freshmen Tre Campbell and Paul White are also making strides in their first forays into conference play, but the key remains keeping D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera consistent (the junior’s had a pair of 29-point efforts but has been held to single digits four times) and Joshua Smith from collapsing. Despite averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds a game, fitness remains a concern for the 6-foot, 10-inch, 350-pounder. A big year is expected for the Big East: Seven schools were NCAA-bound in ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s first bracket of the New Year, and the Hoyas are a ninth seed.
#3 Virginia (13-0, 1-0 ACC) is one of five ranked ACC teams as league play begins … but the Cavaliers will face one team currently ranked before Jan. 31 — number-13 Notre Dame on Jan. 10. Juniors Justin Anderson (15 points, 5 rebounds per game) and Anthony Gill (13/7) have both made the leap from peripheral to primary contributors this year. With Malcolm Brogdon, they form a tough trio to contain. Defensively, UVa ranks number two in the nation at just over 50 points per game allowed. Want a game to watch? Duke comes to Charlottesville at the end of the month.
Virginia Tech (8-6, 0-1) may not win many games this year, but the Hokies’ first year coach Buzz Williams will definitely make an impression. On Saturday, in the team’s 68-66 loss to Syracuse, Williams broke into a major sweat while his team rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit. As the game grew closer, Buzz ditched the jacket, vest and tie … all while perspiring in a manner that would make Gary Williams blush. For the sake of the families at Cassel Coliseum, I’m glad the game didn’t go into overtime.
George Washington (11-3, 1-0 Atlantic 10) come back from Hawaii with more than just good tans. The Colonials swept through the Diamondhead Classic, using a 13-2 finishing kick to take the title game over 11th-ranked Wichita State 60-54. The difference was defense: GW held the Shockers to 1-for-7 shooting with three turnovers over the last six minutes of regulation. Defense has been the common factor during the current five-game winning streak: The Colonials are allowing an average of 54 points a game over that stretch. Next up: a St Louis team that ranks 314th in the nation in scoring (and was held to 20 points at the Smith Center in the last decade).
George Mason (6-7, 1-0 Atlantic 10) got their first conference win a lot earlier this winter than their first season in the league (Feb. 8 was the date of their first A-10 win), topping LaSalle thanks to a lucky 13 points apiece from Shevon Thompson, Jalen Jenkins, Isaiah Jackson and Patrick Holloway. Thompson currently leads the team in scoring and rebounding, as the 6-foot, 11-inch freshman from Jamaica has provided a major presence in the post (5 double-doubles in his last 10 games). Can the perimeter game that makes fewer than 30 percent of its three-pointers turn the corner as conference play progresses? The Patriots have their work cut out for them — they play George Washington and 20th-ranked VCU twice, while drawing league newcomer Davidson for a home-and-home as well. This also means the A-10 had 13 schools during the ’13-’14 season and has 14 teams in the ’14-’15 season — making me wonder whether they’ll add somebody next summer to keep pace with the calendar.
American (8-6, 1-1 Patriot League) begins its annual conference grind by playing its grinding style: The Eagles rank 349th nationally in scoring, but 4th in fewest points allowed. Set your offensive thermostat to the 50s for the next few months. Junior Jesse Reed has been the most consistent player so far for coach Mike Brennan, scoring in double figures in 12 of 14 games for AU so far. Hopefully Pee Wee Gardner’s first two games in league play (13 points combined, with more turnovers than assists) was just a hiccup. They need the little guy to play big if there’s to be a return trip to the NCAAs.
Howard (7-8, 1-1 MEAC) isn’t looking for a trip to the NCAAs — the Bison just want to get off of the 20-loss-season treadmill they’ve been on for a decade. With James Daniel, JC Coleman and JT Miller scoring in double figures to lead the offense, there’s reason for optimism. Never mind that their RPI is — according to ESPN.com — 305th in the nation. That’s because Howard is one of nine schools in the league with an RPI outside the top 290, with the bottom four teams in the conference boasting a combined 6-53 to start the year. The Bison won’t play a school with a winning record again until Feb. 7. Believe …
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