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Big 12 Top 25: Week 1

By Matt Patton

Not too much movement this week.  Analysis after the jump.

  1. Duke had a decisive win over the Ivy League favorite Princeton Tigers.  Kyrie Irving had 17 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, and 1 turnover in his debut (as a side note, there are five payers on Duke who could legitimately shoot 40% from downtown: Kyle Singer, Nolan Smith, Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and Irving).
  2. Michigan State blew out the Eastern Michigan Eagles with four guards, lead by Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers (who had 18 and 17 points respectively), score in double figures.  Draymond Green also added 12 points and team highs 8 rebounds and 7 assists (though the most interesting part of the box score is that EMU forward Brandon Bowdry had 32 points and 15 rebounds...only one other eagle scored in double figures).
  3. I'm leaving Kansas State here because they are playing shorthanded.  They beat James Madison by 14 thanks to great performances from Jacob Pullen and Nick Russell (20 and 19 points respectively).  The Wildcats were also playing without their second best player, Curtis Kelly, who is riding the pine for work ethic troubles in practice.  Coach Frank Martin sounds ready to sit him again, but the Wildcats will be facing a much more talented Virginia Tech team this Tuesday and could really use his production.
  4. Pitt is a perfect 3-0.  The Panthers struggled a bit with Rhode Island (eventually winning by 8), but made quick work of Illinois Chicago and North Florida (as they should).  The one takeaway from these games is that Pitt might not be dominant, but they know how to win games.  And Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker are one of the best backcourts in basketball (so far both are averaging 19.3 points a game).
  5. Ohio State's star recruit Jared Sullinger had a huge college debut, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds (in only 21 minutes).  All of the Buckeye starters but Jon Diebler (who had 9 points) finished in double figures.  The most impressive stat of the game goes to team boards, where Ohio State outrebounded the Aggies 55 to 17.  
  6. Villanova didn't have a dominating performance against Bucknell, but they showed off a superb backcourt of Maalik Wayns (15 points, 6 assists), Corey Fisher (24 points, 4-8 from deep), and Corey Stokes (11 points, 5 rebounds).  One major concern is they only played 8 players (and only 6 players had over 10 minutes).  
  7. Missouri hasn't played a game.  They play Thursday against Western Illinois.
  8. Baylor had a solid game without LaceDarius Dunn (given it was against Grambling State).  Quincy Acy had a fantastic game with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Perry Jones "struggled" in his debut with 11 points and 8 rebounds.  Forward Anthony Jones had 17 points and 10 boards, meaning their frontcourt was two rebounds away from 3 double-doubles.
  9. Kansas dominated Longwood this week.  Marcus Morris lead the Jayhawks with 18 points, but Markieff stole the show with 14 points and 15 rebounds (and 4 steals).  If Markieff can keep up anything close to this production, Kansas is going to be a very good team.  Add Selby to the mix and they might even be great.
  10. Florida didn't look great against UNC Wilmington, but they got the job done.  I was a little surprised Patric Young didn't play more (he only played 12 minutes), but he may still be a work in progress.  The starting 5 had at least 9 points each, led by Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons.  If you're looking for a big time game this week, check out Ohio State at Florida.
  11. Purdue looked solid against Howard (I think solid is a good description of winning by 36), but they need to use JaJuan Johnson more.  He only took 7 shots (though he finished with a double-double).  E'Twaun Moore looked great, scoring a game high 16 points.
  12. Syracuse dropped a couple spots after a horrendous half against Northern Iowa (who lost a lot from last season), only scoring 23 points.  23 points might cut it in the Big 10, but not the Big East (they had another uninspiring first half against Cainsius, scoring 32 points).  Fab Melo also laid a major egg in his debut, fouling out with 4 points and 3 rebounds after only 18 minutes of play.
  13. I'm keeping Kentucky here against my better judgement.  I have a feeling the Wildcats are more of a top 20 team, but I'm not going to punish them prematurely.  Their prospectus took a serious hit when the NCAA declared Enes Kanter permanently ineligible, which renders their frontcourt very shallow (and lacking in talent).  Terrence Jones had a phenomenal game with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
  14. Virginia Tech has a real test coming up this Tuesday night against K-State.  I think the Hokies have a real shot (especially if Kelly sits again), but they'll need to play better than they did against the Campbell Fighting Camels.  Malcolm Delaney did his job, getting to the line 11 times and finishing with 20 points.  Forward Jeff Allen also notched a solid double double.
  15. Temple silenced a dangerous Seton Hall team, but Lavoy Allen didn't look great.  Allen went 4-12 from the field, but Ramone Moore and Juan Fernandez picked up the slack.  Allen played better against Toledo, but I'm expecting him to be a dominant player by the end of this season.
  16. Memphis may have lost former McDonald's All-American Jelan Kendrick, but the Tigers look dangerous as they took care of the Centenary Gentlemen (awesome mascot) 104-40.  They should get a much more legitimate test with Miami coming to town Tuesday.
  17. Washington was dominant in every aspect of the game against McNeese State.  Senior Matthew Bryan-Amaning had a smooth 28 points and 13 boards.  There's no way he'll keep that outrageous production, but the Huskies looked like Pac 10 favorites in the blow out.
  18. Gonzaga took no time dispatching Southern and IUPUI.  Steven Gray looked great in both games.  More interesting (read: awesome) games to come with San Diego State Tuesday and Kansas State after that.
  19. Illinois gets to move up largely thanks to poor games from teams who were above last week.  The Illini have a 9-man rotation that looks fairly good from top to bottom.  McCamey is also one of the best players in the Big 10 (through three games he's averaging 14.7 points and 8 assists).  A dangerously talented Texas squad is waiting for them in Madison Square Garden Thursday.
  20. I don't like to take exhibition games into account because they usually don't mean anything.  But I couldn't let this one go.  Tennessee followed its loss to D-II Indianapolis with a fairly uninspiring win over Chattanooga.  A couple more cupcakes until they go and play Pitt in Pennsylvania.
  21. UNC beat Lipscomb.  But they didn't win any style points along the way.  To paraphrase a friend who goes to UNC: went to the basketball game...team looks exactly like last year.  It can't be that bad, but Dexter Strickland and Larry Drew II have to combine for more than 6 points (and no field goals).  The Tar Heels also struggled from the line, going 16-29.  They definitely shouldn't be as bad as last year, but they've still got a long way to go.
  22. San Diego State looked very impressive in the second half against Long Beach State.  The Aztecs were led by Kawhi Leonard, D.J. Gay, and James Rahon to outscore the 49ers by 16 in the second half.
  23. Butler's Shelvin Mack led the Bulldogs with 20 points and 3 steals in their rout of Marian.  Matt Howard didn't look great (but he didn't have any fouls).  The Bulldogs will need him to step up in their next game at Louisville's new Yum Center.
  24. N.C. State's freshmen shined in the win over Tennessee Tech.  C.J. Leslie led the way with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 blocks, but Lorenzo Brown and Ryan Harrow were right behind (Brown had 14 points, Harrow had 16 points, and they both had a team-high 4 assists).  That's the kind of production Sidney Lowe needs if he likes his job.
  25. Georgetown had a hideous first half, but finished with an impressive win at Old Dominion.  The Hoya backcourt of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Jason Clark was incredible (combining for 54 points).  However, Greg Monroe's presence was sorely missed.  Georgetown's starting frontcourt went a disappointing 3-15 from the field with 11 rebounds.  The Big East will have some epic backcourts this year between Pitt, Nova, and Georgetown.

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