There is a new, unanimous No. 1 in college basketball this week. It’s a program that packaged together not one, not two but three top-15 wins in 72 hours to win the strongest multi-team event that we’ve ever seen at the Maui Invitational.
Ironically, it’s also the program in college basketball that was on the receiving end of the most criticism, negativity and jokes in the seven months leading up to this season. That narrative won’t leave our new top team, Purdue, until the Boilers continue the redemption tour into March and go on that elusive Final Four run for Matt Painter.
But let’s appreciate the here and now, folks. Let’s recognize the greatness on display in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers have done more than any team in the sport by a wide margin in the first three weeks of the season, notching four top-30 KenPom victories over No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 4 Marquette in Maui, and another notable win over Xavier in this year’s Gavitt Games.
We are witnessing an era of greatness behind reigning national player of the year Zach Edey, who has been dominant once again to start the year with 23.0 PPG and 11.5 RPG. Just how great has the 7-foot-4, 300-pound big man been? Take a look at the KenPom player of the year rankings. It’s early, but still, it’s impressive how much better Edey has been than everyone else up to this point.
Edey’s return to West Lafayette was tremendous for the sport, but in order for Purdue to put the March struggles to bed, it’s what happens around the big man that is the key to success because, as Painter says, complementary basketball is a must.
This is a really encouraging sign for the Boilermakers:
In Purdue’s 78-75 win over Marquette in an epic championship game on Wednesday in Honolulu, the Boilers had four players in double figures with Braden Smith and impact transfer Lance Jones combining for seven made 3-pointers. The team shot 10-for-21 combined, with Smith scoring 18 points and five assists. In the semifinals against Tennessee, Smith’s backcourt mate, Fletcher Loyer, went off for 27 points on 7-of-18 from the floor. With Jones adding a new dimension and freshman Myles Colvin showing good signs as well, it appears that the Boilers have a more reliable and experienced perimeter this year.
Purdue’s loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson just doesn’t go away, but this team is even better than last year and this program has been in the top five of college basketball for the last 362 days, since Nov. 28 of last season. The reason why March Madness is so special is that it is a one-game postseason for six straight contests if you’re one of the two teams lucky enough to stay alive. But letting one day define what you think about a program is shortsighted.
The road to college basketball goes through West Lafayette, and the Edey/Painter redemption tour is well underway.
The three other teams that impressed me the most this past week:
Villanova: The early takes that the Wildcats could be going in the wrong direction for a second consecutive season were premature and were put to bed this past week. Since losing to Penn 13 days ago, Villanova has beaten Maryland, Texas Tech, North Carolina and Memphis, with the latter three coming in the Bahamas to win the Battle 4 Atlantis championship. Eric Dixon is one of the best bigs in the country, going for 34 points in the win over the Tar Heels. Five players scored in double figures in the Wildcats’ 79-63 victory over the Tigers, and Villanova led by as many as 35 at one point. The balance and leadership of Justin Moore and Dixon makes this team a legit second-weekend NCAA Tournament-caliber squad, if not better.
Ohio State: Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes have won four straight games, with the biggest victory coming over No. 17 Alabama, 92-81, in the Emerald Coast Classic. Ohio State has one of the best sophomore classes in America with guards Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr. combining for 52 points in the victory over the Crimson Tide. What do I like about this Buckeyes team? They’re shooting 41% from 3-point land and have multiple scoring threats with impact transfer Jamison Battle also in the fold.
Colorado State: Niko Medved and the Rams are my team of the week in college basketball. Colorado State didn’t just beat a Creighton team that I believe is a Final Four contender. CSU ran the Jays off the floor on Thanksgiving Day, 69-48, to win the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. It was the first top-10 win for the Rams since 1984. Isaiah Stevens is one of the best guards in America, scoring 20 points with seven assists and six rebounds in the win. But to hold Creighton to just 48 points, including Trey Alexander to 1-for-16 from the floor, is pretty exceptional. The Bluejays never struggle to that degree offensively, and a heap of credit belongs to the Rams for the intensity they played with on both ends of the floor. Veterans Joel Scott and Nique Clifford are not only each scoring more than 13 points per game, but they’re both rebounding at a high level. The Rams are part of a Mountain West Conference that could send four teams to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.
Here’s my complete Top 25:
1. Purdue (6-0)
As long as they take care of business against Texas Southern on Friday, Painter’s team will enter Big Ten play at 7-0. The conference opener is a challenging one, a road test at Northwestern at 9 p.m. ET Friday on BTN. The last time the two teams met?
2. Arizona (6-0)
The Wildcats own the most impressive win of any team this season with the victory at Duke. They added to their résumé with a 74-68 Thanksgiving Day win over Michigan State. Five players scored in double figures, with Caleb Love notching 17 points and four assists.
3. Marquette (5-1)
Even though the Golden Eagles lost to Purdue at the Maui Invitational, I’m not moving them because of how impressive they were in taking the No. 1 team in the country right down to the last possession after beating the previous No. 1, Kansas, the night before. The biggest revelation of the week is Oso Ighodaro. The junior averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game in three contests in Honolulu, going off for 21 points and nine rebounds against Hunter Dickinson in the dominant 73-59 win over Kansas.
4. UConn (6-0)
After Alex Karaban scored 20 points to charge the Huskies past Texas to win the Empire Classic, UConn routed Manhattan on Black Friday, 90-60. It marked the Huskies’ 23rd straight non-conference win by double figures, matching the longest streak in NCAA history of that sort set by Tyler Hansbrough and North Carolina in 2008-09. Connecticut will go for the record on Monday night against New Hampshire. Tristen Newton had 15 points, a career-best 13 assists and 10 rebounds in the victory over Manhattan. It marked his third career triple-double as a Husky, the most by a player in Connecticut men’s basketball history. Yes, Newton owns three of the 14 all-time triple-doubles at UConn.
Tristen Newton goes off for a triple-double in UConn’s dominant 90-60 victory over Manhattan
5. Houston (6-0)
LJ Cryer and Jamal Shead continued their outstanding start to the season. After leading the Cougars to a Charleston Classic title, the duo combined for 37 points, 10 assists and just one turnover in a 79-44 win over Montana. A big test comes on Friday at Xavier (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
6. Kansas (5-1)
I put the Cougars over the Jayhawks because I trust Kelvin Sampson’s team on the perimeter more than Bill Self’s group. In the loss to Marquette, nobody scored over five points outside of Dickinson and Kevin McCullar.
In three games at the Maui Invitational, Kansas shot 14-for-48 from 3-point land, which is 29%. Self needs freshman Johnny Furphy and transfer Nick Timberlake to do more.
7. Duke (5-1)
In wins over La Salle and Southern Indiana this past week, preseason All-American Kyle Filipowski combined for 38 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. We’ll get a better measuring stick for Duke when the Blue Devils visit an angry Arkansas team on Wednesday night.
8. Miami (5-0)
The Hurricanes possess rich scoring depth and incredible guard play with Wooga Poplar and Nijel Pack. Matthew Cleveland is a matchup nightmare who transferred from Florida State, and Norchad Omier can do it all in the paint. Jim Larrañaga’s team is once again one of the best offensive units in the country, ranking 11th in KenPom on that end of the floor. How will they defend Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham and Kentucky? The two teams square off on Tuesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
9. Baylor (6-0)
This could be Scott Drew’s best offensive team. The Bears rank third in KenPom offensive efficiency metrics, with the lead scorer role changing from game to game at the NIT Season Tip-Off this past week. After five-star freshman Ja’Kobe Walter led the Bears past Oregon State with 24 points on Wednesday, Toledo transfer RayJ Dennis was clutch down the stretch in the championship game win over Florida on Friday, scoring 24 points of his own with eight assists. Senior Jalen Bridges has continued to evolve, as the 6-7 wing had 23 points and five assists in the win over the Gators. If this team continues to grow defensively, Baylor could end up being the best team in the Big 12.
10. Gonzaga (4-1)
Holy Anton Watson! The fifth-year senior forward posted a career-high 32 points on 14-of-15 from the floor as the Zags edged a good UCLA team, 69-65, at the Maui Invitational. The Zags also beat Syracuse by 19 with Graham Ike and Watson each notching double-doubles. The key for Mark Few is to get Ryan Nembhard into a shooting rhythm. If he shot better than 5-for-17 against Purdue, Gonzaga could have been in a position to win. They shot 6-for-32 from 3 in that game. Much like Kansas, perimeter shooting consistency is the one concern with this team, but I like their depth of pieces and upside. Watson’s growth is encouraging, and his performance against the Bruins was one of the best by a player that you’ll see this season.
The remaining Top 25:
11. Tennessee (4-2)
12. BYU (6-0)
13. Villanova (6-1)
14. North Carolina (5-1)
15. Mississippi State (6-0)
16. Kentucky (5-1)
17. Colorado State (6-0)
18. Creighton (5-1)
19. Florida Atlantic (5-1)
20. Clemson (5-0)
21. Alabama (5-1)
22. Texas A&M (6-1)
23. James Madison (6-0)
24. Princeton (6-0)
25. Liberty (6-0)
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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