Player of the week:
Dain Dainja (Sr., Memphis)
After coming off that heartbreak loss for Memphis when they travel to Wichita St, Memphis has got back on track and a lot of that can be because of the play Dain Dainja this week in their two wins this week. His nickname this week should just be Mr. Double-double because he got two this week in both his games. In the first game this week against FAU he finished with 22 points 11 rebounds and also added 4 blocks. Then three days later against Rice he finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds with 2 assists and 3 blocks. Dainja is just a very solid big man for this Memphis team that are starting to get hot again where they are ranked 18th in the AP Poll watch out for this team come March.
Who’s Hot:
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (Sr., UCSD)
Not only is Aniwaniwa hot but so is his team UCSD. They are on a 10-game winning streak and a lot of that can be looked at because of the consistent play out of Tait-Jones on the year and this week was no exception. The first game this week he finished with 19 points 5 rebounds and 3 assists while also getting 2 steals. Then the following game he finished with 20 points 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Aniwaniwa is having a great and quite season he is averaging 19.8 points per game which is 22nd in the country.
Bez Mbeng (Sr., Yale)
When you get a triple-double in college I feel like you should always be in the hot section and that is why Bez is where he is this week. The first game this week he finished with 14 points 4 rebounds and 8 assists. But then came his great game in 31 minutes of action Mbeng finished with a triple-double. He had 11 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists to get a win over Columbia. Yale is now on a 13-game winning streak one of the hottest teams in the country at the right time of the year.
Who’s Not:
Jestin Porter (Sr., Middle Tennessee)
It was a tough week for Jestin with his play but luckily it did not cost Middle Tennessee any losses and they won both games. The first game he finished with 5 points and 2 rebounds while only shooting 33.% from 3pt line and 28.6% from the field. Then next game he finished with 4 points and 2 rebounds while missing all his 3pt shot attempts and shooting 28.6% from the field. He averages 15.4 points per game so it was definitely a down week.
Owen Aquino (Jr., Liberty)
While Liberty is one of the hottest team in the country right now recent play of Owen has not been hot. This week was another example of that. The first game this week he finished with 2 points 2 rebounds and 3 assists. While missing all his 3pt shot attempts and shooting 33.3% from the field. Then the next game he finished with 8 points 6 rebounds and 1 assist while also not make a 3pt shot. After coming off 2 double digit scoring games last week this week was a different story he will look to get back on track Sunday when Liberty takes on Kennesaw St.
Top 5 teams outside the Power 5 Conferences
5. UC San Diego – Big West
You can’t find many hotter teams in the country right now other than UCSD. They are now 25-4 on the season and that is thanks to the 10-game winning streak that this team is on right now. Oher than their most recent game where it was a 6 point win they are blowing out everyone in their path. Now 15-2 in conference play sitting at 1st place they are now ranked 5th in my rankings.
4. Gonzaga – West Coast Conference
Dropping another spot in my weeks ranking is the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They went 1-1 on the week losing to Saint Mary’s again giving them a very small chance to be able to win their conference after that. They did follow that loss up with a blowout win over Santa Clara. They are now 22-8 on the season and 13-4 in conference play now 3 games back of 1st place.
3. VCU – Atlantic 10
Talk about taking care of businnes that is exactly what VCU has been pretty much done all season but especially as of late and what better time than now to do that? They are now on a 8-game winning streak and 24-5 on the season. They are 14-2 in conference play and in 1st in their conference play with George Mason 0.5 games back looking like a two headed race for that 1 spot. But VCU did blow out George Mason this week in a huge win. They will look to keep that streak alive on Tuesday when they take on Duquesne.
2. Saint Mary’s – West Coast Conference
With the West Coast Conference title pretty much in Saint Mary’s hands they come in ranked 2nd in my rankings this week. They just continue to win they picked up two huge wins this week over Gonzaga and LMU. They are 26-4 on the season and 16-1 in conference play giving them a 3-game lead for 1st. The Gaels are a very good team that you might not want to see in March and now getting the attention they deserve in the AP Poll coming in ranked 23rd.
1. Memphis – AAC
After their last loss Memphis has been taking care of business again with picking up wins over FAU and also Rice. They are now 23-5 on the season with some good wins throughout the season. They are also 13-2 in conference play giving them the top spot in the AAC conference with 1-game lead over North Texas. The Tigers are now ranked 18th in the AP Poll leading to staying ranked 1st in my ranking this week.