Player of the Week
Jordan Lyons, PG, Furman Paladins
A season ago, a player that I had never heard of drained a NCAA record 15 three-pointers in a single game. That player was Jordan Lyons, and he is up to his old tricks once again. He may not have knocked down a record number of threes, but an astounding 10-12 performance from beyond the arc with 40 total points is undoubtably worthy of recognition.
This showing alone would probably be enough to win player of the week, but Lyons had an additional game/shot to put him head over heels above the rest of his competition. In a road test against a feisty Mercer squad, Lyons came through in the clutch and delivered a game-winning layup with 17 seconds to go.
On the year, the 22-year old senior is averaging 17.6 ppg, though his three point efficiency is just 34.2%. He is seen as more of a scoring guard than a true point, but his a/to ration has improved to 2.5 to 2.1.
With the 5’11 Lyons heating up, the Paladins are in excellent shape heading into a matchup against East Tennessee State on Saturday in a game that could very easily be a preview of the Southern Conference Championship producing a bracket busting team in March.
Who’s Hot?
Tevin Brown, SG, Murray State Racers
Ja Morant who? While Tevin Brown is nowhere near the talent of the former Murray State phenom, he has done wonders for the Ohio Valley team looking to return to the Big Dance without their former superstar. Brown has shown tremendous resiliency in his last three games after he left a goose-egg on the scoring line against Kennesaw State a few games ago.
Since the nightmare shooting performance, Brown has scored 31, 24, and 23 points to regain his scintillating form. There is still a long way to go in this season, but with conference play starting up, Brown will need to maintain his scoring ways if the Racers are going to get all the way back to the tournament without a top two draft pick to lean on.
Jayvon Graves, Guard, Buffalo Bulls
Buffalo has been one of the better bracket-busting teams in recent memory in college basketball. CJ Massinburg led the way for the Bulls for his four years, but now that he is gone, Jayvon Graves is taking control for one of the MAC’s best teams. The junior is averaging 17 PPG and more than five rebounds per game for the Bulls.
Much like Brown, Graves struggled a short time ago, but in his past two games Graves is surging with an average of 25 points. This Buffalo team, similarly to prior squads, prides themselves on their offense, and thanks to Graves, they are averaging more than 80 points.
Who’s Not?
San Francisco Dons, 11-5, West Coast Conference
Outside of Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference’s second tier includes Saint Mary’s and BYU as these are the only two teams who have managed to compete with the perennial powerhouse. Following a 21-10 season, the Dons were hoping to take that step into the tier that has eluded them for so long.
Unfortunately, after a scorching hot start to the season, followed by a two-game losing streak, the Dons caught fire again, only to get snapped back to reality. A loss to Saint Mary’s at home is forgivable, but a loss to Harvard, again at home, at the beginning of the week is far from forgivable.
With conference play only just beginning, the Dons have plenty of time to regain their confidence, but they also have a lot of time to once again to show why they have not reached the conference’s second tier in a long time.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane, American Athletic Conference
A 3-game losing streak for a team with a good record is essentially an automatic bid into the who’s not section of this blog. Tulsa has lost those three games to some good teams to be fair, but a loss to Colorado State at home is a demoralizing loss for a team who needs every possible win to make the tournament as an at large.
The Golden Hurricane also lost just before the three-game streak to Arkansas State in another agonizing defeat at home. With conference play just around the corner, Tulsa will need a major turnaround immediately in order to salvage their dying season.
Top Five Mid-Major Conferences
1. American Athletic Conference
This is a clear-cut choice for the top conference among the mid-majors but it also has to be said. With Memphis leading the way with their star-studded team, they are the clear favorites in the American. But this conference does not just have the Tigers. Wichita State is as good as they have ever been since their near undefeated season in 2013-14.
After these two there is a bit of a drop off but there is no reason why teams like SMU, Houston, and Cincinnati cannot compete with stars in Isiaha Mike, Quentin Grimes, and Jarron Cumberland respectively.
2. Mountain West Conference
This may come as a bit of a surprise to some, but the Mountain West Conference is as stacked as it has ever been. San Diego State is the clear leader as they have found themselves in the top-15 due to an undefeated start. New Mexico is coming off a bad loss to San Jose State, but they were also missing one of their two stars in Carlton Bragg, Jr.
Nevada has Jazz Johnson, Utah State has a college star in Sam Merrill and a potential NBA star in 7’0 Neemias Queta, and Boise State has reigning player of the week in Derrick Alston, Jr. With star-power all across the conference, the MWC could see as many as six competitive teams in the NCAA Tournament.
3. Atlantic-10
The top mid-major NBA prospect, Obi Toppin, and the Dayton Flyers lead the way in the A-10, but there is far more depth than just the Flyers. There are five other 11-win teams including two teams that have iconic upsets in the 21st century, George Mason and VCU. Richmond is a team that has been featured on this blog before and their 11-3 start is promising for a team who may need an at-large bid in a competitive conference led by the clear favorite in Dayton.
4. Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is like the Oklahoma City Thunder big three with Westbrook, Durant, and Harden. These three players were the clear best players and failed to win a championship mostly in part to their lack of depth around the stars. The Southern Conference has East Tennessee State, Furman, and UNC Greensboro. Maybe Wofford resembles Thabo Sefolosha in some ways because they have the ability to pull off a great upset, but the clear top three currently sits at the top.
5. Gonzaga
This is not a typo. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that Gonzaga could form their own conference and have nearly as many competitive teams as the rest of the teams not listed. Saint Mary’s is also a strong team in the West Coast Conference with Gonzaga, but the Zags can do it all by themselves year after year, so why would this year be any different?