Player of the Week:
Jarkel Joiner, PG, NC State Wolfpack
It was Terquavion Smith leading the (wolf)pack last week, but Jarkel Joiner (pictured) proved this week that Smith is not alone in the backcourt. The Ole Miss transfer led the team in scoring in the final two matchups of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament while Smith struggled to ensure a fifth-place finish in the Bahamas.
Joiner is now the leading scorer for Kevin Keats’ squad and as he continues to get more comfortable with his new team, they will only get more dangerous in a conference desperate for a second team to step up alongside Virginia. Could it be Joiner and the Wolfpack?
Who’s Hot?
Cameron Hildreth, PG, Wake Forest Demon Deacons
For how much Alondes Williams dominated last season, he only posted one triple-double in his breakout season. Cameron Hildreth just matched that total in his sophomore season for the Demon Deacons. The first-year starter from England looks sharp in his new role since taking over for the injured Daivien Williamson. It’ll be difficult to take Hildreth out of the starting lineup if he continues to shine like this at the point.
Chase Hunter, PG/SG, Clemson Tigers
Hunter is one of the most underrated players in the conference, but I don’t think his name will be under the radar for much longer. The senior combo guard looked terrific in a near upset over No. 25 Iowa with 21 points and six assists for the Tigers.
Another solid effort against Cal on Saturday moved his season averages to 16 points and five assists while shooting a conference best 60 percent from beyond the arc. Hunter’s rise to stardom has Clemson poised for a potential sleeper run into the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
Who’s Not?
Dereck Lively, C, No. 17 Duke Blue Devils
ESPN’s top 2022 recruit missed part of the first week and has now featured on the who’s not list of the only two weeks he’s played fully in. It has been a disastrous start to the season for the five-star recruit who is yet to score more than five points in a game and only scored a combined four points in 48 minutes and three games at the Phil Knight Invitational. His draft stock and minutes will plummet as long as Lively plays like he has been.
Joe Girard, PG, Syracuse Orange
It’s no surprise that Syracuse went 0-2 this week considering Girard shot a combined 2-22 from the floor and 1-12 from beyond the arc. The senior guard was enjoying a sensational start to the season before this week and now the Orange are in serious trouble amid his struggles. The Orange are 3-3 with a pair of inexcusable home losses with trips to Champaign and South Bend on the schedule this week.
Freshman of the Week:
Kyle Filipowski, PF/C, No. 17 Duke Blue Devils
The only bright spot from the Phil Knight Invitational and the season as a whole for the Blue Devils is the excellent start for their other freshman seven-footer. That’s eight double-digit performances to start the season for Filipowski, who looks miles ahead of Lively and fellow five-star Dariq Whitehead who were both ranked ahead of Filipowski in the preseason. Lively and Whitehead should turn it around as they get healthier, but for now it’s been all Filipowski in Durham.
Top Five ACC-B1G Challenge Matchups
5. Penn State Nittany Lions at Clemson Tigers
An argument can be made for Rutgers against Miami but both Penn State and Clemson impressed at early season tournaments and should compete in an exciting matchup that will be won or lost at the 3-point line. Both teams will be lurking around the bubble at the end of the season and this game could be the difference between last four in and first four out. I think Penn State escapes with a massive victory here.
4. No. 20 Michigan State Spartans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
This is where the games get very interesting with the remaining contests featuring at least one ranked team. Michigan State’s gauntlet of a schedule continues in South Bend where the Irish will look for a bounce back win after St. Bonaventure took them down this week. It’s a tough place to play, but no team is more prepared for a test than the Spartans after a brutal schedule to start the year. I’ve got the Irish in this one.
3. No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 17 Duke Blue Devils
The Buckeyes ended Duke’s undefeated season in this matchup last season, but they won’t have the same opportunity this season as the Blue Devils already dropped two games so far. There are so many freshmen to watch in this one and I expect one or two new faces to step up for the Blue Devils who will claim a desperately needed win early this season.
2. No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers at Michigan Wolverines
I doubt anyone expected this kind of start to the season for either of these teams, with Virginia running through Baylor and Illinois and Michigan dropping a 25-point game to Arizona State and squeaking by Ohio. I also doubt no one expects Michigan to figure it out with the third-ranked team coming to town. That’s exactly why they’ll pull off the major upset.
1. No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers
Home court is more important in college basketball than any other sport and Assembly Hall is arguably the toughest places to play in the sport. The major battle in this game will be the interior one between Armando Bacot and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Whoever stays out of foul trouble will likely come away with victory and I trust Indiana’s big man more, so I’m going with the Hoosiers.