Player of the Week
Jahmius Ramsey (Texas Tech)
Continuing their four-game winning streak, Jahmi’us Ramsey (pictured) had another big game against Cal-State Bakersfield. Ramsey is the lifeblood of the Red Raider team, and this game he showed everyone why he is the go-to man. He shot 6-10, and was 4-4 from three, scoring 20 points. While it was a pretty convincing win, Ramsey showed that he is a team leader and can push his team to play better. Most recently, Ramsey scored 18 points against Oklahoma State, hitting four from beyond the arc. On January 7, ranked Texas Tech plays 6 Baylor, which will certainly be a game to keep an eye on. There isn’t a program in the nation that has seen it’s profile take the leaps that the Red Raiders have, since 2016, under Coach Chris Beard.
Who’s Hot
Miles McBride (West Virginia)
Miles McBride is a name most people haven’t heard of outside of the West Virginia fanbase, but he put on a show against 2 Ohio State the other day. Off the bench, McBride scored exceptionally well against the Buckeyes, shooting 6-12 from the field and 3-4 from three. 21 points was enough for McBride to help West Virginia surge past the Buckeyes. This was a huge win for the Mountaineers, and in order to get quality wins like these, unexpected players need to step up and perform and that is exactly what McBride did.
Xavier Sneed (Kansas State)
After a two-game slide, losing to Mississippi State and St. Louis, Kansas State pulled off a win against Tulsa recently. He played 34 minutes and was shooting very confidently in a tight win against Tulsa. While he did not shoot as efficiently as some of the other players that played well this past week, he did what his team needed him to do for them to get out of this slump. 6-15 shooting with 18 points, and six rebounds to go with it. He also played exceptionally well near the end of the second half, getting to the line a few times and pulling down some clutch boards.
Desmond Bane (TCU)
Desmond Bane really showed up against George Mason, after dropping a game to Xavier. Bane shot 12-16 from the field and finished the night with 30 points. While the game never was very close, Bane was an integral part of this victory. He was almost automatic from deep shooting 5-7, and you have to think this is a big confidence boost for Bane and TCU after playing a little below average the past few games. They will not play a ranked opponent until they play West Virginia on January 14, so they have some time to get consistent and work on their game before hitting a ranked opponent.
Who’s Not
Iowa State
While Iowa State had some individual standouts like sophomore transfer, Rasir Bolden, they dropped a tough game to Florida A&M. One of the worst ranked teams in college basketball really showed up to play in Iowa, which is very surprising because Florida A&M has not played a home game yet this season. Iowa State’s best player, Tyrese Haliburton, did not play in the game due to him being injured earlier that week in practice. Retrospectively, not playing Haliburton was the wrong choice. According to sources, Haliburton suffered a wrist injury, which was possible for him to play through. Iowa State will most definitely bounce back from this as you can’t drop much lower than losing to a team in a game where you were 25-point favorites.
3 Biggest Upsets of the Year (So Far):
1. Florida A&M over Iowa State:
This game is the inspiration for this week’s list, and it also takes the top spot. Even though Iowa State was missing their star player, Tyrese Haliburton, there was no reason this game should have even been close. This was Florida A&M’s first win against a power five opponent, and according to ESPN’s BPI game predictor was more improbable of an outcome than UMBC beating Virginia in the NCAA tournament.
2. Texas Tech over Louisville:
In this game Texas Tech didn’t just beat the Louisville Cardinals, they embarrassed them. Louisville, who was ranked number one at the time was stunned by unranked Texas Tech, even though Texas Tech had been to the Final Four last year. They started the year surprisingly average and dropped out of the rankings but picked the right time to step it up to play Louisville in a neutral site.
3. West Virginia over Ohio State:
Another recent upset is West Virginia over number two ranked Ohio State is a key win for this gritty Mountaineers team. While West Virginia is ranked, Ohio State has been considered one of the top teams so far, and West Virginia won the game convincingly. Ohio State had a 72% chance to win the game according to ESPN’s BPI rankings.