Player of the Week
Timmy Allen, F, Texas Longhorns
Timmy Allen was huge for the Longhorns this week. While Texas wasn’t able to pull out a win against Illinois, Timmy Allen was one of the few reasons they were even close. The 6’ 6” fifth-year senior played one of the best games of his college career putting up 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Allen put in another big performance earlier in the week in a win against Creighton. While not as massive a stat line, Allen still put in a strong effort scoring 11 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Allen is well known for his rebounding and is now showing some of that scoring ability we haven’t really seen since his sophomore and junior years at Utah when he averaged just over 17 points a game. The Longhorns have big hopes for this season and Timmy Allen will have to play a huge part if Texas are going to succeed.
Who’s Hot
Keyontae Johnson, F, Kansas State Wildcats
Keyontae Johnson continued his comeback season with an incredibly strong week. While the Wildcats lost on the road to Butler, Johnson balled out putting up 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Johnson was literally perfect in this one going 9 for 9 from the field. In Saturday’s game against Wichita State, Johnson led the Wildcats in scoring again with 17 and also pulled down 5 rebounds. Johnson’s comeback is an incredible story that for some reason is flying a little under the radar but what he has been able to do so far for the Wildcats is incredible.
Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State continued their strong start to the season with two more wins this week. They opened the week with a 19-point win over North Dakota and closed it out with an 11-point win over a really strong St. Johns team. While the North Dakota win was expected the St. Johns game was a real test for the Cyclones. The Red Storm were undefeated heading into this one and Iowa State led wire to wire coming away with the win. A 7-1 start with wins over UNC and Villanova is a pleasant surprise for Iowa State fans. The Cyclones will now head to Iowa City on Thursday to take on their biggest rivals Iowa. This will be another test for the Cyclones as their top 10 defense will try to shut down Iowa’s top 10 offense and come away with a big road win.
Who’s Not
Gabe Kalscheur, G, Iowa State Cyclones
Kalscheur’s overall numbers this season may look good on paper but have been boosted by some big performances against weaker teams. He’s averaging 8.4 points per game with 1.6 rebounds and assists which is an ok stat line but when you look at his performances against UNC, UConn, and St. John’s they are not as strong. His 16-point performance against IUPUI and a 23-point performance against Villanova are the highlights of his year but outside of that, there haven’t been that many bright spots. Iowa State has been able to perform well even with his struggles, but they could be even better. The senior guard has shown in his time at Minnesota and last year at Iowa State that he can be a key player and if he improves the Cyclones will be a much better team.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
This one may be a bit harsh, but the Red Raiders have been a little underwhelming this year. Now they don’t have any bad losses but also don’t have any good wins. Now their schedule is their schedule there isn’t anything they can really do about that, but they haven’t impressed in the few matchups they have had with top teams. They lost to Creighton and Ohio State in Maui a few weeks ago which are their only two really competitive opponents. For a team that went to the Big 12 title game and the sweet 16, you would expect a little bit better of a start. They did lose two key players from last year’s team in Terrance Shannon Jr and Kevin McCullar Jr but they brought back more than enough talent to compete. It will be interesting to see how they fare against a grueling Big 12 schedule once conference play kicks off.
Top 5 Underappreciated Players
1 Dajuan Harris Jr., G, Kansas Jayhawks
Harris has been one of the most underappreciated players in the country. Harris is a pass-first point guard who plays a key role for the Jayhawks on both sides of the floor. He knows his role and is a great set-up man to the stars that Kansas has had over the past couple of years like Ochai Agbaji and Gradey Dick. While Harris is a better set-up man than he is a scorer he’s more than capable of being a scoring option when he needs to be. He also plays a huge role on defense for the Jayhawks often guarding other teams’ top guards. He also leads the Big 12 in steals this season.
2 Tanner Groves, F, Oklahoma Sooners
Tanner and his brother Jacob burst onto the scene during the 2021 NCAA Tournament with 14-seed Eastern Washington when they gave Kansas all they could handle in their first-round game. After that game Groves transferred to Oklahoma and hasn’t gotten the same national attention since. Groves has been a key piece for Oklahoma and put together a really strong year last year and is off to a good start this year. He averaged just over 11 points last year and is right around the same number so far this year. His rebounds, however, have increased from 5.8 a game last year to 7.4 so far this year. Groves may not get the same amount of national attention, but Oklahoma would be in a lot of trouble without him.
3 Markquis Nowell, G, Kansas State Wildcats
Now in his 6th college season, Nowell has been a model of consistency in all 6 seasons. He’s averaged over 10 points and 4 assists every year since his freshman season in 2018-2019. His assist numbers have risen slightly almost every year from 4.2 as a freshman to 7.8 so far this season which ranks third in the entire country. While undersized at 5’ 8” he’s extremely good on defense and has averaged slightly over 2 steals per game in 5 out of his 6 years in college. Nowell is truly one of the most underappreciated players in all of college basketball
4 Sir’Jabari Rice, G, Texas Longhorns
Texas has a roster with tons of stars on it like Marcus Carr, Dillon Mitchell, and Tyrese Hunter. A name that has gotten forgotten in that mix is New Mexico State transfer Sir’Jabari Rice. He usually comes off the bench for the Longhorns but plays a huge role. He’s averaging 10.3 points a game along with 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists off the bench. Rice is one of the front runners for the sixth man of the year award and while players like Carr and Hunter will continue to get starts and all the attention, Rice plays just as big a role for the Longhorns.
5 Jaylon Tyson, G, Texas Tech
Tyson transferred this offseason from in-state rivals Texas and has immediately made an impact at Texas Tech. He only played 8 games for the Longhorns last season but in his first 7 games for the Red Raiders, he’s been able to average 10.4 points per game as well as 4.9 rebounds.
The 6’ 6” guard is a real threat on offense and can shoot well from deep as well as attack the rim. Tyson also has been a key contributor on defense for the Red Raiders. His size and athleticism allow him to guard multiple positions well. Stealing Tyson from the Longhorns has paid off well for the Red Raiders so far and should continue to for the rest of the season.