-Matt Cox 

Yessir! The 3MW contributor Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is back from a 3-week journey through the gambling and handicapping abyss. After swimming in box scores and lurking through fan forums without seeing the light of day, it was time to come up for air. I see Ky and Jim are already kicking my ass in the 3MW #ContentWars, but I won’t go away quietly. I just need to see one through the hoop (read: post this article), and watch the content floodgates swing open, baby!  

During my hiatus, I heard some wild rumor about Duke losing at home to Stephen F. Austin, but I assume that was just a feeble attempt to disturb my peaceful expedition through KenPom’s FanMatch page and Bowling Green’s ‘Ay-Zigga-Zoomba’ fan forum, among other stops. In the future, please refrain from the false alarms.

For now, do me a favor and please devour this smorgasbord of random, ramblin’, piping-hot team-based takes, which have been force-fit into a framework so unnecessary that it makes Jack Barker’s ‘Conjoined Triangles of Success’ seem useful. You know what they say: you can take the boy out of consulting, but you can’t take the consulting out of the boy.

Sound the Alarms?

*Note: Georgetown deserves a 30-page thesis dissecting their whole debacle, but we’re not in the business of piling on a wounded warrior. Don’t fret Hoya hopefuls – it’s not like Syracuse is setting the world on fire…

Providence

What they’ve done: Beat Pepperdine by 3. Yippee!

Never mind the fact that the Friars’ 2nd best win at the moment is either NJIT or Sacred Heart at home. Providence hasn’t beaten the ‘gimmes’ on their schedule, including Northwestern (who lost to Radford and Merrimack at home) and Long Beach State (who’s ranked 280th in kenpom), and masqueraded as a mid-major caliber program against Penn (lost by 6) and Charleston (lost by 8).

 Why they’ve done what they’ve done: Luwane Pipkins has not been the savior so many had hoped he’d be at the point guard position. David Duke is quietly doing his part to keep the ship afloat, but Alpha Diallo is playing more like a Beta through the first nine games of the year. Nate Watson’s part-time absence was a passable excuse early on, but he hasn’t moved the needle since returning to the lineup two weeks ago.

Where they’re going: To an obscure postseason tournament, unless the non-conference portion of the season was some sort of ‘Gotcha!’ prank and Providence plans on going gangbusters through a brutal Big East slate. If the Friars dropped their resume on the doorstep of the NCAA Selection Committee today, they would be laughed off the property. I hold Ed Cooley in the highest regard, but this has been a wildly disappointing start to what looked like one of the strongest rosters Cooley had assembled since arriving in Providence back in 2011.

Texas A&M

What they’ve done: Took a quick vacation to Disney World, which I’m sure was delightful. Unfortunately, Buzz Williams forgot to forward his players the directions to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, so the Aggies effectively no showed all three games of the Orlando Invitational. Granted, there’s no shame in losing to Harvard and Temple, but when A&M made Fairfield’s Landon Taliaferro look like JJ Redick, they became an easy target for my unabashed slander.

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: In hindsight, it was shortsighted to simply assume that replacing the man holding the clipboard on the sidelines would be enough to transform Jay Jay Chandler and Wendell Mitchell into reliable decision makers and consistent shooters. John Wooden would struggle to go .500 with this roster, which is completely devoid of competent guard play.

Where they’re going: Josh Nebo returning to full strength is about the only thing A&M has working for it right now. With the dismissal of perennial 3MW punching bag TJ Starks, Buzz has called upon a walk-on, Mark French, to run the offense. French fooled everyone with a stellar debut in the starting lineup against Troy but came crashing back down to Earth against stiffer competition in Orlando. Unless Justin Robinson or Nickeil Alexander-Walker make a Bill Murray-esque return to hardwood, Buzz may as well divert all his attention to the recruiting trail and start fantasizing about the 2022-23 roster makeup.

USC

What they’ve done: Wasted oodles of talent, an Andy Enfield specialty. I will admit the Trojans looked mighty strong at Nevada on November 16th – USC’s best win of the season to date – but half-hearted efforts against Portland, South Dakota State and Fairfield were discouraging, which doesn’t even consider the loss to Temple at home, or the 22-point clubbing by Marquette in the Orlando Invitational.

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: The same ‘ol perimeter defensive cracks have resurfaced, as Enfield continues to keep a leash on his Olympic-level athletes. 42% of USC’s points allowed this season have come by way of the 3-ball, the same sad song the Trojans’ defense has been singing for years.

Where they’re going: As vocal as I’ve been about USC’s shortcomings, I’m cautiously optimistic the Trojans are just bored at the moment, waiting for the proper spark or motivation that will unleash the fury that lies dormant within those 5-star and 4-star weapons. But, for now, we wait…

Texas Tech

What they’ve done: Nothing egregious. This is a nitpick inclusion to my ‘Sound the Alarms’ section, but it’s what I see in the Red Raiders’ crystal ball that has me slightly antsy. Chris Beard did finally beef up his typical platter of cupcakes in the non-con, but Tech’s already whiffed on two of the four premier opportunities. Iowa and Creighton both took down the Jahmi'us Ramsey-less Raiders in Vegas last week, confirming exactly what we knew about how important he is to this puzzle.

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: Without Ramsey, there’s no offensive creators to be found on this roster, with Chris Clarke being a minor exception. Clarke’s a savvy enough facilitator to temporarily morph into a point-forward, but the offense stagnated when Beard overused this against Creighton last Friday.  

Where they’re going: In the short-term, to DePaul tonight and to the Garden next week, where a make-or-break opportunity to play the #1 team in the land, Louisville, awaits the Red Raiders. The Blue Demons’ renaissance is a blessing for Texas Tech, which now looks like a potential Quadrant 1 or Quadrant 2 win opportunity, but Beard and the boys *must* emerge victorious in one of their two final non-conference tests.

Kentucky

What they’ve done: Again, nothing offensive. Kentucky is still safely inside kenpom’s top-10 at the moment, but there is cause for concern in Lexington. Over the last five games, only the 81-56 victory over Lamar was Kentucky-like but take a sneak peek at the box score and you’ll notice UK needed a lights out shooting performance to bury the pesky Cardinals.

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: The injury bugs found a crack in Rupp Arena’s exterior panels and are now swarming the young Wildcats with a furious rage. Kentucky’s bench has been cut to an 8-man rotation with Nate Sestina sidelined for the next 3-4 weeks, and there are plenty of others guys playing through pain…

Also, can someone please notify Kahlil Whitney the season started? The 5-star prodigy is somewhere floating in outer space at the moment, falling short in both efficiency and production in a full-time starter’s role. 

Where they’re going: Ask me this question again on New Year’s Day. Kentucky still has impending dates with Ohio State and Louisville left on the non-conference portion of the schedule. Both of those are slotted late in December, so Calipari has a few weeks to get his young Wildcats healed before the stakes are raised.

The Bounceback Boys:

San Diego State

What they’ve done: Bullied BYU in Provo and blitzed both Creighton and Iowa at the Orleans, with a few demolitions of watered-down schedule-fillers in between. Brian Dutcher and his transfer twofer backcourt (Malachi Flynn from Washington State; KJ Feagin from Santa Clara) are defibrillating ‘the Show’ at Viejas, a year removed from one of the most disappointing non-conference performances in the entire country. Imagine a world where San Diego State trails Brown 60-26 at home – yeah, that actually happened…

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: This Aztec revival deserves more ‘thank you’ credits than an Oscar acceptance speech: Matt Mitchell’s resurrection as a devastating power-wing. Yanni Wetzel and Nathan Mensah’s co-op impersonation of Skylar Spencer, San Diego State’s ‘OG’ shot-swatting savant. Brian Dutcher’s perfect puppeteering of the Aztecs’ rotation combinations and lineup adjustments. Yes, all deserve a pat on the back, but Malachi Flynn’s currently filming a clinic on how to conduct a basketball team. Flynn doubles as the Aztecs’ go-to bucket-getter and crunch time playmaker, but a 3.64 assist-to-turnover ratio is what has my attention. I’ve been riding shotgun on Sam Merrill’s hype train for years, but Flynn poses a legitimate threat to Merrill’s defense of Mountain West Player of the Year. 

Where they’re going: Back to the Big Dance, assuming they don’t let their foot off the gas. The Mountain West is currently stuck in the mud – Boise State, New Mexico, Colorado State and Nevada have amassed a grand total of zero marquee wins this year – so anything short of a dominating conference performance could put the Aztecs at risk of at-large exclusion.

Oklahoma State

What they’ve done: You can’t convince me Ole Miss isn’t good. The Pokes toyed with those Rebels like a 5th grade parish rec team last Friday, just two days removed from silencing the Syracuse-infested Barclay’s Center. Throw in a 19-point roady runaway over Charleston and Okie State’s resume is already dazzling with three shiny wins. 

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: Isaac Likekele and Yor Anei are maxing out their individual potentials on both sides of the ball. Likekele is Marcus Smart 2.0, a tenacious defender and forceful slasher at 6’4 220 pounds. Anei’s feathery-soft shooting touch is almost unfair, given he’s still swallowing up any shot that comes near the restricted area on defense. Anei is currently batting away 5.6 shots per 40 minutes, which equates to the highest block rate in America, per kenpom.com.

Quick devil’s advocate plug: the basketball Gods will inevitably remove the lid from Oklahoma State’s basket. Opponents are shooting 23.6% from the land of plenty against the Pokes this season, despite the fact that OSU’s defense is allowing the 8th highest 3-point attempt rate in the country. These misses will slowly begin to fall, which will remove the plethora of long rebound and subsequent transition opportunities the Cowboys are feasting on now. When that natural correction occurs, the Pokes’ half-court offense will be a critical determinant in whether or not Mike Boyton needs to pick up a pair of dancing shoes next March. 

Where they’re going: The Cowboys’ non-conference is about to heat up in a hurry, as impending dates with Wichita State, Houston and Minnesota still loom large. The oddsmakers’ should have the Pokes favored in at least two of those bouts, so it’s entirely possible OSU enters  Big-12 battle with an 11-1 record overall and 4-1 record against Quadrant 1 & 2 opponents. 

Butler

What they’ve done: Traveled back in time to bring the Butler of old back to the future. LaVall Jordan patiently waited for all the naysayers to question his coaching pedigree before punking us all with an immaculate start to the 2019-20 campaign. Early in the year, Butler was one injury away from needing replacement scabs to fill out a full roster, but you wouldn’t know it from the results. The Bulldogs are sitting pretty at 8-0 overall (6-2 against-the-spread), despite being banged up for most of the year.

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: Kamar Baldwin, this is what we’ve been waiting for. The highly touted lefty lead guard was asked to move mountains last year, which laid the foundation for a season that I graded a C+ on my 2018-19 report card. Offseason murmurs about an undisclosed injury last year could explain his scintillating start this season, as Baldwin looks more fluid than ever. Baldwin’s running mate Jordan Tucker finally learned about the concept of “efficiency”, while Bryce Golden and Bryce Nze have sewn up the interior cracks defensively.

Where they’re going: Back to the top of the Big East totem pole – or so it appears that way. The Bulldogs have climbed to 18th overall in KenPom (3rd highest rank in the Big East), laughing in the faces of prognosticators who penciled Providence, Georgetown, Creighton and Marquette above them in preseason predictions.

DePaul

What they’ve done: Awoken the ghosts of Ray Meyer, George Mikan and Mark Aguirre. It’s true – the Demons have rid themselves of their own demons, and finally look the part of basketball team worthy of serious discussion. Wins at Iowa, at Minnesota and at Boston College won’t ‘Wow’ anyone, but the idea of winning on the road was a foreign concept to Dave Leitao for the last four years. That said, the 8-0 start has not been turbulent-free. The Demons were down 18-points to Central Michigan in front of their home crowd last Tuesday, before blitzing the Chips in the 2nd half. Those final 20 minutes against CMU encapsulates why this DePaul team is a different animal. If the Demons trailed by 18 at the half to a middle-of-the-road MAC team last year, you could cue up the ‘here goes DePaul’ music immediately. The difference now is that a mentally focused Charlie Moore and a surging Paul Reed are running through the tunnel wearing Blue Demon blue. For the first time in my lifetime, the DePaul ‘Fraud Meter’ score is currently set on zero.

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: Charlie Moore and Paul Reed. Consider this: Let’s say the ‘NBA on NBC’ video game makers recreated a college version specifically for the Big East. How many 1-2 combinations would you pick over Moore and Reed? I’d probably choose Myles Powell / Sandro Mamukelashvili first, LJ Figueroa / Mustapha Heron second, but after that, I’d put the Demons’ duo up against any in the league. That’s how good the Moore / Reed tandem has been this season. Romeo Weems may be the most versatile freshman in the conference – shouts to the Stepien’s Mike Gribanov for disseminating the Weems buzz – and former 4-star prospect Jalen Coleman-Lands is healthy for the first time in over a year. 

Where they’re going: The NCAA tournament?!?! As a longtime card-carrying member of the Ray Meyer Fitness Center, I so badly want to live in a world where the Blue Demons are a participant in college basketball’s most exclusive dance party. Tonight, a win over Texas Tech would inch DePaul one step closer to converting that pipe dream into reality.

Stanford

What they’ve done: Made oddsmakers’ all over the globe look foolish. The Cardinal are 7-2 against-the-spread this season, with the only two blemishes resulting from late game boredom against UNC Wilmington and Maryland Eastern Shore. The Cardinal, who embarrassed Oklahoma at the Sprint Center last week, are a Kamar Baldwin step back buzzer beater way from being unbeaten. Jerod Haase has extinguished the burning flames under his coaching seat, with the help of two fantastic freshmen, Tyrell Terry and Spencer Jones.

Why they’ve done what they’ve done: Jones and Jaiden Delaire are shattering my preseason expectations, but Terry has been the straw stirring the drink.

Daejon Davis no longer needs to be the sole creator on the floor, as Terry is a money triggerman in a myriad of offensive sets. He’s especially potent in the pick-n-roll, where he uses a shifty change of pace and a sturdy frame to knife his way into the lane. Haase has also weaponized Terry’s picturesque jumper through a variety of screening sets geared to free him as an off-ball mover. Terry is 17-of-41 from behind the stripe (42%), and 94% of those attempts have been assisted, per hoop-math.com 

Where they’re going: The Pac-12’s top-4 – Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Washington – remain distinguished enough to be mentioned in their own tier, but the Cardinal are lurking in the distance. Oscar da Silva’s no longer a feast-or-famine producer, who’s failed to reach double figures just once this season, while Terry’s perimeter presence has instantly stabilized the backcourt. Be sure to circle December 29th on your calendar, kids. That’s when the Kansas Jayhawks will visit Palo Alto for what might be the biggest game of Jerod Haase’s 4-year tenure.