-Matt Cox

Greetings. Matty Wraps here.

 A quick announcement regarding this week’s Weekend Wrap Up. Everyone’s favorite segment, “Mid-Major Musings”, an ode to the little guy, has been cut down substantially. I know, this is not how we envisioned the inaugural Wrap Up rolling out either. But, at approximately 10:46 PM EST last night, everything changed.

In the Sunday evening release of the latest Eye on College Basketball episode, Matt Norlander and Gary Parrish officially declared #CBBPodWars 2020.   

[This is required listening before proceeding any further. Please skip ahead to 57:00]

It’s official.  Someday I’ll tell my kids (timetable still TBD) I competed in one of the most prestigious events the college basketball digital universe has ever seen. #CBBPodWars fans, start your engines. Further details – date, venue, matchup, ticket information – still to come. In the interim, just keep reading…

The Big Boys

ACC

• At some point during North Carolina’s uninspiring performance at Virginia yesterday, Cole Anthony must’ve paused, looked around at his teammates and thought to himself, “I came to North Carolina and THIS is what I have to work with?!” Listen, I understand that trying to score on Virginia’s defense is like trying to make the Ring Toss five times in a row blindfolded. But Sunday’s putrid performance was a continuation of Christian Keeling’s extended futility, along with a number of other Tar Heel role players opting to grab their popcorn and watch Cole work his magic, rather than be an active participant in the game.

• So much for a Louisville letdown. After Tuesday’s 58-43 suffocation of Michigan, who was a walking inferno coming into the Yum! Center, the Cardinals dispatched a talented young Pitt squad with ease 64-46. While Maryland and Ohio State are worthy candidates for ‘the number 1 team in America’ label, no one seems to be hellbent on claiming the top perch on the totem pole. Louisville will retain their seat on the Iron Throne, for now, as an impending war with Texas Tech on Tuesday could overthrow the Cardinals in revolutionary fashion. Imagine having to play Chris Beard under the following conditions:

  • 1) with six days to prepare

  • 2) off three straight losses (two of them in overtime)

  • 3) potentially with his best player back in the lineup, Jahmi'us Ramsey, who’s been MIA during the Red Raiders’ recent skid.
    
    To be fair, this is all speculation. As Beard told the media on Saturday, it’s still a day-to-day thing, and it’s entirely possible he misses again:

Regardless of Ramsey’s status, Madison Square Garden will serve as the battleground for Chris Mack versus Chris Beard, this century’s rendition of McDonnell versus La Bourdonnais (I googled “most famous chess match in modern history” and landed on that for an apt comparison).

• Please refer to The Athletic’s Brendan Marks’ brilliant breakdown of Duke vs. Virginia Tech, where he illuminates Coach K’s savvy in-game adjustment that helped the Blue Devils escape Cassell Coliseum with a win for the first time since 2015. The dimly lit dungeon has been a House of Horrors for Duke in recent years, but K’s roll of the dice – benching Vernon Carey in favor of a smaller, more agile lineup early in the second half – paid off. Also, it was nice to see Mr. Wendell [Moore] make the trip to Blacksburg (12 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, 0 turnovers in 27 minutes), which was reportedly his first public appearance with the team all season.

• Boston College is an unsolvable riddle – a rigged game, really. One second, the Golden Eagles are getting manhandled by a shorthanded Richmond team. The next, they’re winning at Notre Dame (granted, the Irish may not have their mojo this year). Don’t look now (seriously, don’t), but Jim Christian and the boys are tied with Louisville for first place in the ACC.

B1G (or ‘Big Ten’, whatever blows your hair back)

• Wisconsin beat Indiana at the Kohl Center by a million. I am confident I will go to the grave without ever seeing Indiana win in Madison. That’s about all I have to say on the matter.

• Michigan kept it rolling on Friday, but props to Luka [Garza] for doing his best Luka [Doncic] impersonation. Garza gave the Wolverines perpetual buckets (44 points) all game long, but a lot of this was by design. Juwan Howard’s brilliant defensive scheme was predicated on taking away Iowa’s long range bombers, allowing Garza to do as he pleased inside while staying home to shooters on the perimeter.

• I’m in the same corner as my guy Todd Wishnev: Penn State is really really good. But, you wouldn’t know that from Saturday’s 31-point ass-kicking in Columbus, confirming Ohio State belongs at the top of the national title contender shortlist.
  
  Here’s a thought: For one college basketball season, which tandem would you rather have: DJ Carton and Kaleb Wesson? or Mike Conley and Greg Oden?
  
  Relax, I’d take Conley / Oden too. Just wanted to see if I could make you audibly yelp with that proposal.
  
  Before the season commenced, we all knew this defense would be legit. But top-3 legit? Nope, did not see that coming. But, as Ky alluded to on our podcast airwaves last week, this is not the Golden State Warriors (wait, that reference doesn’t hold anymore). Someone will eventually pinch Duane Washington, Luther Muhammad and the Brothers Wesson and they’ll wake up from this dream, where they’re making it rain with near robotic precision. For context, those four are flirting with a combined 50% 3PT% at the moment. They are good shooters, not elite shooters. That said, Ohio State still isn’t going anywhere. The offense is balanced enough to put points on the board even when the 3-ball isn’t falling.

• Those bloodthirsty anti-Maryland maniacs out there, convinced that the Terps are once again a fraudulent pyramid scheme propped up by a favorable schedule and luck, were this close to erupting in crow-filled tirades all across Twitter. That’s until Illinois collapsed like a stack of Jenga bricks in the waning moments of Saturday’s meltdown in College Park, handing the Turtle its 10th win of the year.

Asked about his reaction to the sequence that ultimately sank the Illini, Brad Underwood said, “That one was one hard. I’m not going to lie.” Pray for Tevian Jones.

Big East

• Where to begin with Providence. The Friars rank 48th and 24th in KenPom’s ‘Minutes Continuity’ and ‘Experience’ metrics, respectively, yet coexist on the floor like a bunch of toddlers fighting over a toy. On Friday, at the first sign of adversity at a rowdy Ryan Center, the Friars folded like a lawn chair. The 14-point loss drops Providence to 5-5 overall on the season. Put simply, only a Monstar-esque transformation will save the season now and the NCAA Tournament feels like a figment of Ed Cooley’s imagination.
  
  We’ve heard rumors that there’s a chasm between the young nucleus and a few of the upperclassmen in the locker room. Whether that’s true or complete and utter bogus, there’s something seriously wrong with this team.

• Before I bow down to Butler, let’s remember that Florida stinks. As first posed by Jim in our top-secret GroupMe forum, try to name another team in the last decade that’s done this little with this much. Alas, I feel vindicated for remaining cynical on Mike White, who has zero idea how to optimize the vast array of versatile offensive tools at his disposal.
  
  Ok sorry, back to Butler. Kamar Baldwin’s upside. Jordan Tucker’s consistency. Bryce Golden and Bryce Nze’s readiness. The best-case scenario for all three of those questions coming into the season have been reached. It also helps that Sean McDermott hasn’t missed a shot since 2018.

• If this whole Georgetown thing is for real, keep me far far away from the contagion that is James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc. I have nothing against those kids, but since they’ve left the team, Patrick Ewing has turned back the clock to 1984. I challenge you to find someone as high as I am on both SMU and Oklahoma State, who the Hoyas just beat to a pulp in back to back roadies.

• Despite concerns Markus Howard may not play due to a concussion, the Golden Eagles’ golden boy laced ‘em up against Kansas State on Saturday. Howard’s 19-points led all scorers, but Jamal Cain stole the show with a 17-point, 9-rebound explosion. I didn’t watch a lick of this game, so that’s about all the insight we have. Now, to the Crosstown Shootout.

• Naji Marshall did his best Trevon Bluiett impression at Cintas Center on Saturday, where the Bearcats still haven’t won since 2002. Yes, 2002. After the game, Travis Steele ascended to God status in the 513 with unquestionably the savviest PR move of the season - kings will stay kings:

Big 12

• A strong week it was for the Big-12’s big boppers, which is now a distinguished club comprised of only two members: Kansas and Baylor. Kansas did what Kansas always does to competent opponents at home. Allen Fieldhouse just has a weird way of turning 4-0 runs into 14-0 runs in the blink of an eye, and before you know it, it’s over. Colorado was the latest victim. The Buffaloes didn’t sniff a lead in this game – per KenPom, Kansas’ ‘minimum win probability’ was 81.8% at the start of the game.

• Baylor is for real kids. Arizona is a team chock-full of talent, but Baylor pounced on the Wildcats early and often on Saturday. Tristan Clark’s wonky knee reduced him to a shell of himself, but Freddie Gillespie came to the rescue. The former Division II standout paced Baylor with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks over a taxing 36-minute war.
  
  I’m prepared to make the following statement: Baylor is top-10 good, with top-5 upside. The latter hinges on the Baylor training staff’s healing powers and how quickly they can reinvent the Tristan Clark of old.

SEC

• Compared to the other high majors, the SEC was somewhat of a snoozer this weekend. Well, with one MAJOR exception. Pig Suey took its first L of the season in a bananas game at Western Kentucky. Arkansas’ poor late game management swung the doors open for the Hilltoppers to erase a 5-point lead with 36 seconds remaining. In overtime, WKU rode the wave of momentum to a comfortable 7-point victory.

• Oh, and Florida... We are finished. I deserve better than you.

Pac-12

• Andy Enfield pulled a fast on me this weekend. The Trojans, despite their best efforts to squander a double digit lead late in the game, beat a well-coached, moderately talented TCU team in Fort Worth on Saturday.

I now have a daily reminder alert on my phone set for 10:00AM CST, which reads as follows: “USC’s resume is solid. Accept it and carry on.” After all, these are indeed the facts. I’m not saying USC will be vying for a top-4 seed next March, but road wins at Nevada and at TCU are sturdy resume building blocks.

• Joey Ayayi swung his cojones loudly and proudly for the patrons at American Airlines Arena last night. The Frenchman delivered the final dagger - an unprompted bomb from 30 feet away with under a minute to play - that sealed the deal for the Zags, extending Gonzaga’s win streak over Washington to six.

Mid-Major Musings:

Lance Irvin, take your curtain call. That was awesome.

Props to Jim for staking his reputation on the OVER 1.5 for Chicago State’s conference win total. Irvin just plugged in a key piece to the puzzle, shifty freshman guard Isaiah Lewis, joining Andrew Lewis and Xavier Johnson for what could be a fun little backcourt trio. Cook County natives, get on the bandwagon now while there’s still room – this is Chicago’s hometown team.

Apologies again for the disrespectfully brevity of this segment. I’ll give a double dose of Mid-Major nuggets in next week’s edition, I promise.