By Aidan Joly
The first week(ish) of college basketball season is done. We’ve learned a lot about the teams and how things are going to look as a whole. Here’s five things that have become clear through the first handful of days of the season.
Gonzaga seems unstoppable
It’s hard to argue that any other team in the country has the talent that Mark Few’s squad does. They have averaged 93 points per game over the first three games of the season, a 3-0 start with wins over Kansas, Auburn and West Virginia. The win against the Mountaineers came despite the team not playing its best and an injury scare from Jalen Suggs that held him out most of the night. They have five star players in Suggs, Joel Ayayi, Corey Kispert, Drew Timme and Andrew Nembhard, all capable of taking over a game. I’d say they are my early pick to win the national title. The game against Baylor on Saturday will be a ton of fun.
Kentucky looks inexperienced
What’s going on in Lexington? The Wildcats are off to a 1-2 start that included a home loss to Richmond. The only two players that have been consistent so far are BJ Boston and Olivier Sarr, but that’s about it. Terrence Clark has shown flashes but was flat-out not good against Kansas on Tuesday night. Worth mentioning that they are 3-31 from three over their past two games. Yikes.
Texas might be back?
A 4-0 start to the season and winning Maui Invitational of Asheville looks great. Matt Coleman III and Courtney Ramey both scored in double digits in each of those three tournament games, with Coleman III hitting the tournament-winning shot against North Carolina on Wednesday. With Shaka Smart’s job in peril the middle of last year, they look to have done a good job recovering.
There’s no such thing as home-court advantage
With no fans in the stands at (most) gyms across the country, there isn’t much of a home-court advantage. The gap between high-major schools and low-and mid-major schools has been getting smaller all year, and it’s even smaller this year. Expect lots of close games and upsets.
It’s going to be weird
With games being called off because of the virus left and right, it’s left teams scrambling to find games to make them up with at the last minute. The lack of preparation has been noticeable: San Francisco finalized a game with then-No. 4 Virginia at Mohegan Sun’s Bubbleville four days before the game and then beat them. An even tighter window, Virginia Tech scheduled a game with then-No. 3 Villanova at 1:45 a.m. on Friday morning for 8 p.m. on Saturday night at Bubbleville, and then the Hokies pulled off the upset. Those kinds of things are going to be happening at least for the rest of non-conference play. Just roll with it. It’s going to be a fun season.
AJ Hoops 