By Aidan Joly
We are just over two weeks into the college basketball season and teams have played a few games and we are learning about who some of these teams are.
On Monday, I went through each of the power leagues (plus a couple more notables) to find who was the biggest riser in KenPom in each league.
Eight teams have jumped significantly since the start of the season. What has gone right for each of these teams that has contributed to their rise?
SEC: Kentucky
Start of season: 43
Now: 22
We didn’t really know what to make of the Wildcats heading into the season. It was a new head coach in Mark Pope who brought in an entirely new roster. Talent was there on paper, but we weren’t sure how it would translate on the court.
So far, it has gone swimmingly. The Wildcats are 3-0 (and beating Lipscomb as this is written). Kentucky scored 100+ points in each of its buy games, and passed its first notable game with a comeback 77-72 win against Duke in the Champions Classic.
It has been a quick, efficient offense, which has been the recipe for success so far this year. San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler has been a fantastic facilitator for the Wildcats, even when he is not the main scoring guard.
That is going to Otega Oweh and Koby Brea, who are both averaging 15.3 points per game right now.
Depth has also been key, with 10 guys playing consistent minutes every night.
Big 12: Utah
Start of season: 82
Now: 54
The Utes have had a fast rise. It is 3-1 on the season, albeit it has lost its only game against a power conference opponent at a neutral site against Mississippi State.
Utah has been one of the smartest shooting teams in the country, ranking 13th in the nation in KenPom effective field goal percentage. As a result, it is currently averaging 91.8 points per game, making it a top-20 team in the nation in that category.
Gabe Madsen leads this squad, averaging 21.3 points per game and shoots 48.3% from the field, a mark that includes 40% from three. Mason Madsen is shooting an absurd 55.2% from three as well. San Francisco transfer Mike Sharavjamts is shooting 44.4% from three.
A Craig Smith team will always play smart, and this Utah team does. The Utes should continue to take a step up as the year goes on.
Big Ten: Penn State
Start of season: 61
Now: 32
The Nittany Lions seem to be ready to take a step up in year two under Mike Rhoades.
Penn State is 4-0 on the young season and played very well in its first game against a power conference opponent, beating Virginia Tech 86-64 on a neutral floor last Friday.
It’s a similar recipe for success as Utah. Penn State takes smart shots, plays quick, and makes those shots. It is the third-fastest team in the country with an average possession length of 14.6 seconds, and is a top-25 team in the country in effective field goal percentage. On defense, it is one of the best teams in the nation at forcing turnovers.
Zach Hicks is great and leads the team with 15.5 points per game, but Ace Baldwin remains one of the best pass-first guards in the country and is one of 17 players in the country who averaging seven or more assists per game.
The Big Ten is a very deep league, one of the deepest in the country, but Penn State should be very competitive.
Big East: DePaul
Start of season: 163
Now: 112
How about the Blue Demons? DePaul was the worst power conference team in the nation last year, finishing 3-29 and failing to win a Big East game.
Under new head coach Chris Holtmann, DePaul has already surpassed its win total from last season. It got a little interesting in its first game of the season when Southern Indiana took them to overtime, but the Blue Demons have played better since then. Its best win so far is an 84-58 win against Duquesne, a program that was in the NCAA tournament last season.
A common theme developing, DePaul takes effective shots. It ranks 17th in the nation in effective field goal percentage. It has also defended the three-point line with the best in the nation. It only lets up 23.7% of three-point attempts, good for 12th in the country.
On an entirely new team of transfers, UIC transfer Isaiah Rivera and Coastal Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer have been the best of the group.
It will still be tough sledding for DePaul in the Big East. It still lags far behind many teams in the league. But it won’t be remotely close to the struggles of last season.
ACC: Stanford
Start of season: 99
Now: 66
Pitt is a team that has moved up 21 spots from the beginning of the season and is making themselves the third good team in the ACC, but Stanford has moved up more.
In the program’s first season in the ACC the Cardinal have yet to play a high-major opponent, but have played well in a 4-0 start. It has only played one opponent (UC Davis) that is ranked in the top 250 in KenPom.
Kyle Smith’s team does a very good job at slowing teams down and it has been effective so far. It has not allowed more than 65 points in any of their four games so far.
Maxime Raynaud is the best player on this team, averaging 21.3 points per game on 49.2% shooting, while Jaylen Blakes averages 15.0 PPG.
In what is a down ACC that doesn’t have a ton of true contending teams, if the Cardinal continue to play this way they will end up doing better than many expected.
Mountain West: Nevada
Start of season: 73
Now: 39
The Wolf Pack are 4-0 and have a high-major win against Washington, plus a win against a WCC team in Santa Clara.
Nevada has scored 85+ points in three of its four games so far this season, including in the Santa Clara win.
Nevada is also a great shooting team. It is second in the nation in three-point percentage, making 48.6% of its attempts from beyond the arc. Nick Davidson has been absurd so far this season and has made nine of his 11 attempts from three. If you’re keeping track at home, that is an 81.5% clip. He leads the team with 18.0 PPG.
Meanwhile, Kobe Sanders is averaging 16.8 PPG and has made six of his 10 attempts so far. Xavier DuSell takes the most on this team and still makes them at a 45.5% clip.
Nevada ranks 16th in the nation in effective field goal percentage.
Overall, this is a team that has showed some serious chops so far. It can certainly compete in a very good Mountain West.
Atlantic 10: La Salle
Start of season: 169
Now: 119
The Explorers have enjoyed not only the largest jump in the Atlantic 10, but its 50 spots represents one of the largest jumps in the country since the beginning of the season.
La Salle is 4-0 on the season, including nice wins against Ivy League power Cornell and crosstown rival Drexel.
Overall, Fran Dunphy’s team hasn’t really done anything truly special and there’s nothing eye-popping on its KenPom report card. It has just been able to take care of business when some other Atlantic 10 teams have struggled to do so.
Rider transfer Corey McKeithan has been a revelation, leading the team with 18.0 PPG. Jahlil White, who came over from another Philadelphia team in Temple, has 14.0 PPG.
It still ranks in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic 10, but for a team that hasn’t played .500 ball in the league since 2016-17 and has not gone above .500 since 2012-13, that’s a welcome improvement.
American: Tulane
Start of season: 191
Now: 159
Tulane is 3-1 and does not have a win against a top-325 KenPom team, and lost to Furman, but the Green Wave have not done anything poorly.
It is a top-40 three-point shooting team in the nation behind the likes of junior Kaleb Banks, freshman Mari Jordan and sophomore Rowan Brumbaugh, who are making them at clips of 57.9%, 53.8% and 43.5% respectively. All are averaging more than 10.5 points per game, led by Banks’ 16.0 PPG.
It also defends from inside the arc well, allowing only 37.8% of attempts from inside the arc going in. That is good for eighth in the nation. It is also 24th in the country in opponent effective field goal percentage.
Ron Hunter has a reputation as a good “bad job” coach. Tulane fits that bill, having not made the tournament since 1995. He has had two seasons of at least 10 league wins in the last three years. Tulane will certainly hope he can get back to success.
AJ Hoops 