By Aidan Joly
Christmas week always provides a slow week on the college basketball schedule, giving a time to step back for a few days before conference play really ramps up.
Some of the contenders have separated themselves from the pretenders, while others have generated some good storylines so far this season.
With that being said, here are five teams I’m thinking about this holiday season.
Auburn
It’s a little cliché to be saying I’m thinking about the best team in the country, but the Tigers have separated themselves as head and shoulders above the field.
Auburn currently ranks N0. 1 in the country in KenPom, BPI, Bart Torvik, EvanMiya, strength of record, power index, NET and has the most Quad 1 wins (and somehow, AP has it at No. 2?).
Right now, the Tigers should be the favorite to not only win the SEC, but also win the national title. It feels like we are on a collision course to see Auburn cut down the nets in San Antonio.
Mississippi State
A second SEC team. Mississippi State is 11-1 on the season with its only loss coming to Butler, and is coming off of a nice win against Memphis on Saturday. Speaking of Memphis, I keep going back and forth on believing in them. Weird team.
Anyway, Chris Jans’ team is having a very good start, a start that has gotten them up to No. 19 in the country in both KenPom and the AP poll.
A great offense, led by Josh Hubbard and Keshawn Murphy, certainly has the pieces to compete in the top half of the SEC and be in the NCAA tournament.
It has one more non-conference game against Bethune-Cookman before starting league play on Jan. 4.
Georgetown
Do we believe in the Hoyas?
Georgetown has won its first two conference games for the first time since the 2015-16 season, part of a 10-2 start, the earliest the program has reached double digit wins since the 2013-14 season. Georgetown hasn’t even had a double digit win season since the 2020-21 season.
On the flip side, seven of the 10 wins have come against sub-200 KenPom teams, but it avoided the inexplicable loss to a low-major team that has plagued non-conference schedules for the past few years. The league wins came against a solid Creighton team and a bad Seton Hall team.
Jayden Epps has taken a much-needed step up, and Thomas Sorber has been fantastic as a freshman to the tune of 15.2 PPG. Micah Peavy has been a welcome addition.
Is Georgetown ready to take a step in year two of Ed Cooley at the helm? Maybe.
Maryland
It’s a somewhat similar story for Maryland. The Terrapins are off to a 10-2 start with its losses coming to Marquette and Purdue.
It is 1-1 in the Big Ten so far, with the win coming against Ohio State. It does have a win against Syracuse, but seven of its 10 wins have come against sub-200 teams.
However, these wins have the Terps all the way up to No. 11 in KenPom. Much-hyped freshman Deriq Queen has been as advertised, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie has played a big role.
Maryland missed the tournament last season, but has a shot at making its return this season.
Cincinnati
How about Wes Miller’s Cincinnati Bearcats?
Cincinnati is 10-1 on the season and has wins against Georgia Tech, Xavier and Dayton. The Dayton win last Friday was a huge one, since the Flyers are having a very, very good season.
Through its winning the Bearcats have quietly climbed up to No. 17 in the AP poll. It ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation a few weeks ago, the program’s highest ranking since the 2017-18 season.
Simas Lukosius has been the guy for the Bearcats. Jizzle James has taken a step up as a sophomore, and Dillon Mitchell has been a great add.
After back-to-back 22+ win seasons and trips to the NIT, it certainly seems like Cincinnati is taking the next step up in year three of Miller’s tenure.
AJ Hoops 