Author: Aidan Joly

By Aidan Joly

Believe it or not, we are going to have a bracket in less than seven weeks and the Round of 64 gets underway seven weeks from today.

That being said, it’s time to take a look at three dark horses to make the Final Four based on some metrics. The first one being does it have a star player, or a group of guys who the team can use to carry it to the Final Four, does this team have strong play in the backcourt and does this team have a good coach who can make his team tough to prepare for it.

So, time to get right into it.

Miami

This is a popular dark horse pick. The Hurricanes made a surprising run to the Elite Eight last season and currently sit at 7-3 in ACC play, 16-4 overall.

The Hurricanes can roll with a star who got them to the Elite Eight last year, that being Isaiah Wong, who averages 16.3 points per game and shoots over 36% from behind the three-point arc. He’s become an opportunistic defender as well, with 1.5 steals per contest, and rare does he turn the ball over as a point guard. He’s a guy who has been through the wringer, averaging 21.5 points per game in the first two rounds of the tournament last year before struggling against Iowa State and Kansas in the second weekend, an experience that probably left a sour taste in the mouth of the veteran.

Wong has a backcourt partner in Jordan Miller, who averages just under 15 points per game and stepped up his production once ACC play got underway. Really, this answers the question of if the Canes have strong backcourt play, which it without question does. Its greatest strength is in guard play, but in the frontcourt Norchard Omier averages a double-double, creating a nice contrast. Nijel Pack is a strong supporting cast piece as well.

Its coach, Jim Larranaga, has a reputation of being a tough coach to prepare for. There’s a reason he has over 700 career wins to his name. His guard-heavy scheme is a modern system that some coaches are starting to use, but some others still shy away from it. He led George Mason’s charge in 2006 to the Final Four, so he’s no stranger to getting a deep run out of his teams. With Larranaga in charge, it’s easy to feel comfortable.

Xavier

One of the most quiet, yet impressive, teams in the country right now. The Musketeers are 9-1 in the Big East and 17-4 overall. That already includes a sweep over the flailing UConn, one that was finished off on Wednesday night. Xavier has only lost one game since November 27.

This team has a number of stars it can rely on. Right now, guard Souley Boum is the leading scorer at 16.8 points per game. The Musketeers also boast a couple of stalwarts in the frontcourt, with Zach Freemantle and seven-footer Jack Nunge, making this a very good team on the boards on top of Freemantle’s 15 points per game and Nunge’s 14.3. Another solid guard in Colby Jones is there as well as Adam Kunkel, albeit Kunkel being a bit inconsistent at times. So that being said, it’s not just guard play with Xavier, but it also has two great forwards who can make life difficult for just about any team you could think of.

One thing that goes against the Musketeers is a lack of NCAA tournament experience, the program having not made the Big Dance since 2018. That being said, it might be a run similar to that of Miami’s last season, where, from lack of a better term, where the players don’t know any better and make a run without really thinking too much about it.

The man on the sidelines may end up being a major part of that. Sean Miller, formerly disgraced from Arizona, is back in Cincinnati for the first year of his second stint with the program. He never did get to the Final Four with Arizona, but he got to the Elite Eight three times. He has 19 NCAA tournament wins to his name. Say what you will about him, but there’s no question that Miller can flat-out coach. All of this makes Xavier a prime candidate to make a deep run.

Iowa State

I’m old enough to remember not liking the TJ Otzelberger-to-Ames hire. Did that blow up in my face. The Cyclones are 6-2 in a stacked Big 12 and 15-4 overall this year. Obviously, that record itself is a bit deceiving, since it plays in the Big 12, where it sees a war every night.

It’s not really star that leads this Iowa State team, but it’s more of a collection of good players. A pair of St. Bonaventure transfers are key players on the team in Jaren Holmes, who is the leading scorer, as well as Osun Osunniyi, who used to terrorize Atlantic 10 teams with his size and rebounding ability. His stats have taken a small dip this season, but his minutes have also done that.

However, the two guys to watch out for are both in the backcourt, Gabe Kalscheur and Caleb Grill. Both of them have the ability to have ridiculously good games, especially from Grill, who dropped 31 points on 7-11 from behind the three-point line in November against North Carolina, one of the better college basketball performances on a national stage in recent memory. That being said, it’s not a star that will knock you down, it might be death by a thousand paper cuts with the Cyclones.

Last season, Iowa State reached the Sweet 16 in Otzelberger’s first year at the helm and did it after having a losing record in conference play, earning a No. 11 seed. This is the same guy who went 27-3 in Summit League play in his final two years as head coach at South Dakota State. He is a very good coach who is bringing Iowa State back to the heights it saw during the Fred Hoiberg days. It’s easy to believe in his abilities as a coach. One thing is for sure, this team will have been battle-tested coming into the tournament. Maybe, it will take that next step from last year.

By Aidan Joly

It’s the thick of the college basketball season and we are starting to see the good and the bad teams weed themselves out. Some thoughts from a busy weekend of hoops:

The most notable result came Sunday while football was on, with Temple taking down No. 1 Houston 56-55 at Fertitta Center. It was a grind-it-out type win as the Cougars struggled to put the ball in the basket, while Temple did just enough to win. They did it the day after the late John Chaney would have turned 91 years old, too.

One of the major storylines across the country was UConn’s struggles as conference play began. After winning its first three in the Big East, the Huskies dropped five of six games to bring them down to 4-5 in the league after starting 14-0 and peaking at No. 2 in the country.

One could have thought a road game against a struggling Seton Hall team would be the game to get right, but it came one game later after UConn loss to the Pirates 67-66. UConn finally looked like November and December UConn on Sunday with a convincing 86-56 win against Butler. The Huskies have a major test coming up on Wednesday against Xavier as it hopes to split the series with Sean Miller’s Musketeers.

The Huskies can still make a deep run, but it can’t afford another stretch like that.

Pitt’s tournament hopes took a hit on Saturday when it suffered a 71-64 loss at home to Florida State, which is the Panthers’ first Quad 4 loss of the season. Rebounding from a Quad 4 loss isn’t easy, especially when you have now lost three of five after a stretch of winning 10 of 11 from November 20 until January 3.

One should have expected Saturday’s game between TCU and Kansas to be close, but it wasn’t. The Horned Frogs went into Allen Fieldhouse and blasted Kansas by 23, 83-60. It was TCU’s best performance of the season as it improved to 15-4 overall, but only 4-3 in the hyper-competitive Big 12.

The Horned Frogs certainly look like a second weekend team. Meanwhile, Kansas is still a Final Four contender but has now lost two in a row. Monday night’s game against Baylor in Waco feels like a huge one for the Jayhawks.

The stunner of the week came on Thursday night, when Loyola Marymount snapped No. 6 Gonzaga’s 75-game home winning streak to hand the Zags their first home loss since January 2018, 68-67.

Loyola Marymount hadn’t beaten Gonzaga in Spokane since 1991. The program hadn’t won a game against a top-10 opponent since 1961. On the flip side, Gonzaga hadn’t lost a conference game to a team not named St. Mary’s or BYU since February 2014 (San Diego) and hadn’t lost a WCC home game that wasn’t to either of those teams since February 2007 (Santa Clara).

This was an unprecedented loss for Gonzaga, who followed it up by struggling against Pacific late Saturday night, the game tied at the half but the Zags won by nine. This is Mark Few’s weakest team in a number of years.

The Atlantic 10 is really bad. There is a ton of mediocrity in the middle of the pack, while the two teams that are 6-1 in the league, VCU and St. Louis, have non-conference losses to Jacksonville and SIU-Edwardsville, respectively. The league is well on its way to being a one-bid league for the first time since 2005.

It’s worth noting that it would have been a one-bid league last year if not for Richmond, who stunned its way to the conference’s automatic bid while Davidson was a team you couldn’t leave out. No teams in there have an at-large resume right now.

Finally, there has been a dynamic shift in the WAC this year. Seattle is at the top of the league at 7-0, trying to get to the tournament for the first time since 1969. It had an impressive 81-60 win against Southern Utah on Saturday. Chris Victor is doing a great job in his first season as permanent head coach after being the interim last year. On the other end, New Mexico State is still reeling amidst a scandal where one of its players, junior Mike Peake, is accused of shooting and killing another man on the campus of University of New Mexico in November. It has gotten really ugly.

On the court, the Aggies are 0-8 in league play and haven’t won a game in over a month.

By Aidan Joly

On Thursday, it became official that Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey will step down and retire at the end of the season.

Replacing the 63-year-old Brey will be no small task. He has been at the helm in South Bend since 2000 and at 481 wins to date, he is the winningest coach in program history.

Brey had gotten the Irish to the Elite Eight as recently as 2016, but the program has fallen on hard times in recent years, having only been to one of the past four NCAA tournaments. This news had felt inevitable for a year or two now.

In theory, the Notre Dame job should be a prime gig. You are in the ACC and arena upgrades to boot and the Notre Dame brand speaks for itself, but it’s tougher than that. You have the academic expectations and a football program that gobbles up attention and resources. So, the search begins to find someone who can balance that. Here’s eight (and one) candidates who may be able to do just that.

Martin Ingelsby, Delaware head coach

A Notre Dame alum and longtime assistant under Brey, Ingelsby is the first name that comes to mind here. Ingelsby inherited a 7-23, 2-16 team when he arrived in 2016 and this past year, got Delaware to the tournament for the first time since 2014. This is really a question of if Notre Dame wants to “keep it in the family” or not. It’s something to consider with the recent dip in results.

Chris Quinn, Miami Heat assistant

A popular former Irish guard, Quinn has been on Erik Spoelstra’s staff in Miami since 2014 after a professional career that lasted from 2006-2013. He spent one year as a college assistant, under Chris Collins at Northwestern in 2013-14. Quinn is still young, at just 39. It’s hard to imagine Notre Dame not giving Quinn a call.

Micah Shrewsberry, Penn State head coach

This would be a home run hire. Shrewsberry has a great reputation as a tactician as well as in player development, which is what you need in a program like Notre Dame that has mostly four-year guys. He’s developed Jalen Pickett into one of, if not the, best point guard in the country. Like Notre Dame, Penn State is a basketball program that is overshadowed by a football program, so he understands what needs to be done.

Dusty May, Florida Atlantic head coach

May is one of the hottest names in college basketball right now. He has Florida Atlantic in the top 25 for the first time in program history with an 18-1 record. May is an Indiana native. It certainly helps his case that his athletic director, Brian White, is the son of former Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White.

Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon head coach

It wouldn’t be surprising if Drew wants to get back into the high major game after being fired Vanderbilt at the end of the 2018-19 season. Since he has taken the job at Grand Canyon, he got the program to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history in 2021 in its fourth year of eligibility after making the transition to Division I. Drew is someone who could inject some excitement into the program.

Jason Williford, Virginia assistant

Williford came to Virginia with Tony Bennett in 2009 and has been there since, having been promoted to associate head coach in 2017. He also had stops at American and Boston University. Add that all up and he has been coaching college basketball for 22 years, but never as a head coach. We have seen a recent trend of success with longtime assistants becoming head coaches (looking at Tommy Lloyd and Jerome Tang here), maybe Williford could be next in that line.

Pat Kelsey, Charleston head coach

Similar to May, the 47-year-old Kelsey is again one of the hottest names in college basketball. He has Charleston ranked in the AP Poll for the first time in two decades as the Cougars currently sit at No. 18 in the country with a 20-1 record. He is a Cincinnati native who has ACC ties dating back to his days working at Wake Forest from 2001-2009. Another guy who could inject some life into the program.

Porter Moser, Oklahoma head coach

Moser had wanted to be a high-major coach, but Oklahoma always seemed like a strange fit given his regional ties to the Chicago area. He loved the culture of Loyola Chicago, and if you remember, he was offered a 10-year deal to stay at Loyola when he was offered the Oklahoma job. Notre Dame could offer the best of both worlds and give him a chance to avoid the cesspool of SEC recruiting that is coming soon. He likely has a sizeable buyout, which could make it tough, but maybe Notre Dame could make an offer he can’t refuse?

Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns head coach

This is the (and one). He’s one of the all-time greats in the history of the program, but he has a comfy NBA job and a ton of talent. However, the injury-riddled Suns currently sit 11th in the Western Conference, on the outside looking into the playoffs less than two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance. It’s a “make him say no” call, but maybe they shock the basketball world and have the cash and are able sell the emotional pull to him.

Prediction: Ingelsby seems like a good choice and if I had to guess, I’ll go with him. However, given the resources that the the does have, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them put together a heck of an offer to Shrewsberry or Moser and one of them gets it.

By Aidan Joly

On Tuesday night, Kansas State snapped a seven-game losing streak against Kansas. Coming in, the Wildcats had won just one of the past 16 meetings between the two programs.

But Tuesday wasn’t an upset.

With the Wildcats’ 83-82 overtime win against Kansas last night at Bramlage Coliseum, the program and first-year head coach Jerome Tang made a major statement that the program is back as a force in the Big 12.

They did it despite one of the best individual performances we’ve seen all season in Kansas’ Jalen Wilson, who put up a game-high 38 points on 12-25 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Kansas State countered with a two-headed attack from Keyontae Johnson and Desi Sills, who scored 24 points each while Johnson also had eight rebounds. Nae’Qwan Tomlin added 15 points and 10 boards of his own.

Kansas State got this win with grit and toughness. It took Kevin McCullar completely out of the game as he ended up fouling out without scoring and held Gradey Dick to 4-13 from the field. It also got KJ Adams to foul out in the closing minutes of regulation after a 6-6 performance from the field that netted him 17 points. Kansas was also forced to be without Dick for the last 1:31 of overtime after Kansas State forced the freshman into three fouls in just over three minutes after he came into overtime with just two against him.

Not to mention, doing it against a fierce rival, who also happens to be the defending national champions, and on national TV, only adds to the sweetness of this win for Kansas State.

Jerome Tang took over this program less than a year ago, with the Wildcats having won only 13 Big 12 games over the past three seasons. The 56-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago had spent nearly two decades as Scott Drew’s right-hand man at Baylor and waiting for an opportunity as a head coach. Tang was already known as one of the top recruiters and one of the savviest assistants in the country.

He went to work and grabbed Johnson from Florida as a grad transfer, a player who had not played outside of a ceremonial start since December 2020, when he collapsed on the court during a game and had to go into a coma. He’s now the team’s leading scorer.

He also got Tomlin, who came from JUCO Chipola College in Florida. He has blossomed into 11.1 points per game so far this year. He also got Sills from Arkansas State and David N’Guessan from Virginia Tech, both of whom have been key contributors, N’Guessan being one before he went down with a foot injury and has missed the past six games, but is expected to be back soon.

By using a grab bag of sorts for players, this Kansas State team is now 16-2 on the season and 5-1 in the Big 12 and is ranked No. 13 in the country in this week’s AP Poll, sure to move up next week assuming the Wildcats are able to take care of business against Texas Tech on Saturday. As tough as the conference is, Kansas State has a chance to eclipse the number of league wins this season as it had the past three years combined. It is a lock to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019 and has a very real chance to go to the second weekend, something the program has only done once since 2010.

Tang’s speech after the game on Tuesday night after the court storm struck me as well. This is a guy who is all-in on this program and loves it, his players and the fans. This is a match made in heaven.

Kansas State has arrived.

By Aidan Joly

Ever since former Texas head coach Chris Beard was fired on January 5 amid domestic violence allegations, speculation has run rampant over who could be the next coach in Austin.

Call me crazy, but it seems that the speculation that Kentucky head coach John Calipari could take the job is gaining traction.

In the head of this blogger, there’s two schools of thought, one saying he could do it and another saying it doesn’t make sense.

As for he could do it, there’s no doubting that things are the worst they’ve ever been, especially in the last two years, since Calipari was hired ahead of the 2009-10 season.

Kentucky had a good season in 2019-20 and was sure to make a run in the NCAA tournament, but that obviously did not happen. After that, the Wildcats were putrid in 2020-21, finishing 9-16 and 8-9 in conference play, the first time the program finished a season under .500 in either mark since 1988-89, a season that was marred with an NCAA scandal and coach Eddie Sutton’s resignation after the season. 2021 was also only the second time in Calipari’s tenure that Kentucky missed the NCAA tournament.

Come the 2021-22 season, Kentucky was good enough to earn a No. 2 seed in the tournament but lost to St. Peter’s in the first round of the Peacocks run to the Elite Eight.

Now, things in Lexington have seemingly never been worse. The team currently sits at 10-6 and 1-3 in the SEC. Things seemingly came to a head on Tuesday night when it lost to sub-200 in KenPom and sub-250 in NET South Carolina at home. That qualified as the program’s first Quad 4 loss since it lost to Evansville at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. It’s worth noting that in South Carolina’s previous game, it got doubled up by Tennessee and lost by 43.

Historically, the program has not won a national championship since 2012, hasn’t made a Final Four since 2015 and hasn’t even won an NCAA tournament game since 2019. When you think of Kentucky, those are mind-boggling numbers.

It’s clear that Calipari has not done a good job the past few years despite having some of the best rosters in the country. Calipari has seemingly been more and more frustrated in recent years, and the fans have done the same in turn.

Texas has to go all-out with this hire. Calipari may be the right guy, he may not be. Time to take a look as to why it could be appealing for him to stay at Kentucky.

When Calipari signed that “lifetime” contract in 2019, a big part of it was that after he was done coaching, he could stay around the program as an “ambassador” and make just under $1 million a year for doing that. According to 247 Sports, when is the earliest he could do that?

After the 2023-24 season.

Calipari is 63 years old and will be 64 by the time this season comes to an end. After the 2023-24 season, could he decide to hang it up and do that? Will Kentucky softly push him out the door if he sticks around and struggles for another year? Maybe a combination of both.

If he were to take the Texas job, he’s probably only doing it for no more than 8-10 years. It’s easy to say the Texas administration would be okay with that, but it comes down to the decision that Calipari could potentially make.

Another reason he could stay is the recruiting class coming in. Kentucky has signed four of the top eight in ESPN’s top 100 for the class of 2023, including No. 1 DJ Wagner and No. 2 Justin Edwards. This is Kentucky’s best recruiting class in several years and far and away the best class in the sport heading into next year. Kentucky has utilized the transfer portal more in recent years to pick up veterans, so it could be very easy for Kentucky to have a roster that can contend for a national championship next year.

With all of these things in mind, would it make sense for Calipari to leave and/or Kentucky to let him go without much of a fight? It’s too early to tell, but the possibility exists and is an intriguing one.

By Aidan Joly

It’s no secret that the Big 12 is the best conference in college basketball this season. It feels like any night, any team can beat any other team in that conference and every single game is a war between two heavyweights.

So, just how many teams can this league send to the NCAA tournament come March?

We’ll dive into this first by examining the teams in the Big 12, and then how the 36 at-large bids will be dispersed across all of the other leagues.

In Tuesday morning’s KenPom rankings, all 10 teams in the Big 12 rank in the top 41 teams, with Texas Tech being the lowest team in that No. 41 spot. Kansas is the highest at No. 5, followed by Texas at No. 8, a much-improved West Virginia sits at No. 23. Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State and Oklahoma State make up Nos. 26-29 in that order, then Oklahoma is 31st and TCU is 32nd. So if you’re keeping score at home, 90% of the league is within the top 32 in KenPom, which in today’s college basketball is simply unheard of.

Putting it this way: on Wednesday night, Baylor and West Virginia will face each other in Morgantown. No. 23 against No. 26 in KenPom. The loser of that game will drop to 0-4 in conference play. But does it matter? Both of these teams are still very good and should both easily make the tournament, despite a poor start in conference play.

On the other end of this spectrum you have Kansas State, which is an interesting case study. The Wildcats went 14-17, 6-12 in Big 12 play last year and coach Bruce Weber resigned at seasons’ end. Bring in Jerome Tang, who has led Kansas State to a 14-1 record thus far and a 3-0 start in conference play, all three of them wins against then-ranked teams, including scoring 116(!) points on the road(!) against Texas on January 3. It followed that up by dropping 97 on Baylor, again on the road, four days later. It was rewarded in this week’s AP Poll by moving all the way up to 11th in the country after being previously unranked. And there’s the power of the Big 12 this year.

As part of the KSU tidbit, shoutout to Keyontae Johnson. It’s a miracle he’s playing again and he’s become a star.

You don’t even have to mention the likes of Kansas, Iowa State, TCU and Texas, who are all already tournament locks. You can throw Oklahoma in the “should be in” category as well.

As for the entire conference, it has a conference rating of +18.27 on KenPom, meaning only 21 teams in the country would be projected to finish over .500 in this league. Texas Tech, the team lowest in KenPom as previously stated, has an adjusted efficiency margin (the KenPom analytic most commonly used to evaluate teams) of +15.24, a number that would project the Red Raiders to win 22 of Division I’s 32 conferences.

Now, an examination of the other leagues and how many teams each of those should and can send to March. The Big Ten is strong and should send eight or nine teams. Of course, and with all of these leagues, one of them will get the automatic bid. The numbers here include that bid. I’d be willing to mark the SEC at seven. The ACC is once again down and probably won’t send more than six. Put the Big East down for at least four, maybe five. The Mountain West is good enough for three, possibly four bids. But probably three. PAC-12 is only two or three, believe it or not. Gonzaga and St. Mary’s both get bids from the WCC. Potentially give the American Athletic an extra bid.

With all of those, I have a low end of 26 at large-bids taken up and a high end of 30. For our purposes, I’ll meet in the middle and say 28. So, that would leave eight at-large bids available for the Big 12, on top of the automatic bid, which gives us nine teams making it out of the 10, leaving an odd one out, which right now would likely be Texas Tech. Part of this is worth noting that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are both squarely on the bubble, so the performance of those two teams over the next two months matters. However, there is obviously no shortage of chances for quality wins.

Conferences have only sent nine or more teams to the tournament four times: 2018 ACC (9), 2017 ACC (9), 2012 Big East (9) and the 2011 Big East, which sent a record-breaking 11 teams to the tournament out of 16 in the league at the time, which is a number record. As for percentages, the Big 12 has sent seven teams to the tournament several times, most recently in 2021, for a percentage record of 70%. The Big 12 would have to send eight teams to the tournament this year to break that record, which seems very possible with seven already solidly in.

Kansas, Texas, West Virginia, Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and TCU, as of now, welcome to history.

By Aidan Joly

On Thursday, Texas officially parted ways with head coach Chris Beard amid domestic violence charges.

Assistant coach Rodney Terry, who has been running the team since Beard’s arrest on December 12, is now set to take over for the remainder of the season.

The Texas job is one of the most attractive jobs in the country. Whoever lands this job will have no shortage of resources, top-of-the-line recruits in a basketball-rich state, some of the best facilities in the country and tons of alumni support. Expect the administration to swing for the fences.

Here’s seven candidates that could make sense for this job.

Rodney Terry, interim head coach

Obviously, the list has to start with the guy running the team right now. Since Terry took over, the Longhorns are 6-1. He is from the state and was on Rick Barnes’ staff at Texas from 2002-2011 before having a pair of head coaching jobs at Fresno State and UTEP. He knows what winning at Texas looks like. At this point, this is probably Terry’s job to lose.

Jamie Dixon, TCU head coach

Dixon’s name was one of the first ones that was thrown around on social media as a possibility. Dixon has been at TCU and in the Big 12 since 2016 and has led the Horned Frogs to a pair of NCAA tournaments and this year’s squad looks to be the best he has had in his time in Fort Worth. Dixon knows how to win and is probably worth a call. But will Texas be able to lure him away from his alma mater? We will see.

Jerome Tang, Kansas State head coach

This is Tang’s first year as a head coach, but he has the most Big 12 experience out of anyone that is on this list. He was Scott Drew’s right-hand man for one of the most impressive program turnarounds in the history of the sport, culminating in a national championship for Baylor in 2021 after he joined the staff with Drew in 2003. In his first year as a head coach, he has Kansas State off to a 14-1 start. It’s rare that head coaches leave after one season, but maybe it happens here.

Royal Ivey, Brooklyn Nets assistant

This is one that would fire up the fanbase. Ivey was a star guard for the Longhorns in the early 2000s before turning it into a 10-year NBA career and has been in coaching since. Currently, he is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets and recently served as the head coach of the South Sudan national team. However, he has never coached college basketball, which could be a drawback. It’s worth noting that he has interviewed for this job before, when he was passed over for Beard in 2021.

Chris Holtmann, Ohio State head coach

On paper, this would be a lateral move. Ohio State, similar to Texas, has a lot of the things mentioned in the introduction. Near-unlimited resources, fan support, recruiting, top-notch facilities. You wonder if Holtmann could make more money at Texas and perhaps more important, if Holtmann has gotten all he can get out of the OSU job. He may be someone who is up for a new challenge, and Texas may be a good fit. It may be a situation where he decides to get out before OSU can make a decision on him, similar to how Shaka Smart left Texas for Marquette in 2021.

Eric Musselman, Arkansas head coach

There probably aren’t too many jobs across the country that Musselman would leave Arkansas for, but this may be one of them. Things are going really well for him right now, but Texas giving Musselman a call is a call worth making. Would he do it though? Not sure. But this is the type of job that just about anyone would consider. Which leads to the final candidate…

John Calipari, Kentucky head coach

Believe it or not, Kentucky has not won an NCAA tournament game since 2019. It likely would have won at least one or two in 2020, but that’s not the world we live in. Kentucky missed the NCAA tournament in 2021 with a historically bad season by program standards and then lost St. Peter’s in the first round last year. It hasn’t gotten much better this year, with a 10-5 start and 1-2 in the SEC. Calipari has only one national championship at Kentucky (2012) and hasn’t made the Final Four since 2015, with one of the best rosters in the sport nearly every year.

Kentucky fans are getting restless and the noise is getting louder that the Calipari-Kentucky marriage may have run its course. Maybe a move to Texas would be beneficial for all three parties?

Prediction: As long as the Longhorns keep winning, administration takes the interim tag off of Terry after the season and gives him the full-time job. It’s undoubtedly the easiest thing to do and he might even be the best guy for the job.

By Aidan Joly

The Mountain West Conference has always been one of those leagues that is on the outside of being looked at as an elite league, but is trying to be.

This year’s edition of the league might be as good as ever and as deep as ever.

The simple facts lay in the analytical rankings. As of Thursday, every team in the 11-team league ranks in the top 170 in KenPom, seven of them ranking in the top 100. When you look at the NET rankings, six teams rank in the top 60. Putting it frankly, this is the best the league has been in quite some time.

Most of the time, you see one or two teams in that league sticking out – whether it be San Diego State, New Mexico, Nevada or Utah State most of the time – and the rest treading water, but that’s not the case this year.

New Mexico right now is the best team in the league record-wise, sitting at 13-0 as one of the three remaining unbeaten teams in the league and found itself ranked in the AP Poll this week for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Second-year head coach Richard Pitino deserves a ton of credit for putting together a team this strong this early in his tenure, having already matched the team’s win total from last year. This is a program that hasn’t even finished above .500 in conference play since 2017-18 and has not made the NCAA tournament since 2014. Surely, both of those things will change this year.

However, two teams sit above the Lobos in KenPom, with San Diego State sitting at No. 26 and Utah State at No. 39, ahead of the No. 58 Lobos. It is worth noting that Boise State sits at 59th.

San Diego State sits at 10-3, which includes wins against Ohio State, Stanford and BYU. Meanwhile, Utah State sits at 11-2, its only losses coming by three points to Weber State and SMU. Boise State is 10-4, Nevada is 11-2 and UNLV is also 11-2 to round out most of the teams at the top of the league.

Heck, even perennial basement-dweller San Jose State is getting in on the success. The program got a bit of a shot in the arm when it hired former Nebraska and Colorado State head coach Tim Miles ahead of last season, but it’s probably fair to say nobody thought it would happen this quick. It had a lot of growing pains last year with an 8-23, 1-17 record, but has 10 wins already, already clinching the program’s first double-digit win season since 2016-17. In fact, with a 1-0 conference start, it is above .500 in conference play since it joined the Mountain West in 2013.

The last time the Spartans had an overall winning record was a 17-16 season in 2010-11. That may or may not change, but the Spartans are off to the right start. Miles’ familiarity with the league from his time with Colorado State (2007-12) certainly helps. When at CSU, his team went 0-16 in league play, then went to the NCAA tournament four years later. San Jose State has not made the NCAA tournament since 1996.

It remains to be seen how the rest of league play will go and more importantly, how the NCAA selection committee will evaluate this league come March. But right now, every night in this league will be a battle.

By Aidan Joly

One of the slowest weeks of college basketball is here, Christmas week. The blog went dark last week as I dealt with an illness that turned out to be a case of mono, but here are five college basketball teams I’m thinking about as the holidays hit.

Miami

The Hurricanes are 12-1 on the season (3-0 ACC) after picking up its biggest win of the season on Tuesday night, a 66-64 home win against No. 6 Virginia to hand the Cavaliers their second loss in as many games. Isaiah Wong is now a star for a top-25 team and had 24 points, six rebounds and five assists in Tuesday’s win. The Canes have done it through good perimeter shooting and its plethora of experience. Miami certainly looks like an NCAA tournament lock as of now and will be a dark horse in the ACC as January and February roll on.

Wisconsin

The Badgers are this year’s Providence. Similar to last year’s Friars, Wisconsin plays a lot of close games but wins most of them as it sits at 8-2 so far and 2-0 in Big Ten play. It also has nonconference wins against USC and Marquette. Because of those close wins, the advanced metrics aren’t a huge fan of this group – despite being No. 17 in the country in the AP poll, it sits 35th in KenPom on Wednesday. However, this is a Badgers group that knows how to get it done and will certainly go through plenty of tests in the ringer that is the Big Ten.

Alabama

It’s probably fair to say that there is no reason that the Tide should have been this good this quickly. The idea of winning in college basketball is getting old and staying old through the transfer portal, but Alabama has won young this season. Freshman Brandon Miller is one of the most underrated players in the country and has led Nate Oats’ group to a 10-2 start, good for No. 9 in the country at this point. Another pair of freshmen in Noah Clowney and Jaden Bradley have both had big roles, while sophomore Nimari Burnett has been great as well. This is a young team that will have a lot of success in the SEC and in March.

Marquette

Despite a fairly pedestrian 9-4 start, there’s a lot to like about this Golden Eagles team. Marquette is 1-1 in Big East play after a win against a shorthanded Creighton team and a double overtime 103-98 loss to Providence on Tuesday night. Kam Jones has taken a huge jump in year two to be the team’s leading scorer, while Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Oso Ighodaro have also made jumps to become key pieces in the rotation. Tyler Kolek has shown potential to have huge games too. Don’t forget, this is a team that hammered Baylor by 26 a few weeks ago. The Big East might have the best team in the country in UConn, but Shaka Smart’s squad could certainly make themselves the second-best in that league.

TCU

Believe it or not, the Horned Frogs are a one-point inexplicable loss to Northwestern State over a month ago now from being undefeated and being a top 10-15 team in the country. TCU doesn’t really have that resume win yet – its best wins are against Iowa and Providence, but it has gone out and do what it has to do since the Northwestern State loss. It is ranked No. 41 in KenPom as of Wednesday afternoon and ceiling seems high for this group.

By Aidan Joly

The first month of the college basketball season is in the books. To put it lightly, lots has happened. Here’s some of the things we have learned through the first month of the season.

Top preseason teams vulnerable

No team has said this more than North Carolina. The Tar Heels were the preseason No. 1 team and have already dropped out of the rankings, the fastest a preseason No. 1 team has dropped out of the rankings in the 25 team era. The No. 2 team, Gonzaga, has fallen to No. 18 after going 6-3 in its first nine, including two blowout losses. It also had a close call against Kent State on Monday night. The No. 4 team, Kentucky, has fallen to No. 16 after a pair of losses.

In turn, this has allowed Houston (9-0) to jump to the top spot. UConn, who started unranked, is up to No. 5 after a 9-0 start. The preseason No. 18 team, Virginia, is up to No. 3 after an 8-0 start and Purdue, who also started unranked, is up to No. 4 after an 8-0 start.

Bubble is weak

A lot of teams in major conferences such as the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten have struggled, creating a weak NCAA tournament bubble through the first month of the season. It may prove to be a challenge for the committee to find 34 deserving teams from high-major conferences. This might create some opportunities for mid-major leagues to have more bids. A great example is Iona, who picked up what is right now a Quad 2 win against St. Louis at home on Tuesday night.

The ACC is down

Expanding on the last point, the ACC may be the worst power conference in the country. Virginia, Duke and Miami have been good, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the rest. As stated before, North Carolina has dropped out of the rankings and has lost four in a row. Syracuse has losses to Colgate and Bryant. Notre Dame has a loss to St. Bonaventure. Boston College has losses to Maine, Tarleton State and New Hampshire. Florida State is 1-9. Louisville is 0-8 and looks like one of the worst power conference team in recent memory. The league has been down in recent years, but a good chunk of the league is borderline unwatchable right now.

New stars emerging

As with any other season, we have a crop of new stars emerging across the landscape. Purdue’s 7-4 center Zach Edey has emerged into a household name with his sheer size and his 23.3 points and 12.8 rebounds per game for a top five team. Kansas’ Jalen Wilson has blossomed from a role player the past two seasons to a superstar this season for the Jayhawks. Die-hards have known about Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis for a few years now, but now he’s doing his thing for a top-ranked Hoosiers team. UConn’s Adama Sanogo has taken a jump with the Huskies, now the best player on a top-five squad.

Of course, you have the freshman. Kansas’ Gradey Dick is a game-changer. Keyonte George has made a huge impact at Baylor. Nick Smith missed Arkansas’ first six games, but has been great in his first three games. Kentucky’s Cason Wallace has made an impact for what is a generally older Wildcats team. Kyle Filipowski is Duke’s leading scorer and rebounder. Finally, Amari Bailey has been a stud for UCLA.

Coaches on the hot seat

Yes, we have to talk about this too. The coach with the hottest seat right now is California’s Mark Fox as his Golden Bears sit at 0-9 this year. Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing has been on the hot seat for a few years now, a 4-5 start with losses to Loyola Marymount and American has not helped matters. That might be a situation that ends in a “mutual parting of ways” after the season. After a surprise Elite Eight run in 2021, Oregon State’s Wayne Tinkle won just three games last year and went 1-19 in Pac-12 play and has lost five of the past six right now. Fred Hoiberg may have bought himself some more time at Nebraska with a win against Creighton earlier this week, but it’s tough to see him in that job after this year.

Will any of these coaches lose their jobs mid-season? There always seems to be one or two changes mid-season, so maybe that will happen. If there is one, my money is on Fox.

Chaos reigns supreme

This year seems more chaotic than year’s past. It seems like a ranked team is losing to an unranked team almost every day. In fact, it has happened 19 times already in the first month of the season. Expect many, many more to come as we get into conference play in the coming weeks. Expect the unexpected.