Every Monday throughout the end of college basketball season, I will be giving out my Top 25 teams in the country. These rankings will be based on not only wins and your team's current resume but also, how much trust and belief I have in them going forward, coaching, depth and more!
1. Gonzaga (14-2)
While many people’s No. 1 overall team in the country may differ, for this week the nod goes to the Bulldogs in these rankings. Following their 115-83 victory over Santa Clara on Saturday, The Bulldogs became the first team to score 100+ points in three consecutive conference games, since the 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. As remarkable of a statistic as that is, Gonzaga seems to be a little bit off of everyone’s national radar, especially compared to a season ago. With the pressure and spotlight consistently present until the National Championship game loss to Baylor, this team is a way more off the radar. With Drew Time quietly getting himself back into the National Player of the Year conversation, Andrew Nembhard playing like the best true point guard in the country and the emergence of Julian Strawther, the vibe around this Bulldog team should be championship or bust. However, unlike last year not everyone is going to expect them to do it, which puts Mark Few’s group in a much more favorable position entering March.
2. Auburn (16-1)
Bruce Pearl’s Tigers have become one of the best stories in college hoops in 2022. Just two years after making it to the Final Four, Pearl has Auburn fans dreaming that this team could go just as deep in the NCAA Tournament as they did in 2019, if not deeper. This past week, Auburn was able to gain two road victories over Alabama and Ole Miss. What made both of these road victories so impressive, was the fact that Auburn was trailing in both games and had to find a way to win both games in very close fashion down the stretch. A sign of a really good team is when adversity hits and you don’t play your best you still don’t use any excuses and find a way to win. Against Alabama, Auburn was without the services of big man Walker Kessler who got into foul trouble early in the first half, but guys like Jaylin Williams and Dylan Cardwell showed off Auburn’s depth and contributed to the victory. Auburn’s combination of the best front line in the country and a handful of guards that can make plays late in games, this team is dangerous.
3. Arizona (14-1)
Arizona has finally been able to get back on the floor, on a consistent basis as they picked up a pair of Pac 12 conference victories this past week over Colorado and Utah at home, improving Arizona’s Pac 12 Conference Record to 4-0. Although their resume may not be as good as some of the other top teams, Arizona is still one of the best teams in all of college basketball. And while sophomore guard and future NBA Draft Lottery Pick Benedict Mathurin has gotten a lot of credit for the start of Arizona’s and deservedly so, he is not alone. Sophomore Azoulas Tubelis led the Wildcats, with 32 points and eight rebounds in the victory over Utah. This is a great sign for Arizona, as there isn’t a better inside/ outside duo in all of college basketball than Tubelis and Mathurin, especially, when Tubelis really gets going like he did against Utah and many other points last season. The talent that Sean Miller was able to assemble during his final years in Tucson remains impressive and Tommy Lloyd has done a great job keeping the group together and on the same page during his first season. With home games against UCLA and USC on the horizon, these Wildcats should still be on everyone’s radar as a national championship contender that can do some serious damage in March.
4. Duke (14-2)
After suffering their second loss of the season two weekends ago against Miami, a bounce back week was needed for the Blue Devils and that is exactly what happened. Duke picked up back-to-back wins at Wake Forest and against North Carolina State to get back to their winning ways. Tuesday night against Wake Forest, Duke was without the services of their head coach Mike Krzyzewski who missed the game dealing with a non COVID-19 related illness. While off the bat, that may not seem like that big of a deal considering it was only one game, Duke’s focus and intensity was off the charts which is easier said than done in that kind of situation. The difference for Duke in recent wins might have been the decision to bring Jeremy Roach off the bench and start five-star wing AJ Griffin, who began the year with injury. Duke has started to play a lineup composed of their five best players, with Wendell Moore running the point and a terrifying front court of Griffin, Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams. There are very few teams in college basketball that will be able to match Duke’s talent level. If this starting 5 continues to click, The Blue Devils might just be considered the favorite to cut down the nets in New Orleans when it is all set and done.
5. Kentucky (14-3)
Last week, many question why Kentucky was ranked in the Top 10 of these rankings, compared to No. 18 in the most recent AP Poll. Well, on Saturday, you saw why. Kentucky dominated Tennessee in SEC Conference play on Saturday winning 107-79. This is now the second time this season Kentucky has blown out a quality opponent by 28 + points, after they kicked North Carolina's teeth in on December 18th. Although the Wildcats haven’t been able to play great on a consistent basis this season, that time could be on the way soon. With Sahvir Wheeler back in the lineup after his neck injury, TyTy Washington looking like the elite playmaker we all expected going into the season and the presence of Oscar Tschiebwe the Wildcats are buzzin. For the first time in recent memory, it seemed like Kentucky was a little bit underrated and off the radar, following their not very strong non-conference schedule and loss to Notre Dame. However, every time we see Kentucky against a good team, they always rise to the occasion. With a road trip to Texas A & M and Auburn upcoming this week, it’s on the table to see if that will continue. Although early, those two teams are currently at the top of the SEC standings and will serve as a massive test early on in SEC Conference play.
6. Kansas (14-2)
Despite everything not being perfect with Bill Self’s squad at the moment, Kansas is still a factor at the top of college basketball and we saw exactly why this past week, with the Jayhawks picking up a pair of quality home victories over Iowa State and West Virginia. These were important wins, considering the state of the Jayhawks just one week ago. Last week, many Jayhawks fans we’re wondering where David McCormack had gone and if Kansas would be in trouble with Arizona State transfer Remy Martin still not looking very comfortable in his role for the Jayhawks and battling injuries. Thankfully, McCormack was able to respond in a big way as he had 19 points and 15 rebounds in the Jayhawks victory over West Virginia. If McCormack isn’t close to the player he was last year then this Jayhawks team ceiling diminishes quickly. There are many questions surrounding Remy Martin’s injury and when he will return to the lineup again. However, with the rise of Dajuan Harris, who hit the game winning shot against Iowa State, the Jayhawks may be ok. Kansas doesn’t need someone like Martin whose strength is a high-volume level scorer. Instead, they need a guy like Harris who is good and used to his role, that will work nicely with stars like Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun.
7. Baylor (15-2)
The word shocking can’t even describe what happened to the defending national champion Baylor Bears over the last seven days, as they lost their first two games of the season this past week, and both were at home. Baylor losing to Texas Tech without Kevin McCullar and Terrance Shannon Jr. was pretty surprising, however no one saw the Bears going down again to Oklahoma State at home on Saturday Night. Baylor was not the same team this past week as we have seen the first two months of the season. They let a 15-point first half lead against Texas Tech get away and were down 12 points after one half against Oklahoma State. No one expected Baylor to make it through a full season undefeated while playing in a league as good as the Big 12. However, this loss signifies that the top of the Big 12 is more open at the top than most people realized. The issue after you lose two consecutive conference home games, is that your next game will most likely be a road game, which obviously won't be easy to win during conference play. With a trip to Morgantown, West Virginia coming up this week against an overachieving West Virginia team, Baylor better come ready to play for a full 60 minutes or it will cost them just like it did in both of their games this past week.
8. Purdue (14-2)
Following their loss to Wisconsin last Monday, Purdue has responded nicely by picking up back-to-back wins over Penn State and Nebraska, and the Nebraska win was especially refreshing as they dominated from start to finish. The concern for the Boilers, still remains their ability to guard on defense as Nebraska was still able to shoot 46 percent from the field even in a loss. But back to the first game against Penn State. Despite the Nittany Lions not exactly being a college hoops power or a team that doesn’t necessarily have the biggest home court advantage, Purdue’s victory last week in State College was impressive. The Boilers were able to counter some of the big plays that Penn State made with some big plays of their own. That is something Purdue was not able to do against Wisconsin at all. On Monday afternoon, we will see just how much Purdue has learned from these past two victories as they will head to Champaign, Illinois to take on the Illini. This will be one of those games, where if Purdue wins, they will find themselves right back on the short list of elite teams, but if they lose many questions will start to arise, including if these Boilers can even win the Big Ten which seemed like a pretty good bet earlier in the season.
9. Illinois (13-3)
After weeks of sneaking under the radar following their December 11th loss to Arizona, the Fighting Illini are officially back on the national radar. Since the loss, Illinois has now won six in a row, and all six victories have come in double digits. Of course what's especially impressive about it is that they have done it just one season after losing All-American guard Ayo Dosunmu and also have been without the services of preseason All-Big Ten guard Andre Curbelo, who has been out with injury since November 23rd. With all that being said, the way this Illinois team is built is very appealing. Brad Underwood was able to surround superstar big man Kofi Cockburn with elite shooting and dynamic playmakers. It seems like the Illini are having a much easier time scoring the ball this year, compared to last year when the shooting was not as good and they were so reliant on Ayo to make a play at all times. With a massive home game coming up on Martin Luther King’s Day afternoon against Purdue, the Illini will have an opportunity to send a violent message to the Big Ten that they are the team to beat. This one should be a must watch, as even though these two seem like two of the best teams in the Big Ten, Illinois is 5-0 in conference and Purdue and is 3-2. If an Illinois team as good as this one gains a three-game lead on Purdue, it might be hard for the Boilers to comeback. That’s how big of a game this one is.
10. UCLA (11-2)
The Bruins seemed like one of America’s forgotten teams after dealing with a near month long COVID pause starting in December. Thankfully, UCLA has been able to return to the floor and get some games in after all of the time off, however UCLA did suffer their second loss of the season on Thursday Night against Oregon. It wasn’t the reason why the Bruins lost per say, but it was definitely disappointing to see Pauley Pavilion nearly empty due to school and state Covid policies. When basically every other team in college basketball (including your conference opponents during road games) have 100% capacity, how demoralizing is it to play your home games in front of an empty arena? Especially when you are a team with realistic Final Four aspirations like UCLA. The concern level for the Bruins, isn’t entirely high considering UCLA led by 5 at the half and was able to get the game to overtime in a miraculous late sequence of events. In addition, Dana Altman is an elite coach that picked up his 700th career win with the victory over UCLA. Thankfully, the Bruins did respond nicely with a win Saturday over Oregon State in dominating fashion.
11. LSU (15-2)
While many were ready to pounce on Will Wade and the Tigers after they suffered their second loss of the season against Arkansas this past weekend, the same narrative will not fly in these rankings. LSU has picked up victories over Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida prior to their loss against Arkansas. Although from afar the loss to Arkansas is disappointing, it is not totally shocking as the Hogs were desperate for a big conference win and the Tigers were also without the services of starting point Xavier Pinson who is still banged up from a knee injury suffered against Tennessee. However, on the road against Florida on Tuesday Night, sophomore Guard Eric Gaines was tremendous down the stretch with 15 points, which helped lead the Tigers to a huge road victory. In addition, leading scorer Tari Eason fouled out of the game with 14 minutes to play and LSU was still able to leave Gainesville with a victory. Since Will Wade got to Baton Rouge, all he has done is win and it’s about time we start giving him credit for that. He is one heck of a basketball coach.
12. Villanova (12-4)
There is something special about watching a Villanova team that is locked in on firing on all cylinders. That is exactly what Villanova has done recently and earned two big wins in the process this past week. Jay Wright’s Wildcats were able to go into a very tough environment at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati and control the game from start to finish which resulted in a road victory against Xavier. Xavier has an argument to be the most talented team in the Big East plus they have a great home court advantage, where they had yet to lose this season prior to Wednesday, and Villanova still won. Jay Wright has turned Villanova into an elite program, and it is stretches like this that are the reason why. Villanova has now six wins in a row following their win over Butler on Sunday, following their December 17th blowout loss to Creighton. Against Butler, the game was over before it even started as Villanova put up 82 points, while shooting 60% from the field and 63% from three in a 40-point victory. Despite the Big East having a handful of teams that can go deep in March, right now one thing remains the same. The conference goes through Jay Wright and the Wildcats.
13. Wisconsin (14-2)
The Badgers followed up victories over Purdue, Iowa and Maryland last week, by continuing to gain momentum following their 78-68 victory over Ohio State on Thursday Night. With the win, Wisconsin is now 5-1 in Big Ten Conference play, and has won six games in a row heading into Tuesday’s game at Northwestern. National Player of The Year candidate Johnny Davis has been playing like the best player in college basketball since the start of the season however Wisconsin has other guys who are really starting to step up. Senior Guard Brad Davison is currently going through one of the better stretches on the offensive end throughout his career, averaging 17 points per game over Wisconsin's last four games, which have all resulted in Badger victories. In addition, junior forward Tyler Wahl has had some great moments throughout the season, including 20 points and 7 rebounds in the win over Ohio State. Seeing Wisconsin in control of a good Ohio State team from start to finish, was quite eye opening. Greg Gard has done a phenomenal job throughout his tenure at Wisconsin, getting the players that play his style of basketball and this year is no different. Wisconsin is right up there with Purdue and Illinois as the best teams in the Big Ten.
14. Providence (14-2)
Unfortunately, Ed Cooley’s team had both of their scheduled games against Creighton and UConn postponed this week, due to COVID-19 issues within the Friars' program. What makes this so unfortunate, is leading up to this point Providence was playing great basketball. After losing their first Big East Conference game of the season in blow out fashion to Marquette, Providence was able to bounce back immediately in a gritty victory over St. Johns last Saturday. Providence’s game scheduled for Tuesday Night, against Seton Hall was also postponed and the Friars are not scheduled to take the floor until Sunday January 23rd against Butler. Having such a long break in the middle of the season can really take you out of rhythm or it can have no real effect. Luckily for Providence, this is a team full of older players that have played together, and the hope is that they can get back on the floor as soon as possible.
15. Texas Tech (13-4)
Anyone, who has been through a full college basketball season before knows that it is like a rollercoaster. Throughout the course of any season, you are going to have a lot of ups and a lot of downs. No team experienced that this week like Texas Tech as they went into Baylor without Terrance Shannon Jr. and defeated the then No. 1 ranked Baylor Bears. However, they followed it up by losing at Kansas State, who at the time was the only team in the Big 12, not to win a game. The loss to Kansas State isn’t even shocking considering, the Wildcats were desperate for a win after losing so many close games to open up Big 12 Conference play. Despite the loss, Texas Tech still deserves to be here as they have now beaten Baylor, Kansas and Tennessee. There are very few teams that have a trio of wins as good as those three. Mark Adams has done a great job, and especially deserves credit for finding players in the portal this summer and plugging them into this Red Raider roster. For example, Winthrop transfer and sixth year college player Adonis Arms is averaging 8.5 points per game and was key in Tech’s victory over Baylor - including the game winning dunk in crunch time to give the Red Raiders a 4-point lead which they never relinquished. How many other coaches in the country would be able to find a 6th year kid like Arms and use him properly? This is why the sky's the limit for Mark Adams and the future of the Texas Tech program.
16. Houston (15-2)
Another year goes by and yet again here are the Houston Cougars on top of the American Athletic Conference. Although this was expected by most at the start of the season, not enough people are talking about how seamlessly the transition has been for the Cougars up to this point without the services of key contributors Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark for the remainder of the season. Since the injuries occurred, Houston has won seven games in a row, including a 4-0 start to conference play. This shows just how good of a coach that Kelvin Sampson is, as he continues to have Houston ranked week after week, just one year after making it all the way to the Final Four. This past week, Houston did have a little bit of a sweat in their last win over Tulsa, as they were barely able to hold a 17 point half time lead and only won by 2 there were some positives. Primarily, Texas Tech transfer Kyler Edwards is becoming the “go to guy” as he dropped 29 points on 7 made three pointers to lead the Cougars to victory. Even without the likes of Sasser and Mark, Houston still being in this position is pretty remarkable and a credit to Sampson. With Memphis, Wichita State and Cincinnati all really underachieving to start off the season, there doesn’t seem to be a team in the AAC that can realistically challenge the Cougars going forward.
17. USC (14-2)
After starting last week, as one of the only two remaining undefeated teams in all of college basketball, USC took their first two losses of the season this past week at Stanford and at home against Oregon. Thankfully, USC was able to get in the win column as well with a home win against Oregon State, but that wasn’t even easy by itself. Although many Trojan fans may be panicking, seeing Southern California lose a few games isn't the most surprising thing in the world. Andy Enfield has done a phenomenal job consistently keeping his Trojans in these rankings just one year after making it all the way to the Elite Eight just last year. However, even though USC did go into the week undefeated, their best win is still against San Diego State. As good as the Aztecs are, for me to seriously consider you a Top 10 team, there needs to be more shown. This Trojans team also had their game scheduled for January 2nd against Arizona postponed due to COVID issues which would have been a huge opportunity. All eyes will now be on USC to see how they respond to their first 2 losses of the season when they hit the dangerous Pac 12 Mountain Road Trip against Colorado and Utah this week.
18. Iowa State (14-3)
It has gotten to a point that it’s seriously puzzling as to why more people don’t believe in this Iowa State team. The Cyclones are now 14-3 overall just one year after only winning two games. In Vegas, Iowa State were 13.5-point underdogs to Kansas, and 2.5-point underdogs to Texas. They covered both games easily and were even able to beat Texas outright. TJ Otzelberger’s Cyclones come ready to play on a night in, night out basis and are legitimately in every single game they play, including just being one shot away from beating Kansas at the Phog this past week. Penn State transfer, Izaih Brockington has a legitimate argument for the most improved player in the country as he is averaging 16.7 points per game compared to 12 last year. Every single time, the Cyclones need a basket down the stretch, Brockington is the guy who gets it done, and he has now taken over a game late multiple times this season. Watching a team that has overachieved so much this season like Iowa State on the same floor against a team that has severely underachieved like Texas was eye opening. Very early on in that game, it was apparent that the Cyclones were the better team, and the results will confirm that.
19. Xavier (13-3)
Travis Steele’s team suffered what was a very frustrating loss, at the hands of Villanova this past Tuesday. Although Villanova led from start to finish and really dominated the first half of the game, Xavier did have their chances. There were an alarming amount of layups missed by the Musketeers throughout the game and Xavier was able to come back from a 15-point deficit to tie the game with 2:16 remaining. Unfortunately, it was Villanova’s veteran guards who were able to make enough plays down the stretch which led to the victory for the Wildcats. The reason why Xavier deserves to still be in these rankings was the way they responded after the Villanova loss against Creighton on Saturday. Despite facing a five-point halftime deficit, Xavier was able to take advantage of Creighton’s 20 turnovers and leave with a victory after outscoring Creighton 51-39 in the second half. Good teams are able to take advantage of an opponent's mistake and use it to their advantage which should lead to a victory in the process. That is exactly what Xavier did behind six different players scoring in double digits. Few teams in college basketball has eight different guys that can give you buckets each and every night like the Musketeers.
20. Loyola Chicago (13-2)
It is great to give a mid major some love in these rankings, however Loyola Chicago isn’t sneaking up one anymore. Just one year after losing Coach Porter Moser who got the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018 and beat No. 1 Illinois in the NCAA Tournament, Loyola still remains a powerhouse. A lot of that has to do with the hire of first time head coach Drew Valentine, to replace Moser. On Loyola’s staff since 2017, Valentine has kept Moser's DNA in the program, as key contributors from last year's team Lucas Williams, Braden Norris and Aher Uguak all returned to play for Valentine. In addition, what makes Valentine’s rise to the top even more impressive at Loyola is his age. When Valentine was hired last spring, he was 29, which made him the youngest head coach in college basketball at the time. Loyola’s resume isn’t even too shabby as they have picked up wins over San Francisco, DePaul and Arizona State, combined with, more importantly zero bad losses. Considering, the Ramblers 4-0 start to conference play, and how confident they looked competing with the likes of Auburn and Michigan State in close losses, these Ramblers are definitely worthy of a spot in the rankings.
21. Michigan State (14-3)
Tom Izzo’s Spartans had gone a little bit under the radar over the past few weeks as they were able to pick up eight consecutive wins. Like we mentioned with USC above however, it was hard to give them too much credit as none of the wins were against particularly strong opponents. With that taken into consideration, Michigan State’s home loss to Northwestern was not totally surprising considering how many heartbreakingly close games Northwestern has lost over their past few games. Tom Izzo still has this Spartans team overachieving and Gabe Brown has answered the question of who was going to be this team's go to bucket getter. However, it doesn’t necessarily feel like the Spartans have hit on all cylinders so far this season, as they have looked pretty overmatched while on the same floor as Kansas and Baylor and have not beaten a good opponent since the Battle 4 Atlantis in November. Thankfully, we will have the opportunity to see the Spartans in some more high-profile games coming up, as they will head on a road trip that includes games at Wisconsin and at Illinois. If Michigan State could just find a way to win one of those games, it would be more than impressive and will show they can be a real factor at the top of the Big Ten. However, until that is done there is a low ceiling on this Spartans team that isn't much of a threat compared to Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin and others at the top of the Big Ten.
22. Ohio State (10-4)
The Buckeyes have been a little bit too up and down as of late, as they've traded wins and losses in each of their past five games. After falling to a very good Wisconsin team on Thursday Night, Ohio State was able to bounce back at home on Sunday against a solid Penn State team that is playing better and harder than anyone could have expected. Aside from EJ Liddell, there isn’t one Buckeye in particular who is scoring the ball on a consistent basis which is hurting Ohio State a little bit. Five-star Freshman, Malaki Branham has begun to emerge in a big-time way for the Buckeyes as he even had 35 points in an overtime win in January against Nebraska and has been able to build on that momentum. Ohio State just hasn't looked like the same team we saw against Duke and Seton Hall earlier in the season. A lot of that most likely, had to do with the 17-day COVID pause the Buckeyes experienced in December. With a coach like Chris Holtmann, who has his teams overachieving on a yearly basis, Ohio State should remain right in the mix, as one of the better teams in the Big Ten, but right now they are clearly behind the likes of Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin, similarly to Michigan State. The Buckeyes should be able to gain some confidence in the weeks ahead, with games against IUPUI, Nebraska and Minnesota before they had to Mackey Arena on January 30th for a clash with Purdue.
23. Colorado State (13-1)
Niko Medved’s team was able to get back into the win column this past week as they were victorious over Utah State and San Jose State in the process. This was a nice bounce back week for the Rams, after losing their first and only game of the season last week against San Diego State. Leading scorer, David Roddy is at the top of the must-see TV list in college basketball this season. The junior is currently averaging 18.9 points per game which is fifth in the Mountain West. In their blowout victory over San Jose State on Saturday, The Rams were able to hold San Jose State to 28 percent shooting from the floor and only 22 percent shooting from behind the arc. The fact that Colorado State was able to win a game by 36 points, when David Roddy only scored six is a great sign going forward. Sophomore Isaiah Rivera, stepped up in a big way and had 12 points in 14 minutes of action off the bench. When a kid who averages only 3.4 points per game all season, is able to give you a little spark like that out of nowhere, that is how good teams win games. The Rams victory over Utah State wasn’t as easy, however David Roddy was able to play another possible Mountain West Player of the Year candidate Justin Bean, which led the Rams to a victory. Colorado State has been able to avoid the bad losses up to this point which are common in the Mountain West. The Rams. will surely find themselves in the NCAA Tournament if that continues, no matter what happens at the Mountain West Tournament.
24. UConn (11-4)
Dan Hurley’s Huskies were able to get back in the win column following their victory on Tuesday night over St. Johns. Although St. Johns has been disappointing this season, this game was by no means easy, as Julian Champagnie had 27 for the Johnnies, which was barely enough to get the game into overtime. However, unlike their overtime loss last week, against Seton Hall at the Prudential Center, UConn was able to close out their opponent in overtime and earn the victory. One great sign for the Huskies, is big man Adama Sanogo is starting to return to that Big East Player of the Year candidate form as he had 26 points and 18 rebounds in the victory. We have yet to see a game where UConn is firing from all cylinders, but the injuries and COVID problems have a lot to do with that. With both Sanogo and Tyrese Martin back healthy and playing well and RJ Cole becoming one of the most clutch shot makers in the sport, the Huskies breakout could be coming. Just like the rest of UConn’s luck has gone so far this season, UConn’s game scheduled for Saturday against Providence was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Friar program. However, UConn is scheduled to be back on the floor on Tuesday Night against Butler in Hartford. Finally, remember, UConn does remain to be the only team in the country to beat Auburn this season, which is aging better and better for the Huskies and will definitely help improve their seed on Selection Sunday.
25. Davidson (14-2)
Bob McKillop’s Wildcats are the best team in college hoops that absolutely no one is talking about. Following their road victory over a solid Richmond team on Friday Night, Davidson is now 14-2 overall, 4-0 in Conference play and haven’t lost since November 18th to New Mexico State. In addition, Davidson was able to pick up a monster win over Alabama, in a game that was scheduled last second only due to Alabama’s game against Colorado State being postponed due to COVID-19 issues. Unlike many other coaches that have been around for a long time, there is no sign at all of anything close to a drop off for McKillop, as it seems he was a little bit ahead of his team with his fast pace, three-point heavy style of play. This is a guy, who has won over 600 games in his career and is certainly one of the more underrated coaches of our generation. Davidson has the star power including future NBA player Hyungjung Lee and former Michigan State Spartan Foster Loyer. What makes McKillop such a great coach, is that while at Michigan State Loyer looked like he was afraid to shoot on offense. He was never able to gain any confidence. However, at Davidson while playing with Lee and sharpshooter Mike Jones, Loyer looks as confident as anyone. The aforementioned Jones, stepped up in a big way for the Wildcats in their win over Richmond, basically leading the Wildcats to victory by himself with a career high 29 points which included the game winning three. Again, this Davidson squad could be the most off the radar good team in the country, one that absolutely no one is talking about. As long as Bob McKillop is on the sidelines, this team will be a problem.
Follow Zac on Twitter @ZKrull3