It is hard to argue against this being the best week of college basketball thus far! Numerous mini tournaments, a few shocking upsets, and a game of the year candidate between Duke and Gonzaga that proved both teams are at the top of the pyramid this season. Outside of the obvious, Duke, we will have a few more teams of the week than normal to cover all the madness! Take a look at our take below!
Teams of the Week!
1. Dayton:
Dayton won the ESPN Events Invitational by defeating Miami, Kansas, and Belmont. There may not have been a cooler moment this week than hearing Dickie V call the buzzer beating floater by Mustapha Amzil to give the Flyers the upset win over KU! What a week for Dayton after a tough start to the season.
2. Iowa State:
Iowa State may be the biggest surprise on the early season. The Cyclones defeated Xavier and Memphis in dominating fashion to win the NIT Tip-Off tournament. ISU is getting it done on both ends of the floor, giving up less than 60 ppg, and scoring over 75 on average.
3. Wisconsin:
While Wisconsin was not the favorite at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, the Badgers sure played like they were. Wisconsin beat Texas A&M, Houston and Saint Mary’s to secure the championship. Wisconsin may have found a budding star in Sophomore Guard Johnny Davis who averaged 23.7 ppg in the tournament.
4. Baylor:
Baylor may have lost many key players from last year’s national championship team, but the Bears are still dangerous. Baylor defeated Arizona State, VCU and Michigan State by 17 to win the Battle 4 Atlantis title. Baylor has yet to give up more than 63 points in a game this season through 7 games.
5. Florida:
Florida is quietly building a Top-15 resume in the country at the moment, helped in large part by winning the Fort Myers Tip-Off with victories over California and Ohio State. In the OSU game specifically, the Gators won in thrilling fashion with a game winner at the buzzer by Tyree Appleby!
6. Louisville:
Despite Head Coach Chris Mack being unavailable for the tournament, Louisville won the Bahamas Championship with wins over quality opponents in Mississippi State and Maryland. The Cardinals got the job done despite shooting 13/49 (26%) from three over the course of the tournament. Finding ways to win when shots are not falling is important!
7. USC:
Coming into the week, USC was thought of highly, but lacked an above average win. That changed for the Trojans when they defeated San Diego State by 15 to win the Wooden Legacy tournament. USC also beat Saint Joe’s in the competition and gave up only 98 points combined (49ppg) in the two contests.
8. Arkansas:
Like USC, Arkansas was regarded as a quality team prior to last week but needed a solid win to justify it. Arkansas defeated Kansas State, and then got its first quality win in the Hall of Fame Classic final over Cincinnati. The Razorbacks struggled shooting from deep in the tournament, but still had 8 double digit scoring performances over the course of both games.
9. Virginia:
Virginia’s struggles to begin the year are well documented, so a successful showing this week was important. The Cavaliers answered the bell and beat Georgia and a solid Providence team to win the Roman Legends Classic. This title was won in typical UVA fashion, scoring just 62ppg in the tournament, but giving up just 48ppg!
10. Bonus teams of the week: Other Tourney Champs
Along with the nine champions highlighted above, we also had many other teams pick up some quality wins to secure tournament titles. Find out more below!
-Toledo won two games to win the Nassau Championship.
-East Tennessee State won three games to secure the Naples Invitational.
-Utah Valley won two games to win one side of the SoCal Challenge, while Fresno State won two, including a win over a solid Santa Clara side, to win its side of the SoCal Challenge.
-Montana won two games to win the Zootown Classic.
-Saint Louis won three games to capture the Cancun Challenge title including an 11 point win over SFA in the final.
-Oakland won three games to win the Gulf Coast Showcase.
-Texas State got two victories to secure the Empire Classic.
-Florida State got back on track with two victories and a title in the Jacksonville Challenge.
-LSU picked up two power 6 victories to win the Emerald Coast Classic.
-Colorado State won three games to capture the Paradise Jam title rounded out with an incredible comeback against Northeastern.
Honorable Mentions:
-Saint Marys: defeated Oregon and Notre Dame, finished runner-up at the Maui Invitational
-Michigan State: beat Loyola Chicago and UConn, runner-up in the Battle 4 Atlantis
-Belmont: sneaky good wins over Drake and Iona to finish 2nd in the ESPN Events Invitational
-Gonzaga: beat then number 2 UCLA by 20 on a neutral floor
-Iona: picked up a big upset over Alabama 72-68
-Northern Iowa: beat the Charleston Classic Champion St Bonaventure 90-80
-Monmouth: upset Cincinnati on the road 61-59
-Eastern Washington: defeated in-state foe Washington State 76-71 in an upset
-Academy of Art: DII school in San Fran, upset UC Davis by 19, 79-60!
Hopefully this upcoming week of hoops is as good as the last! DM us @TBracketology if there is anyone else worthy of a shoutout!
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