It is wild to think we just wrapped up the 10th week of the college basketball season. It does not seem that long ago that the season tipped off! Nonetheless, we had yet another exciting week of college hoops, as is common place for this sport. As the week concludes, we have compiled the below ten teams as our teams of the week. Check it out!
Teams of the Week!
1. Xavier:
Xavier surely is rolling of late! The Musketeers have won eleven straight games, are 7-0 in Big East play, and 15-3 on the season. This week, Xavier picked up two of those wins by a combined seven points, defeating Creighton and Marquette. Both of those wins are quality, and look to be victories over projected NCAA Tournament teams as well. Souley Boum, averaging just under 18 points per game, has been fueling Xavier of late, and was the leading scorer in both wins over the last seven days. Boum has scored in double figures in 17 of Xavier’s 18 games, and over 20 eight times already this season. The Musketeers have four other players that average over 10 points per game that helps fuel an offense, and team, that is atop the Big East standings as of mid January.
2. Charleston:
If you’re wondering who has the longest active win streak, you’ve come to the right place. It’s the College of Charleston! Charleston has won 17 straight games now, and is 18-1 on the week after two more wins. The Cougars defeated Elon on Saturday, but show up here for the thrilling win over UNC Wilmington earlier in the week. Coming into that game, but CofC and UNCW were on outstanding win streaks, and were the top two teams in the CAA. There was also an incredible crowd at Wilmington’s Trask Coliseum, with students lining up to get in many hours before hand. The game sure did not disappoint. Charleston was able to get its lead up to 15, late in the first half. The Seahawks battled all the way back and were able to lead 66-62 with just over three minutes to play. The Cougars then finished the final three minutes on a 9-3 run to secure the road victory. Charleston made 10 threes in this game and had four players score in double figures. If the NCAA Tournament started today, College of Charleston would be in regardless if they won the CAA tournament. Let’s see if that momentum continues.
3. Clemson:
Remaining in the state of South Carolina, Clemson continued to impress, winning two more games to move to 7-0 in ACC play and 15-3 on the season. Also similar to Charleston, Clemson would be in the projected NCAA Tournament field without winning the ACC. The Tigers have now made up for the tough early season bad losses. This week, Clemson picked up a win over a struggling Louisville side, but show up here after it’s 72-64 win over Duke on Saturday. PJ Hall was outstanding once again for the Tigers, dropping 26 on 10/16 shooting against the Blue Devils. Clemson also only turned the ball over nine times, and held Duke in check from behind the arc, just 15%. Only a handful of teams are playing as well as Clemson is nationally, and they are emerging as a real threat in the ACC.
4. New Mexico:
What a great week for the Lobos. Just as things were starting to get a bit tight on the bubble for New Mexico, UNM had an undefeated week. In a game put together just two weeks prior, New Mexico defeated a solid Oral Roberts team on Monday, 82-75. This put New Mexico back on track, but it did not halt the momentum. On Saturday night, the Lobos went into San Diego and upset San Diego State, 76-67. The dynamic backcourt duo of Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr were FANTASTIC once again, both scoring well over 20 points to fuel the upset. This was not only another exciting Mountain West contest, but was also a huge win for New Mexico that gives them breathing room once again in the projected field. This is a fun team to watch compete!
5. Alabama:
On the topic of fun teams, we head southeast of New Mexico to the state of Alabama. The Crimson Tide are clearly one of the five best teams in the country, and a projected one seed as of today. This past week, they certainly proved that. Alabama went into Bud Walton Arena and dominated Arkansas, winning 84-69. While that is the biggest win for Bama in the month of January, the performance Nate Oats’ side put together on Saturday may have been the most complete. Alabama thoroughly crushed LSU, winning by 40 points, 106-66. Freshman star Brandon Miller connected on seven triples, and scored 31 total points, while the Crimson Tide made 20!!! three pointers as a team. That’s outstanding! This is not only the SEC favorite, this Alabama team is a national title contender.
6. Texas:
After all that happened with Texas’ previous head coach, it is great to see this group of players playing good basketball once again. Texas has won three straight games, including two this last week. The Longhorns had to come from behind in both to keep the win streak alive. On Saturday night, Texas Tech led Texas early by as much as 12. Texas clawed back and got the home win, led by 20 points and clutch shooting from Marcus Carr. While that was impressive, the comeback over TCU earlier in the week was even more so. TCU led by as much as 18 points in the game, and the Longhorns only shot 25% from three, but they found a way to come back and get yet another quality Big 12 win. It’s great to see the resiliency of this team on full display. Look out for the 'Horns!
7. Illinois:
On the topic of resiliency, we head north to Illinois. The Illini had been up and down of late before a January 7th win over a depleted Wisconsin side. Depleted win or not, Illinois used that momentum to get back on track, winning two games this week. Illinois controlled the game throughout against Nebraska on the road, winning 76-50. Then, Friday night, the Illini added another quality win to its resume, defeating Michigan State by nine at home. Three players scored in double figures for Illinois, led by 20 from Sophomore Dain Dainja. On the defensive side, Illinois held the Spartans to zero, yes zero, percent from three. That’s usually a pretty good winning formula! This recent three game stretch has Illinois once again much safer in the NCAA Tournament projected field, and headed in the right direction.
8. Seattle:
Heading into the week, there were three win streaks in the WAC that stood out above the rest in the conference. Now, as the week has concluded, only one remains, the Seattle Redhawks. Seattle has won six consecutive contests, two of those coming over the last seven days. The Redhawks defeated New Mexico State Thursday night in a tight three point win, but were even more impressive Saturday evening. Seattle went into Utah Valley, the team with the longest win streak in the WAC coming into the weekend, and won 85-80. Five players scored ten or more points, and six different players made a three as Seattle was 12/32 overall from deep. This was an entertaining game to watch, as both teams made big shot after big shot down the stretch, but Seattle U was able to hit just a few more to get it done. This recent success has the Seattle Redhawks at 14-4 on the year, and the team that will represent the WAC in our next Bracketology update.
9. Tulane:
Another impressive win streak of late comes from Ron Hunter’s Tulane Green Wave, who have won five in a row and are undefeated in January. This win streak includes a win over Memphis earlier in the month, but this week was equally as impressive. The Green Wave beat SMU on the road, 97-88 on Wednesday to get its week started. Jaylen Forbes led all scorers with 31 points on 9/15 shooting. Then, Saturday afternoon, Tulane beat a hot UCF side, 77-69. Forbes once again was the man for Tulane, scoring 27 this time to lead all scorers. The Green Wave also forced 18 UCF turnovers in the win. This recent hot streak has Tulane scratching itself back into the bubble mix. While there is a long way to go, the momentum has this team playing great, with a chance against Top 5 Houston team coming up on Tuesday to really make a statement.
10. Southern U:
Our final team of the week keeps us in the state of Louisiana, with the Southern University Jaguars. Like Tulane, Southern has won five games in a row, two of those coming this past week. The Jaguars dropped 102 points Monday night against Bethune Cookman, including 15 made threes on 52% shooting. What helped fuel this high scoring output was two 20 plus point performances off the bench from Isaiah Rollins and Tyrone Lyons. Any time a team gets this hot from deep, it’s something to watch. The momentum continued into Saturday when Southern met in-state big rival Grambling State. Southern once again made double digit three pointers, connecting on 10, and got the 81-73 victory. Brion Whitley was outstanding in this one, leading all scorers with 32 points. Listened in to the live broadcast on HBCUgo as well during this game, and it was fantastic. Highly recommend watching games on this app, which is free to download and watch on a Smart TV, computer or phone. Southern is now 5-0 in SWAC play, and in first place in the league.
Thanks for reading hoops fans!