Notes From Each College Basketball Conference

As we enter the month of February, college basketball is heating up as teams battle for conference supremacy and the right to play in the NCAA Tournament. In this article, I checked out notable storylines from each power six conference, as well as a few other conferences.

Note: All stats/numbers are as of the morning of 1/31

ACC

Historically, the ACC is known as one of the premier basketball conferences and home of some of the most iconic programs in the country. When one thinks of ACC basketball, their minds likely drift towards Duke or North Carolina, maybe Virginia or Louisville. Alas, none of those teams are atop the conference leaderboard (as of 1/26). That honor belongs to Brad Brownell and the Clemson Tigers. Clemson has amassed an overall record of 18-4, including a stout 10-1 mark in conference play. The Tigers went a mediocre 17-16 last season and didn’t have a ton of roster turnover for this season, so what is the reasoning behind this drastic surge? The answer is the dramatic improvement of fifth-year senior F Hunter Tyson. Tyson was fine over his first four seasons, averaging about 6.2 PPG, but he’s totally broken out this year, averaging 16.0 PPG. The 6’8” native of Monroe, NC has always demonstrated the ability to shoot from beyond the arc, but he’s now confidently letting them fly from deep (5.5 attempts per game) and draining them (41.7 3P%). On top of his evolution as a scorer, Tyson has learned to command the paint and pull down rebounds, culminating in an impressive 9.8 RPG. Overall, the advanced metrics don’t love Clemson (ranked #59 by KenPom and #62 Bart Torvik), but if Hunter Tyson keeps producing double-doubles on the daily, then the Tigers should be more than fine.

Big 12

The Big 12 is oozing with notable storylines. From the title defense of Kansas, to the dismissal of Texas coach Chris Beard, or the shocking struggles of Texas Tech, this conference isn’t lacking in terms of intrigue. Above all, however, is the emergence of the Kansas State Wildcats. Former coach Bruce Weber had bouts of success during his time in Manhattan, but the program had lost engagement and excitement over the last several years. Enter Jerome Tang, a former Baylor assistant that is credited with a large chunk of the Bears success over the years. Not only has he gotten the Wildcats to be competitive, but he has them as a top 10 team in the country and atop the Big 12 standings. The transformation from 14-17 (6-12) last season to 18-3 (6-2) this season is remarkable. Former Florida F Keyontae Johnson has bounced back from his health problems with an All-American type season, averaging 18.0 PPG and 7.7 RPG as the heart and soul of his team. Supplemented by the small, but mighty G Markquis Nowell (16.9 PPG and 8.2 APG), Kansas State has the tools to make a Final Four run.

Big East

Year in and year out, the Big East is one of the most competitive conferences in the country. The fall of Villanova following the retirement of coach Jay Wright is worth noting, but I find the roller coaster season of the Creighton Bluejays to be worth a deeper look. Entering the season, the Bluejays were ranked #9 in the AP Poll and had Final Four ambitions. Alas, the season has been full of twists and turns in Omaha. They started the year 6-0 with a marquee win over Arkansas, but then it all came crashing down in the Maui Invitational. A close loss against Arizona started a six game losing streak for Creighton, featuring a baffling defeat at the hands of Nebraska. Since the losing streak, they’ve gone 7-2 and just recorded a statement victory over Xavier this weekend (1/28). South Dakota State transfer G Baylor Scheierman (13.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG) is terrific, but the catalyst for Creighton’s success is C Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.4 BPG). The team is 13-5 when Kalkbrenner is in the lineup, but 0-3 when he’s sat out. With a healthy Kalkbrenner, Creighton has the ability to live up to their preseason hype.

(An interesting tidbit: Creighton ranks 356th out of 363 teams in luck rating on KenPom)

Big Ten

Overall, the Big Ten has been a bit disappointing this year. As it stands, only Purdue and Indiana represent the conference in the AP Poll. Both of those teams had decent expectations going into the year, but the team that has thoroughly exceeded expectations is the Northwestern Wildcats. At 15-5 (6-3), Northwestern is currently in position to make the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. These Wildcats aren’t an offensive juggernaut, but they play tough defense and get enough production from the dynamic duo of seniors Chase Audige (15.8 PPG) and Boo Buie (15.7 PPG). In a sport where transferring is so prevalent in today’s game, Audige and Buie have stayed with the program through several losing seasons. After losing last year’s leading scorer in F Pete Nance to North Carolina, most preseason rankings pegged Northwestern to finish 13th (second to last) in the conference. That clearly will not be the case, as Chris Collins has this squad rolling. When Purdue (February 12th) and Indiana (February 15th) visit Evanston, we’ll be able to see just how far Northwestern can go this season.

Pac-12

The Pac-12 has two national title contenders in Arizona and UCLA, but no proven commodities after that. USC is on a hot streak on the heels of big man Vince Iwuchukwu’s debut, but they were expected to be one of the best teams in the conference. A team that didn’t have much hype is the Utah Utes. Utah was a hot mess last season, posting a 4-16 record in conference play that featured a 10 game losing streak. In year two of the Craig Smith era in Salt Lake City, the Utes have a record of 15-8 (8-4) and are currently ranked 4th in the Pac-12 standings. This team gets it done with defense, as demonstrated by their #23 ranking in KenPom adjusted defense and their #4 placement in Bart Torvik’s effective field goal defense percentage. The anchor of Utah is 7’ C Branden Carlson, who averages 16.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 2.2 BPG. Experience is a huge asset for the Utes, with upperclassmen guards Marco Anthony (9.9 PPG), Gabe Madsen (11.7 PPG), and Rollie Worster (9.0 PPG) filling in as the supporting cast for Carlson. Utah doesn’t have the traditional firepower of teams such as Arizona, UCLA, or USC, but with Branden Carlson at the helm, I believe the Utes can make a run to the NCAA Tournament.

SEC

Roll Tide Roll. The Crimson Tide dealt with lots of roster turnover this offseason, but have emerged as a fierce contender to cut down the nets in April. A quartet of highly touted freshmen have been the leading contributors for Alabama, led by Wooden Award candidate F Brandon Miller (19.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG) with the reinforcements being F Noah Clowney (10.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG) and Gs Jaden Bradley (8.1 PPG) and Rylan Griffin (6.4 PPG). The heartbeat of this team is young, but there is also an infusion of experience in the backcourt. Ohio transfer Mark Sears (14.0 PPG) is a playmaker, as is Jahvon Quinerly (7.7 PPG), who is starting to look like himself after tearing his ACL last March. As a whole, Alabama is one of the most entertaining teams, largely due to their frenetic pace on offense and activity on defense. The Crimson Tide currently have a record of 18-3 (8-0 and are ranked #4 in the country), but are coming off of an embarrassing loss at Oklahoma. Their most pivotal matchup comes on February 15th when they’ll travel to Knoxville and square off against #2 Tennessee.

American

The greatness of Houston shouldn’t be overlooked, but they’ve long been the class of the American Athletic Conference. Memphis, on the other hand, has had their fair share of ups and downs over the last few years. The Tigers have yet to have a losing season since coach Penny Hardaway took over in 2018, but they’ve also only made the tournament once with Hardaway at the helm and have dealt with various program drama. Overall, Memphis has largely taken care of business, posting a record of 17-5 (7-2) with their worst losses coming on the road against Tulane and UCF. Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates are gone from last year’s team, but the addition of former SMU G Kendric Davis may have been the best nationwide pickup this offseason. Davis isn’t a sniper from deep, but he carries the offense with his 21.5 PPG and 6.0 APG. Senior F DeAndre Williams has taken a big step forward this season, averaging 16.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG. The Tigers boast lots of experience and have the makeup of an NCAA Tournament team. Currently, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Memphis in the “last four byes” category. The key for them will be avoiding losses against teams such as South Florida and SMU. Capturing a win against Houston would do wonders for their resume, as well.

Conference USA

Conference USA isn’t exactly flowing with storylines. Jordan “Jelly” Walker (23.8 PPG) is electric, but his UAB Blazers are only 6-5 in conference play. The budding story in C-USA is the emergence of #19 Florida Atlantic. The Owls have only made the NCAA Tournament once, but with a record of 21-1 (11-0), Dusty May’s squad seems poised to participate in the big dance. FAU isn’t built by transfers, rather they’ve been able to develop their own guys within the program. G Johnell Davis went from averaging 6.8 PPG last season to leading the team with 13.2 PPG this season. Alijah Martin (12.1 PPG) and Michael Forrest (9.3 PPG) join Davis in the backcourt, while 7’1” C Vladislav Goldin (9.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG) patrols the paint. They don’t necessarily play an eye-popping brand of basketball, but the Owls are well-rounded and play together as a unit. FAU’s 20 game winning streak is the longest mark in the country.

MAC

I wouldn’t consider the MAC to be one of the more relevant conferences in the sport, no offense to die-hard MACtion fans. What catches my attention here is the success (or lack thereof) of Eastern Michigan. After a narrow loss against (at the time) #22 Michigan in November, it felt like EMU could have something brewing. That would not be the case, as the Eagles have a record of 5-16 (2-6) as January comes to a close. The arrival of former top recruit F Emoni Bates brought intrigue to the team, but it hasn’t resulted in team success. Bates has good stats (20.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG), but the rest of the team is miserable at shooting. It also doesn’t help that KenPom has the Eagles defense ranked as 342nd in the country. In conclusion, the MAC certainly doesn’t run through Ypsilanti.

Mountain West

The Mountain West has become one of the strongest conferences in the country year in and year out. There’s a strong argument to be made that the Mountain West could be added to form the “power seven,” but that remains to be seen. San Diego State is atop the conference leaderboard, as they often are, but the New Mexico Lobos have the best overall record in the Mountain West. The Lobos were undefeated going into the new year, but have stumbled a few times in conference play. With a record of 19-3 (6-3), New Mexico has set themselves up to get an at-large bid come March. The driving force(s) for New Mexico are their guards, the explosiveness of Jaelen House (17.4 PPG, 4.8 APG, 2.9 SPG) and Jamal Mashburn (19.5 PPG). You might not think of this team as one of the best in the country, but they’re very entertaining and worth watching during their typical 8 PM (PST) tip-off time.

WCC

For the first time ever, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are not leading the West Coast Conference*. That honor belongs to the Saint Mary’s Gaels, winners of ten straight to culminate their record of 19-4 (8-0). The Gaels have experienced players such as G tandem Logan Johnson and Alex Ducas, but freshman G Aidan Mahaney is the engine that makes this team go. Mahaney was a four star recruit that opted to stay local to Northern California and play for coach Randy Bennett. After an illustrious career at Campolindo High School, Mahaney has seamlessly transitioned to the college game, as evident by his 14.7 PPG, which leads the team. If Aidan Mahaney stays in the program for the years to come, I firmly believe he will cement himself as the greatest Saint Mary’s player of all-time.

*This isn't actually the first time Gonzaga hasn't led the WCC, but doesn't it feel like it?

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