DIFFERENCE MAKER

When the ASUN Tournament kicks off on March 4, one of the teams to watch will be Lipscomb. First-year head coach Kevin Carroll has a team, picked to finish in the second division, which has won 16 wins and counting. The Bisons currently sit alone in fourth place at 9-5 in the conference.

Coach Carroll should get consideration for some coach of the year honors. His well-balanced attack boasts several players averaging double-figures. They are one of the top three-point shooting teams in America and they rank Top 25 in the country in team assists with 18.1 per contest.

Leading the way is Mateo Esmeraldo who is 8th in the NCAA with 7 assists per contest. The 6-foot-1 junior has literally come out of nowhere to be one of the top point guards in the country.  

Two seasons ago he appeared in 12 games at Longwood, averaging just 3.1 minutes per game. It’s a very small sample size, and obviously a bit skewed, but in just over 37 minutes of playing time he had 11 assists. Those prorated numbers are pretty good, but he still couldn’t get minutes at Longwood.

This past offseason there wasn’t a lot of interest in Esmeraldo, but Lipscomb’s new head coach had more than a hunch about the unheralded point guard. He already coached him.

Prior to being named the head coach at Lipscomb, Kevin Carroll was the head coach at Trevecca Nazarene University, which is about 5 miles from the Lipscomb campus. In 2024-25 Carroll’s team shattered the school-record for total wins (19) and conference wins (14), while earning its first South Region ranking.

Carroll’s point guard on that team was Mateo Esmeraldo.

In his one season at Trevecca, Esmeraldo led the Gulf South Conference in assists with 6.6 per game and his 192 total helpers were a new program record. In fact, in three fewer games he produced 40 more assists than the previous record holder. His 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio was also the best in the conference. 

He also set a school record for free throw accuracy, shooting 91.5%. The previous program record was 80.5%. He shot 50.3% from the field and averaged 10.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. 

Esmeraldo was a difference maker at Division II Trevecca and he has certainly been a difference maker at the Division I level. 

He posted his first double-double in second game of the season, with 11 points and 10 assists at Mercer. Two weeks later he had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists at cross-town rival Belmont and registered another double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in a one-sided 90-67 win at Marshall. 

He’s failed to reach five assists in only three games this season. His 183 helpers are tops in the ASUN and are 40 more than the next closest player.  

The pass first point guard has been a key component on a team with five players scoring in double figures and a sixth, just below ten points per game. 

The three-time ASUN Newcomer of the Week, Mateo Esmeraldo is a very deserving nominee for the 2025-26 Riley Wallace award, which is presented annually to the most impactful transfer in Division I college basketball.

NOTE: The finalists for the award will be announced in March. The recipient of the 2025-26 Riley Wallace award will be announced in April, in Indianapolis, IN site of the men's Division I NCAA Basketball Championship.


ON THE RISE

It was a big week for Mike DeGeorge and Cal Poly basketball. The Mustangs knocked UC Irvine, which was ranked No. 15 in the Mid-Major Top 25® and followed that up with a win over UC Santa Barbara, which has also spent time in the Mid-Major poll this season.

It was arguably the biggest for the program in over a decade.

Last season DeGeorge was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall award, after finishing 16-19. The 16 wins were more than the previous two seasons combined. Now in his second season, DeGeorge has won 27 games. Cal Poly won a total of 30 games in the five seasons before he was hired.

Taking that one step further. The Mustangs averaged 7.9 wins in the 10 seasons before former Athletic Director Don Oberhelman hired DeGeorge in March of 2024. 

The quick turnaround is no surprise. That’s what Mike DeGeorge does. 

He spent the previous six seasons at Colorado Mesa, where he took a team that had won 19 games in two seasons and turned them into a 19-win team in year one.  He led the program to the NCAA Tournament in each of his final five seasons. In 2020-21 he led the Mavericks to their first-ever No. 1 national ranking.

He’s proven throughout his career that he can do more with less. Unfortunately, less has been a constant over the years in San Luis Obispo, California.

The basketball program has never had a 20-win season, and they have posted just 6 winning seasons in 32 years at the Division I level.  Joe Callero did a nice job during his tenure, twice winning 18 games and taking a Cinderella 14-win team to the school’s only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014. 

Otherwise, there hasn’t been a lot to get excited about -- Until now.

Cal Poly posted impressive early wins at Seattle and Utah, but injuries and a brutal non-league slate are not a good combination. The Mustangs played 10 games before they faced a Division I opponent at home in early December. 

They finished 1-4 in the month of December, but they were playing good basketball. They lost to UC Riverside by 4. Montana State beat them by 3 and they fell to Idaho by 3 in OT. They also played well against UCLA.  

After a couple of tough losses to Santa Barbrara and Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly closed out January with a pair of road wins at Bakersfield and Riverside and have won 4 of its last 6. 

DeGeorge has a very young but very talented group made up of mostly sophomores and freshmen, and he’s brought in players from all over the World. 

6-foot-8 sophomore Hamad Mousa, who is part of Qatar’s National Team, is a terrific player. He’s averaging 20 points, and 6 rebounds per contest. The transfer from Dayton is shooting just under 38% from beyond the arc.

Jess Esso Essis is a 6-10 stretch-three from France, who just recently joined the team. He can shoot it from beyond the arc. 

Peter Bandelj is a good 6-foot-4 sophomore point guard from Slovenia. He’s joined in the backcourt by local product Cayden Ward. The 6-5 Stockton, CA native averages 14 points per game. The two combined for 32 points in the recent win over Santa Barbara. 

Another sophomore, Guzman Vasilic, is a 6-foot-7 import from Uruguay. He had a season-best 18, in the win over Irvine. And the freshman from Ontario, Canda, Austin Goode had the best game of his young career against Irvine. The 6-7 rookie posted his first double-double with 17 points and 10 assists.

When you have a young group, just getting through November and December can be a challenge. Life on the road can be tough for a veteran team, but the physical and mental toll can break younger players. 

That’s where good coaching comes in. DeGeorge and his staff kept this team together, through the early-season grind. 

Three of the last five regular season games are on the road, so it doesn’t get any easier for DeGeorge’s team, but this program has taken another big step forward this season.

Expect to hear a lot from Mike DeGeorge and Cal Poly in the future.


THEY ARE CLICKING AGAIN

They are back in the mix. After starting 1-7 in Big Sky play Northern Colorado has run off six straight wins.  

It’s been a roller coaster ride for head coach Steve Smiley this season. His team played great to start the season. They began 9-1 and spent time in the Mid-Major Top 25®.  UNC looked like one of the better mid-majors in the country, and a team that would vie for a Big Sky championship.

The Bears went 2-9 in the next 11 games, capped by a loss at Northern Arizona on Jan. 24, which dropped them to last place in the conference.

The loss at NAU was their fifth straight. Throughout that slide Smiley never sounded defeated in his postgame press conferences.  He emphasized unforced turnovers, second-chance points, and not getting to the free throw line enough. 

But he also used expressions like -- We were right there. We had the lead. It just didn’t go our way. We played hard.

Coach was right about all those points.

His team had a 10-point lead at Portland State. Montana State had 4 of their 5 offensive rebounds in the final few minutes of the game. Weber State got the line 13 more times, NAU outshot them 19-7 and Sacramento had 21 more attempts than UNC. 

In close games, those are killers.

Those games were right there for the taking. The average margin of defeat was 4.2 points and all five games came down to the final possession.  

A stretch like that can be demoralizing. That’s where good veteran leadership comes into play. Smiley has a talented, mature team and an outstanding point guard in Quinn Denker, who was named to the Lou Henson Early Season Watch List in December.

The 6-foot-3 senior is a great leader and a tremendous playmaker. He’s averaging 18.6 points, 5 rebounds and 7.4 assists, which ranks 4th in the country.  He’s had some big games this season, including three monster performances during the Bears 6-game win streak.

Against Idaho he had a career-high 35 points, to go along with 10 assists, 7 rebounds and a couple of blocked shots. He had 31 points and 9 assists in the rematch with Weber State, and Denker set a school-record with 16 assists in the second meeting with Sacramento State.

Over the last six games, Denker’s numbers: 22.3 points, 9 assists, 6.6 rebounds,

He’s special.

Big man Brock Wisne has also stepped up of late. The 6-foot-9 senior, who can step out and make threes, has done his damage the more traditional way, over the past six games. Last week he scored a career-best 29 and pulled down 11 boards against Sac State. For the season he’s averaging 16.1 points and 6.5 rebounds contest. The second number was boosted by his 8.8 rebounds per-game average during their win streak. 

The team rebounding numbers are up and their turnovers are down. Getting to the line more often is still a work in progress but the offense is clicking again.  This team is very efficient on the offensive end. They are among the leaders in several offensive statistical categories. 

With Denker and Wisne leading the way, Northern Colorado will be a problem in the upcoming Big Sky Tournament. 

 

MAKING HISTORY 

Since making the move to division I, Utah Tech has not finished a season with a winning record. That may change in the coming weeks.

Last night Chance Trujillo (pictured above) hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in double overtime, as the Trailblazers defeated UT Arlington 87-84. With the win, Tech improved to 14-11 and 7-4 in the WAC. The 14 wins match the program’s best at the DI level.

During his postgame interview, head coach Jon Judkins talked about celebratory scene in the locker room and the excitement the players were feeling. It wasn’t just a thrilling double OT win. It was a victory that pulled Utah Tech within a half-game of first place in the WAC, something that didn’t feel possible just a few weeks ago.

Following a 7-26 season in 2024-25, the Trailblazers were picked to finish near the bottom of the WAC. They had a good first couple of months, finished non-conference play with as many wins as they had all of last season, and opened conference play with wins over Southern Utah and Abilene Christian. 

Then three straight losses to the top three teams in the WAC dropped Tech back below .500.

Coach Judkins likes to say, “the toughest team wins.” And the Trailblazers have been that tougher team of late, winning 4 straight and 5 of 6. 

Toughness is normally associated with big, physical, defensive minded teams, but that’s not what makes Utah Tech go. They like to shoot the three and they shoot it well.

The Blazers lead the WAC in three-point field goal attempts (22.8) and made threes (7.6) per contest. 

Jusaun Holt is one of the best three-point shooters in the country. The 6-foot-7 senior transfer, who spent his first two seasons at Alabama and Georgia, is shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc. The only reason he’s not among the national leaders is because the NCAA requires eligible players to have at least 2.5 three-point field goal attempts per game or Holt would Top 5 in college basketball from deep. He is 41-for-91 from long range. 

That NCAA stipulation also applies to senior Britton Berrett who is making 42.3% of his attempts from distance. Pro-rated stats would have him ranked among the Top 30 nationally. 

Trujillo, who leads the WAC in three-point field goal attempts, hasn’t shot it particularly well this season, but he’s gotten a lot of big buckets. A lot of players don’t want the ball when the game is on the line, but that’s not Trujillo. Forget about the numbers. He’s a big shot taker and a big shot maker. 

As a team they connect on 47% from the field on all shots taken. It’s a well-balanced team with four players averaging double figures, led by Ethan Porter who was the lone Trailblazer to earn preseason First-Team All-WAC honors. 

The 6-foot-8 senior transferred from Utah Valley where he was a rotation player, averaging 17 minutes per contest over the past two seasons. This season he’s been a full-time starter and lived up to the preseason accolades. He leads the team in scoring (16.2) and is tops in the WAC in rebounds (7.7) and, field-goal percentage, shooting 58.8% from the field. 

Another key guy is St. Bonaventure transfer Noah Bolanga. At 6-foot-8, the French native is a mismatch nightmare at the guard spot. For the season he’s shooting 33.1% from three, but during this recent six-game surge by Tech, Bolanga is shooting 51% from the beyond the arc.

In many ways Bolanga represents the toughness that this team possesses. Whether it’s a loose ball, an offensive rebound or a big steal; that’s what this team does. They simply find a way. 

With just one more win, Utah Tech will establish a new division I program record for wins, but this team has their eyes on the bigger prize. Next week will be a big one for the Trailblazers who will host the two teams they are chasing, Utah Valley and California Baptist.

With seven games left they control their own destiny. 

WIN EVERYTHING 

Kahil Fennell is trying to do something that hasn’t happened in over 35 years. The second-year head coach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is looking to lead the program to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1989-90.

The late Lew Hill almost pulled it off a few years ago, after leading Vaqueros to their first 20-win season in 17 seasons and their first-ever postseason appearance and first-ever postseason win (2019 CIT). The following season he finished 14-16

The program has had a few good seasons over the past three decades but has not been able to sustain it.

Until now?

Last season Fennell’s team won its’ final two games to finish 16-15. It was good foundation for season one, but establishing a new culture gets more challenging when you have a lot of moving parts.  With just four players returning -- and no starters -- in a very competitive Southland Conference, Fennell had to start the winning process long before the first game of the season.

"We want to win everything," Fennell said in October. "We want to win every workout, win every practice. We want to win every recovery session so when those times to compete do roll around we are the best version of ourselves."

With all the new faces it took time to develop, but Fennell’s team is playing with a lot of confidence now. The Vaqueros (12-11) have won six in a row to climb above .500 for the first time this season. 

During the six-game streak, which began with over McNeese -- which was ranked No. 18 in the Mid-Major 25® -- UTRGV is shooting 49.7% as a team and all five starters are averaging double figures in scoring. 

This is a very good three-point shooting team. They make over 9 triples per contest and shoot 37.2% as a team, which ranks Top 35 in the nation. 

They also defend. They hold the opposition to 41.2% from the field and limit foes to 31.6% from beyond the arc. 

They shoot it well and they defend it well. And they are playing their best basketball at the right time of the season. 

Ten years ago, Fennell was just getting started as a high school assistant coach in Alameda, California. Remember the name Kahil Fennell.

 

THE ‘EATERS ARE EATING AGAIN

Just before Christmas, Belmont traveled to UC Irvine for what was supposed to be a big non-conference matchup. The Bruins outscored Irvine by 24 in the second half on their way to an 84-58 victory. The blowout loss dropped the ‘Eaters to 7-5 and made them an afterthought in the eyes of many.

Following Thursday night’s overtime win against Hawaii, UC Irvine will head into February in sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference. 

So, what changed?

Defense certainly wasn’t an issue. During the Russell Turner era, UC Irvine has consistently been one of the best defensive teams in college basketball and this season is no exception. The problem was simple -- They were struggling on the other end of the floor.

Through the first part of the season, Irvine shot under 40% in half of their games (not counting non-division I games). Overall, they shot 39% as a team through that stretch.

In the 10 games since the one-sided loss to Belmont, Irvine has shot under 40% just once. That came on Jan. 10 at Hawaii when the ‘Eaters shot 39% and lost 67-66 at the buzzer. Overall, they have shot 47.5% from the field over the last 10 games.

It’s a simple game, isn’t it.

Redshirt sophomore Jurian Dixon has set the tone. Last season’s Big West Freshman of the Year is even better in 2025-26. The San Diego native is 6th in the Big West, averaging 15.7 points per game. He’s a prototypical Russ Turner guard. He’s tough, skilled and he makes plays.

Kyle Evans should be on the short list for Big West Player of the Year. The 6-foot-10 senior may only average 11.9 points per game, but he is a game-changer on the defensive end. He leads the nation with 3.4 blocks per game and has had four games with 5 or more rejections this season. 

Evans finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks in Thursday night’s first-place showdown with Hawaii. It was one of the most dominating performances of the season for a player who didn’t score 20 points. 

He anchors a defense, which is 3rd in the nation in field goal percentage defense (37.3%), 9th in defensive rebounds (29.2), 36th in scoring defense (67.2) and -- of course -- No. 1 in the NCAA as a team in blocked shots with 6.1 per game.

Over the past month, the ‘Eaters look a lot more like the team that opened the season ranked No. 9 in the Mid-Major Top 25®.

IN THE JAGS ZONE

If you can control the paint and shoot it well, you have a pretty good formula for success. That’s exactly what head coach Richie Riley is doing at South Alabama.

Riley runs a very unique zone defense for 40 minutes. That’s their identity and they are very good at it. You simply aren’t getting into the paint. They do a great job of forcing you to take threes. Not a good job -- a great job.

The Jaguars are No. 1 in college basketball in three-point field goals attempted against. To date, opponents have taken 797 three-point shots, which is an average of 39 per game. That’s 7 more than any other team in America. 

62.4% of the field goal attempts against South Alabama come from beyond the arc and foes are shooting under 31% from beyond the arc. 

On the other end of the floor, Chaze Harris and Adam Olsen are both All-Sun Belt Conference players. 

Harris (pictured above) was a First-Team NAIA All-American last season, averaging 19.7 points, 6.9 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.1 steals, while shooting 59% from the field. The 6-foot-6 guard should be the favorite for conference newcomer of the year and possibly Sun Belt POY.

For the Jags he’s averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.6 steals, while shooting 53% from the floor.  

Olsen is transfer from Canada where he was a three-point sharpshooter and averaged 15 points per game. He’s been good from beyond the arc this season, converting 60-of-158 for 38%.

As a team, the Jaguars are the top shooting squad in the Sun Belt, connecting at 46.9% from the field.

MILLER TIME

Portland State has won seven straight games for the first time since 2007-08 and the Vikings are 7-0 to open Big Sky play for the first time in 30 years.

Head coach Jase Coburn’s team is long. physical and athletic. They are in great in transition, and they attack the paint in the halfcourt. Point guard Jaylin Henderson keys the attack.

Three things you should know about Henderson -- He can score, he can facilitate and he doesn’t require any rest. In a recent 8-game stretch, the 6-foot-3 senior played every minute for a total of 330 minutes. The two-year starter has been a difference maker for the Vikings since his arrival from Louisiana Tech. This season he’s averaging 17.4 points, 6.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

The most important thing to know about Terri Miller Jr. (pictured above) is that he’s the best player in the Big Sky Conference. The 6-foot-8 power forward is very versatile on the offensive end. He’s the top scorer in the conference averaging 19.4 points per contest, while shooting 53%. 

This is a very good defensive team and a dominant rebounding team. The Vikings lead the conference in rebound margin (+6.6), field goal defense (.409%), blocked shots (4.3), and turnovers forced (13.2).
 

COAST TO COAST

UIC opened 2026 with a pair of losses to fall to 5-10 overall and 0-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Since then, the Flames have run off 7 straight wins and moved into a tie for 3rd place in the Valley. Pretty impressive job by head coach Rob Ehsan to get things turned around.  One thing that has really helped is the return of BYU transfer Elijah Crawford. The 6-foot-3 sophomore, who missed most of the first two months due to injury, has provided a spark. He has scored in double-figures in 6 of the 7 wins, including a career-high 26 last weekend at Bradley. This past Tuesday he came up with a big steal and a layup with 1.8 seconds remaining to beat Indiana State. He finished with 12 points and 6 assists and scored the final 6 points of the game for the Flames.

St. Thomas owned the longest home court winning streak in college basketball. North Dakota ended that 28-game streak on Thursday night. Senior Eli King, who began his career at Iowa State, hit a layup with 7 seconds left to knock off the Tommies, which are currently ranked No. 19 in the Mid-Major Top 25®.  It was the fourth straight win for head coach Paul Sather's team, which is now alone in 2nd place in the Summit League. The Fighting Hawks do a great job of taking care of the basketball and forcing opponents to turn it over. They rank Top 15 in the nation in steals per game (9.5), turnover margin (+5.2) and turnovers forced per game (15.6). As a team they have had less than 10 turnovers in 6 of the last 7 games. UND, which was picked to finish 8th in the 9-team Summit, was also the last team St. Thomas at home, on Jan. 27, 2024.

As my colleague Angela Lento recently stated, “You can’t stop the Sun from rising in the East and you can’t stop Dominique Daniels from getting buckets in the West.” Daniels Jr. and California Baptist are currently one game behind UT Arlington for 1st place in the WAC. The Lancers have excellent size and good depth in the frontcourt so they can keep throwing that size at you. They lead the WAC in rebounds per game (40.3) and they are also tops in offensive rebounds per game (14.3). It’s a well-coached group, which is very structured at both ends. Daniels is a stud. He can score at all three levels, and he gets defenders on skates with his ability to get into the paint.

Morehead State has bounced back from a 3-7 start and is now right in the thick of the Ohio Valley Conference race heading into February. One pleasant surprise has been the play of UNC Asheville transfer Davion Cunningham. At Asheville, most of his run came against non-division I opponents when the starters were getting the night off. He did get more minutes when he transferred to USC Aiken where he averaged 15.9 points and 5.6 rebounds for a 2024-25  team that finished with 24 wins and advanced to the second round of the Division II tournament. And quality minutes have not been a problem this season. The 6-foot-3 junior had 18 points in early November against Clemson, and he’s averaging 27.5 minutes per game. Cunningham is getting 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game on the season. Since Jan. 10 he’s scoring just under 17 per contest, which includes a 35-point performance against Southeast Missouri State. Good to see the young man get an opportunity to show what he can do.

Navy is currently in sole possession of 1st place in the Patriot League at 8-1, but Colgate has not lost contact with the Midshipmen.  The Raiders sit one game back at 7-2. One of the big reasons is the play of Los Angeles native Jalen Cox (pictured above). The 6-foot-3 junior has really picked up the pace of late. He closed out 2025 with a career-high 29 points at Lafayette. Two weeks later he posted the first triple-double of his career with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Bucknell. And last weekend he scored 9 of his team-high 23 points in overtime, including the game-winning turnaround jumper with 9.8 seconds remaining against Boston University. As the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, Jim Harbaugh often says, “He was at his best, when his best was needed.” Cox is averaging 16.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 54.3% from the field.

HIS SUCCESS = TEAM SUCCESS 

Cameron Boozer (Duke), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Ebuka Okorie (Stanford), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina), Darius Acuff, Jr. (Arkansas) and Gavin Sykes (Long Beach State).

Those are the top scoring freshmen in college basketball.  Long Beach State’s 6-foot-4 scoring machine is in good company. 

In a season which has gotten better with every game, Sykes recently broke his own freshman single-game scoring record (which he also held with former LBSU star Lucious Harris), with 34 points last Saturday against Cal State Northridge. 

More importantly, it was the third straight win for Long Beach, which is playing its best basketball of the season.

With Sykes playing like a freshman All-American, the 49ers have moved to within one game of first place in the Big West Conference. Back in October, there were not many people who thought either of those sentences would be true in late January.   

Long Beach was picked to finish 8th in the Big West preseason poll and there was really no buzz around Sykes at all. The Modesto Bee High School Player of the Year was a Top 25 prospect in the state of California, coming out of Modesto Christian high school, and he had several scholarship offers, but most were of the mid-major variety. There was interest from the University of California Berkley, but Sykes chose the Beach and second-year head coach Chris Acker. 

In his very first game, Sykes played 8 minutes, took two shots and finished with no points against San Diego State. A few days later he saw 25 minutes of action and scored 11 points at Fresno State. In the following game at Pacific, Sykes found a little rhythm and notched his first 20-point game. Before the month was over, he would drop a 30-piece on San Diego, and he was on his way.

It was the first time a 49er freshman had scored 30 points since 1990. 

Since Thanksgiving, he’s averaging just under 23 points per contest and since that zero on opening night, Sykes has been in double figures in every game. Overall, for the season he’s averaging 18.9 per game and 21.9 points in conference play. 

He's shooting 48% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc. Like a lot of young players, he will have his hot and cold shooting nights, but he certainly doesn’t lack confidence. 

But lately he has become more efficient. Sykes went through an 8-game stretch, right before Thanksgiving through Christmas, in which he was averaging 18.1 shots per game. In the 6 games since, he’s averaging 13.5 shots per contest.  The 49ers are 5-1 during that stretch.

A lot of players put up numbers, but the results aren’t always there. The increased production from Sykes coincides with the success of the team, which makes him a legitimate candidate for the 2025-26 Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year award.  The Sacramento California native is a good one. 

NOTE: The finalists for the award will be announced in March. The recipient of the 2025-26 Kyle Macy award will be announced in April, in Indianapolis, IN site of the men's Division I NCAA Basketball Championship.

Mark Madsen continues to recruit talent to the West Coast. Cal’s latest addition is Memphis transfer Keonte Kennedy. He can shoot it! He was one of the top three-pointers in the American Athletic Conference, so it was a big blow when he got hurt and missed the final eight games of the season. The 6-foot-5 Grad Transfer began his career at Xavier, spent two seasons at UTEP and got buckets for Penny Hardaway last season.

Rick Pitino continues to add pieces. Glenn Taylor Jr. is the latest transfer to land at St. John’s. The former Pac-12 All-Freshman selection became a starter late in his first season and followed up with a terrific sophomore campaign. He scored in double figures 48 times in his two seasons at Oregon State. The 6-foot-6 Las Vegas native is an ideal fit for the Red Storm.

The gap between the top and the bottom is closer than it’s ever been, and player movement has had a lot to do with it. The transfer portal has hurt mid-majors, but it’s also provided an opportunity to replace lost players with some other experienced players. Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle had some thoughts… 

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Great stuff from Jim Les. The gap between the haves and the have nots is closer than ever before... 

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UC Irvine’s DJ Davis is an extension of head coach Russ Turner on the court. He’s tough, smart, and most importantly… He’s a winner. The 6-foot-1 California native took over last night when the game was in the balance at Riverside.

UC Santa Barbara matched the program record for wins (23) on Thursday evening. It’s been tough to get a handle on the Big West conference this season, but a ‘handle’ isn’t a problem for Ajay Mitchell. The 6-foot-5 sophomore point guard is special.

The last time Howard won an outright regular-season title in the MEAC (1987), Kenny Blakeney was still four years away from beginning his playing career at Duke. Kenny Blakeney is a high-level coach and a high-quality individual.

It’s not easy moving to a new conference. Belmont just made it look easy. The Bruins finished the regular season tied for third place at 14-6 in the Missouri Valley, and 21-10 overall. Casey Alexander has averaged 24.5 wins per season since taking over for Hall of Famer Rick Byrd.

Oakland’s Jalen Moore is finishing strong. Over the past 12 games, he’s averaging 24 points per contest. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Oakland, but with Moore and Trey Townsend the Golden Grizz should not be overlooked in the Horizon League tournament.

Eastern Washington became the first Big Sky program to EVER reach 16-0 in conference play. They also clinched the regular-season title and extended the nation’s longest current winning streak to 18. The Eagles are at Idaho State on Saturday, and they host Montana State on Monday, in their quest to finish a remarkable 18-0 in league play.

Should we really be surprised that Rick Pitino is on the verge of yet another conference championship? Pitino’s Iona Gaels have won 45 games in the past two seasons, with more victories likely to follow.

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Riley Wallace led Hawaii to three NCAA Tournaments, relying on transfers and foreign talent. Eran Ganot has averaged 18 wins in his eight seasons using that same formula. Noel Coleman (San Diego via Belgium), Kamaka Hepa (Texas), and JoVon McClanahan (Sheridan College) are Ganot’s top three scorers and another starter, Bernardo da Silva is a native of Brazil.

North Alabama can’t win the ASUN regular-season title, but the Lions will be a player in the upcoming conference tournament. Head coach Tony Pujol has a nice backcourt led by KJ Johnson and Daniel Ortiz. They can score. And freshman Jacari Lane is going to be a good one.

You have to be out here on the West Coast to truly appreciate what Mike Magpayo has done at UC Riverside. Three straight winning seasons and 18 wins for the first time in school history. They had a grand total of two winning seasons before Magpayo took over three years ago.

Morehead State has taken control of the Ohio Valley Conference and one big reason has been the play of Mark Freeman. The 5-foot-11 transfer from Illinois State who is averaging 15.2 points per game, recently had a stretch in which he scored 24 or more in 5 of 8 games.

With its win last night, UC Irvine pulled into a tie for first place with UC Santa Barbara in the Big West at 11-3. UCI’s three losses are a 1-point defeat at Fullerton, OT at Long Beach and an early conference loss to UCSB, which was a one-possession game with 30 seconds left. Here come the Eaters.

Hard to argue that any story in college basketball is better than Eastern Washington. The Eagles current 13-game winning streak is the longest in the county and they are two wins away from matching the best mark in Big Sky history, which was set by Weber State over 50 years ago. They were picked to finish fifth in the preseason by both the coaches and media.

On Jan. 9 Howard lost to UMES to fall to 8-10 overall and 1-1 in the MEAC. That was the last time they lost. The Bison are now 8-1 in the MEAC and alone in 1^st place. Kenny Blakeney’s team will be tested with four on the road before the season finale at home against defending conference champion Norfolk State.

Amir Abdur-Rahim was 1-28 in his first season. In season four he has Kennesaw State ranked in the Mid- Major Top 25® for the first time in school history.  No. 25 KSU hosts No. 11 Liberty in a battle for 1^st place in the ASUN on Thursday.

Landon Bussie has done quite a job in two-plus seasons at Alcorn State. Last season he led the program to its first regular-season SWAC title in 20 years and now he’s trying to do it again. Alcorn has a one-game lead with five games remaining.

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Southern Miss is on the verge of one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NCAA history. The Golden Eagles remain unbeaten at home (14-0) and reached 23 wins for just the third time in school history.  Southern Miss was 7-26 last season.

Pittsburgh was picked to finish 14^th in the ACC this season. The Panthers are currently 17-7 overall and 10-3 in the ACC. Jeff Capel’s team is a legitimate contender for an ACC title. Transfers have been a big part of the winning formula, led by Blake Hinson who hadn’t played since the 2019-20 season. After two seasons at Ole Miss, the 6-foot-7 junior has found a home.

In 2021 Oral Roberts made a magical run to the Sweet 16. Despite having some key guys transfer, ORU won 19 games in 2021-22 and they have already reached the 20-win plateau this season. All-American Max Abmas has been an obvious difference maker, but don’t overlook the tremendous job done by head coach Paul Mills.

It's been a tough couple of weeks for Bobby Hurley and Arizona State. Four straight losses drop the Sun Devils to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in the Pac-12. There is plenty of basketball left to be played so no need to panic yet. Desmond Cambridge, who began his career at Brown, has been a nice addition after two seasons at Nevada.

San Diego State heads into the weekend with 16-4 record overall and 7-1 in the Mountain West. Few teams in the country defend as a group like the Aztecs. That’s no big surprise for those of us out here on the left coast. Defense and toughness are part of the San Diego State culture. Seattle transfer Darrion Trammell has been one of the more impactful transfers.

Southern Utah has won four straight to improve 14-6 overall and 6-1 in the WAC. Pretty impressive when you consider the WAC is as good as it has been in a long time. What a job that Todd Simon has done with this program. His name should be on a lot short lists for job openings at season’s end.

Big win for Ryan Looney and Idaho State at Weber State last night. The win moved the Bengals to 3-0 in the Big Sky. ISU probably isn’t ready to challenge for a Big Sky title this season, but Looney has this program headed in the right direction. And they will make some noise along the way this season.

After starting the season 5-4, Utah Valley closed out 2022 with seven straight wins. That stretch included road wins at BYU and Oregon. They can shoot the three and 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo is one of the top defensive players in mid-major college basketball. Mark Madsen’s squad is a legitimate contender to win the WAC. 

UCLA has run off eight straight wins, including consecutive victories over No. 24 Maryland and No.13 Kentucky. As good as he is, Jaime Jaquez Jr. doesn’t get nearly enough national attention. He’s one of the main reasons the Bruins will be the top team in the Pac-12 and a real contender to get to Houston for the Final Four.

With a win last night over Cal Poly, San Jose State close out the non-conference slate with a 9-4 mark. There aren’t any real notable wins, but watching this team play it’s clear these aren’t the same old Spartans. Head coach Tim Miles is slowly changing the culture. It’s not likely that they will compete for the top sport in the conference, but they will be better this season in the Mountain West.

Grand Canyon has dropped two straight to fall to 7-4 in the early season. No need to panic in Phoenix. The losses to Loyola Marymount and North Texas, which will both be factors in their respective conferences, were by a combined six points. Keep an eye on Presbyterian transfer Rayshon Harrison. Two years ago, he was one of the top freshmen in the country.

Pretty good start to the season for Arizona’s Oumar Ballo. The 7-foot junior, who began his career at Gonzaga, has been in double figures in every game this season, including a very impressive 30-point, 13-rebound performance in a win over No. 10 Creighton. Ballo and Azoulas Tubelis give the Wildcats one of the top frontcourts in all of college basketball.

UC Riverside has a good one in Zyon Pullin. The 6-foot-4 senior runs the show for the defensive-minded Highlanders. Head coach Mike Magpayo has done an excellent job in a short period of time with the program. Keep an eye on Magpayo, Pullin and Riverside.

In case you missed it last week, San Diego’s Eric Williams Jr. set a school record with 43 points against Utah State.  The athletic, 6-foot-7 lefty is averaging 22 points and nearly 12 rebounds per game. He’s the centerpiece of Steve Lavin’s new-look Toreros.

Brandin Podziemski scored more points in Santa Clara’s opener then he did all of last season. The transfer from Illinois had 34 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia Southern. He followed that up with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals against Eastern Washington. He had a total of 22 points last season. The 6-foot-6 guard is an impact transfer.