RESUME OPPORTUNITY FOR NOVA

Villanova's only two losses this season are at NET No. 1 Michigan and against NET No. 6 BYU on a neutral floor. Otherwise, the Wildcats have taken care of business in the non-conference, but they have one more resume opportunity on Friday evening.

Winners of six of the last seven Villanova (8-2) will face Wisconsin (7-3) in Milwaukee tonight in a nationally televised game on Fox. The Badgers haven’t played since last week, when they lost by 30, in the Big Ten road opener at Nebraska.  

UW is led by San Diego State transfer Nick Boyd, who was part of the Florida Atlantic team that went to the Final Four in 2023. The 6-foot-3 senior is averaging 20.2 points per contest, shooting over 48% from the field.

Villanova features one the nation’s best rebounders in Duke Brennan. The Grand Canyon transfer is second in the country, pulling down 11.7 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 senior is coming off a 24-point, 9-rebound performance in a 79-61 win over Pittsburgh. 

While he may not get the same attention as players like Duke’s Cameron Boozer or Arkansas’ Darius Acuff; point guard Acaden Lewis (pictured above) is one of the best freshmen in college basketball. He’s dishing out 5.6 assists a night. 

First-year head coach Kevin Willard also has an efficient wing scorer in Bryce Lindsay. The 6-foot-3 sophomore comes over from James Madison where he was both the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and the conference Sixth Man of the Year.  He’s made the transition nicely and is currently 4th among Big East players, scoring 17.2 points per contest.

All the ingredients for strong Big East record and a potential NCAA selection are all there. Coach Willard's winning ways continue in year one at Nova.


ONE OF THE BEST OUTSIDE THE POWER 5

Picked to finish 8th in the Coastal Athletic Association, Hofstra was already flying under the radar heading into the season. Losses to open the year at UCF and Iona and a 2-3 start didn’t help matters, but head coach Craig “Speedy” Claxton and his team stayed the course. And post-Thanksgiving has been much different. 

Early-season games help coaches assess players and determine rotations.  Since the Thanksgiving break, Hofstra has lost only once and in a seven-day stretch they won games at Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Winners of six of the last seven, the Pride are currently ranked No. 21 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25® 

Now in his fifth season, Claxton posted 20 or more wins in three of his first four campaigns and he has another good group this season, led by Cruz Davis (pictured above). After stops at Iona and St. John’s, Davis has found a home in Hempstead, New York. 

I spoke with an NBA scout who said Davis is absolutely on his radar after 36 points at Pitt and 22 at Syracuse. He is not scoring on volume but on highly efficient shooting and distributing an average of 8 assists in the two ACC wins. Overall, the 6-foot-3 junior is scoring just under 21 points and is handing out just over 5 assists per game. On Thursday he was named to the Lou Henson award ‘Early Season’ Watch List.

Teammate, Preston Edmead is making a case to get his name on the Kyle Macy Freshmen All-America team. The 6-foot-1 guard is second on the team in points (13.6) and assists (4.9). Combine Davis, a star freshman and a physical front line and you have one of the best teams in the country outside the Power 5.

DANGEROUS TEAM IN THE ACC

What a big win for Adrian Autry and Syracuse on Tuesday evening. The 62-60 win over No. 13 Tennessee follows a tough pre-Thanksgiving stretch against Houston, Kansas and Iowa State. 

Following four straight wins to open the season, Syracuse opened eyes with a tough 78-74 overtime loss to No. 3 Houston. Subsequent losses to Kansas and Iowa State had the Orange in a mini three-game slide, but there were still two big reasons to feel good about this team moving forward.

1. Both Donnie Freeman and JJ Starling returned this season. That’s the good news. Unfortunately, they haven’t always been available. Both have battled injuries going back to last season and have not always been on the floor together. The 6-foot-4 Starling played 33 minutes against the Volunteers and contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, but the 6-foot-9 Freeman hasn’t played since his 18 points and 7 rebounds against Monmouth on Nov. 18. 

That bad luck surely can't continue. 

2. Recruiting went close to perfect for Autry. He added an elite point guard in Naithan George. The honorable mention All-ACC selection finished sixth in the nation with 6.5 assists per game last season at Georgia Tech. Autry also added elite shooter Nate Kingz who shot over 44% from three last season for Oregon State. He had a season-best 19 in the win over Tennessee. 

Defense is also a big key and UCLA transfer William Kyle III has made an immediate impact. The 6-foot-9 senior had 6 blocks in Tuesday’s win. He currently ranks top 10 nationally in that category.  And Coach Autry added a pair of elite freshmen with Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White, Jr.  

All the ingredients are here. With a healthy Freeman, a high finish in the ACC is realistic.

DIFFERENT APPROACH IN HAPPY VALLEY

While most of the country is going transfer portal and experience heavy, Penn State head coach, Mike Rhoades brought in seven freshman. While at Kentucky, John Calipari admitted his “one and done” freshman approach could not win at the highest level. Therefore, some patience is warranted here in Big 10 play. 

Make no mistake that Kayden Mingo, Melih Tunca and Ivan Juric have traits to excel and build around at the Big 10 level. The trio averages 38.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per contest. When others are building one-year teams, Penn State is building a program that can stay competitive. Who does not root for that?

LIONS ROARING START

First-year head coach Kevin Hovde has literally hit the court running at Columbia. The Lions averaged just under 94 points per game over the past four. The program hasn’t had a stretch like that in nearly 50 years, while the former Florida assistant coach is the first Columbia head coach to win seven of his first eight games since 1950.

Not surprisingly, Columbia is top 20 nationally, shooting just under 40% from beyond the arc, something they were pretty good at doing in Gainesville. And just like the Gators, the Lions are great on the boards. Columbia currently leads the nation in rebound margin (15.8) and they pull down 13.5 offensive rebounds per contest.

Hovde brings a clear vision from the Florida Gators NCAA Championship blueprint along with great energy and communication skills. He inherited a roster filled with experienced seniors Avery Brown, Kenny Noland, Blair Thompson and Zine Eddine Bedri and exciting young talent providing quality depth in Mason Ritter, Miles Franklin and Connor Igoe. 

They are a legit threat to make it to Ivy Madness.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

New head coach Darris Nichols also has a clear vision for the future of La Salle basketball. Knowing who he is competing against in the Atlantic 10, in terms of NIL, Coach Nichols has built a deep roster with size, athletes and toughness. His team can rebound, they get to the free throw line at a high level, and they have good balance with five players averaging right around double figures in scoring.

Executing this well thought out plan is the goal. In games where they get some much needed 3-point shooting, they can battle the better teams in the A10. The future looks bright in Philadelphia. 

Leftover Thanksgiving Stuffing @EdwinIWS27 pic.twitter.com/VoYwg6ewBc

— La Salle Men’s Basketball (@LaSalle_MBB) November 28, 2025