Feast week was everything that fans hoped it would be. The mid-day basketball provided upsets and buzzer beaters that will be missed until March. Now, fans have the ACC/Big Ten challenge, some conference play and a slew of intriguing mid-major match ups.
Every Monday Student Union Sports is going to take a look at the highlights of the college basketball week outside of the power structure. Let’s see who stood out during feast week.
Team of the week: Dayton
From November 13th through November 20th, Dayton lost three home games to UMass Lowell, Austin Peay and Lipscomb. None of those teams are ranked better than 198th at KenPom.
After the weekend the Flyers had in Orlando, that must feel like a lifetime ago. Anthony Grant’s team won the ESPN Events Invitational capturing victories over Miami, Kansas and Belmont. The win over the fourth ranked Jayhawks was particularly impressive. Dayton was down 15 early in the second half before a comeback that was completed by a buzzer beater from freshman Mustapha Amzil.
The roster make up makes the run Dayton had that much more impressive. The entire rotation is made up of freshman besides transfers Toumani Camara and Elijah Weaver. That is going to make the Flyers a fun to team to watch in what might be a wide open A10.
Player of the week: AJ Green, Northern Iowa
Two years ago AJ Green was setting the college basketball world on fire. He averaged 19 points a game and won the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore.
The last 18 months have been nothing what fans would have expected for the emerging star. A hip injury sidelined him for all but three games of his junior season and the Panthers got off to a horrible start his senior season.
Green and his squad potentially shifted the momentum Saturday afternoon in a wire to wire to win over #16 St. Bonaventure. The senior had 35 points in the victory displaying all the shot making ability he showed off as a sophomore. He shot 9/15 from behind the arc while chipping in four assists for good measure. If Green can revert to his 2020 form along with improvement from Trae Berhow and Austin Phyfe, Northern Iowa will be a force to be reckon with in the MVC.
Mid-major top 10
1. Gonzaga: The Bulldogs dropped a regular season game for the first time in almost two years Friday night. Drew Timme and co. are still at worst the third best team in America.
2. BYU: The Cougars kept things rolling with a nice double digit road win against Utah. Cleveland State transfer Te’Jon Lucas led the way with 18 points in 21 minutes.
3. Colorado State: David Roddy would not let the Rams lose to Northeastern Monday night. The opposite happened Friday night as his teammates stepped up in a big way in a comeback victory against Northern Colorado.
4. Saint Mary’s: Randy Bennett’s squad performed admirably in the Maui Invitational. The Gaels next six games are all against mid-majors with NCAA Tournament aspirations, it will be fun.
5. St Bonaventure: KenPom still respects the Bonnies as a top 40 team in America. The loss to Northern Iowa is a blip for sure but Mark Schmidt’s team should right the ship.
6. San Francisco: The Don’s continue to rack up victories. A close victory over UAB on a neutral court will continue to look better as the season goes on.
7. Utah State: Justin Bean and co. rolled against UT Arlington in their only game this week. Thursday nights game against Saint Mary’s will be must see tv. Dan Fotu vs. Bean in the front court will be the match up to watch.
8. Belmont: The Bruins went 2-2 in what was a busy week for Casey Alexander’s squad. Quality wins over Drake and Iona allows Belmont to keep their place in these rankings.
9. Iona: The Gaels may have lost two games in Orlando but they left their mark. A win over Alabama was the first major victory for Rick Pitino in New Rochelle. Could another come in the NCAA Tournament?
10. Loyola-Chicago: The Ramblers had a tough week in Atlantis going 1-2 with a win over Arizona State. If they get a last second stop against Michigan State, their spot in the top 10 would likely be much higher.
Just missed: Ohio, San Diego State, South Dakota State