Welcome back to the Starting 5! The Starting 5 is written multiple times per week by Adam Spencer to keep you up-to-date on all the news and events in the world of college hoops. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamSpencer4 and @BlueChipGrit.

1. Opening tip

Oscar Tshiebwe is a superstar. Every time Kentucky takes the court, you know you’re going to get a great game from the big man.

Thus, his 24-point, 14-rebound double-double in a New Year’s Eve drubbing of rival Louisville was no surprise.

What was a surprise in the 86-61 beatdown of the Cardinals was Jacob Toppin’s bounce-back performance. In the next section, I’m going to discuss some SEC X-factors. Well, Kentucky’s biggest X-factor is Toppin.

He put up 24 points and 7 boards against Louisville. He also was making smart plays on the offensive end:

Toppin hadn’t eclipsed the 10-point mark since a Dec. 4 win over Michigan in London. He had 0 points in 13 minutes against Mizzou.

If he has his confidence back, that’s huge for Kentucky. The Wildcats need more scoring options from the wing. Toppin has the ability to score at all 3 levels and the athleticism to make things happen in transition.

Kentucky hosts LSU on Tuesday night (more on that game later). Keep an eye on Toppin. If he can score at least 10 points, that bodes well for the Wildcats’ chances to win.

2. Home-court advantage

Since Kentucky and Louisville played the only meaningful game involving an SEC team over the holiday weekend, let’s use this section for something different. As we move deeper into conference play, let’s take a look at 5 guys around the SEC who could be X-factors moving forward:

  1. Julian Phillips, Tennessee – The Vols need some more offensive firepower to bolster what Santiago Vescovi, Olivier Nkamhoua and Zakai Zeigler are bringing to the table. Phillips was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school. If he can develop into a Keon Johnson type during SEC play, the Vols will be all the more dangerous. Currently, he’s averaging 10.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
  2. Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama – Quinerly has moved back to the bench and has seen his minutes dwindle as Alabama increasingly relies on Mark Sears and Jaden Bradley to run the offense. But you don’t have to look back very far to see how impactful Quinerly can be when he’s going strong. If Nate Oats can get some consistency out of the mercurial point guard, Alabama can compete for a national title this year.
  3. Adam Miller, LSU – Miller, the transfer from Illinois who missed all of last season with injury, is averaging 13 points per game this year. But he disappears at times and only had 7 points in the Tigers’ win over Arkansas to start league play. If he can consistently hit 3-pointers, LSU’s offense can hang with anyone in the SEC.
  4. KD Johnson, Auburn – KD Johnson can carry an offense when he’s hot. KD Johnson can shoot a team out of a game when he’s not. He’s never lacking confidence, and he’s going to need to raise his level of play even more if Auburn is going to finish in the top 5 in the SEC regular-season standings this season. He has the talent and the demeanor to do just that.
  5. Nick Honor, Mizzou – Honor is a steady hand running the Mizzou offense. On a team of veterans, he’s the one tasked with making the right plays at the right time. He’s also shooting 3-pointers with nearly a 45% success rate. The Tigers started SEC play with a big win over Kentucky. If they’re going to be a factor this year, Honor will need to continue to set his teammates up for success and hit key shots when his number is called.

All 5 of those guys will likely have moments where they can affect the race for the SEC regular-season title. We’ll see which guys rise to the occasion and which guys miss their chances to be heroes.

Next up, let’s take a look around the rest of the college hoops world.

3. Road trip

In last week’s Starting 5, I predicted that Purdue would be the last unbeaten team in the country.

Oops.

The Boilermakers did manage to stay unbeaten longer than UConn (more on the Huskies in a second), but New Mexico is, improbably, your last unbeaten team in Division I basketball.

That’s because, on Monday night in West Lafayette, Purdue lost to Rutgers in dramatic fashion. The Scarlet Knights held the lead late, but the Boilermakers made a clutch 3-pointer to take a 64-62 lead with only seconds remaining.

That’s when Cam Spencer (great last name) took matters into his own hands. After a great fake, Spencer calmly knocked down a 3 that gave Rutgers the exciting 65-64 victory:

Yes, Big Ten play is always a gauntlet, but if you’re Purdue, you can’t be losing to Rutgers on your home court. If you lose at Rutgers, that’s not awful. Losing at home to the Scarlet Knights isn’t great.

The Boilermakers have a tough game up next on the schedule, too. More on that in a bit. For now, let’s discuss those UConn Huskies:

  • UConn became the first of the 3 remaining unbeaten teams to lose, going down at then-No. 22 Xavier on New Year’s Eve. Big East play is almost as much of a gauntlet as B1G play, and losing on the road, 83-73, at Xavier is far from a bad loss for the Huskies. Zach Freemantle was elite against Adama Sanogo, the Huskies’ star big man. Freemantle finished the game with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. He was 1 of 5 Musketeers with at least 10 points. That sort of balance is crucial against a team like UConn. Now we’ll have to circle Jan. 25 on our calendars. That’s when Xavier visits UConn for a game that has major Big East title implications.

Next, let’s look ahead to the next few days of college hoops action.

4. Outlet pass

Now that we’ve officially turned our calendars to 2023, conference play is in full swing around the country. That means there are big games on TV nearly every night, so it’s a great time to be a college hoops fan! Here are the 5 games I can’t wait to watch between now and Friday:

  1. No. 20 Mizzou at No. 13 Arkansas (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on SECN) – Mizzou and Arkansas had opposite starts to SEC play. The Tigers trounced Kentucky in Columbia, while Arkansas went on the road and lost a 3-point game at LSU. This rivalry is an intense one. Arkansas plays solid defense. Mizzou has one of the best offenses in the country. Whichever team controls the style of play will probably win this matchup.
  2. No. 17 TCU at No. 19 Baylor (Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2) – Baylor just got trounced at Iowa State last week. TCU just beat Texas Tech to start Big 12 action, but now a hard stretch begins – at No. 19 Baylor, vs. No. 25 Iowa State, at No. 6 Texas. We’ll see if the Horned Frogs can start that brutal stretch with a big-time road win or if the Bears bounce back.
  3. Mississippi State at No. 8 Tennessee (Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2) – This is a matchup of the No. 1 defense in the KenPom rankings (Tennessee) and the No. 6 defense (Mississippi State). Expect points to be at a premium in Knoxville on Tuesday night. First team to 50 points might win this one!
  4. No. 1 Purdue at No. 24 Ohio State (Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1) – Now that Purdue has lost its first game of the season, we’ll see how the Boilermakers bounce back. A road trip to Columbus won’t be easy, but if Purdue is going to be a title contender this year, it’s a game the Boilermakers have to win. We’ll see if the Buckeyes can keep Purdue down, or if Zach Edey and company get back on track.
  5. LSU at Kentucky (Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN) – Kentucky fell out of the AP Poll for the first time this season. LSU is coming off a big win over Arkansas to start SEC play. Can the Wildcats bounce back? Or will the Tigers keep Kentucky’s woes going for another week?

It’s still early in the conference season, yes, but every game is so much more important between now and March. Which teams will fall into bigger holes? Which teams will make strong early impressions in league play? There are some incredible games on the docket for this week!

5. Buzzer beaters

Finally, let’s answer some random questions to end this column before we all go on with our weeks. Here are today’s buzzer beaters:

Who should be the new No. 1 team now that Purdue lost?

Behind Purdue in this week’s AP Poll, the top 5 is made up of No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Kansas, No. 4 UConn and No. 5 Arizona. Houston lost a home game against Alabama, so I’d keep the Cougars out of the top spot. Arizona got crushed by an unranked Utah team. UConn just lost to Xavier on the road. If you know me, you know how hard this is for me to do, but Kansas should be the new No. 1 team (assuming the Jayhawks win at Texas Tech and at West Virginia this week, which is no easy task). The Jayhawks are the reigning champs, and I have to begrudgingly give them that respect.

Should there be a 4-point line in college hoops?

With the proliferation of the 3-point shot in basketball these days, I’ve heard talk about adding a 4-point line. I would strongly disagree with adding one in college hoops, as there aren’t enough good 3-point shooting teams in the men’s college ranks these days to warrant one. If the NBA wanted to experiment with a 4-point line in the G League or something? Go for it. Just keep it out of the college game until nearly every team is shooting 40% or so from 3-point range. We have a long way to go before we get there.

Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on Twitter @AdamSpencer4 or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.