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College Basketball

Starting 5: Kentucky wins across the pond, star freshmen in the SEC and zone-beating master class

Adam Spencer

By Adam Spencer

Published:

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

We had college football in Ireland this year, so why not have a college basketball game in London?

Kentucky and Michigan took their talents across the pond on Sunday to play a marquee matchup in the O2 Arena. Even though it tipped off only shortly before England played a World Cup match in Qatar, the game drew a lot of attention.

And for the first time this year, the Wildcats earned an impressive win. Kentucky outlasted the Wolverines and big man Hunter Dickinson. Oscar Tshiebwe scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against the Wolverines, while Dickinson posted 21 points and 9 boards in the battle of elite big men.

But the star of the show for the Wildcats was arguably freshman Cason Wallace. He had 14 points (tied with Jacob Toppin for the team lead) and added 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.

Kentucky has had players like Wallace before, most notably TyTy Washington and Tyrese Maxey, but Wallace might be coming into his own earlier than those guys did.

Look at the confidence with which Wallace launched this deep 3-pointer that proved to be the game-winner for the Wildcats in the 73-69 victory:

What makes Wallace a true difference maker, though, is his tenacity on defense. Check out how tight he stays on Jett Howard in this second-half sequence:

I’ve argued this before in this column, but every game that goes by without John Calipari handing the keys to the team over to Wallace is a game wasted. The elite freshman has the talent to be truly special for the Wildcats this year.

2. Home-court advantage

South Carolina doesn’t look like it will be much of a factor in SEC play this year. The Gamecocks have struggled in Lamont Paris’s first season at the helm of the program, going 4-4 through 8 games.

The Gamecocks already have losses to Colorado State, Davidson, Furman and George Washington this year – not exactly a murderer’s row of competition.

But don’t let that fact stop you from appreciating the greatness of star freshman GG Jackson, who reclassified in order to join the Gamecocks this season, even though he’s only 17 years old.

He has been incredible for South Carolina. Even at such a young age, he has a well-developed post game. He can face up defenders or back them down. He’s able to get great position before he gets the ball in his hands, too.

In an overtime win over Georgetown over the weekend, Jackson was magnificent, posting 22 points and 8 rebounds while displaying his full arsenal of skills:

Jackson is playing like a lottery pick, which he likely will be if and when he declares for the 2023 NBA Draft. The Gamecocks might not finish in the top half of the SEC standings, but don’t let that stop you from tuning in every now and then to see Jackson in action!

Now for some other important SEC stories:

  • Nick Smith Jr. appeared in his second game for Arkansas in a 99-58 beatdown of San Jose State on Saturday and it went much better than his first outing. Anthony Black stole the show in Maui, but Smith flashed his incredible potential in 24 minutes of action against the Spartans, scoring 16 points and dishing out 5 assists. Mizzou transfer Trevon Brazile (23 points, 5 rebounds) and Wichita State transfer Ricky Council IV (17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals) continued to lead the way for Eric Musselman’s squad, but it’s clear Smith has the potential to become the biggest star of them all. His shooting stroke is flawless and he is quick off the dribble when getting into the lane to finish at the rim:

  • You need a guy who can create his own shot or get teammates open looks during tough games in March. The Hogs potentially have several of those guys. This is going to be an exciting team to watch in SEC play and beyond.
  • Speaking of exciting teams, Mizzou is playing some scintillating basketball right now. The Tigers have scored 837 points through 9 games, with their most recent win being a 96-89 win over SEMO. Kobe Brown had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals to lead the way for the Tigers. Sean East II has been electric lately, and he had 21 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. The offense looks incredibly different than last year under first-year coach Dennis Gates:

  • Of course, everything to this point has just been a tuneup. On Saturday, No. 6 Kansas comes to Columbia for a massive rivalry game. The Tigers have been pouring points on every opponent this year, but the Jayhawks will be their toughest test to date. We’ll see if they’re ready for the big time.

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

3. Road trip

If the season ended today (which it doesn’t, thankfully), it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Purdue big man Zach Edey winning National Player of the Year. The Boilermakers are a perfect 8-0 so far this year and are up to No. 4 in the AP Poll.

Purdue won its Big Ten opener against Minnesota, 89-70, and the Gophers simply had no answer for Edey. The Purdue big man scored 31 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in the incredible performance.

He simply looks like a grown man playing against elementary school children in this highlight reel:

The formula to beating Purdue this year is simple – get Edey in foul trouble early and then pray. Of course, executing that plan won’t be so simple, as Edey is playing the best basketball of his career thus far.

The Boilermakers have a real chance to be sitting at 14-0 when they head to Columbus on Jan. 5 to take on a currently ranked Ohio State squad. It’s unreasonable to expect any team to make it through a league as tough as the B1G undefeated, but with Edey playing at this level, the Boilermakers will at least have a chance.

Now, let’s look at some other top stories:

  • I want to go back to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for a minute and discuss Illinois big man Coleman Hawkins, who had a triple-double in the Illini’s win over Syracuse. How do you beat the Orange’s 2-3 zone? The formula has been around for years – get the ball to a big man at the foul line and let him either make plays scoring or distributing for his teammates. Hawkins taught a master class in that strategy against Syracuse, scoring 15 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists:

  • The reason not too many teams have had success with the strategy over the years is that it’s hard to find a big man who can distribute at the level Hawkins showed in the above clip. He’s really grown into a star for the Illini this year. Along with Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois has an elite tandem. Now we’ll see if they can take their show to New York City against No. 2 Texas on Tuesday night (more on that game later).
  • Gonzaga always tests itself in nonconference play. It has to, as the WCC doesn’t offer the best competition. Even so, it’s odd to see the Bulldogs with a 5-3 record and down to No. 18 in the AP Poll. So what’s wrong with Mark Few’s squad? Some context is necessary, as the Bulldogs’ 3 losses have been to Texas, Purdue and Baylor. Those teams are currently ranked No. 2, No. 4 and No. 12 in the country, respectively. It’s still weird to see Gonzaga not win at least 1 of those games, though. Even Monday’s 73-66 home win over Kent State seemed lackluster. Big man Drew Timme did all he could for his team, scoring 29 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in the win:

  • But the answer to what’s wrong with Gonzaga is that it misses Andrew Nembhard. The Andrew Nembhard who just scored 31 points and nearly had a triple-double with 13 assists and 8 rebounds against the reigning-champion Golden State Warriors on Monday night:

  • Without his distribution skills and ball movement, the Gonzaga offense gets stale at times. If Few can’t find a guy to fill that role capably, the Bulldogs won’t be a title threat come March Madness.

Next, let’s take a look at the week ahead in college hoops.

4. Outlet pass

The next couple of weekends are loaded with quality games. The midweek schedule this week is a little bit light, but there is some intriguing conference action on the slate. Elsewhere, the Jimmy V Classic in New York has a pair of interesting matchups. Here are the games I can’t wait to watch between now and Friday:

  1. No. 17 Illinois vs. No. 2 Texas (Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN) – Terrence Shannon Jr. is quite familiar with the Longhorns from his time at Texas Tech. He’ll be eager to face his former rivals. This game to tip off the Jimmy V Classic in New York City has the potential to be one of the best matchups of the month!
  2. No. 5 UConn at Florida (Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2) – This matchup features 2 elite big men – UConn’s Adama Sanogo and Florida’s Colin Castleton. That should be an epic battle down low. In a year full of elite big men, this is one head-to-head battle you won’t want to miss!
  3. No. 13 Maryland at Wisconsin (Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN) – Maryland has been really strong this year, but playing at Wisconsin isn’t easy even for the elite teams in the nation. Can the Badgers pull off an upset during this early B1G league play window? It would be huge for momentum heading into the new year.
  4. Iowa vs. No. 15 Duke (Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) – The nightcap of the Jimmy V Classic isn’t as interesting as the first game (mentioned above). But it still has plenty of intrigue. Duke has been up and down this year, as one would expect from a young team with a new head coach. This would be a big confidence booster for the Blue Devils, though.
  5. Rutgers at No. 25 Ohio State (Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2) – Rutgers just knocked off Indiana in New Jersey. But road play in the Big Ten is another deal entirely. If the Scarlet Knights can win in Columbus, it might be time to start looking at them as a potential contender. That’s easier said than done, though.

We’ll have plenty more exciting college hoops games over the weekend. There’s still life left in the nonconference schedule, even if some leagues are already beginning to play each other. We’ll see who adds some impressive wins to their résumés as the new year quickly approaches!

5. Buzzer beaters

Now let’s answer a couple of random questions before we get out of here and enjoy the rest of our weeks:

Who has been the most-disappointing team so far this year?

Well, there is certainly no shortage of teams to choose from for this answer. In the ACC alone, we have preseason No. 1 North Carolina at 5-4 and currently unranked. We also have Louisville at 0-8 and Florida State at 1-9. I’m going to go with the Tar Heels here, as they have fallen way too far for a team that was in the national title game last season and brought back all but 1 key contributor. Louisville and Florida State would certainly also be worthy choices for this question. Down year for the ACC, it seems.

What Big Ten team has impressed you the most?

The answer to this question is Purdue. Kudos to Maryland for putting together an 8-0 start to the season and recently knocking off a ranked Illinois team, but that résumé still doesn’t compare to Purdue’s. The Boilermakers have taken down a pair of then-top 10 teams already this year in Gonzaga and Duke. Zach Edey is an absolute beast, as we discussed earlier. The Boilermakers will be tough to beat this B1G season.

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.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.

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