The end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 in college basketball was marked by some important developments in the Big East. On New Year’s Eve, #7 Villanova showed it is still the top dog in the conference with a dominant 95-64 win over previously unbeaten #9 Xavier. Later that day, #11 Providence proved it was for real with an eye-opening 81-73 triumph at #20 Butler. What made that Friars’ victory so impressive was that they rebounded from an 11-point halftime deficit to outscore the Bulldogs by 19 points in the game’s second stanza. When Saturday came around, Xavier displayed no ill effects from its previous shellacking, as the Musketeers handed Butler its second Big East defeat in a comfortable 88-69 win. It is only just one week into the conference season, but statements have already been made. This week’s Quick N’ Dirty after the jump.
Quick N’ Dirty Analysis.
- Oklahoma is the new #1. The Sooners are the new top team in the RTC25 after moving its unbeaten record to 12-0 with a thrilling 87-83 win over #14 Iowa State on Saturday. Lon Kruger’s group moved into the top spot after #1 Michigan State suffered its first defeat of the season at #19 Iowa. Oklahoma’s stay at the #1 spot will not be a walk in the park as it travels to Allen Fieldhouse tonight — a place that has earned a well-deserved reputation of unfriendliness to the opposition.
- Iowa enters the RTC25 at #19 after an impressive week. The Hawkeyes have rebounded nicely after dropping two of their first five games of the season. Since that point, they have won eight of nine contests and currently have a record of 11-3 highlighted by a pair of impressive victories last week. Iowa toppled previously unbeaten Michigan State on Tuesday before spoiling “Rick Mount Night” at Purdue over the weekend. As a result of a 2-0 Big Ten start, the Hawkeyes will receive a warm reception from their home crowd when they return the floor on Tuesday night to face Nebraska.
- SMU and South Carolina keep winning. #1 Oklahoma is still unbeaten, of course, but SMU and South Carolina both also continued their undefeated starts to the season. The #15 Mustangs moved to 13-0 with wins over Tulsa and South Florida. The week was not without turmoil for Larry Brown’s team, though, as junior guard Keith Frazier unexpectedly left the team to deal with a personal issue. Frazier’s status with the Mustangs remains unknown. The #22 Gamecocks closed out their non-conference slate at 13-0 on Saturday with a 10-point victory over Memphis. SEC play will begin in earnest on Tuesday as Frank Martin’s squad will head to Auburn looking to move its record to 14-0.
Game of the Week. #1 Oklahoma vs. #2 Kansas. The first Big Monday of the year will give us the first #1 vs. #2 battle of the season as the Sooners and Jayhawks duel in Lawrence. The Sooners will enter Allen Fieldhouse with a pristine 12-0 mark while the Jayhawks have reeled off 11 consecutive wins after its Champions Classic loss to Michigan State. The raucous home environment in Allen Fieldhouse will give Kansas a clear advantage, but it would be unwise to count out an Oklahoma squad that is off to its best start in 28 years. The individual matchup to keep an eye on in this game will be between Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield and Kansas guard Wayne Selden. Both players are off to tremendous starts this season and whoever gets the better of their battle will likely have a big hand in determining which team emerges victorious.
Keep Tabs On. #6 North Carolina vs. Florida State; #22 South Carolina vs. Auburn; #8 Kentucky vs. LSU; #15 SMU vs. Cincinnati; #17 Purdue vs. Michigan; #10 Arizona vs. UCLA; #14 Iowa State vs. Baylor; #7 Villanova vs. #20 Butler.
Conference Call: ACC (5), Big 12 (4), Big East (4), Big Ten (4), SEC (3), Pac-12 (2), AAC (2), Atlantic 10 (1).