Rush The Court

The second full weekend of college basketball is upon us. A weekend that is highlighted by a battle of Wisconsin and several other compelling match-ups between power conference opponents. Here are 10 questions I have for the slate of action.

1. Which Marquette defense shows up against the Badgers? (Marquette @ Wisconsin, Sunday, 1 PM EST, FS1) Marquette trailed by 13 points at the break earlier this week against Purdue before rallying to win by 10. In the first half, the Golden Eagles’ defense allowed Purdue to shoot 44 percent from the field and make five three-pointers. In the second half, Marquette held Purdue to just 20 percent from the field that included only a single made three.
2. How will Admon Gilder fare against his old team? (Gonzaga @ Texas A&M, Friday, 9 PM EST, SEC Network) After playing three years with the Aggies, Gilder is now in his first year at Gonzaga where he has gone 7-of-16 from behind the arc. Through the opening week-plus of action, Gonzaga has logged the nation’s best effective field-goal percentage.
3. Can Minnesota end its skid by winning at hostile Utah? (Minnesota @ Utah, Friday, 9 PM EST, Pac-12 Network) A pair of second half collapses against Oklahoma and Butler have the Golden Gophers sitting at 1-2 heading to Salt Lake City. Minnesota’s bench has been a sore spot in those two losses, having been outscored 35-4 in the pair of games. 
4. Will the Gators find any consistency from beyond the arc? (Florida @ Connecticut, Sunday, 3 PM EST, ESPN) Michael White’s Gators are currently ranked 298th in effective field-goal percentage, 310th in three-point field goal percentage, and 243rd in two-point field goal percentage. Kerry Blackshear, Noah Locke and Andrew Nembhard are a combined 7-of-33 (21%) from beyond the arc. With five of their next six games coming away from Gainesville, the Gators need to find their shooting stroke.
5. Can the young Huskies pick up another marquee W? (Washington vs. Tennessee, Saturday, 5 PM EST, ESPN+) Having already beaten Baylor, Washington heads to Toronto for a weekend game against Tennessee. Will Mike Hopkins’ zone and his Huskies’ length frustrate Tennessee’s duo of Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden? Against Jaden McDaniels and Isaiah Stewart, this is a classic matchup of youth vs. experience.
6. Quite simply, which Pittsburgh team shows up? (West Virginia @ Pittsburgh, Friday, 7 PM EST, ESPNU) The Panthers began the season by knocking off Florida State before returning to lose at home to Nicholls State. In last season’s match-up between these teams, they combined to commit 50 turnovers (Pitt, 24), grabbed 30 offensive rebounds (Pitt, 14), and shoot 11-of-44 (Pitt 6-of-23) from beyond the three-point line. Let’s hope for a better performance this year.
7. Will Jon Axel Gudmundsson return to form for Davidson? (UNC Wilmington @ Davidson, Saturday, 7 PM EST) After dropping its opener to Auburn, Davidson was thoroughly outplayed in its next game at Charlotte. Last season Jon Axel Gudmundsson took home conference Player of the Year honors behind his 16.9 PPG. In the opening two games, Gudmundsson has scored just 18 points total in 67 minutes of action.
8. Just how good is freshman Zeke Nnaji? (New Mexico State @ Arizona, Sunday, 2 PM EST, Pac-12 Network) Teammates Nico Mannion and Josh Green began the year as the must-see freshman at Arizona. While both have been worthy of their preseason hype, it has also been the play of fellow freshman Zeke Nnaji who has stolen the show. Nnaji is averaging 21.7 points per game on a scorching 81.3 percent shooting from the field.
9. What will Virginia’s defense have in store this week? (Columbia @ Virginia, Saturday, Noon, ACC Network) New year, same Cavaliers’ defense. Through two games, Virginia’s opponents have shot 12-of-48 (25%) from inside the arc, 13-of-60 from beyond it, and 5-of-11 at the charity stripe. All told, back-to-back 34-point outings for its opponents has Virginia sitting at 2-0 despite some offensive concerns of their own. 
10. Can the Bruins get off to a quick start? (UNLV @ UCLA, Friday, 11 PM EST, Pac-12 Network) UCLA trailed at the half against both Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara before figuring things out in the second half. The Bruins are -8 in the first half and a +28 in the second half to date. This is a UCLA squad that got a huge lift from sophomore Jalen Hill, who grabbed eight offensive rebounds to go along with a career-best 22 points in the win over the Gauchos.