1. We’ve seen Minnesota get off to hot starts before, but this year is starting to feel a little different. The Gophers got a signature win at home on Monday against Michigan State — which had tormented Minnesota at The Barn in years past — and as Trevor Mbakwe gets back into the mix, the Gophers will only get stronger. Tubby Smith has taken his time to ease Mbakwe back into the playing rotation after he tore his right ACL just over a year ago. Playing without a knee brace for the first time this season, Mbakwe showed off the skills we’ve become used to seeing in the Big Ten the last few years — turning in a double-double and giving the Spartans trouble on both ends of the floor. As ESPN‘s Myron Medcalf wrote afterward, Mbakwe is an emotional guide for this team, which could very well compee for a Big Ten title in the toughest conference in the country.
2. As the guys at CBSSports.com look at the Big Ten at the midway point of the season, Jeff Goodman says the conference is the most loaded in America. Illinois and Minnesota have been much better than we ever expected, Michigan and Indiana are surefire national title contenders, and Ohio State and Michigan State are expected to do their usual damage. Goodman takes a good look at the conference with this reset, looking at best match-ups ahead, some of the conference’s top players, and several other interesting news and notes.
3. All players have their own unique ways of getting motivated before big games. Some turn to scripture, others use music. Athletes are famously superstitious and their habits are endless. Indiana’s Will Sheehey, for one, takes the bad and turns it into good. Sheehey told the Indianapolis Star that he uses criticism, chants from opposing fans, and negative things he reads about his game to motivate himself. It clearly worked on New Year’s Even in Iowa City, as Sheehey went for 13 points, five rebounds and two assists coming off the bench in a nice Big Ten opener road win for the Hoosiers.
4. When it comes to criticism for Wisconsin sophomore Frank Kaminsky, he admits that no one is tougher than himself. Wisconsin players are expected to play hard, and the Badgers are one of those teams that give the Big Ten a bruising reputation. So when Kaminsky feels like he isn’t playing tough enough, he’s usually the first person to tell… himself. “I know that sometimes I play soft,” Kaminsky told Madison.com earlier this week, “and after I make a soft play I kind of mumble to myself about being stupid and how I need to play harder.” He’s an up-and-comer in the program and a guy Bo Ryan points to as one of the most improved in his short time in Madison.
5. Once Big Ten play rolls around for Nebraska, the Cornhuskers are going to need as much scoring as they can find from all parts of the bench. If that means more scoring from David Rivers, that could be a huge plus for Tim Miles’ team. The sophomore wing dropped 20 points in the Huskers’ win against Central Michigan last week, after tallying only 20 points his entire freshman season. So the Omaha World-Herald asks, where has that been all this time? “It’s just been bottled up,” Rivers said with a smile. “I hope there are more of those to come.” If Nebraska is to make a reasonable showing in the Big Ten this year, Miles should hope so, too.

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn. 

Tonight’s Lede. Conference Play Rocks. Analyzing and prognosticating and laying out bold analytical claims about teams is a fun debate this time of year. Teams are assigned permanent labels. Players earn reputations, rightly or wrongly, that stick around far longer than they should. All of this is premature – the best advice in November and December is to reserve judgment. Because once conference play begins, teams’ identities shine through, and many of the perceptions and conclusions we make are rendered useless. Two of the best leagues in the country, the Big Ten and Big East, kicked off their conference slates Monday in grand fashion. And if you got a taste of Pittsburgh-Cincinnati, or Indiana-Iowa, or Michigan State-Minnesota, you can already infer the obvious: conference competition entails a whole new level of competitiveness and intensity. With that, it is now time to get into your first weekday of league play, with a hope that the rest of the reason brings the same if not more entertaining hoops action.

Your Watercooler Moment. Minnesota’s Good; Michigan State’s Almost There. We Knew That Already.

The Big Ten is a cluttered jumble of Tournament hopefuls and championship contenders.What Minnesota showed monday is that its nonconference work was no anomaly (photo credit: AP Photo).

For anyone who watched Minnesota and Michigan State play any portion of their nonconference schedules, this game was a perfect precursor for the type of gritty, hard-nosed, highly-competitive Big Ten showdowns that should play out in high frequency over the next two months. Minnesota’s win also confirmed what most already knew about the Gophers: this team is a serious threat to vie for the Big Ten crown. Loaded and Top-heavy as the Big Ten is this season, Tubby Smith’s team has it all: Andre Hollins is a heady lead guard with a wide arsenal of perimeter scoring skills. Trevor Mbakwe belongs in the NBA today. Rodney Williams is one of the two or three best pure athletes in college basketball. And Austin Hollins is a stingy on-ball defender who’s offensive game isn’t all that far behind. Put it all together, and what you get is Tubby Smith’s best team at Minnesota. The way both teams have looked so far this season, Michigan State taking the Gophers to the wire at the Barn is not an altogether bad outcome. The Spartans are still sorting out their frontcourt rotation, still trying to leverage all of Gary Harris’ creative intuition and still searching for the defense-and-rebounding identity that Tom Izzo’s teams gradually assume over the course of a season. Basically, the Gophers’ win confirmed most every empirical insight we had about both teams coming in. That’s comforting for my basketball brain, if anything.

Your Quick Hits…

• Hoosiers Flaunt Road Chops. The biggest skeptics of Indiana’s preseason No. 1 ranking were fairly unanimous on one perceived flaw: Indiana can’t win on the road. And you know what? They’re weren’t totally off their rockers. The Hoosiers did take their lumps last season when away from cushy Assembly Hall and the enormous home field advantage it awards them – particularly in Big Ten play, where they pulled out just three of nine road tests. There’s no telling how last year’s Indiana team would have responded to Monday’s road date at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where a retooled and vastly improved Iowa squad gave the Hoosiers their best shot. In the end, Indiana’s immensely talented and deep roster overcame Iowa’s very best efforts, and that’s a huge relief if you’re an Indiana fan. If the Hoosiers can go into tough environments like Iowa and win the games they just weren’t ready for last season, there’s nothing standing in the way of a Big Ten regular season title. Read the rest of this entry »

Brendon Mulvihill is the head curator for @SportsGawker and an RTC contributor. You can find him @TheMulv on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

College hoops heads into 2013 with the opening of conference season in some of the major leagues set to begin . The slate of games scheduled for New Year’s Eve is not to be missed, as the Big East and Big Ten seasons both get underway. However, it is one final non-conference match-up that leads our breakdowns. Happy New Year!

Game of the Week

#16 Gonzaga at #21 Oklahoma State – 6:00 PM EST, Monday on ESPN2 (*****)

Le’Bryan Nash and company look to stop Gonzaga’s winning ways against the Big 12. (AP)

• A win against Oklahoma State today will make Gonzaga the best team in the Big 12. Obviously, Gonzaga is still in the West Coast Conference, but they are already 4-0 against Big 12 teams this season with wins against West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas State, and Baylor. Monday’s game against the Cowboys, however, is their first true road test against a Big 12 opponent. The other games have either been at home or on neutral courts. The Zags usually have a size advantage against their opponents, but Oklahoma State can match their size and even has that advantage at the guard position. The Pokes have four guards who contribute heavily to the offense that are 6’3″ or taller, including 6’7″ Le’Bryan Nash. With Bulldog guards Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell, Jr. measuring at 6’2″ and 6’1″, respectively, it will be very important to watch how Mark Few’s squad chooses to defend the perimeter size of the Cowboys. Much of that defensive pressure could actually fall on the Zags’ frontcourt. The Oklahoma State guards do most of their damage inside the three-point line because they are not much of a threat from the outside. Keep an eye on how this defensive responsibility affects Gonzaga’s offense inside. The Bulldogs will still need to pound the ball down low and get to the line because it’s their best chance of winning. If they can get to the line like Virginia Tech did against Oklahoma State, they can win this game in a tough road environment.
• No team has shot over 50% eFG in a game against Oklahoma State this season, but the Cowboys face a Gonzaga team that is lethally efficient from two-point range. The GU frontcourt’s two-point shooting breaks down like this – Elias Harris shoots 58.8%, Kelly Olynyk shoots 72.3%, Sam Dower shoots 59.7%, and Przemek Karnowski shoots 65.3%. These player will put considerable pressure on Cowboys center Phillip Jurick and freshman forward Kamari Murphy. The key will be how OSU head coach Travis Ford uses his big guards on help defense to stop the Gonzaga low post attack. If Oklahoma State can figure this out, they will pick-up an important non-conference win as they head into Big 12 play.
• Non-conference home losses are few and far between for Oklahoma State under Travis Ford. It’s hard to believe that Gonzaga can actually go 5-0 against the Big 12 this season, especially on the road in front of the Cowboy faithful at Gallagher-Iba Arena. This game will be extremely fun to watch, but the edge has to go to the Cowboys at home.

Other Games to Watch

#10 Cincinnati at #23 Pittsburgh – 12:00 PM EST, Monday on ESPN2 (****)

• Pittsburgh is a very flimsy 12-1. The only good team they’ve play this season is Michigan and they lost that game. We’ll know very quickly if Pitt is any good against a tough and tested Cincinnati squad. However, the Bearcats have shot the ball quite poorly over the last three games. They cannot afford to continue to do so if they expect to win this one, especially at the “Oakland Zoo” in Pittsburgh. The match-up between Tray Woodall and Cashmere Wright should be great to watch all night. Expect Cincy to get back on track and win this game, though, from behind the three-point line. However, if they are shooting bricks like they have been in the past few outings, Pitt will get a great win to start off the Big East season.

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Happy Holidays, everyone. As we enter the last major dry spell of the season this week with Christmas break upon us, this might be the last chance that you’ll have to see so little movement in our weekly poll. Next weekend features a number of intriguing games involving our Top 25 teams, and conference play looms immediately after that. Even so, there were some notable changes in this week’s poll — Syracuse and Missouri were the biggest movers — so let’s jump to the Quick n’ Dirty analysis after the jump.

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This is the seventh installment of our weekly Big Ten Power Rankings which we will publish each Friday. This week’s voters were Deepak Jayanti, Joey Nowak and Kevin Trahan of the Big Ten microsite.

Trey Burke and Michigan have taken over the top spot in the Big Ten Power Rankings from Cody Zeller and Indiana. (AP Photo/D. Cummings)

1. No. 3 Michigan — Of the perceived Big Ten heavyweights heading into this season, the Wolverines are the only team still standing with an unblemished record. They haven’t been really tested — they’ve won home games against an N.C. State team that still has not fully matured, and neutral site games against Kansas State, West Virginia and Pittsburgh — but no one can fault them for disposing of all comers. The most impressive thing about the Wolverines is they’ve worked as many new pieces into their rotation as any team in the conference, and have done so at a faster rate than anybody else. They currently stand as the team with the target on their back. (Last week: No. 2)
2. No. 2 Indiana — Yes, Indiana has lost more recently than Ohio State has. But the Hoosiers’ loss came at the hands of a strong Butler team on a neutral floor, and they responded well with a resounding victory against Mount Saint Mary’s. I don’t think anyone thought the Hoosiers were capable of going undefeated and winning the national championship — especially in this conference — but it’s clear they definitely do have some flaws. The offense is there, and will always be there. But figuring out how all these pieces work together is still a work in progress. (Last week: No. 1)
3. No. 7 Ohio State — The Buckeyes got a ballgame from Winthrop this week in Columbus, but the match-up we’ve all been waiting for is finally upon us. With the game Saturday in Columbus against Kansas, we’ll now get the chance to really see what Ohio State is made of and if they’ve learned from the mistakes that haunted them in last year’s Final Four loss to the Jayhawks and this season’s loss to Duke. If they beat Kansas, Ohio State will make a really strong case for the No. 2 spot in the rankings ahead of Indiana. (Last week: No. 3)
4. No. 10 Illinois — Being one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the conference, Illinois could make a strong case to be as high as No. 2 in these rankings, but we’re still tentative to slot them that high. One of the concerns about the Illini is that they play down to their competition. They couldn’t put away Eastern Kentucky until late in the second half and it has been a recurring theme against other mid-majors such as Western Carolina and Norfolk State. But after the road win against Gonzaga, they deserve the benefit of the doubt that they’ll be ready to play Missouri on Saturday in the annual Braggin’ Rights game. Missouri’s Alex Oriakhi will test the Illini big men – Nnanna Egwu and Tyler Griffey – but the key match-up will certainly be between Phil Pressey and Brandon Paul. (Last week: No. 6) Read the rest of this entry »

Exam week at schools around the country mean two things: a lack of good basketball games, and that the conference season will be upon us shortly. We’ve reached that point in the season where games are fewer and further in between and far less intriguing. But fear not. We’ll all get through this together, enjoy the holidays and gear up for Big Ten season at the New Year. But first, the Big Ten Microsite correspondents have put their heads together to issue grades for all 12 conference teams based on their preseason expectations. Take a look:

Brandon Paul and the Fighting Illini are at the head of the class in the Big Ten as we wrap up exams this week. (Joe Robbins/Getty)

• Illinois: Tough to pick against an undefeated team (12-0) and the Maui Invitational champion. Illinois still has to sort out its turnover issues (13 TO per game) as they are learning how to push the tempo under John Groce’s new system. Their reliance on the three-pointer and lack of an inside game is indicative in their close wins at home against mid-majors such as Norfolk State (64-54) and Gardner Webb (63-62). But without nitpicking at certain aspects of their game, the Illini deserve the best grade possible after 12 games and if they beat Missouri over the weekend, they should get extra credit. Grade: A (bump to A+ with a win over Missouri)
• Michigan: Things have gone just about as well as the Wolverines could have hoped for so far this season. They’re undefeated, ranked #2 in the country and are poised to dispose of Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan before opening Big Ten play with Northwestern. They’ve got arguably the best backcourt in the country in Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr., with Nik Stauskas coming off the bench. Glenn Robinson III has also been stellar during his freshman campaign, leaving the Wolverines with few holes. This team will compete for not just the Big Ten championship, but also perhaps for the national title. Grade: A

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Jesse Baumgartner is an RTC columnist. His Love/Hate column will publish each week throughout the season. In this piece he’ll review the five things he loved and hated about the previous seven days of college basketball.

Five Things I Loved This Week

I LOVED…. the magic of an intrastate rivalry in a basketball crazy state with Butler/Indiana. There are some games that seem like they’re just meant to take place in March, with all of those final consequences, and this sure seemed like one of those contests. What a treat of a game this early in the year, with all the back-and-forth and late dramatics that you could ask for. It makes sense that the Cinderella-prone Bulldogs and the upstart Hoosiers would be primed to start up a testy rivalry, but this barnburner might have just sped up that process by a couple of years. And you have to love the recruiting implications, too.

I LOVED… Sean Miller’s Wildcats taking out Florida in an early-season battle of potential March heavyweights. This one made me smile for two reasons – one, I feel like Miller is still on track with molding UA back into the perennial power that it was just a few years ago (and with that campus to recruit to, as it always should be…). But the other reason is that we need a couple of schools in the West to step up after a rough couple of years, just to restore some geographic balance to the college landscape. This Wildcats team looks like they could do their part this season.

I LOVED…. how content Tubby Smith is. He’s got another sneaky good team at Minnesota this season, as the Golden Gophers have only lost to #1 Duke and taken down Memphis and San Diego State, among others. You have to think that a guy with Tubby’s resume (read: national title) has turned down some offers at more marquee programs the past few seasons, but he’s remained committed to what most people would consider a rather moderate-profile university in a quality conference. It’s not flashy, and neither is Tubby, but it’s refreshing to see a good coach stay the course and keep building.

Tubby Smith Appears to Have His Best Minnesota Team

I LOVED…. Indiana losing a game at this point in the year. Though I’ve questioned their No. 1 ranking from the start, I really do like this team and think they very well could cut down the nets at the end of the year. But they needed some adversity, and getting it now rather than in late January or February will be a positive development, in my opinion. And getting it from a team that isn’t at their talent level should give Tom Crean even more material to work with in practice.

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1. Iowa freshman shooting guard Mike Gesell recognized that he needed to be more aggressive in coming games and, after a 23-point career-best performance this weekend against in-state rival Northern Iowa, it paid off when he was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. “I knew I had to be aggressive,” Gesell said. “I didn’t shoot as well the last few games, and I knew this whole week I had to stay positive about it and just keep attacking. Personally I know I’m a good shooter. I have confidence in my own game. I just had to stay aggressive.” Gesell is one of three freshman starters for the Hawkeyes, and the trio have proven thus far that they can adjust to the rigors of the college game. Now, the Big Ten season looms. But if Fran McCaffery gets this kind of production out of Gesell on a regular basis, Iowa may be able to surprise some people.
2. The Big Ten certainly has its fair share of talented, seasoned coaches but this columnist from the Albany Herald says Minnesota‘s Tubby Smith‘s “demeanor and coaching style, along with an intense work ethic, have brought him success everywhere he has landed.” Loran Smith goes on to say that Tubby Smith was underappreciated at Kentucky despite not leading the team back to a Final Four after winning a national title with mostly Rick Pitino’s players. The Gophers are one of the hottest teams in the country in the early part of the season and a Big Ten title contender. Does that solidify their coach’s greatness?
3. There’s no question about it: Jabari Parker is a game-changer. On the floor, he’s a once-in-a-generation type of recruit who can turn a team from a good squad into a great one. Off the floor, he’s been billed as the type of kid every coach and fan wants to have for their program, and his signing at any of the prospective universities could pay dividends for future recruiting and more. Michigan State is one of those schools, considered by some to be a finalist alongside Duke, with plenty riding on Parker’s upcoming announcement. But Tom Izzo says he “feels great about everything” with Parker potentially making or breaking the Spartans’ recruiting class this year. “It’s a big week, but in recruiting, sometimes you have regrets,” Izzo said Monday, according to MLive.com. “I have no regrets about what we’ve done in recruiting this year. I decided to do it a certain way, and we’ve done it that way. We didn’t sign anybody early. So I actually feel great about everything.”
4. It’s hard to imagine things going much better for Illinois at this point. Under new coach John Groce, the Illini are undefeated and won the prestigious Maui Invitational earlier this year to move into a Top 10 ranking for the first time since 2006. Ethan Asofsky writes that from the moment Groce stepped onto campus, he’s done things “his way” and it’s paying off in spades. He’s bringing in a talented recruiting class next year even after getting a late start and missing out on Jabari Parker. And he’s implemented a new system that highlights Brandon Paul, who has long been a All-Big Ten caliber player mired in inconsistency. Things are going to get tougher on Illinois from here on out, but at this point, Groce has delivered everything fans could have wanted — and maybe even more.
5. After dealing with soreness from playing 1,227 minutes during his freshman season, Michigan’s Trey Burke‘s feeling much better this year. This all comes despite the fact that he’s actually played more to this point than he did last year — 371 minutes this year versus 360 last year — but he credits his offseason regimen for getting into better condition. “Last year I thought I was just sore after every game and that was the norm,” Burke said. “Once it got to March, it got serious. My body started feeling it even more. But this year, I’ve definitely noticed a difference.” With a stronger Burke leading the Wolverines this season, the only people who will be sore are fans of opposing Big Ten schools after Michigan’s point guard carves up his defender.

Seven Sweet Scoops is the newest and hottest column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting analyst. Every Friday he will discuss the seven top stories from the week in the wide world of recruiting, involving offers, which prospect visited where, recent updates regarding school lists, and more chatter from the recruiting scene. You can also check out more of his work at RTC with his weekly column “Who’s Got Next?”, as well as his work dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene.

Note: ESPN Recruiting used for all player rankings.

1. Jabari Parker Sets Decision Date

The nation’s No. 2 overall ranked senior, Jabari Parker, has finally set a date for his highly anticipated collegiate decision that has been delayed for the past few months. A product of Simeon Career Academy (Illinois), the 6’8” small forward will announce one of BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State or Stanford on Thursday, December 20. Where most see five schools listed, the forthcoming decision will likely come down to just two in the end. Throughout his entire recruitment it has been Duke and Michigan State jockeying for the lead position, a trend that will most likely continue up until Thursday afternoon according to his father Sonny Parker. “He hasn’t told me where,” Sonny Parker told USA Today. “I didn’t ask him. It’s kind of hard to say. He’s liked all the schools we’ve visited. He’s hard to read sometimes. He keeps things to himself, so I don’t put any pressure on him. I think it will probably be between Duke and Michigan State. That’s what I’m thinking.” While Parker enters the homestretch of the recruiting process, he is also recovering from a summer injury that has required a good amount of rehabilitation. Out since July, Parker made a surprise return to the court on December 1 in a season-opening victory for Simeon at the Chicago Elite Classic. In 11 limited minutes, Parker contributed six points, four rebounds and two assists while looking out of shape with an extra number of pounds added to his frame. Since then, Parker has shed at least 10 pounds and is slowly getting back to the player that has gained national recognition as one of the best high school basketball players in the country. On December 20, one school will be gaining a monumental piece to their basketball program. The question remains: Will it be Duke or Michigan State?

Jabari Parker will announce December 20 for Duke or Michigan State

2. Andrew Wiggins To Take Three Visits After Senior Season

Coming off a recent visit to Florida State last week, Andrew Wiggins has decided that he is going to take a break from the recruiting process until after his senior season. Once the season is finished in March, Wiggins plans to take three more official visits to Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina. Ohio State and Syracuse are in the mix for his fifth and final official visit that may or may not happen. Although Wiggins has shut down his recruitment as far as visits go, that has not stopped coaches from visiting him. Kentucky head coach John Calipari was on hand to watch Wiggins at the Marshall County Hoopfest in Benton, Kentucky, two weeks ago and will be in attendance at the Boyd County Roundball Classic in Ashland, Kentucky, this weekend. Ohio State head coach Thad Matta watched him this past weekend, while North Carolina head coach Roy Williams made the trip to Spring Valley, West Virginia, on Wednesday to watch the 6’7” sensation. Wiggins is currently averaging 21.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game for No. 1 Huntington Prep (10-0) on the season.

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Drew Murawa is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from tonight’s Minnesota-USC game in Los Angeles.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. 500 Wins. Tonight’s win was Tubby Smith’s 500^th victory in his career and he becomes the 19^th active head coach to reach that mark. Despite a national title, a National Coach of the Year award, and numerous other accomplishments under his belt, Smith gets overlooked regularly since he left Kentucky, but despite some offseason distractions, he looks like he has put together his best team at his current stop. After the game, he paused to reflect briefly and typically understated his accomplishment: “I have been in good situations and on programs who have been committed to basketball. Not everyone has that opportunity.”
2. Golden Gophers For Real. Balanced scoring, superb athleticism up front, talented and savvy guards, depth and great coaching. Yup, that’s a pretty good recipe for a Top 25 team. Eight players saw seven minutes or more for Smith and seven of those guys scored at least six points. In the early moments of the game, it was clear that one of these teams was ready to go from the opening tip and one was not — Minnesota looked crisp, moving the ball around quickly and getting enough open looks to send USC looking for cover in a 2-3 zone. As it is now, Minnesota has a 10-1 record with wins over Memphis, Stanford, Florida State, and USC, and a loss to #1 Duke the only blemish. We knew teams like Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State were going to be a load, but coupled with Illinois’ big win at Gonzaga on Saturday, it looks like we can throw another pair on the Big Ten pile.
3. Working Things Out. We’re a month into the season and Kevin O’Neill has no idea what he has here. His rotation seems to be little more than subbing guys in and out based on a whim. Eleven guys played in the first half, and while O’Neill tightened up his rotation to great effect in the second half, it just isn’t feasible to generate a brand new rotation every night out. Guys need to know their roles in order to give the coaching staff what they want. Start with the players you absolutely need to have on the floor (e.g., Byron Wesley, Jio Fontan, and Omar Oraby) and build an eight or nine-man rotation from there. There is enough talent here for the Trojans to make some noise in conference play, but O’Neill’s got to cobble together some type of coherent plan for that to happen. He certainly knows that, as he discussed after the game trimming his rotation based on effort.

Tubby Smith Earned His 500th Win Saturday Night With What Appears To Be His Best Minnesota Team

Star of the Game. Omar Oraby. You hate to name a player on the losing team the star of the game, but in the second half at least, Oraby was the best player on the floor. He scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, the Trojan offense ran smoothly through him in the post, he crashed the boards and challenged many shots at the rim, including a dunk attempt by Trevor Mbakwe on a breakaway that wound up with both players crashing to the floor. The whistle went against Oraby, but he maintained his innocence, even after the game. Oraby got 14 minutes in the second half and O’Neill sang his praises (except for his woeful free throw shooting) after the game, noting, “he’s gonna have to get a ton of time.”

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