The fourth different school in the past five weeks appears at the top of the RTC25 and it is not Indiana, despite their big win at home over the previous #1, Michigan. Rather, the Florida Gators are your new #1 team. A top 10 team since the preseason, the Gators are playing their best basketball of the season and look untouchable in the SEC. Further down, there are four new teams making a splash in this week’s RTC25. After spending many weeks on the outside, Pittsburgh finally jumps into the rankings after their home win over Syracuse.

The Quick n’ Dirty after the jump…

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1. Before the season, Keith Appling wasn’t even a Michigan State captain. Tom Izzo was looking at the veteran point guard to become a leader on an off the court for the Spartans, who had lost last year’s emotional leader Draymond Green. Appling has now earned captain status and Izzo has noticed a big change from his junior point guard. Izzo said Appling is doing a better job of communicating on the floor and showing his confidence after sitting down with former MSU point guard Mateen Cleaves. Appling learned to fight through adversity after a rough past, and now he’s doing it on the court, becoming the leader Izzo had hoped for at the beginning of the season.
2. Ohio State has had trouble finding players outside of Deshaun Thomas, Sam Thompson and Aaron Craft to step up this season. The Buckeyes certainly have talent, but its supporting players — Shannon Scott, Amir Williams and LaQuinton Ross, to name a few — haven’t been consistent. That has resulted in inconsistent playing time among that bunch. OSU has been searching for an alternative offensive option to Thompson and it appears it may have found its answer in Ross. Ross has seen the court much more recently, and part of that is due to his improved listening to coach Thad Matta. He’s taking in more direction from the coaching staff, and subsequently seeing more of the floor.
3. There aren’t many legitimate criticisms of No. 1 Michigan right now, considering how the Wolverines have been playing. However, people are always trying to find something wrong with top teams, so the common criticism of UM in recent weeks is that its roster isn’t deep enough. After all, the Wolverines rank 326th in the country in bench minutes, according to Ken Pomeroy. But part of the reason the Wolverines don’t go to their bench much is that the starters have played so well. Now though, in the wake of Jordan Morgan’s injury, Michigan is proving that it has enough depth. Jon Horford started the Wolverines’ game against Northwestern earlier this week and gave his team solid minutes, while freshman Mitch McGary also played well. Michigan may not have a star big man, but its frontcourt has proven it can play well this year, even without Morgan manning the paint.
4. The press has been Minnesota’s best friend and its worst enemy this season. After struggling with its execution earlier in non-conference play, the Gophers’ press worked very well against Nebraska, returning to the form we saw during the non-conference season. Minnesota struggled to press against teams that like to slow things down like Northwestern and Wisconsin, but the Gophers were able to be successful against Nebraska, which employs the same tempo strategy. The bigger issue against the Wildcats and Badgers was their failure to execute in other areas of the game, such as free throw shooting. That prevented the Gophers from ever going all out with the press in those contests.
5. It’s tough to find a bright spot out of a 97-60 loss, especially a home loss to your rival when coming off a solid win. However, Purdue’s A.J. Hammons was a bright spot for the Boilermakers in their drubbing at the hands of Indiana earlier this week. Hammons was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school, but like most freshman big men, he has been inconsistent in his first college season. However, he was exceptional against Indiana, scoring 30 points and blocking five shots in 28 minutes, showing the potential we’re likely to see from him down the road. While he didn’t get much help against the Hoosiers, his consistency will be key to how Purdue finishes its season.

1. According to a report from Jeff Goodman, the NCAA is expected to charge Missouri coach Frank Haith with unethical conduct when it releases its notice of allegations against Miami. This would be a huge swing against Haith as many had expected him to get off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. According to Goodman’s sources, the NCAA could not prove Nevin Shapiro’s allegation that Haith and his staff paid $10,000 to former player DeQuan Jones, but they are charging him because they do not believe Haith’s assertion that he did funnel money back to Shapiro through his assistants. We cannot comment on the possibility of a show-cause penalty (brought up by Goodman in the column) as we do not know how strong the evidence is against Haith, but it would be a huge setback for a Missouri program that is still one of the best in the country even after Haith arrived. In addition, many of Haith’s assistants who left Miami around the time of the investigation are expected to also receive penalties from the NCAA. The notice of allegations could be released as early this morning or may be held back for another week or more. It appears that people in Columbia, Missouri will be waiting for that report with the same level of anticipation as the people in Coral Gables have been for several years now.
2. When it comes to matters of NCAA investigations and interpretation of rule violations, John Infante should be your first stop. In the case of the James Southerland investigation and why Syracuse is being investigated and North Carolina is not, that is still the case. Even though the corruption at North Carolina appears to have been much more widespread than what is reported in the Syracuse/Southerland case, Infante points out the allegations against UNC (fake classes, funneling athletes into these classes, etc) is less clear cut than what is alleged to have happened at Syracuse (a tutor writing part of a paper for Southerland). While we have our issues with what is reported to have happened at North Carolina, Infante is right and Syracuse may suffer the consequences of that.
3. Speaking of the NCAA, we know they have rules for a reason, but we can’t figure out why they denied Iowa‘s request to put the name “Street” on the back of their jerseys this past Saturday to honor Chris Street on the 20th anniversary of his death. To be fair to the NCAA we have not had a chance to hear their side of the story, but it is worth noting that they have allowed patches and even names to be worn on the front and back of jerseys to honor individuals or groups. We usually try to remain neutral in these situations especially since the general tendency from the public and media is to rip the NCAA, but we are having a hard time figuring out why they would not allow this.
4. What appeared to be a promising season for Utah State may be falling apart due to injuries. Coming into their game last Thursday against New Mexico State the Aggies were on a 13-game winning streak, but that all came crashing down 64-51 loss and more significantly injuries to Preston Medlin and Kyisean Reed. The co-captains missed the Aggies next game (a loss at Denver) and yesterday news came out that Medlin (fractured right wrist) will miss 6-8 weeks and Reed (torn left ACL) will miss the rest of the season. As the last two games have demonstrated this is a devastating loss for the Aggies and puts their chances of a NCAA Tournament run in serious jeopardy. At this point their only hope may be for Medlin to return and lead them to a WAC Conference Tournament title because it does not look like they will have enough to merit an at-large selection at this point.
5. The timing of Thad Matta‘s raise may seem a little strange, but we do not disagree with it as Ohio State revised Matta’s contract to increase his salary to more than $3.2 million per year and more stringently defines Matta’s role in reporting NCAA violations. While the annual salary that Matta receives (through 2019) may fall a little short of some of his contemporaries, we assume he will not have any problem paying his bills. The more interesting part of the revision is the  more stringent wording of the role that Matta has in reporting NCAA violations, which is the direct result of the problems that the school when dealing with football coach Jim Tressel after many of his football committed several NCAA violations.

Bennet Hayes is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @HoopsTraveler on Twitter. Night Line runs on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s games.

Any Big Ten road win accrued this season holds value, as the conference is an especially treacherous version of its normally solid self here in 2012-13. So kudos Ohio State; you went into West Lafayette tonight and gave the home team only a few sniffs of the upset they sought, and in the process earned your first Big Ten road victory of the year. Purdue may be young and a year or two away from Big Ten relevancy, but good teams will exit Mackey Arena losers this winter; this game was far from an automatic W. Praise the workmanlike effort tonight from Thad Matta’s bunch, but do not mistake it for a cure-all to the recent ails of the Buckeyes. For Ohio State to live up to both preseason expectations and the standard set by Buckeye squads of years past, the performances in the statement games must improve – beginning on Saturday, when arch-rival and undefeated #2 Michigan arrives in Columbus. But does this Ohio State team have it in them?

Deshaun Thomas Is Averaging 20 PPG, But Are Other Buckeyes Ready To Help Shoulder The Load?

Like it or not Buckeyes, the recent success of your program has created a standard of significant height, one that can really only be matched by a handful of programs across the country. That recent excellence, combined with the returns of starters Aaron Craft, Deshaun Thomas, and Lenzelle Smith prompted pollsters to rank Ohio State fourth this preseason, and few blinked an eye. The Buckeyes have done nothing that ranks as truly cringe-worthy thus far, but they also can’t lay claim to a victory over a team likely to make the NCAA Tournament field (unless you are bullish on Washington winning some games in the Pac-12). Ohio State has also whiffed on their three big-time chances for statement Ws (at Duke, Kansas, at Illinois). The polarizing nature of the schedule is partially to blame here, as Craft and company have had no opportunities to prove their worth against solid Tournament teams (giving Illinois the benefit of the doubt here as “elite,” partially because that game was in Champaign). Still, we are comfortably into the New Year and Ohio State, a team some still consider to be among the nation’s best, has absolutely nothing of major substance on that resume.

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1. Gophers’ forward Rodney Williams reached a career milestone of 1000 points on Sunday night’s win against the Northwestern Wildcats. Williams has been an effective forward since his sophomore season when he averaged 6.8 points per game, but has seen his production nearly double the next two seasons. The 6’7″ forward has also been on several highlight reels as he is known for his athleticism around the basket. Even though he is not a true power forward, he has been a good rebounder as he averaged 5.6 RPG last season and has pulled down 6.1 RPG so far this year. Williams gives Tubby Smith plenty of flexibility on defense because he is athletic enough to guard either a wing or a true forward.
2. After the loss to Purdue to open the Big Ten season, Illinois head coach John Groce stressed defensive intensity and mental toughness. The Illini turned it around and thumped the Ohio State Buckeyes 74-55 on Saturday afternoon. Loren Tate of the News-Gazette adds that Assembly Hall, also known as “House of Paign,” was rocking again as Groce took on his mentor Thad Matta. Sophomore center Nnanna Egwu led the charge with 16 points and 8 rebounds as the Illini dominated for most of the game. When asked about the Purdue game during the post-game press conference, Groce said, “We can’t get too low or too high. Today the guys responded.” The Illini can’t rest easy because they play another top 20 team as the Gophers visit Champaign on Wednesday.
3. The Michigan State Spartans had some trouble against Purdue on Saturday for 30 minutes but pulled away to beat the Boilermakers 84-61. Despite the win, head coach Tom Izzo remains level-headed and understands that the conference season is just getting started. Izzo said after the game, “We didn’t lose by 13 at Minnesota. It was a two-, three-point game with a couple of minute left. We didn’t win by 20 today either.” The Boilers kept the game very close and freshman center A.J. Hammons scored 20 points in addition to pulling down 7 boards. Even though the Spartans pulled away, Izzo and the rest of his team understand that there is plenty of room to improve especially on defense.
4. It is one thing to have a lot of depth on a roster but it is not always easy to efficiently incorporate every valuable player into the rotation. The Hoosiers’ depth was one of their key strengths this season but with injuries and suspensions, Tom Crean hasn’t had time to set his rotations after two months of basketball. Now that Derek Elston is back from his injury and Hanner Perea along with Jeremy Hollowell are not sidelined due to violations, Crean is trying to slowly move them into the flow of the conference season. Perea (2.4 PPG and 2.6 RPG) was supposed to compliment Cody Zeller in the frontcourt, but has been rusty since returning from his nine-game suspension. Elston on the other hand has been through the rigors of the conference season and can certainly help on the defensive end by keeping Zeller from defending the best big man on the opposition.
5. Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan is one of the highest paid coaches across the University of Wisconsin system. Ryan’s 2011-12 salary was $2.1 million and while there were 39 coaches that made at least $100,000. Former football head coach Bret Bielema earned $2.8 million, but left for Arkansas after leading the Badgers to three straight Rose Bowls. Ryan’s boss and the athletic director Barry Alvarez made $1.1 million last year. Ryan is arguably the best head coach in the conference and has never finished worse than fourth in conference play. He has transformed the Badgers into a formidable basketball program and has been rewarded by the University over the years.

1. Wolverines’ guard Tim Hardaway Jr. did not play against Central Michigan on Saturday because of an ankle injury. Even though Trey Burke made sure that Michigan wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a win (88-73), Hardaway’s injury could be concerning for John Beilein if it remains an issue in the conference season. The coaching staff did not release any specifics around his exact date of return or even the nature of the injury but Burke added that “it could be a bone bruise.” Opening the Big Ten season against Northwestern on the road won’t be easy without Hardaway because the Wildcats have been looking for a signature win at home and played the Wolverines very well there last season but lost in overtime.
2. After missing three games, freshman Jeremy Hollowell will be back for the Hoosiers for their conference season opener today against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hoosiers reported a “secondary violation” to the NCAA and per the proposal, he will be reinstated immediately and travel with the team to Iowa. Hollowell has averaged 5.7 PPG and 3.0 RPG during the non-conference slate, and more details about the violation will be disclosed later this week by the athletic department. Tom Crean will need Hollowell’s services against Iowa and the Gophers over the next two weeks to tip off Big Ten play.
3. Illinois’ Tracy Abrams had a great homecoming on Saturday as the Illini edged Auburn 81-79 at the United Center in Chicago. Playing in front of his hometown family and friends, Abrams scored 27 points and dished out five assists against the Tigers. Brandon Paul only scored 13 points in this game but Abrams made sure the Illini did not hobble into conference play by dominating the game. The sophomore guard handles the primary point guard duties for John Groce and has averaged 12.1 PPG despite shooting just 30% from beyond the arc. Even though he isn’t consistent from long range, Abrams has shown glimpses of his ability to get to the basket by successfully taking his defender off the dribble.
4. As the Spartans prepare for their Big Ten opener against the Gophers, Tom Izzo has indicated that he will continue to play Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne over the next few weeks as Branden Dawson continues to recover from last season’s ACL injury. Izzo was particularly impressed with Nix’s 25 points against Texas and wants to see Dawson play at the small forward position as his playing time increases during the season. A frontcourt of Nix, Payne and Dawson will be tough to defend and the Spartans should be able to control the boards with this group in most games. Dawson also provides Izzo with flexibility on defense because he usually locks down the best wing on the opposing team. He is expected to guard Gophers’ talented Rodney Williams (13.0 PPG) on Monday.
5. After 12 non-conference games and a 10-2 record, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta has not been very impressed with his team thus far. Two losses to elite teams Kansas and Duke is reasonable, but the Buckeyes need better shooting (37% 3FG) from their stars during Big Ten play. The Buckeyes understand that there are few weak teams in the B1G and they can’t afford to have many bad shooting nights. Matta added, “This team is not good enough for us to not be playing at the level we’re capable of,” when asked about the season so far. Sophomore center Amir Williams (3.8 RPG) started for the first time this year and will need to provide a better defensive presence in the post if the Buckeyes hope to again compete for the conference title.

Except for a tough road game against Duke, the Ohio State Buckeyes had not been tested during their non-conference schedule until their date with Kansas last Saturday afternoon in Columbus. Losing to the top ranked team in the country in their building did not set off any alarms about Thad Matta’s squad, but the 74-66 loss to the Jayhawks has raised a few questions about the players’ overall toughness against good competition. Filling the void left behind by the departures of Jared Sullinger and William Buford was the primary concern coming into the season for these Buckeyes. It is very clear that Matta has a deep and athletic roster but regardless of their talent, they will need to be mentally tougher if they want to compete for a Big Ten title and beyond. It is understood that the younger players will take some time to gel with each other and get used to extended playing time, but after 11 games this season, two aspects of their game clearly needs to improve – patience and fortitude. Let’s examine why they appeared to be soft on both ends of the floor against Kansas.

Deshaun Thomas needs to be more patient against tougher defensive teams like Kansas.

• Poor Shot Selection: Deshaun Thomas has a quick release on his jumper and is one of the main reasons why he is the primary scoring option for Thad Matta. But he relies on the jumper too much during crunch time and smart defensive teams can lock up his mid-range game which tends to frustrate him. This was a glaring issue during the second half against KU when Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson crowded him immediately once he caught the ball in the high post or in the corner around the perimeter. Any time he came off a ball screen, he found a defender right next to him because the Jayhawks wanted him to put the ball on the floor. But rather than making the necessary adjustments and using his quickness to cut to the hoop, Thomas shied away from contact and instead forced up multiple bad shots. As the Buckeyes looked to make a run while down eight points around the four-minute mark, Thomas took an ill-advised 24-footer just a few seconds into the shot clock, thereby setting a horrible example to the rest of his team that had already been too content settling for jumpers throughout the second half. Thomas even admitted as much after the game when he said, “I don’t think they did anything special, they just played hard.” To make matters worse, Aaron Craft, the other experienced Buckeye, took way too many three-point attempts. Craft has never been a great shooter (career: 33% 3FG) but he has been trying to improve his shot selection this season. If he isn’t able to hit consecutive shots from long-range (2-of-6 from beyond the arc), then he should attempt to either drive the ball or defer to his teammates for scoring. Sophomore guard Shannon Scott was on a roll in the first half (15 points), but he did not look for his shot when Thomas and Craft were struggling. Both of the veterans need to be smarter and more patient with their shot selection and make the necessary adjustments when it is clear that opposing defenders are forcing them into taking poor shots. 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.

A top ten battle with a bit of recent history leads a solid slate of games this weekend. We are down to the last few non-conference games before we go full tilt into the conference season starting in the new year. It is going to be interesting to see who starts to separate from the pack as we head towards March. Let’s get to the breakdowns.

Game of the Weekend

#8 Kansas at #7 Ohio State– 4:00 PM EST, Saturday on CBS (*****)

How will Ohio State deal with Jeff Withey? (AP)

• Kansas beat Ohio State twice last season.  Once in the regular season in Lawrence and once in the Final Four. Both teams are without their main contributors from last season in Jared Sullinger for OSU and Thomas Robinson for KU. The key for Kansas in both wins was field goal defense. They held OSU to under 40% shooting in both outings. The Jayhawks come into this game with another solid defense led by center Jeff Withey. Withey provides an inside presence that the Buckeyes will need to game plan around. They had trouble with Duke\’s Mason Plumlee in last month\’s loss to the Blue Devils. Plumlee put up 21 points and 17 rebounds against a Buckeye team that is a bit thin on the inside. While Withey\’s offensive skills may not be as refined as Plumlee\’s, he is capable of putting up 20+ points and will certainly be a major factor on defense. Additionally, pay close attention to the KU guards. Travis Releford, Ben McClemore, and Elijah Johnson are big guards. Look to see if they can take advantage of their size.
• Ohio State has only lost two non-conference home games since Thad Matta got to Columbus in 2005. They lost in 2008 to North Carolina and in 2009 to West Virginia. While OSU is struggling a bit to find a legit second and third scoring threat, it’s hard to argue against a record like that at home. I learned that when Notre Dame beat Kentucky earlier this season. Still though, DeShaun Thomas is going to need help on the offensive end if Thad Matta and company are to keep that home record intact. Watch Aaron Craft, as he will be the X factor for the Buckeyes. He is averaging just under 10 points a game thus far but is capable of more. Watch the match-up between Craft and Johnson for Kansas. Johnson is turning the ball over frequently (25%) and Craft is one of the best ball thieves in the business. If he can create turnover and get the Buckeyes out on the run, OSU will be in good shape.
• It’s tough to argue against Ohio State’s home record and they are still a very talented team, but I think Withey and the big guards make the difference in this contest. Look for Withey to shut down any second chance opportunities and defend the hoop against a slashing Thomas. Plus Kansas has this to inspire them.

More Great Action

#14 Missouri vs. #10 Illinois – 6:00 PM EST, Saturday on ESPN2 (****)

• Illinois’ win at Gonzaga may be the best win of the year thus far, along side Butler’s OT victory against Indiana. As it turns out, Illinois beat Butler as well, so it’s time to take John Groce’s team seriously. The guard match-ups should be excellent in this game. The keys for Missouri will be creating turnovers and getting offensive rebounds. The Tigers aren’t turning teams over like they have in the past but the addition of Alex Oriakhi has helped the rebounding situation tremendously. Mizzou ranks 7th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage. The Tigers will still have to contain Illinois’ Brandon Paul, however. If he gets loose like he did against Gonzaga, it will be another nice win for the Illini.

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1. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for Tom Crean. As the Hoosiers lose sophomore forward Austin Etheringon to a season ending injury, they gain back two of their incoming freshmen – Hanner Perea and Peter Jurkin – back from suspensions to add depth to the roster. Both of the forwards will be eligible to play on Saturday against Butler. Crean said that he would “ease the players” into his lineup but they should add some additional depth to the frontcourt. The addition of the forwards will also allow Cody Zeller (27.6 MPG) to get some rest during some of the lighter competition at home. Perea seems to have recovered from his foot injury over the summer and has been practicing with the team during the suspension.
2. Former Michigan State coaching legend Jud Heathcote will not participate in this weekend’s reunion game festivities at the Jenison Field House. Heathcote was supposed to coach alongside Spartans football coach Mike Dantonio, basketball legend Magic Johnson, and former coach Gus Ganakas, but he had to cancel because he slipped on the ice and fell on the pavement over the weekend. He has a replaced hip which will prevent him from traveling due to the incident and the MSU athletic department has not announced his replacement for the game yet. The former coaching legend was in East Lansing from 1976-95 and ended up with a 336-221 record to go alongside his 1979 national title. Tom Izzo was an assistant on his coaching staff upon his retirement and Heathcote strongly urged the school to name Izzo as his replacement.
3. Minnesota’s backup point guard, Maverick Ahanmisi, has earned his playing time this season under Tubby Smith. Last season, there was speculation that he might transfer out of the program, but with all of the rumors put aside, he has provided valuable minutes to the Gophers. He has averaged 4.9 PPG in just 11.1 MPG to back up Andre Hollins as the primary ball-handler in the Gophers’ half-court sets. Smith has been very impressed with his defensive effort and his composure on the court. The junior guard may not average more than 15 MPG this season because of the depth on the roster but his 52% shooting from the field has been extremely efficient and lets Smith rotate in guards frequently to keep them fresh on the defensive end.
4. We are over a month into the season and Ohio State head coach Thad Matta is still challenging his team to step up its intensity. Matta discussed Shannon Scott and Sam Thompson as the Buckeyes prepare for their upcoming match-up against Savannah State. Thompson was described as the “ultimate team guy” by his head coach, and Matta wishes that he was a bit more “selfish” on the offensive end — Thompson has been averaging 7.1 PPG and 4.7 RPG at the small forward position so far. Scott, on the other hand, has dished out 4.7 dimes per game in just 19.6 MPG as a backup to Aaron Craft. The sophomore guard said that he is “seeing the court a lot better” this season and provides a good spark off the bench. Matta has depth at the guard position this year, but believes that his players can raise their production another notch, and that’s a good problem to have for a top 10 team.
5. There is no such thing as too much news about the high school phenom Jabari Parker. The Chicago native is going for his fourth prep state title and has recovered quickly from a foot injury over the summer. ESPN’s Scoop Jackson talks about Parker’s toughness and maturity as he prepares for his senior season. Parker is still pondering over his decision about which college to attend between Florida, Duke, Michigan State and BYU, and when asked about his important decision, Parker said, “the pressure doesn’t affect me.” The forward supposedly added 20 pounds of muscle during the offseason which has drawn some comparisons to former Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger rather than a “more athletic Tim Duncan,” but Parker is so talented that he will form his own identity and shed any comparisons aside once he steps foot on a college campus.

1. Great coaches don’t rest easy even after a 27-point blowout against a mid-major team. Ohio State beat Northern Kentucky 70-43 but Thad Matta is still concerned about their cohesiveness on the offensive end. Sophomore wing Laquinton Ross played 29 minutes and scored a career high 22 points along with eight rebounds, but Matta didn’t see enough “fluidity” in their transition offense and hopes to improve that by the end of December. The Buckeyes play seven homes games this month which should help them tie up a lot of loose ends and establish their rotation before the conference season begins. Ross and fellow sophomore Sam Thompson will continue to see more playing time because the small forward spot in the starting rotation is open for either of them based on their performance.
2. Speaking of players who are trying to establish their identity on their team, sophomore forward Alex Gauna has really impressed Tom Izzo over the first few weeks of the season. Gauna has been used some in the pick-and-pop type of plays but he has been working on his rebounding during practice. Even though he might not play more than 10-12 minutes per game this season, he provides much-needed depth for Izzo along the front line if Adreian Payne or Derrick Nix get into foul trouble. Nix usually does not play more than 30 minutes per game, so Gauna’s improvement gives Izzo more options if he continues to improve different facets of his game. Gauna has the size (6’9″, 245 lbs) to become an integral part of Izzo’s rotation especially if he continues to show his commitment to defense.
3. Elliott Eliason is another big man who could be a big factor for his team, the Minnesota Gophers. The starting center is not expected to spearhead the Gophers’ offense by any means but he has shown that he can provide stability in the paint and finish around the basket. Even though it is only a matter of time before he takes a backseat to star forward Trevor Mbakwe, Eliason has shown signs of improvement offensively and that might be enough for Tubby Smith to keep him in the rotation. The 7’0″ center lost 10 pounds over the offseason and has been defending the paint fairly well. Rodney Williams is another forward option but he doesn’t have the size to defend true power forwards during conference play, therefore Eliason and Mbakwe could see some minutes together when they play teams with great size in the paint.
4. Michigan head coach John Beilein has his designated three-point gunner in freshman guard Nik Stauskas. Beilein moved him into the starting rotation against Bradley and it appears that senior guard Matt Vogrich might be coming off the bench for rest of the season. Stauskas has averaged 14 PPG this year and continued his hot shooting against Bradley by scoring 22 points and hitting 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc. He is shooting 62% from the perimeter and his commitment to defense has convinced Beilein to insert him into the starting lineup. As defenses collapse on Tim Hardaway Jr. or Trey Burke on their drives to the basket, Stauskas will continue to see great looks if he consistently moves into the available openings on those possessions.
5. Illinois head coach John Groce strongly believes in positive encouragement and that could be one of the major reasons for the Illini’s unbeaten record after the first three weeks of basketball. After a 15-3 start last season, the Illini finished the season with just a 17-15 overall record which of course led to the firing of Bruce Weber. Many fans believe that Weber lost control of his team as the players lost confidence in themselves and his ability to lead them. But Groce has picked up those pieces and his “upbeat approach” has instilled new life into seniors Tyler Griffey, Brandon Paul and D.J.Richardson. The Illini guards have the green light to pull the trigger in transition and continue to push the tempo with some freedom in the offense. But there is a drawback to that approach, as point guard Tracy Abrams shows in that he has averaged 3.4 turnovers per game so far this season. Abrams was on the bench during the last two Illinois games during crunch time.