Around College Basketball: Week 4
College basketball experienced a shake up. North Carolina, the former No. 1 team in the country took a tumble and the new top dog in college basketball is Houston.
Kelvin Sampson’s squad is predicated on size and defense. However, what separates this Cougars’ team from the past couple of years is senior guard Marcus Sasser. Sasser is Hosuton’s number-one scoring option and is finally someone they can count on down the stretch.
The rest of the top four rounds out with No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Virginia, and No. 4 Arizona. As we head to conference play, it will only get tougher for the teams at the top.
Biggest Faller
The North Carolina Tar Heels fell 17 spots in the rankings. The former top-rankedteam in the country is in panic mode. The runner up in last year’s NCAA Tournament has lost three straight games against Iowa State, Alabama and Indiana.
The Tar Heels returned a ton of talent from last years’ team that made a deep run in March. Hubert Davis has a roster that includes Leaky Black, Caleb Love and Armando Bacot.
This is no doubt one of the more talented teams in the ACC, but there should be some concern heading into conference play with the shaky start.
The team relies on running up and down the court and scoring at will. The Tar Heels will need someone to step up on the defensive side of the ball if they want to get back to form.
Biggest Riser
The Purdue Boilermakers jumped 19 spots in the rankings. This might be Matt Painter’s best squad yet, and can be his first team that makes a run to the final four.
Despite losing Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams , this team hasn’t missed a beat. Like every Purdue team, this team is all about scoring down low. Zach Edey has played more minutes and has taken that next step in his junior season.
Purdue always has a good regular season, the question will be can they finally make noise in March? The Boilermakers score down low and also out-rebound their opponents. To take that next step they will need to be consistent on offense and shoot well from behind the arc.
Teams to Watch
The Big East might be one the toughest conferences in all of college basketball. The two teams to keep an eye on in the rankings are No. 7 Creighton and No. 8 Uconn.
Dan Hurley has built something special in Connecticut.The Huskies have early wins against Alabama, Iowa State and Oklahoma State. Connecticut has won of the tougher non conference schedule, making it out alive and better than ever.
On the other hand, Creighton is one of the deeper teams in college basketball. Its starting five is as good as it gets. It should be a fun time watching these two teams square off in the Big Ten.
Aidan Torok is a third-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email ajt6051@psu.edu.