Back to reality

No. 10 FAU opened its season with a nice win, officially ending its Final Four honeymoon period. It was ready for it to be over, too. Plus: Judah Mintz and Tucker DeVries go off, two injuries to note, and much more.

Author

Mike Miller
November 09, 2023

Four days into the college hoops season, I finally feel settled into a routine. Good thing, too. Gonna have to stay up for a West Coast game tonight.

Let's get to Wednesday’s news.

1. FAU passes its first test. Just 29 more to go …

How long does it take to shake off a Final Four hangover? Roughly 15 minutes (and two exhibitions).

Not that No. 10 Florida Atlantic looked like a Final Four team during its 75-62 win over Loyola Chicago on Wednesday night. It started slow, and its offense endured some scoring droughts (especially in the second half), but the Owls did the look the part of a team who could stay in the Top 25 all season.

  • Vlad Goldin either set or tied career-highs with 19 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four steals in 22 minutes. He controlled the interior whenever he was on the floor.

  • The Owls still share the ball. They consistently found open teammates, resulting in assists on 60% of their made field goals. That’ll likely drop a bit (they were at 51% last season), but the ball movement makes them tough to guard.

  • FAU still comes at you in waves. Eight players logged at least 16 minutes, and the top seven all played at least 22. Those fresh legs swarmed the Ramblers, forcing a turnover on every four possessions.

“It was nice to just move on to the next chapter and see what this team can become,” coach Dusty May said. “We are not a finished product, we are going to take a lot of pride in growing and developing and becoming even more of a cohesive unit over the next four or five months.”

They’ll certainly be tested.

Loyola’s rated as a Top 100 program on kenpom, and the Owls face at least five move Top 100 opponents during their non-conference slate (and that doesn’t include Charleston, currently just outside at 103). They’ll face Illinois in NYC. Arizona in Las Vegas. They’re in the ESPN Events Invitational, where they open with Butler, then will likely see Texas A&M.

It’s a befitting schedule for a program trying to prove its 35-4 season wasn’t a fluke. With nearly every player back from that squad, including star wings Johnell Davis (who didn’t shoot well on Wednesday, but thrived in just about every other department) and Alijah Martin (who looked like a guy coming back from an injury), FAU’s ready for its encore.

2. Syracuse, Drake ride big games from their stars

Wednesday was the the most underwhelming slate of the week, but there were a handful of notable results to know.

Syracuse 89, Canisius 77
Judah Mintz had himself a night. The sophomore guard scored a career-high 26 points, including 12 straight during a key 16-3 run in the second half that keyed the Orange’s win.

They’re now 2-0 under new coach Red Autry, but could have their hands full next week against Colgate. The Raiders have won two straight against Syracuse.

Drake 85, Lipscomb 70
The Bisons couldn’t be stopped in the first half. But then they couldn’t stop Drake star Tucker DeVries in the second half. The Mo Valley preseason POY scored Drake’s first 17 points of the second half, single-handedly giving the Bulldogs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. He finished with a D-I high 36 points on 22 shots, plus six assists and five rebounds for good measure.

Southern 85, UNLV 71
The shocker of the night. The Jaguars played the Rebels even at the start, then used a 28-10 run to break it open against a 21.5-point favorite. Southern hit 56.7% of its shots, had just nine turnovers and didn’t look like a team that was coming off a 33-point loss to TCU.

Miss State 71, Arizona State 56
The Bulldogs didn’t have star big man Tolu Smith, but it didn’t matter against the Sun Devils. Like, at all. Trey Fort hit six 3-pointers, finished with 21 points, and the Miss State defense handled the Sun Devils with ease.

Texas Tech 73, Texas A&M-Commerce
New coach Grant McCasland had the Red Raiders ready for their opener. They held the Lions to single digits for the first 12 minutes — no surprise given McCasland’s rep as a defensive coach — and cruised behind Pop Isaacs (19 points) and Darrion Williams (14).

Ohio 88, Troy 70
The Bobcats kicked off the Mac-Sun Belt Challenge (more on that below) with a victory thanks to a pair a 16-0 spurt over five minutes late in the first half. Elmore James scored nine of his 20 points during that stretch, while AJ Brown finished with a game-high 24.

3. Let the lineup shuffling begin

It’s early. Coaches are still figuring out lineups and rotations, not to mention getting as much intel as possible when little exits.

You know, stuff like this:

  • Coen Carr will almost certainly get more playing time tonight against Southern Indiana, and the Michigan State freshman wing may even start. That’s secondary to what emerged on Monday though: Carr’s a finisher. He played the last 4:51 of regulation and the last 1:52 of OT. “It’s good that they trust me,“ he told Mlive. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m just going to play how I play.”

  • Vandy didn’t have Tyrin Lawrence, Lee Dort and Ven-Allen Lubin during Tuesday’s loss to Presbyterian. Dort has been cleared to practice, but isn’t in game shape. Lawrence (foot sprain) and Lubin (groin strain) both remain out indefinitely. Coach Jerry Stackhouse told The Tennessean that’s why freshmen Jason Rivera-Torres, Malik Presley and Carter Lang all played at least 18 minutes. Expect that to continue well into November.

  • K-State isn’t 100% heading into Friday’s home opener vs. Bellarmine. senior guard Ques Glover was walking with crutches on Wednesday, and is out for the next 6-8 weeks. Wildcats coach Jerome Tang also didn’t have much of an update on Nae’Quan Tomlin’s return date.

  • As VCU tries to rebounds from a loss to McNeese State and the ongoing absence of wing Sean Bairstow (broken foot) and Joe Bamisile (awaiting NCAA eligibility ruling), coach Ryan Odom told the Times-Dispatch that freshmen Michael Belle (who started) and redshirt-freshman Fats Billups will see a bunch of time, while Max Shulga and Zeb Jackson might never come off the court.

Then there are NEW injuries that affect teams. Two notable ones broke Tuesday:

  • Gonzaga wing Steele Venters, the Big Sky POY last season, is out for the season with a knee injury. That leaves the Zags without a likely starters and perhaps their best outside shooter.

  • Dayton point guard Malachi Smith is out for the season because of a knee injury suffered Monday night. Smith only played 19 games last season because of ankle injuries. The Flyers struggled offensively without Smith last season. Expect Kobe Elvis to have the ball more as a result.

4. Will the MAC grab the Belt?

The MAC struck first in Battle for the Belt (you might know it as the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge), but the shiniest gem in this (rhetorical? imaginary? glorious?) belt might very well be tonight.

James Madison, fresh off the Game of the Year (the front-runner, at least), travels to Kent State in a showdown of what could be the top teams in both conferences. Can dynamic duo Terrence Edwards and TJ Bickerstaff (a combined 45 points and 19 rebounds in the win vs. Michigan State) turn in another big game against the Golden Flashes’ formidable frontline of VonCameron Davis and Chris Davis?

If they do, it’ll go a long way to the MAC grabbing the Belt.

Mid American teams are expected to go 8-4 in this event (per kenpom), mostly because of the first three games. Ohio won, while Kent State and Akron are favored to win (Akron plays Southern Miss).

That’s quite the jump on the Sun Belt, which is strange given it might have more quality teams (8 of its 14 teams are in kenpom’s Top 200, compared to just five MAC schools). And when it comes to hardware that you wear around your waist, it might be too much to overcome.

5. Auburn completes its fab freshman duo

Wednesday kicked off the early signing period for college hoops (it runs through Nov. 15), which is why pretty much every D-I team sent announcements or tweeted info about their 2024 classes. Coaches could finally talk about the players they signed!

There’s a host of good feature stories that lay out the overall picture — best classes, the underrated programs, best prospects by conference — but given most of those rankings will change over the course of the year, let’s focus on the new commits from Wednesday.

Like Auburn snagging the high-flying Jahki Howard. The 6-foot-6 wing might be listed as a 4-star prospect, but he’ll almost certainly perform more like a 5-star at Auburn alongside Tahaad Pettiford, one of the class’s top PGs. Someone with Howard’s frame and athletic ability catching endless lobs? Bruce Pearl is gonna love that.

Another SEC school made headlines with their BIG commit — and probably made Purdue jealous.

Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-6 center from Canada who plays at IMG, is headed to Florida. He’s viewed as a 3-star prospect, who’s a rim protector (obviously) and lob threat, but it’s unclear how much he’ll be able to stay on the floor given his mobility.

More 2024 recruiting news:

Lobos hunting for another rare win

Saint Mary’s won its opener by 79 points. Tonight should be a bit tougher. OK, a lot tougher. The Gaels play host to New Mexico, a team with the rare distinction of actually winning in Moraga, something only one other team has done the past two seasons (not even Gonzaga). Hey, if your backcourt had Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn, Jr., maybe you’d pull off some nice road wins too. (10 pm ET, ESPN+)

Other games to watch (all times ET)

  • Southern Indiana at Michigan State, 7 pm (Big Ten Network)

  • James Madison at Kent State, 7 pm

  • Stephen F. Austin at Middle Tennessee, 7:30 pm (ESPN+)

Game changers

Baylor and Auburn infused their lineups with young talent this season in freshmen Ja’Kobe Walter and Aden Holloway. And both are perfect fist in their respective programs. The DTF guys explain whjy.

Links as you await the Michigan football ruling.

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