Upset of the century

Eastern Illinois made history with a win at Iowa. Plus, UNC might have found a winning formula, Indiana won't have Xavier Johnson, and much more from Wednesday.

Author

Sean Paul
December 22, 2022

The wild week of college hoops continues. Wednesday brought us possibly the biggest upset in the sport's history. Additionally, injuries to starting point guards could hinder two top-15 caliber teams. 

Let's get to the news.

1. History in Iowa City

Calling Wednesday’s 92-83 win by Eastern Illinois at Iowa stunning isn’t strong enough. The Panthers, who sat at 356 of 363 teams in KenPom’s rankings, trailed by eight at halftime, then dropped 55 second-half points to stun the Big Ten foe. The Panthers (4-9) only had one win against a D-I opponent entering the game. And now?

North Alabama beating Ole Miss is nice, but this was something else. Iowa led by 18-4 to start the game! But this was a big dose of humble pie. From the Des Moines Register:

“They had a good day. They did a lot of good things. And I think we took them lightly," Rebraca said. "We were a little too arrogant after our win against SEMO. We were feeling good. We were up 18-4. We thought everything was nice and easy, I guess. But they have hoopers. They have Division I players. They have really good athletes."

He continued.

"We didn’t respect them. Every opponent that comes in here, no matter what division … you respect them," Rebraca said. "Every time you respect a player that means giving your all to play against them. And I just don’t think we did that."

The caveats: Iowa was without Kris Murray and Connor McCaffery, and the start time was strange (moved up to accommodate an impending winter storm). But Iowa beat Iowa State by 18 without Murray. The Hawkeyes simply didn't have it in the second half. It got so bad, fans were coming down to the floor, heckling the Hawkeyes about their defense.

Shoutout to Kinyon Hodges, who was the fulcrum for Eastern Illinois, scoring 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Hodges was playing at Three Rivers College (JUCO) this time last year. That’s what makes this game special.

Iowa hopes to get McCaffery and Murray back after the eight-day pause between this game and the Dec. 28 contest against Nebraska. If not, the Hawkeyes might creep onto the wrong side of the bubble. 

2. Are the Tar Heels finally there?

North Carolina looked the part in Wednesday’s 80-76 victory over Michigan. Armando Bacot scored 26 points, grabbed five boards and limited Hunter Dickinson to 3-of-9 shooting for nine points. Going into the contest, the winner would likely be the team whose All-American big came ready — and Bacot certainly had the advantage.

But that wasn't all. Caleb Love and RJ Davis combined for 37 points on 12-of-28 shooting, but more importantly, combined for nine assists — most of them to Bacot. This is a helpful reminder that good things happen when you FEED ARMANDO BACOT. Letting the big fella feast in the paint opens up shots for the rest of the team.

On the other hand, it’s looking bleak in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines are 7-4 without any marquee victories. Thankfully, Big Ten play will give Michigan opportunities to win games over the likes of Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State.

But that will be a tall order against elite teams. Dickinson has shot below 50 percent from the field in all four losses. Who’s the guy if Dickinson isn’t performing like an All-American?  Jett Howard or Kobe Bufkin? Another issue: The bench isn’t performing outside of Joey Baker, who is the only reserve averaging more than four points.

January starts with Michigan hosting Maryland and Penn State — two games that will play a huge role in determining its NCAA Tournament fate. Reminder: It hasn't missed the Big Dance since 2015.

3. More results from a weird Wednesday

Iowa was the biggest head-scratcher, but it was far from the only puzzling final score. 

San Francisco 97, Arizona State 60On Monday, Arizona State (11-2) entered the AP Poll for the first time in almost three years. It won't be ranked next week, thanks to San Francisco (10-4) schooling the Sun Devils. ASU was playing without Desmond Cambridge but entered as 3-point favorites, theoretically boosted by a fatigued San Francisco squad (this was its second game in three days.) Didn't matter. The Dons opened the first 10 minutes with a 26-3 run and never looked back. Khalil Shabazz went off for 26 points, seven rebounds and six dimes in the victory. 

California 73, UT Arlington 51No Devin Askew, no problem? California (1-12) handled UT-Arlington (5-8) without its leading scorer for its first win of the season. Joel Brown filled Askew’s shoes, and Lars Thiemann’s size overwhelmed UT-Arlington’s front line.

Boston College 70, Virginia Tech 65, OTWho saw this coming? Boston College (7-6, 1-1 in ACC) lost games to Maine, New Hampshire and Tarleton State. So, of course, the Eagles knocked off No. 21 Virginia Tech (11-2, 1-1). Makai Ashton-Langford led BC with 21 points, and Devin McGlockton had 13 in the second half. Virginia Tech shot 5-of-20 from deep and turned it over 14 times. The two things Va Tech does best? Shoots the 3 and limits turnovers, but those didn’t happen at Chestnut Hill.

Villanova 78, St John’s 63Villanova (7-5, 1-0 in Big East) trailed by double digits early on but dominated St John's (11-2, 1-1) in the final 30 minutes. It was the Wildcats' fifth straight win, with a trip to UConn looming next week. Eric Dixon continued his strong play, pouring in 18 points to lead all scorers.

USC 73, Colorado State 64USC (10-3) narrowly beat a ranked Auburn team on Saturday, then followed it with an impressive win Wednesday night. It dominated the second half vs. Colorado State (8-5). Starting guards Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson combined for 37 points.

Arkansas 85, UNC Asheville 51The Razorbacks (11-1) throttled UNC Asheville (8-5), one of the top Big South teams, by 34 points. Jalen Graham finally looked the part, scoring a season-high 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, as Arkansas barely played the starters in the second half. They also were without freshman guard Nick Smith, who is out indefinitely "for right knee management," per a school release. Does that mean he returns for next Wednesday's SEC opener against LSU, or longer? Anthony Black and Ricky Council are good enough to keep Arkansas afloat, but it needs Smith to reach its ceiling.

Florida State 73, Notre Dame 72Florida State (4-10, 2-1 in ACC) said “no” to Notre Dame (7-5, 0-2). FSU freshman Cameron Corhen became the next forward to destroy Notre Dame’s ghastly defense, scoring 18 points. The Irish have lost three straight.

Purdue 74, New Orleans 53The Boilermakers (12-0) did have Zach Edey due to the flu, but it didn't affect their output. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 24 points off the bench as Purdue posted its most efficient scoring game of the season, 1.31 points per possession. 

Kentucky 88, Florida A&M 68Those offensive tweaks? Chris Livingston started in place of Jacob Toppin (he scored 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting; Toppin actually played more minutes overall), but the big difference vs. other games was shooting. (Shocking.) Cason Wallace was 10-of-15 from the floor. CJ Fredrick and AJ Reeves combined to go 6-of-13 from deep. Whether that continues into SEC play is another story.

TCU 75, Utah 71Gabe Madsen (26 points, 7-of-15 from 3) morphing into Klay Thompson for an evening wasn’t enough to push Utah (9-4) ahead of TCU (11-1.) The Horned Frogs have won eight straight and have held every opponent to under 1 point per possession. They will be a handful in the Big 12.

Auburn 84, Washington 61Johni Broome found his new home at Auburn (10-2), but his second home is against Washington’s 2-3 zone. Auburn’s star forward scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and tossed five assists against the Huskies (9-4). Auburn’s West coast road trip ends 1-1, and now it gets to relax for the holidays.

Georgia 72, Chattanooga 65While beating Chattanooga (8-5) isn’t putting Georgia (9-3) on NCAA Tournament radars, it was a gutsy win after Chattanooga started the game up 14-6. Mocs' star forward Jake Stephens entered the game averaging 21 and 10, but UGA’s length limited him to 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Kario Oquendo scored 22 in the Bulldogs' win.

SIUE 69, Saint Louis 68A-10 fans, shield your eyes. This one stings. The Billikens (8-4) were a 16-point favorite coming off a win against Drake and led by as many as 17 points midway through the second half. But they were outscored 29-10 in the final 9:32 as the Cougars (9-4) beat a top-100 KenPom team for the first time.

Coppin State 107, James Madison 100, 2 OTJames Madison (9-4) trailed the entire game before costly Coppin State turnovers sent the game to overtime. Despite the struggles, the Eagles (5-9) pulled out the victory as 16.5-point underdogs. Coppin’s Sam Sessoms continued his hot streak, scoring 28 points and dishing five assists in the victory. Coppin State could make a serious push to win the MEAC.

Northeastern 73, Davidson 70Another surprising A-10 loss. Davidson (7-5) competed with top-ranked Purdue on Saturday, then lost to Northeastern (4-7). Burly guard Jahmyl Telford led the way with 20 points on 8-of-3 shooting.

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4. Indiana loses Xavier Johnson for an extended period

Kansas blasted Indiana by almost 30 on Saturday, but the Hoosiers' most crushing loss was Xavier Johnson (foot injury). Playing without one's floor general is never easy. When Indiana hit its stride in the final two months of last season, Johnson figured out how to play winning basketball — and because of him, Indiana notched two Big Ten tournament games.

Jalen Hood-Schifino ran the offense in Indiana’s first game sans Johnson against Elon. The results were mixed; he dropped seven assists but turned it over five times. Certainly, there will be ebbs and flows if Hood-Schifino is Indiana’s full-time point guard. His talent is undeniable, but can he consistently find Trayce Jackson-Davis in the post? That’s the unknown of life without Johnson.

Will Johnson return? It's possible, but nothing is definitive. Indiana will find it challenging to stay in the Top 15 without his experience, even though it will more heavily feature Hood-Schifino's explosiveness. On the bright side, the Assembly Hall crowd alone could win Indiana several conference games.

5. Mid-major believe it or not!

Welcome to the second edition of mid-major believe it or not, the semi-random game I made up.

Believe it or not: Sam Sessoms will lead the country in scoring.

Sean’s take: Believe it

Sessoms is averaging 23.9 points, good for fourth nationally. He has scored 20+ points in 11 of the Eagles' first 15 games and has a season-high of 35 points. Juan Dixon's teams always rank near the top nationally in tempo and 3-point attempt rate. But he has never had a player like Sessoms to unleash in this system. Look for Sessoms to maintain (and even increase) his gaudy scoring output in MEAC play.

Believe it or not: Conference USA will have two NCAA Tournament teams

Sean’s take: Believe it

Three C-USA members, FAU (41), UAB (42) and North Texas (50), are top-50 KenPom teams. Meanwhile, the NET has UAB 59th and FAU 11th. The Owls, in particular, have consistently crushed teams by double-digits, boosting their advanced metrics. There is a path for both FAU and UAB, but they can’t take any Q3 or Q4 losses. Even the slightest blemish could make the selection committee choose a power conference opponent over a mid-major.

Believe it or not: South Dakota State will turn things around

Sean’s take: Don’t believe it

If you’re a college hoops nerd like myself, you’re used to South Dakota State dominating whether Scott Nagy, TJ Otzelberger or Eric Henderson is coaching. Even from a player's standpoint, the Jackrabbits lost Mike Daum in 2019 and still won 22 games the following season. The idea of South Dakota State regressing never seemed like reality. However, the Jackrabbits sit at 5-8 and only mustered 40 points against Oral Roberts on Monday. The usually elite offense? Ranks around 192 on KenPom, the program's worst mark since 2008. The expected breakout from Zeke Mayo has not come to fruition. Additionally, the losses of Baylor Scheierman and Douglas Wilson have been crippling  — the ball is not moving the same without a scorer and passer like Scheierman, and there are no freakishly athletic rim runners like Wilson.

Twin towers

Will Berg is a 7-foot-2 freshman from Sweden. Zach Edey is a 7-foot-4 junior from Canada.

Lexi Ehle? She's short.

Braggin' rights! (Well, sorta.)

It’s technically not called the “Braggin’ Rights” game this season but Illinois (8-3) and Missouri (10-1) always seem to deliver. Have the Illini resolved their internal differences? They face an elite offensive Missouri team (though it hasn't looked that was the last two games). D’Moi Hodge and Terrence Shannon Jr is pretty entertaining hoops. (9 pm ET, SECN)

Other games to watch (All times ET)

  • Towson (8-4), at Bryant (8-4), Noon

  • Charlotte (9-2), at UAB (9-2), 7:30 (ESPN+)

  • Southern Miss (11-1), at UNLV (10-1), 10 pm (MW Network)

Hurricane watch

Duke has the most 5-stars. North Carolina's coming off a Final Four. Virginia's the highest-ranked team. The Hokies don't lose at home. 

But Rob Dauster's ready to say that Miami is the team to beat in the ACC. Prove him wrong, TO.

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