Out with the Old, In with the New

Tipoff

Friends, we have entered the upside down. For the first time since 1961, none of the traditional blue bloods - Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, or UCLA - could be found in the AP Poll. In fact, none of the 13 teams with the most wins in NCAA history were ranked this week. Instead, a group of “new bloods” have taken their place. The new bloods are teams that have risen to the level of the blue bloods on the court in recent years, teams like Virginia, Gonzaga, Michigan, and Texas Tech. Sure, that group has fewer combined National Championships than any single member of the blue bloods I listed to open this paragraph, but they represent the present of college basketball in important ways. Their emergence in this season also represents a problem facing the sport.

The new bloods tug at the heartstrings of college basketball fans. Their coaches are practically unknown to the broader public. Their rosters are filled with unheralded recruits or transfers from other high-major teams that sought a bigger role. Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard relied on several transfers, including guards Matt Mooney (Air Force and then South Dakota) and Brandone Francis (Florida) and forward Tariq Owens (St John’s), to reach the National Title game in 2019. Gonzaga’s Mark Few has made a career out of attracting transfers from other programs, including Kentucky, Washington, and San Jose State. This combination of underdog status and overlooked players is the formula for Hollywood movie scripts. The big question is whether the fans will show up this March to watch these teams.

The problems posed by the new bloods is that, while many college basketball fans, tired of seeing the same old faces on the sidelines, will gladly watch Baylor vs Florida State in the Elite 8, those teams lack the big audiences the NCAA and its television partners need to make the NCAA Tournament a success. The 2019 Final Four, featuring a pair of these new bloods, was an exciting display of basketball. Unfortunately, it also garnered one of the lowest ratings for CBS in almost a decade. While everyone loves to root for the little guy, the new bloods are going to have to start delivering viewers for the sport to thrive.

Weekly Recap

What happened in college basketball last week? We recap who won big, who lost, who got injured, and how did the landscape of college basketball change over the week.

• A Star is Born: College basketball finally had its signature matchup as #1 faced #2 on Monday night. No, I’m not talking about Gonzaga and Baylor. The Bears are on pause until the end of February due to a COVID outbreak. In Storrs, Connecticut, #2 UConn and freshmen phenom Paige Bueckers of the Huskies women’s team beat #1 South Carolina. Bueckers, a point guard from Minnesota, put on an absolute show, scoring 31 points, dishing out 5 assists, and grabbing 6 steals to upset the Gamecocks in overtime. Sometimes, it’s just your night, know what I mean?

• Valpo Had a Successful Crusade. After losing a double-digit lead against previously unbeaten Drake on Saturday, the Valparaiso (Valpo for those in the know) Crusaders took down the Drake Bulldogs on their second try on Sunday, winning 74-57. The Drake Bulldogs had been living dangerously, overcoming deficits in consecutive games lately. The hometown Crusaders, primarily known for one of the best buzzer beaters in NCAA Tournament history, held onto the lead and seriously jeopardized Drake’s chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid short of winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title.

• Iowa is on a Slide. The Iowa Hawkeyes, featuring National Player of the Year candidate Luka Garza, lost both its matchups and 4 of its last 5 games in B1G play. Blessed with shooters and Garza’s unique abilities to score around the rim, the Hawkeyes have one of the most electrifying offensive attacks in the game. However, the bugaboo for the squad has been on the other end of the court. Iowa is as likely to allow the other team to get as many good looks at the rim as they are capable of getting when they have the ball. That was not quite the case in Bloomington, Indiana, on Saturday when the hometown Hoosiers edged Iowa 67-65. The lackluster offensive effort, fueled in part by the decision to sit Garza for most of the first half with 2 fouls, left head coach Fran McCaffery a little combative when talking to reporters.

Tuesday Superlatives

Each week, we will shine a light on a team and an individual player that has captured the hearts of the world of college basketball.

• Team of the Week: Southern CaliforniaThe headline game on ESPN Saturday night between Duke and North Carolina featured two teams headed nowhere. The nightcap matchup between Los Angeles teams UCLA and USC was a showcase for the top teams in the Pac 12 conference. Head Coach Andy Enfield’s USC Trojans put forth a stout defensive effort against Mick Cronin’s UCLA Bruins. Top-rated freshman Evan Mobley shut down the interior with 4 blocks while sophomore guard Ethan Anderson provided the scoring punch off the bench with a career-high 19 points.

• Player of the Week: Ayo DosunmuIf there is one player in the B1G that might be able to unseat Iowa’s Luke Garza for Player of the Year accolades, that player is Illinois’s Ayo Dosunmu. The 6’5” guard did it all on Saturday against Wisconisn, recording 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists to record just the third triple-double in school history. The Illini are now ranked #6 in the AP Poll following the big win.

The Mixtape

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

• Rob Dauster and Da’Sean Butler can only count to 2. After that, it’s anyone’s guess as to the third best team in college ball. Michigan might be that team, but there are concerns about their play and they have been on pause for several weeks.

• On Patric Young and the Rowdies, Jeff Goodman joined the former Florida standout to take a look at this season’s Florida Gators. Losing preseason SEC Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson was obviously a big blow, as was a puzzling home loss a 5-6 South Carolina team following a 4-game win streak with victories over Tennessee and West Virginia. Young and Goodman discuss the state of the Florida program and stories of Florida greats like Bradley Beal.

• Over in the PNW, former Gonzaga standout Dan Dickau invited Rob and Jeff to talk about Gonzaga on the Bulldog Broadcast. The trio discussed head coach Mark Few’s efforts to schedule a last-minute high-profile non-conference matchup and concerns about slow starts.

• They say that doing the simple things really well will take you far in life. For former Illinois standout Chris Gandy, he had to learn how to do the simple stuff like dribbling to make it in the NBA and in professional leagues overseas. Gandy talked with Deon Thomas about his professional experience on the Champaign on Ice podcast last week.