My 5 Favorite Things In College Basketball This Week
A holiday edition!
Not to sound like a broken record, but this was a great week in college basketball. Every week is a great week. Even on Christmas, you can watch the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. Nothing beats basketball on the islands. All this is to say just because there aren’t as many games doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch college basketball next week. And whatever good stuff you miss, I’ll be talking about in here. Please come back and read this again. It’s the best way to catch up on the best stuff from the previous week. Into the five!
1. Big Western Wagon
Look, if I could, I might make this newsletter exclusively Big West related. But I can’t, so let’s zero in on the UC San Diego Tritons. What a week they had. First off, massive rivalry win again San Diego. USD might be having a down year, but anytime you can beat the Toreros at UCSD, it’s a win. But more importantly, they’re up to 11-2 on the year, and also beat the previously-unbeaten Utah State Aggies. I probably cursed USU, talking about them on this program just last week, but they’re the real deal. They’re the favorites to win the Mountain West (or at least right there with traditional powers Boise State and San Diego State), but they lost to the Tritons at home. It isn’t easy to walk into The Spectrum and win against any Aggie team. UCSD did it against an undefeated one. This is a tournament team in their first year of D1 tournament eligibility. Keep watching them.
2. Grand Forks, North Dakota
The Alabama Crimson Tide travelled up north to the Northernmost Dakota to play the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. And at home in Grand Forks, UND really did have a chance. They were ahead at the half, and had the score tied at 85 with about two minutes to go. The atmosphere was electric, the game clearly meant so much to everyone involved, and the players fed off all of it. Bama eventually won the game by seven points; 97-90, but it almost didn’t matter. UND made their point, Treysen Eaglestaff got his well-deserved national spotlight, Grant Nelson got to go home. We all know that’s why this game was scheduled. Grant Nelson missed home. And good for him. He also looked like the only player on Alabama used to playing on courts with volleyball lines.
3. Enjoysey (My Attempt At A New Jersey Accent)
Princeton vs. Rutgers absolutely rocked. It was amazing. Xaivian Lee vs. Dylan Harper. Caden Pierce vs. Ace Bailey. Mitch Henderson vs. Steve Pikiell. It was just incredible basketball between two New Jersey schools that are known more for their academics than their basketball acumen fighting to the death on a neutral court. Caden Pierce hit the game winner and scored 21 points with a double-double. Xaivian Lee also had a double-double with 21 points (and he’s going to the NBA), yet the star of the game was on the losing team. Dylan Harper continues to absolutely electrify college basketball. The Rutgers freshman is actually going to make a run at Cooper Flagg for the first pick in the draft this summer. Both of these teams deserve your eyes on them, and they just played an incredible basketball game.
4. You Should Fear Jeremiah
Oklahoma is probably overrated right now. They’re still undefeated (somehow) on the backs of Kobe Elvis, Sam Godwin, Jalon Moore, and a guy who should be a high schooler in Jeremiah Fears. Fears was an Illinois commit, but decided to reclass up a year and drop his commitment (presumably for playing time concerns, but let’s be real, he would play on this Fighting Illini team. Whether it was a generational mistake from Brad Underwood or just rethinking his decision, Oklahoma has to be grateful he decided to enroll in Norman. Fears is averaging about 18 points per game, and is making about half of his shots from the field. But against Michigan on Wednesday, down 83-86 with 11 seconds left, Fears went up for an off-balance shot from downtown to tie the game. It hit. He was fouled. A deficit of three turned into a winning margin of one. Off the back of Fears. He scored 30 points that night. Superstar.
5. Their Right For Bragging
Sticking loosely with the subject of Illinois (though we’ll focus more on them now) they also had a good week sans Fears. On Sunday morning (I suppose it might’ve been afternoon in Saint Louis; I live on the West Coast), Illinois took on Missouri for their Bragging Rights rivalry game. This game is a big deal for these programs, and both of them looked like they wanted more than anything. Future NBA Lottery pick Kasparas Jakucionis looked every part of a star, as the Illini took down Mizzou. Dennis Gates’ Tigers have exceeded expectations this year, but couldn’t quite take down their rivals. It was a thrilling finish, with a Jacob Crews three falling short at the buzzer. It would’ve sent the game to overtime. But in true rivalry fashion, the game wasn’t over at the buzzer. Players had to be separated in the handshake line. We were treated to an amazing game and tensions! If you aren’t talking trash after beating your rivals, are you really rivals? What a great game and a great showing. I love college basketball.
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