Welcome to March! I hope you left milk and cookies out for Santa Rothstein on Saturday, because it is officially the best month this sport has to offer.
This is the final week of regular season basketball in the power conferences, with many of the smaller conferences beginning their conference tournaments this week. There is still much to be decided here before the Madness begins in earnest. So, without further delay,
let’s dive into the week ahead.
Prospect of the week: Brayden Burries (G, Arizona)
If you’re wondering what a readymade two guard looks like, it’s Brayden Burries at Arizona. His game is just so polished. Burries is an outstanding offensive player, averaging over 18 points per game in his last ten games, while shooting over 40% from three.
I think that the four guards in the five to eight range (Flemings, Wagler, Brown Jr. and Acuff) are probably still a tier above Burries. However, I could at least listen to an argument that any given team would be better off taking Burries over any of those four. I just don’t see a world where he doesn’t pan out.
Games of the week
Monday, March 2nd
Iowa State at Arizona – 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPN)
The last Big Monday of the year will leave on a bang, as this matchup is one of the best that the Big 12 can offer. Iowa State just lost at home to an injured Texas Tech group, while Arizona trounced Kansas on Saturday. Koa Peat recently returned to the Cats lineup, and he’ll be sorely needed against Joshua Jefferson and this Iowa State front line. Brayden Burries will also have a tough matchup, with Tamin Lipsey and Killyan Toure opposite him.
Wednesday, March 4th
Texas at Arkansas – 6:00 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
Darius Acuff will likely have a favorable matchup against the Texas guards, which will be a nice change of pace from what he saw against Florida. Meanwhile, Texas forward Dailyn Swain will likely have the chance to get his against the Arkansas front court. Plus, Texas could really use another win to bolster their seeding for the NCAA Tournament. It should be a fun one.
Saturday, March 7th
North Carolina at Duke – 5:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Texas Tech at BYU – 9:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)
The last Saturday of the college basketball regular season will go out with a bang, as UNC and Duke will once again take center stage. If you need a reminder of what happened last time, well…
Caleb Wilson has been out for the past few weeks with a wrist injury. He self-proclaimed that he would be back for this game, so let’s see if he actually is. Duke hasn’t lost at home this year, so the mountain will be tall. I would expect Cam Boozer to play yet another excellent game.
Texas Tech without JT Toppin is simply a three-point variance machine, and perhaps there’s no better player equipped for that than Christian Anderson. Anderson is shooting 43% from three on nearly eight attempts per game, and he will certainly get his share of looks moving forward. BYU has been led by AJ Dybantsa, who continues to put up outrageous numbers. However, BYU has lost quite a bit since Richie Saunders tore his ACL. This would be a big one for them to get before the bloodbath that is the Big 12 Tournament tips off.
Sunday, March 8th
Michigan State at Michigan – 4:30 p.m. CT (CBS)
This game is going to be the last power conference game of the regular season. Savor it, and enjoy watching Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. face off against this physical Spartan defense.
