College basketball produced a great week last week, which lined up nicely with the Dallas Mavericks not playing a game for almost a full week. If you were able to tune into some of the games, you saw elite prospects and teams doing elite things. And although this week appears to be a little lighter on the quantity of quality games, there are still things worth setting aside time for.
Prospect of the week (complimentary): Freshman Brayden Burries (G, Arizona)
Last four games: 19.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 56.9% from the floor and 39.1% from deep
Brayden
Burries, welcome to the season! When you watch Burries play, you see a player that has extreme confidence in all aspects of the game. When left open, Brayden has no issues with rising and firing, as noted by his nearly six three-point attempts per contest in the last two and a half weeks. At 6’4” and 205 pounds, Burries has the size any NBA team is looking for in a guard who can get downhill and finish. I know it’s Utah Tech, but this is an elite finish through a ton of traffic.
It’s becoming abundantly clear that the only thing that can consistently slow Burries down is himself. Arizona has played five ranked opponents this season. In those games, Burries has picked up three or more personal fouls in four of them, including fouling out against Florida in the opener in just 17 minutes. Even in his last two games, in which Burries has been instrumental in helping the Cats get blowout wins over Auburn and Alabama, he’s picked up four personals in each. If Burries stays out of foul trouble more consistently, he will not be ranked 41st on ESPN’s next big board. It feels like we are only scratching the surface here.
Prospect of the week (derogatory): Freshman Darryn Peterson (G, Kansas)
This one is hard for me, folks. I think Darryn Peterson is the best prospect in this upcoming class when he is healthy. Unfortunately, health seems to be a big issue here. After missing a month due to a hamstring, Peterson left his second game back on Saturday against NC State with “cramping”, according to Kansas coach Bill Self. Whether it was truly cramping or not, we likely won’t know until he steps on the floor again. Kansas plays Towson on Tuesday and Davidson on Monday the 22nd, so we will see if we actually see Peterson before Big 12 play opens January 3rd. Either way, these hamstring issues are causing some minor concerns for me moving forward.
Games of the week
Tuesday, December 16
11 Louisville at 20 Tennessee – 6:00p CT (ESPN)
Potentially the game of the week here, as Mikel Brown and the Cards will face off against an elite Tennessee defense. Tennessee’s offense, meanwhile, has absolutely stunk since they got back from the Players Era in Vegas. It’s been too much “my turn, your turn” with Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament, and they are both shooting under 41% from the floor. Tennessee needs this one desperately, so expect a big effort, but I have questions on whether or not they can score it enough.
Saturday, December 20
22 St. John’s vs Kentucky (in Atlanta) – 11:30a CT (CBS)
Ohio State vs 12 North Carolina (in Atlanta) – 2:00p CT (CBS)
8 Houston vs 14 Arkansas (in Newark) – 4:30p CT (CBS)
21 Auburn vs 6 Purdue (in Indianapolis) – 5:30p CT (Peacock)
3 Duke vs 19 Texas Tech (in New York City) – 7:00p CT (ESPN)
While there are not a ton of quality games this week, getting to stack five of them on top of each other on Saturday is a nice touch. The two early games on CBS will be interesting for their own reasons. Rick Pitino facing off against one of his former teams in Kentucky will be great for a narrative, but neither team has really played to expectations to start the year. Ohio State and UNC will feature two teams who have played well to start the season, especially the Heels. Caleb Wilson has been great and will have a nice platform to show off in this game.
The game of the day, and maybe of the week, is Houston and Arkansas. The contrast in style here will be fascinating, as Houston will try to grind the game down while Arkansas will look to run. The freshmen in this game will determine your outcome. Houston will lean on guard Kingston Flemings and forward Chris Cenac, while Arkansas counters with Darius Acuff Jr. It should be ideal viewing.
Finally, anytime there is a game in Madison Square Garden, it will make the cut. Duke and Texas Tech will square off on Saturday as two teams heading in opposite directions. Duke is unbeaten and has beaten each of the four ranked teams it has seen this year, including an impressive win at seventh ranked Michigan State. Tech is trending the opposite direction, having lost to each of the ranked teams it has played, including by 30 to Purdue in the Bahamas. As TTU winds up for the gauntlet that is Big 12 conference play, this would be a huge win to spur them on.
