It’s an exciting time to watch college basketball! With the NBA out of the way for the majority of this week, there is plenty of time to get eyes on some of the best prospects in the country who will be playing in big games. There’s so much to get into from the week that was, so let’s jump in.
Prospect of the week: Darius Acuff (Guard, Arkansas)
Stats of the week: 29.5 points, 6 assists (2.5 turnovers) per game
Let’s not get this twisted, as Arkansas hasn’t exactly played the upper tier of teams in conference play thus far. But what Acuff has done has far exceeded my lower than consensus viewpoint of him. He’s been
efficient with the ball in his hands, limiting turnovers while still racking up assists. Over the last month, Acuff has only had one game with more than two turnovers, which came against a dreadful LSU team where he likely was just trying stuff. Arkansas has won six of seven, including three straight on the road, where they had really struggled to start the season.
Consensus has moved Acuff right to the top of that third tier of guards, behind Flemings and Wagler. I am not quite there yet, and I have just accepted that I will be lower on him than most everyone else. I worry about the defensive motor, with being listed at just 6’3” he has to make up for size with effort and that hasn’t been there consistently (as noted by his paltry 0.7 steals per game). I think Acuff will be a good NBA scorer, and there’s certainly a place for guys like that in the league. I just would be curious to see it be Dallas.
Games of the week
Monday, February 16th
Houston at Iowa State – 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Very quietly, Kingston Flemings has played some of his worst ball lately. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson talked about it after Saturday’s win over Kansas State, saying “I didn’t know what he was doing today,”. There are easier places to bounce back than at Hilton Coliseum against this Iowa State group. Just ask Darryn Peterson. We’ll see if Flemings can do it.
Tuesday, February 17th
Michigan at Purdue – 5:30 p.m. CT (Peacock)
Louisville at SMU – 6:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
It’s the start of an outrageous week for Michigan, as they follow up this road game in Mackey Arena by traveling to Washington DC to play Duke in a huge out of conference tune up. Can they manage to get one win during this stretch? Their best chance will probably be against the Boilermakers.
Fellow Mavs Moneyball contributor Bryan Porter and I were able to watch Mikel Brown Jr. in person on Saturday, as he and the Cardinals took down Baylor in Fort Worth. The follow up performance off his blistering week will come on the east side of the Metroplex against SMU. I think he’s in a really good place at the moment, so it would not be surprising to see another great performance.
Wednesday, February 18th
Arkansas at Alabama – 6:00 p.m. CT (ESPN)
BYU at Arizona – 8:00 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Illinois at USC – 9:00 p.m. CT (BTN)
Darius Acuff will have to be very good for the Hogs, as they take to the road to face off with Labaron Philon and the Tide. Points should be aplenty here, but whichever guard is able to play the best will likely win the game.
BYU is now without veteran wing Richie Saunders, who tore his ACL on Saturday against Colorado. That puts even more pressure on AJ Dybantsa, who will be going against a very good Arizona front line. Koa Peat left Saturday’s game against Texas Tech with a leg injury, so we will need to keep an eye on his status for this one.
Finally, Illinois will hit the west coast to face USC. Alijah Arenas, who missed much of the season after recovering from an offseason car wreck, has shown up and given the Trojans some juice lately. He’s been inefficient from the floor for the most part, but the fact that he’s out there very encouraging for me, especially if he holds off on the draft until next year. He’ll get a measuring stick here against Keaton Wagler, who continues to impress.
Saturday, February 21st
Arizona at Houston – 2:00 p.m. CT (ABC)
Michigan vs Duke (in Washington DC) – 5:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Illinois at UCLA – 7:00 p.m. CT (FOX)
Iowa State at BYU – 9:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Folks, what a Saturday we will be in for! Arizona at Houston is going to be a bloodbath, as these defensive minded teams will be uber physical. The guard play will determine your winner here. Michigan and Duke is a tremendous matchup, with the forward battle of Yaxel Lendeborg and Cam Boozer shaping up to determine the game.
The second game of a west coast trip is a difficult one for these Big Ten teams, and UCLA is pesky enough to give Illinois fits. It will have to be a good Wagler game here to get the job done. Finally, Iowa State walks into the hornets nest that is the Marriott Center against BYU. AJ Dybantsa against this Iowa State front court will be very fun to watch.
