As the calendar turns to 2026, the college basketball season has officially kicked into high gear. Conference play has arrived, and our top NBA Draft talents are set to soar down the stretch. Who will
be able to separate at the top of the board? Can someone take a leap from outside the lottery? Which older players are going to jump into the draft? The good hoops start now.
Prospect of the week: Christian Anderson (Guard, Texas Tech)
Since December 1st: 23.7 points (55.8% FG, 46.2% 3P), 4.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists
Much to my surprise, Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson has been flying under the radar for a majority of this season. After earning honors this summer at the FIBA U19 World Cup (Alongside Cam Boozer and Mikel Brown Jr.), I expected there to be plenty of buzz for the sophomore. There really hadn’t been much through much of December. Until…
- 27 points (five 3PM) and 10 assists against LSU on December 7th
- 26 points (five 3PM) and 11 assists against Arkansas on December 13th
- 27 points (five 3PM) in a huge comeback win against Duke on December 20th
- 19 points and 13 assists in a 22-point win to open Big 12 play at Oklahoma State
Now, those late first round projections have started sneaking closer and closer to the lottery. Anderson is one of the best point guards in this class, as shown by some of his gaudy assist numbers (five games of 10 or more assists). He also has shown the ability to score at a high level with efficiency. Anderson is at 50% from the floor and almost 44% from three, all while averaging nearly eight assists per game. To top it all off, he’s an absolute workhorse in terms of his durability. Anderson plays over 38 minutes per game and has gone the distance three times this season. He’s also played 39 minutes or more in four other games.
Anderson’s size is something that he will be dinged for, as at 6’3”, he’s listed at just 177 pounds. It doesn’t bother me all that much, as his frame shows he has room to bulk into his height. If this is the guy that gets paired with Cooper Flagg for the future, I have no gripes whatsoever.
Games of the week
Tuesday, January 6th
6 Duke at 20 Louisville – 6:00p CT (ESPN)
14 Texas Tech at 7 Houston – 8:00p CT (FS1)
TCU at 22 Kansas – 8:00p CT (ESPN)
Texas at 21 Tennessee – 8:00p CT (ESPN2)
The caliber of prospects on display Tuesday night will be fantastic. Cam Boozer in a road test. Christian Anderson facing off with Kingston Flemings and that Houston defense. Will Darryn Peterson actually play a full game? In Knoxville, a battle of two prospects trending in different directions. Texas’ Dailyn Swain, coming off a career high scoring night against Mississippi State, will face off against the struggling Nate Ament. What a night.
Wednesday, January 7th
Kansas State at 1 Arizona – 8:00p CT (FS1)
Arizona State at 9 BYU – 8:00p CT (Peacock)
13 Alabama at 11 Vanderbilt – 8:00p CT (ESPN2)
15 Arkansas at Ole Miss – 8:00p CT (SEC Network)
There are quite a few excellent prospects on display in this slate. Granted, they are not playing each other in the games, but nonetheless it should be a good showcase for all of them.
Saturday, January 10th
10 Nebraska at Indiana – 11:00a CT (BTN)
21 Tennessee at Florida – 11:00a CT (ESPN)
7 Houston at Baylor – 12:00p CT (Peacock)
24 SMU at 6 Duke – 1:00p CT (ESPN)
1 Arizona at TCU – 3:00p CT (ESPN)
15 Arkansas at Auburn – 5:00p CT (ESPN)
9 BYU at Utah – 9:00p CT (ESPN)
Saturdays are typically a good day to just tune it to ESPN and call it a day. This will be one of those days. The theme of the day is ranked teams on the road facing unranked teams, which is typically a fun recipe.
My favorite matchup of the bunch is the Houston at Baylor game. These programs are proud and understand very clearly what they are. It should be a physical game with good guard play.
If you haven’t watched SMU this year, this game at Duke is a good one to start with. The Ponies just beat North Carolina in Dallas and now are tasked with validating that win against a very good Duke team. Boopie Miller is SMU’s best player, and this will be a great test for him against a Duke perimeter that is happy to guard you.
Finally, AJ Dybantsa gets his first and only road Holy War game against the Utes. Utah, who are coached by former Mavs assistant Alex Jensen, has struggled at times this season. But they are good enough when they’re on to put a scare into BYU.
