Players Era Latest: Gonzaga’s ‘Old Guys’, Houston’s Shooting Star and Michigan’s Schedule

While the rest of us were waxing rapturous about the quality of the freshman class, Mark Few was building a roster that is on the verge of collecting Social Security. The players in Gonzaga’s rotation average 21.5 years old. That includes Tyon Grant-Foster (25), Steele Venters (24), Adam Miller and Graham Ike (both 23), Jalen Warley and Braden Huff (both 22), and Braden Smith and Emmanuel Innocenti (both 21).

The Zags have a dynamic freshman point guard in Mario Saint-Supery, aka “El Principito,” who is 19 but has extensive experience playing professionally in Spain. 

The Zags looked every bit the old-school part as they outmuscled Alabama on Tuesday (their 20 offensive rebounds gave them a 25-10 advantage in second-chance points in a 95-85 win) and carved up Maryland on Wednesday (30 assists on 37 field goals in a 100-61 shellacking).

I’ve been pointing out in my Top 25 columns that Gonzaga’s metrics have been ultra strong, and now the conventional wisdom has caught up. Regardless of what the rankings say, Gonzaga has a chance to establish itself as the best team in the country when it plays Michigan on Wednesday night.

2. Michigan Is Ahead of Schedule

Like most teams, the Wolverines entered the season with a remade roster, and they stumbled a bit out of the gate. They were fortunate to beat Wake Forest at home in overtime and could have lost at TCU before prevailing by four. Since then, they’ve been on a tear, drilling Middle Tennessee by 25, San Diego State by 40 and, most shockingly, a quality Auburn team by 30. That’s quite a turnaround in a short amount of time.

Certainly it helps to make shots. The Wolverines were 4-of-25 from three in their near-loss to Wake Forest. They committed 21 turnovers at TCU. That’s a function of chemistry, rhythm and shot selection as opposed to having a hot or cold night. Senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg, the celebrated (and well-compensated) transfer from UAB, looks a lot more comfortable and confident playing with his new teammates. It was a little odd that Michigan blitzed Auburn while starting point guard Elliot Cadeau was a non-factor (3 points and 1 assist in 13 minutes). The Wolverines are going to need all hands on deck Wednesday night, but regardless of what happens against the Zags, Michigan will leave Vegas with plenty of confidence.

3. Tennessee Is Final Four Good

We kinda, sorta knew this already, but given that the Vols had not played any teams ranked in the top 190 at KenPom.com, there still was a question as to how they would stack up against top competition. They stacked up very well, embarrassing Rutgers by 25 points Monday, then earning a hard-fought 76-73 win over Houston on Tuesday. What was most impressive about that win was that Tennessee’s star freshman, 6-foot-10 forward Nate Ament, shot 1-of-8 from the floor and scored 9 points. Senior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie was 5-of-16.

So how did the Vols pull off the win in the best game of the first two days? First of all, Gillespie might have been inefficient offensively, but he still played a masterful floor game. He had 4 assists and 0 turnovers in 38 minutes and went 9-of-9 from the foul line. The Vols outscored Houston 23-8 from the stripe, which was the difference in the game.

The Vols also received key contributions from every player who entered the game, most notably 6-foot-8 junior forward Jaylen Carey, a transfer from Vanderbilt who had 13 points and 7 rebounds, and sophomore guard Bishop Boswell, a 6-foot-4 floor burn who had 19 points and 4 rebounds.

In other words, the Vols got subpar performances from their top two players and still beat the No. 3-ranked team in America. That’s a team that is capable of ending its season in Indianapolis.

4. Houston Has a Shooting Star in Kingston Flemings

Kelvin Sampson isn’t necessarily known for his high school recruiting. (Perhaps he should be — he is putting together another loaded class.) He signed a stellar freshman class headlined by McDonald’s All-Americans Chris Cenac Jr. and Isiah Harwell. But it was the “other” top recruit, 6-foot-4 guard Kingston Flemings, who stole the show in the loss to Tennessee. Flemings finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting (3-of-4 from three) to go along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. It wasn’t enough to get the win, but it was damn impressive.

It also wasn’t a total surprise, given that Flemings had 22 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in the Cougars’ overtime win over Auburn in Birmingham on Nov. 16. But what was most notable about Flemings’ performance against the Vols was how poorly he played the day before in Houston’s 78-74 overtime win over Syracuse. He had 9 points on 3-of-11 shooting, although he did have 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Great players rarely have two bad games in a row, and Flemings showed just how high his ceiling is against one of the nation’s top defenses Tuesday night.

Houston still has plenty of kinks to work out, but I don’t know that Sampson ever has had a freshman guard with the potential to make such a sizable instant impact. Flemings is only going to get better, and as he does, the Cougars once again will be among the nation’s elite.

5. Iowa State is the Ultimate Culture Club

The word “culture” is tossed around a lot in sports (and business), but few programs exude that quality more than T.J. Otzelberger’s Iowa State Cyclones. Iowa State returned three starters and a key reserve in 6-foot-4 senior guard Nate Heise, but the rest of this roster is new. Yet this program still evinces the cultural elements that Otzelberger has installed every season since his return to Ames five years ago: defense, toughness, depth.

The Cyclones needed every bit of the first two to squeak by St. John’s 83-82 Monday. And they used the third to wallop Creighton by 18 points on Tuesday despite playing without starting point guard Tamin Lipsey, who was sidelined by a lower body injury.

The other two returning starters, 6-foot-8 senior forward Josh Jefferson and 6-foot-8 junior forward Milan Momcilovic, were superb, as expected, but Iowa State also got a terrific contribution from 6-foot-3 freshman guard Killyan Toure, a native of France who had a team-high 20 points in the win over the Bluejays. Otzelberger has been waiting for a breakout game from sixth man Nate Heise, the other returnee, and the 6-foot-4 senior moved into Lipsey’s starting slot and had 8 points, 6 assists and 1 turnover in the win. 

Lipsey tweaked his left leg late in the St. John’s game and did not play the final two minutes before missing Tuesday’s game. It’s unclear whether he’ll be available Wednesday, but if not, he hopefully will be back soon. Either way, the Cyclones have proven they once again are among the best teams in the country, and there’s every reason to believe they will be in the hunt for a Big 12 title.

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6. Flory Bidunga is Flexing His “Alpha” for Kansas

Kansas 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Flory Bidunga was a McDonald’s All-American in high school, but he took a backseat as a freshman to the Jayhawks’ senior frontcourt tandem of Hunter Dickinson and K.J. Adams. Those two have graduated, and Kansas also is without star freshman point guard Darryn Peterson, who averaged 21.5 points in his first two games but has missed the past five with a tender hamstring. Kansas needed someone else to be the alpha dog in Vegas — and that someone was Bidunga.

In the games leading up to the Players Era, Bidunga looked like a player ready to bark. He went for 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks and 5 assists in a 71-61 win over Notre Dame; and 13 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in a 71-60 win over Syracuse (though he also had 7 turnovers in that one). Various other Jayhawks also have had their moments in Peterson’s absence. KU coach Bill Self said Peterson is doing some running and cutting and should be back “soon.” If that’s the case, he’ll be joining a better team than the one he left, with Bidunga emerging as the clear Robin to Peterson’s Batman. 

7. Syracuse Puts the “Foul” in Foul Shooting

On the one hand, Syracuse gave its long-suffering fans some rays of hope. The Orange overcame an 11-point deficit to Houston over the final three minutes of regulation before succumbing 78-74 in overtime. They hung tough with Kansas despite a pitiful 2-of-12 shooting performance from star freshman Kiyan Anthony. And they did all that without their leading scorer, 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Donnie Freeman, who is out with what is being described as a “lower body injury.” Freeman was seen walking off the team plane with a boot over his right foot. That is of particular concern because he played just 14 games last season before undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in that same foot. A school spokesman said Freeman’s injury is “not related” to his injury from last season and that he will be re-evaluated when the team gets home.

For a program that has been on a major downswing — and especially for coach Adrian Autry, who was unable to take Syracuse into the postseason during his first two seasons following Jim Boeheim — any green shoots are welcome. But a cold reality is that in those two games, Syracuse was a combined 25-of-52 from the foul line, They are converting 56.2 percent from the stripe as a team, the second-worst clip in the country. This team is not good enough to overcome such a glaring deficiency, especially without its leading scorer. If the free throw shooting doesn’t improve, it’s going to cost Syracuse a lot of close games in a much-improved ACC.  

8. It’s Getting Late Early at Rutgers

We anticipated that Rutgers might take a step back following the departures of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey to the NBA. But there was some hope over the summer that Steve Pikiell was getting back to the blue-collar personality that always has defined his teams. Unfortunately, the step back has looked more like a giant leap. The Scarlet Knights struggled with Lehigh and American at home, lost to Central Connecticut State, and in Vegas fell to Tennessee (by 25) and Notre Dame (by five). They play UNLV on Thursday.

Pikiell is a good coach and Rutgers sits in a talent-rich part of the country, but the thing that matters most these days is a team’s payroll. Rutgers’ resources are so deficient that the school only just hired a general manager for men’s basketball in late October, when it named Rob Sullivan to the position. He will oversee both the men’s and women’s programs, which itself is an unusual arrangement for a power conference school.

It’s easy to blame Pikiell for the state of affairs, particularly after the disappointment of last season, but until the school addresses the financial realities of today’s era, it’s not going to be competitive no matter who is in charge.