Seismic clashes amongst heavyweights defined the weekend in college hoops, sending shockwaves through the latest AP Poll.
With top teams vying for position in the Big Dance and the season nearing the homestretch, the nation’s premier transfer performers continue to separate themselves from the pack.
So, where does your favorite portal star land? Head to Hoops HQ to find out!
1. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Riding a six-game winning streak that coincided with a 20-point scoring streak for Stirtz, Iowa flew east to College Park, intent upon maintaining its momentum. However, despite a 32-point masterpiece from Stirtz, who finished 13 of 21 from the floor and added 6 dimes, Iowa dropped a 77-70 decision to 10-14 Maryland.
“I’m disappointed for him,” coach Ben McCollum said after the game. “He was desperately trying to carry the load for us. We just need other guys to show up.”
With rival Nebraska in town on Feb. 17, a shutdown defensive performance driven by a pair of steals and blocks from Stirtz helped Iowa secure a top-10 victory. The senior delivered six crunchtime points to add to his game-high 25 points, before greeting a sea of black and yellow on the court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
2. Keyshawn Hall, Auburn
A rare off-shooting night from Hall prompted his slide from the top spot in the portal rankings. Fellow transfers KeShawn Murphy (Mississippi State) and Elyjah Freeman (D-II Lincoln Memorial University) picked up the slack with 25 and 11 points, respectively, as Auburn secured a last-second SEC win over Kentucky Saturday afternoon.
Hall snared 9 rebounds and dished out a team-high 7 assists in the victory. On Feb. 18 in Starkville, 29 points and 10 boards from the senior from Cleveland secured his 15th outing of more than 20 points and a seventh double-double on the season.
Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg Played 11 Games of High School Basketball. Now He’s a Contender for National Player of the Year.
The Wolverines’ 6-foot-9 forward and two-time transfer went from junior college to mid-major to arguably the best team in the country
3. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Hoops fans across the nation were treated with a heavyweight nonconference bout Saturday night in the nation’s capital, as then-No. 1 Michigan clashed with then-No. 3 Duke. The showdown more than lived up to the hype, as Lendeborg and future lottery pick Cameron Boozer battled all evening.
Lendeborg, who believes the newly top-ranked Blue Devils are “a lot better” defensively than any of Michigan’s conference foes, poured in a game-high 21 points on an efficient 7-of-15 from the field. However, a dominant all-around performance from Boozer (18 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks) propelled Duke to a 68-63 primetime triumph.
Despite the loss, another chance at a top-10 victory awaits Lendeborg and Michigan in the form of No. 10 Illinois Thursday night in Champaign. Lendeborg, who paces the team with 14.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, will need to be at his best on both ends of the floor against the nation’s top offense.
4. Nick Boyd, Wisconsin
The epitome of consistency, Boyd continues to climb HHQ’s portal rankings. On Feb. 10 at then-No. 10 Illinois, Boyd’s Badgers erased a 12-point second-half deficit to force overtime. The San Diego State transfer tallied five of his team-high 25 points in the extra period, and Wisconsin brought home a monstrous conference victory.
Three nights later on its home floor, Wisconsin secured its third top-10 win of the season, walloping then-No. 10 Michigan State, 92-71. The Badger faithful witnessed an all-game heater from Boyd, who finished the contest with 29 points on 10-of-17 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep.
5. Malik Reneau, Miami
With then-No. 11 North Carolina in Coral Gables for a midweek battle, coach Jai Lucas needed Reneau’s best. Confronted with UNC’s strength, its frontcourt, Reneau delivered, scoring a game-high 16 points while adding 10 rebounds, 4 dimes and a trio of steals.
“He’s done a good job of delivering just day after day,” Lucas said. “He’s one of the most talented offensive players I’ve ever been around.”
The Canes followed the 75-66 victory over UNC with another defeat of a Tar Heel State foe, this time a 77-76 heart-stopper over North Carolina State. Reneau produced once again, pouring in 26 points, including a crucial and-one late in the contest.
6. Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana
Seemingly intent upon shattering the Assembly Hall scoring record set by himself just a couple months earlier, Wilkerson’s early departure from what was a blowout victory over Oregon may have been the only thing standing in the way.
The 41-point outburst from Wilkerson, however, stamped the Sam Houston transfer’s fourth time surpassing the 30-point mark this season. In back-to-back road matchups with top-10 opponents in the shape of then-No. 8 Illinois and then-No. 7 Purdue, Wilkerson paced the Hoosiers with 21 and 20 points, respectively. His efforts proved futile, however, as Indiana dropped the contests by a combined 49 points.
7. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
Four consecutive victories and wins in eight of its last nine aided Tennessee’s re-entry into the AP Poll. The Vols, who slotted in at No. 22 in this week’s poll, earned intrastate bragging rights, for now, with a 69-65 win over then-No. 19 Vanderbilt.
Gillespie, who finished with a game-high 17 points, buried a pair of clutch free throws to help ice the victory. In addition, Gillespie swiped three steals, which followed a whopping eight takeaways in Tennessee’s Feb. 18 win over Oklahoma. The Maryland transfer paces Rick Barnes’ crew in scoring (18.1 points per game), assists (5.3) and steals (1.9).
8. Robert Wright III, BYU
Essentially every time the rock landed in Wright’s hands, a hostile Baylor crowd booed, loudly. Welcoming back their former four-star recruit with such animosity may have added fuel to the fire for Wright, however, who torched the Bears for a career-high 30 points.
“You know they’re gonna go at him and it was in a way that was, I thought, good, good, if that makes sense,” coach Kevin Young said. “You know what I mean? And I thought the way Rob responded by having a tremendous game and helping us pull it out at the end was pretty cool.”
The aforementioned career-high mark lasted a total of one game for Wright, who carried over a hot stroke with 39 points in a 90-86 overtime victory over Colorado on Feb. 14.
9. Donovan Dent, UCLA
The waning seconds began to tick away as Dent collected the inbounds pass with 4.9 seconds to play in overtime. With his Bruins trailing by one, Dent raced up the floor, weaved around a screen from Tyler Bilodeau, ducked up and under a 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic looming in the paint, and scooped home a buzzer-beating layup with his right hand.
Pauley erupted as leather swished through nylon, securing a second top-10 home victory for UCLA. Dent, who has continued to build confidence throughout his first season in Westwood, dished out a season-high 15 assists while committing zero turnovers.
10. Dailyn Swain, Texas
A road loss at Georgia snapped a five-game win streak for the Longhorns, in spite of 21 points and 6 rebounds from Swain. It’s tough to imagine the success of Texas’s offense, which ranks sixth in efficiency, without the consistent production of the junior from Columbus. His 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game all lead the team.
For Texas, which sits as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, a pair of opportunities at top-25 wins loom on the horizon. The Longhorns welcome No. 7 Florida into Austin on Feb. 25 before heading to Fayetteville for a clash with No. 20 Arkansas on Mar. 4.
Risers and Fallers
Outside our top 10 list, hundreds of transfer contributors around the country continue to make their case. On the other end of the spectrum, some players with high expectations entering the season have struggled to find their footing.
Risers
Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska
With Northwestern visiting on Feb. 14, Sandfort shot the lights out, draining six three-pointers on the way to a career-high 29 points. A week later, back home following a defeat in Iowa City, Sandfort exploded again, setting a new career mark with 33 points.
The Iowa transfer buried eight triples in an 87-64 thrashing of Penn State, which came fresh off of setting the all-time mark for three-pointers made in a season at Nebraska, a record he broke against his former school.
Tre Donaldson, Miami
An epic performance from Donaldson helped Miami avoid a costly upset with Virginia Tech in town on Feb. 17. The Hurricanes, who sit on the eight-seed line in Lunardi’s latest, escaped the Hokies thanks to a career-best night for Donaldson, who ended with 32 points.
A senior who spent a pair of seasons at Auburn before suiting up last season for Michigan, Donaldson finished the contest on a tear, pouring in Miami’s last 15 points. The Tallahassee native is averaging 16.4 points per contest and a team-high 5.9 dimes per game.
Henri Veesaar, North Carolina
With freshman phenom Caleb Wilson sidelined, added pressure to score fell upon Veesaar, who returned from an injury of his own Saturday at Syracuse.
The Arizona transfer answered the call, leading the Tar Heels with 19 points while shooting 9-of-13 from the field. With No. 24 Louisville headed to Chapel Hill for a Monday night battle, Veesaar made his availability clear, despite the quick turnaround.
Fallers
Bryce Lindsay, Villanova
During a recent six-game winning streak for his Wildcats, Lindsay averaged just over 6 points per contest. When that streak was snapped Saturday against then-No. 5 UConn, Lindsay struggled once more.
A redshirt sophomore, Lindsay began his career at Texas A&M before transferring to James Madison. The Baltimore native started his Wildcats career strong, surpassing the 20-point mark in each of the team’s first three games. Nova, a projected 7-seed, will need Lindsay’s offensive production down the stretch.
Pop Isaacs, Texas A&M
A highly-touted portal recruit who ranked in the top-1oo of HHQ’s preseason player rankings, Isaacs has struggled throughout his first year in College Station.
The junior from Las Vegas is averaging career lows in scoring and assist averages, including 5.0 points per game over the team’s last four contests.
Nick Davidson, Clemson
Renowned as an elite shooter during his time with Nevada, the Tigers hoped a scorer of Davdidson’s caliber would aid an offense that put up a near-historic 13-point first half in its opening round game against McNeese State a season ago. Instead, the senior has seen a decline in both his scoring and shooting numbers.
Struggles have ramped up as of late for Davidson, who has scored in single digits in each of the Tigers’ last three. Clemson will need Davidson to find his stroke, as Brad Brownell’s team tries to work its way out of a four-game skid.
Meet your guide
