We don’t know what we don’t know when we do preseason rankings.
All of us are guilty.
The two most surprising teams in the country are Nebraska and Seton Hall. Full stop.
Nebraska, ranked No. 23 and likely to rise Monday, beat Illinois in Champaign on a Jamarques Lawrence three-pointer. This came after the Huskers beat Wisconsin at home and Creighton a few days earlier. The Huskers are 11-0.
Seton Hall took apart rival Rutgers Saturday to move to 10-1 after beating Kansas State in Manhattan. The Pirates were within three of beating USC in the Maui Invitational semifinal but left the Island 2-1 after beating then-No. 23 NC State and Washington State.
Picking Nebraska or Seton Hall to be top four or five teams in the Big Ten and Big East back in September or October would have been something.
This is not an excuse for not selecting either team in my preseason rankings, but rather an attempt to praise what each staff have pulled off, thus far.
These were the questions when looking at Nebraska:
How would Rienk Mast come back from a season-long injury?
Well, Mast is looking like a first-team All-Big Ten player with 17.9 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. His leadership is unmatched.
How would Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort fit into the Huskers system?
Sandfort is averaging 17 a game and scored 32 in the win over the Illini.
How would Lawrence be welcomed back after leaving Lincoln, transferring to Rhode Island and then bouncing back?
He was on the floor when it mattered most and hit the game-winning, buzzer-beating three to knock off Illinois.
How would Braden Frager fit in as a freshman with all of these veteran players?
He scored 15 and grabbed 6 boards and has been a consistent role player in every game (save for going scoreless against Illinois).
Where would Sam Hoiberg fit in with this group?
He should be first-team on my colleague Seth Davis’ all-Glue Guy team. He may be the ultimate Glue Guy with timely shooting, winning 50-50 balls and always finding himself in the action.
How would Berke Buyutuncel find his role in the rotation?
He has accepted his position as the player who needs to make sure he’s rebounding, screening and defending.
And how would this team defend?
Check the stats.
Wisconsin scored 60. Creighton scored 50. And when the Huskers needed a stop against Illinois, Kansas State or Oklahoma they have found a way to get one.
Fred Hoiberg should be in the top five for National Coach of the Year through the first six weeks of the season.
Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway may end up in consideration, as well.
The Pirates are ballers. They defend. And they are exactly the type of players Holloway needed to get on this roster after winning only seven games last season.
Holloway found players who were at the high Division-I level but hadn’t found real success yet in AJ Staton-McCray (Miami), Mike Williams (LSU) and Trey Parker (NC State). He recruited players from one-bid leagues that were under-recruited and looking for a chance to prove themselves in Tajuan Simpkins (Elon), Adam Clark (Merrimack), Elijah Fisher (Pacific), Stephon Payne (Jacksonville) and Jacob Dar (Rice). And then, in July, he added one true freshman big in Najai Hines.
No one could predict how they would all fit and react to being together on this squad, but they have flourished. And now there’s no reason to believe Seton Hall can’t compete for a top three finish in the Big East.
Hoiberg’s Huskers won the Crown postseason event last year.
Holloway’s Pirates won the NIT two seasons ago.
They have long proven they can build winners and it’s wonderful to see the administrations to have patience and to show the aligned support.
These teams are entertaining and are all-in on finding a way to win.
Neither is going anywhere in their respective conference races.
Just How Good Are the 8 Remaining Undefeated Teams?
Can Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Iowa State or the other blemish-free teams run the table?
Shout Outs
Hofstra: The Pride knocked off Syracuse behind Cruz Davis, who tallied 22 points and a career-high 9 assists in all 40 minutes. Hofstra had already knocked off Pitt on the road to give the Pride two wins over the ACC. Hofstra should be in contention for the CAA title and Cruz for Player of the Year.
Nick Irvin, Arizona State assistant: Bobby Hurley gets tossed in the first half and the Sun Devils look cooked. But Irvin, who has been around the game his whole life and helped his father with the Mac Irvin AAU team in Chicago, led the Sun Devils to a 19-point comeback over Santa Clara.
Kentucky: The Wildcats finally got the win they desperately needed by taking out Indiana by 12 at home in a renewed rivalry.
Michael Ajayi, Butler: Ajayi scored 28 and grabbed 15 boards in a wild Big East-opening double-OT win over Providence. Ajayi has found his footing at Butler after a disappointing season at Gonzaga.
Melvin Council Jr., Kansas: The St. Bonaventure transfer scored 36 and grabbed 7 boards in the win at NC State. Council was one of the more coveted transfers in the portal and appears to be working out much more so than AJ Storr did a year ago for the Jayhawks.
Xaivian Lee, Florida: Lee was a coveted portal pickup by the Gators but hadn’t met the moment yet. He did this past week with 19 points, 6 boards and 5 assists in a loss at UConn and then led Florida with 24 points, 6 boards and 4 assists in a neutral-site win over George Washington.
Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana: The Hoosiers lost at Kentucky to end the week, but that shouldn’t erase what Wilkerson did against Penn State, scoring 44 points on 10 three-pointers.
Eric Olen, New Mexico: Olen, who got UC San Diego to the NCAA Tournament last season, has the Lobos looking like possibly the best team in the Mountain West again with a new roster. The Lobos won at VCU, and that was after beating Santa Clara at home.
Concerns
Alabama: The Tide have played a ridiculously tough schedule. But they are simply not defending as well in some of the high-profile games. Alabama was simply trying to outscore in the losses to Gonzaga (95 points allowed), Arizona (96) and Purdue (87) and it didn’t work.
The A-10: There are plenty of quality A-10 teams that could win games in the NCAA Tournament. But the lack of big-time victories could hurt the league come selection time. And don’t be shocked if they beat each other up. But the difference from first place to eighth is going to be thin.
NC State: The Wolfpack whiffed on its peer-to-peer power games against Seton Hall and Texas in Maui, at Auburn and at home to Kansas. NC State has one more game like this against Ole Miss.
Creighton, Marquette and Providence: All three Big East teams were predicted to be NCAA Tournament teams, but thus far none of them have a win against what would be a projected team in the field (Creighton beat Oregon, but the Ducks have struggled mightily). All three are going to have to come up with wins against the likes of UConn and St. John’s to raise their resumes to NCAA-worthy.
Texas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State: All three were projected SEC Tournament teams. Texas’ only possible win against the field is over NC State and that’s a reach at this point. Ole Miss’ best win was over Memphis, which will have to win the American to get a bid. Mississippi State won at Georgia Tech and beat Utah, but neither seem to be close to being bid-worthy.
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