As conference races tighten, transfer superstars continue to help their teams battle for position.
The Big Ten remains a portal-heavy mainstay, while tight finishes in crucial SEC showdowns sent shockwaves through Hoops HQ’s Top Ten.
So, whose stock rose? Whose took a hit? Look no further than Hoops HQ for in-depth analysis of the nation’s top portal performers.
1. Keyshawn Hall, Auburn
A defensive collapse Saturday afternoon saw Auburn surrender 59 second-half points to archrival Alabama. Amidst a porous final 20 minutes, Hall committed the latter of two Tigers flagrant fouls, both of which resulted in four-point possessions for the Tide.
Despite fouling out of the contest with just under a minute to play, Hall tallied 24 points, 3 steals and a pair of blocks in the loss, thus, retaining his top spot in the portal rankings. The senior, who scored 31 in a 88-82 win vs. Texas on Jan. 28, is averaging 25 points per game over his last four.
2. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Six consecutive victories for Iowa. Six consecutive 20-point outings for Stirtz.
Following a 36-point outburst Sunday afternoon in which the Drake transfer shot 60 percent from the floor, Stirtz earned an ascension near the top of the rankings. Those 36, a career-high total, came a week after a surgical performance in Eugene on Feb. 1.
After missing his initial attempt of the contest, Stirtz finished 12 of 15 with 32 points against Oregon. The savvy veteran played a near perfect game, dishing out 7 assists while committing zero turnovers.
3. Malik Reneau, Miami
An opportunity for its first marquee win of the season awaits Miami Tuesday night when the Canes welcome No. 11 North Carolina to Coral Gables. The Tar Heels, fresh off of an emotional, last-second victory over Duke, sit just above Miami in the ACC standings.
Reneau continues to drive what has been a top-five offense in the conference. An Indiana transfer who averages 20 points per contest, Reneau has surpassed that mark in each of his last four. The senior guided his squad through a sluggish offensive start at Boston College, pacing Miami with 13 first-half points. As his teammates found their rhythm, Reneau remained steady, tallying 23 points and 8 boards in the win.
4. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
“There’s no way I’m ducking and running from this smoke now,” Dusty May said.
Prior to Michigan’s highly-anticipated clash with archrival Michigan State, May grabbed a seat on his bench, directly in front of a hostile “Izzone.” Matching the energy brought by his head coach, Lendeborg started hot, finishing the first half with 12 points as the Wolverines took a 42-26 lead to the locker room.
The UAB transfer asserted dominance from there, in spite of a furious rally attempt from Sparty. Lendeborg stuffed the stat sheet, totaling 26 points, 12 boards (a half-dozen on each end) and a pair of blocks. On top of that, the senior proved money from the charity stripe, finishing 13 of 15 at the line. A lackluster statistical stretch led to a slight slide for Lendeborg, but numbers don’t tell the full story of his impact.
“Our personnel last year, we didn’t have enough dogs to win the league,” May said. “We had some, and I loved our guys, but we just didn’t have enough. So we addressed that in recruiting.”
5. Nick Boyd, Wisconsin
With a double-digit deficit erased and the Badgers clinging to a one-point lead with 15 seconds remaining in overtime, Boyd raced to the backcourt in an attempt to maintain possession. As he neared the halfcourt line, he met Conor Enright, who appeared to initiate contact with Boyd. Instead, the officials whistled Boyd for a charge. A last-second defensive foul called on the Badgers led to a pair of free throws for the Hoosiers, and Indiana survived.
An irate Greg Gard lambasted the officiating postgame, as the Badgers fell just shy of a crucial Quad 1 win. Boyd, who tallied 20 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds in the defeat, has eclipsed the 20-point mark in four consecutive outings.
The San Diego State transfer’s 20 points per contest are good for No. 4 in the Big Ten and he paces his team’s assist leaders at 3.7 dimes per game.
6. Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana
On the other side of what became an officiating debacle late in Saturday’s win, Wilkerson stepped to the line with two seconds to play in overtime. With the eyes of a tense Assembly Hall locked on him, Wilkerson banged home the pair, continuing an impressive streak of iciness at the line.
A Sam Houston transfer, Wilkerson seemingly envies the big moment. Late in double-overtime at UCLA, his layup with under a minute to play helped Indiana secure a key road victory, 98-97. The senior is averaging more than 25 points per game in his last five, a hot streak which directly coincides with a heater for Indiana, which has won 4 of those contests.
7. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
A stretch of inconsistent shooting induced a tumble in the rankings for Gillespie, who finds himself on the outside looking in at the top 5. Alongside his Volunteers teammates, Gillespie struggled mightily in the second half. His first-half point total matched the team’s halftime lead, 14. Gillespie managed just one point in the final 20 minutes, however, as Tennessee’s advantage slipped away.
“He’s got to be better,” said head coach Rick Barnes.
Gillespie, who has failed to convert at his average rate in four of the last five, awaits a chance to regain his rhythm with a trio of unranked opponents on the horizon (at Miss State, vs. LSU, vs. Oklahoma).
8. Dailyn Swain, Texas
A three-game sequence from Jan. 21 to Jan. 28 saw Swain shoot no worse than 10 of 12 from the field. In that trio of contests, the Xavier transfer poured in 28.3 points per game.
Swain, who joined head coach Sean Miller in Austin this offseason, has cooled off scoring the rock, but has made a number of impact plays as Texas enjoys a three-game win streak, its longest of the year in conference play. The junior secured double-doubles in wins over Oklahoma and South Carolina on Jan. 31 and Feb. 3, respectively.
9. Robert Wright III, BYU
A gauntlet that included four top-15 matchups in six games from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7 resulted in just one win for the Cougars. Wright paced BYU’s scoring efforts at Texas Tech, but struggled from the floor in losses to No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 14 Kansas.
The Baylor transfer rediscovered his stroke with Houston in town Saturday night, dropping 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting. Unfortunately for Wright and the Cougars, a slow facilitating night saw the sophomore dish out just one assist.
10. Donovan Dent, UCLA
At last, Dent finds his way into the top 10. One of the more highly-touted portal recruits in the class, Dent committed to his hometown Bruins after three seasons at New Mexico. Following a slow start to his tenure at UCLA, the senior has found his footing as conference play heats up.
With double-doubles in each of the last three contests, Dent’s combination of vision and scoring ability has proven a lot to handle for opposing defenses. In Saturday’s win over Washington, Dent tallied 17 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
Risers
Aday Mara, Michigan
An eraser at the rim. A force in the paint. A vacuum on the glass. For UCLA transfer Aday Mara, who stands a whopping 7-foot-3, all three descriptions fit the bill.
Feb. 5 at Penn State, the Spain native totaled 11 points and 4 rebounds. Oh, and SIX blocks. Sunday against Ohio State, Mara unlocked a new skill: the long ball. Mara, who did not attempt a shot from beyond the arc for UCLA and missed his first four at Michigan, went 2 of 2 vs. the Buckeyes on his way to a career-high 24 points.
“Sometimes if you just give a guy a little bit of ice cream, then he will eat the broccoli and the protein to get to that point,” Dusty May said.
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Anthony Roy, Oklahoma State
Teams from the Beehive State have likely seen enough of Roy. After dropping 26 at Utah, just one point shy of a season-best, Roy uncorked for 30 to drive an upset win over then-No. 16 BYU.
A journeyman who played a season apiece at San Francisco, New Mexico State and Green Bay, Roy came back down to earth with a 10-point outing as his Cowboys were walloped at No. 1 Arizona. However, the talented Oakland native has proven that his skill translates to the highest level of college hoops.
Quadir Copeland, NC State
An unbelievable week for Copeland culminated in epic fashion Saturday vs. Virginia Tech. The game prior, Copeland attempted just four shots, but dropped 16 dimes and snagged 10 boards to help lead an 84-83 victory at SMU.
Saturday, Copeland managed to top it. A McNeese transfer who committed to the Wolfpack along with coach Will Wade, Copeland scored 21, added 10 more assists and swiped 5 steals.
Fallers
Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska
A shooter of Sandfort’s caliber endures peaks and valleys throughout a long season. In back-to-back losses to then-No. 3 Michigan and then-No. 9 Illinois, Sandfort struggled mightily in the second half.
Sandfort, along with the Huskers, bounced back with an 80-68 win over Rutgers. The Iowa transfer poured in 15, but shot just 3 of 9 from deep.
Chad Baker-Mazara, USC
Tumultuous streaks have been nothing new for Baker-Mazara, as the senior continues to struggle with consistency as a Trojan. On Jan. 28, Baker-Mazara turned the ball over seven times in a one-point defeat.
In the last two contests, a pair of wins for USC, he committed just three combined turnovers. However, the Auburn transfer shot just 3 of 10 from the field vs. Indiana.
Xaivian Lee, Florida
Shooting struggles have persisted for Lee as the season wears on. A Princeton transfer who converted a career-best 36.6-percent of his three-point attempts a season ago, Lee’s 25-percent clip this season would mark his worst rate since he was a freshman.
Although the Gators have won three straight, they have triumphed in spite of Lee’s offensive performance, not because of it. The senior went just 1 of 11 from deep during the win streak.
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