PLAYER OF THE YEAR POWER RANKINGS: The top three isn’t so clear anymore
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By Rob DausterJan 19, 2016, 10:35 AM EST
As we do on every Tuesday, we’ll spend the afternoon counting down the NBC Sports Player of the Year Power Rankings.
If you’d like to be updated more quickly, be sure to go follow the CBT Facebook page, where the countdown will actually be happening.
In the past seven days, 13 of the top 25 teams in college basketball have lost, including a trio of top ten teams that lost twice and two different teams ranked No. 1 in the country. It’s been a wild ride, but how much will that change the Player of the Year Rankings?
Quite a bit, actually.
Hang tight and you’ll see what I mean:
No. 1 Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners (26.1 points, 5.6 boards, 2.5 assists): If there was any doubt about whether or not Hield was the current leader for this award, he answered it on Monday night. He twice led Oklahoma back from deficits — three straight threes erasing an eight-point lead and back-to-back triples that tied the game after being down six — while simultaneously playing terrific defense on whoever he happened to lock horns with in Oklahoma’s loss at Iowa State. He’s a bit turnover prone and has a habit of settling for tough threes because he’s not a great penetrator, but man … is there anyone you’d rather have with the ball in his hands in a big possession?
No. 2 Kris Dunn, Providence College Friars (17.8 points, 6.7 assists, 6.3 boards, 3.0 steals): Dunn’s team has been in a funk the last two weeks, losing a pair of games at home to Marquette and Seton Hall and surviving a horrendously-played game at Creighton when Kris Dunn rattled home a game-winner. He’s still the most dynamic two-way point guard in the sport, but the secret is out on him: Force him left, dare his teammates to try to beat you.
No. 3 Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa (18.6 points, 6.2 boards, 3.1 blocks, 44.9% 3PT): If the season ended today, Uthoff — not Valentine, not Trimble — would be my Big Ten Player of the Year. Part of that is because the Hawkeyes have been the best team in the conference through the first three weeks of league play, but there’s more to it than just that. To be able to score the way he does while also slotting in the top five in blocked shots nationally makes him incredibly valuable. The question now is whether he can continue to play at this clip.
No. 4 Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (17.9 points, 7.7 boards, 6.6 assists): Valentine hasn’t been the same dude since he got back from the knee injury that kept him out for two weeks, but then again, were we really expecting to go back to averaging LeBron-esque numbers? What he was doing was unsustainable, and that’s part of the reason that the Spartans have now lost two games in a row. That’s not exactly a criticism, either. He’s averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 boards, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals since returning. Those are All-American caliber numbers.
No. 5 Georges Niang, Iowa State Cyclones Men's Basketball (19.7 points, 6.4 boards, 3.1 assists): As if the raw numbers weren’t enough, how about Niang’s shooting splits: 53.8% 2PT/41.0% 3PT/83.6% FT. Should I mention that he’s a power forward? There’s an argument to be made that Niang is the toughest cover is all of college basketball, and while Iowa State has had some struggles of late, the issues have been on the defensive side of the ball more than they have been with Niang.
Then entire list and story is here: http://collegebasketball.nbcsports....rankings-the-top-three-isnt-so-clear-anymore/
Leave a comment
By Rob DausterJan 19, 2016, 10:35 AM EST
As we do on every Tuesday, we’ll spend the afternoon counting down the NBC Sports Player of the Year Power Rankings.
If you’d like to be updated more quickly, be sure to go follow the CBT Facebook page, where the countdown will actually be happening.
In the past seven days, 13 of the top 25 teams in college basketball have lost, including a trio of top ten teams that lost twice and two different teams ranked No. 1 in the country. It’s been a wild ride, but how much will that change the Player of the Year Rankings?
Quite a bit, actually.
Hang tight and you’ll see what I mean:
No. 1 Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners (26.1 points, 5.6 boards, 2.5 assists): If there was any doubt about whether or not Hield was the current leader for this award, he answered it on Monday night. He twice led Oklahoma back from deficits — three straight threes erasing an eight-point lead and back-to-back triples that tied the game after being down six — while simultaneously playing terrific defense on whoever he happened to lock horns with in Oklahoma’s loss at Iowa State. He’s a bit turnover prone and has a habit of settling for tough threes because he’s not a great penetrator, but man … is there anyone you’d rather have with the ball in his hands in a big possession?
No. 2 Kris Dunn, Providence College Friars (17.8 points, 6.7 assists, 6.3 boards, 3.0 steals): Dunn’s team has been in a funk the last two weeks, losing a pair of games at home to Marquette and Seton Hall and surviving a horrendously-played game at Creighton when Kris Dunn rattled home a game-winner. He’s still the most dynamic two-way point guard in the sport, but the secret is out on him: Force him left, dare his teammates to try to beat you.
No. 3 Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa (18.6 points, 6.2 boards, 3.1 blocks, 44.9% 3PT): If the season ended today, Uthoff — not Valentine, not Trimble — would be my Big Ten Player of the Year. Part of that is because the Hawkeyes have been the best team in the conference through the first three weeks of league play, but there’s more to it than just that. To be able to score the way he does while also slotting in the top five in blocked shots nationally makes him incredibly valuable. The question now is whether he can continue to play at this clip.
No. 4 Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (17.9 points, 7.7 boards, 6.6 assists): Valentine hasn’t been the same dude since he got back from the knee injury that kept him out for two weeks, but then again, were we really expecting to go back to averaging LeBron-esque numbers? What he was doing was unsustainable, and that’s part of the reason that the Spartans have now lost two games in a row. That’s not exactly a criticism, either. He’s averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 boards, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals since returning. Those are All-American caliber numbers.
No. 5 Georges Niang, Iowa State Cyclones Men's Basketball (19.7 points, 6.4 boards, 3.1 assists): As if the raw numbers weren’t enough, how about Niang’s shooting splits: 53.8% 2PT/41.0% 3PT/83.6% FT. Should I mention that he’s a power forward? There’s an argument to be made that Niang is the toughest cover is all of college basketball, and while Iowa State has had some struggles of late, the issues have been on the defensive side of the ball more than they have been with Niang.
Then entire list and story is here: http://collegebasketball.nbcsports....rankings-the-top-three-isnt-so-clear-anymore/
