Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers picked up a big win at Virginia Saturday (Getty)
15. Saint Mary’s
Record: 6-0
Randy Bennett’s Gaels, much maligned in recent years for the strength of their non-conference schedule, made some adjustments in that area this season. Saint Mary’s is off to a 6-0 start, with wins over two teams expected to contend in their respective leagues (Nevada and Dayton) and a win at Stanford to their credit. Guards Emmett Naar and Joe Rahon have been solid, but the breakthrough player for this deep squad has been center Jock Landale. After averaging 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season, Landale’s accounting for 19.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and two assists per contest as a junior. With Calvin Hermanson (14.3 ppg) and Kyle Clark (8.7 ppg) also chipping in, Saint Mary’s is ranked third in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom.com. Given their talent, depth and toughness, Saint Mary’s is Gonzaga’s biggest threat in the WCC title race.
14. Virginia
Record: 7-1
Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers won their first seven games before falling at home to West Virginia Saturday, with the Mountaineers’ ability to get to the foul line (16-7 scoring edge) being the difference in the 66-57 result. The 14 turnovers committed by Virginia did exceed their average for the season (nine), with London Perrantes and Darius Thompson responsible for three apiece, but that wasn’t a major issue Saturday and it won’t be a major issue this season. Perrantes leads an offensive attack that, while balanced, has yet to find a guy who can go out and get them a basket in crunch time along the lines of what Malcolm Brogdon was able to do in 2015-16.
As usual Virginia’s calling card is their defense, as they’re ranked second in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency thanks to a pack line defense that forces teams to make tough shots. The dismissal of Austin Nichols removes an option from the front court, but it’s hard to see that move as a major problem for Virginia when considering how much value is placed on the “team” within that program.
13. West Virginia
Record: 6-1
“Press Virginia” has been the trademark of Bob Huggins’ teams the last couple of seasons, with their tenacious defense and offensive rebounding prowess being used to mask other deficiencies when it comes to putting points on the board. That’s once again been the case this season, with West Virginia leading the nation in defensive turnover percentage (33.6 percent) and ranking sixth in offensive rebounding percentage (40.4 percent). In their 108-61 win over Manhattan last week the Mountaineers forced a staggering 40 turnovers, but it’s what they did in their next game that was even more impressive.
In their 66-57 win at Virginia, the Mountaineers won a game that wasn’t played at their preferred tempo as a result of their remaining attack-minded in the half-court on both ends of the floor. Forwards Nathan Adrian and Esa Ahmad are averaging 13.0 and 12.6 points per game, respectively, to lead the way offensively for a team with eight players averaging at least 6.7 points per game, and guards Jevon Carter and Tarik Phillip are key reasons why WVU turns the ball over on just 14.6 percent of its possessions.
12. Louisville
Record: 7-1
Louisville’s lone defeat came against Baylor in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, a game the Cardinals led by as much as 22 with four minutes remaining in the first half. Normally Rick Pitino’s defense, while good at the start of the season, is a work in progress. That’s the case for this group, but given the fact that they’re the top-ranked defense according to KenPom.com it’s scary to think about what Louisville can be on that end of the floor come February or March. As usual the Cardinals are aggressive in both the full and half-court, but thus far they haven’t been forcing turnovers at the same rate that they did last season. Quality looks are still tough to come by for opponents, with Louisville ranked eighth in the country in effective field goal percentage defense (41.0 percent).
Offensively, guards Donovan Mitchell (11.9 ppg) and Quentin Snider (10.5 ppg) are the only double-digit scorers on a team with six players averaging at least 7.8 points per game. That’s likely the way Louisville will get things done on that end of the floor this season, relying on balance as opposed to one or two stars, and given the way they defend that should be fine.
11. Butler
Record: 8-0
Thanksgiving was a good time for the Bulldogs, who defeated Vanderbilt and Arizona at the Las Vegas Invitational before traveling to Salt Lake City where they beat Utah. While the expectation for Chris Holtmann’s team, even with the losses of Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones, was to be an NCAA tournament team there weren’t many people who thought Butler could be a contender in the Big East. Through eight games they’ve looked the part, with forwards Kelan Martin (18.1 ppg) and Andrew Chrabascz (10.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) leading the way offensively. Freshman guard Kamar Baldwin has been a key contributor, and senior point guard Tyler Lewis is leading the team in assists with 5.3 per night.
Butler’s been good on both ends of the floor thus far, especially when it comes to finding (and making) quality shots as they’re ranked tenth nationally in effective field goal percentage (57.8) and sixth in two-point field goal percentage (59.4). They could stand to improve some from the foul line however, as their current mark of 67.7 percent is something that could be an issue in close games during Big East play.
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