Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Around the Nation

Kansas

Ranked No. 1 nationally in both the AP and ESPN polls, the Jayhawks (22-1, 8-0 Big 12) are the premier team in college basketball this season. Built with a perfect combination of size, speed, grit and experience, Kansas has all the ingredients to win another national championship. Junior center Cole Aldrich provides the size (6-foot-11) and toughness while senior guard Sherron Collins provides the speed and experience. Both were selected as pre-season first team All-Americans and both have lived up to the hype. Aldrich is averaging 11.6 points and a staggering 3.7 blocks per game. Collins, meanwhile, is the team’s leading scorer at 15.6 points per game and has been the team leader in their most important games of the season. In a crucial game last Saturday, Collins played with an injury and scored the game-clinching bucket over Kansas State to lead the Jayhawks to an impressive 81-79 overtime victory over the No. 9 Wildcats. Add sophomore twins Marcus and Markieff Morris into the mix and what results is a nearly unbeatable team. Following the huge win over Kansas State, Marcus scored six points in overtime to lead the Jayhawks to a 72-66 victory over Colorado, keeping the Jayhawks undefeated in Big 12 play.

 

Ohio State

This is a tale of two teams: one with Evan Turner, one without him. The former team is 15-3 while the latter is 3-3. Turner, who averages 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, is arguably the most important player to his team in all of college basketball. He does everything for the Buckeyes, and when he went down with a back injury on Dec. 7, all seemed lost for the year. Ohio State went 3-3 in their next six games, including blowout losses against both Wisconsin and Michigan in their first two Big Ten games. Turner recovered from his injury, and ever since the Buckeyes have been one of the elite teams in the nation. Their only loss in the past eight games has been a close 71-65 defeat against a very good West Virginia team. If Turner can continue to play and the Buckeyes continue to improve, they may creep back into the top 10 in the national polls for the first time in two years. A showdown against Michigan State on Feb. 20 will be their biggest game of the year, as the winner of that game will most likely be crowned champion of the Big Ten.

 

Michigan State

It’s hard to say whether Michigan State will repeat as NCAA finalists, but this past week was not a good one for the now-No. 10 Spartans, who are 9-2 in the Big Ten and 22-5 overall. Both of the Spartans’ conference losses came in the last few days to teams they had defeated earlier in the season – Wisconsin and Illinois. In Saturday’s loss to Illinois, Michigan State was without its offensive leader, junior guard Kalin Lucas, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle. Last season’s Big Ten player of the year, Lucas is averaging 15.6 points per game for the Spartans. The looming question for Michigan State coming into this season was how the team would fill the void left with the loss of senior center Goran Suton, who was the team’s rebounding leader last year and second in scoring. Sophomore forward Daymond Green has proved a worthy fill-in. At 6-foot-6, he doesn’t have Suton’s height advantage, but Green has more than proved his skills. He is averaging 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and has emerged as the heart of the Spartan defense, leading the team in steals and blocks. Michigan State will be challenged at home Tuesday night, taking on No. 6 Purdue. Spartan fans also have their sights set on Feb. 21, when their team will fight to remain at the top of the Big Ten against Ohio State.

 

Texas

With considerable help from freshmen Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton and J’Covan Brown, No. 14 Texas (19-4) is meeting preseason expectations, and up until last week was surpassing them. Before the Longhorns’ two recent, surprising losses to Baylor and Oklahoma, Texas was ranked No.10, but it’s loss at home to Baylor was an especially disappointing one, with the Longhorns falling in overtime 80-77. The Longhorns’ biggest win to date was its hard-fought overtime victory over the Texas A&M Aggies. The team’s offensive leader is no surprise: Senior Damion James is having a standout season, with 11 rebounds and 17.8 points per game. One disappointment for the Longhorns has been the drop in play of senior guard Justin Mason. Mason averages 17.3 minutes on the floor per game, down from 30 minutes per game last season when he was an important contributor offensively. But Longhorns fans have to be pleased with their new forces on offense. Bradley, Hamilton and Brown have all had impressive transitions into collegiate play, with each player posting more than nine points per game. Texas’ next contest will be at home against Nebraska. The Longhorns should defeat the Cornhuskers comfortably, who are a dismal 1-7 in the Big 12.

 

Kentucky

When John Calipari said that he would return Kentucky (22-1, 7-1 SEC) to its past national prominence, no one thought that the return would come so quickly. With incredible young talent like freshman guard John Wall and freshman forward Demarcus Cousins, the Wildcats have once again regained their previous prestige. After winning their first nineteen games, the Wildcats achieved the best record in the nation and a number one ranking in both polls.

On January 26, the Wildcats fell to South Carolina 68-62 in their first game after achieving the top spot in the rankings. Kentucky, however, was able to regroup quickly. Four days after their difficult loss, the Wildcats were able to turn around and defeat a strong opponent in No. 23 Vanderbilt, 85-72 and went on to win three straight games, including one over another top-25 team, Ole Miss.

Even though Wall has been Kentucky’s number-one scorer for most of the season, Cousins has been Kentucky’s leader over its recent stretch of games. The freshman forward has recorded six straight double-doubles while Wall has been stuck in a scoring slump. Recently, there have also been reports that there are personal problems between Calipari and Wall.

Purdue

If there were one week of 2010 that the Purdue Boilermakers would like to forget, it would be the week of Jan. 9 to Jan. 16. Up until that week, the Boilermakers had tied the best start in Purdue history, winning their first 14 games of the season and garnering a No. 4 national ranking. Probably Purdue’s most impressive win in this run was a commanding 13-point victory over then-undefeated West Virginia. Then, on Jan. 9, Purdue ran into a brick wall when it faced two of the top three teams in the Big Ten. Traveling to Madison, Wis., the Boilermakers suffered their first loss of the season to No. 20 Wisconsin 73-66 in front of a raucous crowd. Purdue continued to spiral downwards with losses to Ohio State and Northwestern. The bleeding finally stopped with an 4-78 win at Illinois.

Since the loss to Northwestern, the Boilermakers have won their last five games, including revenge against Wisconsin, 60-57. These five wins have allowed Purdue to regain their prominence and move up to No. 6 in the nation.

A trio of juniors – guard E’Twaun Moore, forward Robbie Hummel and forward JaJuan Johnson – lead the Boilermakers. Each averages over 14 points per game, and Johnson and Hummel each grab about 7 rebounds per game. This trio will undertake one of its toughest challenges of the season when it visits No. 10 Michigan State tonight.

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Hoya

Your donation will support the student journalists of Georgetown University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Hoya

Comments (0)

All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *