We’re one week into the 2024-25 season and some things have been happening. Here are a few thoughts on a few of the consequential things which have gone down so far.
San Francisco needed a big performance from rookie wing Tyrone Riley IV to save them from a rough loss to start the year. They followed it up with a resounding effort down the stretch on Saturday night. The Dons led most of the way against Boise State and showed off the balanced attack which should be their strength. USF got 42 points and eight assists combined from senior guards Marcus Williams and Malik Thomas to lead the way, and just as important was the versatility of new seven-footer Carlton Linguard, Jr. In Chips Newbury and Linguard, the Dons have a pair of experienced scoring forwards who can range out to the three-point arc and protect the rim just as effectively. Against the Broncos’ terrific frontcourt duo of Tyson Degenhart and O’Mar Stanley, Linguard’s mobility and talent for altering shots was on display. San Francisco has struggled to rebounds against teams that are solid up front the past couple of years, and Linguard & Newbury will need to prove that they can move the needle there. Still, there was a great deal to like about how the big guys supported USF’s talented perimeter. Even more encouraging: the manner in which San Francisco turned it on over the final ten minutes in their decisive win.
For Boise State, it’s another in a string of frustrating early-season losses. The past few seasons, high expectations have been accompanied by a string of defeats which tend to blunt the Broncos’ momentum. As is often the case, the Dons are a good opponent and there’s no shame in losing to them on the road. Still, at some point Leon Rice’s program needs to show that they’re ready to reach out and grasp a spot on the next level. Degenhart was excellent as usual, and he was joined by second-year wing Andrew Meadow in taking 20 trips to the foul line and making 15 of their tries combined. That’s always a good indicator for Boise but they struggled to contain USF’s penetrating guards – a potential problem this year for the big but not-overly-quick Broncos. Also, they made just three of 16 (18.8%) three-point attempts. Boise State still has the Mountain West title in their sights, and now they’ll be looking to prove some things in the coming weeks.
The Broncos will be getting quite a challenge from Nevada this year for the MWC crown, though. The Wolf Pack opened with a solid 91-75 win over Sam Houston State (47-20 the past two years and defending C-USA champions), and followed it up with an even better performance in beating Washington. The Pack must have learned a few things after facing Great Osobor while he was at Utah State last winter, because they shut the Huskies’ best player down. Against Nevada’s swarming post pressure and crisp rotations inside, Osobor went 0/7 from the floor and lost five turnovers. The Pack’s new feature duo of third-year forward Nick Davidson and super-sized transfer guard Kobe Sanders are looking like legit headliners. A volume scorer who can create plays with his great vision at nearly 6’9″, so long as Sanders shoots efficiently he’s going to take a place among the MWC’s best guards. Fifth-year playmaking wing Tré Coleman seems like a perfect third guy; he can shoot, distribute, and guard virtually any opponent. Brandon Love – who forced a couple of key live-ball turnovers late against Washington – and KJ Hymes are proven big guys who can be disruptive. With the expectation that Nebada’s other scorers will take turns supporting their strong core, Nevada looks like an NCAA Tournament team for the third straight season.
The Atlantic 10 is home to some excellent backcourts this winter, and Dayton owns one of them. The Flyers showed their quality in largely shutting down Northwestern’s guards in a close win. While NU forward Nick Martinelli was borderline unstoppable, UD held fifth-year Wildcats Ty Berry and Jalen Leach to 1/10 shooting and just seven points combined. The biggest of Dayton’s guards, Enoch Cheeks, led the way at both ends with 16 points and six steals. Javon Bennett is a feisty little playmaker who seems poised to take over as the Flyers’ top deep threat, and they’ll need him to be consistent after the luxury of Koby Brea’s excellence last year. Maybe the most exciting part about the Flyers’ two wins to start the year is that Mali Smith – who’s missed most of the past two seasons due to a history of different injuries – has been healthy and effective. With a couple of fifth-year bigs in Nate Santos and Zed Key – who combined for 27 points in the victory over NU – buffeting the efforts of their swarming guards, Dayton has the pieces needed to make another run to the Big Dance.
Princeton has faced a trio of tests to start the new year. It’s almost as if everyone knows they’re good and is throwing their best punches at the Tigers; the going won’t get any easier. In emerging 3-0, Mitch Henderson’s squad has leaned heavily on proven stars Xaivian Lee and Caden Pierce, but the coach has also gone deep into his rotation in search of the right lineup combinations to carry forward. As expected, it looks like sophomore Dalen Davis and fourth-year Blake Peters are ready to be the Tigers’ secondary scorers, and they’re a couple of good ones. In what became a dogfight on the road against Northeastern on Sunday, Davis and Peter’s combined to score 43 points on 10/18 shooting from the land of trey. With the threat of shooters at four spots on the floor, young forwards Malik Abdullahi and Jacob Huggins should continue to find great opportunities to cash in near the goal. If they can help Pierce and junior Jack Scott to clean the boards, the Tigers are going to have a quality foundation that’s built upon more than just the brilliance of Lee and Pierce.
They wobbled a bit against Nicholls State and weren’t as clean as Richard Pitino would have liked in knocking off UCLA, but New Mexico is 2-0 and won’t apologize for either dub. Especially against the Top 25 Bruins, UNM showed off plenty of things to be excited about and build upon. Though the Lobos committed 24 turnovers – a crippling number in lots of situations – they so rattled UCLA that they earned a fairly convincing 72-64 victory. It’s a win which should age well, and New Mexico’s pressure defense made a restocked Bruin rotation look quite disorganized. New Mexico held UCLA to 36.4% shooting from the floor and 5/23 from distance while forcing them into 21 turnovers. Though the Lobos conceded 14 offensive rebounds, they forced myriad tough shots even close to the basket and the length of UNM’s frontline impacted the Bruins. Even better, New Mexico forced 12 steals and generated 21 fastbreak points – something that star point guard Donovan Debt is particularly adept at making an advantage for the Lobos. The team’s pick-and-roll duo of Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph make for another reliable portion of UNM’s approach, but they’ll need to shoot the ball more effectively from distance next week against St. John’s in the Pitino Bowl.
The David Riley era is off to a great start in Pullman. Washington State has put up 90+ points twice in two games and splashed 25 triples combined in their first two victories. The fast-without-hurrying, ball-moving, shot-making system which Riley has imported from Eastern Washington looks like a fun fit on the Palouse, and Wazzu has the guys who execute at a high level. After following Riley from EWU, Cedric Coward and LeJuan Watts have gotten off to a quick start and are helping their new teammates to do the same. Though the sample size is small, Coward is averaging 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists so far, while LeJuan Watts has put up 11.5/7.5/3.0. Wazzu presents a constantly-churning set of matchup problems. The wings are big and strong, and they do some of their best work by exploiting overmatched defenders. The bigs are shooters who will lure defenders out to the perimeter and dart slick passes into the space behind them. Oh – and everyone on the floor sees the floor well and plays unselfishly. The Cougars’ tilt against Bradley on Friday night was, as expected, a close game at the half. Wazzu ran away and hid in the second half, though. Their ability to execute in the halfcourt then clear the glass or generate a turnover, and then toss in a triple against disorganized defenders gives WSU real spurt-ability. If they can guard effectively – or at least prevent their opponents from getting second chances – Wazzu has the sort of multifaceted attack that can take a team far.
Shout-outs ->
There was plenty of change at the College of Charleston this spring, but in retaining Ante Brzović, C of C held onto one of the country’s most productive big guys. In each of the Cougars’ first two games (and wins), Brzović has posted at least 27 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a pair of blocks. CJ Fulton, the team’s point guard who couldn’t shoot last year, has kicked in two solid all-around performances as the maestro of Chris Mack’s offense, and Deywilk Tavarez looks like a good fit. With C of C and Towson, there’s going to be quite a battle at the top of the CAA this winter.
South Dakota State just stays solid. Eric Henderson had to pick up the pieces after the latest transfers away from Brookings and seems to have done another great job. The Jackrabbits’ season-opening win over a loaded McNeese State side was very impressive; especially considering that the ‘Jacks are breaking in four new freshmen as the core of their backcourt. Joe Sayler has come out firing and the scoring guard may be the best of Henderson’s rookies. Wisconsin transfer Matthew Mors has slotted in nicely at forward, while Oscar Cluff may end up being the key to this team. The Aussie big man was terrific as Washington State’s first post off the bench last year, and he was super-efficient as a JuCo star before that.
Its tough for wny program to replace a departed star; it’s incredibly difficult to move on from the guy (Chaz Lanier, who’s at Tennessee) who averaged more points per possession (1.20, per Synergy Sports) than any player in America last year. So far, North Florida is doing just fine. Matthew Driscoll’s team had six different guys score 10+ points in Sunday’s win over Georgia Tech, and the Ospreys own a dub at South Carolina already, too. While sophomore wing Jasai Miles and freshman forward Josh Harris are leading the way offensively, North Florida is taking an ensemble cast approach – seven guys average between 20 and 29 minutes per game so far – and getting big-time results. With another sophomore – Jaylen Smith – running point in entertaining fashion, this is a young team that’s just realizing how good it can be. Who knew the Ospreys would be so spooky this year?
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