Written by Steve Fetch at The Comeback
College basketball isn’t quite a month old, and we are only just out of Feast Week, but already we are seeing some teams emerge as possible contenders, and already we are seeing teams prove to be disappointments. There is a lot of time for those teams to build their resumes for March, and plenty of time for those surprises to fall back to earth, but here’s what we have so far:
Surprises:
1. Michigan State
The Spartans were supposed to be pretty good this year, but they are getting some #1 buzz and currently rank 6th in KenPom. Denzel Valentine looks like the early player of the year favorite and is almost averaging a triple double. Elsewhere, Michigan State is leading the country in defensive rebounding and assisting on 79 percent of its made field goals, which is 2nd in America. The Spartans have given a ton of minutes to their bench, but are an injury to Valentine away from being in huge trouble. I also think they need to get better at the point guard spot (other than Valentine), as Lourawls Nairn has struggled so far this season.
2. Purdue
When 5 star recruit Caleb Swanigan committed, I think most people were optimistic about the Boilers, but I don’t think anyone saw them ranking 7th in KenPom at almost any time in the season. Purdue ranks 2nd in 2-point percentage allowed, and has ran through it’s (admittedly not great) schedule so far. 7-footer Isaac Haas might be the Big 10 player of the year favorite if Valentine didn’t exist, as he is shooting over 75 percent this season and is one of the nation’s top rebounders. Purdue could stand to get it in to him more often, as the Boilers are attempting nearly 44 percent of their shots from deep.
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