Articles

A review of the week that was in college basketball focusing on the best (and worst) performances. Check in every Monday morning for our weekly awards.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

To say that there were some complaints about the "quality" of Saturday's schedule would be an understatement as many felt that the college basketball slate wouldn't provide much intrigue. But once again college basketball didn't disappoint the fans, with the big result being Iowa State's 72-64 win over #5 Kansas. The Cyclones won despite turning the ball over 19 times by getting to the foul line and controlling the boards. ISU attempted 34 free throws (making 25) to just sixteen for the Jayhawks (who made ten) in handing the visitors their first Big 12 loss.

Consistency has been an issue for the Oklahoma State Cowboys this season, and it's been an issue for highly-touted freshman Le'Bryan Nash as well. After scoring 21 points in the Cowboys' 71-68 loss to Iowa State (which ended at the buzzer on a Scott Christopherson three) Nash scored just four points in a 66-58 home loss to Kansas State. But the Dallas native brought his "A-game" to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Wednesday night, making 12 of 18 shots from the field to score 27 points while also grabbing four rebounds in Oklahoma State's 79-72 win over #2 Missouri.

AP Top 25 Commentary: There was a major re-shuffling in this week's AP Poll. Only one team remained in the same spot: #18 Mississippi St. The big news is that Kentucky takes over from Syracuse atop the poll, but there were more interesting changes at the bottom.

Following Shabazz Napier's game-tying three-pointer most coaches would choose to call a timeout to draw up a play, risking the chance of the defense aligning and taking away the primary scoring option. But with the man he wanted to take the final shot already in possession of the basketball, Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin decided against calling a timeout and as a result his Bearcats are now 5-1 in the Big East.

No. 18 CREIGHTON (16-2, 6-1 MVC)

AT

MISSOURI STATE (11-8, 4-3 MVC)

It looks as if the schedule-makers in the Mountain West wanted to spark some serious national conversation about the conference from the beginning of league play because the first full week of play will feature all three expected contenders facing each other. Wednesday's slate features #16 San Diego State (15-2, 1-0), fresh off of their two-point win over UNLV, visiting The Pit to take on a New Mexico (15-2, 1-0) squad that's quietly won thirteen in a row.

Sunday's a quiet day with regards to the number of games on the college basketball schedule, but there's a critical matchup of Top 10 teams in Columbus as #7 Indiana (15-2, 3-2) visits. #5 Ohio State (15-3, 3-2) in their second meeting of the season. The Hoosiers won the first meeting 74-70 back on New Year's Eve, and a big reason why was the way in which they defended point guard Aaron Craft. Tom Crean threw multiple guys at the sophomore point guard, and the varying looks were a big reason why Craft turned the ball over a season-high six times.

WICHITA STATE (14-3, 5-1 MVC) AT INDIANA STATE (11-6, 2-4 MVC)

The matchup between Ohio State and Illinois was anticipated by many for the individual matchup between the Buckeyes' Jared Sullinger and Illinois' Meyers Leonard. Then there was the ceremony honoring Lou Henson, the all-time winningest coach in Illinois history. But few people expected Brandon Paul to end up being the center of attention, which is exactly what happened in the Fighting Illini's 79-74 win at Assembly Hall.