2018 is drawing to a close, and I wanted to thank everyone for their support of this series and all others. With conference play approaching and I'm going to be putting out conference breakdowns with game reviews, this is probably going to be the last edition of The Fast Break of the 2018-19 basketball season. I think it has kind of been limited in what it does and hasn't been the most fulfilling for me, so hopefully it improves the content on the site overall. As always, let me know your thoughts on Twitter @ThreePointRange, and have a Happy New Year.
What I Saw
- Mississippi State is a legit SEC contender. The Bulldogs are very deep, with 7 players capable of starting on the roster. They put up 100 points in a game where Lamar Peters, who was scoring 14.3 points a game entering the contest against BYU, was held scoreless, and they struggled more than they have been from the three point line. They have five star freshman Reggie Perry struggling to find minutes among the talented group of players in Starkville, and the Weatherspoon brothers have been shining, with Quinndary scoring 27 in the game against BYU. I really like this team, and I really think they can challenge at the top of the SEC. It wouldn't shock me to see them finish inside the top 3, or even second in a very competitive conference.
- Kentucky has looked excellent in their last two contests. After taking out North Carolina on a neutral court, they headed into Louisville and defeated their hated rivals in the Cardinals. What has really impressed me over the last two games has been the Wildcats' defensive effort. They held Louisville to 58 points, and keeping them to 36.4% from the field with only 2 players in double figures. They had 9 steals and 8 blocks in this one, and they were constantly harassing the guy with the ball. Ashton Hagans was once again excellent with 3 steals, and he upped his played on the offensive end as well, really looking to get to the basket where he is a skilled finisher. However, the guy that really impressed me on both ends was Tyler Herro. He didn't have the best start to the year, struggling to shoot the ball. For someone who came into Kentucky billed as a knockdown shooter and made a lot of noise scoring the ball in the Bahamas, it was disappointing. However, he has constantly improved and was excellent in this one. He was locked in offensively, scoring 24 points while making 4 threes. But he did more than shoot, really attacking the basket and getting good looks around the rim. I really thought he was great defensively as well, with 2 steals, but more than just the numbers he was in good position all game and was better than I've seen him all year on that end. He's really starting to get into a groove, and that's a scary thought for other SEC schools.
- Christen Cunningham has been a revelation for Louisville. The grad transfer from Samford started pretty slow, but he's started turning up his scoring recently. He had 20 in this one and 17 his last time out against Kent State. He's been much better shooting it from deep. After shooting 27.8% through his first eight games, he has made 61.5% of his attempts from deep over the last four. It's always really tough to know what you're going to get from a grad transfer, especially one from a lower league, but so far Cunningham is paying off for the Cardinals.
- Nevada has to be the best second half team in the nation. They scored 48 of their 86 points after the break, and they won by 15 despite leading by just 1 at the half. The big catalyst behind that was Calbe Martin, who scored 25 of his 33 in the second half, including 4 of his 6 made threes. They have been trailing or tied at the half in 4 of their 13 games, and they seem to assert themselves more as the game moves on. Part of that is surely the depth of the Wolf Pack, who have 8 players averaging double digit minutes. I also want to give Eric Musslemann credit, as he makes adjustments and I would bet he gives some great halftime speeches. It really goes back to the Cincinnati game last season, but this team just kicks into another gear after the half, which is what makes them so dangerous and undefeated thus far.
- Utah competed in this game for the first 25-30 minutes or so. A large part of that in this game was Sedrick Barefield. The senior has been coming off the bench recently, and he showed why he deserves to be starting against Nevada. He scored 33 points and made 6 threes, only missing 5 shots from the field over the course of the game. He was excellent, but Utah is likely not going to make the NCAA tournament barring a conference tournament run. However, the Utes have a very nice foundation for the future. Sophomore Donnie Tillman had a nice game with 13 points and 11 rebounds and quietly impacted the game. They also feature top 150 freshmen Timmy Allen, who had 13 and 10 in this one, and Both Gach, who although he struggled in this game, he scored 22 against Kentucky and has a bright future ahead. All three of them are 6'6" and 6'7" and have good defensive potential, so Utah will likely struggle this year, but with a nice recruiting class coming in and a nice core already in place, I think this team will be near the top of the Pac-12 in the coming years.
- Syracuse absolutely dominated Saint Bonaventure in their last game. Now, the Bonnies are in the midst of a rebuilding year and are by no means the team we have seen in years past, but given the Orange's struggles against mid-majors recently, this was encouraging. Tyus Battle was absolutely excellent, scoring 21 points and getting 6 steals in a game where the 2-3 looked as good as advertised, getting 15 steals on the day. He went 8-8 on the game, and he looked like the elite scorer Syracuse needs him to be during ACC play. Speaking of which, Syracuse has to take advantage of their upcoming schedule in conference play. They open at Notre Dame before coming home to play Clemson and Georgia Tech. The Orange need to capitalize on that lighter stretch and get some good momentum going, because the play Duke in Cameron Indoor after that, and they face a tough schedule down the stretch. For the Orange to go dancing, winning these games against the bottom half of the conference will be key.
- Florida absolutely dominated Butler in Gainesville. They opened the game 21-0 and played excellent defense all game. Butler only managed 43 points all game and shot 30.6% from the field while committing 10 turnovers. This may be different from Gator teams of old, but they have been an excellent defensive unit this year, ranking sixth on KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency. They've really been defending the three point well with opponents shooting under 30% from three on the year. I thought freshmen Andrew Nembhard and Noah Locke played well. Nembhard has stepped in pretty seamlessly for Chris Chiozza and has one of the best assists rates in the country, especially for a freshman. He didn't have a gaudy game stats wise, but he ran the offense well and led the Gators in the best offensive performance I've seen from them. As for Locke, he has come on strong recently, and is the team's second leading scorer on the year at 9.4 points a game while shooting 44.5% from three. He had 12 in this one while making 3 threes, and he made 5 in both of the two previous games. He's picked up the slack from Jalen Hudson, who has been pretty bad on the season, and those two will form a formidable backcourt for years to come.
- On the other side of that game, Butler has serious problems on the interior. They have no strong big men, with Nate Fowler and Joey Brunk being average at best. They were torn apart by Juwan Morgan of Indiana, who had 35 points and didn't miss a 2 point field goal in that one, and they were once again beaten on the interior pretty badly. The Gators out rebounded Butler 46-18, and Florida had 14 offensive rebounds compared to Butler's 13 defensive rebounds. That's atrocious, and Florida isn't even known as a team with great interior players. For Butler to really compete in the Big East, they need to figure out how to hide their front court deficiencies, whether it's sending more guys to the boards, going 5 out, or doubling the post, or a combination of all three. It'll be interesting to see how coach LaVall Jordan addresses this in their next game against Jessie Govan of Georgetown.
- For all of this year, I've been on a one-man quest against Purdue. I quite simply don't think they are very good, and for as good as Carsen Edwards is, and he is very good, I don't love the supporting cast and I still don't think the Boilermakers will be a great team in the Big Ten. However, their defensive effort and intensity really impressed me. They haven't been great on that end, especially defending the three point line where opponents 37% against them. With a team like Belmont, who are known for their spacing and shooting, I thought the Bruins could've knocked off the Boilermakers. But, Purdue came out and did a very good job on the defensive end, holding Belmont to 11-38 shooting from three, which is 28.9% on the game, and the Bruins only mustered 62 points, their lowest mark on the season by 12 points. I was very impressed by freshman Aaron Wheeler for Purdue. He had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes, and I could see him cracking the rotation on a much more consistent basis. He's long and athletic with a nice shooting stroke. He's going to keep getting better, and I could see him being a star next season.
- There is probably not a more inconsistent team in the nation than Western Kentucky. Get a neutral court win over West Virginia? Follow it up with back to back losses to UCF and Indiana State. Lose to Missouri State, then go on the road and beat Arkansas. Nice win, then lose back to back games to Troy and Belmont. Of course, they then beat Saint Mary's and Wisconsin in back to back games. That's pretty insane variation from game to game, but I think they have what it takes to win Conference USA. They've had a lot of roster variation throughout the year, with Desean Murray leaving the team, multiple players suspended throughout the year, and injuries. When they have the starting 5 from this game, plus Lamonte Bearden back healthy, I think this is one of the best mid-majors in the nation, and maybe my favorite player on this roster is Dalanto Banton. Banton is a 6'8" freshman that is really a point forward, and he had an excellent game against Wisconsin, scoring 8 points, getting 13 rebounds, and getting 10 assists. He fills up the stats sheet and he's been at his best in his last three games, so I'm very excited to see what he does during conference play.
- One of the biggest questions I had coming into conference play was just how good is St. John's? They went undefeated in the non-con portion of their schedule, but had no real standout wins. And for the first 30 minutes, they looked legit. Through the first half, they were getting basically anything they wanted on the offensive end, they were out in transition a lot thanks in no small part to the amount of steals they were getting (12 on the game), and looked the part of a top 25 team and Big East challenger. However, they fell apart in the last 10 minutes of this game and blew a 12 point lead with 9:45 left. When things were going well, I was really impressed with the Johnnies, and especially Shamorie Ponds and Mustapha Heron. Ponds was happy to not force the issue offensively, instead being a facilitator and getting steals, and letting Heron do most of the scoring with a game high 19 points and 4 made threes. It's hard to stop both of those guys on a given night, and they will win this team games. However, late in the game, it turned into iso ball with Ponds, and they ran out of gas and their defensive intensity turned down. They got hosed late with some bad calls, but they also missed a lot of free throws, especially down the stretch, and they should have never in that position.
- Clemson is a team like Purdue for me, in that I just don't love this team. I was lower than consensus than them in the preseason, and I haven't been impressed with them this year to date. However, they got a nice win over Lipscomb by 17, and I was pretty surprised with how good they looked. They got up in Lipscomb's grill and were forcing turnovers, getting 18 and holding a good Bisons team to 67 points. David Skara was a standout to me, as he had 17 points and they all seemed to be big buckets. He played very well defensively with 3 steals, and he had a sequence of two straight and-1 buckets in transition. I didn't really expect a lot from him on the whole, but he has been really good for the Tigers. Also, the play of Marquise Reed cannot be understated. He is currently third in points per game in the ACC with 19.4, behind only Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, and he has scored 20 or more points in his last three games, although he did miss a three game stretch recently. His game against Lipscomb was great, with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. He's not shooting the ball as efficiently from three, with his percentage dipping from 35.4% last year, and 40.2% two years ago, to 28.9% this year. He's taking an increased scoring load and it's paying dividends for Clemson.
What I Saw
- Mississippi State is a legit SEC contender. The Bulldogs are very deep, with 7 players capable of starting on the roster. They put up 100 points in a game where Lamar Peters, who was scoring 14.3 points a game entering the contest against BYU, was held scoreless, and they struggled more than they have been from the three point line. They have five star freshman Reggie Perry struggling to find minutes among the talented group of players in Starkville, and the Weatherspoon brothers have been shining, with Quinndary scoring 27 in the game against BYU. I really like this team, and I really think they can challenge at the top of the SEC. It wouldn't shock me to see them finish inside the top 3, or even second in a very competitive conference.
- Kentucky has looked excellent in their last two contests. After taking out North Carolina on a neutral court, they headed into Louisville and defeated their hated rivals in the Cardinals. What has really impressed me over the last two games has been the Wildcats' defensive effort. They held Louisville to 58 points, and keeping them to 36.4% from the field with only 2 players in double figures. They had 9 steals and 8 blocks in this one, and they were constantly harassing the guy with the ball. Ashton Hagans was once again excellent with 3 steals, and he upped his played on the offensive end as well, really looking to get to the basket where he is a skilled finisher. However, the guy that really impressed me on both ends was Tyler Herro. He didn't have the best start to the year, struggling to shoot the ball. For someone who came into Kentucky billed as a knockdown shooter and made a lot of noise scoring the ball in the Bahamas, it was disappointing. However, he has constantly improved and was excellent in this one. He was locked in offensively, scoring 24 points while making 4 threes. But he did more than shoot, really attacking the basket and getting good looks around the rim. I really thought he was great defensively as well, with 2 steals, but more than just the numbers he was in good position all game and was better than I've seen him all year on that end. He's really starting to get into a groove, and that's a scary thought for other SEC schools.
- Christen Cunningham has been a revelation for Louisville. The grad transfer from Samford started pretty slow, but he's started turning up his scoring recently. He had 20 in this one and 17 his last time out against Kent State. He's been much better shooting it from deep. After shooting 27.8% through his first eight games, he has made 61.5% of his attempts from deep over the last four. It's always really tough to know what you're going to get from a grad transfer, especially one from a lower league, but so far Cunningham is paying off for the Cardinals.
- Nevada has to be the best second half team in the nation. They scored 48 of their 86 points after the break, and they won by 15 despite leading by just 1 at the half. The big catalyst behind that was Calbe Martin, who scored 25 of his 33 in the second half, including 4 of his 6 made threes. They have been trailing or tied at the half in 4 of their 13 games, and they seem to assert themselves more as the game moves on. Part of that is surely the depth of the Wolf Pack, who have 8 players averaging double digit minutes. I also want to give Eric Musslemann credit, as he makes adjustments and I would bet he gives some great halftime speeches. It really goes back to the Cincinnati game last season, but this team just kicks into another gear after the half, which is what makes them so dangerous and undefeated thus far.
- Utah competed in this game for the first 25-30 minutes or so. A large part of that in this game was Sedrick Barefield. The senior has been coming off the bench recently, and he showed why he deserves to be starting against Nevada. He scored 33 points and made 6 threes, only missing 5 shots from the field over the course of the game. He was excellent, but Utah is likely not going to make the NCAA tournament barring a conference tournament run. However, the Utes have a very nice foundation for the future. Sophomore Donnie Tillman had a nice game with 13 points and 11 rebounds and quietly impacted the game. They also feature top 150 freshmen Timmy Allen, who had 13 and 10 in this one, and Both Gach, who although he struggled in this game, he scored 22 against Kentucky and has a bright future ahead. All three of them are 6'6" and 6'7" and have good defensive potential, so Utah will likely struggle this year, but with a nice recruiting class coming in and a nice core already in place, I think this team will be near the top of the Pac-12 in the coming years.
- Syracuse absolutely dominated Saint Bonaventure in their last game. Now, the Bonnies are in the midst of a rebuilding year and are by no means the team we have seen in years past, but given the Orange's struggles against mid-majors recently, this was encouraging. Tyus Battle was absolutely excellent, scoring 21 points and getting 6 steals in a game where the 2-3 looked as good as advertised, getting 15 steals on the day. He went 8-8 on the game, and he looked like the elite scorer Syracuse needs him to be during ACC play. Speaking of which, Syracuse has to take advantage of their upcoming schedule in conference play. They open at Notre Dame before coming home to play Clemson and Georgia Tech. The Orange need to capitalize on that lighter stretch and get some good momentum going, because the play Duke in Cameron Indoor after that, and they face a tough schedule down the stretch. For the Orange to go dancing, winning these games against the bottom half of the conference will be key.
- Florida absolutely dominated Butler in Gainesville. They opened the game 21-0 and played excellent defense all game. Butler only managed 43 points all game and shot 30.6% from the field while committing 10 turnovers. This may be different from Gator teams of old, but they have been an excellent defensive unit this year, ranking sixth on KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency. They've really been defending the three point well with opponents shooting under 30% from three on the year. I thought freshmen Andrew Nembhard and Noah Locke played well. Nembhard has stepped in pretty seamlessly for Chris Chiozza and has one of the best assists rates in the country, especially for a freshman. He didn't have a gaudy game stats wise, but he ran the offense well and led the Gators in the best offensive performance I've seen from them. As for Locke, he has come on strong recently, and is the team's second leading scorer on the year at 9.4 points a game while shooting 44.5% from three. He had 12 in this one while making 3 threes, and he made 5 in both of the two previous games. He's picked up the slack from Jalen Hudson, who has been pretty bad on the season, and those two will form a formidable backcourt for years to come.
- On the other side of that game, Butler has serious problems on the interior. They have no strong big men, with Nate Fowler and Joey Brunk being average at best. They were torn apart by Juwan Morgan of Indiana, who had 35 points and didn't miss a 2 point field goal in that one, and they were once again beaten on the interior pretty badly. The Gators out rebounded Butler 46-18, and Florida had 14 offensive rebounds compared to Butler's 13 defensive rebounds. That's atrocious, and Florida isn't even known as a team with great interior players. For Butler to really compete in the Big East, they need to figure out how to hide their front court deficiencies, whether it's sending more guys to the boards, going 5 out, or doubling the post, or a combination of all three. It'll be interesting to see how coach LaVall Jordan addresses this in their next game against Jessie Govan of Georgetown.
- For all of this year, I've been on a one-man quest against Purdue. I quite simply don't think they are very good, and for as good as Carsen Edwards is, and he is very good, I don't love the supporting cast and I still don't think the Boilermakers will be a great team in the Big Ten. However, their defensive effort and intensity really impressed me. They haven't been great on that end, especially defending the three point line where opponents 37% against them. With a team like Belmont, who are known for their spacing and shooting, I thought the Bruins could've knocked off the Boilermakers. But, Purdue came out and did a very good job on the defensive end, holding Belmont to 11-38 shooting from three, which is 28.9% on the game, and the Bruins only mustered 62 points, their lowest mark on the season by 12 points. I was very impressed by freshman Aaron Wheeler for Purdue. He had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes, and I could see him cracking the rotation on a much more consistent basis. He's long and athletic with a nice shooting stroke. He's going to keep getting better, and I could see him being a star next season.
- There is probably not a more inconsistent team in the nation than Western Kentucky. Get a neutral court win over West Virginia? Follow it up with back to back losses to UCF and Indiana State. Lose to Missouri State, then go on the road and beat Arkansas. Nice win, then lose back to back games to Troy and Belmont. Of course, they then beat Saint Mary's and Wisconsin in back to back games. That's pretty insane variation from game to game, but I think they have what it takes to win Conference USA. They've had a lot of roster variation throughout the year, with Desean Murray leaving the team, multiple players suspended throughout the year, and injuries. When they have the starting 5 from this game, plus Lamonte Bearden back healthy, I think this is one of the best mid-majors in the nation, and maybe my favorite player on this roster is Dalanto Banton. Banton is a 6'8" freshman that is really a point forward, and he had an excellent game against Wisconsin, scoring 8 points, getting 13 rebounds, and getting 10 assists. He fills up the stats sheet and he's been at his best in his last three games, so I'm very excited to see what he does during conference play.
- One of the biggest questions I had coming into conference play was just how good is St. John's? They went undefeated in the non-con portion of their schedule, but had no real standout wins. And for the first 30 minutes, they looked legit. Through the first half, they were getting basically anything they wanted on the offensive end, they were out in transition a lot thanks in no small part to the amount of steals they were getting (12 on the game), and looked the part of a top 25 team and Big East challenger. However, they fell apart in the last 10 minutes of this game and blew a 12 point lead with 9:45 left. When things were going well, I was really impressed with the Johnnies, and especially Shamorie Ponds and Mustapha Heron. Ponds was happy to not force the issue offensively, instead being a facilitator and getting steals, and letting Heron do most of the scoring with a game high 19 points and 4 made threes. It's hard to stop both of those guys on a given night, and they will win this team games. However, late in the game, it turned into iso ball with Ponds, and they ran out of gas and their defensive intensity turned down. They got hosed late with some bad calls, but they also missed a lot of free throws, especially down the stretch, and they should have never in that position.
- Clemson is a team like Purdue for me, in that I just don't love this team. I was lower than consensus than them in the preseason, and I haven't been impressed with them this year to date. However, they got a nice win over Lipscomb by 17, and I was pretty surprised with how good they looked. They got up in Lipscomb's grill and were forcing turnovers, getting 18 and holding a good Bisons team to 67 points. David Skara was a standout to me, as he had 17 points and they all seemed to be big buckets. He played very well defensively with 3 steals, and he had a sequence of two straight and-1 buckets in transition. I didn't really expect a lot from him on the whole, but he has been really good for the Tigers. Also, the play of Marquise Reed cannot be understated. He is currently third in points per game in the ACC with 19.4, behind only Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, and he has scored 20 or more points in his last three games, although he did miss a three game stretch recently. His game against Lipscomb was great, with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. He's not shooting the ball as efficiently from three, with his percentage dipping from 35.4% last year, and 40.2% two years ago, to 28.9% this year. He's taking an increased scoring load and it's paying dividends for Clemson.
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