This article is part of our College Basketball Waiver Wire series.
The season is a month old, more or less. What do we know? Duke deserves their hype. Gonzaga is the beast in the West. Kentucky has not come together quite as well as we would have thought. Kansas has an excellent offense, but they have not been able to hold opponents down. The same could be said for Nevada to a lesser extent. Tennessee and Auburn are very good SEC teams. North Carolina is also adept at scoring. Very little of this is a surprise.
Perhaps the biggest surprise thus far has been the Michigan Wolverines. This team made the NCAA Championship game last year as a No. 3 seed, but lost their leading scorer Mo Wagner to the NBA. They have not missed a beat with freshman Ignas Brazdeikis moving right in. The Wolverine defense is incredible, as has shut down the Tar Heels and Purdue in consecutive games. Earlier in the season, they shut down Villanova. Look out, Big 10!
ACC
Wynston Tabbs, guard, Boston College Eagles
The Eagles seemed to be set at guard with Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman. It appears they need a third wheel with the 6-foot-2 freshman finding room to operate. Tabbs is coming off a 28-point game against Sacred Heart in which he aped Bowman with seven rebounds and five assists. The junior guard is not a bad player to imitate. Tabbs has scored 15 points or more in five of his seven games, and has an interesting week facing Providence and
The season is a month old, more or less. What do we know? Duke deserves their hype. Gonzaga is the beast in the West. Kentucky has not come together quite as well as we would have thought. Kansas has an excellent offense, but they have not been able to hold opponents down. The same could be said for Nevada to a lesser extent. Tennessee and Auburn are very good SEC teams. North Carolina is also adept at scoring. Very little of this is a surprise.
Perhaps the biggest surprise thus far has been the Michigan Wolverines. This team made the NCAA Championship game last year as a No. 3 seed, but lost their leading scorer Mo Wagner to the NBA. They have not missed a beat with freshman Ignas Brazdeikis moving right in. The Wolverine defense is incredible, as has shut down the Tar Heels and Purdue in consecutive games. Earlier in the season, they shut down Villanova. Look out, Big 10!
ACC
Wynston Tabbs, guard, Boston College Eagles
The Eagles seemed to be set at guard with Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman. It appears they need a third wheel with the 6-foot-2 freshman finding room to operate. Tabbs is coming off a 28-point game against Sacred Heart in which he aped Bowman with seven rebounds and five assists. The junior guard is not a bad player to imitate. Tabbs has scored 15 points or more in five of his seven games, and has an interesting week facing Providence and Texas A&M.
John Mooney, forward, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
In the hearts and minds of fantasy college basketball fans, no one will ever replace Bonzie Colson. Of course, the same could be said of Jack Cooley before Colson as the Fighting Irish's rebounding fool. Mooney, a 6-9 junior, has gone from part-time player to full-time boardman. He is leading the Irish with 8.9 rebounds to go with 11.0 points. Fouls are a concern for Mooney, who was eliminated after just 10 minutes against Illinois on Tuesday. Mooney should have plenty of missed shots to grab against Oklahoma and UCLA this week.
Big 10
Ryan Cline, guard, Purdue Boilermakers
Carsen Edwards has been about what we expected this season. He is leading the Boilermakers in scoring and assists, but he has needed some help. Cline has been bombing away as Edwards' backcourt wingman. The 6-6 senior has netted 27 3-pointers in his last six games, including seven treys in the loss to Florida State on Nov. 28. As long as defenses have to honor Edwards, Cline should get some shots. He will keep taking them and is hitting 45.6 percent. After facing the Seminoles and Michigan in the last week, Cline will have a bit more breathing room against Maryland and Texas.
Aaron Jordan, guard, Illinois Fighting Illini
After hitting 46.3 percent of his 3-pointers as a junior off the bench for the Illini last season, few people thought that the 6-5 Jordan would start the season on an even hotter streak. People? What do they know? Jordan has hit half of his 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 12.0 points. He has added 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists to give coach Brad Underwood a three-headed guard rotation with Trent Frazier and Ayo Dosunmu. Jordan had a season-high 23 points in the loss to Notre Dame. The Illini host Ohio State (without Luther Muhammad) and UNLV.
Big 12
Talen Horton-Tucker, guard, Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones are one of the few teams in Tier with three games in Week 5. The Cyclones have a load of players coming back in the next month including guard Lindell Wigginton and forward Cameron Lard. Horton-Tucker has earned minutes going forward. The 6-4 freshman has averaged 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals. He scored 26 points in wins over Texas Southern and Illinois, and has a steal in every game except one. Iowa State hosts North Dakota State and Southern around a road trip to Iowa City for a game against the Hawkeyes.
Lindy Waters, guard, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State has been a bit more competitive than many people would have thought. Things looked dire after the team lost its opener to Charlotte, but they bounced back with three-straight wins. Waters has been in the middle of things. The 6-6 junior has scored at least 10 points in every game except the loss to Villanova. He is hitting a cool 42.4 percent of his 3-pointers and 95.8 percent of his freebies (23-of-24). Waters has added 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists to his 12.4 points – all career highs. The Cowboys head to Tulsa on Wednesday before hosting Houston on Saturday.
Big East
Quentin Goodin, guard, Xavier Musketeers
Here's a free tip for Goodin: shoot less, pass more. The junior point guard returned from a shoulder injury after missing the opener, but it appears he is still shaking off rust. The 6-4 Goodin had not showed much range in previous seasons, but he is hardly hitting anything thus far. He is converting just 32.6 percent of his field goals and 24.3 percent, and his assists are down from 4.9 to 4.3. The Musketeers have other players who can knock down shots, but Goodin is the best at creating offense for others. He should do that against the free-flowing Ohio Bobcats and the staunch Cincinnati Bearcats this week.
Joey Hauser, forward, Marquette Golden Eagles
Hauser's current production does not warrant a look in more than deeper Big East leagues, but there are signs that the 6-9 freshman could be a player that grows. The younger Hauser on the roster (with his brother Sam) is providing 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 27.1 minutes. He moved into the starting lineup to guarantee a few more minutes. Hauser may spend the season setting picks for Markus Howard, but he will have a big game or two. Marquette plays UTEP before its big game against Wisconsin.
Pac 12
Justin Coleman, guard, Arizona Wildcats
It is often hard to tell how a productive player from a small school will adjust when moving into the big pond. With Coleman, who spent two seasons with Alabama, it was not quite as difficult. The 5-10 guard has combined with freshman Brandon Williams to give coach Sean Miller a dual-point guard look. Despite a recent downturn in production that has seen Coleman score 11 points over the last two games, he is averaging 11.4 points on the year. He had a three-game binge with 62 points in the Maui Invitational. It may be boom or bust for scoring. The Wildcats play Utah Valley before meeting a familiar foe for their guard in the Crimson Tide.
CJ Elleby, forward, Washington State Cougars
One day, Robert Franks will leave Washington State. That day will come after this season and who will take the Cougars'' reins? It appears it will be Elleby, a 6-6 freshman, who has authored a Franks-like back-to-back double-doubles. He mostly does his damage within the arc, although he knocked down four 3-pointers against Cal State-Northrdige on Nov. 27. He has not hit a long-range shot in any other game. Elleby is providing 12.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. The Beavers host Idaho and Mount St. Mary's for a pretty tasty week.
SEC
A.J. Lawson, guard, South Carolina Gamecocks
Chris Silva, where have you gone? The Gamecock senior center has disappeared into a fog of foul trouble. Lawson has given the South Carolina faithful to hold onto. The 6-6 freshman is leading the team with 14.9 points to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He was held scoreless in the loss to Wofford on Monday, but bounced back against Coastal Carolina with a season-high 25 points. Lawson looks like an impact offensive player for coach Frank Martin. The Gamecocks hit the road for games at Wyoming and Michigan. Ugh on the second one.
Mason Jones, guard, Arkansas Razorbacks
Like South Carolina, Arkansas had a definable player coming into the season: forward Daniel Gafford. The rest of the roster was filled with question marks. Jones has provided a punctuation mark of one type or another with 14.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He has scored in double digits in all but one game and had a season-high 21 points in the Nov. 12 win over UC-Davis. The 6-5 sophomore has fit into Arkansas' defensive scheme. Arkansas plays a pair of interesting games in Colorado State and Western Kentucky.
Smaller Conferences
Demajeo Wiggins, forward, Bowling Green Falcons
Perhaps your team needs a dose of double-double fun. The 6-10 Wiggins has been busting out dub-dubs all season long. He has at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in every game except one in which he only grabbed nine rebounds. Wiggins is averaging 14.6 points on 52.2 percent from the field and 11.8 rebounds. The Falcons have lost a couple of concerning games to Detroit and Hartford, but at least both games were away from home. Bowling Green has another road game this week at Cleveland State before returning home to play UW-Green Bay.
Levi Bradley, forward, Northern Illinois Huskies
Last week, we looked at Eugene German and he has continued to score in big waves. The Huskies are going to present problematic matchups because the 6-7 Bradley is also scoring well. He put up a career-high 30 points that included 13-of-13 from the field in the win over Oakland on Sunday. Bradley hit four 3-pointers in that performance and is hitting 42.1 percent of his long-range shots and 61.0 percent from the floor overall. He adds 7.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists to his 17.9 points. NIU hosts UC-Davis before heading to Hinkle Fieldhouse to play Butler on Saturday.
Jason Carter, forward, Ohio Bobcats
After a season lost to a knee injury, Carter is back. He has scored at least 18 points in his last four games, including a pair of 25-point performances. The 6-8 redshirt sophomore showed off excellent scoring instincts at the end of his freshman season and is showing that they have not gone away. Carter is averaging 19.6 points and 8.0 rebounds and has double-doubles in two of his last three games. He and guard Teyvion Kirk are focal points of the Bobcat offense. Ohio stays in its home state with a road trip to Xavier and a home game against Radford.
Stuckey Mosley, guard, James Madison Dukes
The Duke schedule has been hot and heavy with 10 games already. They like to give fans a little extra as well with three overtime games. Mosley, a 6-3 guard, has taken advantage of all of the playing time. He is averaging 15.6 points, which is a downturn from last season. He continues to stroke 3-pointers at a 37.3 percent conversion rate. The one-time Akron transfer is coming off a tough game in which he scored 13 points on 2-of-13 shooting against Old Dominion. He will bounce back against Radford and George Mason this week.
Alihan Demir, forward, Drexel Dragons
Demir provided points in the paint for the Dragons last season as a freshman, but he was inconsistent. As a sophomore, the 6-9 forward from Turkey has been plugging away. He has scored in double digits in every game with a pair of double-doubles. Demir is not afraid to venture out to the perimeter and is making 36.8 percent of his 3-pointers in limited attempts. He is leading the team with 14.3 points and 8.1 rebounds to go along with a pleasant 2.9 assists and 1.0 blocks. The Dragons host Loyola-Maryland and UMBC.
