This article is part of our College Basketball Waiver Wire series.
Well, it finally happened: Kansas lost. The Jayhawks had been playing with fire and they finally got burned by the Sun Devils. It was a little surprising that Kansas was not able to avenge last year's lost, but that was between completely different teams. Even though they won't be No. 1 in next week's poll, the Jayhawks are still the class of the Big 12. The question is who can challenge them.
We can reasonably count out Baylor, Texas, West Virginia and Oklahoma State as not quite good enough to challenge for the Big 12 regular season title. Any or all of those teams could make the NCAA Tournament and/or beat Kansas at home. Kansas State and Iowa State could give Kansas problems if they are able to get healthy and all of their disparate parts integrate. That leaves Oklahoma, Texas Tech and TCU to try to stop coach Bill Self's conference dominance. It would probably be wise to take the Jayhawks over the field.
Let's look at some of the players who could help as we head toward conference play next weekend.
ACC
Elijah Thomas, forward, Clemson Tigers
The 6-foot-9 senior kept the Tiger ship afloat (much like "The Life of Pi") while Marcquise Reed was out with a knee injury. Reed returned on Saturday, but Thomas averaged 19.3 points on 77.8 percent from the field and 10.3 rebounds in the three games that the guard missed and helped Clemson win twice. Thomas averages 13.7 points on 70.6 percent
Well, it finally happened: Kansas lost. The Jayhawks had been playing with fire and they finally got burned by the Sun Devils. It was a little surprising that Kansas was not able to avenge last year's lost, but that was between completely different teams. Even though they won't be No. 1 in next week's poll, the Jayhawks are still the class of the Big 12. The question is who can challenge them.
We can reasonably count out Baylor, Texas, West Virginia and Oklahoma State as not quite good enough to challenge for the Big 12 regular season title. Any or all of those teams could make the NCAA Tournament and/or beat Kansas at home. Kansas State and Iowa State could give Kansas problems if they are able to get healthy and all of their disparate parts integrate. That leaves Oklahoma, Texas Tech and TCU to try to stop coach Bill Self's conference dominance. It would probably be wise to take the Jayhawks over the field.
Let's look at some of the players who could help as we head toward conference play next weekend.
ACC
Elijah Thomas, forward, Clemson Tigers
The 6-foot-9 senior kept the Tiger ship afloat (much like "The Life of Pi") while Marcquise Reed was out with a knee injury. Reed returned on Saturday, but Thomas averaged 19.3 points on 77.8 percent from the field and 10.3 rebounds in the three games that the guard missed and helped Clemson win twice. Thomas averages 13.7 points on 70.6 percent from the field, 7.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He has been limited by foul troubles at times, including in the win over South Carolina in which he played just 18 minutes. Clemson finishes the non-conference schedule on Sunday against Lipscomb.
Markell Johnson, guard, North Carolina State Wolfpack
On Wednesday against Auburn, Johnson had a breakout performance with 27 points, including five 3-pointers. The 6-1 junior hits 49.0 percent of his 3-pointers, but he doesn't always shoot in volume. He has hit three 3-pointers or more five times. Prior to Saturday when he was limited to four points and three assists in 12 minutes in the win over South Carolina Upstate, Johnson had supplied at least four assists and eight points in five straight games. He is averaging 12.8 points and 4.2 assists. The Wolfpack hosts Loyola on Friday.
BIG TEN
Jordan Poole, guard, Michigan Wolverines
As Wolverines tend to do, Poole has grown into a major role. As a freshman, he provided 6.0 points in 12.2 minutes, but had the shot of the season in the buzzer beater against Houston in the NCAA Tournament. This year, Poole is a full-fledged starter and is hitting 48.3 percent of his 3-pointers on his way to 13.2 points with 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists. In his last five games, Poole has bumped his scoring up to 17.4 points and has hit 15 3-pointers in that span. The Wolverines play Binghamton on Sunday before Big Ten play restarts.
Amir Coffey, guard, Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Golden Gophers do not necessarily have a starting point guard. Coffey is a 6-8 guard who can facilitate the offense and has provided 4.5 assists over his last four games (all Minnesota wins). Coffey had a breakout game with 32 points in the win over Nebraska on Dec. 5. He went to the free-throw line 17 times and made 14. On the season, the junior is providing 15.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds. Before Big 10 play gets started in earnest, the Gophers host Mount St. Mary's on Sunday.
BIG 12
Jalon Miller, forward, TCU Horned Frogs
The aforementioned Horned Frogs only have a loss to Lipscomb as their only blemish on the record. They are a team of depth. Miller starts at forward and contributes in the points and rebounds columns. Miller is scoring 11.3 points and grabbing 5.9 rebounds with 2.1 assists. He has been held to single-digit scoring in his last two games, but had scored in double-digits in seven of his first eight games. The Horned Frogs are stomping their way through the Diamond Head Classic and will be playing on Christmas day.
Lindell Wigginton, guard, Iowa State Cyclones
If your league is not paying complete attention, Wigginton may be on the waiver wire despite having returned from a foot injury on Friday against Eastern Illinois. He put up 15 points in 18 minutes off the Cyclone bench to show that he did not have much rust. The 6-2 sophomore has the best scoring potential on the team and averaged 16.7 points as a freshman. While Tyrese Halliburton and Talen Horton-Tucker have played well while Wigginton was out, he should return to the starting lineup. The Cyclones are off until Jan. 3 when they play Oklahoma State in the Big 12 opener.
BIG EAST
Marvin Clark, forward, St. John's Red Storm
Even though they have not played an arduous schedule (only one opponent, VCU, in the KenPom top 100), it is somewhat impressive that the Red Storm head into conference play undefeated. Coach Chris Mullin has gone small with five players who can knock down 3-pointers. Clark is nominally the small-ball center and has knocked down 16 3-pointers in his last five games. He hit six treys on Saturday in the win over Sacred Heart on his way to a season-high 23 points. Clark is averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. Big East play starts on Saturday at Seton Hall (KenPom's No. 55 team).
Devin Gage, guard, DePaul Blue Demons
Max Strus and Eli Cain are the headliners for the Blue Demons, but Gage also starts at guard and has been quietly effective. The 6-2 redshirt sophomore has averaged 12.0 points and 4.4 assists in his last five games. He is not much of a 3-point threat and has only converted 2-of-14 from the perimeter, but he has a nice midrange game. Gage led the team to a big win over UIC with 15 points, six steals, five rebounds and five assists. DePaul hosts Xavier on Saturday to kick off conference play.
PAC-12
Jordan Usher, guard, USC Trojans
The Trojans are a bit of a mess. They are missing freshman Kevin Porter Jr. who has missed six games with a quadriceps injury and lost four games in a row. Usher has a positive force off the Trojan bench. He equaled his season high with 22 points and five rebounds in the double-overtime loss to Santa Clara last Tuesday. The 6-7 sophomore is not a consistent force, so he makes a good tournament play in DFS. After beating Southern Utah, Usher and his team will have one more chance to get a win against UC-Davis on Sunday before Pac-12 play starts.
Oscar da Silva, forward, Stanford Cardinal
The 6-9 forward had moments as a freshman when he started for Reid Travis and/or Michael Humphrey. Both of them are gone, which has opened up opportunities for da Silva. He is still a work in progress but has scored in double digits in four of his last five games. He put up 23 points, including six 3-pointers, with 10 rebounds in the win over San Jose State on Tuesday. The sophomore fell to 12 points and six rebounds in the loss against San Francisco on Saturday, but things are generally trending up. The Cardinal host well-travelled Long Beach State on Saturday.
SEC
Jeremiah Tilmon, forward, Missouri Tigers
Tilmon figured to be a beast if he could ever curb his propensity to foul. Those words seem to go together: "propensity to foul." As a freshman, the 6-10 forward averaged 3.7 fouls. He has dropped that number a tick to 3.4 this season, but he has fouled out three times. Despite fouling, Tilmon is producing better numbers with four double-doubles in six games. The Tigers have won five straight. Tilmon had his best game with 23 points 10 rebounds in the win over Xavier on Tuesday. Missouri will be at home for the non-conference finale against Morehead Stat eon Saturday.
Aaron Nesmith, forward, Villanova Commodores
After losing Darius Garland to a torn meniscus, Vanderbilt could have fallen apart. Instead, the team bounced back with a pair of wins over Middle Tennessee State and Arizona State before losing to Kansas State on Saturday. Nesmith had 13 points and five rebounds in the win over the Sun Devils, but did not score against the Wildcats. The 6-6 freshman should see a larger role in SEC play as the team looks to replace Garland's scoring. He is averaging 7.9 points and 5.9 rebounds. Vanderbilt plays Tennessee State at home on Saturday.
MID-MAJORS
Brian Fobbs, guard, Towson Tigers
Fobbs is a junior college transfer who put up nine 30-point games last season. The 6-4 guard has already hit that number once with the Tigers. He put up 32 points with six 3-pointers in the double-overtime win over UMBC on Dec. 11. He has scored at least 12 points in his last eight games and has put up 25 points or more three times in that span. Fobbs leads the Tigers with 15.9 points and is hitting 39.7 percent of his 3-pointers. Towson opens Colonial play on Friday against Elon.
Joel Ntambwe, forward, UNLV Runnin' Rebels
There is a chance that Shakur Juiston has knee surgery and is lost for the rest of the season. He has not played in the last three games and the 6-9 Ntambwe has taken full advantage. The freshman forward has double-doubles in all three games with averages of 20.0 points and 12.3 rebounds. He has the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter and is hitting 43.5 percent of his 3-pointers in a limited sample size (10-of-23). The Rebels will play on Christmas day as part of the Diamond Head Classic then will be off until Jan. 2 when they host Colorado State.
Tareq Coburn, guard, Hofstra Pride
The Pride have fantasy mainstays in Justin Wright-Foreman and Eli Pemberton. Coburn has taken a spot in the Hofstra backcourt and has helped the team win seven straight. The 6-5 St. Bonaventure transfer is a strong rebounder and has averaged 8.3 rebounds over his last four games to go with 16.0 points to give the Pride a Big Three. Coburn is hitting 43.3 percent of his 3-pointers. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Dec. 10 win over Manhattan. Hofstra plays Delaware to open Colonial play on Friday.
John Konchar, guard, IPFW Mastadons
Konchar is one of those players who has been a fantasy commodity for four years, but it feels like a good time to spotlight the fact that he is playing better than ever. The 6-5 senior has scored at least 20 points in his alast four games and has converted 64.4 percent of his field goals over that span. He has six double-doubles in his last seven games. Konchar is averaging 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He will get a triple-double or two before the end of the season. IPFW hosts North Dakota on Friday.
Jaelin Llewellyn, guard, Princeton Tigers
The 6-2 freshman missed the first seven games of the season with a foot injury. He finally made his debut on Dec. 9 against St. John's and put up 17 points in 36 minutes. In four games, he has averaged 14.5 points and 5.0 assists to give the Tigers a secondary scoring option with Devin Cannady. Like many players, Llewellyn struggled against Duke and was just 3-of-16 from the field for a season-low eight points. The Ivy League is going to be very competitive this season, but Llewellyn will give Princeton a decent chance. The Tigers head to Tempe to play Arizona State on Friday. If Kansas couldn't beat the Sun Devils in the desert, does Princeton have a chance?
