This week is a little bit of a gradual burn with quite a few school basketball groups taking the week to hit the books for finals week. It provides us time to catch our breath and parse the true from the faux from the primary six weeks of the season.
Let’s dive into this week’s version of traits.
Ohio State’s Thornton on a heater
The 50-40-90 membership is hallowed floor for moral hoopers. Thus far this season, Ohio State senior guard Bruce Thornton is taking pictures 59% from the sphere, 49% from 3-point land and 86% from the charity stripe. He is simply two (!) free throws away from being within the 50-40-90 membership.
However the 3-point model of the 50/40 membership is a good harder benchmark. After all, Thornton is considered one of simply two card-carrying members. Thornton is taking pictures a bonkers 53% on 28 catch-and-shoot treys and a ridiculous 44% on 25 pull-up treys, per Synergy. Virginia’s Jacari White is the one different participant within the nation to be over 50% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and 40% on pull-up 3-pointers (minimal 10 makes an attempt a bit).
It isn’t hyperbole to name Thornton’s begin to 2025-26 the most effective pure taking pictures shows that we have seen in latest reminiscence. Final week was Thornton’s masterpiece. He poured in 34 factors on simply 17 pictures towards Illinois and adopted it up with 23 factors, together with the game-winner, in a double-overtime victory over West Virginia. Ohio State performed 90 minutes of basketball final week. Thornton was on the ground for all however 52 seconds.
Thornton’s 154.9 offensive ranking is the seventh-best mark for any participant this season, based on KenPom, and he is doing it because the No. 1 possibility on the scouting report and not using a single reprieve.
Thornton has each single good shooter making an attempt to play catch-up forward of Saturday’s showdown towards No. 12 North Carolina on the CBS Sports activities Basic (3 p.m. ET on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports activities App, Paramount+ Premium)
Protection was imagined to be the calling card of this Kentucky roster, and it lastly confirmed a little bit of that edge in Saturday’s much-needed 72-60 victory over Indiana. Kentucky held the Hoosiers to only 0.70 factors per possession within the second half. It compelled 12 turnovers and IU shot simply 6-22 within the last 20 minutes.
Kentucky’s protection simply has far more chunk when Mo Dioubate is on the ground. The veteran returned from a painful ankle harm and was superior, delivering 14 factors, 12 rebounds, two assists, zero turnovers, 5 steals and a number of high-energy hustle performs.
With Dioubate on the ground towards top-50 groups, Kentucky’s protection has compelled a takeaway on 22.8% of possessions, per hoop-explorer. When Dioubate has been off the ground or in a strolling boot, Kentucky’s protection has struggled mightily to pressure turnovers (13.7%).
Takeaways really feel like every thing to assist Kentucky masks a halfcourt offense that is not enjoying with sufficient velocity and precision proper now. A wholesome Dioubate is important forward of Saturday’s conflict with No. 22 St. John’s on the CBS Sports activities Basic. (12 p.m. ET on CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports activities App, Paramount+ Premium)
Test your preseason priors
This summer time, I projected which offenses may end within the high 10 on KenPom. Let’s test in on how these have aged.
UConn
Preseason rank: 1 | Present rank: 17
The pattern: UConn has stayed afloat offensively even with Tarris Reed and Braylon Mullins lacking appreciable time. I feel this offense continues to be a sleeping big, contemplating the most effective beginning 5 of Solo Ball, Silas Demary Jr., Alex Karaban, Mullins and Reed has performed a whopping 13 minutes collectively. Give it time to simmer.
Purdue
Preseason rank: 2 | Present rank: 1
The pattern: Braden Smith generates nice pictures and Purdue is hammering the offensive boards. When Purdue does not flip it over, you are lowered to only praying that the Boilermakers miss pictures they usually make. This offense is a freight practice.
Louisville
Preseason rank: 3 | Present rank: 2
The pattern: Louisville’s offense is so good that it may well nonetheless handle a decent 1.06 factors per possession on an evening when it shoots 21% from downtown. When the 3-pointers are dropping, Louisville is overwhelming. Good luck and greatest needs stopping this offense when Mikel Brown Jr. begins making his treys.
Florida
Preseason rank: 4 | Present rank: 30
The pattern: It is trying like a whiff on this one. I assumed the bully-ball frontcourt could be superior on the glass and the paint (it has). I assumed Tommy Haugh could be actually good on the 3 (he has). I didn’t count on Boogie Fland to overlook this many jumpers. Xaivian Lee’s chilly begin hasn’t helped, both. This group is thinner than I anticipated, as effectively. I nonetheless assume Florida can very a lot win the SEC, as bizarre as that sounds.
Kentucky
Preseason rank: 5 | Present rank: 37
The pattern: This one was in scorching water the second that Jaland Lowe went down with a preseason shoulder harm. I used to be all-in on Lowe breaking out as one of many elite level guards within the sport. I assumed the transition offense would explode and the quantity of particular person slashers would get the ball popping in a Mark Pope scheme. As a substitute, Kentucky’s offense has been caught in molasses for lengthy stretches.
Illinois
Preseason rank: 6 | Present rank: 3
The pattern: This offense simply has so many solutions. No frontcourt has made extra 3-pointers than Illinois’ (53) quartet of Tomislav Ivisic, Ben Humrichous, David Mirkovic and Zvonimir Ivisic. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler has been a revelation as a high-IQ trigger-man who can drill pull-up jumpers and create seams for Andrej Stojakovic and Kylan Boswell to assault downhill. Illinois is taking pictures 69.8% on the rim. That is seventh-best within the sport, per hoop-explorer.
BYU
Preseason rank: 7 | Present rank: 9
The pattern: Feed the studs is alive and effectively in Provo. Every little thing about UConn’s offense is centered round AJ Dybantsa, Rob Wright and Richie Saunders. This offense simply has such a excessive flooring as a result of its greatest gamers take or create a shot each single time. There are only a few wasted possessions right here, and it helps that Dybantsa is unguardable, Saunders is Saunders and Wright has grow to be the most effective model of himself.
Texas Tech
Preseason rank: 8 | Present rank: 20
The pattern: Exterior of the Purdue catastrophe, Texas Tech has been a harmful offense. It simply plastered Arkansas for 1.29 factors per possession behind the wagon that’s JT Toppin and Christian Anderson. Toppin is completely relentless, and no guard is creating extra factors than Anderson (43.1 per sport). The position gamers have been extra good than nice, however that is to be anticipated with so many new faces.
Duke
Preseason rank: 9 | Present rank: 10
The pattern: Duke hasn’t been insanely nice offensively but, but it surely has additionally examined itself towards some superior defenses like Michigan State, Florida and Kansas. We have realized that Cameron Boozer will be an unreal fulcrum of an offense, Caleb Foster has actual psychological fortitude and Patrick Ngongba is a difference-maker. However this group has a brand new stage it may well get to if Isaiah Evans can get buzzing and freshmen like Nik Khamenia, Dame Sarr and Cayden Boozer can discover their footing.
Wisconsin
Preseason rank: 10 | Present rank: 42
The pattern: Wisconsin’s offense does scream constructive regression. The Badgers are taking pictures simply 21% on transition treys. You’d count on that quantity to tick up for a high-quality shot like that. John Blackwell has been largely unguardable and Nick Boyd can actually hoop, however Wisconsin is not getting sufficient from its bigs who aren’t stretching the ground at a high-enough stage or killing switches. It additionally does not assist this offense that Wisconsin’s leaky protection is forcing ’em to take the ball out of the online consistently. Wisconsin’s offense has had some huge nights already and can tick up with time, however the top-10 prophecies had been a bit too wealthy.
Important position gamers
You will not discover these guys on an All-conference squad, however they’re serving to their groups win video games.
- Keep in mind Ugonna Onyenso? The previous Kentucky huge man who did not do a lot in Lexington or Kansas State? He piloted to Virginia and has been terrific for Ryan Odom’s 9-1 membership. Onyenso has been the most effective backup 5-men within the nation this yr, rating second in block charge and controlling the boards. Opponents are taking pictures simply 43% on the rim towards Virginia when Onyenso is on the ground.
- There are 69 gamers with a ten% offensive rebound charge and a 20% defensive rebound charge. Only one is 6-foot-4 or shorter: Saint Louis‘ Dion Brown. The gritty guard has been superior patrolling the boards for a Billikens group that’s one Benny Gealer last-second prayer from being 9-1. Saint Louis eviscerated San Francisco 44-33 on the boards, and Brown posted a 14-point, 11-rebound, double-double.
- Nebraska’s largest preseason query surrounded its guard play. Sam Hoiberg, a former walk-on and redshirt, has remodeled into a complete pest. Hoiberg flies round on protection, dices defenders up with drives and performs with relentless effort. The 6-foot, 180-pound guard has a 134.2 offensive ranking this season with a blinding 5.4-to-1, assist-to-turnover ratio for the undefeated Huskers.
Bizarre, wacky and fantastic stats
- UCLA has performed 70 possessions of zone protection during the last three video games. It had gathered simply 45 possessions of zone protection within the earlier 4 years mixed.
- Michigan has already scored 100 factors 5 instances this season, tying essentially the most at school historical past with the 1989-90 membership.
- Kansas is at present on tempo to complete outdoors the top-50 in offensive effectivity for the third yr in a row.
- There have solely been three Large Ten gamers to notch 20 factors and 10 rebounds in a sport with out lacking a free throw or shot from the sphere: Purdue’s Oscar Cluff, Purdue’s Matt Haarms and … Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan.
- UConn has received 15 of its final 16 neutral-site video games towards ranked opponents.
