Well, we finally ran into a less interesting day of college basketball, with all big games going the way they were supposed to, and no unreal performances like we saw yesterday. As the season progresses, you all will notice that at least one midweek day won’t have as much excitement, simply because almost every team plays on Friday or Saturday, so not as many will play midweek. However, it’s still college basketball, so there’s lots to break down.

Team Performance Takeaways

We’ll start with the only ranked team playing yesterday, Florida. The Gators beat Jacksonville 81-60, with Alijah Martin and Alex Condon leading the way. Martin dropped in 15 along with his 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 6 steals. Nice all around impact by the Florida Atlantic transfer. Condon was perfect from the field at 7-7, and finished with 23 points and 2 blocks. Will Richard and Walter Clayton Jr. had off games for their standard, scoring 11 and 9 points, but Clayton put up 7 assists, and Richard added 3 more along with 3 steals. The 10 steals and 10 blocks Florida put up as a team gives me some more hope for them, although shooting remains a concern. Jacksonville star Robert McCray V put up 20 points, but on 8/18 overall and 1/7 from three.

A bunch of Big 10 teams played last night, the most interesting being USC, who just outlasted Idaho State 75-69. This is the second high major team Idaho State has competed with, they may end up being a team to keep your eye on in the future. For USC, I’m just not fully sold on this group of guys, even with the Muss Bus at coach. I think there’s a ton of athletes and wings, but not any great guards, along with the fact that I think that center Josh Cohen, who had a great 19 point game, won’t be able to compete with the physicality of Big 10 bigs. Saint Thomas had a good game as well, with nearly a triple double of 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Michigan State beat Niagara 96-60, despite being down early. Interestingly, it was big man Jaxon Kohler who led the way for the Spartans on the offensive end, with 20 points and 13 boards. Jeremy Fears Jr. put up 8 assists for the second straight game, and it’s clear he’s serving the game manager role for Tom Izzo this season. The last player I’ll mention is touted freshman Jase Richardson, who scored in double figures for the second straight game with 12 points. His offensive talent could make him really important for this team in conference play.

Moving across state lines, Wisconsin took down Montana State 79-67, in a spectacular performance by Max Klesmit, scoring 26 points on 6/11 from three point range. Guards Kamari McGee and John Blackwell both also ended in double figures, with 11 and 13 points, and 3 assists per game. 

The final Big 10 team to play was the Hawkeyes of Iowa, who beat Southern by a score of 89-74, with the Sandfort brothers leading the charge, as they will for most of the season. Payton had a near triple double, with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Pryce dropped 22 points on 6/8 from deep. Josh Dix and Owen Freeman also put together solid games, with Dix scoring 14 points and dishing 5 assists, while Freeman had 15 points, 8 boards, and 3 blocks. The more I look at this team, I like it, but I am still unsure where they can end up in a strong Big 10.

Other Top Performers

• Projected Mid Major powerhouse UAB lost to Vermont in game 1, but turned it around last night with a win over Southern Miss, and Christian Coleman led the way with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, all on 10/12 shooting from the field. The lengthy wing put his athleticism to use on both ends.
• Air Force beat Jacksonville State last night, and Ethan Taylor, coming off a 30 point game, put up another great stat line, with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists! Watch out for him to cause some chaos out in the Mountain West this season.
• Newcomer to the ACC, SMU, got a big win over FAMU, and Wake Forest transfer Boopie Miller almost notched the first triple double of the year, with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, along with 3 steals on the defensive end. His production will be vital for the Mustangs to compete this year. Check out the video below of his production! (Credit- ACC DN)

• Last but not least, lengthy San Francisco transfer to Utah, Mike Sharavjamts (A.K.A. Mongolian Mike), put up ANOTHER near triple double on the night, with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Along with this was 3 steals and 2 blocks, so Mike was all over the place for the Utes. Utah beat Central Arkansas 98-63.

Jake’s Best Bets (Current Record, 3-2)

Montana State put up a good fight last night, and were able to cover the spread, unlike Niagara, who started strong but blew it in the second half, losing by a whopping 36. I have two player props, and one other best bet for today.

• KJ Adams u12.5 points, David Coit u11.5 points

These guys are both overvalued for Kansas in their matchup vs. UNC. Coit is a straight shooter who won’t be able to get to double digits with the number of mouths to feed in that offense, and Adams isn’t a big scorer, and will likely not take enough shots to reach 13 points.

• Arkansas State @ Alabama o170 total points scored

Alabama plays fast basketball and scores A LOT. And Arkansas State is good enough to score upwards of 70-80 points, but not stop Alabama short of 100 points, which will lead to the over in this game hitting. The line has also moved from 165 to 170, which shows the books correcting for a line way too low originally.

(P.C. Florida MBB)