College Basketball Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week

The first weekend of full conference play is almost in the books. What did we learn? Indiana showed some feistiness in coming back against Michigan, but the Wolverines are still there with Virginia and Houston as the three remaining undefeated teams. Also, Duke is really good at home. The Blue Devils have some interesting tests coming up. Next Saturday, they travel to Florida State and in two weeks, they host Virginia. We'll know more about the Blue Devils and their championship aspirations by the middle of January.

Let's look at some of the interesting players bubbling up around the country.

ACC

Elijah Hughes, guard, Syracuse Orange

Last season, the Orange had three players who they leaned on for scoring and huge minutes. Frank Howard came into the season with an injury and has not been able to hold down major minutes again. Hughes, an East Carolina transfer, has stepped in and provided wing scoring. The 6-foot-6 junior is averaging 15.3 points (second on the team) and 4.7 rebounds. He has scored at least 15 points in seven straight games and has hit multiple 3-pointers in each of them. Hughes and Syracuse host Clemson and Georgia Tech at the Carrier Dome this week.

Devon Daniels, guard, North Carolina State Wolfpack

Daniels is another transfer in the ACC. He came east from Utah and started the season slowly. He has scored at least 13 points in four of his last six games and has averaged 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds over that span. Daniels scored 19 points in the win over Miami on Thursday and has helped coach Kevin Keatts' team win seven straight games. Like Syracuse, NC State stays at home with games against North Carolina and Pittsburgh this week. Daniels should get plenty of openings as opposing defenses key on the Wolf Pack guards.

Big 10

Dupree McBrayer, Minnesota Golden Gophers

The weakness of the Golden Gophers is at point guard. Isaiah Washington can't shoot, so he becomes an offensive minus. McBrayer has offset Washington's issues with a consistent production of points. He has scored at least 13 points in his last four games, although he did miss the Dec. 11 win over North Florida with a personal issue. The 6-5 senior has provided 2.5 assists compared to 1.6 turnovers and has scored 10.8 points. This week, Minnesota plays Maryland and Rutgers in the Twin Cities.

Aljami Durham, guard, Indiana Hoosiers

Durham has been getting big minutes while freshman Rob Phinisee is out with a concussion. The 6-4 guard was held to six points in the loss to Michigan on Sunday, but had scored at least nine points in his three previous games. He scored a season-high 17 points on Dec. 22 in the non-conference finale against Jacksonville. Durham is a good 3-point shooter and is hitting 41.4 percent of his 3-pointers. Indiana only has one game this week, but it should be a good one at Maryland on Friday.

Big 12

Mark Vital, guard, Baylor Bears

Vital is a guard who plays like a power forward. He leads the Bears with 7.6 rebounds, but only averages 6.2 points. He helped the Bears beat Arizona on Dec. 15 with a career-high 16 rebounds. Vital has only scored in double digits four times and is generally an afterthought in the Baylor offense. He is still an intriguing fantasy player due to the rebounds along with 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks. The 230 lb guard will be vital to the Bear hopes for a decent Big 12 showing. Baylor will have its chance against what might be the best two teams in the conference this week when Iowa State and Kansas come to Waco.

Miles Reynolds, guard, Oklahoma Sooners

Reynolds is a well-traveled veteran. He started his career at Saint Louis before spending last year with Pacific. He averaged 13.3 points with the Tigers, then used his graduate transfer status to return to the Midwest. The 6-2 guard has put up 10.4 points and 2.9 rebounds for the Sooners. He played 30 minutes in four straight games before getting into foul trouble on Saturday against Oklahoma State. He had a season-high 20 points in the Dec. 15 win over USC. Oklahoma has a pair of intriguing games against Texas Tech and TCU coming up.

Big East

Zack Hankins, forward, Xavier Musketeers

Someone in this space had the audacity to pick Hankins as the Big East's leading rebounder this season. That is not going to happen because the 6-11 senior is platooning with Tyrique Jones. Jones missed a couple of games, so Hankins was able to show what he could with a full complement of minutes. He had a big game in the Dec. 21 win over Detroit with 12 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and four assists. Hankins has remained as a starter, but only played 12 minutes in the loss to Marquette on Sunday. He is a high ceiling-low floor play. The Musketeers host Georgetown and Butler.

Marcus Zegarowski, guard, Creighton Bluejays

The Bluejays seem set in the backcourt with Ty-Shon Alexander, Mitch Ballock and Davion Mintz. The pair of sophomores and junior provide a variety of roles for coach Greg McDermott, but the 6-3 Zegarowski has forced his way into the lineup. He is fearless when attacking the basket and has converted 48.2 percent of his 3-pointers. Over his last five games, the guard has averaged 12.4 points and 2.8 assists. If one of the starters slumps, Zegarowski could supplant him. Creighton hosts Villanova and Marquette.

Pac-12

Marvin Cannon, guard, Washington State Cougars

It looks like the Cougars are in for another long season. Robert Franks and CJ Elleby have been playing well, although Franks has missed the last two games with a hip injury. Elleby and sophomore Cannon represent the future of the program. The 6-5 guard has averaged 10.4 points and 4.4 rebounds over his last five games. He has not taken a lot of 3-pointers, but has converted 41.2 percent from long range on 17 attempts. With only the future to play for, Cannon may see his minutes increased throughout Pac-12 play. The Cougars head to the mountains to play Colorado and Utah.

Derryck Thornton, guard, USC Trojans

Duke is a good brand name to have in one's pocket. Although Thornton was not able to make much of an impact as a Blue Devil, he appears to be the type of pass-first point guard to push coach Andy Enfield's offense. He has helped the Trojans win three straight games with 12.3 points and 8.7 assists in the winning streak. Thornton is averaging 9.3 points and 5.1 assists. USC has a chance to get a couple of road wins at Oregon State and Oregon.

SEC

KeVaughn Allen, guard, Florida Gators

The Gators have a very diversified offense. There is no one player who commands shots, but the four-year starter Allen is the closest thing to a go-to player. He is leading the team with 10.3 points to go along with 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals. Allen has averaged over a steal over his entire career. He has never been a strong 3-point shooter and that continues this year with just 32.7 percent of his long-range shots going in. Allen has scored in double digits nine times, but has only topped 15 points once. His best games will be needed at Arkansas and against Tennessee.

Christian Mekowulu, forward, Texas A&M Aggies

At Tennessee State, Mekowulu was establishing himself as a frontcourt power. He wanted to take his game to another level and has filled in a role for the Aggies as a graduate transfer. The 6-8 forward platoons with Josh Nebo and is averaging 10.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. Mekowulu scored a season-high 20 points in the Dec. 19 win over Valparaiso and has scored 14 points or more four times. He can also disappear into foul trouble as he did in the loss to Arkansas on Saturday. He will get a couple of chances to make amends this week against Kentucky and Alabama.

Smaller Conferences

Tajhal Teague, forward, Ball State Cardinals

As a sophomore, Teague was a good player for the Cardinals. He has lifted his game to a new level as a junior and the 6-8 forward is coming off one of his best games. Ball State knocked off Toledo on the road on Friday and Teague supplied 20 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. The biggest difference in the new season is that the junior has refined his shot and is converted a career-high 65.1 percent of his field goals for 14.9 points to go with 7.5 rebounds. Ball State heads home to play Eastern Michigan and Ohio.

Terry Taylor, guard, Austin Peay Governors

Taylor may help the Governors win the Ohio Valley Conference this season. The sophomore is averaging 17.1 points and 8.3 rebounds to lead the team. He is not shooting from long distance as well as he did as a freshman. He has missed his last 10 3-pointers to lower his conversion rate to 28.1 percent. Other than that, he is playing better and had a 32-point game in the win over Liberty on Dec. 22. Austin Peay has won its first two conference games and will to stay loss-less at Southeastern Missouri State and UT-Martin.

Michael Flowers, guard, Western Michigan Broncos

Last season, Flowers did not play much as a freshman. The 6-1 guard only played 8.7 minutes, but he was clearly ready for a bigger role. He has established himself as the go-to scorer for the Broncos as a sophomore. Flowers has scored at least 13 points in his last eight games, including 31 points in the Dec. 15 loss at Michigan. Prior to the Saturday loss at Akron, the guard had his multiple 3-pointers in five straight games. He is averaging 16.0 points and is hitting 41.3 percent of his 3-pointers. Flowers and the Broncos take on Kent State and Toledo.

Daniel Utomi, forward, Akon Zips

The MAC is a pretty good conference this season. According to KenPom, the conference is ninth and ahead of the A10 and Mountain West. Utomi is a redshirt junior who is leading the Zips with 15.5 points. He only had six points in the win over Western Michigan to snap a 12-game double-digit scoring streak. The forward adds 6.6 rebounds. Akron plays a pair of road conference games against Central Michigan and Northern Illinois.

Rayjon Tucker, guard, Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans

Little did the Trojans know that when Tucker transferred from Florida Gulf Coast after the 2016-17 season that they were getting a lead scorer. The 6-5 guard provided 7.7 points off the Eagle bench two seasons ago, but has put up 21.6 points and 7.2 rebounds with his new team. He had an eye-popping 36 points on Saturday in the loss at Lafayette, Louisiana. He hit five 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds, but was outdueled by JaKeenan Gant (45 points). Little Rock will try to snap a losing streak with home dates against Troy and South Alabama.