College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

Alabama is just a football school, right?  Sure, the football program currently has Nick Saban, the Heisman Trophy and the National Championship.  Meanwhile, the men's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the SEC preseason polls.  Fast forward more than two months, though, and Alabama's hoops squad has matched its football counterpart.  The Tide sit at 9-0 in SEC conference play thus far.  Alabama is experienced, with seniors Herb Jones and John Petty leading the way.  Sophomore Jaden Shackelford is quietly one of the better guards in the conference as well, while Villanova transfer Jahvon Quinerly has provided an additional spark.  Freshman Josh Primo has also come into his own of late, scoring at least 10 points in five of the last six games for the Tide.  If there is one knock on 'Bama, they don't have a ton of size on the interior.  That being said, all of their guards rebound well, and Alabama is still 37th in the entire nation in rebounds per game.  With 10 wins in a row, Alabama sits at three games ahead of the next closest competitor in the SEC.  The Alabama football program may be used to winning, but the hoops program has won the regular season crown just once in the last 30 years (2002).  We could be witnessing history, and enough cannot be said about the job being done by second-year head coach Nate Oats in that regard as well.

Here are some more players (and programs) making noise in this week's edition of the College Hoops Barometer.

UPGRADE

Miles McBride, G, West Virginia 

McBride's stock is on the rise, as the sophomore has taken his game to new heights this season.  His stats are up across the board, as he is managing 15.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest.  His long distance shooting in particular has improved; McBride is hitting over 47-percent of his shots from beyond the three-point arc.  By contrast, McBride hit just a shade over 30-percent of his treys as a freshman.  He has 12 three-point makes in his last four outings.  Even his foul shooting has gotten better, rising nearly nine-percent to 83.6.  McBride is fifth in the Big 12 in scoring as well as dishing.  He had arguably his best game of his collegiate career Monday, hitting the game-winning jumper with six seconds left to catapult the Mountaineers to a victory over a ranked Texas Tech squad.  McBride finished the contest with career highs in points (24) and assists (6), while tying his previous career best in rebounds (7).  The inside-outside combination of Derek Culver and McBride should make West Virginia dangerous come tourney time.

 Mac McClung, G, Texas Tech 

McClung missed the potential game-winning shot against the aforementioned McBride and the Mountaineers on Monday, less than one week after canning the game-winner at Texas.  McClung has been on a scoring tear of late; he scored a season-high 30 points in the loss to West Virginia, and is averaging a stout 25.3 points over the last three games.  All three of those contests were against opponents ranked in the top 11 or higher.  The transfer from Georgetown is second in the Big 12 in scoring.  The Red Raiders will have to face all of the above squads again before the regular season is through, as well as Kansas, though McClung shows no signs of slowing down. 

 Grayson Murphy, G, Belmont 

The Bruins are 16-1 on the season, including a perfect 10-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play.  They scored a staggering 114 points in a blowout win over SIU Edwardsville on Saturday.  Perhaps most impressively, they did it without a single player scoring more than 18 points.  In fact, Belmont had 13 players record points in the box score, something I did not even know was possible until now.  Murphy is the most fantasy-friendly player for the Bruins; the junior is averaging 10.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals per contest.  He is second in the Ohio Valley Conference in assists and steals per game, and fifth in rebounding, despite standing at just 6-foot-2.  Murphy stole seven balls in a game earlier this month versus Tennessee Tech, recorded six assists apiece in three-straight games and snatched at least nine rebounds in eight games.  Murphy does a little bit of everything for Belmont, as the Bruins have won 11 consecutive tilts by an average of 18.8 points per contest.

 Armando Bacot, F, North Carolina 

Garrison Brooks was supposed to lead the frontcourt for the Tar Heels this season, but Bacot has been the better of the two big men thus far this season.  After an inconsistent start, North Carolina has reeled off three-straight wins while emerging victorious in six of their last seven contests.  In the last three outings, Bacot has made his presence felt, averaging 18.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks.  Bacot is shooting an outrageous 75-percent from the field during that stretch.  Sharing the frontcourt with Brooks can limit Bacot's upside from time to time, as can getting into foul trouble.  That being said, the Tar Heels appear to have found their footing, and the production and efficiency of Bacot has been among the chief contributing factors to their recent success.

CHECK STATUS

 Cade Cunningham, G, Oklahoma State 

Expected to be a "One-and-Done" player, Cunningham has shown more than flashes of why he is considered possibly the top talent for the 2021 NBA Draft.  For now, though, Cunningham resides in Stillwater with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  He has five outings with at least 20 points, eight contests with at least six rebounds, and four tilts with at least four assists.  At 6-foot-8, Cunningham is a matchup nightmare for opposing guards, though he has struggled with turnovers from time to time, and even fouled out of two consecutive games recently as his defensive aggression got the best of him.  Cunningham also missed the last two games due to COVID protocols.  It would be foolish to speculate when Cunningham will return, but the Cowboys would clearly miss his presence.  Cunningham leads the conference in scoring, and is second on his team in rebounds and assists.  The Cowboys had huge performances Tuesday from Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and Rondel Walker in a win over Iowa State, but that cannot be expected every time Oklahoma State takes the court, and the Cyclones are dead last in the conference as well.

 Michael Hughes, C, Duquesne 

The Dukes haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 1977, and unfortunately, this year doesn't look to be the season they break the streak.  However, Hughes has performed admirably as a senior, including double-doubles in three of his last five outings.  He collected 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in an upset win against Rhode Island last week.  The 6-foot-8, 240-lb senior center also has two games with five assists apiece, showing a deft touch along with court vision.  Hughes is shooting an outrageous 70-percent over his last three games.  The Dukes have hung tough in conference games and are better than their 4-6 overall record would seem to indicate, with Hughes being one of the main reasons why.

 Alyn Breed, G, Providence 

Breed has exploded recently for the Friars, coming from virtual anonymity to stuff the stat sheet.  In a stunning win at Creighton last week, Breed tallied career highs across the board with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.  It took just one game for Breed to surpass those figures, as he compiled 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in a 71-56 loss at Villanova.  The groin injury suffered by Jared Bynum has resulted in increased playing time for Breed, who played sparingly in the first eight games of the year.  However, the freshman has started the last four contests, and appears to have found his stride.  There is no timetable for Bynum's return, which should keep Breed's playing time safe.  Regardless, though, Breed may have earned himself more minutes even if Bynum returns to health.

 Ahmed Ali, G, Portland 

The Pilots had lost seven games in a row prior to Ahmed being held out Monday due to an unspecified injury.  Ali is the leading scorer for the Pilots and third in the West Coast Conference in scoring overall, behind only two Gonzaga Bulldogs Corey Kispert and Drew Timme.  Ali scored 32 points in the game prior to his absence, canning six three-pointers in a loss to San Diego.  The senior also leads the Pilots in dimes with 3.0 assists per contest, and even averages over three rebounds per contest despite his lack of height.  The Pilots lost by 25 points without the services of Ali.  His status remains up in the air due to the current lack of information, though obviously the hope is that he will be able to return to the hardwood in short order.

DOWNGRADE

 Wendell Moore, G/F, Duke 

Coach K could have also made the downgrades section after his tirade at a school reporter following Saturday's loss at Louisville.  Coach K has since apologized, but not for his team's lackluster play.  The Blue Devils are just 6-5 overall, and it appears they are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Moore has not lived up to his potential thus far, as the sophomore's shooting struggles continue.  He is hitting just 33.7-percent of his shots from the floor, including a paltry 25.9-percent from three-point land.  Moore has reached double figures in scoring just three times in 11 contests for Duke.  He came to Durham last year being hyped as part of yet another highly touted recruiting class for the Blue Devils, but Moore's progress has been much slower than anticipated, and he remains a work in progress.  The Blue Devils are surprisingly thin and inconsistent; Duke has talent but Coach K needs to pull them together quickly if they are to make a run at the big dance this season.

 Tyrece Radford, G, Virginia Tech 

Radford has been suspended indefinitely by the school for undisclosed reasons.  Radford is second on the Hokies in scoring and rebounding, and tied for third in assists.  Radford led the Hokies in minutes per game, averaging 31.1 per contest.  That leaves a large void to fill for a ranked squad.  Sophomore's Jalen Cone and Hunter Cattoor are the most likely candidates to see increased playing time as a result of Radford's suspension.  Cattoor in particular is deadly from three-point range, hitting a robust 45.1-percent of his shots from beyond the arc thus far this season.

 Kenny Foster, G, Wyoming 

Foster is going to miss extended action due to a knee injury.  Though it is not believed he suffered a torn ACL, Foster will still be sidelined for the foreseeable future for the Cowboys.  The sophomore sharpshooter was sixth in the Mountain West in three-point percentage, connecting on 43.1-percent of his shots from downtown.  The injury could not have come at a worse time for Wyoming, as the Cowboys had reeled off three-straight victories, and Foster had averaged 13 points per game during that span.  With Foster on the shelf, Wyoming will have to rely even more heavily upon their dynamic guard duo of Hunter Maldonado and leading scorer Marcus Williams.  Xavier Dusell, the leading three-point shooter in the conference, is the most likely candidate to pick up minutes without Foster.  Dusell himself has been on a little scoring run, averaging 14.8 points over the last four outings.

 Anthony Polite, G, Florida State 

A shoulder injury will sideline Polite for at least a week or two, leaving the 'Noles without their third-leading scorer and rebounder.  Polite had been averaging 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest on a very well balanced Florida State squad.  Nine players are averaging at least 10 minutes played per contest, though only M.J. Walker had been averaging more playing time per tilt than Polite.  The junior from Switzerland has some of the oddest shooting figures I can recall; Polite is hitting 53.3-prcent from three-point land, but just 57.1-percent from the foul line.  In addition, he's shooting better from three-point territory than from the field overall (50%).  Oddities aside, Polite is one of the key contributors on a team with Final Four aspirations, so the FSU certainly hopes Polite can return sooner rather than later from the injury.