Player of the Week:
Bent Leuchten (Sr., UC Irvine)
The starting center for UC Irvine, Bent Leuchten has been off to a great start to this season. So, has his team where they are 10-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Big West Conference. Bent is nearly averaging a near double-double a game with 15.9 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. He was over both those averages in their game this week against Belmont after coming off their first loss of the season against Oregon State. In the win over Belmont, Leuchten had 23 points where he scored 21 of those points in the second half then also added 15 rebounds in 28 minutes of playing time. UC Irvine and Bent will look to keep the hot streak going as they have a game Dec. 21 against Duquesne.
Who’s Hot:
Donovan Dent (Jr., New Mexico)
In two games this week New Mexico won both of them with a great performance by Donovan in both of those games. He had 11 points and 8 assists in the game against Western New Mexico. Then he followed that performance up with 40 points 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the game against VCU. Where the final score was 78-71 so New Mexico needed all of that. He is averaging 19.6 points per game which is 27th in the country and then 7.3 assists per game with is 7th in the country.
Chance Moore (Sr., St. Bonaventure)
Having two double-doubles in both games this week is hard to do and that is exactly what Chance Moore did while also picking up wins in both of those games. They had a big matchup this week against Providence where Moore took advantage of that game and finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Then followed that game up with a 23 point game and 10 rebounds against Siena. Chance is averaging 15.8 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Who’s Not:
Jordan Ross (So., Saint Mary’s)
The starting guard this week for Saint Mary’s did not get in double digits points in either of those two games this week with 7 points and 5 points. Saint Mary’s also picked up a loss in one of those games against Boise St. His shooting percentages pretty much all over the court are not good so far on the season. He is shooting 61.5% from the FT then 25.9% from 3-point line and lastly 37.1% from FG%. He will look to get out of this slump with an important game against Utah State on De. 22.
Harlond Beverly (Sr., Wichita State)
It was a tough week for Harlond and the Wichita State Shockers. They played two games this week and lost both of them against DePaul and Kansas City. The Kansas City game was the rough game for Beverly where he only had 7 points. He shot 0-2 from the 3pt line and then 2-7 from the field. So, far on the season he is shooting 26.1% from 3pt line and then 45% from the field. They will need to start off strong this week and get back in the win column and Wichita will look to do that against Kansas State.
Top 5 teams outside the Power Four Conferences
5. UC Irvine – Big West
With a 10-1 record so far on this season it gives them the ranking of the 5th best team outside the Power 5 Conference. Their only loss on the season comes to a hard-fought battle to Oregon St where they lost 67-55 on Dec.14. There are 5 teams in the conference tied for first with the record in conference play but with them being 10-1 they get the nod.
4. Rhode Island – Atlantic 10
Although they only played one game this week, they picked up a big win against Central Connecticut where they won 77-69. Where they are 10-1 on the season. Conference play still hasn’t started for the Atlantic Conference. They have a big game against Temple on Dec.21 where they look to keep the great season going.
3. Drake – MVC
Drake also only played one game this week where they won 73-70 against Kansas St. They are arguably one of the hottest teams in the country with 10-0 record and 1-0 in conference play which they are tied for 1st for the conference with Indiana St.
2. San Diego St – Mountain West
The 23rd ranked team in the country has been playing great basketball of lately. They have a 7-2 record on the year, but they are on a 4-game winning streak as it looks like they are starting to figure it all out as a team. That is why they are ranked where they are in the country and also in my rankings.
1. Gonzaga – West Coast Conference
Gonzaga is the best 3 loss team in the country with who their losses are to. They picked up a loss to UConn this week in a hard-fought game. Although they are ranked number 1 in my rankings, they need to start picking up big wins against big teams or they will start to drop. With that being said I would put them up against anyone not inside the power 5 conferences.