Player of the Week:
Dain Dainja (Sr., Memphis)
With one of the greatest names of all time, Dainja is another star transfer for Memphis. He is starting to get it all figured out, which is leading Memphis to a great season. The transfer from Illinois, Dain Dainja took a little bit to get it all figured out for this team, but I think he is starting to get settled down and you say that in this week’s action. He finished with a near double-double in both games this week in his first game this week that was a blowout win against UAB he finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds with a block and seal. Next game he finished with a double-double with 19 points 10 rebounds and 3 assists. This team is starting to figure it all out watch out for this team coming down the home stretch of the season.
Who’s Hot:
JaKobe Coles (Sr., Grand Canyon)
JaKobe Coles has really been coming on as of late and this week’s performances just backs that up, he does a little bit of everything for this team that needs to be done and that is why Grand Canyon is on a 5-game winning streak looking to get back to the top of the conference. In the first game this week he finished with 18 points 8 rebounds and 3 assists with 1 steal and block. Then in a close win against Seattle he finished with 17 points 5 rebounds and 6 assists with 2 steals.
Who’s Not:
Enoch Cheeks (Sr., Dayton)
Being a senior on a team like this I feel like the team would want you to be more reliable and consistent and you just do not get that out of Enoch. Last week he had over 20 points both games then this week combined he did not even have 20 points all together. In thew first game this week Cheeks finished with 2 points and 2 rebounds while shooting 25% from the field and not making a 3pt shot. Then followed that performance up with 10 points 1 rebound and 2 assists while shooting 40% from the field and 28.6% from the 3pt line.
Duke Deen (Sr., Bradley)
In two games this week Duke was held under his season average for points and assists. In this first game this week he finished with 11 points and 2 assists but only shot 33.3% from the field and then 16.7% from the 3pt line. Next game he only had 5 points with 3 assists. Then similarly shooting numbers 22% from the field and 16.7% from the 3pt line.
Top 5 teams outside the Power 5 Conferences
5. Drake – MVC
Drake sneaks in once again in my rankings but you cannot take away from them what they are doing. Drake is on a 7-game winning streak most of the wins are close but they are taking care of everyone in their path. They are 19-2 on the season overall and then 9-2 in their conference where they are now tied for 1st place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
4. Saint Mary’s – West Coast Conference
Still one of the hottest teams on the country just keeps on winning they are on a 9-game winning streak and pretty much doing it in blowout fashion other than the game this week against Washington St where Saint Mary’s only won by 5. They are sitting at 19-3 on the season and then 9-0 in conference play being in 1st place in their conference by 2 games. The big game comes tomorrow where they take on Gonzaga and depending on what happens in that game there might be a shakeup in my rankings.
3. Utah State – Mountain West
After losing to UNLV a couple of weeks ago Utah State has been back on the right path winning both games this week and extending the winning streak to 3 games. With that they are 19-2 on the season and 9-1 in conference play being tied for 1st place in the Moutain West Conference.
2. Gonzaga – West Coast Conference
Like I said earlier, once again Gonzaga has a chance to show everyone who they really are this weekend against Saint Mary’s, but we will have to wait and see how the game unfolds. But, for right now Gonzaga has had a harder schedule then most and still has a 16-6 record on the season and 7-2 in conference place where they sit in 2nd just behind Saint Mary’s.
1. Memphis – AAC
Being ranked 19th in the AP Poll now obviously they will still be ranked 1st in my week’s ranking. This Memphis team I truly do believe they are starting to figure out everything i order for this team to win and done slipping up on teams they should not lose to and starting to take care of business. Memphis is 17-4 on the season and 7-1 in conference play leading them tied for 1st place in conference play.