NCAA Basketball Mailbag: Best Big Ten team, top mid-major player, and more

Who is the best NCAA Basketball team in the Big Ten? SEC? Who is the best mid-major player in the country? We get into all of this and more in this week’s mailbag.

The NCAA Basketball season is now in full swing with the first of the early season non-conference tournaments tipping off, bringing us a few high-profile matchups.

UConn upset Syracuse in Madison Square Garden in a game that would do the Old Big East proud. Alabama fell at the hands of CAA favorite Northeastern. And, most shockingly, Michigan delivered a 73-46 shellacking of Villanova in the rematch of last season’s national title game.

That victory highlighted the Big Ten‘s absolute beatdown of the Big East in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, but it was also the kind of performance that caused many to wonder about Michigan’s standing in the Big Ten and in the national rankings, which is a topic we’ll get into in this week’s mailbag.

Do you have a college basketball or NBA Draft question you want to have answered? Join the conversation on Twitter @brauf33. Thanks as always to those who contributed this week. Let’s get into it.

The Big Ten race is pretty wide open after Michigan State and Michigan and I think those two teams have clearly separated themselves as the conference’s top-tier (although Indiana looks like they can contend up there). Michigan is getting a lot of well-deserved publicity and increased hype following their dominant win over Villanova, yet I’m still going to go with the Spartans here.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up being co-champs but I think Michigan’s win had more to do with Villanova being a bit overrated than Michigan being a legit top-10 team (though I think they probably belong in the No. 12-14 range). Michigan State just has more experience and a more efficient offense. But, again, the margin between those two isn’t very wide.

On the season, I can see Purdue winning somewhere just shy of 25 games. Carsen Edwards is the best player in the Big Ten and their conference schedule sets up well. Big non-conference games against Florida State and Texas – both on the road – will be key indicators for the Boilermakers. If they win both of those games, Purdue can definitely hit that 25-win mark (any maybe even go over it).

Last year, I was spot on with eight teams from the SEC, and this year I think eight teams will make the field again.

Tennessee, Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and LSU are all locks with Vanderbilt and Florida expected to make it as well. That already puts us at seven, and then you have the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, and maybe even Missouri in that next tier who figure to be on the bubble. In the end, I think only one of those teams actually makes the cut, so I’m setting the number at eight – but the conference is going to get at least seven.

UConn’s win over Syracuse on Thursday night was huge for both the program and for new head coach Dan Hurley. It gave some early validity to what he’s doing in Storrs and generated some much-needed optimism.

The lesson I took away from that game is that UConn is going to be much better – likely NCAA Tournament good – but they’re not going to be as good as they were in that game nor does Syracuse have any reason to panic.

The Huskies were one of the country’s worst three-point shooting teams a year ago but got red-hot against the Orange, making 12 of their 21 attempts. That’s not the new norm for them. Syracuse also shot it poorly and didn’t have starting point guard Frank Howard.

So is UConn good? Yes, especially with Alterique Gilbert healthy. But they aren’t quite as good as they played Thursday night.

You could put a number of Gonzaga players in this spot and make a strong case for each (I’d go with Rui Hachimura), but they’ve long since crossed that point where they aren’t really a mid-major program. You could say the same thing about the Martin twins or Jordan Caroline at Nevada, but I’m going to skip over them, too.

The guy I’m going with is Buffalo’s C.J. Massinburg. One of the keys for the Bulls last year, Massinburg has taken his play to another level and is averaging 20.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game so far while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from deep. He’s also making just under four three-pointers per game, showing just how much of a threat he is from distance.

What sets him apart is the impact he’s having during Buffalo’s 3-0 start. He had 43 & 14 in that upset win over West Virginia and got the Bulls out of their slow start against Southern Illinois.

Where is Kevin Porter Jr. on the draft board, where was he prior to season? Player comparison?

Porter Jr., a 6-6 freshman combo guard for USC, is right around No. 20 on the draft board, give or take a couple of spots depending on the teams that end up drafting there. He’s a skilled scorer with the size and athleticism that gives him a ton of potential as a defender as well. Porter needs to become more consistent, especially as a shooter, but he’ll be a first-rounder because of his size and upside.

The best player comparison for him I think is Dejounte Murray. Both are big, long, athletic guards that excel at getting to the rim. Murray has obviously developed into a really good defender and the same kind of ability is there for Porter.