NCAA Basketball: Revisiting preseason top 15 mid-majors for 2019-20
#3 VCU (7-2)
Quality Wins
- 11/13 vs. #23 LSU 84-82
Losses
- 11/29 At. Purdue 56-59
- 11/30 vs. #17 Tennessee 69-72
Top Performer: Marcus Santos-Silva: 13.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.8 SPG
The Rams still have one of the most, if not the most intimidating defense and home court in the country. The offense still looks stagnant at times when they have to play in the half-court, but this year they have the players to make plays when the shot clock gets into single digits. They have already picked up a quality win over a ranked LSU team, but need to continue to win those kind of games if they want to get back into the rankings.
This year the team is going to run through Marcus Santos-Silva. The big man out of Massachusetts has dominated the boards (9.5 RPG) in the early going and points up the most points for VCU to go with it (13.8 PPG). The Rams are going to go as Marcus Evans goes, though, and he needs to continue to improve if the Rams want to get where they want to be. In my opinion, the most skilled player on the roster is De’Riante Jenkins. The 6’5 Senior has the potential to be a pro player.
#2 Utah State (9-1)
Quality Wins
- 11/22 vs. LSU 80-78
Losses
- 11/29 At. Saint Mary’s 73-81
Top Performer: Sam Merrill: 17 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.0 APG
The 25th ranked Aggies have played well despite the absence of Neemias Queta. Despite missing arguably their most important player, they have still been able to win games. They were even able to knock off LSU, thanks to a huge game by Sam Merrill (24 Pts, 8 Ast). After a few more cupcake wins, they weren’t able to pull off the win at Saint Mary’s, which most people believe would have been an upset anyways, since the Aggies are still without their star big man.
Sam Merrill is a star and has proved that again early this season. The Senior is averaging 17 points per game to go along with over four assists and rebounds per game. The most surprising player for this Utah State team has to be Justin Bean. The Sophomore seemed to come out of nowhere this year, with the absence of Queta. He is putting up a double-double (15.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG), and has been a very capable defender despite being undersized. It will be interesting to see what lineup Craig Smith comes out with when the Aggies get back to full strength.
#1 Gonzaga (9-1)
Quality Wins
- 11/28 vs. #11 Oregon 73-72 OT
Losses
- 11/29 vs. Michigan 64-82
Top Performer: Filip Petrusev: 15.7 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Gonzaga and the WCC championships are now an annual pairing, and you shouldn’t expect anything different come the end of the 2020 season. The Bulldogs are loaded in the frontcourt and will overwhelm any West Coast Conference team they face. Mark Few has challenged himself in the non-conference with games so far against Oregon and Michigan. They have more challenges on the way too with dates with more ranked teams: Washington, Arizona, and North Carolina.
An early win against Oregon in Atlantis was impressive, but Gonzaga still has some questions to answer. The primary question is about their backcourt, with transfers Ryan Woodridge and Admon Gilder. Gilder has struggled to shoot the ball out the gate (37.1 FG%) but has provided a steady hand controlling the ball. Woodridge has the more impressive stats, but in the Battle 4 Atlantis, he went 4-14 with six turnovers.
Next. Latest mock 2020 NBA Draft. dark
There may be no one, or few really good teams this year, but the Zags look like they are one of the most complete in the country.