NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Illinois rises, Dayton keeps impressing

Seton Hall only played one game during this past week and it casually took care of business with a nine-point home win over the Providence. Senior big man Romaro Gill was once again the star of the team in this contest as his in-season growth continues to be on full display with each performance. He absolutely terrorized the Friars on both ends of the floor en route to posting 17 points (8-for-10 FG), 5 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Gill’s development over the past few weeks has been glaringly obvious as the main reason for the Pirates’ rise up the rankings.

Gill already emerged as one of the nation’s best defensive players thanks to ridiculous shot-blocking performances during the non-conference portion of the schedule. While his elite rim-protecting has carried over into the Big East season, it is impossible to ignore that he has taken massive strides offensively. Seton Hall is utilizing him incredibly well in the pick-and-roll and he is flying above the rim for finishes. Gill is averaging 13.1 points (64.7% FG), 6.4 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks per game in conference play.

He is not the only player that has upped his game in recent weeks, though. Point guard Quincy McKnight has also improved his offensive game to become a more well-rounded threat. McKnight had already been regarded as one of the nation’s best perimeter defenders but has been averaging 11.3 points and 8.1 assists per game since the beginning of the conference season. He is also shooting 42.9% from three as a major perimeter threat.

Myles Powell remains the star of this team but Seton Hall is getting a ton of contributions elsewhere. The Pirates are also about to add another offensive weapon to the mix as Sandro Mamukelashvili is poised to return from injury in the near future.