NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 5 Naismith Trophy finalists for 2019-20

Stats: 20.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.2 apg

The first thing people will think about in the future regarding the 2019-20 college basketball season (aside from them canceling the NCAA Tournament) will probably be Obi Toppin and this Dayton team.

They never lost in regulation, were on track to be a No. 1 seed if the NCAA Tournament was played, and Toppin was going off on everyone in the A-10.

You may argue that fact – being the most remembered – is telling of who the best player in the country was and who should win this award, and I don’t necessarily think you’re wrong. I loved watching Toppin and his improvement as the season went on. I also think he was ready to lead Dayton to a Final Four, which may have put him at No. 1 on the list.

So, let me tell you why I don’t have him at the top (and remember, I’m an Obi Toppin fan!) – he was not at his best on the few occasions when his best was needed.

Against Kansas in the Maui Invitational, he was overpowered by Azubuike down the stretch (no shame in that) and the Flyers ran everything through Ryan Mikesell and Jalen Crutcher, not Toppin, in the closing minutes. The same thing happened late in their loss to Colorado, too.

In their narrow victory at Saint Louis, Toppin – who was the biggest reason the Flyers were still in the game at halftime – was again usurped by other options down the stretch. And, in what was perhaps their most hyped conference game of the season at VCU, he was largely held in check and was limited to 12 points.

I am not saying that Toppin isn’t great, because he absolutely is. I think he’ll wind up being the best NBA player from this draft class, too.

But when we’re splitting hairs at the top of a close race like this, those performances matter. And they especially matter when playing in a mid-major conference that doesn’t provide the same level of consistent competition.