A-10/ACC Basketball Headlines 12.20.25

It's the holiday season, and has been a pretty uneventful week in college basketball, save for Tennessee demolishing Louisville. The upcoming weekend slate is decent, but next Tuesday-Saturday brings basically nothing (just one DI vs DI game, Stanford vs Cal State Northridge, from the 23rd to the 26th). So it's time to focus on bringing some holiday cheer into this column. This week's Three will be the Tidings of Joy players, a trio of players whose presence on the court just makes watching their games more enjoyable. No major stars allowed, although I did choose a single potential all-conference player for each league.

Atlantic Ten

Three Players Who Are A Joy To Watch:

Keonte Jones, Dayton: No one makes louder or more disruptive defensive plays than Jones. Averaging 3.0 blocks + steals per game, as he has every year of his collegiate career, those major takeaways always seem to come in the biggest moments of the game. Jones has not taken on a consistently aggressive offensive role this season, but when he does, he attacks the rim with hurricane-like force (although he lacks the leap of De'Shayne Montgomery), seems to always make his occasional jump shots and can facilitate from anywhere on the court.

Cayden Charles, St. Bonaventure: Charles is just the perfect in the mud player. He's the A-10's best cutter, a necessary skill for a forward playing with the Bonnies quick guards, rim running centers and shooters. Someone needs to just move around and fill in the freshly created gaps. That also leads Charles into plenty of offensive rebounds, and the free points that always follow. A former Division II star, his transformation into a role player is really what keeps St. Bonaventure together.

Roberts Blums, Davidson: The Wildcats feel like they are moving in slow motion offensively this season, and with playmakers all over the court, that often produces results. But every few games, Davidson goes ice cold (and moves like their extremities actually are), and only Blums can rescue them. He sometimes seems as if he is playing for a different team entirely, with his zero hesitation catch-and-shoot threes, wacky floater game and ability to draw fouls. Bonus points for him immediately knowing how to take advantage of the new continuation rules.

Game Of The Week: Dayton 97, Florida State 69

In a week with limited drama, I just couldn't let the game of the week headline be Richmond beating a Missouri Valley team in overtime two weeks in a row. So the honor goes to Dayton's utter pummeling of a power conference team, in the best executed game by an A-10 team in weeks. The Flyers forced 20 turnovers, shot 47 free throws, fouled out 5 different Seminole players and dominated, despite being outshoot from deep. It was another MVP performance for De'Shayne Montgomery (20 points), who added back-to-back alley oops to his highlight reel.

Statline Of The Week: Rikus Schulte (Fordham): 21 points (10-10 fg), 10 rebounds, 3 assists in 82-53 win over Manhattan

Weekend Game To Watch: Liberty at Dayton, Saturday at 12:30 on USA Network

Yes, this is a must win, Q3 game for Dayton, but there's not a ton to work with, and this matchup at least promises some competitive basketball. The Flyers will try to speed up the Flames' deliberate offense (I can't believe I just typed that), which is top 10 in the country in points scored from three. Defending the arc just so happens to be Dayton's major bugaboo. Watch out for Zach Cleveland, a 6'7" forward who boasts the bizarre combination of elite passer (7th in the country in assist rate) and defensive rebounder (40th).

Sickos Game To Watch: Penn at George Mason, Sunday 12/28 at 5:00 on ESPN+

Good games quickly become Sickos games when matched up against NFL football, and this is a quietly excellent game. The Quakers will head to Fairfax already 2-0 vs the A-10 on the season, led by their elite forward duo of senior Ethan Roberts and former Duke/Virginia hyped recruit TJ Power. It will be a fascinating matchup for George Mason's smaller guards and slower bigs any time that Dola Adebayo or Malik Presley isn't available to take on the assignment. On the other end, Penn rarely sends opponents to the free throw line, but if anyone can buck that trend, it will be the Patriots.

3 Bid League podcast was off this week. It will return next week with the 8th annual gifts segment, and a pair of special guests, including St. Bonaventure forward Frank Mitchell.

ACC

Three Players Who Are A Joy To Watch:

Rytis Petraitis, Cal: Cal and Stanford games can be a tough watch for those of us out east, They don't tip off until 10:00 or 11:00, and both teams play a lot of uninteresting buy games this time of year. When the Golden Bears trot out their starters, a few minutes of sleepiness can be common. Then Petraitis checks in, and it's like taking an upper. Next thing you know, he rolling on the floor for a loose ball, or out-jumping an opposing center for a rebound. Maybe he's shutting down the opposing team's best wing, or making an extremely awkward mid-range shot himself. Either way, instant entertainment is a given. Get well soon Rytis, the Golden Bears aren't as fun when you are hurt!

Henri Veesaar, UNC: Veesaar is the perfect modern center on offense. He's a dominant post player, a good playmaker up top, down low and at the nail, and a shooter who has to be respected. But for entertainment purposes, nothing matches the two seconds before and after the ball reaches his hands. Veesaar not only throws his full body weight around when going for rebounds, he does so when catching entry passes. He is constantly trying to set himself up so that he has already asserted physical dominance over the defender before he even makes a move.

Nojus Indrusaitis, Pitt: The DeMarco Minor-led Panther lineups tend to take their point guard's lead and be a bit more deliberate (except Barry Dunning, he's never deliberate), but Indrusaitis turns the game into a constant downhill race to the rim. He never loses his dribble in traffic, can easily shoot over the smaller guards who are often assigned to him, and even though the stats or minute patterns don't back this up, I swear he is Pitt's most talented player.

Game Of The Week: #19 Kansas 77, NC State 76

A thrill ride from the beginning that turned into a devastating missed opportunity for the Wolfpack. It was the perfect chance for a season changing win, at home against a Kansas team that would be credited as being fully healthy, but lost star Darryn Peterson to a second half injury. But NC State just couldn't stop Melvin Council Jr, who scored 13 straight points to end regulation. A late, game-tying three from Darrion Williams forced overtime, but the Wolfpack failed to score on both of their final minute possessions in the extra period to fall by 1.

Statline Of The Week: Paul McNeil Jr (NC State): 47 points (11-17 3pt), 10 rebounds in 108-72 win over Texas Southern

Weekend Game To Watch: #3 Duke vs #19 Texas Tech (in New York City), Saturday at 8:00 on ESPN

Cameron Boozer versus JT Toppin at The Mecca? That game sells itself. But if you want to know more, we have the broader matchup of Toppin (61.1% from two) against the nation's 2nd best two point defense, which will also have to deal with an elite shooter and foul drawer in LeJuan Watts. The Red Raider defense is surrendering the 7th lowest assist rate in the country, but have yet to face a lethal ball movement team at Duke's level.

Sickos Game To Watch: Columbia at Cal, Sunday at 5:00 on ACCNX

A fun matchup, and a very dangerous game for the Golden Bears if Justin Pippen doesn't return to the lineup. Columbia will come out hungry, following a long finals break that came right after a tough overtime loss to Stony Brook. Senior point guard Kenny Noland dominates possessions for the Lions, but for good reason, he's 7th in the Ivy League in assist rate and hasn't missed a free throw. But Columbia's biggest weapon is a cadre of elite rebounders, who may be able to really pummel Cal on the boards.

The Up The Coasts podcast for this week takes a deep dive into Duke and Wake Forest with Conor O'Neill of Deacons Illustrated and Devils Illustrated.