The Rauf Report breaks down the top takeaways from the week of NCAA Basketball, headlined by turnarounds from FAU and Villanova.
Like many of you, I had plans with family and friends over the weekend to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. For us, a gathering with family friends on Saturday night was non-Thanksgiving meal highlight of our trip. Kids are playing with adults gathered around the TV watching a smorgasbord of sports with a beverage in hand.
Things are going swimmingly until I see a missed call from my wife, immediately followed by a chilling text:
Come here.
If you have kids, you know the sinking feeling that consumes your body when you see that series of notifications on your phone. Something was up. I find my wife upstairs with our two-year-old, Bennett, who had — for lack of a better term — an accident.
Everywhere. All over his clothes, the floor, the toys he was playing with, everywhere.
That was the end of the enjoyable evening we had looked forward to.
We got him (and the house) cleaned up and into some clean clothes, but it was clear he needed to go home. My wife had grown up with this group of friends we were visiting, so I volunteered to take him back. I find it difficult to go back to relaxing in a social setting after dealing with a disaster of that magnitude, anyway. Bennett and I made the short drive to my father-in-law’s house and got him in bed.
With that ordeal behind me, I took a deep breath and realized something: I was alone. I now had the peace and quiet that parents of young children rarely get, and time to enjoy myself without people screaming to put Bluey or Paw Patrol on TV instead of NC State-BYU. I poured myself a drink, sat on the couch and had a good night in spite of the prior events.
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The point is that sometimes things don’t go as planned. In fact, it’s rare when things do go as planned — so you have to adjust.
College basketball is no different, particularly this time of year. We spend all offseason thinking we know how a team will play, how its rotations will shake out, which roles individual players will fill. But then live action comes and, well, things don’t go as planned. Teams have to adjust and make changes so that their season — like my Saturday night — is still an enjoyable one.
We start this Rauf Report with a look at two teams, FAU and Villanova, which have already made some tweaks that paid major dividends over the weekend.
What’s behind FAU’s resurgence
Florida Atlantic made the biggest statement of the weekend. The Owls shook off a sluggish preseason and a loss to Bryant, and they ended up looking like a Final Four contender in the ESPN Events Invitational.
Those shaky early-season moments were marred by lackluster offense. The Owls struggled to completely put away Loyola Chicago in the opener and then only managed to score 52 points against Bryant. Those offensive woes changed in a big way in Orlando. FAU averaged over 90 points per game across its three contests with much more efficiency across the board.
Having a fully healthy Alijah Martin appears to be the main reason why. Martin is arguably FAU’s best player, but he dealt with a foot injury that limited him in the offseason and at the start of the regular season. He looked much more like himself this weekend, spearheading Florida Atlantic’s attack.
Martin is a dynamic playmaker who can score from all three levels, create his own shot, and generate offense for teammates. He’s that jack-of-all-trades piece that connects a lot of what Dusty May wants to run, and his impact was obvious.
Florida Atlantic is back to looking like the team we thought it would be. A showdown with undefeated Liberty looms on Thursday, as do upcoming neutral court games against Illinois and Arizona in December. But for now, all the potential concerns about the Owls should be gone.
How Villanova has tweaked its offense
Following Villanova’s loss to Penn, I led the very next Rauf Report with a breakdown of how the Wildcats’ offense lacked movement and purpose. Their assist numbers were dreadful and relied on perimeter players to basically do everything one-on-one.
Of course, all Villanova has done since then is win the Battle 4 Atlantis, which it was able to do because of some small tweaks to how Kyle Neptune is running his offense.
The Wildcats are still basing their offense on isolation and initial penetration, so any ball movement comes as the result of a collapsing defense. There are fewer shots being forced, which helps, but the main adjustment has been playing more through Eric Dixon in the post.
The big man is a gifted passer with range extending out past the 3-point line, and he can also score from the low block. Villanova made him the focal point of the offense in Atlantis, playing off his isolations in the post rather than relying on the backcourt as much. For his part, Dixon delivered in a big way.
Isolating Dixon in the post automatically puts the defense in a more vulnerable position than if one of Villanova’s guards was isolated on the wing. Perimeter action is designed with the goal of breaking through the defense’s initial line and forcing rotations. By throwing the ball into the post, you’re already behind that initial defensive line, forcing much quicker and more drastic rotations.
Penn had success with its 2-3 zone, which is designed to pack the paint and limit touches there. Villanova mostly ran into man defenses in Atlantis and found success with this. I’m interested to see if it works with the same level of success against a zone, but there’s no doubt it has breathed new energy into Villanova’s season.
Tristen Newton is becoming a star
Let’s stick in the Big East and look at the defending champs who handled their MTE business last week. UConn won the Empire Classic, but Tristen Newton‘s performance against Manhattan on Friday deserves its own mention.
UConn dominated the Jaspers as expected, and Newton led the charge with a 15-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound performance. It was the third triple-double of his career, making him the program leader in career triple-doubles.
Newton has not been putting up triple-doubles every game, but he does rank in the top 100 nationally in both defensive rebound rate (82nd) and assist rate (37th), per KenPom. He also leads the Big East in assists (fifth nationally), and he is top five in rebounds and top 15 in scoring.
“He should be talked about as one of the best guards in the country,” Dan Hurley said postgame. “But people that don’t watch the games and just watch TikTok highlights are the ones judging.”
We thought Donovan Clingan would be the biggest breakout star for UConn, but it’s Newton who has gone from role player to the team’s most important player.
Jayden Epps can make things interesting for Georgetown
I didn’t mean for this column to be so self-involved and Big East-heavy, but here we are!
I’ve already written in a past Rauf Report about why Georgetown fans should temper expectations for Year 1 of the Ed Cooley era. That isn’t changing. But Jayden Epps could make things interesting on a game-to-game basis.
The Illinois transfer has been spectacular for the Hoyas, putting up 34 points in Georgetown’s win over Jackson State on Saturday. This came on the heels of a 31-point effort in which he led a comeback against American, wherein Epps emerged as the team’s clear go-to guy.
Again, I don’t want to get too caught up in performances against American and Jackson State. However, Epps has shown the ability to be a reliable high-volume scoring threat and he’s only a sophomore. He’ll likely be the focal point of this rebuild and having that centerpiece should make Georgetown fans feel good.
For this immediate season, however… remember Jeremy Hazell? He played for Seton Hall from 2008-2011 and averaged nearly 19 points for his career. His Pirate teams were not that good, and they never made the NCAA Tournament. Still, his individual scoring ability was enough to lead Seton Hall to some major upset victories in conference play. Epps can have that same kind of impact with this version of Georgetown.
Could BYU be a factor in the Big 12?
Over in the Big 12, BYU has surprisingly skyrocketed into the KenPom top 10 thanks to a 6-0 start. That early run includes nine-point victories over both San Diego State and NC State.
The Cougars didn’t have high expectations coming into the season, especially with the jump in leagues. Mark Pope’s squad was picked to finish 13th in the preseason after missing the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons.
Whoops.
BYU has demonstrated a high level of play on both ends, ranking top 20 nationally in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Nevertheless, this team has an identity. The Cougars aim to space opposing defenses and shoot a lot of 3-pointers with a deep, 10-man rotation. Seven different players are shooting over 35 percent from long range, with four shooting at least 45 percent, which has led to this historic start.
But there is a difference between being an NCAA Tournament-caliber team and being one that can compete for a Big 12 title. The Cougars are currently one of four teams in the league to rank in the KenPom top 11, which suggests they will be in the mix.
Can BYU maintain this level of shooting? Will its lack of rim protection will be exposed? Those are key questions, but it may be a while until we know the answers. BYU only faces one KenPom top 150 team (Utah) between now and the start of conference play on Jan. 6 against Cincinnati.
The Cougars could very well roll into the Big 12 riding an unbelievable hype train. I still think Baylor, Houston and Kansas are a tier ahead from a talent perspective, but BYU may end up being the best of the rest.
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