Why Alabama’s defense is still an issue and why Jeremiah Fears, Ian Jackson and Tarris Reed have become their team’s most important players.
It’s hard to believe that the non-conference portion of the college basketball season is nearly over, yet that’s where we find ourselves a few days out from Christmas. The calendar lightens up this time of year to give players a chance to make a *quick* trip home for the holidays before getting fully into conference play.
That said, this last week gave us more quality action than had been anticipated. Both games of the Jumpman Invitational were outstanding and served as breakout moments for two freshmen guards. The Big East, with its full 20-game conference schedule, got league play fully underway as well.
We’ll get to subjects related to both of those topics later in this Rauf Report, but I want to start with a look at Alabama following the Crimson Tide’s narrow road victory over North Dakota.
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Alabama’s defense is better – but is it good enough?
The headline from Alabama’s win isn’t surprising. Grant Nelson starred in his return trip to North Dakota, his home state, but the Fighting Hawks nearly pulled off the upset thanks to 40 points from Treyson Eaglestaff. The 6-6 junior hit eight 3-pointers and really put North Dakota on his back.
As great as Eaglestaff was, it was also a reminder that this Alabama defense isn’t exactly “fixed.”
Alabama set out hoping to drastically improve on that end of the court after ranking 111th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, including 200th against top-50 opponents (17-game sample size). It was the motivation behind pursuing Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi, and the hope was that his interior defense would greatly improve everything both inside and out.
The Crimson Tide have been slightly better defensively through 11 games – but not by much. They’re only giving up a bucket less per game and aren’t rebounding, forcing turnovers or protecting the rim at the same level it did a year ago.
Omoruyi’s struggles are a part of that. He’s averaging just 18.5 minutes per game – his lowest total since his freshman season – meaning there’s still a hole on the interior that Nelson has shown an inability to fill on that end. Teams with quality big men like Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner have had success in that matchup.
However, the bigger issue remains on the perimeter. Eaglestaff’s 40-piece was just the latest in a line of excellent performances the Crimson Tide have allowed to opposing guards. Braden Smith had 17 points and 10 assists in their win over Alabama. LJ Cryer and Dylan Harper scored 30 and 37 points, respectively, in close losses to the Tide. Oregon’s Keeshawn Barthelemy and UNC’s Ian Jackson scored 22 and 23 points, respectively, off the bench against Nate Oats’ squad.
Alabama’s Final Four run has largely overshadowed the issues that plagued them during the regular season. Again, while being improved, the Tide’s current AdjD rating puts it as the 12th-best defense in the 16-team SEC, which has collectively put forth the best non-conference record by any league in the sport’s history.
If this group is going to win a conference as strong as this one, the defense has to take yet another step forward.
Ian Jackson’s emergence gives UNC hope
Speaking of Ian Jackson, that performance against Alabama was the start of the five-star freshman having an increased role within North Carolina’s offense. The freshman still hasn’t started a game yet this season, but he has played starter-level minutes following the Maui Invitational – and he has increased both his production and efficiency in that bigger role.
North Carolina has a number of roster issues that we have talked about before both in past columns and in Rauf Report videos. Its frontcourt is underperforming without having a real fix in sight, RJ Davis’ efficiency has plummeted, its perimeter defense has been poor and they are 231st in first-half scoring margin.
Still, it has been tough for Hubert Davis to find a firm spot for Jackson in the rotation. Returners Elliot Cadeau, Davis and Seth Trimble are pretty much locked in as starters on the perimeter, and fellow freshman Drake Powell has had to start at the four because of his defensive abilities.
Jackson has been the odd man out to this point, but his play indicates he needs even more playing time. There was a stretch in the second half against Florida where he was the best player on the court only to get pulled late in the game.
It may take some lineup creativity, but Jackson’s emergence as a dynamic scoring threat to complement RJ Davis can help open things up offensively for the Tar Heels. He has shown he can handle that responsibility.
Jeremiah Fears is a budding superstar
Jackson was not the best freshman at the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte this week. That distinction belonged to Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears, who scored 30 points – including the game-winning four-point play – to lead the Sooners’ comeback victory over Michigan.
“It was just great,” Fears told ESPN’s SportsCenter postgame about that game-winning basket. “It actually was for one of my teammates, but they ended up denying him and Coach [Porter Moser] just looked at me and said, ‘Make a play.’ Just knowing the work I’ve put in, I’ve put in countless hours and sleepless nights, and I think it helped pay off today.”
It’s the latest outstanding performance for the freshman, who leads the undefeated Sooners in points, assists and steals. He did not commit to Oklahoma until July after reclassifying from the 2025 recruiting class to the 2024 class.
Guards who reclassify have historically struggled mightily in their first season in college – not Fears. Three of his top five players comps on KenPom are:
- Xavier Johnson’s freshman season at Pitt, when he was an ACC All-Freshman selection
- Isaiah Collier’s lone season at USC, which led to him being a first-round draft pick
- De’Aaron Fox’s lone season at Kentucky, which led to him being a first team All-SEC performer and top-five draft pick
Fears’ hot start also has him shooting up draft boards. At 6-4 and 182 pounds, Fears has prototypical size for a point guard at the professional ranks, and he has also routinely showcased his ability to create his own shot and fill it up from all three levels.
That will come in the future, and what he’s doing right now is worthy of standing on its own. He’s one of just four players in the last decade to record at least an offensive rating of 120, usage and assist rates of at least 32 and an effective field goal percentage over 50.
The others? Trae Young, Ja Morant and Oakland’s Kahlil Felder (2016).
Tarris Reed Jr. is having his breakout season
How UConn was going to replace Donovan Clingan was a major question going into the season. The Huskies had Clingan waiting in the wings when Adam Sanogo moved on to the NBA, and he had already played such a pivotal role that we knew he was going to be a high-impact guy.
Samson Johnson filled the backup big role behind Clingan in 2023-24 and he got the first crack at being “the guy” inside, but he hasn’t been able to carry the burden, averaging less than 17 minutes per game. He suffered a concussion against Gonzaga on Saturday that threw Tarris Reed into that starting role – and Reed thrived.
The Michigan transfer had 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds and four blocks, putting together the kind of all-around performance that earns you significantly more playing time. It’s also not like Reed hasn’t been incredibly effective this season, either. He’s top 20 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding rate, 33rd in block rate, 56th in offensive rating, per KenPom.
“He’s awesome,” Dan Hurley said of Reed following the Xavier win. “He’s so agile. When he’s mean and violent and it’s life or death pursuit of the ball, and he plays with force — he’s just got to decide what type of bear he wants to be. When he’s a grizzly bear or a Kodiak bear or a vicious polar bear, he’s incredible. He’s such a nice guy and a sweetheart that sometimes he doesn’t play with that force and want to be a killer. When he takes that step and is just an ass-kicking killer you’re going to see consistent nights like tonight.”
UConn is hoping Reed can continue to be that guy, and everything is pointing to the fact that he can sustain something close to this level of play.
Weekend games with significant meaning
A few games worth monitoring this weekend, for various reasons, beyond just the high-profile matchups.
Louisville at Florida State – As wide open as the ACC is, these are two teams capable of making a push towards the top four and a double bye in the conference tournament. However, both lost their ACC openers. FSU also doesn’t have a top-100 win and Louisville has lost four of its last five games.
Villanova at Creighton – Creighton lost its Big East opener to Georgetown by 24 points and has struggled much more than normal offensively without its usual plethora of shooters. A win for Villanova would move it to 2-0 in Big East play, something that seemed way out of the picture just a month ago.
Illinois vs. Missouri – Missouri has won 10 games in a row including a victory over Kansas, but that win over the Jayhawks is the only top 120 team it faced during that stretch. Is Mizzou for real? We’ll find out against an Illinois team that has lost two of its last three games.
Utah State at Saint Mary’s – Utah State lost its first game of the season on Tuesday but has put together a solid at-large resume to this point. Saint Mary’s has as well. The winner of this game between two elite non-power conference programs will set itself up incredibly well for Selection Sunday.
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