Why Joshua Jefferson, RJ Luis and Zakai Zeigler deserve more national attention, and why Ole Miss and Memphis are worth monitoring.
We are officially less than two months away from Selection Sunday. With everyone now in the throes of conference play, any remaining “pretenders” are starting to get snuffed out.
Dayton, whose struggles we mentioned in last week’s Rauf Report, has virtually fallen out of at-large contention following a 1-3 start to A10 play and losing four of its last five games overall. Kansas, the preseason No. 1, has conceded ground at the top of the Big 12 and looks likely to repeat last season’s underachievements due to limited offensive production. Maryland, Rutgers and UCLA all looked like potential NCAA Tournament teams before the new year. Now, all three are under .500 in Big Ten play.
I could go on and on (Indiana fans are probably happy I’m not) but you get the idea. We’re at the annual “prove it” portion of the season. Some teams are, and other teams are not.
We’re going to start this Rauf Report with the team that “proved it” the most this week in Ole Miss, who is tied with Auburn for first place in the SEC.
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Ole Miss’ Defensive Surge
It’s safe to say that the Rebels entered conference play two weeks ago with significant questions about their legitimacy. Yes, they had a gaudy 11-2 record, but they had also lost the two toughest games on their non-conference schedule (Purdue, Memphis). That skepticism was fair given the fact Chris Beard’s squad missed last season’s NCAA Tournament after a 13-0 start.
Fast forward to now and Ole Miss has put to bed any questions about how good it is. A resounding 10-point victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday night served as the program’s biggest win under Beard and may be the most impressive win anyone in the country has this season.
“Maybe it’s time to talk a little bit about Ole Miss,” Beard told reporters after beating the Crimson Tide. “I do think my job is to talk up my team a little bit. Tonight, two really good teams played and I think most of the national scene didn’t give Ole Miss much of a chance. Our players believed that we could be successful in this game and that’s what we did.”
The Rebels were able to win that game because of their defense. They limited Alabama to a season-low 0.84 points per possession, just 25 percent shooting from 3-point range and forced 21 turnovers (14 of which were steals). It was a stellar showing on that end of the court, highlighting how good they have been on that end of the court over the last month.
Beard’s teams have been known for their defensive acumen throughout his coaching career. His last four teams at Texas Tech all ranked in the top 20 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom, three of which ranked in the top 10. That remained true during his lone full season at Texas, too. Last year’s Ole Miss team, however, was a dreadful 141st in that category.
The profile of this season’s group is much more in line with Beard’s best — the ones that have won games in the NCAA Tournament and made deep runs. The Rebels look capable of that as long as they maintain this level of play defensively.
Joshua Jefferson’s Impact
Iowa State is starting to get the love it deserves nationally thanks to a 15-1 start. The Cyclones have the nation’s longest winning streak (12 games) after handling Kansas on Wednesday and are one Johni Broome tip-in away from being undefeated. They’re one of two teams in the country that rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency (Duke), they have five Quad 1 victories (fourth-most nationally) and sit in first in the Big 12 alongside Houston and Arizona.
Keshon Gilbert has been recognized as the leader of this start – and rightfully so – appearing on virtually every publication’s midseason All-Americans list. Curtis Jones, the best sixth man in the country, leads the Cyclones in scoring and currently sits ninth in KenPom’s National Player of the Year rankings.
Yet I think 6-9 forward Joshua Jefferson has been as big of a piece to this start as anyone.
The Saint Mary’s transfer was part of a frontcourt overhaul that was necessary as Iowa State’s top three frontcourt players a year ago (Robert Jones, Tre King, Hason Ward) were all out of eligibility. Head coach TJ Otzelburger knew he was getting his star perimeter quartet back but needed to replace those guys up front.
Dishon Jackson (Charlotte) and Brandton Chatfield (Seattle) have been stellar around the rim on both ends, serving as quality rim protectors and rebounders as traditional big men.
Jefferson is different though. He’s a phenomenal passer and defensive pest to go along with his rebounding savvy, allowing him to be a secondary offensive hub for this group. The 6-9, 240-pounder needed some time to find his role in Iowa State’s system but since the start of December he has taken his game to another level.
In last weekend’s victory over Texas Tech, it was Jefferson who made the buzzer-beating layup to force overtime – and then it was him again who hit the free throws to win the game. Against Kansas, he recorded his fifth double-double of the season.
Iowa State’s guards will likely continue to get the headlines because they’re simply fantastic. But Jefferson’s unique ability to stuff the stat sheet is a big difference-maker that has elevated the Cyclones from good to great.
RJ Luis deserves some All-America consideration
St. John’s wing RJ Luis is another star that continues to be underrated nationally. Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond and Utah transfer Deivon Smith were supposed to be the leaders for Rick Pitino’s squad, and a hot start to the season for Simeon Wilcher made it look like the sophomore was set to have a breakout season.
Instead, Luis has emerged as the Red Storm’s best and most important player.
The 6-7, 215-pounder leads the team in points (17.5 ppg) while ranking second in rebounding and steals, and third in assists and blocks. Simply put, he does a little bit of everything at a high level.
His impact is apparent when looking at his on/off splits. When he’s on the court, St. John’s net rating is significantly higher on both ends of the court – the largest on/off disparity of anyone.
Pitino and the Red Storm saw glimpses of this level of play from Luis last season when he returned from a shin injury, but the junior has now put it together consistently.
“He’s physically stronger than what he was,” Pitino said after St. John’s beat Villanova on Saturday. “He has — and this is a good thing, it’s not a selfish thing — he has an incredible desire to score.”
Luis is the reigning Big East Player of the Week – winning it over Marquette’s Kam Jones and Villanova’s Eric Dixon – after scoring 30 points against the Wildcats in that game. He followed it up with a 19-point outing in a home victory over Georgetown on Tuesday, pushing the Johnnies to second place in conference play.
Zakai Zeigler does, too
Sticking with this underrated superstar theme we’ve developed in this report, Tennessee’s victory over Georgia on Wednesday reminded everyone that senior point guard Zakai Zeigler – not star transfer Chaz Lanier – is the guy who makes everything go for the Volunteers.
Zeigler finished with 16 points, seven assists and six steals, including 11 points, five assists and four steals in the second half as the Vols erased a halftime deficit.
The 5-9, 172-pounder has never been a major volume scorer during his career in Knoxville. However, he’s leading the SEC in assist rate for the third consecutive season and is second in the conference in steal rate.
“All that, all the little things, (he was) just really truly being Zakai,” head coach Rick Barnes explained postgame. “Trying to find a way to impact the game, whether it’s 94 feet away. His six steals were huge. That’s huge. Just really being who he is.
“Very few guys can do what he does with the way he impacts the game on both ends, his defense and how hard he (plays). The guy has been an incredible blessing for me, personally.”
If Tennessee is going to get back to being the No. 1 team in the country and make the program’s first-ever Final Four, it will need Lanier’s scoring to get back on track and to find more consistent bench production. But the floor for this team will remain high no matter what because of what Zeigler brings to the table.
Memphis’ loss to Temple continues trend under Penny Hardaway
Memphis suffered its first conference defeat of the season on Thursday at Temple, which is a loss that had been coming. The Tigers flirted with disaster against both North Texas and East Carolina at home the last two weekends before the Owls were finally able to take advantage of their lackluster play.
Unfortunately, this is not new for Memphis under Penny Hardaway.
Last season’s team was 15-2 overall before closing January on a four-game losing streak in AAC play, the start of a downfall that caused the Tigers to miss the NCAA Tournament.
In the 2022-23 season, Memphis lost to Tulane and UCF on the road in January before recovering to earn a No. 8 seed in the Big Dance.
The 2021-22 team that won a game in the NCAA Tournament went through a 3-game losing streak in January conference play, too.
Memphis seems to struggle around this time of year for whatever reason, whether because of the familiarity of conference opponents or otherwise.
Postgame, Hardaway blamed effort for Memphis’ loss to Temple. The Tigers were outrebounded 49-25 by the Owls, and he didn’t mince words after the game.
“We can’t go another game like this ever again,” Hardaway said on Memphis’ postgame radio show. “It was a butt-kicking. Every team in this league is gonna come out and crash the glass on us. If we don’t do something about it, every game is gonna be tough. It doesn’t have to be tough.”
Rebounding has been something of an Achilles’ heel for the Tigers as they rank 344th nationally in defensive rebounding rate – meaning they give up more offensive rebounds (and therefore second chance points) than all but 20 teams in the country.
We’re far enough into the season that it’s clear this area won’t be a strength for this group, However, as Hardaway alluded to, more effort could keep it from becoming a limiting factor – and prevent Memphis from suffering the same January struggles we’ve seen in recent years.
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