Overall Efficiency:Here are the top 10 teams in Overall Efficiency this season with strength of schedule in parentheses:
1. Duke .983 (52)
2. Pittsburgh .975 (91)
3. North Carolina .973 (44)
4. West Virginia .973 (16)
5. Arizona State .971 (102)
6. Gonzaga .970 (2)
7. Connecticut .969 (64)
8. Georgetown .967 (23)
9. Wake Forest .961 (214)
10. Brigham Young .959 (138)
Last Week:
1. West Virginia .986 (48)
2. Duke .984 (92)
3. Pittsburgh .977 (70)
4. Georgetown .974 (23)
5. North Carolina .972 (77)
6. Connecticut .969 (121)
7. Arizona State .966 (93)
8. Gonzaga .965 (10)
9. Memphis .959 (103)
10. Wake Forest .958 (279)
Memphis(11) dropped down a couple spots and BYU(10) has entered the top 10 in overall efficiency. My guess is that BYU will be staying in the top 10 for a while, since they don't really play anyone all that tough in their conference, except for San Diego State(33) and Utah(34). I would also like to note that if the NCAA Tournament started today, Duke would be my favorite far and away. There is an 8 point difference between them and the 2nd best team, which I have learned is a pretty huge difference from analyzing the date throughout the years. That being said, it is still way too early to take anything from these rankings, which you can tell from West Virginia's 13 point drop from last week to this week. Basically, I don't think Duke will be the favorites to win it all, they just look like the best team right now.
Wake Forest: Last week I mentioned how, BC is the only team to have an effective FG% above 50.0%, a TO rate less than 15%, and an offensive rebound rate greater than 40% against UNC this season. They also were one of only two teams(Kentucky) to hold UNC to under 50.0% in effective FG%. I felt that Wake Forest could also accomplish those benchmarks against UNC and would be able to beat them. So how did Wake Forest do? Well, they had an effective FG% above 50%(52.5%), a TO rate slightly above 15%(18.1%), and held UNC way under 50% in effective FG%(39.2%). However, there were two differences from the BC game: Wake Forest only rebounded 22.2% of their misses on the offensive end, but they had a free throw rate of 63.9%, (39 free throws on 61 FG attempts), which was the highest of any team against UNC. I think this shows that the Wake Forest athleticism showed up big time once again on both ends of the floor.
Teams To Keep An Eye On:
Syracuse: At 16-1 and ranked in the top 10 in the polls, you would think that Syracuse would crack the top 10 in overall efficiency. However, they are only ranked 32nd in overall efficiency, because of a couple of deficiencies they have. First, they are turn the ball over too often(191st overall) and are one of the worst teams at turning other teams over(306th overall). Their second issue is rebounding, where they rank just 106th on the offensive end and an even worse 186th on the defensive end. I would guess most of their rebounding issues on the defensive end are because they play a zone, so there probably won't be room for improvement there. Despite the turnover and rebounding issues, I still think this is a team to keep an eye on, because they are very strong in other areas. They rank 7th in offensive effective FG% and 26th in defensive effective FG% and they are one of the best teams at getting to the free throw line(14th overall) and at keeping other teams off the line(5th overall). They are also 6th in 2-point FG% and hold their opponents to the third lowest 3-Point FG% in the nation. So they certainly are strong in some key areas and wins against Memphis(11), Kansas(24), and Florida(42) are evidence that they can beat some solid teams. Jonny Flynn(16.4 points, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 49.7% FG, 35.7% 3FG), Paul Harris(13.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 54.5% FG), & Arinze Onuaku(12.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 70.7% FG) lead the way for the 'Cuse, while Eric Devendorf(13.9 points, 48.0% FG, 37.1% 3FG) and Andy Rautins(11.2 points, 3.6 assists, 1.5 steals. 39.7% 3FG) are also strong in supporting roles. The next 7 days for Syracuse could tell us a lot about them, with games against Georgetown(8), Notre Dame(43), and Pittsburgh(3). Also, you know I couldn't mention the 'Cuse and Jonny Flynn without linking to Flynn's monster dunk against Rutgers.
Players Catching Wreck:
Jeff Teague, Wake Forest: Who else did you expect to see in this spot? Well, besides Jodie Meeks, who was so good last night that he got his own post. However, Teague was no slouch either when absolutely killed the Tar Heels earlier this week with a 34 point night on 9 of 17 FG and 13-15 from the line. Teague is only a sophomore and has to be increasing his draft stock of late. He had major turnover problem to begin the season, but has only turned it over 6 times in the last 4 games, which is a big improvement over his 3.6 turnovers per game average. Check out the FG% of 53.6% too, that is a ridiculous number for a guard, and he also has the 8th highest offensive rating in college basketball. Put it all together and I'd be suprised if Teague came back to college next season.
Stats: 20.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.1 steals, 53.6% FG , 54.1% 3FG
Unheralded Player of The Week:
Mike Holmes , South Carolina: Holmes is so unheralded that I hadn't even heard of him until right now when I was searching for unknown players who have been playing well this season. Holmes is a 6'7 sophomore for the Gamecocks who has helped his team to a 12-2 start. Averaging 12.0 points and 8.4 rebounds, Holmes has scored in double figures in all but the 3 games this season and has grabbed double digit boards 5 times. South Carolina is one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the country, ranking 23rd overall, so they will need Holmes to keep teams honest down low if they want to create good looks for their shooters.
Stats: 12.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.5 blocks, 48.3% FG
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