College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

Gonzaga served up a statement victory against UCLA on Tuesday night.  After needing a Jalen Suggs buzzer-beating heave to take down the Bruins in the Final Four a season ago, the Bulldogs needed no such magic in the rematch.  In a clash between No. 1 and No. 2, Gonzaga jumped all over UCLA in the first half and never stepped off the gas pedal.  The 'Zags led by 20 points at the break and ultimately never relinquished that margin in an 83-63 thrashing of the Bruins.  Freshman unicorn Chet Holmgren and imposing center Drew Timme get the headlines, but point guard Andrew Nembhard was the catalyst for this victory, as he compiled a game-high 24 points along with five rebounds, six assists and three steals.  Gonzaga suffocated the Bruins on defense while shooting a blistering 56 percent from the field on offense.  The season is still in its infancy, but Gonzaga has won every game by double-digits thus far.  A date with Duke the day after Thanksgiving pits the top two NBA Draft prospects for 2022 against each other (Holmgren and Paolo Banchero) and could be yet another early preview of a potential Final Four matchup.

Let's look at some players making waves in this edition of the College Hoops Barometer.

UPGRADE

Christian Koloko, C, Arizona – Perhaps no player has shown more improvement so far this season than Koloko, the 7-foot-1 center from Cameroon who appears to be blossoming for the Wildcats right before our very eyes.  Koloko has almost tripled his points per game from a season ago, nearly doubled his rebounds and is swatting shots with reckless abandon and ferocity.  Koloko outplayed one of the top players in the nation this past weekend in the form of Michigan's Hunter Dickinson.  Koloko tallied 22 points, seven rebounds, two assists and four rejections in an impressive 80-62 drubbing of the Wolverines.  Dickinson, a Preseason First-Team All-American, managed just 11 points and seven boards.  As long as Koloko stays out of foul trouble, he will be a force to be reckoned with.

 Seth Lundy, F, Penn State – Lundy has taken his game to the next level for the Nittany Lions thus far this season.  Lundy and rebounding machine John Harrar boast an imposing frontcourt, as the pair has combined for 29.1 points and 18.6 rebounds per contest.  Lundy's scoring has been a huge boost, as he is shooting almost as well from three-point range (57.1 percent) as from the field (58.5 percent).  With Siena transfer Jalen Pickett acting as floor general and Sam Sessoms lighting it up from long distance to begin the year, the Nittany Lions could surprise despite low expectations coming into the season.  After all, the three-point shot can be the great equalizer, and Lundy and Sessoms have been surging from beyond the arc to begin this campaign.

 Justin Bean, F, Utah State – Bean has already posted some monstrous stat line early on this season.  He has four double-doubles in the first five games for the Aggies.  He notched 30 points and 14 boards in Utah State's first win over the season against Richmond, then followed that up with a massive performance of 33 points and 16 rebounds against Penn.  Then in this past Sunday's surprise win over Oklahoma, Bean scored 24 points and pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds.  Bean was not named to the Preseason All-Conference squad, a snub that clearly looks to be motivating him thus far during his senior campaign.

 Keegan Murray, F, Iowa – Patrick McCaffery is hurt, but that still does not explain the explosive outputs for the sophomore Murray to start the season.  Murray has gone from averaging 7.2 points in 18 minutes per game as a freshman, to becoming the second-leading scorer in the nation with 26.2 points in just 24 minutes per contest.  Murray also pulled down a staggering 21 rebounds against North Carolina Central earlier this month and is fourth in the Big Ten in blocks per tilt.  Certainly, the departure of Luka Garza has opened up a plethora of opportunities, and Murray was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team after a.   Still, even the staunchest of Hawkeye supporters likely did not see these types of performances coming.

CHECK STATUS

 Trevion Williams, F, Purdue – Williams started 26 of 28 games last season for the Boilermakers, averaging 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per tilt and garnering All-Conference notoriety.  Yet Williams, who was named to the Wooden Watch List prior to the season, has come off the bench in every game to begin his senior campaign.  The emergence of 7-4 Zach Edey at center is what led to the decision to have Williams enter as a substitute.  Thus far, Williams appears to be buying in, and Purdue remains undefeated.  For now, Williams and company are thriving in this new arrangement.  Still, the statistics for Williams have predictably taken a slight hit, and it remains to be seen what will happen if the Boilermakers enter a rough patch.

 Geo Baker, G, Rutgers – Baker has been a consistent contributor for Rutgers during his time with the program, but he has battled nagging leg and ankle issues in recent years.  While he was healthy coming into the season, Baker left Monday's loss to UL-Lafayette with a leg injury and did not return.  The severity of the injury is unknown.  Rutgers won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in almost 40 years last season, but a return engagement will likely need a healthy Baker to pair with Ron Harper, Jr. in the backcourt, especially in the ultra-competitive Big Ten.

 Remy Martin, G, Kansas – Martin was arguably the top transfer this offseason, but it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to playing a tad more of a complementary role with the Jayhawks as compared to being the central figure at his former school, Arizona State.  Martin combined for 29 points in the first two games of the season for Kansas, though appeared to suffer a back injury in the third contest versus Stony Brook.  While the injury is not considered serious, the Jayhawks do not play a legitimate caliber opponent until December 3 versus St. John's, meaning they could exercise caution in when and how they fully deploy Martin.

 Posh Alexander, G, St. John's – Speaking of the Johnnies, Alexander is playing the role of Robin to Julian Champagnie's Batman this season.  Alexander has been no slouch so far, averaging 14.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.5 dimes per tilt.  He is shooting an impressive 59.4 percent from the floor through four outings.  However, Alexander sat out Tuesday's win versus St. Francis, and was seen sporting a walking boot.  While this is likely just a minor injury, certainly the presence of the boot raises some level of concern.  The Johnnies are a dark horse to win the Big East over the usual suspects, but Alexander must be healthy and effective for St. John's to have any chance at that lofty goal.

DOWNGRADE

 Trent Frazier, G, Illinois – The Illini has had a turbulent start to the season.  Kofi Cockburn was suspended for the first three games, during which time Illinois was stunned by Marquette.  In Cockburn's return to the floor, Illinois got waxed by 20 points by the Cincinnati Bearcats.  They bounced back with a victory over Kansas State, but Frazier suffered a knee injury in the second half and had to be helped off the floor.  The severity of his injury is unknown at this time.  The fifth-year senior had not exactly been off to the smoothest of starts prior to the K-State win either; Frazier missed the season opener due to a balky shoulder and did not score a single point in either the Cincinnati or Kansas State contests.  Frazier averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists last season, but was supposed to take on an even larger role with the graduation of Ayo Dosunmu.  Look for Andre Curbelo as well as transfers Jacob Grandison and Alfonso Plummer to attempt to fill the void if Frazier misses significant time.

 Messiah Jones, F, Wofford – The Terriers have become something of a staple in the NCAA Tournament in recent years, representing the Southern Conference five times last decade.  Wofford was picked to finish third in the conference this season behind Chattanooga and Furman, though, and will have even more of an uphill battle due to the recent injury suffered by Jones.  The junior suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during Sunday's win over Georgia Southern.  Prior to suffering the injury, Jones was averaging 14.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 23 minutes per game.  A combination of B.J. Mack, Sam Godwin and Isaiah Bigelow will be tasked with keeping the Terrier frontcourt afloat in the absence of Jones.

 Isaac Likekele, G, Oklahoma State – With Cade Cunningham out of the picture, the keys to the offense were supposed to be handed to Likekele.  Oddly enough, though, through six games, Likekele's statistics are mostly down from a season ago.  He is averaging just 6.8 points per contest as compared to 9.1 points from his junior campaign.  He is shooting a career-worst 44.4 percent from the floor, has yet to hit a three-pointer, is getting to the foul line with less frequency and shooting under 57 percent from the charity stripe as well.  In addition, he is averaging more than a rebound less per contest.  He is still finding open teammates (3.8 dimes per tilt) as well as wreaking havoc on the defensive end (1.8 steals per contest), and he can still stuff the stat sheet on any given night.  However, Likekele is not Cade Cunningham, a fact that has already become readily apparent thus far this season.