College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

It's the time of the year where we start to look closely at what many bracketologists are projecting, with every game becoming more crucial as teams try boost their resumes for at an-large bid instead of being on the wrong side of the bubble. One notable team squarely on the bubble despite already accumulating 20 wins is North Carolina, as the Tar Heels only picked up one Quad 1 victory with the ACC in a down year. Another team trending towards the wrong side of the bubble is BYU, even with four Quad 1 wins. Since starting the season 17-4 and 5-1 in the WCC, the Cougars have gone 2-5 since and will likely need to win their last two regular season games and make at least the conference tournament semis to have a chance to get in the dance. Also, two bubble teams in the Big Ten face off Wednesday night as Rutgers travels to Ann Arbor. Michigan will be without its head coach Juwan Howard for the final five regular season games, and the 14-11 Wolverines need every win they can get. With four impressive victories over its last five games, Rutgers can also boost its stock with a road win tonight.

With many conference tournaments underway as early as next week, we'll take a look at some players in the headlines for this week's College Hoops Barometer as teams prepare for the stretch run.

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Malaki Branham, G, Ohio State

Branham had one of his best games of the season Monday against Indiana, leading the Buckeyes to an overtime victory with 27 points on 69 percent shooting. It was the fifth 20+ point scoring game and second straight for the four-star freshman who has emerged as a reliable second option offensively alongside E.J. Liddell. Branham's biggest contribution has been his efficient shooting, connecting on 48 percent of his shots with 1.2 threes made per game. Ohio State is developing into one of the best offensive teams in the country as the Buckeyes look to position themselves for a top-4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Izaiah Brockington, F, Iowa St.

As good as Brockington has been all season long, he's been even better as of late with three consecutive 20-point games, helping right the ship for the Cyclones after a four-game skid. With the rest of the offense lacking much efficiency outside of a couple of three-point specialists in limited roles, they've relied heavily on the senior transfer from Penn State, who has solid shooting splits of 49/40/81 despite the large workload. Brockington has also been a key piece of Iowa State's strong perimeter defense, with the team ranking seventh nationally in KenPom's defensive efficiency metric.

Emanuel Miller, F, TCU

Miller is coming off three consecutive 14+ point scoring games, including arguably his best game to date Monday against West Virginia in which he tied a season-high with 18 points and was just two boards shy of a double-double. TCU will need him to keep the hot streak going with a brutal upcoming four-game stretch in which they play at Texas, Texas Tech and a back-to-back with Kansas. With leading scorer Mike Miles struggling with his efficiency, they are starting to lean more heavily on Miller as the season wears on. Considering he led Texas A&M in scoring a season ago, the junior should be up to the challenge down the strech.

Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton

Kalkbrenner has been a big part of Creighton's recent five game winning streak, averaging 13.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks over that stretch. The 7-1 center has excelled as a starter this season after seeing minimal but efficient work as a freshman, connecting on 64 percent of his shots and his presence in the paint has opposing teams shooting just 43.2 percent from inside the arc -- 10th lowest in the country. The big man has also logged over 30 minutes in four of the last five games, showing that he's getting ample playing time as Creighton has worked its way on the bubble.

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TyTy Washington, G, Kentucky

Washington, along with fellow starter Sahvir Wheeler, missed Saturday's win over Alabama, and both are questionable heading into this week's games as they have a pair of tough matchups against LSU and at Arkansas. He missed one game last month with an ankle injury, which he re-aggravated in a loss to Tennessee last Tuesday and is considered day-to-day. Washington is a big part of Kentucky's success as one of the main offensive options alongside leading scorer and rebounder Oscar Tshiebwe. Washington is shooting 48 percent with 1.1 threes made per game.

Al Durham, G, Providence

Durham missed his first game of the season Sunday in Providence's overtime victory over Butler as he deals with a sports hernia. It's an injury that he's been reportedly dealing with which makes sense considering he's shooting just 22 percent in the month of February. His status for Wednesday's game against Xavier is in question, and things don't get any easier, with matchups against Creighton and Villanova on tap to close the regular season. Jared Bynum is more than capable filling in as a starter for Durham, but the Friars lack of depth at the guard position makes them vulnerable in his absence.

Nate Johnson, G/F, Xavier

Staying in the Big East, we look at Johnson, who missed both of Xavier's games last week with knee soreness. The fifth-year senior didn't practice Monday and is considered a game-time decision against Providence on Wednesday. Johnson has excelled as a three-point specialist throughout his career, shooting 40 percent from long range with over two made threes per game. His absence is clearly noteworthy, as Xavier lacks many three-point shooters, and the Musketeers are just 1-6 without him in his two years with the team.

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Jeremy Roach, G, Duke

Roach was finally replaced in the starting lineup by Trevor Keels last Tuesday against Wake Forest after failing to reach double figures in 14 consecutive games, and although he responded with 10 points in a reserve role, he then failed to score across 18 minutes against Florida State. Keels has clearly been the better player of the two this season, as the five-star freshman has scored 25 points twice, while Roach is shooting a measly 37 percent. He'll look to be one of the first options off the bench, but his minutes will be nowhere near what they were a month ago moving forward.

Cody Riley, C, UCLA

Riley was given a rest game Saturday against Washington but also came off the bench in two games sandwiched in between for the first time all season. Myles Johnson started in his place in all three games and has been the more efficient of the two players, with Johnson shooting 63 percent while averaging 12.9 rebounds per 40 minutes. Riley missed eight games earlier in the season and hasn't looked like himself, as his numbers have regressed across the stat-sheet from a season ago. Even if he does regain his starting role, he has yet to post a double-double this season or record a game with 15+ points.