College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

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Published on January 10, 2024

The top two teams in the country went down Tuesday, losing to unranked squads no less. No. 1 Purdue was walloped by Nebraska by a score of 88-72. The 'Huskers were led in scoring by senior guard Keisei Tominaga. Big man Rienk Mast more than held his own against reigning Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey, and junior Brice Williams nearly tallied in a triple-double in a complete effort by Nebraska. Meanwhile, No. 2 Houston fell to Iowa State in a much closer, lower-scoring affair. The Cyclones outlasted the Cougars by a score of 57-53. Versatile sophomore Tamin Lipsey led the charge for Iowa State with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in the upset victory. With Houston's loss, the unbeatens in college basketball are no more.

Let's take a look at some other notable players and storylines in this edition of the College Hoops Barometer.

UPGRADE

Great Osobor, F, Utah State – After an early-season loss to Bradley, the Aggies have ripped off 14-straight wins. This includes a perfect 3-0 start in Mountain West Conference play. The Aggies are led by the junior forward Osobor, who is nearly averaging a double-double this season. Osobor is managing 18.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per tilt. Unsurprisingly, he has seven actual double-doubles on his resume already this season. The Montana State transfer does most of his damage inside the arc. He is an extremely capable passer as well, while also averaging 1.4 swats per contest.

Let's take a look at some other notable players and storylines in this edition of the College Hoops Barometer.

UPGRADE

Achor Achor, F, Samford – The Bulldogs of the Southern Conference are riding a 13-game win-streak of their own and are led by the 6-9 junior. Achor has seen a big jump from a season ago, where he played a more complementary role for Samford. This year, Achor is averaging 14.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, despite playing approximately 20 minutes per game. Achor has been incredibly efficient, especially since senior forward Jermaine Marshall went down due to injury. The Bulldogs are deep and even have some players with power conference playing experience, such as point guard Rylan Jones. Achor and the Bulldogs could be a Cinderella squad to watch come tourney time.

Max Abmas, G, Texas – After four years at Oral Roberts, including a scintillating run during March Madness to the Sweet 16 in 2021, Abmas took his talents to Texas, where he is currently the leading scorer and assist man for the Longhorns. Abmas has always had the clutch gene, and that was on display Tuesday at Cincinnati, when he canned the game-winning jumper with eight seconds remaining to propel the Longhorns to victory over the Bearcats. Abmas is averaging 17.1 points per tilt, including 39.8-percent from downtown and 91.7-percent from the charity stripe. He is also managing a career-best 4.5 assists per contest. He is fourth in the Big 12 in scoring and 10th in the conference in assists. The Longhorns will be a tough out as long as Abmas remains in the fold.

Ben Krikke, F, Iowa – The transfer from Valparaiso notched his second double-double of the season in Iowa's last game, an 86-77 triumph over Rutgers. In fact, Krikke has notched both of those double-doubles within the last four games for the Hawkeyes. Krikke has transitioned seamlessly to the Big Ten, putting up numbers on par with his figures from the last couple of seasons at Valpo. Significantly, Krikke has been even more efficient shooting the ball from the floor. Thus far, he is posting a career-high field goal percentage of 58.4-percent, along with nearly a career-high in three-point shooting percentage. The 6-9 forward leads the team in scoring. Fellow forwards Payton Sandfort and freshman Owen Freeman give the Hawkeyes an extremely potent frontcourt as conference play intensifies.

CHECK STATUS

Donovan Clingan, C, Connecticut – Clingan has already been sidelined for more than two weeks due to a foot injury, and he is not quite ready yet to return to the court. Despite the fairly lengthy absence already, Clingan will only miss his fourth game Wednesday for the Huskies due to the end of semester and holiday break. Clingan had embraced a starting role after coming off the bench last year during UConn's championship season, averaging 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 12 games prior to the injury. He should not be out much longer, but with bigger goals in mind, expect the Huskies to exercise caution with Clingan and only deploy him when they are certain he is fully recovered. Samson Johnson has averaged 10.7 points and 2.3 blocks during Clingan's absence.

Tyrin Lawrence, G, Vanderbilt – Lawrence missed the first four games of the season with a hip issue, but since that time has started 11-straight contests for the Commodores. He has responded with averages of 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.0 steals per tilt over that span. This included recent, consecutive 20-point efforts against Dartmouth and Alabama, respectively. Unfortunately, thereafter Lawrence suffered an ankle injury. Though he played through the ailment Tuesday at LSU, he played his lowest minute total in nearly a month. It remains to be seen if the injury will linger, and the Vandy backcourt as a whole has been banged up. Keep an eye on Lawrence's production during the early portion of conference action.

Tre White, G/F, Louisville – White has missed the first two games of 2024 due to a groin injury, and is currently considered day-to-day. The struggling Cardinals have lost three-straight games and six of their last seven contests, so certainly the absence of White, who is third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and third in assists, will not help their cause. Overall, White is managing 12.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 dimes per contest. White has also been a pest on the defensive end, as he leads the squad in thievery with 1.2 steals per outing. Freshman Ty-Laur Johnson has been shifted to the starting lineup recently and should continue to get the starting nod alongside sophomores Mike James and Skyy Clark as the group tries to turn this ship around.

Wayne McKinney, G, San Diego – The floor general for the Toreros missed the squad's last game due to an ankle/foot issue. Perhaps not surprisingly, San Diego was clobbered in that contest by Gonzaga. The junior is averaging career-highs across the board with 14.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per contest. McKinney leads the squad in assists, and is second in scoring. Leading scorer Deuce Turner will be asked to shoulder more ball-handling duties if McKinney misses additional time, while Kevin Patton stepped into the starting lineup with McKinney absent. Freshman Dragos Lungu could also see a bump in minutes.

DOWNGRADE

Jalen Hill, F, UNLV – An injury-plagued one season with the Runnin' Rebels will prematurely come to an end for Hill. The Oklahoma transfer played four seasons with the Sooners, and was expected to be a key contributor for UNLV during the 2023-2024 campaign. Unfortunately, he suffered a wrist injury earlier this season which sidelined him for six games. He returned to the hardwood on January 6th at San Diego State, only to suffer a knee injury late in the first half. It has now been determined that Hill will miss the rest of the season due to the injury. Hill averaged 10.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists when on the Court for UNLV. With Isaiah Cottrell also dinged, look for Kalib Boone to shoulder even more of the frontcourt load. Kalib responded with a career-high 29 points Tuesday in an 83-73 triumph over New Mexico. His twin brother Keylan Boone should also figure more prominently moving forward. Keylan snatched 17 rebounds in the first game of 2024.

CJ Fredrick, G, Cincinnati – The former Kentucky and Iowa guard will be sidelined indefinitely due to a hamstring injury. Fredrick's collegiate career started strong in 2019 with the Hawkeyes, but he struggled as a sophomore and then ultimately left the program for Kentucky. He started 15 of 27 games for the Wildcats last season, averaging 6.1 points per clash. Fredrick had been playing a more vital role for the Bearcats prior to the injury, starting 10 of 11 games played while doing most of his damage from beyond the three-point arc. Fredrick was shooting 44.9-percent from three-point range prior to getting hurt. Expect Simas Lukosius to swallow up some of the available three-point attempts; Lukosius is hitting 41-percent of his shots from long distance.