A full week into the 2019-20 college basketball season and the only thing proven to be true is that preseason polls are worthless. With less than a handful of games played by each team, we've already witnessed major movement in the AP Poll.
If only someone warned us of such a thing...
It's The Morning After College Basketball. Let's do this for the homeless, beached whales and impending zombie invasion.
The Gaels Go Down
Joseph Nardone (@JosephNardone): The Winthrop Eagles are a rather solid team, but tickle me earnestly stunned that the Saint Mary's Gaels fell to them on Monday evening. It was a low-scoring, slopfest of an affair in which neither team shot above 30% from beyond the arc.
The implications?
There are none. It's a single game in the middle of November played even before the human civilization began signing up for Disney+ accounts in bulk. It's obviously a good win for the Eagles. As for the Gaels, however, it shouldn't matter too much as the season gets longer in the tooth.
Even with that being said — and I know because I literally just said it — it's not as if Saint Mary's operates in a conference allowing for a ton of wiggle room. With only the Utah State Aggies presenting a true threat for the Gaels on the remainder of their non-conference schedule — and, no, Cal fails to count as a tough test — Saint Mary's just used up their one allowed “no excuse to lose” game.
Well, not so much in terms relative to the NCAA Tournament, but more so with how AP voters will look at the team. While this handsome Internet Scribbler believes polls are generally an awful gauge for how good or bad a team is, hell have no fury like a base of pollsters who don't have time to watch schools from the WCC, but did see someone they ranked in the preseason drop a game to Winthrop.
Sorry, those are just the rules.
DePaul Is Back?
Blake Lovell (@theblakelovell): Like my friend Joseph said, it's only November. And after a 3-0 start, many thought that DePaul was simply a team that had racked up wins against inferior competition.
However, the Blue Demons made a strong statement on Monday night by cruising to a 93-78 win at Iowa, earning their first 4-0 start since the 2008-09 campaign.
Dave Leitao’s team led by 23 points at halftime and was simply excellent from 3-point range in making eight in the first half and 11 total in the game.
Again, it’s early. And yes, the non-conference schedule will get tougher in a few weeks, as DePaul has matchups against teams like Boston College, Minnesota, and Texas Tech.
But this is the type of win that catches people’s attention, and while navigating the Big East won’t be easy, it’s clear that the Blue Demons won’t back down from a good challenge.
And keep in mind that this is the team that many projected to finish last in the conference.
They still may do that, but it’s looking more and more like DePaul could be yet another example of preseason projections being wrong.
Jahvon Quinerly Denied A Waiver
Joseph: Going from Villanova to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Jahvon Quinerly already had his waiver request back in October denied. On Monday, following an appeal, it was kicked to the curb yet again.
Alabama was none too pleased with the decision.
“We can't begin to express how disappointed we are with this decision,” athletic director Greg Byrne and head coach Nate Oats said in a joint statement. “Jahvon and his family have been through a set of circumstances that no student-athlete in the history of the NCAA has experienced. Their name has been falsely dragged through the mud for two years, and we felt confident that the NCAA Committee for Legislative Relief would recognize this very unique set of circumstances. We will continue to support Jahvon and his family in every way that we can.”
In terms of college basketball discussion, it's tough to describe the impact this will have the Crimson Tide. While the youngster was a five-star recruit out of high school, he didn't do much when playing for the Wildcats, averaging only 3.2 points per contest.
Memphis vs. The World
Blake: Tuesday’s college basketball slate features a host of awesome games, but most people will turn their attention to the showdown between Memphis and Oregon at the Moda Center in Portland.
It already figured to be a great game because of the talent on both teams. However, now we’ve got the added layer of drama surrounding the James Wiseman situation.
The Tigers have made their stance clear: They’re going to play Wiseman, and they’re going to play Wiseman some more.
That should make for not only a fun game against Oregon but also a fun battle against an organization that continues to lose credibility.
Get your popcorn ready.
Memphis VS#GoTigersGo 🔵⚪️🐅 pic.twitter.com/Qm18M9FSMJ
— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) November 11, 2019
In Closing Tom Crean or Tom Arnold Gif?
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Blake Lovell is a national writer for ClutchPoints. He’s also a contributor for the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview magazine. He hosts two podcasts: Marching to Madness (CBB) and Establish the Pass (NFL).
You can follow him on Twitter @theblakelovell.
Joseph Nardone has been covering basketball for nearly a decade for various outlets in a variety of ways. He currently contributes to Forbes and Clutchpoints. You can follow him on Twitter @JosephNardone.
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