Player of the Week:
Ian Martinez (Sr., Utah State)
Nine games into the season Ian Martinez numbers are significantly up compared to past years in the past. He has been off to a great start and so has his team Utah State with a lot of it coming from the help of Martinez. Utah State is off to a 9-0 record so far this season with a big win over Iowa on the year so far. the Costa Rican born guard is very efficient at scoring on off-ball motion plays while also being a decent shooter and a decent rebounder for his size. What sticks out the most for Ian is he is just a very good athlete and athletic. Ian is tied for 56th in the country with points per game with 18.4 points per game (91% ft and 40% 3 point) and also averages 3.3 rebounds and assists per game. The 23 year old Martinez could get looks in the 2nd round if he can continue at his current production and efficiency..
Who’s Hot:
Bennett Stirtz (Jr., Drake)
The starting guard for the Drake Bulldogs has been off to a great start to the season. Although Bennett does not shoot a high percentage from the 3pt line he is not scared to shoot from there with only 31.8% on the year but I would expect that number to go up as the season progresses. He shot 3-6 from the 3pt line in their win over Valparaiso where he finished with 29 points in the game. Stirtz is averaging 6.1 assists per game, which is 14th in the country with just averaging 2 turnovers per game. He also is averaging 17.8 points per game which is tied for 78th in the country with adding 4.7 rebounds per game.
Sebastian Thomas (Sr., Rhode Island)
Sebastian has been great this whole season and also this week. In two games this week he had 19 points vs Providence and 22 against Brown. Rhode Island has just 1 loss this season against Brown that they probably should not have lost but got knocked off by them in a double OT game. On the season he leads the team in points per game, assists per game, and steals per game. He is averaging 17.3 points per game, 6.7 assists per game, and 2.6 per game. Thomas assists per game have him tied in 9th in the country with most assists per game.
Who’s Not:
Colin Porter (Jr., Liberty)
The starting 5’10 guard for Liberty has done what has been asked out of him but not much more than that. He is only shooting 38.7% from 3 and less than 50% from the field. He is only averaging 7.2 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game and also 4 assists per game with about 1 turnover per game. The season is still young, and he is just getting started to hopefully he can find some rhythm and continue that throughout the season.
Ray Harrison (Sr., Grand Canyon)
So far on the season Rays numbers have been down to start this season. The biggest ones that are down are the shooting percentages he has been less productive than years in the past. He is shooting 37.7% from the field and only 27.6% from the 3pt line this season. He is only scoring 12.9 points per game with 3.5 rebounds per game and 4 assists per game where he plays 32.8 minutes per game. Harrison will need to get hot to help his team and help lead his team where they want to be at the end of the year.
Top 5 teams outside the Power 5 Conferences
5. Drake – MVC
It looks like Drake is starting to get a three headed snake being formed with this team. Between Bennett Stiritz, Daniel Abreu, and Mitch Mascari where all three play over 30 minutes per game and all average double-digits. Those three have led Drake to a great start to the season with a 9-0 record and being the 5th best team out of Power 5 Conferences.
4. Liberty – CUSA
Sitting at the top of the Conference USA waiting for conference play sits the 9-1 Liberty Flames. Liberty has two bigs wins on the season for far against Kansas St and McNeese where they won by 2 points and 4 points respectfully. Their only loss of the season was an OT game against FAU where they lost 77-74. They have been hot ever since and also in the driver seat in their conference.
3. Rhode Island – Atlantic 10
One of the players that I mentioned earlier that is playing hot as of late is Sebastian Thomas who is Rhode Island starting guard. Rhode Island is 9-1 on the year but before that loss have had bigs wins over Lafayette and Providence. Their last game was the loss to Brown will look to start to get things back on track Dec 15th against Central Connecticut. Rhode Island is sitting near the top of their conference waiting for conference play to start so they can hopefully climb those standings.
2. Utah State – Mountain West
Utah State continues their hot start to the season. They are 9-0 on the season with a 1-0 record in their conference making them sit at the top of the Mountain West Conference. Another player mentioned earlier was Ian Martinez the starting guard for Utah State who has been leading this team, but he has also had some help with the play of Mason Falslev.
1. Gonzaga – West Coast Conference
Although Gonzaga has the worst record out of all these teams with a 7-2 record, they have played the best competition so far this season. They played Kentucky where they only lost by 1 point, where they did not get a shot up in the last couple of seconds. Gonzaga still has the most talented team outside of the power 5 and despite their 77-71 loss to Uconn, showed that they can trade blows with one of the nation;s elite on a big stage at MSG.