College Hoops Barometer: Risers & Fallers

A basketball renaissance is taking place in the unlikeliest of locations.  Boise State is aiming for just its second Mountain West regular season title ever.  The Broncos have never won the conference tournament, nor even appeared in the conference championship game since entering the league in 2011.  A crucial pair of games against preseason favorite and Mountain West stalwart, San Diego State, could decide the fate of the conference.  

Perhaps this is the most fitting of tests for the Broncos; the Aztecs have been by far the most successful basketball program in the conference over the last decade.  Senior Derrick Alston can almost taste it; he is averaging 25.3 points over the last three contests.  Alston has proven a much more efficient scorer this season, including improving his shot from long range.  Alston is shooting 42.6 percent from beyond the arc, up almost 10 percent from a season ago.  

Currently at 19-4, the Broncos should make the Big Dance regardless of outcome over the next few weeks before Selection Sunday.  However, it would certainly prove extra sweet if the Broncos could take home some hardware in the process.

Here are some other movers and shakers as we creep ever closer towards the most wonderful month of the year.

UPGRADE

 Noah Williams, G, Washington State 

Williams exploded for 40 points in Saturday's thrilling triple overtime victory versus Stanford.  Williams took a staggering 35 shots, hitting eight three-pointers in the triumph.  It was the second-straight huge scoring output for the sophomore, who poured in 32 points in last Thursday's thrashing of Cal.  Williams nearly had a triple-double in that contest with nine rebounds and seven dimes.  The Cougars are 7-0 when Williams scores at least 18 points in a game.  With leading scorer Isaac Bonton missing the last three games due to an ankle injury, Williams has more than helped pick up the slack.  It remains to be seen when Bonton will return.

 Darius Perry, G, Central Florida 

The Louisville transfer is finally getting his chance to shine as more than just a complementary player.  The graduate transfer never saw above 20 minutes per game in any season during his three years with the Cardinals, but he's now started six-straight games for the Knights.  During that span, he's averaged 35.2 minutes played per contest.  He has managed 18.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals over those six outings.  That includes a career-best 27-point outing against Wichita State.  He canned at least three treys in every one of those tilts.  Perry did start 26 games in 2019 for the Cardinals, but was not asked to shoulder nearly as much of the offensive burden.  The Knights are 4-2 since Perry entered the starting lineup for good; they were just 4-9 prior to that.  Perry's effect on UCF's recent play is undeniable.

 RaiQuan Gray, F, Florida State 

Gray has stepped up during the second half of the season.  The junior forward scored in double figures just twice in first eight games of the year.  In the last eight contests, Gray has reached double-digits in points in every contest.  Gray has impacted the game in more than just the scoring column, though.  He has two double-doubles over the last five outings for the Seminoles, including a mammoth line of 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal versus Wake Forest earlier this month.  Gray has also registered at least one steal in five consecutive tilts.  He is tied for ninth in the conference in thievery.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, Florida State is 7-1 in the last eight games with the improved outputs from Gray.  With Virginia's loss to Duke on Saturday, Florida State has regained the ACC conference lead.

 Tahj Eaddy, G, USC 

The Trojans are ever so close to their first conference championship in over 35 years, and the steady Eaddy has played a crucial role in this development.  Sure, Evan Mobley gets the pub, and rightly so.  Mobley is a future lottery pick, possibly the No. 1 pick in this June's NBA Draft.  But Eaddy, a graduate transfer from Santa Clara, has proven a consistent scorer and has formed a nice inside-outside combination with the seven-footer Mobley.  Eaddy has scored in double figures in 18 of 23 games for the Trojans.  He's surpassed the 20-point mark in two of the last four contests, including a season-high 29 points in a win at Washington State earlier this month.  Eaddy is shooting a career-best 46.2 percent from the field this season.  Eaddy is also third on the team in assists and even averages 2.9 rebounds per tilt as well.  With USC having a rather short rotation this season, Eaddy's presence has been even more vital.  His play down the stretch could determine if USC is able to hold off rival UCLA for the regular season crown.

CHECK STATUS

 Carlik Jones, G, Louisville 

A transfer from Radford and last year's Big South Player of the Year, Jones has made a fairly seamless transition to ACC basketball.  His shooting percentages are down as he has encountered bigger, faster, stronger defenders, though his overall statistics are still stellar.  Jones is averaging 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest.  That places him third in the conference in both scoring and dishing.  Jones has provided critical ball-handling in the backcourt for a squad that is otherwise devoid of guard play.  Louisville had several games wiped out due to COVID, making the final three games of the regular season versus Duke, Virginia Tech and Virginia pivotal.  The Cardinals are rather stacked up front, but the play of Jones will likely dictate what this squad is able to accomplish in March.

 R.J. Cole, G, Connecticut 

James Bouknight is the top player for the Huskies, but he's played in just nine games this season.  His recent return to the lineup has been an extremely welcome sight, but Bouknight's absence may have also allowed Cole to take flight.  The Howard transfer and former MEAC Player of the Year averaged 15.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals in the seven games between January and February in which Bouknight was sidelined.  Now that Bouknight is back, Cole appears to be operating more in tandem with Bouknight as opposed to a secondary piece.  In Tuesday's win at Georgetown, Cole accumulated 17 points, five rebounds, seven assists and six steals.  The Huskies likely have to make a huge run in the Big East Tournament to make the big dance, though we've seen it happen before, and at least UConn appears to be more or less at full strength.

 Mark Williams, C, Duke 

Don't look now, but the Blue Devils have won four games in a row, and are at least in the conversation for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  Give Coach K credit for making adjustments on the fly.  In a season with COVID, as well as the late opt out of arguably his best player Jalen Johnson, Coach K has yet again found a way to maximize the potential of his roster.  Williams played sparingly early on this season, but has started the last six games for the Dukies.  The freshman swatted five shots at NC State earlier this month in a career-high 27 minutes played.  He followed up that performance with nine points and seven boards in the win at Wake Forest.  He had arguably his best game at Duke on Monday, tallying a career-high 18 points to go along with 11 rebounds to record his first double-double.  There have still been some growing pains along the way for Williams; he played just seven minutes in the upset win versus Virginia last Saturday, failing to register a point or a rebound.  However, he is gaining Coach K's trust overall and it appears to be paying dividends for the Blue Devils.

 Darryl Morsell, G, Maryland 

Morsell suffered a shoulder injury Sunday, leaving his status in the short term in question.  The injury was deemed serious enough for him to see a shoulder specialist Monday.  Morsell has started all but four games this season for the Terps, averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per tilt.  In fact, Morsell has been a model of consistency during his time at Maryland.  He started at least 20 games in all four seasons, while averaging around 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest in every season.  Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins will be asked to carry the Terps if Morsell misses time; Wiggins has two double-doubles in his last three tilts.

DOWNGRADE

 Nah'Shon Hyland, G, VCU 

The leading scorer for the Rams, Hyland suffered a foot injury Saturday and missed Tuesday's clash with Saint Louis due to the ailment.  While x-rays came back negative, Hyland was diagnosed with a foot sprain, and it is unknown when he will be able to return to action.  Hyland is third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per contest.  His absence comes at a pivotal time for the Rams, who are vying for the regular season crown with St. Bonaventure.  The Rams are also rather thin at guard; freshman Adrian Baldwin and junior Vince Williams will be asked to shoulder the added scoring burden with Hyland shelved.  The pair combined for 31 points in Tuesday's 67-65 win over the Billikens.

 Javon Freeman-Liberty, G, DePaul 

The Blue Demons have been bitten by the injury bug of late.  While Charlie Moore made a triumphant return to lead DePaul to an upset victory over St. John's, Freeman-Liberty missed his second-straight outing due to a concussion.  The Valpo transfer is second on the squad in scoring, rebounding and dishing.  Freeman-Liberty averaged 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest prior to the injury.  With just three games remaining in the regular season, and the Blue Demons stuck in the cellar of the Big East, the program could exercise caution with Freeman-Liberty, who is likely to be the face of the team next season.

 Au'Diese Toney, G, Pittsburgh 

It's been a rather choppy season for Toney and the Panthers.  The program was paused for a couple of weeks due to COVID.  Toney suffered a minor ankle injury in December, which caused him to miss a game.  He was involved in a motor vehicle accident this past Thursday night and suffered a concussion.  While the severity is unknown, he missed Saturday's clash with Florida State and is without a timetable for his return.  Toney has taken on a more impactful role with the team this season, averaging 14.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.  However, he and double-double machine Justin Champagnie have been unable to find a meaningful rhythm due to the constant issues.  The final three games of the regular season would appear to be must-wins if the Panthers want to have any sort of shot at the NCAA Tournament, so Toney's absence could spell the end of their campaign.

Jack Forrest, G, St. Joseph's 

Forrest has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a lower leg injury.  The sophomore had been seeing heavy minutes for the struggling Hawks prior to the injury.  In fact, he had started seven games in a row before getting hurt.  In the four contests immediately prior to the game in which he was injured, Forrest averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals.  With Myles Douglas and Greg Foster also ruled out for the remainder of the campaign, the suddenly thin Hawks will have to rely even more heavily on their starters.  In their last game, freshman Jordan Hall notched a triple-double, senior Ryan Daly tallied his second 30-point output in four contests, and junior Taylor Funk hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season.