Beltway Basketball Beat: Can the Midshipmen make it happen?
Dave Preston is an AP Top 25 voter. Read his ballots here.
For years I have called September college football’s “Show Me Month,” and I refer to January in the same manner for men’s college basketball. Teams by now have played most of their conference foes, and those who built gaudy records with light nonleague schedules have been exposed. Other teams that took tough lumps before Christmas have proved those were growing pains toward something better.
Navy (16-6, 8-1 Patriot League) is showing signs of playing meaningful games in March. The Midshipmen are off to their best start since the COVID-modified 2020-21 season.
After a hiccup at Bender Arena where they were held to 17 points in the first half a 65-51 loss, coach Jon Perry’s team has ripped off four straight wins, most recently Wednesday at Boston University. The Mids rallied from 14 points down to tame the Terriers 58-50.
They’ve already surpassed last year’s 15 wins, thanks to a stifling defense that allows the fewest points in the conference (and sixth fewest in Division I), while leading the Patriot League in defending the 3 and rebounding margin.
Navy has the perfect inside-outside combination with Austin Benigni (second in the conference in scoring, fourth in assists and fifth in steals) on the perimeter and 6-foot-11-inch Aidan Kehoe (ninth in scoring, first in rebounding, and his 72.3 % FG leads the nation) in the post.
Halfway through the conference schedule, the Mids are on track to break a school record set in 2022 for conference wins in a season. Can they sustain this start and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998?
Starting five
Up top: Arizona remains No. 1 on my ballot and overall, while No. 5 Nebraska suffered its first loss of the season to leave MAC-leading Miami (Ohio) as the nation’s only other unbeaten.
The Wildcats and Redhawks were both pushed to the limit earlier this week, with Arizona holding off a late rally by No. 13 BYU to prevail 86-83. Miami, meanwhile, rallied from 10 down to dispose of UMass. The biggest differences in my ballot from this week’s poll? I have No. 6 Gonzaga ranked 13th and No. 13 BYU at No. 7. Small school shout-outs: Saint Louis and Miami (Ohio).
Going inside: Georgetown (11-10, 3-7 Big East) rallied from 21 points down to win at Providence last weekend and followed it up by defeating DePaul 70-61 on Wednesday. The win over the Blue Demons was notable, as DePaul has beaten up on Georgetown lately, winning seven of 10 meetings since 2021.
The victory over the Friars was huge because the Providence faithful are still rather salty toward coach Ed Cooley’s departure in 2023 for a fellow conference school. The Hoyas still have a way to go before they can sniff the first round Big East Tournament bye they haven’t enjoyed since 2019, but they’re safely out of the cellar — for now.
They battle Butler and Creighton over the next week before welcoming Villanova next Saturday.
Perimeter pass: What a difference a few weeks has made for VCU (15-6, 6-2 Atlantic 10). After losing consecutive games to Saint Louis and George Mason, Rams coach Phil Martelli Jr. wondered aloud about the direction his team would take.
“Again, it’s where you find out about yourself. We always talk about, ‘We’re about winning, we’re about winning, we’re about winning.’ Well, then you find out,” Martelli said. “It’s easy after two [losses] to say, ‘It’s this guy’s fault or that guy’s fault,’ or this blame or that blame, or whatever, point fingers. And I haven’t seen that from this group.”
The Rams have won four straight — all by single digits — in a streak that includes Tuesday’s triumph over cross-town archrival Richmond. VCU’s third straight win over the Spiders moved the Rams into third place in the conference, right behind the Billikens and Patriots.
They’ll face both over the final three weeks of the regular season.
Who’s open: As long as we’re focused on the Commonwealth’s capital, Richmond (13-9, 3-6 Atlantic 10) is heading in the other direction, with four straight losses that have the team staring at 11th place and the dreaded first round.
The Spiders got blown out at George Washington and never led while trailing by 17 against VCU. They’re now spinning toward a potential second straight losing A-10 season, something that has not happened since coach Chris Mooney’s second season with the school in 2006-07. And the schedule won’t offer any breathers until after Valentine’s Day, as dates with Davidson and Rhode Island precede a commonwealth two-step of home games against George Mason and VCU.
Last shot: It’s an understatement to say Maryland (8-12, 1-8 Big Ten) has had a less-than-ideal season under first-year coach Buzz Williams, and last Saturday’s 91-48 loss at Michigan State was the worst defeat for the program since the 1940s.
“Secrets are lies. I’m not going to keep a secret,” Williams said in his postgame press conference. “We have a long, long, millions of miles to go in every possible way. On the floor, off the floor.”
The Terps rank last in the conference in shooting and allow the most points per game in the league. Sunday they host No. 12 Purdue, and the Boilermakers are having issues of their own with three straight losses (including one to archrival Indiana).
But they also have preseason all-American Braden Smith, who leads the conference in assists for an offense that’s tops from 3-point range. February begins with a bang at Xfinity Center. I’ll see you courtside.