Another week of college basketball has come and gone, and thus far 2021 doesn’t look all that dissimilar from 2020.
COVID-19 forced cancellations across the country, and this time around it was the WCC and BYU that faced of the brunt of it.
Utah, meanwhile, dropped back-to-back games against UCLA and USC — one in rousing fashion, the other less so — while Utah State stretched its current win streak to six straight.
It was an eventful week to be certain.
Here are five takeaways from the latest week in college basketball.
Has Utah State turned a corner?
Early in the season, Utah State’s men’s basketball team appeared to be a poor imitation of the team that won back-to-back Mountain West Conference tournament championships in 2018 and 2019.
Without Sam Merrill to lead them — he has already helped the Milwaukee Bucks make history — the Aggies dropped three of their first four games to start the year, including blowout losses to VCU and South Dakota State, not to mention a heartbreaker to rival BYU.
A pair of COVID-19 induced cancellations left USU with a 1-4 record midway through December, far off the pace the team was hoping for.
Since then, however, the Aggies have won six consecutive games, the most recent a pair of dominant wins over Air Force. Center Neemias Queta has come into his own and is averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game, while guard Marco Anthony, forward Justin Bean and guard Rollie Worster have done their best to match him.
Each of that quartet is averaging 11-plus points a game, and along with fellow starter Brock Miller, have quickly made the Aggies one of the best five teams in the MWC.
Utah State is currently No. 4 in the conference standings, behind Boise State, Wyoming and Colorado State — San Diego State should not be forgotten — but at their current pace it won’t be long before the Aggies are in the running for the best in the league.
Is rust a concern for BYU after rash of WCC cancellations?
The Cougars were flying high before Christmas, after a run of four straight victories over Utah, San Diego State, Texas Southern and Weber State. At 9-2 on the year, BYU was on the rise, both in NCAA tournament bracketology and the AP poll.
Then last week happened.
COVID-19 reared its head, forcing cancellations of both of BYU’s scheduled games, one against Pepperdine, the other against San Diego. The WCC on the whole was hit hard, as Santa Clara lost a game against New Mexico on Thursday, then another on Saturday against Loyola Marymount, while Portland-Pacific and Pepperdine-Saint Mary’s were also canceled.
Things have not taken a turn for the better, as BYU’s game against Pacific, which was scheduled for Thursday, was cancelled Monday. The Cougars will be idle for at least two weeks, possibly more if next weeks game against Saint Mary’s doesn’t happen.
As USU showed, canceled games don’t always have an adverse effect on a team’s performance. Not only that, but the COVID concerns that have canceled the Cougars’ games were not at BYU, but with the other programs.
Given the run BYU was on though, the loss of momentum could be a concern. And in a year where Gonzaga is the No. 1 team in the country and Saint Mary’s appears to once again have a strong group, the Cougars need momentum on their side if they want to make a return to the NCAA tournament, to say nothing of contending for the WCC championship.
Cancellations not limited to BYU, as Weber State and SUU lose games too
The Cougars and their conference brethren weren’t the only ones who dealt with COVID-spurred cancellations.
Before defeating UVU 70-62 on Saturday, Weber State had back-to-back games against Idaho State canceled. Southern Utah, meanwhile, had back-to-back games against Montana State canceled.
At 4-3 on the year, the Wildcats have had over a third of their games canceled thus far this season. Those lost games have made Weber State a bit of an unknown at this point, with losses to BYU, Boise State and Portland State, but wins over Portland State, UVU, Adams State and Westminster.
SUU isn’t an unknown by comparison, as the Thunderbirds are 7-1 and 2-0 in the Big Sky. It is still a little too early to declare them the frontrunners in the conference, but that could change quickly, especially with upcoming series against Idaho and Eastern Washington, before a pair of games against rival Weber State on Jan. 21 and 23.
Utah drops back-to-back games, but maybe, possibly is close to turning a corner
Where many in-state schools sat out recent games, Utah played a pair against UCLA and USC over the weekend and they didn’t exactly go well.
The Utes fell to the Bruins 72-70 on Thursday, with a desperate rally attempt falling just short. Two days later, the Utes were worse, much worse, and lost to USC 64-46.
Utah struggled mightily on offense against the Trojans, and that might be an understatement as the team made just 17 of 61 shot attempts, and only 4 of 30 in the second half.
The back-to-back losses are sure to sting for Utah — head coach Larry Kyrstkowiak said after the loss to USC that the team has to make strides on offense, to engender some confidence going forward — but at 4-3 overall optimism remains up on the hill.
“We are on the right path,” point guard Rylan Jones told the Deseret News Saturday. “We were getting good looks, we just missed them. We just have to find our rhythm on offense, get in a groove, see a couple go in, and I think that will kick off some wins.”
With four consecutive home games upcoming, it is possible Utah could take the next step and turn around its season. Right now, the Utes are No. 10 in the Pac-12 standings, ahead of only Cal and Washington.
First NET rankings released; Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC big winners
On Monday morning, the NCAA released the initial NET rankings — for the uninitiated, you can read about them here — and the big winners were the Big Ten, the Big 12, ACC and SEC.
The Big Ten had the most teams fall in the Top 50, an astounding 11 at that, led by Illinois, Michigan and Iowa, all of whom were in the top 10.
The Big 12, meanwhile, had seven teams in the top 50, headlined by No. 2 Baylor.
The ACC and SEC each had six top 50 teams, though No. 15 Clemson is the highlight ACC representative, while No. 3 Tennessee leads the SEC.
BYU came in as the best in-state program, at No. 52, a spot ahead of conference rival Saint Mary’s (Gonzaga came in at No. 1 ).
Utah State was No. 85, fourth among MWC teams, while Utah was No. 120 and SUU No. 135.
ESPNs latest BPI pits the Big 12 as the strongest conference in college basketball, while the Big 10 and ACC are projected to get more teams into the NCAA tournament. The Pac-12 comes in as the sixth-best conference, the WCC as the ninth and the MWC as the 12th. None of the latter three conferences mentioned are projected to get more than three teams into the tournament, which it was announced will all be held in Indiana this year.