Five Up, Five Down: Fran McCaffery has Iowa playing at an elite level
— -- When I passed through Iowa City before the start of the season, three things were clear: Jarrod Uthoff was primed to have an All-American caliber season, Peter Jok was set to have a breakout year, and the Hawkeyes probably would head to their third consecutive NCAA tournament.
But I had no clue this was coming. I'm fairly certain Fran McCaffery didn't, either.
Iowa improved to 16-3 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten after a fairly resounding win over Purdue on Sunday afternoon. The victory puts the Hawkeyes in the discussion for a No. 1 seed -- largely due to sweeping both Michigan State and Purdue.
The trio of losses is of the quality variety: Dayton and Notre Dame on a neutral court and that brutal collapse against instate rival Iowa State in Ames.
Most people weren't sure how McCaffery would replace the toughness and versatility of Aaron White -- and also another frontline guy in Gabe Olaseni.
It has been fairly seamless, and the Hawkeyes have gone from defense-minded to a team that is extremely difficult to keep from putting up points. Uthoff (18.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.0 BPG) has established himself as a viable national player of the year candidate, Jok (17 points per game in Big Ten play) is a lethal scorer, and guys like Dom Uhl and Nicholas Baer have given McCaffery -- the frontrunner for national coach of the year -- other weapons.
The Rest of Five Up
Tom Crean, Indiana: A month ago, his stock had plummeted -- and the contingent of Crean supporters had dwindled. However, after a 7-0 Big Ten start, the Hoosiers faithful are happy again. Sure, Indiana hasn't exactly played the gauntlet of the Big Ten thus far, but seven straight is still seven straight.
James Farr, Xavier: It's rare that a guy makes such a significant jump from his junior to senior season, but that's exactly what the 6-foot-10 big man has done. Farr averaged 4.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season. He's nearly averaging a double-double (10.8 PPG, 9.1 RPG) this season and has been Chris Mack's most dependable and productive big man. Farr had 16 points and 19 boards last week in a win against Marquette and had 24 points, 15 boards, four assists and three blocks Saturday in a victory over Seton Hall.
Kentucky frontcourt: No one had taken more heat lately than the frontcourt in Lexington. The trio of Alex Poythress, Marcus Lee and Skal Labissiere took the brunt of it, but John Calipari got quality production and energy from his big men this past week in wins at Arkansas and at home against Vanderbilt. The key, though, might have been the emergence of Derek Willis, who had played a total of 114 minutes his first two seasons. He played 65 minutes the past two games, and averaged 9.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. His mere presence on the court changes the spacing because of his skill and ability to stretch the defense.
Wright State: Billy Donlon and the Raiders had a rough season in 2014-15, going 11-20 overall and 3-13 in league play. After Friday night's win over the Horizon League favorite, Valparaiso, Wright State moved to 6-1 in the conference and is now tied with Valpo for first place.
Five Down
Memphis: This isn't exactly what Josh Pastner needed: a home loss to East Carolina. There's no shame in going down on the road to UConn or Cincinnati, but you can't lose at home to an ECU squad that came in 0-6 in the American. Pastner, whose job is hardly secure, is 12-7 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Vanderbilt: Most pegged Kevin Stallings' group as a lock for the NCAA tourney. With one of the nation's top big men in Damian Jones and also a talented point guard in Wade Baldwin IV, the Commodores were supposed to challenge for the SEC title. Instead, it's a team that now sits at 11-8 overall and 3-4 in league play -- with the wins coming at home against lackluster opponents, Auburn and Alabama, and a road victory against Tennessee. There's not a resume win to be found, which means this could well be a team headed to the NIT.
Old Dominion: Jeff Jones' Monarchs returned three starters, including all-first team guard Trey Freeman, from a team that was 27-8 overall and 13-5 in C-USA play last season. This season the Monarchs are 10-10 overall and 3-4 in league play, and have dropped games at Southern Miss and most recently, Saturday at home to Marshall.
Butler: It wasn't all that long ago that the Bulldogs were a top-10 team after a win at Cincinnati and also a victory over Purdue in the Crossroads Classic. Butler has come down to earth recently and dropped a pair this past week on the road -- to Providence and Creighton. Chris Holtmann has still done a terrific job with this group, which is more top 25 than top 10.
Arizona State: Remember when we were all singing the praises of Bobby Hurley and the Sun Devils after a shocking win against Texas A&M and a road victory at UNLV. Well, Hurley had his guys playing over their heads, and now ASU is 1-6 in the Pac-12 with its lone win a home victory against Washington State. Herb Sendek didn't leave Hurley enough to compete for the upper half of the Pac-12.