Top-5 Post Players, Iowa/Maryland Preview and An Incredibly Weird Play

Alright, going to continue the trend at taking a look at the top players in college basketball. I know a lot of people were a little upset that the top-5 wings didn’t include food. If you’re ever in Cincinnati, the 5 best wing spots though (in order) are The Oak, MLTs, Lucky Dog, OPG and Taft’s Ale house. That’s what you call a versatile blogger, right there.

This time around we’ll talk about the bigs in college hoops – something that is almost becoming a lost art. We rarely see true post players as most guys want to drift to the 3-point line and play more the point forward spot – absolutely nothing wrong with that – as we see in a Ben Simmons, Georges Niang type.

As, always, let me know your list on Twitter @barstoolreags.

Just missed the cut: Diamond Stone, Rico Gathers, Isaac Haas, Kaleb Tarczewski and Josh Scott

5. Zach Auguste – Notre Dame, 13.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 24.3 PER

After really breaking out in the Elite Eight game against Kentucky last season, Auguste has lived up to the hype so far. He’s a typical post player in the sense that he hasn’t shot a 3 all season (a common trend here) but he’s quicker than most guys in the paint. He uses his 6’10” frame to get good position, which is why he’s shooting over 54 percent from the floor. He’s come a long way in just two years, when he was actually a negative on the floor offensively and is now upped his box score plus/minus to 3.1.

4. Ben Bentil – Providence, 20.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 25.1 PER

It’s pretty safe to say Ben Bentil is the most improved player in the country as he’s gone from a borderline role player to the ultimate sidekick (and leading scorer) to Kris Dunn. Bentil does give up some size moving from the four spot to the five, considering he’s listed at 6’9”, but he’s incredibly strong and uses that strength to create space. While Bentil often tries to rip down the rim with a dunk, he’s developed a face-up jumper that allows more space for Dunn to drive the lane.

3. Jakob Poeltl – Utah, 17.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 32.9 PER

Poeltl came into the season as the No. 1 big man in the country and expected to be an All-American. He’ll still likely end up on an All-American team, but some other have passed him as the best in the game right now. He’s a legit 7-footer, but runs the floor better than you would expect. He’s the extremely traditional post player, where he looks for body contact on the offensive end and likes to finish through that. Defensively, he does get himself in trouble by playing the same way, often leading to some cheap fouls. However, he’s a strong defender thanks to his quick feet and obviously incredibly long arms.

2. Domantas Sabonis – Gonzaga, 17.5 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 29.5 PER

Sabonis has flown under the radar due to playing next to Kyle Wiltjer and Gonzaga having a ‘down’ year while often playing late games. However, Sabonis is making it look like he’s about to be a lock for a top-10 pick next year. Sabonis is a 6’10” post player with extremely soft touch around the rim. He does a great job finishing on both sides of the hoop and using a wide array of moves (likely taught to him by his dad, Arvydas) to beat his defender. He’s an excellent passer out of the paint, especially with Gonzaga often running a four-out, one-in offense or a hybrid hi-low with him and Wiltjer. Defensively he needs to improve as he doesn’t block nearly enough shots for his size and gets into foul trouble quite a bit.

1. Brice Johnson – UNC, 16.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 34.8 PER

Brice Johnson has been making a legit run at National Player of the Year. He had one of the most impressive games of this season when he scored 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds on the road against Florida State. He’s not going to kill teams by shooting, but he has developed a mid-range jumper that was in full effect against Syracuse’s zone earlier in the year. He will beat you with effective shooting as his true shooting percentage is a ridiculous 67 percent. There’s no reason for North Carolina to run its offense through Marcus Paige anymore, Brice Johnson is the best player on that team.

Iowa/Maryland Preview

It’s by far the best game tonight as the Hawkeyes travel to Cole Field House, Comcast Center, Xfinity Center for a game between the top two teams in the Big 10. Iowa matches up incredibly well with Maryland and if this game was at Iowa, I would say the Hawkeyes easily win by 6 points. However, this game is at one of the 5-7 toughest places to play, so Iowa will need to use the biggest advantage it has to win this game. Ball security. Iowa turns the ball over just 14.1 percent of their possessions, which is the 4^th best in the country. There will also be a mismatch for Jarrod Uthoff to take advantage. Maryland will have either Rasheed Sulaimon or Jake Layman., on the star. If it’s Sulaimon, is he big/long enough to contest Uthoff’s shot or will the goofy looking dude from Iowa just be able to take a dribble into the paint and shoot over him. For Layman it’s the opposite. Is he quick enough to stick with Uthoff off the bounce.

For Maryland, the Terps desperately need Sulaimon just to show up and be something offensively. He’s been in single digits in four of the last five games and frankly has looked awful shooting the ball in those games. If he can alleviate some pressure off of Melo, the Terps should win this. The other matchup to watch is Trimble vs Mike Gessell, who is a much better defender than what he looks i.e. he’s a goofy looking white dude form Iowa, who doesn’t look the quickest in the world. Trimble has been turnover prone in the losses for Maryland. Can Gessell force him to commit those tonight?

UNLV Wins Best/Worst Teammate Award

Yo, Stephen Zimmerman, might want to focus on the game here. Instead of you know, getting back on defense, the freshman decided to drag his teammate’s ass on the floor like he was using him as a mop. One of the weirdest plays I’ve seen in quite some time.