Teams of the Week Awards: Cyclone Season Rocks West Lafayette

While Indiana doesn't get direct hits from hurricanes, it's frequently impacted by the remnants of tropical cyclones, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and sometimes tornadoes.

Remnants of a Cyclone were persistent throughout Mackey Arena, located in West Lafayette, this past Saturday.

Purdue coach Matt Painter: "(Iowa State) took our spirit."

Painter on Nate Heise: "That's a functional winner right there. ... they're bought in, especially (Heise). He does all the little things, a fan might not grab it, but a coach does.”

Heise's 29 bench minutes were typical for a man that the Cyclones consider its "sixth starter," per HC T.J. Otzelberger. Heise is so productive away from the ball and extremely dialed into the overall goal of a given possession. Defensively, he is absolutely leaned on.

The Cyclones are in familiar territory with a dominant 9-0 start to the season and the CyHawk rivalry game coming to Ames on Thursday, officially known as the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

What it all means?
Iowa State has one of the truly elite road wins in the country. It snapped several streaks for Purdue as a home team. If Purdue course-corrects and has an expected great season - perhaps ISU will be the only team to win at Mackey this year? That's no small feat to the committee. Big picture, I think ISU is clearly showing they are likely to be a factor in the Big 12 race. ISU is forcing turnovers at a 26.5% clip on a per possession basis, best in the nation. Milan Momcilovic is an amazing 37-69 from downtown (53%), which is clearly elite. Even when that dips a bit, its a game changer for what opponents will do to prep for his talents. Then you have Killyan Toure, Jamarion Batemon, and Joshua Jefferson all burying treys on smaller volume at above 40% as well. It's a lethal perimeter set of threats to go along with a strong interior game. The Cyclones take a higher rate of inside shots. Joshua Jefferson is currently the 2nd-most valuable player in America, per KenPom data. He has multiple double-digit assist and double-digit rebound outings under his belt. The former Saint Mary's stalwart has poured in no less than 11 points in every game and hit 24 a few times now. Consistent.

NOTRE DAME

An Irish program that is at a Crossroads moment, where is Bone Thugs N' Harmony when you need them?

1) As a team the Irish are in season three of the Micah Shrewsberry experience. After two frustrating seasons, the South Bend folks seem to be getting antsy (as if they didn't have enough reasons to be antsy- see the CFP bracket)

2) The Irish really left the Players Era without a significant win. The Rutgers win will unfortunately not mean much it appears and ND came up short against Kansas and Houston, despite quality efforts in both. Prior to Vegas, a heartbreaking one-point loss at Ohio State was dealt with.

3) Early in the road game at TCU, a devastating scene as star G Markus Burton had to be helped off the court.

Facing a double-digit deficit in Fort Worth, enter freshman Jalen Haralson.

“The thing that I told Jalen, right before we went out after halftime, ‘You’ve got to be the best player on the floor with no doubt of who that is,’” Shrewsberry said. “I thought he did that in the second half.” 

Haralson carried the load and ended with 20 points and dished out nine assists. Sharing the ball was a huge theme in the game-ending box score as Notre Dame dished out 27 team assists on 33 made baskets in an OT win that should go a long way in making this Notre Dame campaign a meaningful one.

Earlier in the week was another key Irish win over Missouri, 76-71. A healthy Burton dished out 10 assists and added 18 points.

What it all means?
Life without Burton will be a heavy concern nationally. With Haralson however, the Irish proved they can move forward in a successful way. The win at TCU figures to be safely in Quad 1 long-term and the Mizzou win can only support that the Irish played quality basketball during non-conference. At 6-3, only three more non-conference games remain and all at home money games- Idaho, Evansville, and Purdue Fort Wayne. Assuming there are no setbacks, Irish should enter ACC play at 9-3 with a resume to build on. This past week put them on the radar. Let's see if its the beginning of a special turnaround.

RICHMOND

Spiders crawl and creep. They have the ability to sneak up on the best of the best in the college basketball landscape. In Chris Mooney's 21st season at the helm, the Spiders are still at it.

This year's version didn't quite have the expectations, which in turn has given Richmond its ideal place in the landscape to sneak up on opponents.

A showdown at undefeated Belmont was the game that warranted your attention. The Bruins played a great first half until this Mike Walz heave:

An unexpected three points gave the Spiders important momentum heading to the half. Even more remarkable? It ended being the only three points scored by Walz the entire evening.

More key moments were still to come. This one courtesy of Will Johnston and the Bank of Belmont.

Richmond ultimately pulled off the road upset, handing Belmont its first loss of the season. The Spiders returned home over the weekend and handled regional rival, Old Dominion, 86-77. Walz became a bigger factor in the ODU victory, scoring 16 points and collecting four key offensive rebounds, eight total.

What it all means?
The Spiders are 8-1 with a temporary Quad 1 road win at Belmont (currently 51st in the premature NET). Richmond's win over William & Mary earlier this year has aged well. More importantly, the emergence of this non-conference Richmond team is making the A-10 deep. We knew SLU, VCU, GW, GMU, Dayton, and even the Bonnies needed to be counted on. But when the Richmond's and Davidson's of the league step up as well, that is the type of movement the league truly needs to secure multi-bid status. Richmond is now 73rd in SOR, with the rest of the league working to uphold the floor:

NORTH ALABAMA

It's pretty near impossible to replace Jacari Lane's talent (now at Texas A&M) at the ASUN level alone, but this UNA program also witnessed Taye Fields (now a pro in Austria) and Daniel Ortiz graduate as well. The milestones of reaching the ASUN Title Game and earning an NIT bid was a key step for the program in 2025.

What's next?

That is always the question. The most important bullet point is that Tony Pujol, a defensive mastermind and vastly underrated Head Coach, is still in Florence and guiding the Lions. 14 weeks ago, this happened:

Following a 1-4 slow start vs. D1 opposition, the Lions entered last week in search of consistency and an identity.

UNA opened the week at Jacksonville State on Monday, a tough in-state foe.

The Lions started slow. Halftime hit quickly and UNA trailed, 34-26, with only one made three. The adjustments were made. A completely different level of efficiency showed up in the second half. The always dependable Cornelius Williams put up his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. But the big story was outside shooting as UNA drilled 12 of its 13 makes from deep during the second half, leading to a +15 scoring margin in the half.

This momentum and excitement took the team straight to the airport for a cross-country flight to San Francisco.

48-hours later, UNA found themselves tipping of on San Francisco's Hilltop at War Memorial Gymnasium. An intimate venue where the Dons had not lost a regular-season game since the 2023-24 season.

Once again, the Lions were buried early. The always tough Dons, got hot. It was 21-4 San Francisco early. The Lions didn't waver and stayed the course. Ultimately getting USF to go cold towards the end of the half and chipping away to only trail 26-24 at Halftime.

In the second half, the Lions were the aggressors while the Dons continued to struggle with its own production. A key, confident bucket from Canin Jefferson broke a late tie and gave North Alabama the 65-63 edge. Donte Bacchus was clutch all night, and the real credit goes back to Pujol and the UNA staff for keeping San Francisco off balance essentially for the final 30 minutes of the game.

What it all means?
The ASUN is wide open. FGCU, Lipscomb, Queens, and perhaps others have shown flashes. Now North Alabama quickly has our attention. The conference will move to a neutral-site tournament in Jacksonville for the first time this season. UNA just proved it can win two road games with virtually no time to recover, which is an amazingly good sign for the Lions plan to navigate the ASUN Tournament. It also gives Coach Pujol another big road win to recruit with.

VIRGINIA

The week began in Austin, Texas for these refocused Cavs. Virginia took it to Texas in a statement road win, 88-69, in a game that was never in doubt. UVA held a 19-point lead by halftime and maintained that until the final horn.

A refreshing result for a team with a mountain of upside and still trying to establish themselves as a clear threat in the eventual ACC race against the likes of Louisville and Duke down the road.

Weapons are everywhere in Charlottesville within this roster. Jacari White reminded everybody how dangerous he can be. He came off the bench to bury all three of his trey attempts, and had an efficient 10 points.

Then came the Dayton game on Saturday in Charlotte. White was dangerously flammable as the image below showcases. The man from Orlando via North Dakota State, finished the week going 10-for-10 from downtown across both wins. Simply sensational.

Dayton gets about five chances per year to play Power schools. So Virginia knew they were getting the Flyers' best shot this past weekend. The prowess of White and the overall size edge overwhelmed Dayton over the course of 40 minutes, a 41-21 rebounding edge for the Cavs.

What it all means?
Virginia is back on the national radar with two statement W's. The fun game of Virginia rooting for Texas and Dayton the rest of the season becomes pretty real due to the fact that I am not quite clear on the fate of either of those opponents. Regardless, the efficiency on both ends for UVA last week provides a ton of optimism moving forward. The Cavs are 8-1 with three favorable home games left before ACC play is here. Don't forget the Cavs still will face Ohio State in February, which should continue to beef up their Non-Conference schedule strength.

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS

BOISE STATE - A road win at Hinkle Fieldhouse against Butler really helps Boise State start building a resume it desperately needs. Following missed Maui opportunities against USC and N.C. State where the Broncos were close but lost, this one was really important. With Duquesne coming to town and a game against Saint Mary's this coming Sunday in Idaho Falls, BSU can be right in the thick of bubble talk entering MW play.

DUKE - A road win at Michigan State is probably an automatic team of the week award for virtually any program not named Duke. At Duke, its been an expectation as the Blue Devils are now 3-0 against Tom Izzo inside the Breslin Center and 15-3 against him overall. This will still be a headline win on Duke's resume and they dealt with adversity in the 66-60 triumph. Cam Boozer's 15 boards showed the Spartans who was in control of the paint. Boozer also poured in 18 points and dished out five assists. Not a bad performance for the young prodigy and National Player of the Year lead candidate.

NEVADA - The Pack is back? Not a ton of expectations were in store following Nevada's disappointing campaign a year ago. But Nevada more than held their own against stiff competition in Palm Desert by beating San Francisco, following its loss to Washington. That set the stage for this past week where UNR delivered visiting UC San Diego its first loss of the season. The Pack then traveled to the Palouse to take on the Cougars of WSU. An even more impressive road domination ensued, as Nevada left Pullman with a 78-64 win. Even more impressive was Nevada playing without its lead scorer, Corey Camper, Jr. or big man Joel Armotrading. EKU/Evansville transfer, Tayshawn Comer, was the absolute truth - a season-high 24 points in the WSU win and giving Steve Alford another great scoring option to play through. The Pack also dominated the O-Glass with 14 offensive rebounds, most of which came in the second half.

UCONN - The week where Eric Reibe emerged. That's what the UConn community will remember. What it meant? A key resume road win at Kansas. An especially rare win for a non-conference opponent. The 7-1 freshman from Germany was key. Reibe had two blocks, two steals, made six of his eight shots, and added eight boards. The Huskies are now 7th defensively in the country and 8-1 on the year. Even crazier, it was Braylon Mullins who won the Big East Freshman of the Week award on Monday morning - he averaged 13.5 points and three rebounds himself. A showdown with Florida comes on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic.

HOLY CROSS - Crusaders got a road A-10 win at Fordham and earlier in the week beat Northeastern! This is a pretty significant moment for a Crusader program that has been stuck in a 321-349-342-349-304-344 (KP final ranks) rut for the past six seasons. Tyler Boston has been a leader as a Sophomore. He's shooting it at over 40% from deep, north of 85% on Free Throws, and has a 25.2 Assist rate (one of the best in the Patriot League). Boston led the way with 18 points in the important win over Northeastern. Holy Cross head coach Dave Paulsen served for two years on the Fordham staff from 2021-23 - so the win at Rose Hill was special. This was also the Tom Konchalski Classic, where the MVP was given to Gabe Warren. Warren had multiple career-highs: 25 points, six treys, eight rebounds, and 39 minutes logged. The real story however was Holy Cross fighting back in the final minutes to stun the Rams:

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

MAAC: QUINNIPIAC - The Bobcats started league play off with a leg up on the rest of the pack by beating Iona on the road convincingly, 89-68. A massive 48-35 glass edge spoke volumes about QU's physicality. The six players in double-figures speaks to the depth and balance to this squad. Bobcats also handled Rider, 72-58, to get to 2-0 in league play. Capitalizing on the early MAAC play window effectively.

BIG TEN: ILLINOIS - Illini achieved the promise land in Music City, courtesy of the inefficient Vols. This Illini defense created havoc and off-balance play for the two big names on Tennessee- Nate Ament and Ja'Kobi Gillespie. Each had poor shooting attempts. The win for Illinois should give them a pair in Quad 1 so far, adding to its previous win over Texas Tech. More importantly, an effective defense can take this highly-skilled offensive roster deep into March.

THE AMERICAN: WICHITA STATE - Michael Gray, Jr. came to Wichita this past Spring via Nicholls, where he was a 40%+ shooter in the Southland Conference from deep a year ago. Questions were if he could keep it up at the next level. Early returns are promising as Gray knocked down three of six attempts from deep in the big win at Northern Iowa this past weekend. He was one of five Shockers in double figures during the former Valley rivalry clash.

ACC EXTRA: MIAMI - The Hurricanes are evolving into a serious threat to crack the NCAA Tournament discussion. The win last week at Ole Miss will go a long ways to assist its resume. A lot of that is because Miami scheduled a surplus of home guarantee games. The Canes missed in its homerun chances vs. Florida and BYU, but have handled everyone else including Georgetown. With a Top-16 defense presently and the prodigy Shelton Henderson (18 at Ole Miss with five Off. Rebounds, nine total) gaining confidence, this squad can potentially become a force in the ACC.

SUMMIT LEAGUE: NORTH DAKOTA STATE - It was Summit-Big Sky Challenge week, and not many impressed more than the Bison. The week started with the impressive road win at Montana, 81-72. NDSU then survived a swarm of funky defenses from Northern Arizona to win, 69-68. Bison controlled the boards and Trevian Carson's 19 points and 12 boards moved the needle. This NDSU team was little discussed in preseason, but find themselves the highest rated KenPom team in the conference at #156, and have won seven of its past eight.

BIG TEN EXTRA: UCLA - Road wins are gold. The Bruins held off a furious rally to win at Washington and get the Big Ten campaign off to a promising start. The Bruins returned home to face a hungry Oregon team. The Ducks had the return of Nate Bittle as well. Bruins never gave Oregon much of a window for hope as they overwhelmed Bittle and held the Ducks to 19-56 shooting on the night. UCLA is the first team to two wins in the conference. Now, its time for Gonzaga in Seattle on Saturday.

MISSOURI VALLEY: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - How bout the Salukis?! Going into High Point and coming out of Quebin with a victory. Not something that happens in recent years. Davion Sykes your hero here:

SEC EXTRA: ARKANSAS - Important win over Louisville. Yes, it was at home which is why the credit here is down the list a bit. However, this Arkansas team is striving to be a consistent Top 10 caliber squad and looked the part last week. Part of the reason is much improved ball security. The Hogs only turn it over on 12.8% of its possessions, good for 9th-best in America.

SOCON: FURMAN - After a real rocky start, things are calming down in Greenville. The Paladins had an undervalued win at Elon last week, 97-88. It's an Elon squad that has been thumping people. Furman's Turkey event in Orlando and improving health have been signs of important progress. Key to remember that nobody has played a SoCon game yet, and the league is up for grabs. Furman also hosted Harvard this weekend and handled the Crimson by 10. Sophomore Asa Thomas was terrific, averaging 19.5 PPG in the two wins.

BIG 12 EXTRA: OKLAHOMA STATE - These Cowboys are up to a 9-0 start and counting heading into their in-state battle with Oklahoma next weekend. Cowboys impressed once again by going to Phoenix and beating the locally loved Lopes of GCU, 84-78. The week started by rallying to beat CUSA Darkhorse squad, Sam Houston. Parsa Fallah has always impressed me, and last week was his time to shine. Fallah went for 25 vs. GCU and 24 vs. Sam Houston, adding three key steals against the Bearkats.

MOUNTAIN WEST EXTRA: COLORADO STATE - First team to beat Colorado, and let's give a few extra points for a rivalry win. Kyle Jorgensen came up big with 21 points, seven boards, three steals, and three dimes. Josh Pascarelli buried a ridiculous eight triples, and finished with 26. Moby was rocking, and this CSU team has real staying power in the coming MWC race.

HORIZON LEAGUE: DETROIT MERCY - A 2-0 start for the Titans? Preposterous! Incredible effort last week by this group to get the job done over tricky IU Indy, and then a double-digit road win at Cleveland State. TJ Nadeau overcame a tough league opener to become the star of the show in Cleveland - 26 points on just 14 shot attempts. And Ayden Carter was the go to guy vs. the Jags, scoring 21 and snatching three steals. Lets see if these Titans can make it 3-0 this Sunday at Purdue Fort Wayne.

WAC: ABILENE CHRISTIAN - Wildcats don't get a lot of chances to play important non-conference home games, so ACU took full advantage of the opportunity to host New Mexico State. Yaniel Rivera was tight with the rock, ending the game with no turnovers while dishing out four assists and adding 13 points. ACU's defense held the Aggies to just six three-point makes. Earlier in the week, ACU was on the road and held Pepperdine to just six makes from deep as well. The Wildcats are 7-3 and remain a pesky contender for the WAC race.

ACC EXTRA: VIRGINIA TECH - Hokies won at South Carolina and cruised by undefeated George Mason with relative ease. What a great week for some of these seemingly middling ACC tournament hopefuls. V-Tech has wins that currently sit in Quad 2 piling up: At South Carolina, N-Colorado State, N-Providence, and H-George Mason.

OVC: LINDENWOOD - It's a story we are tracking closely. It's the first year the Lions are eligible for NCAA tournament participation and we liked the roster in preseason. Lindenwood earned two road wins last week including its OVC opener at Eastern Illinois. They won at the MAC's NIU by 35 earlier in the week. Jadis Jones is an evolving and talented sophomore. He's already earned four different KP MVP designations.

ICYMI - https://www.basketunderreview.com/postseason-dreaming-introducing-the-accelerated-kids-on-the-ncaa-tournament-block/

IVY LEAGUE: COLUMBIA - Can anyone slow down the highly-efficient Lions? This offense has produced the 26th most effective FG% in the country with no signs of slowing down. In fact, new HC Kevin Hovde's iron is just getting sharper by the day. Last week, the Lions experienced a close game scenario and persevered against surging Hofstra, 72-70. Hofstra, of course, went on to win at Pittsburgh later in the week. The Lions stayed home for the weekend and got back to their smashing ways, destroying Albany by 28.

SOUTHLAND: TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI - Never doubt a well-prepared Jim Shaw gameplan. These Islanders had eight days following a loss to Xavier to get ready for its road Southland opener at Lamar, and they absolutely stymied the Cardinals. A rock fight of a 57-49 win in Beaumont. Call it a Jim Shaw special. Lamar went a putrid 19-51 on the day and only got to the foul line for nine attempts. Nick Shogbonyo gave TAMUCC just enough juice with 18 points to earn the Islanders the key road win and 1-0 conference record.

BIG SKY: IDAHO - Following its demolition of North Dakota, the Vandals hit the road for a daunting test at South Dakota State. Or so we thought. These Vandals proved they have a high ceiling by achieving the rare road win in Brookings, 84-81. Kolton Mitchell is such a weapon at this level, he made all eight of his foul shots, and ended with 22 points.

NEC: LeMOYNE - Dolphins are still transitioning into postseason eligibility but the progress is showing. They were able to go into Binghamton and dominate the Bearcats, 78-63. Trent Mosquera is an established threat, burying four triples in the win to lead the Phins.

WCC: OREGON STATE - Yes, yes Gonzaga fans, I know you pounded Kentucky! Is it sad that I kind of expected it? You know what I didn't expect? These Beavers to hammer Vermont by 22. OSU also handled Southern Utah to wrap up the week and get back to .500. When Josiah Lake is on, Oregon State can get to another level up in performance. He was stellar against Vermont with 18 points.

BIG SOUTH: USC UPSTATE - Some rare recognition for the Spartans here. HC Marty Richter has them playing really effective defense. USC Upstate is now a Top 50 defense per eFG% marks, which is certainly a surprise. The rest of the defense is still getting sorted out. A pair of wins over Coastal Carolina and Western Carolina last week has the Spartans owning a winning record now at 6-5. Unfortunately a road game at UNC on Saturday likely halts the momentum, but still plenty of time before league play begins on December 31st.

CONFERENCE USA: FIU - Talk about rare! FIU going 2-0 to rise to the top honors of the week in a good conference is clearly something to embrace. The Golden Panthers held serve against in-state foes FGCU and Jacksonville last week to get to 5-3. Now its a 10-day break for finals before a tall task at Miami on the 16th.

SWAC: BETHUNE-COOKMAN - We'll stay in Florida for are next conference, the SWAC. BCU continues to establish itself as a major player in the conference. This past week the Wildcats clobbered its peers and former conference rival, South Carolina State, 80-59. Jakobi Heady had 22 points and no turnovers in 33 excellent minutes.

CAA: UNC WILMINGTON - Can you believe the CAA is now America's 12th-best conference. These Seahawks at 9-1 are a big reason why at the top of the conference. UNCW (currently #107 KP) is scratching the Top 100 surface. Another 2-0 week is in the books as Patrick Wessler helped the Seahawks escape a scare from Marshall and Jaxon Olivera dropped 21 in the road win at Louisiana.

BIG WEST: UC IRVINE - Tough decision as the three 2-0 teams were expected between UCI, Hawaii, and UCSB. I'll give the Anteaters the nod here as they did avenge a painful home loss from a year ago against Cal State Northridge, 85-71. Kyle "The Denial" Evans was an absolute monster with 16 rebounds and a trio of blocked shots. He also had five swats in the league opening victory over UC Riverside.

SUN BELT: GEORGIA SOUTHERN - The Eagles have bounced back from a disappointing showing at the Jacksonville Classic to win three straight. GSU took care of business at home against Louisiana Tech, then went and picked up a road win at Gardner-Webb. Spudd Webb's 32-point effort against LA Tech was unbelievable. He went an absurd 13-14 from the field including four triples.

MAC: AKRON - The Zips went to Tulane and took it to the Green Wave in a runaway 17-point road win. They also breezed past Bucknell before that by 20. Yeah, this team is a massive problem for any mid-major right now. Extra props in the league goes to Western Michigan, who got 28 points and 10 assists from an inspired Jalen Griffith in a road win at SIUE.

MEAC: DELAWARE STATE - The Hornets got the all-important rivalry win over Delaware in OT. Need I say more?

AMERICA EAST: UMBC - The Retrievers went to Bucknell and escaped Sojka Pavilion with a 73-66 win after a seesaw tussle with the Bisons. Jah'likai King paved the way with 20 points. At 6-3, UMBC continues to play as if they will be Vermont's primary competition in the eventual America East race.

No Awards due to no D1 wins during the week: NONE! Every league had at least one D1 win this week for the first time in 2025-26

Get some rest. It's Finals Week, everyone.