Willard snagged 5-star recruit Derek Queen and scored in the portal with three other new starters (Ja’kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel) who have already combined to make 91 three-pointers. Maryland had a rough weekend on the West Coast but is projected to finish tied for sixth in the Big Ten.Check the first two […]
Willard snagged 5-star recruit Derek Queen and scored in the portal with three other new starters (Ja’kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel) who have already combined to make 91 three-pointers. Maryland had a rough weekend on the West Coast but is projected to finish tied for sixth in the Big Ten.Check the first two months of this men’s college basketball season for confirmation. I ran the numbers on the Most Improved Teams in the five power conferences — the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big 10 and Southeastern.Providence fans were not pleased when Cooley decided go become the replacement for Patrick Ewing with the Hoyas before last season — and Cooley has Georgetown relevant in the Big East again. Harvard point guard Malik Mack and TCU forward Micah Peavy were his best finds in the transfer portal. The Hoyas have nice wins over Creighton and Xavier — and get their shot against UConn at home Saturday.There were moments last March when it seemed like nobody wanted the Vanderbilt job. But the Commodores settled on Mark Byington, who won 32 games at James Madison last season and has six 20-win seasons during his 11-year run at JMU and Georgia Southern. Vandy ranked No. 198 in offensive efficiency and 200 in defensive efficiency in the final season of Jerry Stackhouse. The Commodores are 34 and 85 in those categories this season with wins over Nevada, TCU and LSU.4. GeorgetownLOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — College sports said goodbye to the 5-year plan many years ago. While you’re at it, scratch the 4- and 3-year plans from your vocabulary, too.
3. Vanderbilt
Dusty May projected to be the prize catch in the hiring cycle after leading Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four — and the Wolverines have benefited.Using the computer power ratings at Ken Pomeroy’s analytics site, I ranked the 10 programs that have made the largest jumps this season.
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 81
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 24
- Places Gained: +57
- January 2024 Record: 9-6
- January 2025 Record: 11-4
- W-L Improvement: +2
8. Penn StateThe Blue Demons have been looking for the next Ray Meyer for as long as I have been writing a column. Chris Holtmann probably won’t get DePaul to its first Final Four since 1979 but the Blue Demons are no longer the complete pushover that went 0-20 in the Big East last season. Holtmann fetched his entire starting lineup from the transfer portal, including former Indiana guard C.J. Gunn, who scored 22 in a win over Wichita State.West Virginia coach Darian Devries reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 71
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 10
- Places Gained: +61
- January 2024 Record: 6-9
- January 2025 Record: 12-3
- W-L Improvement: +6
Getting it done ASAP is the way of the world. The combination of the NCAA transfer portal and payroll opportunities created by Name/Image/Likeness funding means that rosters can be flipped and upgraded in weeks, not years.10. Maryland
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 113
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 44
- Places Gained: +69
- January 2024 Record: 8-7
- January 2025 Record: 12-3
- W-L Improvement: +4
2. DePaul5. West Virginia
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 162
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 91
- Places Gained: +71
- January 2024 Record: 6-8
- January 2025 Record: 7-7
- W-L Improvement: +1
The Nittany Lions stumbled Sunday against Indiana at The Palestra but second-year coach Mike Rhoades has Penn State in the conversation to make NCAA Tournament with a victory over Purdue. They could benefit from improvement by star Ace Baldwin, who is shooting only 28.6% from distance after making a third of those shots last season.
Mick Cronin blasted his plays as “delusional” after the Bruins were beaten by Michigan by 20 in Pauley Pavilion Tuesday night, saying that he brought more energy than anybody on his roster or coaching staff. It will be fascinating to see how UCLA responds because they make the first of three cross country trips this week to visit Maryland and Rutgers. UCLA ranks No. 4 in defensive efficiency but lost while scoring 58 at Nebraska and 64 against New Mexico. Cronin is the ultimate outlier on this list. This is sixth season at UCLA, where the Bruins finished 16-17 last year.
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 107
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 26
- Places Gained: +81
- January 2024 Record: 6-9
- January 2025 Record: 11-4
- W-L Improvement: +5
7. Notre Dame
6. UCLA
9. Michigan
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 133
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 48
- Places Gained: +85
- January 2024 Record: 5-9
- January 2025 Record: 11-3
- W-L Improvement: +6
1. LouisvilleAfter shocking Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse last week, the Mountaineers swallowed a 19-point home loss to Arizona Tuesday night. That’s the same Arizona team WVU beat in overtime in the third-place game in The Bahamas in November. Not only did Darian DeVries bring his talented son, Tucker, with him from Drake, he also added guard Javon Small from Oklahoma State. Small sits at No. 10 in KenPom player of the year rankings with an assist rate of nearly 30 while averaging better than two made three-point field goals per game.
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 186
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 60
- Places Gained: +126
- January 2024 Record: 8-7
- January 2025 Record: 12-3
- W-L Improvement: +4
After arriving in College Park from Seton Hall, Willard is in third season with the Terps. Last season was a slog for Maryland. The Terps ranked No. 155 in offensive efficiency and lost early games to Davison, UAB and Villanova.He’s flipped the roster with guys from FAU, Yale, Auburn and Ohio State — and Michigan just went to Los Angeles and beat USC and UCLA. If you like teams that rank in the Top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency, then you like May’s squad because Michigan is one of eight teams with that credential.
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 184
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 53
- Places Gained: +131
- January 2024 Record: 5-10
- January 2025 Record: 13-2
- W-L Improvement: +8
The Irish are a difficult team to gauge because star point guard Markus Burton missed most of eight games with an injury — and Notre Dame lost five of those games. But Burton was back Saturday when the Irish lost to North Carolina on a 4-point play in the final seconds. They’ll play at North Carolina State Wednesday night and Duke Saturday before the schedule eases. In his second season, Micah Shrewsberry has a top 5 recruiting class coming to South Bend next season.Beating North Carolina, Virginia and Clemson, three programs that made the NCAA Tournament last season, over a 7-day stretch was a confirmation that coach Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals earned the respect that Joe Lunardi gave them by placing U of L in his 2025 NCAA Tournament field in his latest updated bracket projection Tuesday morning. The Cards’ current rating of No. 37 is the highest U of L has been in Ken Pomeroy’s formula since the opening game of Chris Mack’s final season (Nov. 9, 2021). KenPom ranks Chucky Hepburn fourth in the ACC player of the year race but the Cards’ MVP in their last five wins have been five different players — Reyne Smith (Florida State); Terrance Edwards Jr. (Eastern Kentucky); Hepburn (North Carolina); Aboubacar Traore (Virginia) and J’Vonne Hadley (Clemson). Kelsey has done fine work, especially considering the Cards are without two solid contributors out with injuries.
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 245
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 110
- Places Gained: +135
- January 2024 Record: 3-12
- January 2025 Record: 9-6
- W-L Improvement: +6
Maryland head coach Kevin Willard, center, directs his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon in Eugene, Ore., Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)The results are clear: Five of the 10 most improved squads are led by first-year coaches. Three others are directed by coaches in their second seasons. The two outliers are former Rick Pitino assistants — Mick Cronin of UCLA and Kevin Willard at Maryland.
- Early January 2024 KenPom Rating: 221
- Early January 2025 KenPom Rating: 37
- Places Gained: +184
- January 2024 Record: 6-10
- January 2025 Record: 11-5
- W-L Improvement: +5
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