THE ‘EATERS ARE EATING AGAIN

Just before Christmas, Belmont traveled to UC Irvine for what was supposed to be a big non-conference matchup. The Bruins outscored Irvine by 24 in the second half on their way to an 84-58 victory. The blowout loss dropped the ‘Eaters to 7-5 and made them an afterthought in the eyes of many.

Following Thursday night’s overtime win against Hawaii, UC Irvine will head into February in sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference. 

So, what changed?

Defense certainly wasn’t an issue. During the Russell Turner era, UC Irvine has consistently been one of the best defensive teams in college basketball and this season is no exception. The problem was simple -- They were struggling on the other end of the floor.

Through the first part of the season, Irvine shot under 40% in half of their games (not counting non-division I games). Overall, they shot 39% as a team through that stretch.

In the 10 games since the one-sided loss to Belmont, Irvine has shot under 40% just once. That came on Jan. 10 at Hawaii when the ‘Eaters shot 39% and lost 67-66 at the buzzer. Overall, they have shot 47.5% from the field over the last 10 games.

It’s a simple game, isn’t it.

Redshirt sophomore Jurian Dixon has set the tone. Last season’s Big West Freshman of the Year is even better in 2025-26. The San Diego native is 6th in the Big West, averaging 15.7 points per game. He’s a prototypical Russ Turner guard. He’s tough, skilled and he makes plays.

Kyle Evans should be on the short list for Big West Player of the Year. The 6-foot-10 senior may only average 11.9 points per game, but he is a game-changer on the defensive end. He leads the nation with 3.4 blocks per game and has had four games with 5 or more rejections this season. 

Evans finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks in Thursday night’s first-place showdown with Hawaii. It was one of the most dominating performances of the season for a player who didn’t score 20 points. 

He anchors a defense, which is 3rd in the nation in field goal percentage defense (37.3%), 9th in defensive rebounds (29.2), 36th in scoring defense (67.2) and -- of course -- No. 1 in the NCAA as a team in blocked shots with 6.1 per game.

Over the past month, the ‘Eaters look a lot more like the team that opened the season ranked No. 9 in the Mid-Major Top 25®.

IN THE JAGS ZONE

If you can control the paint and shoot it well, you have a pretty good formula for success. That’s exactly what head coach Richie Riley is doing at South Alabama.

Riley runs a very unique zone defense for 40 minutes. That’s their identity and they are very good at it. You simply aren’t getting into the paint. They do a great job of forcing you to take threes. Not a good job -- a great job.

The Jaguars are No. 1 in college basketball in three-point field goals attempted against. To date, opponents have taken 797 three-point shots, which is an average of 39 per game. That’s 7 more than any other team in America. 

62.4% of the field goal attempts against South Alabama come from beyond the arc and foes are shooting under 31% from beyond the arc. 

On the other end of the floor, Chaze Harris and Adam Olsen are both All-Sun Belt Conference players. 

Harris (pictured above) was a First-Team NAIA All-American last season, averaging 19.7 points, 6.9 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.1 steals, while shooting 59% from the field. The 6-foot-6 guard should be the favorite for conference newcomer of the year and possibly Sun Belt POY.

For the Jags he’s averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.6 steals, while shooting 53% from the floor.  

Olsen is transfer from Canada where he was a three-point sharpshooter and averaged 15 points per game. He’s been good from beyond the arc this season, converting 60-of-158 for 38%.

As a team, the Jaguars are the top shooting squad in the Sun Belt, connecting at 46.9% from the field.

MILLER TIME

Portland State has won seven straight games for the first time since 2007-08 and the Vikings are 7-0 to open Big Sky play for the first time in 30 years.

Head coach Jase Coburn’s team is long. physical and athletic. They are in great in transition, and they attack the paint in the halfcourt. Point guard Jaylin Henderson keys the attack.

Three things you should know about Henderson -- He can score, he can facilitate and he doesn’t require any rest. In a recent 8-game stretch, the 6-foot-3 senior played every minute for a total of 330 minutes. The two-year starter has been a difference maker for the Vikings since his arrival from Louisiana Tech. This season he’s averaging 17.4 points, 6.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

The most important thing to know about Terri Miller Jr. (pictured above) is that he’s the best player in the Big Sky Conference. The 6-foot-8 power forward is very versatile on the offensive end. He’s the top scorer in the conference averaging 19.4 points per contest, while shooting 53%. 

This is a very good defensive team and a dominant rebounding team. The Vikings lead the conference in rebound margin (+6.6), field goal defense (.409%), blocked shots (4.3), and turnovers forced (13.2).
 

COAST TO COAST

UIC opened 2026 with a pair of losses to fall to 5-10 overall and 0-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Since then, the Flames have run off 7 straight wins and moved into a tie for 3rd place in the Valley. Pretty impressive job by head coach Rob Ehsan to get things turned around.  One thing that has really helped is the return of BYU transfer Elijah Crawford. The 6-foot-3 sophomore, who missed most of the first two months due to injury, has provided a spark. He has scored in double-figures in 6 of the 7 wins, including a career-high 26 last weekend at Bradley. This past Tuesday he came up with a big steal and a layup with 1.8 seconds remaining to beat Indiana State. He finished with 12 points and 6 assists and scored the final 6 points of the game for the Flames.

St. Thomas owned the longest home court winning streak in college basketball. North Dakota ended that 28-game streak on Thursday night. Senior Eli King, who began his career at Iowa State, hit a layup with 7 seconds left to knock off the Tommies, which are currently ranked No. 19 in the Mid-Major Top 25®.  It was the fourth straight win for head coach Paul Sather's team, which is now alone in 2nd place in the Summit League. The Fighting Hawks do a great job of taking care of the basketball and forcing opponents to turn it over. They rank Top 15 in the nation in steals per game (9.5), turnover margin (+5.2) and turnovers forced per game (15.6). As a team they have had less than 10 turnovers in 6 of the last 7 games. UND, which was picked to finish 8th in the 9-team Summit, was also the last team St. Thomas at home, on Jan. 27, 2024.

As my colleague Angela Lento recently stated, “You can’t stop the Sun from rising in the East and you can’t stop Dominique Daniels from getting buckets in the West.” Daniels Jr. and California Baptist are currently one game behind UT Arlington for 1st place in the WAC. The Lancers have excellent size and good depth in the frontcourt so they can keep throwing that size at you. They lead the WAC in rebounds per game (40.3) and they are also tops in offensive rebounds per game (14.3). It’s a well-coached group, which is very structured at both ends. Daniels is a stud. He can score at all three levels, and he gets defenders on skates with his ability to get into the paint.

Morehead State has bounced back from a 3-7 start and is now right in the thick of the Ohio Valley Conference race heading into February. One pleasant surprise has been the play of UNC Asheville transfer Davion Cunningham. At Asheville, most of his run came against non-division I opponents when the starters were getting the night off. He did get more minutes when he transferred to USC Aiken where he averaged 15.9 points and 5.6 rebounds for a 2024-25  team that finished with 24 wins and advanced to the second round of the Division II tournament. And quality minutes have not been a problem this season. The 6-foot-3 junior had 18 points in early November against Clemson, and he’s averaging 27.5 minutes per game. Cunningham is getting 12.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game on the season. Since Jan. 10 he’s scoring just under 17 per contest, which includes a 35-point performance against Southeast Missouri State. Good to see the young man get an opportunity to show what he can do.

Navy is currently in sole possession of 1st place in the Patriot League at 8-1, but Colgate has not lost contact with the Midshipmen.  The Raiders sit one game back at 7-2. One of the big reasons is the play of Los Angeles native Jalen Cox (pictured above). The 6-foot-3 junior has really picked up the pace of late. He closed out 2025 with a career-high 29 points at Lafayette. Two weeks later he posted the first triple-double of his career with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Bucknell. And last weekend he scored 9 of his team-high 23 points in overtime, including the game-winning turnaround jumper with 9.8 seconds remaining against Boston University. As the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, Jim Harbaugh often says, “He was at his best, when his best was needed.” Cox is averaging 16.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 54.3% from the field.

HIS SUCCESS = TEAM SUCCESS 

Cameron Boozer (Duke), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Ebuka Okorie (Stanford), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina), Darius Acuff, Jr. (Arkansas) and Gavin Sykes (Long Beach State).

Those are the top scoring freshmen in college basketball.  Long Beach State’s 6-foot-4 scoring machine is in good company. 

In a season which has gotten better with every game, Sykes recently broke his own freshman single-game scoring record (which he also held with former LBSU star Lucious Harris), with 34 points last Saturday against Cal State Northridge. 

More importantly, it was the third straight win for Long Beach, which is playing its best basketball of the season.

With Sykes playing like a freshman All-American, the 49ers have moved to within one game of first place in the Big West Conference. Back in October, there were not many people who thought either of those sentences would be true in late January.   

Long Beach was picked to finish 8th in the Big West preseason poll and there was really no buzz around Sykes at all. The Modesto Bee High School Player of the Year was a Top 25 prospect in the state of California, coming out of Modesto Christian high school, and he had several scholarship offers, but most were of the mid-major variety. There was interest from the University of California Berkley, but Sykes chose the Beach and second-year head coach Chris Acker. 

In his very first game, Sykes played 8 minutes, took two shots and finished with no points against San Diego State. A few days later he saw 25 minutes of action and scored 11 points at Fresno State. In the following game at Pacific, Sykes found a little rhythm and notched his first 20-point game. Before the month was over, he would drop a 30-piece on San Diego, and he was on his way.

It was the first time a 49er freshman had scored 30 points since 1990. 

Since Thanksgiving, he’s averaging just under 23 points per contest and since that zero on opening night, Sykes has been in double figures in every game. Overall, for the season he’s averaging 18.9 per game and 21.9 points in conference play. 

He's shooting 48% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc. Like a lot of young players, he will have his hot and cold shooting nights, but he certainly doesn’t lack confidence. 

But lately he has become more efficient. Sykes went through an 8-game stretch, right before Thanksgiving through Christmas, in which he was averaging 18.1 shots per game. In the 6 games since, he’s averaging 13.5 shots per contest.  The 49ers are 5-1 during that stretch.

A lot of players put up numbers, but the results aren’t always there. The increased production from Sykes coincides with the success of the team, which makes him a legitimate candidate for the 2025-26 Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year award.  The Sacramento California native is a good one. 

NOTE: The finalists for the award will be announced in March. The recipient of the 2025-26 Kyle Macy award will be announced in April, in Indianapolis, IN site of the men's Division I NCAA Basketball Championship.

Mark Madsen continues to recruit talent to the West Coast. Cal’s latest addition is Memphis transfer Keonte Kennedy. He can shoot it! He was one of the top three-pointers in the American Athletic Conference, so it was a big blow when he got hurt and missed the final eight games of the season. The 6-foot-5 Grad Transfer began his career at Xavier, spent two seasons at UTEP and got buckets for Penny Hardaway last season.

Rick Pitino continues to add pieces. Glenn Taylor Jr. is the latest transfer to land at St. John’s. The former Pac-12 All-Freshman selection became a starter late in his first season and followed up with a terrific sophomore campaign. He scored in double figures 48 times in his two seasons at Oregon State. The 6-foot-6 Las Vegas native is an ideal fit for the Red Storm.

The gap between the top and the bottom is closer than it’s ever been, and player movement has had a lot to do with it. The transfer portal has hurt mid-majors, but it’s also provided an opportunity to replace lost players with some other experienced players. Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle had some thoughts… 

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Great stuff from Jim Les. The gap between the haves and the have nots is closer than ever before... 

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UC Irvine’s DJ Davis is an extension of head coach Russ Turner on the court. He’s tough, smart, and most importantly… He’s a winner. The 6-foot-1 California native took over last night when the game was in the balance at Riverside.

UC Santa Barbara matched the program record for wins (23) on Thursday evening. It’s been tough to get a handle on the Big West conference this season, but a ‘handle’ isn’t a problem for Ajay Mitchell. The 6-foot-5 sophomore point guard is special.

The last time Howard won an outright regular-season title in the MEAC (1987), Kenny Blakeney was still four years away from beginning his playing career at Duke. Kenny Blakeney is a high-level coach and a high-quality individual.

It’s not easy moving to a new conference. Belmont just made it look easy. The Bruins finished the regular season tied for third place at 14-6 in the Missouri Valley, and 21-10 overall. Casey Alexander has averaged 24.5 wins per season since taking over for Hall of Famer Rick Byrd.

Oakland’s Jalen Moore is finishing strong. Over the past 12 games, he’s averaging 24 points per contest. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Oakland, but with Moore and Trey Townsend the Golden Grizz should not be overlooked in the Horizon League tournament.

Eastern Washington became the first Big Sky program to EVER reach 16-0 in conference play. They also clinched the regular-season title and extended the nation’s longest current winning streak to 18. The Eagles are at Idaho State on Saturday, and they host Montana State on Monday, in their quest to finish a remarkable 18-0 in league play.

Should we really be surprised that Rick Pitino is on the verge of yet another conference championship? Pitino’s Iona Gaels have won 45 games in the past two seasons, with more victories likely to follow.

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Riley Wallace led Hawaii to three NCAA Tournaments, relying on transfers and foreign talent. Eran Ganot has averaged 18 wins in his eight seasons using that same formula. Noel Coleman (San Diego via Belgium), Kamaka Hepa (Texas), and JoVon McClanahan (Sheridan College) are Ganot’s top three scorers and another starter, Bernardo da Silva is a native of Brazil.

North Alabama can’t win the ASUN regular-season title, but the Lions will be a player in the upcoming conference tournament. Head coach Tony Pujol has a nice backcourt led by KJ Johnson and Daniel Ortiz. They can score. And freshman Jacari Lane is going to be a good one.

You have to be out here on the West Coast to truly appreciate what Mike Magpayo has done at UC Riverside. Three straight winning seasons and 18 wins for the first time in school history. They had a grand total of two winning seasons before Magpayo took over three years ago.

Morehead State has taken control of the Ohio Valley Conference and one big reason has been the play of Mark Freeman. The 5-foot-11 transfer from Illinois State who is averaging 15.2 points per game, recently had a stretch in which he scored 24 or more in 5 of 8 games.

With its win last night, UC Irvine pulled into a tie for first place with UC Santa Barbara in the Big West at 11-3. UCI’s three losses are a 1-point defeat at Fullerton, OT at Long Beach and an early conference loss to UCSB, which was a one-possession game with 30 seconds left. Here come the Eaters.

Hard to argue that any story in college basketball is better than Eastern Washington. The Eagles current 13-game winning streak is the longest in the county and they are two wins away from matching the best mark in Big Sky history, which was set by Weber State over 50 years ago. They were picked to finish fifth in the preseason by both the coaches and media.

On Jan. 9 Howard lost to UMES to fall to 8-10 overall and 1-1 in the MEAC. That was the last time they lost. The Bison are now 8-1 in the MEAC and alone in 1^st place. Kenny Blakeney’s team will be tested with four on the road before the season finale at home against defending conference champion Norfolk State.

Amir Abdur-Rahim was 1-28 in his first season. In season four he has Kennesaw State ranked in the Mid- Major Top 25® for the first time in school history.  No. 25 KSU hosts No. 11 Liberty in a battle for 1^st place in the ASUN on Thursday.

Landon Bussie has done quite a job in two-plus seasons at Alcorn State. Last season he led the program to its first regular-season SWAC title in 20 years and now he’s trying to do it again. Alcorn has a one-game lead with five games remaining.

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Southern Miss is on the verge of one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NCAA history. The Golden Eagles remain unbeaten at home (14-0) and reached 23 wins for just the third time in school history.  Southern Miss was 7-26 last season.

Pittsburgh was picked to finish 14^th in the ACC this season. The Panthers are currently 17-7 overall and 10-3 in the ACC. Jeff Capel’s team is a legitimate contender for an ACC title. Transfers have been a big part of the winning formula, led by Blake Hinson who hadn’t played since the 2019-20 season. After two seasons at Ole Miss, the 6-foot-7 junior has found a home.

In 2021 Oral Roberts made a magical run to the Sweet 16. Despite having some key guys transfer, ORU won 19 games in 2021-22 and they have already reached the 20-win plateau this season. All-American Max Abmas has been an obvious difference maker, but don’t overlook the tremendous job done by head coach Paul Mills.

It's been a tough couple of weeks for Bobby Hurley and Arizona State. Four straight losses drop the Sun Devils to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in the Pac-12. There is plenty of basketball left to be played so no need to panic yet. Desmond Cambridge, who began his career at Brown, has been a nice addition after two seasons at Nevada.

San Diego State heads into the weekend with 16-4 record overall and 7-1 in the Mountain West. Few teams in the country defend as a group like the Aztecs. That’s no big surprise for those of us out here on the left coast. Defense and toughness are part of the San Diego State culture. Seattle transfer Darrion Trammell has been one of the more impactful transfers.

Southern Utah has won four straight to improve 14-6 overall and 6-1 in the WAC. Pretty impressive when you consider the WAC is as good as it has been in a long time. What a job that Todd Simon has done with this program. His name should be on a lot short lists for job openings at season’s end.

Big win for Ryan Looney and Idaho State at Weber State last night. The win moved the Bengals to 3-0 in the Big Sky. ISU probably isn’t ready to challenge for a Big Sky title this season, but Looney has this program headed in the right direction. And they will make some noise along the way this season.

After starting the season 5-4, Utah Valley closed out 2022 with seven straight wins. That stretch included road wins at BYU and Oregon. They can shoot the three and 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo is one of the top defensive players in mid-major college basketball. Mark Madsen’s squad is a legitimate contender to win the WAC. 

UCLA has run off eight straight wins, including consecutive victories over No. 24 Maryland and No.13 Kentucky. As good as he is, Jaime Jaquez Jr. doesn’t get nearly enough national attention. He’s one of the main reasons the Bruins will be the top team in the Pac-12 and a real contender to get to Houston for the Final Four.

With a win last night over Cal Poly, San Jose State close out the non-conference slate with a 9-4 mark. There aren’t any real notable wins, but watching this team play it’s clear these aren’t the same old Spartans. Head coach Tim Miles is slowly changing the culture. It’s not likely that they will compete for the top sport in the conference, but they will be better this season in the Mountain West.

Grand Canyon has dropped two straight to fall to 7-4 in the early season. No need to panic in Phoenix. The losses to Loyola Marymount and North Texas, which will both be factors in their respective conferences, were by a combined six points. Keep an eye on Presbyterian transfer Rayshon Harrison. Two years ago, he was one of the top freshmen in the country.

Pretty good start to the season for Arizona’s Oumar Ballo. The 7-foot junior, who began his career at Gonzaga, has been in double figures in every game this season, including a very impressive 30-point, 13-rebound performance in a win over No. 10 Creighton. Ballo and Azoulas Tubelis give the Wildcats one of the top frontcourts in all of college basketball.

UC Riverside has a good one in Zyon Pullin. The 6-foot-4 senior runs the show for the defensive-minded Highlanders. Head coach Mike Magpayo has done an excellent job in a short period of time with the program. Keep an eye on Magpayo, Pullin and Riverside.

In case you missed it last week, San Diego’s Eric Williams Jr. set a school record with 43 points against Utah State.  The athletic, 6-foot-7 lefty is averaging 22 points and nearly 12 rebounds per game. He’s the centerpiece of Steve Lavin’s new-look Toreros.

Brandin Podziemski scored more points in Santa Clara’s opener then he did all of last season. The transfer from Illinois had 34 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia Southern. He followed that up with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals against Eastern Washington. He had a total of 22 points last season. The 6-foot-6 guard is an impact transfer.