It’s time to pay more attention to Chance McMillian. (Texas Tech Athletics)
This week, the Wildcats main draw Caleb Love hit an incredible buzzer set the stage for Arizona to upset third-ranked Iowa St. in overtime; Cooper Flagg shook off a slow first half to drive Duke to a win over NC State; and the investigation into Florida coach Todd Golden has been closed with no evidence to support the allegations. Some other college basketball stories we’re following include…
Chance McMillian Is Not Getting Enough Love
The Texas Tech Red Raiders enjoyed a tremendous bounce back season in 2023-24 after struggling to a .500 mark in the previous campaign. Although they got knocked out in the first round, at least they returned to the NCAA Tourney for the third time in four seasons.
This season, Texas Tech seems poised for greater things.
Thanks a four-game win streak, the Red Raiders are 15-4, including 6-2 in Big 12 play, and are currently ranked 22nd in the country. And it’s not just the upper classmen that are driving this team forward; Texas Tech boasts one of the top freshman guards in the country in Christian Anderson.
But an even bigger factor for the Red Raiders has been the improved play of senior guard Chance McMillian. In Sunday’s win, he made efficient use of his mere eight shots, scoring 14 points (including 11 in the first half) with six boards and a steal. Give this kid more touches, and look out.
McMillian has posted back to back games with three treys and has never looked better and more accurate in his career from beyond the arc. Toss in career highs in FG percentage, FT attempts, rebounds and steals, and you’ve got a big reason why Texas Tech looks so much better this season.
For the Red Raiders, JT Toppin and Darrion Williams get more love from draft experts, but we can’t ignore McMillian’s efficiency as a shooter. Okay, so McMillian doesn’t have that explosive step off the dribble, but NBA teams should come calling even if he slips through the draft, which is likely. At the very least, he should get some serious All Big 12 consideration for his work this season.
West Virginia Is Back
Still in the Big 12, we’ve seen an even bigger program comeback in West Virginia after the Mountaineers bottomed out last season, failing to reach even double digits in wins despite being a tourney team the previous campaign.
Yet, even in losing its last two and three of four, West Virginia has a fine 13-6 mark (4-4 in conference play) and is currently projected to not only make the tourney (-370 as per FanDuel) but be a nine seed when the madness kicks off in a few weeks.
Of course, the Mountaineers have a major weapon in senior guard Javon Small, who leads the entire Big 12 in scoring and is also the team’s leading distributor. In Saturday’s upset loss to K-State, he did his job, going off for 22 points, five assists and three steals.
It was a great bounce back effort Small after he struggled with his shooting in the previous game. In his first season at West Virginia after transferring from OK State, he’s taken his game to new heights, seeing tons of action (at least 35 minutes in eight straight), getting way more touches, hoisting more treys and getting to the charity stripe more often. The one nitpick is that Small’s shooting touch has regressed slightly after a career best showing in that regard last season, but overall, he’s been gold.
He’s getting his props, being named Big 12 and National Player of the Week a couple of weeks ago, and his draft stock keeps rising. Small, who has been compared to Jevon Carter, could sneak into the second round, but if not, is sure to get a long look as an undrafted free agent.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
A member of the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, Burton Cummings has several best-of collections. Here’s “Timeless Love,” another tune from his 1980 double album The Best of Burton Cummings and originally from the 1977 effort My Own Way to Rock.