It's still a tad early to make bracket projections with a high degree of confidence, but some squads are starting to emerge as favorites to win their respective leagues. This week I'm focusing on a handful of teams who have gotten off to hot starts in conference play. Each of them also boasts at least one prolific scorer who could serve you well once tournament time rolls around.
America East
Marqus Blakely, F, Vermont Catamounts
Hardcore fantasy leaguers already know about this hidden gem, but with Vermont already 4-0 atop the America East, the rest of the nation may get a chance to see what Blakely has to offer. It's difficult to imagine a more well-rounded fantasy contributor than the 6-foot-5 senior, who averages 17.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.9 steals, and 2.4 blocks. He shoots a solid 55.2% from the field and has seen his free throw shooting rise from 56.2% last season to 70.8% this year. Blakely certainly has had enough practice at the stripe with 506 attempts the past two seasons and 144 so far this year. He's been held to single-digits just once in 18 games (nine points vs. Yale) and has six 20-point efforts, highlighted by 32 points against Northeast Conference leader Quinnipiac. On the glass, Blakely has been equally steady with at least seven boards in 15 games, nine double-doubles, and three other near dub-dubs where he finished with nine rebounds. Outside of his free throw shooting, his assists have shown the most improvement, increasing by 1.6 per game since last year, thanks to nine games with at least four dimes. Blakely is equally impressive on the defensive end, with at least one steal in every game and at least one block in all but one.
Colonial
David Schneider, G, William & Mary Tribe
With wins over Wake Forest and Maryland, the Tribe has an interesting at-large resume, but they're trying to make that a moot point by winning the CAA. The 6-foot-3 Schneider leads the team in points (17.5), rebounds (6.2), and steals (1.5) and is second in assists (2.9). He failed to reach double-digit scoring just once when he played just 14 minutes and tallied eight points in a blowout win over Vassar. In fact, he's scored less than 16 points just four times in 17 contests. Schneider shoots plenty of threes with 137 attempts already, but he makes 38.7% of his triples and has knocked down at least two in all but three games. Despite his size, he's been a solid contributor on the backboard with at least four rebounds in every game. His assists have been more sporadic, but his ability to knock down open shots will continue to open things up for his teammates. Schneider gets to the line about five times per game and makes 82.9% from there as well. The Colonial has produced some serious Cinderellas in recent years, and thanks to the play of Schneider, William & Mary has a legit shot to carry on that tradition.
Conference USA
Elijah Millsap, G, UAB Blazers
Over the past few years, opportunities to talk about C-USA teams not named Memphis have been scarce, so I figured I had better slip this write-up on the Blazers in here while I can. Millsap sat out last season after transferring from Louisiana-Lafayette, but he's making up for lost time so far. He has 10 double-doubles in 17 games, including four contests with 15 boards. As for his scoring, Millsap has at least nine points in each game and at least 18 on 10 occasions. All that translates to a near double-double average with 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the 6-foot-6 junior. He chips in with 2.0 assists as well and has proven to be adept at creating turnovers. Millsap averages 2.1 steals and has ramped up his D with four steals in four of the last eight games. At 15-2 with wins over Arkansas, Butler, Cincinnati, and Georgia, the Blazers have a strong case to be included in the Big Dance even if they come up short in Conference USA. Millsap is the kind of explosive scorer and athlete who could take over a game come March.
Ivy
Ryan Wittman, F, Cornell Big Red
The Big Red saw their national recognition spike when they took then-No. 1 Kansas down to the wire at Allen Fieldhouse. They did play a fairly ambitious non-conference slate as they knocked off Alabama and UMass in their first two games before falling Seton Hall and Syracuse and later winning at St. John's. However, the reality is that if they can't hold off Jeremy Lin and Harvard to win the Ivy League, their streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances will likely end at two. Cornell boasts 7-foot center Jeff Foote to keep teams honest in the paint, but the sharpshooting Wittman is the deadly sniper opponents fear. He's taken 141 three-pointers through 18 games and is knocking down 41.8% from downtown with at least two makes in every game but one. Aside from a four-point performance against UMass, Wittman (yes, he's Randy Wittman's son) has at least 10 points in every game, including 11 contests with at least 18 points. At 3.6 rebounds per game, he's proven to be a capable yet inconsistent contributor on the glass. Wittman rarely dishes out more than two assists per game but does average 1.2 steals on the defensive end. Given their schedule and past tournament experience, Wittman won't be in awe of the situation should Cornell make it back to the Big Dance in March.
Metro Atlantic (MAAC)
Edwin Ubiles, G/F and Ryan Rossiter, F, Siena Saints
After beating Ohio State in the first round and giving Louisville all they could handle in the second, the Saints are no stranger to tournament success. Both Ubiles and Rossiter tasted that success last year and have come back motivated to get Siena back into the thick of March Madness. The 6-foot-6 Ubiles is an effective slasher who likes to attack the basket and has a solid mid-range game. His scoring has actually dipped slightly to 15.7 points per game, but he's also been slowed by a couple injuries, missing the Georgia Tech game with a knee issue and Siena's last game versus Manhattan with a bad back. He's scored at least 13 points in 10 straight, though, and he's averaging 4.2 boards, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals to boot. Rossiter has been the anchor inside with nine double-doubles in 19 games on his way to averages of 13.3 points and 10.3 boards. He's grabbed double-digit rebounds 12 times (including nine of the last 10) and has at least six rebounds in every game. His scoring has been a bit more sporadic, but that's steadying with at least 14 points in six of seven. Rossiter is also strong on defense with 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. He shoots a high percentage from the field (58.8 percent) as well as from the free throw line (73.6 percent). The fact that I haven't even mentioned point guard Ronald Moore who leads the nation with 8.3 assists per game speaks well to the depth and overall firepower for Siena, who looks poised to make noise again this year.
Mid-Eastern (MEAC)
Reggie Holmes, G and Kevin Thompson, F, Morgan State Bears
The MEAC Champ often ends up in the Play-In Game, but I'm not so sure that will be the case this year. The Bears have won at Arkansas and gave Louisville a tough game on the road. They also boast a strong inside-outside duo in Holmes and Thompson. Holmes, a 6-foot-4 senior, is averaging a gaudy 22.5 points. Given his 38.8 field goal percentage, 33.5 three-point percentage, and 17.1 shots per game, the term "volume shooter" is appropriate. Part of that is a result of his overall aggressiveness, which translates to 7.6 free throws per game. That can only mean good things for a guy shooting 84.1% from the stripe. He's been held under 20 points just four times in 19 games and has four 30-point performances to his credit. Holmes provides some fantasy value outside of scoring with 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals, but with some of his shooting performances he might be well served to work on that 0.8 assists. While Thompson doesn't benefit much from Holmes passing him the ball, he's turned many a missed shot into an offensive board. The 6-foot-8 sophomore is averaging 12.6 rebounds on the season with 5.0 of them coming on the offensive end, highlighted by a 13-offensive board effort against Towson. He has 12 double-doubles, 13 double-digit rebounding games, 17 contests with at least nine boards, and two 20-rebound efforts. His offensive game has been relatively steady as well with 13.6 points per game and 16 contests in double figures. At 50.8 percent, Thompson's field goal shooting is solid, but his 63.0 percent from the line could use some work. With Holmes jacking up shots from anywhere past half court, it's no small accomplishment for Thompson to average 10.4 shots, but his continued hard work on the glass will be a constant as Morgan State looks toward the Big Dance.
Summit
Keith Benson, C, Oakland Golden Grizzles
The Golden Grizzlies are off to a 7-0 start in the Summit League, thanks to a core group of talented players with four guys scoring in double figures, including point guard Johnathon Jones who dishes out 6.4 assists per game. The 6-foot-11 Benson anchors the squad with 10 double-doubles in 20 games and turns plenty of Jones passes into baskets. Benson was held to nine points in a loss to Memphis but has reached double-digits in every other game, including nine 20-point efforts. His 53.6% field goal shooting has fallen sharply after an astounding 62.2% last season, but he's offset that to some extent by improving his free throw shooting. In 130 attempts, Benson has connected on 76.9% of his freebies, a better than 10 percent improvement from last year. On the glass, he has at least six boards in 19 games and at least eight rebounds 14 times. He's an intimidator in the lane as well and averages 3.2 blocks. Benson has at least one rejection in 19 contests and has nine games with at least four swats. Despite a nice increase in blocks, Benson has done a better job staying out of foul trouble. He has yet to foul out of any games but has finished with four fouls in five contests.
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*All statistics through the games of January 18.