This week's theme: Guys who play basketball in the Big Ten and Big 12. Read. Discuss. Enjoy.
Big Ten
Raymar Morgan, F, Michigan State Spartans
This is usually the time of year where conversations about Morgan are related to injury or illness, but not this time. Over his last four games, Morgan has tallied 67 points and 27 rebounds, and the Spartans now sit atop the Big Ten at 8-0 with a comfortable lead. During that stretch, the 6-foot-8 senior has made 28 of 36 shots from the field, good for a robust 77.8%. For the season, Morgan is averaging 11.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and a career-best 2.2 assists in 25.7 minutes. He's shooting 58.0% from the field and has 12 double-digit scoring efforts and three double-doubles in 20 games. The Spartans have plenty of tough conference games left to play, so look for them to lean heavily on veterans like Morgan in the coming weeks.
E'Twaun Moore, G, Purdue Boilermakers
When it comes to scoring, there are few more consistent options than Moore. After tallying just nine in the opener against CS-Northridge, he has scored at least 11 points in 19 straight games with at least 15 points in 16 of those contests. Moore has increased his scoring from 13.8 points per game last year to 17.6 as a junior. A hefty increase in his field goal percentage (42.2% last year compared to 50.4% now) has certainly aided that bump in scoring. While Moore has knocked down at least one three-pointer in 17 games, outside of a five three-ball effort again Valparaiso, he's struggled from beyond the arc. He made 43.4% from deep as a freshman but is shooting just 34.3% from three-point range this year, a slight increase from last season. His rebounding has decreased to 3.5 per game, but he's grabbed at least four rebounds 11 times, including four of the last five games. Moore has also seen a decrease in assists but has picked up the pace in conference play. The main area where he's struggled has been from the foul line. He's getting there at an increased rate, and while he's had good games at the stripe (9 of 9 against Northwestern for example), he's also turned in some brutal ones like his recent 1 of 5 effort against Wisconsin. His ability to score off the dribble is critical for Purdue, and I look for improved performance across the board over the remainder of the season.
Keaton Nankivil, F, Wisconsin Badgers
No one will believe this, but I had tagged Nankivil to write about before his shooting display against Purdue where he scored 25 points on 7 of 8 three-point shooting. The 6-foot-8 junior has a decent shooting touch, but that's pretty extreme for someone who entered the game shooting 21.4% from long range. At any rate, it was his third straight game in double figures, as Nankivil is doing his part to pick up the scoring slack with Jon Leuer sidelined. Over that three-game stretch, he has 52 points and 21 rebounds. Given that he had four double-digit scoring games while Leuer was healthy, is somewhat unlikely that Nankivil will be able to keep it up once he returns. However, the Badgers need scoring in the interim, and Nankivil and Jordan Taylor have been providing it of late. In the end, it's only a positive for Wisconsin to have other confident scorers, and in the meantime, it gives fantasy owners a couple other options in the Big Ten.
Lawrence Westbrook, G, Minnesota Golden Gophers
I may have to institute a weekly feature called "Which Gopher is getting assists now with Al Nolen out?" Last week I looked at Devoe Joseph, and now I shift focus to Westbrook after watching him drop 10 dimes in the last two games. While he's proven to be a solid scorer, as evidenced by his 13.7 points per game, Westbrook's fantasy value has been limited by his poor rebound and assist production. Need further illustration? In 19 games, Westbrook has scored at least nine points 17 times, but he has 11 performances with two or fewer rebounds. Prior to the last two games, he had more than two assists in just four contests. As for scoring, Westbrook doesn't shoot a ton of threes (just 72 so far), but he's connecting at a 43.1% clip, while making 51.0% from the field. If Westbrook can sustain his increase in assists, his fantasy values takes a nice bump.
Big 12
Craig Brackins, F, Iowa State Cyclones
It's tough to call someone averaging 15.9 points and 7.8 rebounds a disappointment, but based on the gaudy numbers Brackins posted last year and his lofty draft position, it's also hard not to. Some of the credit (or blame depending on how you look at it) goes to Marquis Gilstrap who has finally given the Cyclones another talented scorer and rebounder. It's not really that Brackins hasn't been scoring; he's put up at least 12 points in 18 of 20 games. However, those explosive games have been harder to come by with just six games with at least 18 points compared to 23 a year ago, and he hasn't hung 20 on someone since December 11. Brackins does have six double-doubles, and he's nearly doubled his assists per game to 2.5. He's improved his free throw shooting, but he's getting to the foul line much less with 4.7 attempts per game compared to 6.2 last season. Obviously Brackins has talent, but he has done little this year to improve his NBA stock while likely angering the fantasy community.
Tweety Carter, G, Baylor Bears
An important part of a coach's job is to know what buttons to push and when. When Scott Drew suspended Carter for the first four games of the year, I'm not sure even he could have expected Carter to respond so well, especially after he went 4 of 21 with 13 points in his first two games. In the 13 games since, though, Carter is averaging 18.2 points, 6.7 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 45.4% from deep. The improvement is even more impressive when compared to last season. He's more than doubled his assists per game and has upped his free throw shooting from 65.6% all the way to 82.0%. There was some skepticism as to whether a scorer like Carter could take the PG reins from the departed Curtis Jerrels, but Carter has proven to be up to the task. The interior play of Ekpe Udoh has been given much credit for Baylor's 15-4 start, but Carter's play at the point has been equally important. He has at least 16 points in 9 of the last 13 games and has at least five dimes in 10 of them. With a relatively easy upcoming schedule, Carter should be able to keep the fantasy goodness coming.
Denis Clemente, G, Kansas State Wildcats
I'm pretty sure Clemente is the only fantasy-relevant Wildcat I haven't featured, so I may as well get it out of the way. A look at his numbers shows that his stats are almost all worse than what he posted last season. The two notable exceptions are assists, which have increased to 4.1 per game, and turnovers, which have fallen from 2.6 to 1.8 per game. Both improvements have served to make him a better point guard in spite of the fact that he's shooting his worst percentages since his freshman year. Clemente is still averaging 14.7 points, as an increase in free throw attempts has made up for his 30.0% three-point shooting. He's posted 17 double-digit scoring games and has dished out at least four assists in 11 contests compared to 13 times in 34 games last season. Clemente's shooting has shown signs of improving lately, and after a date with Kansas, K-State has a run of four favorable matchups.
Marshall Moses, F, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Moses seems to be on a mission to prove that guys who do the dirty work can be fantasy options too. The 6-foot-7 junior showed promise on the glass last season, averaging 6.1 rebounds in 19.5 minutes, but his offensive game was limited to say the least. I'm not sure I'd say it's improved much this season, but an increase in minutes has led to additional scoring opportunities. Moses is nearly averaging a double-double with 10.8 points and 9.9 rebounds. He's posted seven double-doubles in 19 contests and has 10 double-digit rebounding efforts. His inconsistent scoring is illustrated best by one three-game stretch earlier in the year. Moses put up 23 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff but followed that up by getting shut out against Stanford before scoring 18 versus La Salle. That makes Moses a risky proposition if you're counting on him for anything other than rebounding, but he can definitely contribute on the glass while providing an occasional scoring outburst.
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*All statistics through the games of January 28.