Latest Freshman Rankings for the 2014-15 College Basketball Season

Jahlil Okafor has been seated atop our Freshman of the Year rankings for the entire 2014-15 college basketball season, but are we even sure he's the best freshman on his own roster?

After a string of great games capped off by a 22-point, eight-assist effort in college basketball's greatest rivalry, Tyus Jones has ascended all the way to No. 3 on our list of the nation's 10 best freshmen.

It's a classic "chicken or the egg" debate. We're still very much of the mind that Okafor brings out the best in Jones rather than the other way around, but we can certainly all agree that the Blue Devils at No. 1 and No. 3 have a better supporting cast than Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell at No. 2—and his incredible one-man show on a nightly basis will inevitably result in some first-place votes when all is said and done.

In lieu of an actual formula, our top 10 freshmen are ranked by a theoretical and anecdotal "wins above replacement." How much worse would the player's team be if forced to start his backup, and how much better are his team's chances of making a deep tournament run because of him?

Strong per-game and per-40 minute numbers are a great start and a good way to get noticed, but we're looking for the most valuable players more than the most statistical ones.

Playing for a Final Four contender isn't required to be ranked, but it definitely helps.

Dropped from rankings (previous rank): Kevon Looney (No. 8), Angel Delgado (No. 9)

Honorable Mentions

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Seriously Considered, Ultimately Omitted

Kevon Looney, UCLA

A tough call to make because he has been the freshman king of double-doubles (13 on the season), but his efficiency has taken a bit of a hit over the past few weeks, and he wasn't able to save the Bruins from losing pivotal games to California and Arizona State.

Angel Delgado, Seton Hall

An even tougher call to make, because Delgado is one of the only things about Seton Hall that isn't falling apart at the seams these days. However, it's hard to imagine many votes for Freshman of the Year going to a player on a team that doesn't make the NCAA tournament.

Kelly Oubre, Kansas

Oubre has separated himself a little bit from Cliff Alexander, but not quite enough to get back into the top 10. He can thank the one-point, three-rebound game against Oklahoma State for that.

Devin Booker, Kentucky

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Booker has been in our honorable mentions for seemingly the entire season. However, the logic hasn't changed: He has an incredible shooting stroke and little else.

And a special note for those of you who have apparently concocted a theory that Booker is Kentucky's best perimeter defender: Booker's defensive box plus/minus on Sports-Reference is easily the worst among Kentucky's regulars.

Justise Winslow, Duke

If we could just ignore Nov. 26 through Jan. 26, Winslow would absolutely be in the top five. He's finally playing consistently like the stud we saw back in the first two weeks of the season, and his resurgence has really helped Duke look like one of the nation's best teams.

Briefly Considered, Quickly Rejected

Eric Paschall, Fordham

Perhaps if Fordham didn't have twice as many losses as wins, Paschall's 17.5 points per game would mean something.

Kahron Ross, Lehigh

Good luck finding Ross mentioned on any other freshman rankings, but he's No. 1 in assists per game among freshmen and has been very impressive in averaging more than 31 minutes per game for the Mountain Hawks. If his shot was just a little better (39.8 FG%), more people would know his name.

Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Poeltl in a nutshell: 18 points and eight rebounds against California, two points and seven rebounds four days later against Oregon State. He's very talented, but he can absolutely be neutralized.

Jevon Carter, West Virginia

Carter seems to be running out of gas, but he has been an incredible defender and backup point guard for the Mountaineers.

Cliff Alexander, Kansas

The tombstone on Alexander's freshman season will read: "He might have been the best freshman in the country if his coach didn't love having him on the bench." Alexander has averaged 16.7 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per 40 minutes. It's the 18.1 minutes per game that is murdering his campaign.

10. Schadrac Casimir, Iona

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By the Numbers: 33.4 MPG, 15.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 SPG

Best Game: 40 points, four assists, two steals, two rebounds vs. Delaware State

Previous Rank: Not Mentioned

We went a bit off the beaten path for this one, but this is a name and team that you're going to want to know before you fill out your bracket.

Schadrac Casimir is far from a household name, but he isn't far from being the best three-point shooter in the country. He's the only freshman shooting at least 44 percent and averaging at least 2.5 made three-pointers per game.

Perhaps most impressive is that he's doing so while averaging 33.4 minutes per game for one of the fastest-paced teams in the country. And rather than stumbling to the finish line on tired legs, he seems to be getting stronger.

Because of a postponed game on Groundhog Day, Iona played four games from Feb. 8-15. In those games, Casimir averaged 37.0 minutes and shot a combined 20-of-29 (69 percent) from three-point range.

If that's not evidence enough that he's one of the most well-conditioned players in the country, Casimir has yet to miss a free throw in conference play, sinking all 43 of his attempts to date.

9. James Blackmon Jr., Indiana

Doug McSchooler/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 30.4 MPG, 16.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.4 APG

Best Game: 26 points, seven rebounds vs. SMU

Previous Rank: 10

Indiana ranks third in the nation in three-point percentage and ninth in made three-point field goals per game, and James Blackmon Jr. is a huge reason why.

He doesn't make as many three-pointers as Schadrac Casimir (2.9 per game vs. 2.3), nor does he shoot as accurately (44.3 percent vs. 40.1), but Blackmon has done his damage against drastically better competition.

One of Blackmon's best games of the season came Sunday against a Minnesota team in tournament-desperation mode. He shot 6-of-10 from three-point range, pacing the team to 18 triples and a total of 90 points. When both he and Yogi Ferrell are hitting shots, Indiana is almost impossible to beat, and quite possibly the most potent offense in the nation.

However, he doesn't always hit shots, and that's what has perpetually kept him out of our top five.

Blackmon really struggled in blowout losses to Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue, and he scored just five points on 14 field-goal attempts in last week's two-point loss to Maryland. He has one of the prettiest strokes in the country, but it's woefully obvious when he's not feeling it.

8. Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga

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By the Numbers: 21.9 MPG, 9.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.0 APG

Best Game: 18 points, 12 rebounds, one assist vs. Pepperdine

Previous Rank: Honorable Mention

Can we just take a moment to really appreciate the contrast of facial expressions in the above picture?

Domantas Sabonis looks like a rabid animal, and Stacy Davis—easily Pepperdine's most valuable player—looks absolutely terrified to be anywhere near him.

If that doesn't sum up what Sabonis has brought to this Gonzaga team, what does?

He has been nothing short of a workhorse in the paint, averaging 18.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. For sake of comparison, Karl-Anthony Towns' numbers are 17.6 points and 12.6 rebounds per 40 minutes, though Sabonis isn't anywhere near the shot-blocker that Towns is.

Despite ranking sixth on the team in minutes per game, Sabonis leads the Bulldogs in both offensive and defensive rebounds and has been every bit as important to their success as Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos.

7. Myles Turner, Texas

Eric Gay/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 22.4 MPG, 11.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 BPG

Best Game: 25 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks vs. Texas Tech

Previous Rank: 5

Myles Turner might be the most maddeningly inconsistent player in the country.

In his last two games, Turner has recorded two double-doubles, totaling 42 points, 22 rebounds and nine blocks against Texas Tech and Oklahoma. It was a sequence of games that, taken independently, might lead one to believe Turner is the best NBA prospect in the country.

In his previous two games, though, Turner had a combined 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks against Kansas State and TCU. And it's not like he was in foul trouble either. He committed a total of three fouls between those two games.

He just failed to show up in those games like he did against Baylor and Oklahoma State in the previous week, and like he did in the first game against Oklahoma and nonconference games against Long Beach State, Iowa, California and Connecticut.

He has the skill to be one of the most dominant big men in the country. There's just no telling whether we're going to get Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde on any given night.

6. Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky

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By the Numbers: 20.1 MPG, 8.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 BPG, 1.0 APG

Best Game: 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks vs. Florida

Previous Rank: 6

Karl-Anthony Towns isn't quite as wildly erratic as Myles Turner, but he's close.

Had we done these rankings a week ago—on the heels of a three-game stretch against Georgia, Florida and LSU in which Towns averaged 15.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 blocks per game—it would have been tempting to move Towns up into a three-way race with D'Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor.

But now, after a pair of games in which he failed to reach 20 minutes, 10 points or five rebounds, he remains exactly where he was three weeks ago.

Towns is the best player on the best team in the country. That alone will result in more than a few votes for Freshman of the Year and the Wooden Award. However, he has far too many no-shows this season to sneak into the top five with guys who have been consistently dominant all season long.

When he does have a good game, though, it's not hard to understand why he's one of the biggest challengers to Okafor for the No. 1 draft pick in June. He might have the highest ceiling of any player in the country.

5. Stanley Johnson, Arizona

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 28.3 MPG, 14.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG

Best Game: 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals vs. Colorado

Previous Rank: 3

Outside of one nice game against a depleted Washington team, Stanley Johnson's efficiency has taken a bit of a nosedive over the past several weeks.

In the other five games played since Jan. 27, Johnson has an average O-rating of 101.4—as compared to 116.4 over the previous two months—and has scored 56 points on 56 field-goal attempts.

Yet he's still undeniably one of the best freshmen in the nation because of the other great things he does for this team. Even though his shooting stroke has been lacking, Johnson has been crashing the boards, doling out assists and playing great defense for a team that has held 11 of its last 13 opponents to 62 points or fewer.

The big unknown for Johnson is whether he can rise to the occasion when the Wildcats need him. He has effectively replaced Nick Johnson from last year's rotation, but does he have that clutch gene? He committed seven turnovers in the loss to UNLV and dealt with foul trouble in losses to Arizona State and Oregon State.

Outside of the relatively solid performance against San Diego State, we're still waiting for Johnson to really take over a close game—something our top four freshmen have done on a somewhat regular basis.

4. Melo Trimble, Maryland

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 33.4 MPG, 16.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.4 SPG

Best Game: 31 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal vs. Arizona State

Previous Rank: 4

Over his last two games—both close wins for Maryland—Melo Trimble has scored 46 points on just 15 field-goal attempts. That's 3.1 points per shot.

No, he didn't invent or discover a four-point line, but when Trimble is getting to the free-throw line, he is one of the most efficient and most unstoppable forces in the country. And in those games, he attempted 23 free throws and made 22 of them.

Outside of back-to-back games against Ohio State and Penn State in which he missed all of his field-goal attempts, Trimble has been the heart and soul of this better-than-expected team.

Even with senior Dez Wells back in the mix for two full months now, it's clear that Trimble is the team leader and the one they trust with the game on the line. He scored the team's final six points in the three-point win over Penn State and 11 of the final 13 points in Thursday night's four-point win over Nebraska.

Keep an eye on what he does against Wisconsin on Tuesday. If he's going to make a push back toward the top two or three in these rankings, it'll have to happen in that game.

3. Tyus Jones, Duke

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By the Numbers: 32.1 MPG, 11.7 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG

Best Game: 22 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, one steal vs. North Carolina

Previous Rank: 7

Apparently, we just have to accept that Tyus Jones is going to bring his "A" game against Duke's best opponents.

The Blue Devils have played nine games against the RPI Top 40. In those nine games, Jones has averaged 15.7 points, 5.6 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.7 turnovers. He was pretty much solely responsible for Duke's wins over Wisconsin, North Carolina and St. John's, and he was outstanding in wins over Virginia, Notre Dame and Michigan State.

The whole "An 18-year-old shouldn't be able to play with this much poise" discussion is overdone with freshmen every single season, but seriously, it's ridiculous that Jones just seems to get calmer as everyone else on the court starts to feel the pressure of the moment.

At one point during Duke's comeback against North Carolina on Wednesday night, Jones missed an open look at a three-pointer after an offensive rebound, and I was legitimately shocked. It was the type of dagger that he has been making in his sleep all season long.

Naturally, he scored Duke's next nine points to send the game to overtime, but the fact that it's become so commonplace to see him hit that shot—in conjunction with four consecutive very strong outings—was enough to vault him up to No. 3 this week.

2. D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 33.3 MPG, 19.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.7 SPG

Best Game: 23 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds vs. Rutgers

Previous Rank: 2

Since the last update three weeks ago, D'Angelo Russell has merely averaged 17.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.

In other words, Russell has been doing one heck of a Russell Westbrook impression, including that triple-double against Rutgers.

He might be the most talented player in the country, but that really depends on whether you prefer guards or big men—and that's the major issue at hand with this Freshman of the Year debate. Trying to compare Russell and Jahlil Okafor to one another is like trying to compare an outstanding pitcher to an outstanding hitter.

However, there seem to be a few dominant lead guards every season, which takes away some of Russell's luster.

In addition to Russell, we've got Jerian Grant, Terry Rozier, Delon Wright and Chasson Randle wowing us every night as primary ball-handlers. Last year we had Russ Smith, Shabazz Napier, Kyle Anderson, Tyler Ennis and Nik Stauskas all listed as Wooden Award finalists.

But big men as completely unstoppable as Okafor only come around once every couple of years if we're lucky.

If the season ended today and you wanted to cast a first-place vote for Russell, it's probably the minority opinion, but it's certainly not a crazy one. He has been absolutely outstanding for a team that almost certainly wouldn't even make the NCAA tournament without him.

1. Jahlil Okafor, Duke

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

By the Numbers: 30.9 MPG, 17.9 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 1.4 APG

Best Game: 25 points, 20 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, one assist vs. Elon

Previous Rank: 1

Despite the case presented on D'Angelo Russell's slide, this was once again a very difficult decision.

However, every single time we entertain the notion of putting Russell at the top of this mountain, Jahlil Okafor goes and does something ridiculous, like playing 41 minutes on a sprained ankle, dribbling out of a double-team for a roundabout left-handed layup or making Kennedy Meeks look completely helpless in the paint in a pivotal moment of a rivalry game.

It took overtime against the Tar Heels to keep the streak alive, but Okafor has now scored in double figures in all 26 games he has played. He has eight double-doubles in his last 13 games and a total of 10 on the season.

And while both he and Russell have been absolutely dominant this season, the unfair part to Russell is that Okafor has a better supporting cast.

One could really paint that either way. Because Russell doesn't have much to work with, there's a case to be made that he's even better and more important than Okafor.

However, that would ring truer if Ohio State and Duke were on the same playing field. Russell might be the best player for a Sweet 16 team. Okafor might be the best player for a national champion.

In a race this tight, that really could be the deciding factor.

Statistics current through the start of play on Friday, Feb. 20, and are courtesy of KenPom.com, Sports-Reference.com and ESPN.com.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.