Ranking the 10 Best Performances so Far in the 2015-16 CBB Season
The 2015-16 college basketball season is officially three weeks old after Thursday night's action, which was highlighted by top-ranked Kentucky losing at UCLA. That game included some tremendous individual performances and a team-wide effort by the victorious Bruins, but were any good enough to be considered one of the best so far this fall?
Much of what has happened to this point in the season will be a distant memory in March and April, but for now, there have been some amazing efforts worth pointing out. Several involved some of the biggest stars in the game, but not all of them; with 351 Division I teams, and dozens of games being played every night, it's hard to keep up with all of the results.
That's where we come in. We've found the 10 best performances through the first three weeks of 2015-16, ranking each one based on its impact on the game, as well as which team it came against.
10. Butler (vs. the Citadel)
1 of 10
When: Nov. 14
Performance: Butler 144, The Citadel 71
Though most of the performances that made this list are from a single person, we couldn't leave off the single-most impressive team effort of 2015-16—especially when we were wondering what the impact would be of all the rules changes meant to increase offense in college basketball.
Butler got to test out the new rules by starting out against an opponent in its first game under a new coach, Duggar Baucom, who at previous school VMI had established a reputation for defense-optional play. The result was the most points by a Division I team since 1997.
“They won't all be like that,” Butler coach Chris Holtmann told the Associated Press (h/t CBS Sports) after the Bulldogs shot 63.6 percent and shattered the previous school scoring record of 129. “This was probably a once-in-a-lifetime type of game.”
9. A.J. English, Iona (vs. Fairfield)
2 of 10
When: Dec. 1
Performance: 46 points, eight assists
With 1,372 career points entering this season, Iona's A.J. English had a solid chance to get to 2,000 by the end of his senior year if he could average 20 points per game like in 2014-15. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller wrote in August that the graduation of Iona forward David Laury provided “reason to believe English will do even more scoring as a senior than he did as a junior.”
And games like earlier this week will make getting to 2,000 points a lot easier.
The 6'4” guard notched his career high by making 15 of 25 shots, including a 13-of-19 mark from three-point range, for the highest single-game tally in Division I this season. Even more impressive, English assisted on eight of the Gaels' other 22 field goals in a 101-77 home win over Fairfield to open MAAC play.
8. Kris Dunn, Providence (vs. Hartford)
3 of 10
When: Dec. 2
Performance: 16 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds, three steals
Providence moved into the Associated Press Top 25 this week after reaching the finals of the Wooden Legacy, beating Arizona along the way. The Friars lost to No. 3 Michigan State, but the team's effort throughout that tourney showed it's more than just Kris Dunn and four other guys in the same uniform.
And then Dunn went out, messed around and got his second career triple-double in an 89-66 win against Hartford. He had 11 of his 14 assists in the first 17 minutes, breaking a school record for assists in a half, and he was also the team's leading rebounder.
Dunn, a 6'4” junior guard, is averaging 18.6 points, 7.6 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 3.6 steals. He's notched five or more in four different categories (including steals) in three other games this season, making it possible he'll get a quadruple-double before the year is out.
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7. Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State (vs. UTEP)
4 of 10
When: Dec. 2
Performance: 24 points, 23 rebounds, five blocks
New Mexico State has discovered and developed some physical specimens the last few years under coach Marvin Menzies, such as the enormous Bhullar brothers that includes 7'3”, 335-pound sophomore Tanveer Bhullar.
Pascal Siakam isn't as well-known across the country, but that could change if he's able to replicate his most recent game for the Aggies.
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), Siakam was the fourth player this season to record 20 or more points and have 20-plus rebounds in a game. What made it more impressive than the others was that it came against a rival, as NMSU won 73-59 at home against UTEP.
This wasn't a one-time thing for Siakam, a 6'9”, 230-pound sophomore from Cameroon. He's scored at least 19 points in every game and has six double-doubles, currently ranking third nationally in scoring and rebounding.
6. Chris Boucher, Oregon (vs. Arkansas State)
5 of 10
When: Nov. 25
Performance: 17 points, nine rebounds, nine blocks
The only remaining unbeaten team in the Pac-12 is getting it done with a lineup that mixes a few key returners with some fresh blood. That includes Chris Boucher, a 6'10” forward who was the NJCAA Player of the Year last season.
Boucher has been a force in the paint so far for Oregon, never more so than the day before Thanksgiving when he set a school record for blocked shots in a 91-68 home win over Arkansas State. He was also 5-of-7 from the field, made six of eight foul shots and also hit a three-pointer.
For the year, Boucher is averaging 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game, which is second-best in the country.
5. Jared Brownridge, Santa Clara (vs. Arizona)
6 of 10
When: Nov. 26
Performance: 44 points
Amazing games aren't just limited to players on winning teams. Just ask Santa Clara guard Jared Brownridge, who almost single-handedly engineered what would have been the biggest upset of the 2015-16 season last month.
The 6'3” junior had 44 of the Broncos' 73 points in an overtime loss to Arizona in the first round of the Wooden Legacy, a game that finished around 2 a.m. ET and was played in front of less than 2,500 people—mostly Arizona fans. But even they were wowed at what Brownridge did, taking 29 shots (compared to 24 for Santa Clara's other nine players) and going 15-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Unfortunately for he and the Broncos, Brownridge is all they have going for them. Despite that effort, Santa Clara fell to 0-6 on the season. It's now 1-7 after beating Boston College in the seventh-place game of the tourney, amazingly when Brownridge only had nine of the team's 62 points.
4. Grayson Allen, Duke (vs. Georgetown)
7 of 10
When: Nov. 22
Performance: 32 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals
Grayson Allen has been Duke's most explosive player this season, picking up where he left off during the Final Four when he injected the Blue Devils with shots of energy against both Michigan State and Wisconsin en route to the national title.
He's established a career high in scoring three times in 2015-16, and the last was in an 86-84 win against Georgetown that gave Duke the 2K Classic title in New York City.
Allen, who had scored 30 points two days earlier against VCU, made five of six three-pointers and was 9-of-12 overall from the field. He also drained all nine of his foul shots.
“Really, his stat line is one of the sensational stat lines, as someone who’s been doing this for 41 years,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, per Jack Dolgin of DukeChronicle.com. “To score 32 points is one thing, but to do it with 12 shots is absolutely incredible.”
The 6'5" sophomore guard had that effort only a few days after he was shut down in a loss to Kentucky. He's cooled off a bit since then but is still averaging 21.8 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting.
3. Thomas Welsh, UCLA (vs. Kentucky)
8 of 10
When: Dec. 3
Performance: 21 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks
To beat a team as loaded as Kentucky, it takes a special effort—preferably an all-around team one—but having someone go off for a huge night also helps.
UCLA managed both in Thursday's 87-77 win against the top-ranked Wildcats, handing them their first regular-season loss since the 2013-14 season. The Bruins shot a season-high 52.8 percent and led for nearly all 40 minutes, with 7'0” sophomore center Thomas Welsh dominating on both ends of the court against one of the most stacked front lines in the country.
Welsh hit the 20-point margin for the third time this season, making eight of 11 shots, with several of those coming on mid-range jumpers from the elbow. He also recorded his second double-double of the season, outmuscling Kentucky star freshman Skal Labissiere and senior Alex Poythress along the way.
2. Ben Simmons, LSU (vs. North Florida)
9 of 10
When: Dec. 2
Performance: 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, five steals, three blocks
There aren't a lot of certainties in college basketball, but Ben Simmons and LSU are making a couple of things seem pretty likely. The first is that Simmons is without question as good as advertised. He's a 6'10” freshman forward who is projected by NBADraft.net as the No. 1 pick in next year's draft.
The other is that the Tigers, even with a phenomenal talent such as Simmons, aren't going to be successful—no matter how good Simmons is—if he doesn't have help.
LSU needed every single piece of his massive stat line on Wednesday to rally for a 119-108 home win over North Florida. It was the most points by an LSU player since Shaquille O'Neal had that tally in 1991, and it all came in the paint.
Simmons was 15-of-20 from the field and 13-of-15 from the foul line, making as many free throws as the rest of his teammates. He led the Tigers in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, which is something that's become common for him already.
He's averaging 19.9 points, 14.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.6 blocks—all team bests.
1. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (vs. Kansas)
10 of 10
When: Nov. 17
Performance: 29 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists
If the season ended today, it's hard to argue that anyone would be more worthy for national player of the year honors than Michigan State's Denzel Valentine. The aforementioned Simmons, maybe, but not if you count team performance.
Valentine's start to his senior year has been so impressive we could have filled half of this list with his games from 2015-16. The 6'5” guard is averaging 20.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists, all of which are huge jumps from the career highs he set last season while helping the Spartans get to the Final Four.
Even if we only counted his triple-doubles, that still meant Valentine would occupy 20 percent of the list, since he's achieved this feat twice already in eight games. We ultimately settled on the first triple-double, since it came during one of the biggest matchups of the season so far (against Kansas) as opposed to when he went for 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Boston College during the Wooden Legacy.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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