Ranking the Best Frontcourt Duos in College Basketball in 2015-16

Tall never goes out of style in basketball.

At the college level, bigs are worth their weight in gold. Having one good post player is a privilege. But having two? That either makes you a national blue blood or a big-time metaphorical lottery winner.

The cup runneth over for these 10 schools, which are fortunate enough to have a pair of talented players patrolling the paint. These are the best, most dynamic frontcourt duos in college basketball right now.

Duos are ranked based on their own and, to a lesser extent, their team's outputs to this point of the season (Dec. 7). Although some of these teams may and likely do have more than two post players in their rotations, since this is a list of duos, we identify our duos as the two post players who have logged the most minutes per game on average.

By the same token, keep in mind that this examines the production of post duos only, not entire frontcourts or teams. Got it? Great. Let's get it on.

Honorable Mention: Quinnipiac

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Duo: Chaise Daniels, Donovan Smith
Combined stats: 18.3 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 4.7 BPG

Take heart, men. An honorable mention is nothing to hang your heads over.

Despite its relatively low station on the national totem pole, the Bobcats' frontcourt has plenty to be proud of.

Led by Daniels and Smith, Quinnipiac is tied for first in the nation for offensive rebounds per game (18), tied for fourth in blocks per game (6.7) and 34th nationally in rebounding margin (8.4), per NCAA stats.

Although the Bobcats are 3-4 in the MAAC, it's not because of their bigs or their defense, which is surrendering a mere 64 points per game thanks in large part to their big pair in the paint.

10. Purdue Boilermakers

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Caleb Swanigan

Duo: Caleb Swanigan, Vince Edwards
Combined stats: 17.6 PPG, 14.6 RPG, 0.8 BPG

There's no perfect data set to gauge a frontcourt duo's effectiveness, but these three basics lay a good foundation.

There are other metrics, and the Boilermakers look pretty good in those, too. Purdue sits second in the nation in adjusted defense, per KenPom.com, and is sixth nationally with a 13.8 rebounding margin, per NCAA.com.

Swanigan, a highly regarded freshman, grabs a good amount of attention, but Edwards might be Purdue's most complete player anywhere on the court.  

9. Kentucky Wildcats

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Skal Labissiere

Duo: Skal Labissiere, Alex Poythress
Combined stats: 20.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.7 BPG

The senior Poythress has been as steady as expected, pairing with old man sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis to provide on-court stability for the decidedly green Big Blue.

And yet, Poythress doesn't have the kind of mind-bending talent we've come to expect from Kentucky big men. For that, we must look to Labissiere. Problem is, Labissiere has struggled early to find his groove, managing a solid 12 points per game but looking out of place on defense and on the boards.

James Streble from A Sea of Blue reassures fans by comparing Labissiere's early numbers with those of other recent Wildcat bigs. It's a favorable comparison. 

"He hasn't shown much toughness under the basket, and even if the guards are not feeding him in the post, he hasn't been rebounding and creating his own shot on that end," Streble wrote. "There is a learning curve for every freshmen in college basketball and Skal is no different."

8. Louisville Cardinals

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Mangok Mathiang (left) and Chinanu Onuaku

Duo: Chinanu Onuaku, Mangok Mathiang
Combined Stats: 16.0 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 3.0 BPG

With each of these guys hitting 6'10" on the tape, they certainly have the size.

But empty husks they are not, leading a Cardinals team that tops the nation in rebounding margin with 18.9.

You'd like to see a little more scoring output, but it's hard to complain too much given Louisville's 6-1 start. Onuaku and Mathiang often play significant minutes together on the court, and that means a stifling wall around the rim. To date, the Cardinals have allowed only one opponent—Michigan State—to top 65 points. That is pretty good, and a lot of the credit goes to their Twin Towers.

7. Duke Blue Devils

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Marshall Plumlee

Duo: Amile Jefferson, Marshall Plumlee 
Combined stats: 17.1 PPG, 16.7 RPG, 3.2 BPG

Jahlil Okafor and Co. are missed in Durham. Jefferson and Plumlee are cushioning the blow.

These two are more utilitarian in their approach than the average 5-star prospect. It works for the Blue Devils, a program that has always placed a premium on utilitarian things like drawing charges and setting solid screens.

They may play more like role players, but with this season's Duke squad it's a pretty big role.

6. Maryland Terrapins

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Diamond Stone

Duo: Jake Layman, Robert Carter
Combined stats: 24.9 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 2.6 BPG

The scoring is as advertised, with Layman's shooting range continuing to cause mismatches and Carter and his 13.6 points per contest good for second on the team behind only Melo Trimble.

The defense and toughness, though, need work. Layman seems like he's screwed into the floor at times, and the entire frontcourt seems more interested in grabbing a lob than a rebound.

Center Diamond Stone has shown flashes but hasn't surged ahead of either of the veterans in minutes played. It's a strong group, but it could be even stronger.

5. Arizona Wildcats

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Ryan Anderson

Duo: Ryan Anderson, Kaleb Tarczewski
Combined stats: 24.2 PPG, 16.8 RPG, 1.2 BPG

Tarczewski has stepped up. The 7-foot senior needed to get tougher this season, and he answered the bell. He now chips in 7.2 boards and 0.6 blocks per game (both career highs thus far at Arizona) to complement his nifty shooting touch.

Speaking of shooting touch, Anderson has one of the best offensive games in the nation among power forwards. The flexibility, mobility and newfound tenacity of this tandem has Arizona poised for another terrific season.

4. Baylor Bears

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Rico Gathers (left) and Taurean Prince

Duo: Rico Gathers, Taurean Prince
Combined stats: 29.5 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 0.8 BPG

Gathers is probably the most physical player on this season's power-conference landscape. And his stellar rebounding continues, with his 10.8 game average good for 18th in the country, per NCAA.com. 

Prince is the lightning to Gathers' thunder. The dude can do pretty much anything offensively, including step back for a three, which he makes at a 40.5 percent clip. No surprise, then, that Prince leads the Bears with 16.6 points per contest.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels

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Brice Johnson (left) and Kennedy Meeks

Duo: Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks
Combined stats: 26.8 PPG, 17.2 RPG, 2.1 BPG

If you're ranking entire frontcourts here, UNC is numero uno.

As it is, their top two post players by minutes are excellent but lag just a touch behind the very top combinations. They do an excellent job of running the floor and putting the ball in the hole, but as a group there is no singular talent in the group.

Hey, take it as a compliment, Tar Heels fans. Even when only two members of the team's group effort in the post are analyzed, the unit still comes out looking pretty doggone good.

2. Iowa State Cyclones

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Georges Niang (left) leads the Cyclones in scoring.

Duo: Georges Niang, Jameel McKay
Combined stats: 30.5 PPG, 17.5 RPG, 2.2 BPG

The Cyclones are off to a blazing start, and a lot of that is due to their dynamic frontcourt tandem.

Niang might be the most polished offensive talent in the country. The senior, who leads Iowa State with 16.5 points and is second with 3.5 assists per contest, is a mismatch wherever he goes on the court. He can get his shot just about anytime, and if a teammate has a better look he has the passing ability to get it there.

The Robin to Niang's Batman is just fine in his own right. McKay may, in fact, be substantially underrated. With 1.5 blocks per game, he has twice as many rejections as the next closest Cyclone. He's a high-percentage scorer (a clean 60 percent) and a ferocious defender.

If it keeps up like this, the Big 12 will need to sound the alarms.

1. Gonzaga Bulldogs

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Kyle Wiltjer (left) and Domantas Sabonis

Duo: Kyle Wiltjer, Domantas Sabonis
Combined stats: 35.4 PPG, 17.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG

These guys rank 1-2 on the Bulldogs in points and rebounds per game. They're a pretty well-oiled two-stroke machine down there.

Wiltjer is probably the best player in the country with all things considered. He's making half his shots and giving opponents nightmares, even if he could stand to make fewer careless mistakes from time to time.

The 6'11" Sabonis is the center, though the 6'10" Wiltjer would probably fill that role most anywhere else. The Lithuanian plays tall, patrolling the paint on both ends and converting more than 62 percent of his shots from the field. 

Even though Sabonis is just a sophomore, he and the senior Wiltjer sometimes look like they have been playing together for a decade. They key off one another and are the engine that makes this team go. And going it is, to 13th nationally in adjusted defense and 30th in adjusted offense, per KenPom. 

Yes, they've lost twice, but both were to ranked teams (Texas A&M and Arizona). If we're being frank with each other, the bigs played a role in each loss. Foul trouble plagued Sabonis against the Aggies, and turnovers were problematic against the Wildcats.

Is there room for improvement? Yes, especially from Sabonis. But they are indispensable to Gonzaga this season, and they are the best frontcourt tandem in the land.

Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.