Ranking the Best Individual Performances in College Basketball This Season

It's the wins and losses that ultimately matter most, particularly at this point in the season when teams are fighting to get into the NCAA tournament or improve their tourney seed. But we can't ignore when a player has a monster game.

And there have been plenty of those this season. According to Sports Reference, as of Tuesday there had been 35 occasions in which a player has scored at least 40 points, including 12 in February alone. A 20-rebound performance has occurred 23 times, and on 11 occasions a player has dished out at least 15 assists. There have also been 22 triple-doubles.

But which individual efforts stood out the most? We've ranked the 10 best based on a combination of the numbers involved, the opponent they faced and how memorable the game was. And while we easily could have done a top 10 based solely on games by mercurial Oklahoma freshman Trae Young, we limited his contributions to just two slots in fairness to the rest of college basketball.

10. Jerome Robinson, Boston College (Feb. 6 at Notre Dame)

Robert Franklin/Associated Press

By the numbers: 46 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Best moment: Jerome Robinson only needed 23 shots to score more than half of Boston College's points in a 96-85 loss. He was 15-of-23 from the field, never missing consecutive attempts, and his four straight makes were part of a 21-8 run that had the Eagles within five with 8:04 left.

Why it's here

Robinson scored the most points ever by an opposing player at Notre Dame's Purcell Pavilion and had the second-best point total in school history. It also tied for fourth-most in ACC history. The 6'7" junior guard is a big reason BC has almost doubled last year's win total, from nine to 16.

9. Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure (Feb. 7 vs. Saint Louis)

John Minchillo/Associated Press

By the numbers: 44 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals

Best moment: Jaylen Adams scored 14 points during a 20-4 run midway through the second half to pace the 79-56 home victory.

Why it's here

Among the many analytic-type statistics used in basketball nowadays is "game score," which measures overall productivity for a game. Per Sports Reference, anything over 40 is considered outstanding, and Adams' score (41.8) is the best of any player in Division I this season. 

The 44 points were a career high for Adams, who is averaging 20 points per game. The 6'2" senior guard also hit a career-best 10 three pointers on 13 attempts, going 14-of-18 from the field overall.

8. Johnathan Williams, Gonzaga (Nov. 24 vs. Florida)

Associated Press

By the numbers: 39 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

Best moment: Johnathan Williams' career-best performance included a personal 8-0 run in the first half that gave Gonzaga a 27-23 lead. The Bulldogs would eventually fall 111-105 in double overtime in the semifinals of the PK80 tournament in Portland, Oregon.

Why it's here

In a game in which four players had at least 20 points and eight scored in double figures, Williams still managed to stand out thanks to his ability to score and rebound. Six of his boards were on the offensive end, helping Gonzaga hang in the entire night.

Williams was 16-of-22 from the field, making 15 of his 19 two-pointers. The 6'9" senior forward couldn't be stopped inside.

7. Trae Young, Oklahoma (Dec. 19 vs. Northwestern State)

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

By the numbers: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 22 assists

Best moment: Already leading by 30-plus points, 6'2" freshman guard Trae Young had no business being in the game with 4:06 remaining. But when he found Brady Manek under the basket for a dunk, it helped make history, as that 22nd assist tied the NCAA single-game record.

Why it's here

Young leads the nation in scoring, but he's also the top assist man in Division I, and this game showed how much he values passing even when he can seemingly score at will against most opponents. Those combined with his own nine made field goals to make him at least partially responsible for 75 of the Sooners' points in the 105-68 victory.

Young matched Syracuse's Sherman Douglas, Southern's Avery Johnson (now Alabama's coach) and Charleston Southern's Tony Fairley for most assists in a game.

6. Markus Howard, Marquette (Jan. 3 at Providence)

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

By the numbers: 52 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals

Best moment: Markus Howard hit four straight shots in the final 2:11 of regulation, including a game-tying three-point play with 27.5 seconds left. He ended up scoring 42 of his points in the second half or overtime of Marquette's 95-90 victory.

Why it's here

The 5'11" sophomore guard registered Division I's only 50-point game of the season and the most points since Nate Wolters of South Dakota State had 53 in 2013. He set a school record for points and tied the Big East mark, doing so on 17-of-29 shooting that included 11 three-pointers.

Marquette (15-11) is 4-4 on the road this season, and Howard tends to do his best work away from home. Four of his six highest-scoring games have been on the road this season.

5. Trevon Bluiett, Xavier (Feb. 14 vs. Seton Hall)

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

By the numbers: 37 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

Best moment: Xavier had to fight off a late surge from Seton Hall to win 102-90, but it established its big lead with a 25-11 opening run that included four three-pointers from Trevon Bluiett. He would finish with eight triples.

Why it's here

Bluiett's season high in points came one game after he had a then-season low of six against Creighton. The 6'6" senior guard only needed 12 shots from the field and was 13-of-13 from the foul line, one of 26 occurrences in Division I this season when a player has been perfect on free throws with at least 13 attempts.

Xavier is 15-1 this season when Bluiett scores at least 20 points. The only loss came Feb. 17 at home to Villanova, when he had 26.

4. Keenan Evans, Texas Tech (Jan. 31 vs. Texas)

John Weast/Getty Images

By the numbers: 38 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Best moment: Keenan Evans' career night had the perfect ending, as his final shot at the buzzer gave Texas Tech a 73-71 home win over Texas in overtime.

Why it's here

Evans only took 13 shots in recording a career high, as the 6'3" senior guard scored almost half of his points from the free-throw line by going 18-of-20 there.

One of those misses came with 3.4 seconds left in regulation that would have given the Red Raiders a one-point lead, but rather than get down, Evans continued to push in overtime with six points, including a pair of foul shots and the winning field goal.

3. Collin Sexton, Alabama (Nov. 25 vs. Minnesota)

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

By the numbers: 40 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

Best moment: Despite finishing the game with only three players—more on that in a moment—freshman guard Collin Sexton almost single-handedly led Alabama back. His layup with 1:39 left pulled the Crimson Tide within 83-80—after they trailed by 14 midway through the second half—before they lost 89-84 in the finals of the Barclay Center Classic.

Why it's here

A near brawl with 13:39 left in the game led to the ejection of five Alabama players for leaving the bench. Then, Dazon Ingram fouled out with 11:37 to go. Finally, John Petty injured his ankle with 10:50 remaining, leaving the Crimson Tide with only three available players.

Sexton was one of them, which was almost enough. The Tide outscored Minnesota 30-24 despite the disadvantage, with Sexton responsible for 17 of those points.

2. Marvin Bagley III, Duke (Dec. 30 vs. Florida State)

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

By the numbers: 32 points, 21 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

Best moment: Marvin Bagley III could hardly miss from the field against Florida State, making 13 of his 17 shots. But after being way short on the front end of a 1-and-1 with 8:40 left, he got his own rebound and somehow managed to get a wild shot to fall (thanks to a kiss high off the glass and some backspin) and was fouled. The three-point play gave Duke a 78-74 lead en route to a 100-93 win.

Why it's here

Since the 2010-11 season, there have been just 18 games of 30 points and 20 rebounds in Division I, but only Bagley did it as a freshman.

And this wasn't an anomaly, either, as he's posted double-doubles in 18 of 24 games, and 10 of those have seen him go for at least 20 and 10. Only Saint Mary senior Jock Landale (14) and South Dakota State junior Mike Daum (13) have more this season.

All that's keeping Bagley's performance from being higher was the fact he was just 5-of-11 from the foul line. He's just a 62 percent free-throw shooter for the season. Had he made a few more foul shots, he would have been No. 1 on this list. 

1. Trae Young, Oklahoma (Dec. 30 at TCU)

Richard W. Rodriguez/Associated Press

By the numbers: 39 points, 4 rebounds, 14 assists, 2 steals

Best moment: On a night when his shot wasn't falling as much as it had during the nonconference season, Trae Young still found a way to will Oklahoma to a 90-89 win at TCU in the Big 12 opener. His two free throws with 7.9 seconds left were part of a 17-point outburst in the final 10 minutes of play to end TCU's 17-game win streak.

Why it's here

Yes, Young was only 9-of-23 from the field and made just three of his nine shots inside the three-point line. But his 14 assists led to 30 Oklahoma points, including a game-tying three by Kameron McGusty with 2:26 left, and he was 15-of-18 from the foul line.

Young draws so much attention that he's able to get others involved with his floor vision, and this game was a perfect example. He scored more points in other games and had higher assist totals, but of all the tremendous offensive performances the 6'2" freshman guard has had in 2017-18, this one tops them all.

It's also our No. 1 single-game effort because of how he managed to lead the Sooners back from a 13-point deficit despite not being particularly crisp with his shooting.

Statistics courtesy of Sports Reference. Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.