Heat Check: UT Martin, Wichita State, and Others Surge
Week 2 college basketball risers and fallers: UT Martin dominates again, Saint Mary's stays red-hot, while Bradley and Chattanooga struggle.
We’ve officially wrapped up week two of the college basketball season, and we are already starting to see teams separating themselves from the rest of the pack.
UT Martin picked up yet another huge win on the season as they continue to take over the college basketball world. Santa Clara is emerging as a legitimate threat in the WCC. New Orleans won again! Saint Mary’s appears to be an absolute wrecking ball. Kent State continues to show us that they have an offense that can rival Akron in the MAC, and there is so much more going on around the country.
Let’s dive into this week’s Heat Check report and review who’s heating up, who’s not, and who stayed hot this week!
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Heat Check
Heating Up
UT Martin
11/9/25 KenPom: 287th
11/17/25 KenPom: 229th
The UT Martin Skyhawks did it again! After taking down UNLV to open the season on the road 86-81, the Skyhawks took down Bradley on the road 78-67. They’ve skyrocketed in the metrics, and it’s all due to their efficient shot selection. They currently sit with a 60% effective field goal percentage, 40.7% three-point shooting, and 58.8% shooting percentage from inside the arc (excluding their 97-42 win over Kentucky Christian).
Andrija Bukumirović has been lights out this season. He’s averaging 20 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting just an absurd 77.4% from the floor overall and 69.2% from three-point. Dragos Lungu transferred in from San Diego and he is taking advantage of the opportunity as he is averaging 17 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.7 steals. Then, they have Matas Deniusas who might be a sleeper pick for Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year. Deniusas is averaging 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. Against Bradley, he finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.
This team is an absolute blast to watch. Jeremy Shulman has put together a fun team, full of international talent and players who him and his staff were able to find in places no one else was looking. I reached out to Coach Shulman to ask a couple of questions about the Skyhawks start to the season:
Elliott: What does this start to the season mean for you and the team?
Coach Shulman:
The start of the season has been so special for us - our guys are putting in so much work, and are so connected, it really is great to see the success we’ve had. It’s only three game, and we have to get a lot better, but it’s been very enjoyable being on the journey with these guys!
Elliott: UT Martin has emerged as one of the most efficient shooting teams in the country through the first couple of weeks. Was in the recruiting process of the team?
Coach Shulman:
As far as our shooting efficiency goes, honestly I think it’s a combination of the hard work these guys put in consistently getting tons of reps in at night, as well as the unselfishness of our guys, always looking to create for others and make the right basketball play. This group is so incredibly unselfish, and extremely hard working and focused.
The Skyhawks will look to stay hot this week against Florida State on the road on Tuesday, then a favorable matchup against Prairie View A&M on Saturday.
Kent State
11/9/25 KenPom: 136th
11/17/25 KenPom: 126th
After dropping their first game of the year in the Sun Belt vs MAC Challenge to Troy 103-97, Kent State has fired off a four game winning streak to move to 4-1 on the season. Their wins include:
Cornell ~ 110-102
UNC Wilmington ~ 86-77
Cleveland State ~ 102-95
Wright State ~ 76-72
The Golden Flashes have emerged as not just one of the best offensive teams among the non-power conference ranks, but one of the best in the entire country and one that could rival their fellow MAC offensive wagon Akron.
Delrecco Gillespie has been incredible for the Golden Flashes. Against Cleveland State he finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds (six offensive), and 3 assists while shooting 11-14 from the floor. On the season, he is averaging 21 points, 13.6 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 60.4% from the floor.
Per KenPom, here are their offensive rankings:
76th in Offensive Efficiency
78th in Effective Field Goal Percentage
49th in Offensive Rebounding Percentage
78th in 3pt Percentage
Their defense has some work to do as they’ve given up 103, 102, 77, and 95 in four of their five games thus far. However, their offense is potent enough to be able to win the battle even if they give up a ton of point.
Looking at the week ahead, they’ll take on Eastern Kentucky and Cleveland State. The Golden Flashes aren’t projected to lose a game until December 29th against Purdue at Mackey Arena.
Loyola Marymount
11/9/25 KenPom: 129th
11/17/25 KenPom: 109th
The Loyola Marymount Lions are off to one of their best starts in recent history as they are 5-0 following this week. They took down UTEP 71-58 on Tuesday, followed up with a tough Troy team 74-63 on Friday evening.
It’s not just one player that is dominating for the Lions, rather a force of multiple players. Rodney Brown Jr. is leading the team with 16.2 points per game, but Myron Amey Jr. is averaging 15.2 points, Jan Vide is averaging 15.2 points and six assists, and Jlane Shelley is averaging 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Unlike other teams being discussed this week, they aren’t just dominating one specific category. They are doing well on both ends of the floor. They rank 138th in Offensive Efficiency and 93rd in Defensive Efficiency. What stands out to me is their shot selection. They rank 26th in Effective Field Goal Percentage, 27th in 3pt Percentage, and 79th in 2pt Percentage.
If the WCC wants to reach a three-bid status this season, they’ll need teams like Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, and San Francisco to keep up what they’ve gotten started to kick off the season.
The Lions play just one game this week in a tough road matchup against UC Santa Barbara on Monday evening. You’ll want to pencil this game is as must watch to kick off your week.
Wichita State
11/9/25 KenPom: 109th
11/17/25 KenPom: 98th
Are the Wichita State Shockers back? The Shockers are off to a 3-0 start with dominating wins over UNC Asheville (75-58), Prairie View (105-62), and Loyola Chicago (95-74). Against the Ramblers, they broke their single game record from most three-point makes in a game as they knocked down 16 of their 32 shots from beyond the arc.
As a team, they are shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc with a 56.3% effective field goal percentage. Most notably, they aren’t turning the ball over. They have just a 12.4% turnover percentage which is top 30 in the country. The Shockers have also stepped up their rebounding as they feature a 43.4% offensive rebounding percentage as they are averaging 16.3 per game thus far.
Kenyon Giles has been phenomenal thus far. The UNC Greensboro transfer is averaging 19.7 points and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 60.6% overall and a ridiculous 63.6% on three-pointers while taking 7.3 per game on average. Will Berg transferred in from Purdue and has been thriving in his new opportunity. Berg is averaging 12 points, 7.7 rebounds, and two blocks per game while shooting 52% from the floor. Shocker, a former Purdue player that is 7’2.
Looking at the week ahead, the Shockers take on Boise State on the road on Tuesday evening. They’ll then have a home game against Milwaukee. Over the next five games, they’ll take on Boise State, Saint Mary’s, and Northern Iowa, so by mid-December we should know whether the Shockers are for real or not.
Santa Clara
11/9/25 KenPom: 98th
11/17/25 KenPom: 70th
The Santa Clara Broncos have emerged as a force in the WCC through the first two weeks of the season. This week, they dominated Xavier 87-68 on the road and Nevada 98-83 at home.
Offensively, they’ve been on fire. They rank 41st in Offensive Efficiency, 23rd in Effective Field Goal Percentage, 24th in 3pt Percentage, 74th in 2pt Percentage, and 4th in Offensive Rebounding Percentage. Christian Hammond has been phenomenal as he is averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 55.3% overall and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Elijah Mahi has been a part of the one-two punch with Hammond by averaging 15.3 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 57.5% overall and 38.5% from three-point.
Defensively, they haven’t missed a step either. Thierry Darlan is averaging 7.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks through the first four games. They rank 77th in opponent field goal percentage while holding other teams to just 38.76% overall.
Looking at the week ahead, they have a couple of home games against Idaho State and Louisiana.
Saint Louis
11/9/25 KenPom: 69th
11/17/25 KenPom: 58th
Saint Louis moved to 4-0 this week while picking up wins against Lindenwood 109-66 and Grand Canyon 78-64.
The Billikens are doing it all on both ends of the court:
70th Offensive Efficiency
46th Defensive Efficiency
14th Effective Field Goal Percentage
17th opponent Effective Field Goal Percentage
56th 3pt Percentage
50th opponent 3pt Percentage
6th 2pt Percentage
18th opponent 2pt Percentage
I’ll add that three of their four opponent thus far ranked 247th or worse in KenPom, and two of the four were 325th or worse. The competition they are playing hasn’t been spectacular, however, I added them to the getting hot list with their 78-64 win over Grand Canyon.
Amari McCottry has been incredible in his sophomore season as he is averaging 17.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 68.3% overall. Robbie Avila is doing his usual by averaging 14 points, five rebounds, and two assist while shooting 57.1% overall and 52.6% from three-point.
They have just one game this week against Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday at home. Their true test will come against Santa Clara on Thanksgiving day on a neutral court.
Cooling Down
Bradley
11/9/25 KenPom: 105th
11/17/25 KenPom: 133rd
After losing to UT Martin as I’ve mentioned already, the Braves dropped a road game to San Franciso 75-64 to move to 1-3 on the season. Offensively, the Braves are struggling mightily. Against the Skyhawks they shot 33% overall and 15% from beyond the arc, then against the Dons they shot 32% overall and 24% from 3pt. As a team, they are shooting a miserable 26.5% from 3pt through the first four games.
I’ve watched roughly two and a half of Bradley’s games thus far and what I’ve noticed is their lack of a playmaker. Jaquan Johnson and Montana Wheeler hare their two best options and both are averaging three assists and 3.5 assists each respectfully. The next highest average is just 1.5, and as a team they are averaging just 12 assists per game. As on Sunday morning, the Braves were ranked 271st in the country in assists.
Rebounding is also a huge issue…their leading rebounder is Jaquan Johnson who is 5’11. Johnson is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. In fact, coming into Sunday morning the Braves were ranked 310th in the country in rebounds per game.
There are just a lot of gapping holes right now for Bradley, and they need to figure it out soon before they get to the gauntlet that is the Missouri Valley Conference.
Chattanooga
11/9/25 KenPom: 161st
11/17/25 KenPom: 195th
The Mocs fell to just 1-3 this week after losing to UNLV 101-69 and Florida Gulf Coast 91-73. I had a lot of high hopes for the Mocs coming into the season, and it hasn’t helped that Collin Mulholland had played just 14 minutes going into the FGCU game, but it’s been a struggle for Chattanooga. Here’s where they rank defensively:
325thin Defensive Efficiency
359th in opponent Effective Field Goal Percentage
340th in opponent Offensive Rebounding Percentage
338th in opponent 3pt Percentage
340th in opponent 2pt Percentage
357th in opponent Free Throw Percentage
342nd in opponent Blocking Percentage
329th in opponent Steal Percentage
See a trend? They are getting ate alive on the defensive end. As of Sunday morning, they rank 310th in the country in opponent field goal percentage at 47.39% from the floor. Offensively, they are doing okay, but it isn’t the traditional Chattanooga offense like we saw last season. Their offense should pick up, but I’m just not sure who is going to pick up the slack on the defensive end for the Mocs.
Looking at the week ahead, they’ll look to pick up a win against South Carolina State and North Alabama where they are favored in both games to win.
James Madison
11/9/25 KenPom: 145th
11/17/25 KenPom: 196th
The Dukes fell to 2-3 this week after dropping a game to Longwood 82-72 and Long Island 88-79. Their only two wins game against Wash and Lee 70-56 and Coppin State 84-70.
It’s a very similar story to Chattanooga. The Dukes offense is doing fine, but they are getting ate alive on the defensive end. They are just 281st in Defensive Efficiency, 266th in opponent 3pt Percentage, and so on. They’ve given up 70 or more points in four out of five games. In the three losses, they gave up 82 or more points. Their three leading rebounders are just 6’7 or 6’8, so they don’t have a player with traditional height that is able to dominate and secure the paint. Gabe Newhof is their tallest player at 6’9, in which offensively he is averaging 12 points and shooting 75%, but he’s only averaging 3.8 rebounds per game.
This week, they have another tough test against Towson at home on Tuesday.
Staying Hot
Saint Mary’s
11/9/25 KenPom: 41st
11/17/25 KenPom: 24th
I would not want to be facing the Saint Mary’s Gaels right now. They were on our “heating up” list from last week, so we are moving them to the “Staying Hot” section because they are just bulldozing anyone that comes within their path. This week, they steamrolled Ohio 90-60 on Tuesday, and then North Texas 80-49 on Friday evening.
Here’s the thing about the Gaels, they aren’t just winning by 10-15 points, they have yet to win a game by less than 21 points and they are facing some top talent from the non-power conference ranks. In fact, per KenPom, they aren’t projected to lose a game until JANUARY 31ST against Gonzaga on the road.
Mikey Lewis is starting to gain national recognition for his start to the season. He is averaging 22 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 53.1% overall and 57.7% from three-point. There is no doubt in my mind that he is an NBA talent, so it’s only a matter of time before we start to see him on draft boards. Paulius Murauskas stayed hot as well as he finished with 14 points against Ohio, then 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Mean Green. Liam Campbell had a breakout week as he finished with 20 points against Ohio on 8-10 shooting, 3-5 from beyond the arc. He stayed efficient against North Texas with 9 points on 3-4 shooting from three-point.
The Gaels are rolling with a top 50 offensive efficiency and a top 20 defensive efficiency. They have a 58.9% effective field goal percentage, 44.8% three-point percentage, 83.5% free throw percentage, and they are racking up offensive rebounds like they are free with a 42% offensive rebounding percentage. Essentially, the Gaels are a very good offensive team.
Looking ahead, they’ll face Arkansas State on Wednesday and then California Merced (D-II) on Saturday. Make sure to think about the Bobcats next Saturday and consider taking a moment of silence.
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Ones to Watch
New Orleans
11/9/25 KenPom: 240th
11/16/25 KenPom: 166th
The New Orleans Privateers made the largest jump in KenPom this week by jumping a whopping 74 spots. They lost on Monday to LSU 93-58, but took down a solid Tulane team 85-63. Keep in mind they beat TCU on opening day 78-74.
What’s remarkable is, they pretty much are being carried by the three-point shot on both ends of the court. They are 51st in the country in 3pt Percentage, and 3rd in opponent 3pt Percentage at just 19.8%. Coleton Benson in particular is having a breakout start to the season. He transferred in after two seasons at Texas State, and he is now averaging 21.7 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 42.9% overall and 43.8% on 10.7 three-point attempts per game…yes…10.7 attempts per game.
This week, they’ll take on Pepperdine and Fresno State on the road. If they come out of the week 4-1, we will need to start to have a conversation about the Privateers.
Around the College Basketball World
Here are some interesting headlines and articles I read this week around college basketball:
Aggie men rally late to take dramatic hoops win from Sacramento State by
College basketball week one freshman takeaways by
25 Teams That Played Elite College Basketball During Week 1 by
Make sure to check out my appearance on the JSuttHoops podcast where I discussed this college basketball season thus far and the 2026 NBA Draft!
Good Stuff, UT Martin and New Orleans are two of my favorite stories currently. Great highlight on Loyola Marymount too, I feel like they've gone very under the radar so far. JMU losing to Long Island was surprising but...is Long Island a riser?? Only one loss for the Sharks so far. The NEC with them and CCSU looks intriguing 👀