Week 5 College Basketball Heat Check: Richmond & Tulsa Soar
Complete week 5 Heat Check: UNCW's 8-game streak, Tulsa's offensive surge, Miami Ohio stays undefeated. Who's hot and who's not breakdown.
While the mid-week slate was slow, Saturday and Sunday gave us nearly entire days worth of excellent college basketball. We saw Boise State take down Butler, St. Bonaventure and Buffalo duked it out in a thrilling back-and-forth game, Tulsa remains one of the hottest teams in college basketball, and so much more.
With finals upon the college campuses and coming up on the holidays, games are slowing down, but we are already getting a taste of what the new year is going to bring with some of these teams. Without further ado, lets dive into who’s hot and who’s not coming out of week five of the college basketball season.
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Heat Check
Richmond
12/01/25 KenPom: 110th
12/08/25 KenPom: 101st
After taking a one point loss to Furman, the Richmond Spiders have bounced back with a three game winning streak including a solid 84-76 win over the Belmont Bruins on the road. This week, they also defended home court against Old Dominion who gave them a good fight, but the Spiders pulled out an 86-77 victory.
Richmond sits a 101st in KenPom and they nearly identical in their performance on the offensive and defensive ends:
104th in offensive adjusted efficiency
104th in defensive adjust efficiency
64th in effective field goal percentage
39th in 3pt shooting percentage
57th in opponent 3pt shooting percentage
114th in 2pt shooting percentage
16th in opponent offensive rebounding percentage
27th in steal percentage
Jaden Daughtry transferred in from Indiana State and he has made an incredible impact this season thus far. He is involved in 29.2% of possessions which is 75th in the country. He has a 23.6% defensive rebounding percentage, a 3% steal percentage, and he is shooting an incredible 63.3% from inside the arc which is 284th in the nation. He is doing all this while averaging less than 20 minutes per game as well, which puts him in the category of one of the most important “glue-guys” outside of the power conference ranks.
Head Coach Chris Mooney plays the deepest bench in the country as they rank 1st with 48.2% of their total minutes played coming from the bench. 11 players are averaging 12.8 minutes or more per game. As a result, eight players are averaging at least 7.1 minutes per game. Despite being picked just 10th in the preseason poll for the A-10, Mooney’s formula and depth on the roster are proving that the Spiders have what it takes to take on and compete in the heat of the A-10.
The Spiders will play just one game in the coming week against Southern Illinois who would be another good win for the Spiders.
Hawaii
12/01/25 KenPom: 100th
12/08/25 KenPom: 102nd
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are looking like a legitimate threat in the Big West this season. They are 8-2 and took down both UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton this week to start off conference play 2-0.
They are a polar opposite of several of the other teams we are talking about this week because their main focus is their defense. They rank 27th in defensive adjusted efficiency, but just 223rd in their offensive counterpart. What’s interesting is, that doesn’t stop them from running up tempo. They sit at 84th in the quickest tempo and 127th in average possession length. Here’s how incredible they are doing on the defensive end:
6th in opponent effective field goal percentage
3rd in opponent offensive rebounding percentage
10th in opponent 3pt shooting percentage
9th in opponent 2pt shooting percentage
17th in opponent free throw shooting percentage
They haven’t played all cupcakes either. While they have played against four sub-300 KenPom teams, they also took on both Oregon and Arizona State. In both of those games, they kept it close as they lost to the Ducks 60-59 and the Sun Devils 83-76. While the defensive metrics are propped up with the other games, they’ve shown that they have what it takes to compete against tough competition.
Their leading contributor is Isaac Johnson who is averaging 13.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 51.2% overall and 32% from three-point while being a 7’0 big man. Plus, he’s doing all of this while averaging just 21.8 minutes per game. His 12.8% offensive rebounding percentage is 110th in the nation, and his 26% defensive rebounding percentage is 35th. He also ranks 185th in blocking percentage with a 5.5% average.
Hawaii will take on a non-division one school in Hawaii Hilo, then UTEP at home on Saturday as they look to move to 10-1 this week.
Tulsa
12/01/25 KenPom: 84th
12/08/25 KenPom: 81st
Look out, Tulsa looks like they could be a contender in the American this season! They sit at 8-1 after two blowouts this week against a non-division one opponent in Manhattan Christian 111-60 and Missouri State 98-74.
Offensively, they’ve been magical this season. They’ve scored below 81 points just once against Northern Iowa in their 63-60 win, while averaging 87.8 per game. Their one loss came to Kansas State on the road by just one point, 84-83. Here’s where their offensive metrics lie:
54th in offensive adjusted efficiency
65th in turnover percentage
41st in effective field goal percentage
11th in 3pt shooting percentage
149th in 2pt shooting percentage
21st in free throw shooting percentage
They have a three headed offensive monster in David Green, Miles Barnstable, and Tylen Riley:
David Green
14.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists
45.1% shooting, 31.4% from 3pt
Miles Barnstable
14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists
51.2% shooting, 44.6% from 3pt
Tylen Riley
13.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists
50.7% shooting, 61.5% from 3pt
Barnstable’s offensive rating is 34th in the country at 142.2. Meanwhile, David Green and Tylen Riley are virtually irreplaceable in their offensive sets as they sit at 28.4 and 28.6 percent each in terms of possession usage, which is 103rd and 98th respectively. Meanwhile, Riley’s 29.3% assist rate is 123rd in the country. Needless to say, these three players have been lights out this season and are vital to the success of Tulsa this season.
Looking at the week ahead, they’ll take on Arkansas Pine Bluff at home, then New Mexico State on a neutral court in Frisco Texas at the Comerica Center.
Miami Ohio
12/01/25 KenPom: 131st
12/08/25 KenPom: 119th
The MAC never ceases to be one of the most fun conferences to watch in college basketball, and this year is no different. Miami Ohio is undefeated at 8-0 and finished up a couple of wins this week over a non-division one opponent in Indiana East and Maine who they beat 93-61.
While the competition this week wasn’t the highest, and they have literally the worst strength of schedule in the country…they are doing everything right. They’ve won by less than 10 points just once against Mercyhurst 76-71. The rest of the games look like a power conference school blowing out a sub 350 ranked team.
The RedHawks have a 111.4 offensive adjusted efficiency which is 107th in the country. Offensively, they are incredible:
19th in effective field goal percentage
47th in 3pt shooting percentage
25th in 2pt shooting percentage
2nd in free throw shooting percentage
Defensively, they’ve been adequate enough as they sit at 158th in defensive adjust efficiency. I’m actually slightly concerned about their shooting defense when they start to play better competition as their opponent three-point shooting percentage is just 212th and their opponent two-point shooting percentage is just 127th.
Evan Ipsaro has been phenomenal for the RedHawks thus far. He is averaging 14.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 61.3% overall and 43.5% from beyond the arc. His 149.1 offensive rating is fifth in the country. He has a 68.4% effective field goal percentage which is 39th, his 74% true shooting percentage is 10th, and he also has a strong ability to handle the ball. His 23.5% assist rate is 284th and his 9.5 turnover rate is 236th.
Looking ahead at the week, the RedHawks will take on UNC Asheville and Eastern Kentucky this week both on the road.
UNC Wilmington
12/01/25 KenPom: 97th
12/08/25 KenPom: 107th
Death, taxes, and UNC Wilmington popping off long winning streaks. The Seahawks expanded their streak to eight games this week while taking down Marshall 70-69 and Louisiana 70-63. The close games are why they dropped in KenPom this week, but regardless they pulled out the wins.
While their schedule hasn’t been the toughest, as is the life of the true “mid-majors” these days where it’s nearly impossible to schedule up, they’ve done everything they needed to. They sit at 9-1 on the year, while their offense has been carrying them:
84th in offensive adjusted efficiency
117th in effective field goal percentage
20th in offensive rebounding percentage
54th in 3pt shooting percentage
197th in 2pt shooting percentage
They haven’t been too shabby on the defensive end either as they sit 154th in defensive adjust efficiency, but 50th in opponent effective field goal percentage, 85th in opponent 3pt shooting, and 64th in opponent 2pt shooting.
The combination of Nolan Hodge and Christian May has been nothing short of incredible thus far. Hodge is averaging 15.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 45.7% overall and 41.7% from three-point. May has been averaging 12.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 44.2% overall and 42.9% from deep. Each player is ranking nationally in key offensive metrics:
Nolan Hodge
130.3 offensive rating (174th)
55.5% effective field goal percentage (386th)
60.4% true shooting percentage (303rd)
Christian May
123.5 offensive rating (389th)
60.7% effective field goal percentage (178th)
61.8% true shooting percentage (237th)
Throw in Patrick Wessler who is averaging 12.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and one assist while shooting 60% overall. Wessler’s 15.6% offensive rebounding percentage is 36th in the country, while his 22% defensive rebounding percentage is 121st. He’s a large reason the Seahawks have been able to clean up the glass so efficiently.
This week, they’ll play just one game against Valparaiso on Saturday on the road.
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Cooling Down
Tulane
12/01/25 KenPom: 157th
12/08/25 KenPom: 188th
The Tulane Green Wave started off the year strong at 3-0, but they are just 3-3 over their last three games with some notable statistics. They lost to New Orleans 85-63, Utah State 96-75, and Akron 88-71. They’ve beaten Nicolls 82-72, Grambling State 65-63, and Boston College 93-90 in overtime. This week, they took down Grambling State and lost to Akron. While Akron is an extremely good team, beating Grambling State by just two points on top of the narrow win over Boston College and a blow out against New Orleans makes me skeptical of their deceiving 6-3 record.
Offensively, the Green Wave are stout. Their defense on the other hand is in the bottom 50 in the nation. They rank 312th in opponent effective field goal percentage, 357th in opponent three-point percentage, and 314th in defensive adjusted efficiency.
On the offensive end, they are 115th in offensive adjusted efficiency, 16th in turnover percentage, 189th in three-point percentage, and 110th in two-point percentage. Rowan Brumbaugh has been incredible as he is averaging 18.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 41.2% overall and 40% from deep. They don’t run a deep rotation as only eight players are averaging double-digit minutes, so those at the top of the offensive metrics get more of an advantage.
This week against Akron, they were outrebounded 46-28 as the Zips shot 50% overall and drained 13 three-pointers. Against Grambling State, they held the Tigers to just 26% from beyond the arc, but they shot 44% from the floor. The Green Wave on the other hand shot less than 40% across the board.
At 6-3 it could be a lot worse for Tulane, but with a few tough matchups coming in the non-conference slate, I think the Green Wave have their work cut out for them.
One to Watch
Western Kentucky
12/01/25 KenPom: 124th
12/08/25 KenPom: 134th
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were picked sixth in the Conference USA preseason poll, but they’ve jumped out to a strong 6-2 start on the season. Their only two losses came against Vanderbilt, which is a top 10 KenPom team, 83-78 and South Florida 97-91 in overtime.
The Hilltoppers are a physical team, focused on playing both strong offense and defense inside the paint. They struggle from outside on both ends as they rank just 272nd in three-point shooting percentage and 262nd in opponent three-point shooting percentage. However, they are stronger from inside the arc. They are 88th in opponent two-point percentage, but just 213th in two-point percentage themselves.
I’ve watched them four times now over their last four games against Vanderbilt, South Florida, Wichita State, and Evansville. They are extremely intriguing despite their lackluster offense. Their physicality is unmatched against their opponents and that’s what gives them the edge. They rank 22nd in tempo, so they thrive on speeding up the game against opponents. They rank 25th in steal percentage, giving them fast break opportunities with open shots. When they have to run an offensive set, often they’ll struggle to get a clean shot.
Teagan Moore is their primary go-to player on the offensive end. He is averaging 19.6 points, six rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 50.5% overall, but just 18.8% from beyond the arc. He features a 127 offensive rating which is 260th in the country. His 54.8% effective field goal percentage is 424th, his 64% true shooting percentage is 159th, and his 8.6% offensive rebounding percentage is 424th.
This team is extremely fun to watch as head coach Hank Plona is running a unique scheme in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This week, they’ll take on Marshall this week on the road as they look to move to 7-2 on the season.
Around the College Basketball World
Here are some interesting headlines and articles I read this week around college basketball: