Week 6 College Basketball Heat Check: ACC Falls
Week 6 college basketball Heat Check Report: UMass, Hofstra dominate ACC opponents while Murray State, North Dakota State surge. Conference play heats up.
What a week of college basketball! The schedule during the week was slow, but Saturday gave us a ton of great games to watch and it was overall a pretty strong day for the traditional mid-majors. We saw UMass pick up their second ACC win in a row, Hofstra took down Syracuse, Tennessee State beat UNLV, then Miami Ohio, Tulsa, George Mason, St. Bonaventure, Hawaii, Belmont, and UNC Wilmington all picked up their tenth wins of the season.
Conference play is starting to ramp up as the Missouri Valley kicked off on Saturday, then the Horizon League, MAAC, Ohio Valley, and Southland have started as well. We have more kicking off this week, so it’s more important than ever to know what teams are hot and what teams are not coming into the beginning of their respective conference schedules.
Let’s dive into this week’s Heat Check Report!
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Heat Check
UMass
12/08/25 KenPom: 181st
12/15/25 KenPom: 162nd
Don’t look now, but UMass is in the middle of a five game winning streak, they sit at 8-3 on the season, and they have back-to-back wins over ACC opponents in Boston College 76-74 and Florida State 103-95.
Offensively, UMass ranks just 205th in offensive adjusted efficiency, but they are led by four players who are all averaging 11 points or more per game:
Marcus Banks Jr.
18.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals
45.4% shooting percentage, 40.2% three-point shooting percentage
Leonardo Bettiol
16.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists
56.9% shooting percentage, 50% three-point shooting percentage
Daniel Hankins-Sanford
12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists
49.5% shooting percentage, 15.4% three-point shooting percentage
K’Jei Parker
11.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists
47.8% shooting percentage, 44.4% three-point shooting percentage
After those four, it drops down significantly to the next highest scorer averaging just 6.4 points. Despite this, they do rank 115th in effective field goal percentage, 113th in three-point shooting percentage, and 144th in two-point shooting percentage.
Frank Martin has the Minutemen running a quick offense, centered around taking effective shots and the ball being in one of those four players’ hands. They sit at 14th in overall tempo and 69th in average possession length.
On the defensive end, they are doing even better:
124th in defensive adjusted efficiency
118th in opponent effective field goal percentage
7th in opponent three-point shooting percentage
A couple of players are monsters at cleaning up the glass in Bettiol and and Hankins-Sanford. Bettiol has a 9.9% offensive rebounding percentage and a 24% defensive rebounding percentage which is 63rd in the country. Hankins-Sanford features a 7.7% offensive rebounding percentage and a 19.6% defensive rebounding percentage which is 220th in the nation.
Looking back at the games this week, these metrics and statistics all come true. Against Boston College, Marcus Banks Jr. finished with 29 points and seven rebounds, while Hankins-Sanford had 17 points and Bettiol had 12 points while 8 rebounds. Against Florida Staet, K’Jei Parker had 24 points off the bench, while Hankins-Sanford had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Bettiol with 20 points and 8 rebounds, and Marcus Banks Jr. with 18. These four players are single-handily lifting the Minutemen out of the trenches and into legitimate contention in their first season in the MAC.
This week, they have an opportunity against one of the toughest teams in the MAC to open up conference play against Kent State on Saturday. The Minutemen are favored to win by one point, so you are not going to want to miss this one!
Hofstra
12/08/25 KenPom: 118th
12/15/25 KenPom: 109th
Hofstra has been a fascinating team to watch this season. They’ve yet to lose by more than eight points. They sit at 8-4 and their four losses are to UCF 82-78, Iona 81-73, Temple 81-76, and Columbia 72-70. Currently, they are on a three game winning streak with two wins over ACC opponents in Pittsburgh and Syracuse. Yes, UMass and Hofstra are 4-0 over the ACC in the last eight days.
If you haven’t heard of Cruz Davis yet, you are going to need to. The 6’3 junior is averaging 20.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 49.7% overall and 44.3% from beyond the arc. When he’s on the court, he is taking 30.3% of the team’s shots and doing so at an incredibly effective rate. His 56% effective field goal percentage is 357th in the country. Then you have to add into the equation that he is a tremendous ball handler. His 30.7% assist rate is 94th in the country, and through 12 games he has a 5.3 to 2.7 assist to turnover rate per game.
As a team, they are doing it well on both ends of the court. Here’s where their metrics sit:
126th in offensive adjusted efficiency
104th in effective field goal percentage
46th in three-point shooting percentage
68th in free throw shooting percentage
104th in defensive adjusted efficiency
100th in opponent effective field goal percentage
31st in opponent two-point shooting percentage.
Outside of Cruz, they have two of the best rebounding players in the counry in Victory Onuetu and Silas Sunday. Onuetu has a ridiculous 16.5% offensive rebounding percentage which is 22nd in the country and a 22.5% defensive rebounding percentage which is 105th. Sunday on the other hand as a 15.6% offensive rebounding percentage which is 38th overall an da 25.6% defensvie rebounding percentage which is 35th. These two are cleaning up the glass like a vacuum, which is turning into extra scoring opportunities.
This week they’ll take on Quinnipiac at home which will be an important game to continue to build on what’s already been a strong season for the Pride.
North Dakota State
12/08/25 KenPom: 156th
12/15/25 KenPom: 146th
The North Dakota State Bison have fired off a four-game winning streak after dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Arkansas State during Feast Week. This week, they took down Cal State Bakersfield 80-69 and Drake 99-94 both on the road.
This is a different Bison team than we saw last season where they were one of the best offensive teams in the country. Last year, they finished 56th in offensive adjusted efficiency and just 296th in defensive adjusted efficiency. This season, they are much more balanced as they are 163rd and 136th in each category respectively.
Their three losses are to Arkansas State as previously mentioned, then Oregon State 67-65 and UC Davis 80-68. Their notable wins are now over two Missouri Valley Conference schools in Southern Illinois and Drake.
Their key contributors are similar to UMass, but with a bit of a more supporting cast around them. Damari Wheeler-Thomas is averaging 15 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 39.5% overall and 37.9% from three-point. Markhi Strickland is averaging 14.2 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 61.7% overall. Trevian Carson is averaging 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 steals while shooting 50.9% overall and 40.9% from three-point.
Interestingly, when you look at their metrics they don’t dominate in three-point shooting percentage, or their defensive pressure. Rather, they take care of the ball better than the majority of teams around the nation. They rank 9th in non-steal turnovers on the offensive end and 53rd in turnover percentage. Then on the defensive end, they rank 48th in opponent turnover percentage and 43rd in steal percentage. They're limiting turnovers on the offensive end and creating turnovers to turn into offensive opportunities on the defensive end.
This week, they’ll take on a non-division one opponent in Minnesota Crookston then they have a tough matchup on a neutral court against UC Irvine on Sunday.
Murray State
12/08/25 KenPom: 111th
12/15/25 KenPom: 96th
The Murray State Racers are blossoming before our eyes. They played just one game this week, but they dominated the Akron Zips on a neutral court 115-100. The Racers had scored 100 points with six minutes to go in the game as they moved to 8-3 and took down one of the best non-power conference teams in the country.
Offensively, they are incredible. Look at these metrics:
68th in offensive adjusted efficiency
25th in effective field goal percentage
38th in three-point shooting percentage
39th in two-point shooting percentage
34th in offensive rebounding percentage
112th in free throw shooting percentage
They have four players ranking nationally in offensive rating in: Roman Doman, Fred King, Layne Taylor, and Mason Miller. In particular, Taylor ranks 193rd and Miller ranks 43rd. Domon is an international freshman that is averaging 12.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and one steal while shooting 54.1% overall and 40% from beyond the arc. Fred King is averaging 12.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 71.2%. Miller is averaging 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 48.3% overall and 50% from three. Then Taylor is averaging 8.3 point, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while shooting 39% overall and 34% from beyond the arc. This isn’t accounting for Javon Jackson who is averaging 16.5 points, two rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 42.6% overall and 41.7% from three-point.
That was a lot of statistics mashed together to essentially say, this Racers’ team is one of the best offensive teams not just outside of the power conferences, but in the country overall.
I’ll wrap up the Racers with an interesting trend unlike what I’ve seen from other teams. They rank just 167th in opponent three-point shooting percentage, however, they are first in the country in opponent three-point attempts vs shots made. Is it a fluke? Is it their playstyle? I personally believe it’s how head coach Ryan Miller is drawing up their schemes against opponents. While they my not be the most defensively stout team, they force their opponents to be uncomfortable from outside, which pushes them inside where they are stronger defending.
They kick off Missouri Valley play this week against Drake at home, then they’ll travel to take on a sneaky Valparaiso team. Buy some stock in the Racers as soon as possible.
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Cooling Down
UC Davis
12/08/25 KenPom: 163rd
12/15/25 KenPom: 190th
The UC Davis Aggies started off 4-1 on the season with a couple of solid wins over North Dakota State and Nevada. Their only loss at the time was Portland 67-63. However, they’ve dropped three out of their last four to Colorado 95-79, Hawaii 75-69, and Oregon 104-62.
While Colorado was ranked 60th in KenPom, Hawaii 105th, and Oregon 84th, I’m most so disappointed in the lack of competitiveness in the Colorado and Oregon games.
They are struggling offensively as they rank just 231st in the country in offensive adjusted efficiency. They are 304th in turnover percentage, 262nd in three-point shooting percentage, and 332nd in non-steal turnover percentage. Just two players are shooting 40% or better from three-point and six players are averaging more turnovers than assists per game.
There is plenty of time for them to figure it out and they have a few strong players to ensure they are going to be competitive in the Big West. Nils Cooper is averaging 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.9 steals while shooting 63.5% overall and 42.9% from three-point. Connor Sevilla is averaging 13.4 points and two rebounds while shooting 46.4% from the floor and 41.9% from beyond the arc.
It doesn’t get any easier this week as they’ll take on a strong Seattle team at home, then travel to Idaho State to end the week on Sunday.
George Washington
12/08/25 KenPom: 61st
12/15/25 KenPom: 81st
It was a rough week for the Revolutionaries as they dropped a tough game to Delaware (268th in KenPom) 70-58 and then Florida 80-70. While the Florida game is fine and they kept it competitive, however, the Delaware game is an at-large sinking loss for a team in the A-10.
The Blue Hens shot 9-20 from beyond the arc and 51% overall, while the Revolutionaries shot just 29% from the floor and 29% from three-point. Against Florida, they shot just 35% from beyond the arc while the Gators shot 50%.
The issue for George Washington isn’t just one glaring stat or metrics, rather it’s the issue around consistency. Aside for Delaware, they lost to McNeese 92-86 and Murray State 96-95. As we’ve covered this week, the Racers are an excellent team, and McNeese is looking like they have previously under Will Wade.
They run a deep rotation with nine players averaging nearly 16 minutes or more per game. Rafael Castro is the star of the show averaging 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. However, everyone not named Trey Autry was inconsistent this week. Bubu Benjamin shot 3-8 against Delaware and 1-7 against Florida. Christian Jones shot 0-5 and 2-5. Then Garrett Johnson shot 3-9 and 2-9.
Fortunately, they have a break as they won’t play against until December 22nd against a non-division one opponent, then they’ll kick off conference play against Richmond on New Year’s Eve.
One to Watch
Robert Morris
12/08/25 KenPom: 177th
12/15/25 KenPom: 176th
The Colonials are quietly 8-4 in what has been another strong season for Robert Morris. They are 5-1 over their last six games with wins over UIC and Toledo to highlight. Their one loss game last Saturday against Milwaukee 74-72.
DeSean Goode has been phenomenal this season as he as a 140.3 offensive rating which is 37th in the country. HIs 65.5% effective field goal percentage is 59th, his 69.2% true shooting percentage is 32nd, then he also is a menace on the glass. Goode’s 13% offensive rebounding percentage is 104th and his 18.8% defensive rebounding percentage is 299th. He is averaging 13.4 points per game and 8.9 rebounds.
As a team, they aren’t dominating one category, but they are consistent across the board. They rank 201st in offensive adjusted efficiency and 163rd in defensive adjusted efficiency. They sit at 83rd in opponent three-point shooting percentage and 58th in opponent two-point shooting percentage. Then on the offensive end, they sit at 32nd in offensive rebounding percentage.
They’ll take on a tough Youngstown State team at home on Wednesday then Saint Francis on the road this week.
Around the College Basketball World
Here are some interesting headlines and articles I read this week around college basketball: