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College Hoops Week in Review: Five Thoughts

Arsalan Kazemi, Larry Drew II

Oregon forward Arsalan Kazemi (14) shoots as UCLA guard Larry Drew II (10) defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

AP

Wild finishes: We were treated to plenty of them this week. There was Marshall Henderson’s 35-foot game-tying three against Vanderbilt. There was Alex Len’s game-winning tip-in. Matthew Dellavedova answered a go-ahead jumper from Tyler Haws with a running, double-pump 40-footer at the buzzer. VCU erased a four-point deficit in the final 14 seconds against St. Joe’s. Walt Lemon Jr. banked-in a running 25-footer as Bradley won at the buzzer on Saturday. Michael Carter-Williams won a game in the final seconds by dunking on Gorgui Dieng. Wichita State survived Creighton when Ethan Wragge missed two looks at a game-tying three. And, of course, there was Butler.

But you’re right. This is a down year in college hoops.

Was there a more important addition this season than Arsalan Kazemi?: Kazemi has long been one of the best rebounders in college basketball, but he was hidden at Rice as the Owls failed to have any kind of national relevance. But over the summer, Kazemi made the decision to leave the school prior to his senior season, in large part due to alleged racial discrimination he experienced at the school. Kazemi was allowed to play immediately at Oregon as a result, and it’s been the key to Oregon’s early season success.

The Ducks already had a talented and versatile front line, but Kazemi added a blend of physicality and toughness that wasn’t previously present. He’s far and away the leading rebounder for the Ducks despite coming off the bench. As good as the trio of Tony Woods, EJ Singler and Carlos Emory can be, none of those three guys are really willing to do the dirty work in the paint. Kazemi is, and that’s a huge reason that the Ducks are currently sitting alone in first place in the Pac-12.

Gonzaga will be fine: I’m not overly concerned about Gonzaga’s loss to Butler even when you factor in the absence of Rotnei Clarke. If not for a fluky play with 3.5 seconds left -- a miscommunication on an inbounds, combined with a possible push-off by Roosevelt Jones, led to a running one-hander, and another possible push-off by Jones, that potentially came after the buzzer sounded. That’s how Gonzaga lost. At Hinkle. On the night they hosted College Gameday.

There may not be a program in the country that can handle losing their most talented player better than Butler, because the Bulldogs are as much about the system as any program in the country. Clarke provides some scoring, but Butler wins by being physical, chasing shooters off the three-point line and executing offensively. And they did just that on Saturday.

Ben McLemore’s best attribute? His ability to fit into a system: Here’s the thing that interesting about Ben McLemore as a player: he’s a star, he’s been labeled a top five pick, he’s been christened the Jayhawk’s go-to guy, yet he only uses 22.9% of the Kansas possessions when he’s on the floor, a value that’s typically found in role players.

What’s more impressive, however, is that he’s the most significant contributor to the Jayhawks offensively. Kansas is as balanced as any team in the country, which comes a year after they were as unbalanced as just about any team that’s ever made the national title game. McLemore’s really good at picking his spots and lethal in those situations -- his shooting splits: 54.9/44.4/88.1 -- but he doesn’t dominate the Kansas offense the way that Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor did a year ago.

Pay attention to Bryant: The best story of the season that no one is paying attention to? The Bryant Bulldogs. After winning just 20 games in their first four years at the Division I level, Bryant is 13-4 and 6-0 in the NEC.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.