This first weekend of conference play in 2024 is in the books. There were winners, losers, standout performances and upsets — the whole nine yards. 

Despite this freshman class being unpredictable at times, there has been a level of consistency near the top. USC star guard Isaiah Collier has been under a microscope this season because that's what happens when you're the top-ranked high school player playing in college. Collier and USC have struggled at times, but appear to be back on the right track after a pair of wins to open up the new year.

And then there's the Kentucky freshman. That unit led by Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard has been far and away the best collective group of first-year players in the sport. Between big man Aaron Bradshaw knocking down a clutch 3-pointer near the end of the game against Florida and Sheppard knocking down clutch free throws down the stretch, it's clear there's become an even greater level of trust between them and coach John Calipari.

Let's jump into our rankings and get to our CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the the 2023-24 college basketball season

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Freshman of the Week: PJ Haggerty, Tulsa

Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the five most impressive freshmen in college basketball. CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week we'll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.

Entering the transfer portal and enrolling at Tulsa was the best possible decision Haggerty could've made. After appearing in only six total games for TCU last season, Haggerty found a new home at Tulsa. Through the first two months of the season, Haggerty has been Tulsa's leading scorer and is coming off a 27 point performance against Memphis and 17 points against Eastern Carolina. 

Haggerty has scored 20+ points six times this season and Tulsa sits at 9-5 on the season.

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Coming out of Crosby High School, Haggerty was ranked as a four-star recruit and was the No. 126 overall player at his position in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Haggerty ranked as the No. 18 combo guard in the country and originally committed to TCU over the likes of Arizona State, Auburn, Florida State, Houston and LSU among others. 

Frosh Watch: Top 10 freshman rankings

1. Reed Sheppard, Kentucky

Stats: 12.6 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 4.2 APG | 57.4% FG

In the 87-85 win over Florida last weekend, Sheppard went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final 19 seconds to seal the Wildcats' comeback win. Collier did play well last week and he certainly has an argument to be the top player on this list, but Sheppard has been an analytic darling. Just look at the company he is in through the first two months of the season. 

I really think you can make the argument that there isn't a freshman that's helped their NBA Draft stock more this season than Sheppard. It's obvious how much trust Calipari has for him because he's in the closing lineup every game despite coming off the bench. Last week: 1

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2.  Isaiah Collier, USC

Stats: 15.6 PPG | 4.3 APG  | 2.6 RPG | 50.3% FG

Collier scored a career-high 26 points in a win over Stanford last weekend, but that wasn't even his best performance. In the game a few days prior against Cal, Collier scored 13 points but dished out seven assists and recorded zero turnovers for the first time in his college career. Collier is a player that came into school as a pass-first point guard and his high turnover rate plagued the other great things he showed on tape. If Collier continues to limit his turnovers, it will help his team and his overall draft stock. Last week: 3

3. Ja'Kobe Walter, Baylor

Stats: 15.3 PPG | 4.4 RPG | 1.3 SPG

Walter showed his tremendous shot-making ability in a blowout win over Cornell by scoring 23 points on 4-of-9 shooting from distance. Walter is shooting exactly 40% from beyond the arc and is one of the best 3-point shooters in his class. In his first game against Big 12 competition, Walter scored only seven points but grabbed six rebounds in a 75-70 overtime win over Oklahoma State. Last week: 2

4.  PJ Haggerty, Tulsa

Stats: 17.8 PPG | 4.5 RPG | 3.4 APG | 46.8% FG

After leading Tulsa to four consecutive wins, the Golden Hurricane's win streak came to a close with a narrow loss to Memphis after Jahvon Quinerly drilled a late shot from beyond the arc to give the Tigers their first win of AAC play. In that loss, Haggerty scored 27 points and added eight rebounds. He followed it up three days later with 16 points and five rebounds/assists in another close loss to Eastern Carolina. Last week: 5

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5. Rob Dillingham, Kentucky

Stats: 13.7 PPG | 4.2 APG | 3.6 RPG | 46.1% FG

Dillingham dropped a few spots in the rankings after struggling against Florida. The explosive guard played only 18 minutes — his second lowest total of the season— and recorded only six points while turning the ball over four times. His body of work off the bench is good enough to keep him in the top five. Dillingham has played under 20 minutes only three times this season and two of those outings came in the first three games of the season against New Mexico State and Kansas. Last week: 4

6. Carlton Carrington, Pitt

Stats: 14.6 PPG | 5.3 RPG | 5.0 APG

In his first action of 2024, Carrington scored a career-high 20 points in a 70-57 loss at home to North Carolina. He followed it up by playing all 40 minutes against Louisville and recorded 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Carrington is a player that can be a triple-double threat in every outing. He recorded a triple-double in his first game as a college player and has come a few rebounds or assists shy of recording another double-double. If he continues to play the entire game like he did against Louisville, he's certain to record another one. Last week: 7

7. Jared McCain, Duke

Stats: 12.1 PPG | 4.0 RPG | 43.8% 3FG

I put McCain in the same category as Shepard as far as players who've increased their draft stock the most in this class as of late. McCain will have a decision to make in the coming months on whether he's staying in school or declaring for the draft, but for now, he's given Duke a spark in the starting lineup as a knockdown shooter from deep. McCain is shooting 45.4% from the field but is connecting on 43.8% of his triples. McCain scored 18 points in a win over Syracuse and added 11 points and five rebounds in a road victory over Notre Dame. Last week: 8

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8. Malik Mack, Harvard

Stats: 19.0 PPG | 4.4 APG | 4.0 RPG

After missing Harvard's last three games due to mononucleosis, Mack returned to the lineup in a blowout loss to Princeton. Mack had his first single-digit performance of the season and scored eight points in his over 32 minutes of action. He struggled to find his shot, missed all three of his 3-point attempts and turned the ball over five times. Mack will certainly get back into form, but for now, he drops a few spots in the rankings. Last week: 6

9. Myles Rice, Washington State

Stats: 14.6 PPG | 3.1 APG | 2.2 RPG

Rice moves up one spot in the rankings after a standout performance against Oregon. Rice recorded 22 points and seven assists in the 89-84 loss to the Ducks. In the game prior against Oregon State, Rice scored 12 points and dished out four assists. Rice didn't play last season because he was receiving chemotherapy treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was diagnosed in September 2022 and went into remission earlier this summer. Last week: 10

10. Sebastian Mack, UCLA

Stats: 14.3 PPG | 4.2 RPG | 2.2 SPG

UCLA's season has been a disaster, but one of the lone bright spots has been the play of Mack. The former No. 66 player in the 2023 recruiting cycle by 247Sports recorded his third 20+ point performance of the season in a loss to Cal. While Cronin has been hesitant to trust his eight newcomers who entered the program this season, it's clear that Mack has been the most productive of the bunch. The Bruins have lost seven of their last eight games and Mack's play could help spark a turnaround in Westwood. Last week: NR

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