Trotter's 10 Trends: Inside Duke's 3-point eruption, Florida stonewalls No. 1 Tennessee and more takeaways

Conference play is heating up and no one is safe. Let's get right into this week's Ten Trends.

1. How Florida stonewalled top-ranked Tennessee

Florida has had pockets this year where its rim defense looks like an absolute fortress. Overall, opponents are shooting just 50% at the rim against the Gators, but Kentucky wasn't fazed. The Wildcats shredded the Gators for 40 points at the rim on Saturday. Naturally, Todd Golden's club turned around and put together their best 40 minutes of rim defense of the season in Tuesday's 73-43 romp over No. 1 Tennessee.

No. 8 Florida held the Vols to just eight two-point field goals. It's the second-fewest 2-pointers Tennessee has made in a single game in the past 10 seasons. 

It's not a coincidence that in each of the past three seasons, a team with a top-five rim defense has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (Gonzaga in 2022, Alabama in 2023 and UConn in 2024).

Florida has the personnel to copy that script. Rueben Chinyelu is a physical monster. Alex Condon is an exceptional defensive prospect who is only getting better. Thomas Haugh has clearly been going to the Ryan Kalkbrenner School of Verticality. Sam Alexis is rugged and tough.

Florida's do-not-enter, rim defense was the story of the game and can carry the Gators to the top of the mountain. 

2. The man behind Duke's 3-point eruption

UT Rio Grande Valley (shoutout to Vaqueros coach Kahil Fennell) and No. 5 Alabama are the lone two teams who have created more unguarded catch-and-shoot 3-pointers than No. 4 Duke (14.4 per game). The Blue Devils –– freshly dubbed No. 1 on KenPom.com after housing Pitt 76-47 on Tuesday –– have put those early-December offensive lulls fully in the rearview mirror.

It's almost incredible how often Tulane transfer Sion James is in the middle of creating open treys. Cooper Flagg is Duke's queen on the chess board, but James is ridiculously valuable, too. Duke uses him as a screener to create advantages and he finds open shooters left and right. James' feel and timing in transition is impeccable. He makes quick decisions and the ball rarely sticks.

James racked up six points, three rebounds, eight assists and just one turnover in Duke's romp over SMU last Saturday. He had 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two turnovers and two blocks against Pitt. 

The fifth-year senior is the ultimate role player. He makes a few 3-pointers. He makes his free throws. He's one of Duke's best perimeter defenders. He gets to the rim. But his best asset might be his unselfishness.

Duke has a +43.8 net rating with James on the floor this year, per CBB Analytics. That rates in the 99th percentile nationally. The tape backs it all up. He's the trigger-man who is helping create and find this avalanche of open triples. 

3. Villanova's Brickus shows quiet brilliance

Only 62 players have attempted 40 or more off-the-dribble 3-pointers so far this season. Just one is shooting over 50% on arguably the toughest shot in basketball.

The Wildcats' Jhamir Brickus.

The 5-foot-11, 188-pound senior is quietly having a phenomenal season next to the brilliant Eric Dixon. Brickus is averaging 11.3 points and 5.9 assists while shooting the cover off the ball. Villanova is quietly up to fifth nationally in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com after it eviscerated DePaul for 1.54 points per possession.

Brickus might not be shooting north of 50% on off-the-dribble treys all year, but this is not an anomaly. The veteran sniper drilled 41% of his 75 off-the-dribble 3-pointers last season for La Salle.

Dixon's dominance has been well-documented. The veteran forward has cracked 20 points in 13 of his 14 games, but Brickus' emergence might provide staying power for Villanova in the Big East chase.

Villanova hosts No. 9 UConn on Wednesday before Saturday's tilt against St. John's (7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and streaming on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App).

4. Dent delivers no-look dimes for New Mexico

Dent is up to fifth nationally in points created via pick-and-rolls, according to Synergy. Donovan Dent generates 17.8 total points per game for New Mexico in ball screens. Only Purdue's Braden Smith, Marquette's Kam Jones, Drake's Bennett Stirtz and Penn State's Ace Baldwin Jr. have been more productive in that category.

Dent's feel is outrageous. His stutter-step drives help him get wherever he wants on the floor.  

Oh, and it sure helps to be the king of no-look passes.

New Mexico hosts San Diego State on Saturday (1 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming on CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App and Paramount+ with Showtime).

5. Alabama's Nelson stops Oklahoma

Alabama forced then-No. 12 Oklahoma into its worst offensive showing of the season on Saturday. Sure, the Sooners scored 79 points, but OU managed just 1.02 points per possession. When Oklahoma couldn't score in transition, it had very few answers to the test in the halfcourt against Alabama's length and athleticism. Star freshman guard Jeremiah Fears totaled 16 points, but it came on 15 shots and a bunch of it came when the game was out of reach. 

Grant Nelson was a big part of Alabama's defensive recipe. It may have been his best defensive showing of the season. The two blocks and two steals pop on the box score, but his ability to defend in space was noticeable and highly impactful. Oklahoma forward Jalon Moore is a freak of nature. He scored a team-high 20 points, but 16 of those points came when Nelson was not guarding him. He was just 2-for-5 from the field when Nelson was the closest defender.

6. Kansas' Bidunga has electric showing 

I had to double-check the numbers to make sure I wasn't seeing stars. Opponents are shooting 45.7% at the rim against Kansas when Flory Bidunga is on the floor.

Bidunga's 12-point, five-rebound, six-block game against UCF was one of the best single-game performances from a freshman this season and that's saying something because the youngsters have been balling. 

If Kansas can somehow get Bidunga back for his sophomore season to pair with five-star incoming freshman guard Darryn Peterson, it's going to be scary hours.

7. Georgia's Newell's shows added dimension

Five-star gonna five-star. Asa Newell is one of the best recruits in Georgia history, just a few notches behind that Anthony Edwards fella, and he was all over Georgia's 82-69 upset win over No. 6 Kentucky on Tuesday. Newell finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. 

The 3-point stroke is starting to come to life, but it should unlock his drives even more. So far, Newell has been a high-energy, dirty-work scorer who gets buckets with smart cuts and an outstanding motor in transition and on the glass. He hasn't operated as much of a driver (just five this season, per Synergy), but attacking that long closeout against Kentucky and the slick step-through move could add a whole new lever to Georgia's steadily improving offense.  

8. New games in new places

Situation and fit is everything in the transfer portal. The 2024 portal class is littered with examples of guys who have transferred and shed some of the previous misconceptions about their respective games.

Let's dive into some of the most notable transfers who have completely changed their games.

• Tyrese Hunter, from Texas to Memphis: Hunter is posting career-best efficiency marks after transferring to Memphis. The veteran guard is shooting 45% from downtown, and no, that's not just buffed up by Maui Rims (patent pending). Even if you remove his flamethrower, 14-for-24 showing at the Lahaina Civic Center, Hunter is still shooting north of 40% from downtown in all the other games. Penny Hardaway has empowered Hunter, and he's playing with sky-high confidence. It was always in there. Hunter has been a ballyhooed prospect for years. Memphis is reaping the rewards. 
• Kylan Boswell, from Arizona to Illinois: Just 19% of Boswell's shots last season came at the rim for an Arizona team that wanted to pound the ball inside to Oumar Ballo and Motiejus Krivas. Boswell has shown at Illinois that he can be far more of a downhill threat. Over 45% of his shots have come at the rim for the Illini and his free throw rate has spiked from 12.3 at Arizona to 50.0 at Illinois. He's already attempted 66 free throws in 14 games this season after attempting 58 combined in two years in Tucson. This version of Boswell is far different (and better) than the iteration we saw in Arizona.  
• Miles Kelly, from Georgia Tech to Auburn: On the surface, Kelly looked a bit like a chucker for Georgia Tech. But that's what he had to do to keep Georgia Tech in a bunch of games. He shot just 32% from downtown last year. But he's transferred to Auburn and accepted a smaller role because his quality of shot has skyrocketed. He's transformed into a 42% 3-point sniper with legitimate NBA range. Sometimes, less is more.
• Arthur Kaluma, from Kansas State to Texas: Kaluma-to-Texas was met with real skepticism. But so far, Kaluma has been the best version of himself. He's shooting a ridiculous 52% from downtown, but it's not just the treys. Every number is better. He's shooting a career-best 78% from the line on high volume. He's up to 64% at the rim which is the highest mark in years. His off-the-dribble shooting numbers were abysmal last year, but to his credit, Kaluma has worked on his game and now those tough 2s are going in at a 50% clip. The veteran is starting to put it all together. Tuesday's 34-point showing against Auburn's vaunted front line was uber-impressive.
• Chucky Hepburn, from Wisconsin to Louisville: Hepburn got to be the top-of-the-scouting-report guy two years ago at Wisconsin and it did not go very well. He finished with just a 98.3 offensive rating (100.0 is average) because he couldn't get to the rim well enough and jump-shot roulette proved costly. Louisville's system has helped Hepburn unlock everything in his game. He's hunting paint touches. He's getting to the rim a ton and converting at a sky-high, 68% clip. His playmaking and point-of-attack defense has always been very good, but Hepburn has transformed into an all-around stud lead guard for the Cardinals. He's not just a good role player anymore. He's the best player on the team.

9. Inner-circle snipers

There are elite shooters littered up and down the country, but if you had to pick the five best this season, who would it be?  

Here's my ballot:

1. Chance McMillian, Texas Tech: Legitimately stunned every time he misses. So are his teammates.
2. Abdi Bashir, Monmouth: Every make is a swish. Every. Single. One.
3. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee: Really poor timing for this after a 1 for 9 showing against Florida, but c'mon, I almost feel bad for the nets. He burns them.
4. Koby Brea, Kentucky: SPLASH BROTHER.
5. Reyne Smith, Louisville: It's insane how he keeps his base intact while on the move. Legitimately one of the best on-the-run shooters our sport has right now.

10. The fallout behind Drake's transfers

It's fascinating to see how certain mid-major teams can splinter when a coach leaves in so many directions and takes all those winning habits somewhere else. When Darian DeVries left Drake to take the West Virginia job, he took his son, Tucker, with him. That was an obvious move for both parties.

But five other former Drake rotation players have transferred to five separate schools. All of them have been impactful.

Conor Enright picked DePaul and is a terrific, set-the-table point guard who earned the respect from UConn's Dan Hurley for his competitive spirit and his innate playmaking. Enright is a huge reason why the arrow is pointing up for DePaul. Kevin Overton transferred to Big 12 contender Texas Tech and instantly became one of Grant McCasland's most trusted, two-way guards. Atin Wright selected North Texas where he's draining 37% of his 3-pointers on high volume for a 10-4 Mean Green club. Colby Garland parachuted down to Longwood and is averaging a career-best 11.4 points for one of the better teams in the Big South.

Winning seems to translate.