By ESPN.com | ESPN.com
Video Hub »
Every weekday, a panel of our college hoops experts discusses the biggest issues, trends and themes in and around college basketball.
1. Marcus Paige's numbers are way down this season at North Carolina. Why?
Andy Katz: In 2013-14, he became the focus only later in the season. This season, the focus has been all on him, and the expectations for him to dominate have been overwhelming. He said earlier that he's OK not having to do everything. Still, he can sometimes delegate too much. He needs to be more assertive and take over games -- especially early.
Dana O'Neil: Better defense on him is the simple answer. If you look closely at his numbers, the only real change is how many shots he's making. He's taking virtually the same number of field goals, 3-pointers, and free throws; they simply aren't going in. That could be a case of the early-season yips, but the more likely culprit is that teams are defending him tougher, knowing that Carolina needs him to be big to win games.
C.L. Brown: Paige isn't playing off the ball as much as he did last season and as a result, I think he still struggles with balancing when to hunt for his shot and when to distribute. Last season, opponents also had to respect Leslie McDonald from outside. Now defenses have locked in on him as UNC's only true shooting threat. He's not getting as many open looks as he did last year, either.
2. What problems might Alabama present for No. 11 Wichita State?
Katz: The Tide can defend. They always have under coach Anthony Grant. Locking in on Fred VanVleet on the perimeter or Ron Baker, too, will make the Shockers earn every basket. But the game is at home and the Roundhouse is one of the tougher venues for any road team.
O'Neil: Any problems the Crimson Tide can create will come on the offensive side. Though Alabama did well defensively in its previous game, against Tennessee Tech, it has been pretty porous defensively -- the Tide rank last in the SEC in field goal defense, allowing opponents to hit at 45.2 percent. But on the other side, the Tide don't take a lot of bad shot (they hit 46 percent from the floor) and have multiple guys who can connect.
Brown: If Bama can get the game played at the fast tempo that it plays best, maybe it can get the Shockers out of sorts. Wichita State's average possession time on offense of 18.4 seconds, according to KenPom.com, is slightly higher than the national average.
3. Who has the better chance to lose by fewer than 20: Oakland against No. 3 Arizona or Lipscomb against No. 9 Texas?
Katz: Oakland. The Golden Grizz have traditionally been a tough out. Arizona got its offense in gear, especially in transition, against Michigan. The Wildcats will need to do the same to outlast Oakland by more than 20.
O'Neil: Here's one worth bragging over for the winner. I'll go with Lipscomb, not because the Bison are some sort of defensive juggernaut. They are not. Lipscomb ranks 313th in scoring defense, allowing 74.3 points per game. It's because right now at least, Arizona is a better offensive team, which means theoretically the Wildcats will score more points than the Longhorns and build a bigger gap.
Brown: Considering Texas just held Texas State to 27 points, I'm going with Oakland. Arizona has been a stellar defensive team, too, but it's still a work in progress when it comes to consistently scoring. There's also more of a chance that the Grizzlies and their multiple long-range shooters could light it up from 3-point range.
Earlier Words: 12/15 » 12/12 » 12/11 » 12/10 » 12/9 » 12/8 » 12/5 » 12/4 » 12/3 »
