Coast to Coast: Ochai Agbaji, Auburn basketball and the Sinking Lakers


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Welcome to the first issue of my spring column: “Coast to Coast.” My name is Yoav Gillath and I’ll be your guide for hoops across the country. We’ll cover NBA and NCAA basketball from coast to coast, honing in on overlooked teams and players. Today, I’ll dive into a crowded Eastern conference, bring you tales from the Big 12 and even climb onto the sinking ship that is this year’s Los Angeles Lakers.

Let’s get to it.

Ochai Agbaji — Clutch Player Of The Year

Kansas senior guard Ochai Agbaji has lit the world on fire over the last stretch of games. Agbaji hit a game-winner, a double-overtime forcer, and secured a game-sealing rebound in the span of three days. 

In the first game, the Jayhawks overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to beat in-state rivals Kansas State. With seven seconds on the clock, Agbaji dropped in a tough layup to put the Jayhawks up 76-75. After a game-winning, 3-point attempt clanked off the rim, Agbaji brought down the rebound and put his team up for good at the stripe. 

Two days later, Texas Tech came into Allen Fieldhouse and pushed Kansas to overtime as Agbaji missed a potential
game-winner at the buzzer. Not to be denied, Agbaji sent the game to double-overtime with a deep 3 five minutes later. The Jayhawks went on to win the game 94-91. 

Not only does Agbaji have a convincing National Player of the Year case, I would argue we should create a Clutch Player of the Year award and hand the inaugural edition to the guard from Kansas.

Are the Lakers finally heating up?

No. 

Sitting at 24-27, the Los Angeles Lakers are hanging around the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture. Forward Anthony Davis has put up gaudy lines recently, tallying a monster 8-point 2-rebound effort against the Brooklyn Nets on his return from injury last Tuesday. An optimist would say this could start a season-changing run for the Lakers, but this columnist is not one. 

Even with all three members of their “Big 3” (Russell Westbrook, Davis and LeBron James) on the court, the Lakers have not looked like a dominant outfit this season. Far from it. 

The Lakers might boast more “Not Top 10” appearances on ESPN’s SportsCenter than wins. 

Is Auburn a basketball school?

Auburn sits at No.1 in the AP poll for the third-straight week — the first time in school history. 

As five-time football national champions, the Tigers have traditionally filled the football powerhouse position. However, Head Coach Bruce Pearl has also turned the basketball program around in recent times, adding another weapon to the school’s athletic arsenal. 

In 2019, Pearl led Auburn to its first Final Four ever. That team fell short of a national championship, but the current edition has a shot to do what those history-makers couldn’t. 

What makes this season’s team so great? Maybe they’re not so great after all. 

Kenpom.com has Auburn pegged as the 6th best team in the country, with the NET ranking similarly slotting them in at No. 6. Solid rankings, but they don’t quite line up with their No.1 AP ranking. 

This might be a case of a lack of quality matchups giving the Tigers a boost in the rankings (an effect I call the “Gonzaga effect”). However, Auburn owns the second-most Quadrant 1 wins in the country. I think this might just be a quirk owing more to the teams around them than their own performances.

Throwing elbows in a tight Eastern conference

Two and a half games. Not three, not four, two and a half. That’s how many games separate the top six teams in the East a couple of weeks before All-Star Weekend. 

The Miami Heat own the top spot in the conference with recent wins over the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. All-Star (and USC alumnus) forward DeMar DeRozan has powered the surprising Chicago Bulls to half a game behind first place. No Ben Simmons, no problem for the Philadelphia 76ers who are sitting pretty at third. 

A resurgent Cleveland Cavaliers team is hot on their heels, led by strong NBA Coach of the Year candidate J. B. Bickerstaff. The Milwaukee Bucks and New York Nets remain in the hunt for home-court advantage, but the Nets have dropped their last four. 

With the play-in tournament introduced last season now a staple of the NBA, look for teams sitting between seventh and tenth in the conference to surge over the home stretch.

Yoav Gillath is a freshman writing about NBA and NCAA basketball. His column, “Coast to Coast,” runs every other Tuesday.