College Basketball Grab Bag: Virginia's Offense Rocks; Rutgers Is Getting Rolled

Welcome to the VICE Sports College Basketball Grab Bag, where every week we'll round up the biggest news stories in the sport. Random stuff, too, because it's college basketball. Enjoy!

Virginia's powerful offense makes the school a national title contender

Throughout Tony Bennett's tenure at Virginia, the Cavaliers have been known as a defensive team. Opponents don't score a lot of points against Virginia because the Cavs slow down games to absurd levels—they're second to last nationally in tempo, according to KenPom.com. Moreover, Virginia's paint-protecting pack line scheme makes it very hard to score on the limited number of possessions they allow. The Cavs currently rank No. 15 in defensive efficiency after finishing No. 1 in 2014-15 and No. 5 in 2013-14.

This season, UVA's offense is also elite. The Cavs rank No. 2 nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom, and average a whopping 1.22 points per possession according to Shot Analytics. They've used their offense to beat good teams like Cal, Ohio State, West Virginia, and, most recently, Villanova.

The Villanova game was a work of art. UVA's defense wasn't at its strongest, but the Cavs' offense scored an incredible 1.43 points per possession. So far this season, Virginia is shooting almost 42 percent from the three, while also getting to the rim on 42 percent of its field goal attempts. It's hard to play much better.

Much of the credit goes to the incredible senior duo of Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill. They rank as the No. 3 and No. 5 best players in the country in the KenPom advanced metrics. Brogdon is a do-everything guard, but the 6-foot-8 Gill has been a statistical monster. He has an effective FG percentage of 57.1 and an offensive rating of 131.3. Nobody can stop him, as evidenced by teams fouling him an average of 6.3 times over 40 minutes.

If Virginia finally reaches the Final Four this season, it will be because the school's offense has caught up to—and perhaps surpassed—its defense.

Ever since beating Kansas in the 2010 NCAA Tournament on possibly the gutsiest, dumbest, craziest shot in college basketball history, Northern Iowa has acquired—and earned—a reputation as a giant killer.

Last year's UNI squad was legitimately one of the top 25 teams in the country, finishing 31-4 and as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After losing All-American forward Seth Tuttle, this year's team was expected to regress, and that has happened, as UNI has lost to Colorado State, Hawaii, and New Mexico.

However, the Panthers still have plenty of talent—particularly in guards Wes Washpun and Matt Bohannon—and that has allowed them to pull off some major (if perhaps unsurprising) upsets. So far this year, UNI has beaten No. 1 North Carolina and No. 4 Iowa State. To put that in perspective, against the top five teams in the Associated Press poll, the Panthers are 2-0 while every other unranked team has only mustered three wins combined.

Win percentage by unranked men's teams vs AP top-5 opp this season:Northern Iowa (— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo)December 20, 2015

If UNI doesn't win its conference, it might have a tough time making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. If the Panthers do get in, all of the power schools on their side of the bracket are going to be very worried.

This week, Rutgers lost at home to Monmouth, which theoretically should be a pretty big upset. Rutgers is in the Big Ten, while Monmouth is in the MAAC.

Even in that seven-point loss, however, Rutgers overachieved. The Scarlet Knights rank No. 265 nationally in KenPom, while Monmouth ranks No. 57. That's a 208-team spread!

There are eight Division I teams in New Jersey, and Rutgers is one of just two power conference teams, provided you count Seton Hall. Rutgers is the second worst of those eight schools in KenPom, ranking just ahead of Fairleigh Dickinson and behind such powerhouses as NJIT, Rider, and Saint Peter's:

50. Seton Hall
57. Monmouth
116. Princeton
140. NJIT
223. Rider
228. Saint Peter's
265. Rutgers
281. Fairleigh Dickinson

The more you parse the numbers, the worse Rutgers looks. Eddie Jordan's team has only won three games against Division I opponents, and only four games total. None of those opponents rank in the top 250 nationally, and all of Rutgers' wins—even its victory over Division III Rutgers-Newark—were in doubt in the first half.

There probably aren't any more wins coming. Rutgers could very well lose every Big Ten game this season. The Scarlet Knights' best shot at victory No. 5, per KenPom's predictions, is a 37 percent chance against either Nebraska or Minnesota at home.

If Rutgers keeps this up, it has a chance to be the worst power conference team in years: since 2011-12, no team has finished worse than No. 264. Let's make history, Rutgers. I believe in you.

UVA shouldn't have needed overtime to beat Cal at home, but the school's win over Villanova was absolutely dominating. The Cavs have proved to be one of the best teams in the country.

One week after looking not terrible and beating Syracuse, St. John's lost to both Incarnate Word and NJIT. It's pretty tough for a power conference team to manage that feat. Even Rutgers would probably steal a win from those two!

This week, we're ranking the best states for college basketball this season.

1. Indiana: Indiana's "Crossroads Classic" was this past weekend, showing off the four best teams in the state, and it didn't disappoint. Butler took down previously undefeated Purdue, and Indiana stormed back to beat Notre Dame. All of those teams should make the NCAA Tournament, and at least one could end up in the Final Four. And don't forget about Missouri Valley dark horse Evansville.

2. North Carolina: UNC and Duke will both be in the national conversation all season, and Davidson could make a run in the Atlantic 10.

3. Ohio: Shockingly, Ohio State isn't even close to being the best team in Ohio. Xavier has been one of the surprises of the season, racing out to a 12-0 record, while Cincinnati and Dayton both looks like NCAA Tournament locks. Ohio State could get to that point after beating Kentucky this week. Then there's Akron, which should win the MAC.

4. Kentucky: Kentucky fans will get angry by this ranking, but it's mainly because the state has only two good teams, in Kentucky and Louisville. However, those two teams are both very good.

5. Iowa: Iowa has only four Division I teams, but it has a pretty good hit rate. Iowa State is a top 15 team, while Iowa is a solid NCAA Tournament team. As we mentioned already, UNI is crushing top opponents. Iowa is one of only four states with two teams in the top 20 in KenPom. The other three are on this list.

As always: you're welcome, America. Happy Holidays.