Sterling Gibbs is averaging 17.2 points while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor. (Getty)

1. Sterling Gibbs has been Kevin Willard's most important recruit at Seton Hall

The Pirates' rebuild under Willard was highlighted by the signing of freshman Isaiah Whitehead last fall, but landing Gibbs as a transfer from Texas is truly the turning point in Seton Hall's resurgence. One year after being a solid piece to the Pirates' puzzle (13.2 points), the 6-2 guard has made himself into one of the best players in the Big East. Gibbs is up in all offensive categories from last season and has already made 45 3-point shots in 17 games this season after drilling 31 shots from long distance during all of last year. The former Seton Hall prep star is tallying 17.2 points a game while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and 49.5 percent from 3-point range. A year ago, Gibbs shot 41 percent from the field and 34 percent from long distance. The Pirates are currently 13-4 and 3-2 in Big East play.

2. I'm tired of writing about how underappreciated Chasson Randle is

With all due respect to Stanford's program, if Randle didn't play for the Cardinal and instead were at Duke or North Carolina, he would regularly be talked about as a potential first-team All-American. I've written for three years about how Randle's play has been underappreciated nationally and now it's officially time this kid gets mentioned among the best players in America. After leading Stanford to a Sweet 16 last year as a junior, Randle proved he's capable of being an impact player on a team that advances deep in the NCAA Tournament. Now this season as a senior, the Illinois native is a legitimate contender for Pac-12 Player of the Year and is averaging 19.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists while shooting 38.5 percent from long distance. If Randle played for North Carolina and Marcus Paige played for the Cardinal, the national perception of the two would be reversed -- trust me. Stanford is 12-4 and will play host to UConn on Saturday in Palo Alto.

3. We'll know a lot more about Florida during the next five games

After going 7-6 during the nonconference portion of their schedule, the Gators have gotten out to a 3-0 start in SEC play. With that said, the bar will be significantly raised for this team in the next couple of weeks. Florida travels to Georgia on Saturday then returns home to play LSU, followed by back-to-back road games vs. Ole Miss and Alabama. The Gators will then play host to Arkansas on Jan. 31 in Gainesville. Billy Donovan is one of the elite coaches in the sport, and while many people (including myself) expected him to right Florida's ship after a disappointing start to this season, the next five games will give us more of an indication of what this team is truly capable of for the long term. The Gators' best conference victory has been at South Carolina, and while the Gamecocks are improving as a program, Frank Martin's squad is probably a year away from competing for an NCAA bid. Florida is 10-6 overall.

4. The top of the American Conference is wide open

The way things look right now, you can take the top six or seven teams in this league and put them in a hat. SMU and UConn came into the season as the conference favorites with Cincinnati, Memphis and Temple all labeled as viable challengers, but other programs have also emerged. Tulsa has gotten off to a 4-0 start in league play under Frank Haith, and Tulane (3-2 in league play) has proven that it's well-coached and disciplined under Ed Conroy. SMU looks pound for pound to be the best all-around team in the American. While UConn, Cincinnati, Temple and Memphis have all shown consistency issues early, all four of those teams are more than capable of beating one another on a given night. It's going to be real interesting to see how this league plays out.

5. Syracuse deserves credit for winning close games early in ACC play

The Orange have never truly resembled a sure-fire NCAA team this season, but Jim Boeheim's squad deserves some credit for playing well out of the gate thus far in conference play. While they haven't been dominant (three victories by a combined six points) the Orange are off to a 4-0 start in league play heading into Saturday's game at Clemson. Keep an eye on forward Tyler Roberson, who will have to play a much bigger role at power forward following Chris McCullough's season-ending knee injury. The 6-8 sophomore has grabbed a combined 40 rebounds in Syracuse's first four conference games.

This and That:

Villanova's overtime loss to Seton Hall might wind up being the best thing that ever happened to the Wildcats. Since falling to the Pirates, Jay Wright's squad has beaten its past three opponents by an average of 16.0 points. Villanova had 24 assists on 28 field goals in its victory Wednesday against Xavier and is currently 16-1 overall.

Arkansas is getting mileage out of freshman point guard Anton Beard. The 6-foot floor general has played 18 or more minutes in two of the Razorbacks' first three SEC games and has been on the floor in critical moments. It will be interesting to see whose hands Mike Anderson puts the ball in during crunch time as the season progresses -- Beard, Ky Madden or JUCO transfer Jabril Durham.

Memphis' Kedren Johnson, a transfer from Vanderbilt, is starting to hit his stride for the Tigers. The 6-4 point guard has scored 23 points, handed out nine assists, and committed only four turnovers in the Tigers' past two games, which were both victories. If Johnson can be consistent and continue to work on his conditioning, Memphis could put together a midseason push in the American. The Tigers are currently 10-6 overall and 3-2 in league play.

You can tell Larry Brown is developing a real soft spot for Ryan Manuel and Sterling Brown. Neither of these two players do a great deal that show up in the box score for SMU, but they do defend, rebound and, as Brown says, "play the right way." Manuel and Brown were on the floor together Wednesday in the closing minutes of the Ponies' victory at Temple, and their collective intangibles will definitely make them big pieces in SMU's puzzle.

It's looking more and more like this is a "bridge" year for Greg McDermott and Creighton. The Bluejays are now 0-5 in Big East play and 9-9 overall after a one-point loss Wednesday night at Marquette. Everyone knew life after Doug McDermott wasn't going to be easy, but the Bluejays have two transfers sitting out this year -- Cole Huff (Nevada) and Maurice Watson (Boston University) -- who should make them even more formidable next season. The Bluejays will play host to Providence on Saturday.

Miami's Tonye Jekiri has turned himself into one of the best defensive centers in the ACC. The junior is averaging 7.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 30.2 minutes. A year ago as a sophomore, Jekiri tallied 4.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 21.4 minutes. The 7-footer has really stabilized the middle for the Hurricanes.

Rhode Island missed a chance to get a marquee victory when it lost to VCU at home on Tuesday night but the Rams showed they're capable of being one of the better teams in the Atlantic 10. The big key for Dan Hurley's team for the rest of the season? Getting more out of fifth-year senior Gilvydas Biruta. The 6-8 big man hasn't grabbed more than three rebounds in a game since Dec. 13 against Delaware State and needs to get things going if Rhode Island is going to turn the corner in February and March.

Baylor forward Rico Gathers is currently fifth in the nation in rebounding (11.6) and is averaging 14.8 rebounds through four Big 12 games. He is a real space eater (6-8, 280) and is similar in mold to Chevon Troutman, who played power forward for Pitt about a decade ago. Gathers is currently averaging a double-double with 10.3 points and 11.6 rebounds.

Eddie Jordan deserves credit for the job he has done thus far with Rutgers in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights are currently 2-3 in conference play and already have a signature victory after upsetting Wisconsin last Sunday at the RAC. It was also impressive how competitive Rutgers was Wednesday night in an eight-point loss at Maryland mere days after beating the Badgers. The Scarlet Knights' program hasn't experienced a tremendous amount of success, and the fact that this team didn't have a letdown against the Terps is a credit to Jordan. Rutgers next travels to Minnesota on Saturday.

It's hard to believe it was only three years ago when the CAA had VCU, George Mason and Old Dominion. This league got three teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and was once one of the better mid-major conferences in all of college basketball. Now? It's nothing more than a hodgepodge.

Five games I'll be watching this weekend:

Duke at Louisville (Saturday, noon ET): The Blue Devils are reeling a bit after back-to-back losses to NC State and Miami, with each coming in convincing fashion. Duke was beaten by 12 last Sunday in Raleigh while it fell by 16 at home on Tuesday. If we've learned anything about Mike Krzyzewski's team out of the gate in the ACC, it's that this squad is incredibly talented and incredibly young. The Blue Devils don't have overwhelming experience, and that could be a factor on the road against a Louisville team that features a terrific veteran trio of Chris Jones, Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell. Keep an eye on the matchup between Jones and Duke freshman point guard Tyus Jones, who is only 3 for 15 from the field in his past two games.

Miami at Notre Dame (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET): The Hurricanes officially joined the ACC party Tuesday night with a convincing victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium and now they'll have another major opportunity against the Irish in South Bend. Notre Dame got a quality victory earlier this week at Georgia Tech in its first game without big man Zach Auguste (suspended), but Jim Larranaga's team will present a much tougher test. Another major road victory would be huge for the Hurricanes as they attempt to build an NCAA-caliber résumé for March.

Michigan State at Maryland (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET): These two teams played a classic conference opener on Dec. 30, which was won by the Terps in East Lansing, and you can bet Sparty has payback in mind. This isn't a vintage Michigan State team in terms of overall size, but Tom Izzo's bunch is beyond efficient at making shots. The Spartans are shooting 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range, and those types of percentages will be awfully critical when attempting to win a conference game on the road.

Utah at Arizona (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET): The Pac-12's two best teams will do battle in what should a fascinating showdown between two squads who have all the requisites to play meaningful games in March. The Utes look like they have better chemistry right now than the Wildcats, but Arizona's core players have played in a lot of big conference games during the past few years while Utah's has not. Larry Krystkowiak has done yeoman's work rebuilding the Utes' program, but picking up a road victory in Tucson would truly send a message that the Wildcats have legitimate competition atop the Pac-12.

Kansas at Iowa State (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET): This is arguably the best current rivalry in the Big 12, and this year might be the best chance the Cyclones will have at ending the Jayhawks' streak of 10 consecutive regular-season conference titles. Iowa State is on the heels of a narrow one-point loss at Baylor and will come into Saturday night's game at Hilton Coliseum looking to send a message. The X-Factor in this game? Jameel McKay. The bouncy big man has given the Cyclones a legitimate rim protector and his presence might make it difficult for Kansas' undersized front line of Perry Ellis and Cliff Alexander to finish around the rim.