Five X-Factors for Men’s College Basketball Title-Contending Teams

The makings of a national title-winning team often involve a player or two surging onto the scene late in the season. Last year, it was much-maligned UConn Huskies point guard Tristen Newton who turned the corner down the stretch to help push the Huskies over the edge, and the year before, senior big man David McCormack surged in March to help the Kansas Jayhawks win the national championship. Who could emerge as this season’s biggest x-factor? Here are some emerging faces to know on title-contending teams who could be the difference in who cuts down the nets this April. 

Zvonimir Ivišić, Kentucky

There is perhaps no greater x-factor than Ivisic, the 7’ 2” Croatian big man whose debut Saturday against Georgia was the stuff of legend. Ivišić spent the season’s first 16 games sidelined while awaiting NCAA clearance, but entered college basketball with a bang, with 13 points, three made threes, three blocked shots and some dazzling passes. He’s a unicorn at this level, with a skill set at his size matched by few NBA players, let alone college ones. There will surely be growing pains, and there’s a reason NBA teams have been cool on him in the last two drafts. But adding him to what is already one of the most talented rosters in the nation makes this Kentucky team even more dangerous. Between Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard and Ivišić, Kentucky may well have three first-round NBA picks coming off its bench, a luxury no other team can come close to matching.

Johnny Furphy, Kansas

A late addition to the Kansas roster this summer after the Jayhawks dealt with immense roster turnover, the Australian wing has rapidly emerged as a major piece of the puzzle for Bill Self. Furphy may have finally given the Jayhawks an answer for the team’s fifth starter, averaging 17 points and eight rebounds in his last three games after a career performance Monday night against Cincinnati. Furphy’s meteoric rise from a low- to mid-major recruit this time last year who was planning a prep year in 2023–24 to a blue-blood starter and potential NBA draft pick has been remarkable. He has grown up rapidly after looking tentative early in the season, playing with a new level of confidence since being inserted into the starting lineup.

Furphy’s size and athleticism on the wing helps maintain Kansas’s switchability defensively, but his biggest asset to the Jayhawks is his ability to space the floor from beyond the arc. He has made at least one three in his last seven games and three each in his last three games, a boon for a KU team that has struggled mightily from beyond the arc. His rapid emergence could be the difference-maker Kansas needs to push it over the top in the Big 12 race.

Lance Jones, Purdue

Jones wasn’t even considered a top-100 transfer in the portal this offseason in ESPN’s rankings. A re-rank would likely have Jones among the 25 or so best in the cycle. He has emerged into an essential piece as the Purdue Boilermakers’ fifth starter, scoring in double figures in six consecutive games and providing high-level on-ball defense to serve as the perfect complementary piece to this Purdue core. And beyond spacing and defense, Jones has brought a competitive fire that has helped the Boilermakers in big games. Purdue’s March bugaboos have been outside shooting and perimeter defense, with Matt Painter often bemoaning his team’s struggles with smaller guards in the Big Dance. Jones can solve those problems if he keeps playing how he has of late.

Related: How Purdue Men’s Basketball Coach Matt Painter Pioneered Offensive Coordinator Role

Jonas Aidoo, Tennessee

Much of the credit for the Tennessee Volunteers’ improved offense has been issued to star transfer wing Dalton Knecht. And while Knecht deserves all the accolades he has received, Aidoo’s emergence offensively has also been essential. He’s a skilled big, looking increasingly comfortable from the midrange in recent games, and has been a two-way difference-maker at the rim thanks to his length and shot-blocking ability. Plus, Aidoo has held his own on the boards, helping Tennessee still control the rebounding battle despite going smaller this season with just one traditional frontcourt player.

Marcus Domask, Illinois

Domask has been one of the best guards in the Big Ten during conference play, emerging as the Illinois Fighting Illini’s top scoring threat while star wing Terrence Shannon Jr. was suspended. But with Shannon back in the fold now, can Illinois keep Domask’s consistent contributions coming? He scored in double figures just three times in his first nine games with the Illini, but has had 10 or more in every game since and is averaging 21 points per game since the calendar flipped to January. If he continues to play at an all-conference level alongside Shannon, this group has national title upside.