It's been all about the talented point guards, the injuries to the Duke freshman trio and, of course, the Kentucky Wildcats' youngsters.
Lost in the talk of first-year players has been the stellar play of Finnish 7-footer Lauri Markkanen,who, with the absence of Allonzo Trier, has quickly and quietly become the focal point of the Arizona offense.
Markkanen checks in averaging 17.8 PPG, third in the Pac-12, and is fifth in the league in 3-point shooting (46 percent) while also averaging 7.2 rebounds. He has only seven turnovers in the first nine games.
"I think part of the reason is I'm from Europe," Markkanen said of being fairly anonymous on the national landscape thus far. "People don't actually know who I am, but I'm not worried about that. I honestly don't care."
His name gets butchered, and he rarely corrects those who say his name as "Laurie."
It's pronounced "L-Ow-Ree MARK-a-nin."
You may want to learn it now, because as one NBA executive told me, "he's going to be in the NBA for a long, long time." Another who saw him in person recently added that he isn't just going to be in the league for a while, "he may wind up being an NBA All-Star."
When Sean Miller recruited the 230-pounder, he had to beat out Roy Williams and North Carolina, which is no easy task to begin with but was more daunting because Williams coached Pekka Markkanen, Lauri's father, as a player at Kansas in 1989-90.
The younger Markkanen chose Arizona because he felt comfortable, and it didn't hurt that Arizona was losing three frontcourt guys: leading scorer Ryan Anderson, starting center Kaleb Tarczewski and reserve forward Mark Tollefsen.
Without Trier for the first nine games of the season, it hasn't taken long for Miller to alter his offense to run through his skilled import big man.
"When they recruited me, they told me I'd have a chance to play right away," said Markkanen, 19. "But honestly, I didn't expect this. Obviously, Trier not playing gives me more shots, but I've still been surprised about my role."
Miller quickly realized how talented Markkanen was after he arrived in the summer, but what has blown away the Arizona coach is his work ethic and maturity.
"He's got a terrific mental makeup and drive," Miller said. "He's a relentless worker and approaches the game as if he's a senior. He's the real thing."
Markkanen grew up three hours north of Helsinki in the town of Jyvaskyla, which has been nicknamed the Athens of Finland for its major role as an educational center. He spent the past two seasons at Helsinki Basketball Academy, where he was coached by former Utah standout and NBA forward Hanno Mottola, arguably the most notable player in the history of Finnish hoops.
That honor could easily wind up falling to Markkanen in time.
Mottola spent four seasons under Rick Majerus at Utah from 1996 to 2000 and was drafted in the second round with the 40th overall pick -- but wound up spending just two seasons in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks.
Markkanen is considered a potential lottery pick and has drawn comparisons from some to Dirk Nowitzki for his size and scoring ability.
"Most of us knew all about him from the U20 championships, but he's made a quicker adjustment than I thought to college ball," one NBA general manager said.
"What he does as a 7-footer is unique," Miller added. "He can shoot it, handle the ball, pass and can move on the defensive end."
FULTZ'S HUSKIES LOOK NIT-BOUND
Markelle Fultz decided to go across the country and play for Lorenzo Romar at Washington. The former DeMatha (D.C.) standout could have played just about anywhere. Kentucky wanted him. So did Louisville. The 6-foot-4 guard has done well individually, averaging 23 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists thus far. However, the potential No. 1 overall draft pick in the next NBA draft is heading toward becoming a bystander for the NCAA tournament after the Huskies lost their third straight, a shellacking at the hands of Gonzaga on Wednesday night.
MORE FRESHMEN ON THE MEND
Duke got Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden on the floor for the first time this past week and is hopeful that Harry Giles will make his debut in the next couple of weeks. However, two other frosh remain out with injuries: Michigan State's Miles Bridges and Florida State's Jonathan Isaac. Bridges is out with an ankle injury, and his absence has allowed fellow frosh Nick Ward to become even more important for Tom Izzo. In the past two games, the 6-foot-9 Ward has averaged 18.5 points and 8.5 boards in just 23 minutes. The long and skilled Isaac, who is a likely lottery pick, has missed Florida State's last three games with a hip flexor. He's averaging 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds and is shooting 44 percent from 3 -- which is what intrigues the NBA execs.
FROSH LEADS NATION IN TAKING CARE OF BALL
A little-known freshman leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. Louisiana Tech point guard Daquan Bracey, a Baltimore native, has 40 assists and just four turnovers this season. That's a ridiculous 10-to-1 ratio. "I didn't see him doing it at this level, for sure," Louisiana Tech coach Eric Konkol told ESPN. "It's a pretty amazing assist-to-turnover ratio. I thought he'd be good for us, but this type of ball control would be unfair to expect."