Hanna Luburgh, Akron: If you aren't watching Akron, and it's admittedly not the easiest thing to do, you're missing some of the more entertaining basketball being played in Division I. Few deserve a curtain call more than Luburgh, a senior guard for a team that is almost Oregon-like in its love of pushing tempo and piling up points. In three games this past week, the senior guard averaged 28.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists and shot 50 percent from the field. That run included 37 points against Dayton and 33 points against Tennessee Tech.
Luburgh actually scored more points a season ago than any Akron player had in any season up to that point. Unfortunately for her place in the record book (not to mention teams tasked with slowing down the Zips), she happened to score her 549 points during the same season that teammate Rachel Tecca scored 609 points.
While it was a tough week overall for Akron, which couldn't bounce back from a loss at Dayton well enough to avoid a defeat Sunday against Wright State, Luburgh more than held her own.
The MAC might be the most competitive mid-major conference in the country this season, and Akron gets the nod as its first representative on this list. The team suffered an unfortunate loss when Sina King, who averaged 15 points and 8.7 rebounds, was ruled out for the season because of blood clots. But the Zips still return their top two scorers in Rachel Tecca and Hanna Luburgh (one of the best 3-point shooters in the country last season), as well as point guard Kacie Cassell, who led the nation at 7.8 assists per game. The catch is that outside of a game at Dayton early in the season, there is little on the schedule to help the at-large NCAA profile. It's going to be automatic bid or bust.