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Are you overstimulated by all the hoops yet? The basketball is overwhelming, first impressions are rolling and the ebbs and flows of the season are here.

Let's dive into some of the latest trends, observations and stat nuggets from around the college basketball ecosystem.

Numbers behind Jaden Bradley's late-game heroics

Watching Jaden Bradley click his heels and saunter onto the floor in late-game scenarios should send a shiver down your spine if you're on that opposing sideline. The Arizona senior guard pitched nearly a perfect game down the stretch to help the Wildcats rally to knock off No. 15 UCLA 69-65 on Friday. Bradley scored nine points in the final 4:32 and has cemented himself as one of the premier clutch-time scorers, so far. 

Clutch-time comes in the final five minutes when the score is within five points. 

That's where Bradley has transformed into a stone-cold killer. He's scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting with zero turnovers per CBB Analytics in nine clutch minutes to steer Arizona to two enormous victories over UCLA and Florida that will age like fine wine ahead of Selection Sunday. 

Bradley has already scored more clutch buckets (seven) in two games than all of last year (six). 

Alex Karaban's silent masterpiece

Silas Demary Jr.'s excellent showing and AJ Dybantsa's enormous second half in his Boston homecoming were the two main storylines after No. 3 UConn outlasted No. 7 BYU 86-84.

In typical Alex Karaban fashion, it overshadowed maybe the best game of Karaban's career. The UConn senior delivered 21 points on just 11 shots. He drained all four of his 3-pointers and didn't turn it over once in 39 minutes. He finished with a sparkling 181 offensive rating, the fourth-highest single-game performance of his 115-game career in Storrs. Oh, and he was excellent defensively. Covering up gaps. Getting his hands in the passing lines. Contesting everything. UConn asked Karaban to switch onto both Dybantsa and jitterbug point guard Rob Wright, and he was up to the challenge almost every time. BYU shot just 3-for-12 from the field when Karaban was the closest defender.

Karaban's decision to return to this roster has helped him return to a role that suits him almost flawlessly. Karaban isn't ever going to be the fulcrum of an offense, and that's OK. But a point guard like Demary, shooters like Solo Ball (and eventually Braylon Mullins) and a big man like Tarris Reed help Karaban drift into the shadows. That's where he's just utterly lethal.

It's a big reason why these Huskies look every bit the part of a national championship frontrunner. 

Armed with new recipe, Saint Louis looks like A-10's best

Saint Louis is off to one heck of a start in Year 2 under Josh Schertz. The undefeated Billikens led Grand Canyon by as much as 27 points in the second half of Saturday's 78-64 romp. Grand Canyon used an 11-0 run in the final three minutes to put some lipstick on the pig, but the damage was already done. 

Schertz is known for his offense, but SLU's defense held Grand Canyon to just 12 2-point field goals. It was the best mark of Schertz's 38-game stretch in The Lou. Saturday felt like a proof-of-concept moment for a roster that was almost totally renovated around goggled star big man Robbie Avila.

The Billikens are legit nine-deep. Seven of the nine rotation players are 6-foot-5 or taller, and that doesn't include Dion Brown, a 6-3 Boston College transfer who plays like he's all of 6-8. Brown ripped down 15 rebounds, including five offensive boards, in the Grand Canyon domination.

The buffed-up positional size is one reason why this interior defense could be much better. Quinnipiac transfer Paul Otieno had three blocks, but SLU's wing defenders like Brown, Amari McCottry, Quentin Jones, Ishan Sharma and Kellen Thames were physical, pesky and highly disruptive. 

Avila makes Saint Louis go, but McCottry's development is so noticeable. He hasn't proven to knock down 3s, so Grand Canyon tried to cross-match its big men onto McCottry.

They paid for that move.

McCottry's slippery, sudden drives gave Grand Canyon fits. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists, flashing better decision-making across the board. He could've easily finished with six dimes, and McCottry is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the most-improved players in the A-10.

McCottry's emergence, lots of real depth and a stiffer interior defense has the arrow for Saint Louis pointing up. You will hear from them in the A-10 race.

Oh, and it's obvious why no high-majors chose to schedule the Billikens this year.

Stars adding layers to their games

  • JT Toppin only had nine games with multiple assists last year. That's flipped a bit this year. The Texas Tech All-American has racked up multiple dimes in all three games. His assist rate has spiked from 10.1 to 18.9. Toppin is already an absolute handful, but the extra splash of playmaking is unlocking new levers for a Texas Tech offense that is awesome. Texas Tech heads to the Bahamas for Thursday's tilt against Wake Forest at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network (Channel finder or via CBS Sports App).

  • Purdue star point guard Braden Smith has clearly made a concerted effort to put extra pressure on opposing defenses as a driver. Smith averaged 2.2 drives per game last year, per Synergy. This year, Smith is up to 3.8 drives per game. I think that's going to stick this year, especially as freshman point guard Omer Mayer earns more trust to run things and let Smith operate off the ball a little more. Smith is already a maestro, but the extra drives are for real. Purdue takes on Memphis on Thursday in the Bahamas at 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network (Channel finder or via CBS Sports App).

  • Florida's Thomas Haugh is balling these days and looks like the best player on the team. The junior forward is averaging 19.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 dimes through four games. He's taking more 3-pointers, and Florida is trusting him to initiate more pick-and-rolls. Haugh has notched five possessions as the handler in ball screens this year. That's equal to the number of pick-and-roll possessions Haugh had all of last year. He's a pro.

  • Darrion Williams mostly operated off the ball in transition last year for Texas Tech, filling the wings and finding creases to attack. This year, the new NC State star is looking for his own in transition way more. Williams has worked hard to improve his footwork and pace in the open floor. Williams looks even more comfortable walking into transition 3s, giving NC State an extra avenue for easy buckets against unset defenses. He killed VCU for 12 transition points in NC State's 85-79 win over Monday. He never scored more than six transition points in a single game for Texas Tech a season ago.

Stats to monitor

  • Baylor is still unblemished, but it got out-rebounded by both Washington (42-33) and Tarleton State (34-21). That is … concerning. Next week's Players Era date with St. John's c could be a bloodbath on the glass if the Bears aren't careful.
  • Michigan State is generating just 6.7 open 3s per game. That ranks 17th in the Big Ten, and the Spartans are only shooting 20% on those unguarded looks.
  • Conversely, Florida is generating 11.0 open 3s per game, but the Gators are shooting just 23% on 'em. That screams positive regression for an offense that is putting up serious numbers without any jumpers going in yet.
  • There's plenty of trepidation to play good mid-majors. That isn't the case for Randy Bennett. The Gaels have obliterated St. Thomas, Chattanooga, Ohio and North Texas. Saint Mary's h has jumped from No. 55 to No. 24 on KenPom, showing that there's more than one way to skin a cat from a scheduling perspective. On the floor, sophomore Mikey Lewis is absolutely balling. Lewis and Paulius Murauskas have quickly become one of the top duos in the sport.
  • The West Coast Conference is 11-7 against top-150 teams so far this season. The Big East is just 4-11. Santa Clara embarrassed Xavier, 87-68, in a head-to-head showing.