The 2020-21 college basketball season is approaching the midway point. Selection Sunday is two months away, as the sport inches closer to an NCAA tournament that will be unlike any other.
Now it's time to look at five scoring duos that are making an impact this year. To qualify, each one must've appeared in at least 10 games.
Statistics are complete through Jan. 11, 2021.
1. Ayo Dosunmu & Kofi Cockburn — 47.6 percent of Illinois' scoring average (39.7 PPG)
Nearly half of Illinois' 83.3 points per game (PPG) are generated by two players: Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn.
Dosunmu's 22.4 PPG rank ninth in the country, and his 108 field goals are second to only Iowa's Luka Garza (133) in Division I. Cockburn is the club's second-leading scorer with 17.3 PPG. His 90 made field goals currently rank 10th in Division I.
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Nobody else on the roster averages more than 10 PPG. In fact, the Illini's other three starters (Andre Curbelo, Adam Miller and Trent Frazier) have combined for 27 PPG during the season.
This one-two combo accounts for 47.6 percent of its team's overall scoring average, the highest on this list.
2. Luka Garza & Joe Wieskamp — 45.5 percent of Iowa's scoring average (41.9 PPG)
Luka Garza leads the nation in total points with 359 and is second in scoring average at 27.6 PPG. As mentioned aabove, he's knocked down more buckets (133) than any other player in DI this year.
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Joe Wieskamp is Iowa's second-leading scorer at 14.3 PPG. Together, these two starters average a combined 41.9 PPG.
The Hawkeyes are scoring 91.9 PPG (the third-highest in DI), and 45.5 percent of that is coming from this duo. Garza is single-handedly responsible for 30 percent.
3. Marcus Carr & Liam Robbins — 43.1 percent of Minnesota's scoring average (34.1 PPG)
Marcus Carr's 292 points this year are second to only, you guessed it, the aforementioned Garza. Carr is posting a team-high 20.9 PPG for Minnesota. Behind him is fellow junior Liam Robbins with an average of 13.2.
The Gophers score just 79.1 PPG, which ranks 65th among DI teams. They lean heavily on this pick-and-roll tandem that's currently averaging 34.1 PPG.
4. Corey Kispert & Drew Timme — 41.2 percent of Gonzaga's scoring average (39.6 PPG)
Gonzaga forwards Corey Kispert (21.1 PPG) and Drew Timme (18.5 PPG) would've been higher on this list — if the Bulldogs didn't already have all five starters scoring in double figures.
Still, the pair account for 41.3 percent of the team's 96.1 PPG. No school averages more points per game in the country than Gonzaga. The Bulldogs also boast the best offensive rating, scoring 125.7 points per 100 possessions.
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Additionally, Kispert leads the nation in player offensive rating at 152 points produced per 100 possessions.
5. Zach Nutall & Demarkus Lampley — 40.6 percent of Sam Houston State's scoring average (33.1 PPG)
Checking in from the Southland Conference are Zach Nutall and Demarkus Lampley of Sam Houston State.
Nutall, who ranks seventh in DI with 265 points, is averaging 18.9 PPG to lead the Bearkats. Lampley is second at 14.2 PPG, making these two the only players on the roster to average more than 10 PPG.
Sam Houston State's 81.5 PPG ranks 33rd in the country. Nutall and Lampley are responsible for 40.6 percent of that scoring average (or 33.1 PPG).
That was enough to put them among the best of college basketball's scoring duos.
