Starting Five: Five-star Bowen takes surprise visit

There were some important visitors at the Arizona/UCLA game and five-star Brian Bowen's trip was a bit of a surprise. An Australian big man looks to be honing in on a decision and Tulsa's future backcourt is looking pretty good.

In January, unsigned five-star small forward Brian Bowen said that he hoped to decide after a planned trip to Michigan State at the end of the month. After watching the Spartans beat rival Michigan in late January, he's yet to make a decision and it doesn't look like he'll be deciding in the immediate future after taking a surprise -- well at least not one that was publicized ahead of time -- visit to Arizona over the weekend.

Ranked No. 19 overall in the class of 2017, the 6-foot-7 small forward from La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere was actually watched by MSU's Tom Izzo on Friday before heading out to Tucson to check in on Sean Miller an the Wildcats.

Sunday night, sources close to the recruitment indicated there is still no timetable for a decision and that there have been no changes to Bowen's final list of Arizona, Michigan State, Creighton, N.C. State and Texas.

While there have been no cuts to Bowen's list, Arizona, Creighton and Michigan State continue to get the most talk. As it stands, a decision doesn't appear to be coming soon and the general consensus behind the scenes is that Bowen is keeping close tabs on what each program's roster will look like before making a decision.

Also on hand -- although for an official visit -- for the Arizona/UCLA game was five-star point guard Trevon Duval.

Arizona is in Duval's final five along with Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Seton Hall and his trip to Tucson was his third official visit of February after taking trips to Kansas and Duke earlier in the month.

Currently, Duval is in Waco checking in with Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears as they prepare to host West Virginia.

No date has been released for a visit to Seton Hall, but it would be a surprise if Duval made a commitment before checking out the Pirates.

Duke is still generating the most behind the scenes buzz but it will be interesting to see if any of his visits have turned the tide.

Another big time visitor for Arizona and UCLA was 2018's No. 29 ranked player Emmanuel Akot.

The 6-foot-7 wing from Wasatch (Utah) Academy was making his first official visit and has the Wildcats among his finalists with Louisville, Oregon and Utah.

Up next, Akot will visit Utah later on this week and we wouldn't be surprised to see a decision coming sooner or later.

Akot's final two appear to be Arizona or Utah, making these visits of the utmost importance.

Currently an unranked three-star, Australian import Jacob Epperson has made a strong case for a spot in the final Rivals150 for the class of 2017.

He's a bit on the thin side but has touch, skill and athleticism. He's also close to making his college choice.

Having already visited Toledo -- where his father played -- Epperson will visit Creighton this week and he'll follow up with a trip to Utah.

There's a chance Epperson could take another official visit to Texas, but as his recruitment is winding down, word behind the scenes is that Creighton has positioned themselves very well.

In the fall, Tulsa scored a nice recruiting win when they pulled high scoring three-star combo guard Elijah Joiner out of Chicago. Late last week they scored another nice backcourt piece when three-star Darien Jackson of Overland Park (Kans.) Blue Valley Northwest committed while on his official visit.

A former member of the Rivals150, Jackson is an explosive athlete who is at his best slashing to the rim. He's a high-level defender and has the tools to be a multi-year starter at Tulsa.

While Jackson is more of a driver, Joiner is a dangerous sniper from outside who can also set things up off the dribble. A tough competitor, Joiner is in serious competition for a spot in the final Rivals150 for the class of 2017 when it gets released in April.

Also headed to Tulsa is three-star junior college wing DaQuan Jeffries who will give them an athletic piece who has some experience. The trio should be capable of making an impact in the AAC.