Who’s hungry for college basketball?
Here’s today’s installment of “The Breakfast Buffet”, a daily column that can be found here every single morning getting you caught up to date on everything that’s happened from the day/night before and everything that’s going to happen in the next 24 hours.
Mangia!
Things To Sample
Billy Lange and St. Joe’s have a signature moment
Nine days after the Hawks took Kentucky to the wire at Rupp Arena, they beat Villanova at The Pavilion for the first time since 2004. St. Joe’s 78-65 win on Wednesday night was never in doubt and showcased the young talent that Lange has assembled in this program. Atlantic 10 Player of the Year candidate Erik Brown led St. Joe’s with 24 points while freshman Xzayvier Brown added 16 off the bench. 6-9 sophomore Rasheer Fleming added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Lange — who was hired in 2019 to replace Phil Martelli — has made the Hawks nationally relevant for the first time in his tenure as head coach. St. Joe’s is 5-2 and will have another opportunity to make a major statement on Dec. 10th when it hosts Princeton, who is currently undefeated.
Butler/Texas Tech
This is a swing game for the Bulldogs, who will play their next five tilts at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Thad Matta’s team isn’t a surprise because it’s 5-2 after seven games — it’s a surprise because of the way that it’s played in both its wins and losses. Butler earned two double-digit wins last week in Orlando over both Penn State and Boise State while taking Florida Atlantic down to the wire before falling by five. The Bulldogs’ other loss was against Michigan State in East Lansing. Tonight’s game against Texas Tech in the Big East-Big 12 Battle should be highly competitive. The Red Raiders boast four starters — Joe Toussaint (West Virginia), Darrion Williams (Nevada), Devan Cambridge (Arizona State), and Warren Washington (Arizona State) — who played in the NCAA Tournament last season at other programs before transferring to Lubbock. Texas Tech also possesses an all-conference caliber guard in Pop Isaacs (13.7 points, four rebounds, 2.7 assists). A win tonight could give Butler something that it hasn’t had since Matta returned to this program in 2022 — national relevance.
Creighton hits the road
If this team is going to get itself right then it’s going to happen away from Omaha. The Bluejays’ last game was a 21-point defeat to Colorado State in Kansas City on Thanksgiving Day in the finals of the Hall-of-Fame Classic. Creighton only scored 48 points in the loss after averaging 91.2 points in the five games prior, which were all wins. Greg McDermott’s squad will visit Oklahoma State tonight as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle and then travel to in-state rival Nebraska on Sunday. The Huskers are 7-0 and off to their best start ever under Fred Hoiberg. This is quietly a big week for Creighton.
On The Side
- Kentucky freshman Rob Dillingham has 30 assists to just six turnovers in his last four games.
- Six of Providence’s next seven games are at home. The Friars are 6-1 in their first season under Kim English.
- Did Alabama put together too hard of a non-conference schedule? The Crimson Tide are 5-2 after Tuesday’s loss at home to Clemson and still have to go to Creighton and play both Purdue (Toronto) and Arizona (Phoenix) in neutral site games prior to the start of SEC play.
- Under Jerome Tang, Kansas State is 7-0 in games that have been decided in overtime.
- Looking for an under-the-radar transfer? Try Utah State’s Great Osobor. The 6-8 forward is averaging 21 points and 10.4 rebounds after only averaging 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds last season at Montana State, where he played for current Aggies head coach Danny Sprinkle. Utah State is 6-1 in its first seven games.
Daily Specials
- Liberty at Florida Atlantic
- Texas Tech at Butler
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Oklahoma
- Creighton at Oklahoma State
- UC Riverside at UCLA
