College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Cincinnati steps into the spotlight, Kevin McCullar, Ohio State’s backcourt

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

Cincinnati steps into the spotlight
How good are the Bearcats? No one really knows. Cincinnati deserves credit for winning the first seven games on its schedule — six were by double figures — but it still hasn’t played quality competition with consistency. That will change over the next eight days. The Bearcats will face a desperate Xavier team on Saturday at the Cintas Center in the Crosstown Shootout and then play Dayton a week from Saturday in a neutral site game at Heritage Bank Center in Downtown Cincinnati. Sandwiched in between those games is a buy game on Dec. 12th against Bryant, who recently upset Florida Atlantic. So far, Cincinnati’s best wins are at home against Georgia Tech — who recently beat Duke — and on the road at Howard. The Bearcats have scored 85 points or more in six straight games. There’s no guarantee that any of Cincinnati’s next three opponents are going to play in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, but they should give us a much better feel for Wes Miller’s team moving forward.

Kevin McCullar is playing like an All-American
The Jayhawks may not have great depth, but they do have a second All-American to go alongside Hunter Dickinson (20.1 points, 12.2 rebounds). That would be McCullar. “I’m not saying that he’s going to be an All-American, but I will say that he’s definitely playing like an All-American,” Kansas head coach Bill Self told College Hoops Today this week regarding the 6-7 McCullar. The fifth-year wing is averaging 19.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.2 steals while shooting an astronomical 54.4 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three-point range. A year ago, McCullar averaged 10.7 points, seven rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting just 44.4 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from three-point range. This guy has made a massive leap for the Jayhawks.

Ohio State may have the best backcourt in the Big Ten
Al McGuire once said that “the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores”. Chris Holtmann can probably relate. One of the main reasons why the Buckeyes finished 16-19 last season was because of their inexperience — especially on the perimeter. That inexperience has now evolved into comfort for both Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle in their second season of college basketball. Both have made massive jumps for Ohio State and through nine games are averaging a combined 33.4 points, eight assists, and 7.5 rebounds. Thornton and Gayle are also each shooting 48 percent or better from the field and 40 percent or better from three-point range. There’s not a guard tandem that’s currently playing better in the Big Ten.

On The Side

  • Clemson is 3-0 this season in games decided by five points or fewer. One thing that’s always been a common theme when “off the radar” programs have breakthrough seasons? Winning close games.
  • Andy Enfield told reporters on Thursday that USC’s Bronny James is expected to make his season debut on Sunday against Long Beach State while coming off the bench on a minutes restriction.
  • Tennessee’s Josiah-Jordan James is averaging career-highs in points (11.4), rebounds (6.6), steals (1.9), field-goal percentage (49.2), and three-point field-goal percentage (42.9).
  • Marquette is 8-0 over the past two seasons in games where Chase Ross scores in double figures.
  • Duke’s Mark Mitchell is just 1-13 from three-point range. He shot 35.2 percent from long distance last season.

Daily Specials

  • Saint Peter’s at Duquesne
  • Holy Cross at Boston College
  • FDU at Manhattan
  • Army at Harvard
  • Navy at Quinnipiac

Leftovers