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The Breakfast Buffet: Kyshawn George, Quincy, Guerrier, Colorado/Arizona

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

Kyshawn George looks like a wildcard for Miami
How did the Hurricanes beat Clemson on Wednesday night without Wooga Poplar? George played a major role. The 6-8 freshman started in Poplar’s place and finished with 12 points and five assists all while playing a major role in the Hurricanes’ ability to accelerate the tempo. Miami finished with a whopping 60 points in the second half en route to a 95-82 victory. George could be a major factor as a sixth man off the bench when Poplar returns to the lineup.

Quincy Guerrier has emerged for Illinois
The Illini can’t be the same team that they were when they had Terrence Shannon Jr., who was recently arrested for rape, but they can be a different team that still maintains a place near the top of the Big Ten standings. A big reason for that is the emergence of Guerrier. The fifth-year senior has been elite over the last month and is averaging 18.6 points and 8.2 rebounds over his last five games. The 6-8 Guerrier is key piece to monitor for Illinois, who will take an 11-2 record into Friday night’s game against Purdue at Mackey Arena.

Colorado visits Arizona
Arguably the two best teams in the Pac-12 do battle in what could be the first of three meetings between these two squads this season. The Wildcats have lost three of their last five games after an 8-0 start while the Buffaloes look like the best team that Tad Boyle has had in years. All-American guard KJ Simpson (21.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.1 steals) leads Colorado, who’s 11-2 and won games its first two Pac-12 games last weekend without both Tristan da Silva (ankle) and Cody Williams (wrist). Arizona’s defense has been a major concern over the past few weeks as the Wildcats are allowing an average of 88.6 points over their last five games.

On The Side

  • Seth Trimble is becoming a major factor in reserve for North Carolina. The 6-3 sophomore is averaging 11 points and six rebounds in his last two games and has the requisites to be a tremendous defender. Remember the name.
  • St. John’s average margin of victory this season at Carnesecca Arena is 25.6 points. Its average margin of victory this season at Carnesecca Arena against Big East teams is 15.5 points. I’ll say it again: Every home game that the Red Storm plays that’s not at MSG should be on campus in Queens.
  • Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler (foot) is slated to practice “3/4 to full speed on Friday” and hopes make his season debut next week, Tom Izzo told College Hoops Today on Wednesday. The 6-9 big man averaged 3.3 points a year ago as a freshman. The Spartans have won four straight games and will host Penn State tonight in East Lansing.
  • San Francisco currently has more wins — 11 — than any other team team in the WCC.
  • 12 of the Atlantic 10’s 15 teams played on Wednesday night between 6:30 PM ET and 9 PM ET. That means that 80 percent of the conference was playing at the same time. Inconceivable!

Daily Specials

  • Penn State at Michigan State
  • Memphis at Tulsa
  • Colorado at Arizona
  • Oregon at Washington
  • Utah at Arizona State

Leftovers