College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Kansas State hosts Kansas, Virginia, Braden Smith

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

Kansas State hosts Kansas
It would be a massive understatement to say that the Wildcats have their backs against the wall. Kansas State — who is now 14-8 — will take a four-game losing streak into tonight’s game against its in-state rival and three of those losses have come by 11 points or more. The Wildcats need a signature victory to turn their season around. Kansas meanwhile, should enter tonight’s game brimming with confidence after Saturday’s blowout win over Houston. Keep an eye on Jayhawks big man Hunter Dickinson, who could have a field day inside against Kansas State’s interior combo of Will McNair Jr. and Jerrell Colbert.

Virginia continues its quest for an at-large berth
Tony Bennett’s squad picked up its second Quad 1 win of the season on Saturday at Clemson and will look to continue its momentum tonight against Miami in Charlottesville. The hard thing about being a bubble team this season in the ACC? There’s not a lot of opportunities for big wins and there’s plenty of opportunities for costly losses. That’s what Virginia is going to deal with from now until Selection Sunday. The Cavaliers are currently ranked 42nd in the NET, but may only have three more Quad 1 games prior to the ACC Tournament.

Braden Smith is cementing himself as Purdue’s version of Payton Pritchard
That doesn’t mean that Smith is eventually going to play in the NBA like Pritchard currently is, but it does mean that like Pritchard, Smith has the requisites to have an outstanding career as a four-year starter at point guard. Pritchard was Oregon’s starting floor general from 2016-20 and was part of the Ducks’ run to the 2017 Final Four. The 6-foot Smith has made massive strides as a sophomore and had 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the Boilers’ win over Wisconsin on Sunday at the Kohl Center. He’s already tallied 167 total assists this season — he had 153 last year when he was a freshman. If this kid stays the course in West Lafayette, his seasoning, production, and gravitas will only continue to rise throughout the college basketball landscape. Purdue is now 21-2 and in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

On The Side

  • South Carolina has handed out 40 assists on its last 48 made field goals.  
  • Butler is averaging 87.8 points during its current four-game winning streak. The Bulldogs now own road wins at both Creighton and Marquette as well as a home victory over Texas Tech and a neutral site triumph over Boise State. Thad Matta’s team is currently 15-7 and next plays at UConn on Tuesday.
  • Nevada’s next three games — Utah State (away), San Diego State (home), and New Mexico (home) — will all be Quad 1 opportunities. This next stretch will play a major role in this team’s at-large chances on Selection Sunday. 
  • Ohio State has not won a road game since Jan. 1st, 2023. That’s 400 days ago. 
  • Cornell is 17-3 and in sole possession of first place in the Ivy League. This is the best team that the Big Red have had since current Penn head coach Steve Donahue led this program to the Sweet 16 in 2010.

Daily Specials

  • Miami at Virginia
  • Kansas at Kansas State

Leftovers