College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Iowa State/Houston, Virginia, Purdue

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

Iowa State/Houston
Sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings will be on the line tonight when the Cyclones visit the Fertitta Center. Iowa State won the first meeting between these two teams by four points on Jan. 9th at Hilton Coliseum. While the Big 12 boasts tremendous depth, it’s still unknown just how many teams from this conference are capable of going on long runs in the NCAA Tournament. One thing is for certain: Houston and Iowa State have been the two most consistent teams in the Big 12 since early January.

Virginia begins a key stretch
The most difficult four-game sequence of the Cavaliers’ ACC schedule begins tonight at Virginia Tech. Following this evening’s trip to Blacksburg, Virginia will host North Carolina, face an improved Boston College team on the road, and then visit Duke on March 2nd at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tony Bennett’s team can’t afford a major slide during this stretch. While the Cavaliers have won eight of their last nine games and are currently 20-6 overall, they still can’t take a dip over the next two weeks. This team is still only a few losses away from finding itself right in the middle of the bubble picture.

Purdue was again reminded how quickly things can go in the wrong direction
March is coming! Let me repeat that — March is coming! No one knows that better than the Boilers, who lost to Ohio State on Sunday in Columbus just four days after the school parted ways with Chris Holtmann. It makes zero sense that Purdue lost to Ohio State, who was playing its first game under interim head coach Jake Diebler, but it also made zero sense that the Boilers lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament and St. Peter’s in the Sweet 16 in 2022. Sunday was yet another reminder of how unfathomable results have a way of magically occurring this time of year. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: This season won’t truly start for Purdue until its first game in March Madness.

On The Side

  • Hassan Diarra has emerged as a critical reserve for UConn. The veteran guard is averaging 9.3 points, four assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.3 steals in his last three games. Keep a close eye on this guy over the next month.
  • Tennessee has scored 88 points or more in four of its last five games. If the Vols don’t advance deep in March Madness it won’t be due to a lack of offense.
  • A few weeks ago, Wisconsin was 16-4 and in the mix for one of the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers have since lost five of their last six games. 
  • Saint Mary’s average margin of victory in WCC play is 22.4 points. The Gaels are on a 13-game winning streak and haven’t lost since Dec. 23rd.
  • Conference tournaments in mid-major leagues will begin in about a month and the pressure on favorites to win will be more intense than ever. With regular season champions no longer guaranteed an automatic qualifier to the Postseason NIT, it’s March Madness or BUST for many!

Daily Specials

  • Virginia at Virginia Tech
  • Kansas State at Texas
  • Iowa State at Houston

Leftovers