College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Wisconsin/Marquette, Louisville’s backcourt, UConn

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

Wisconsin/Marquette
The Badgers’ trip to visit their in-state rivals in Milwaukee tonight features the first true litmus test for Greg Gard’s squad this season. While Michigan State made a statement earlier this week by winning at Duke and both Illinois and Iowa have received a great deal of attention, Wisconsin (3-0) has operated in the shadows amongst teams in the Big Ten. It won’t stay that way for long. This group of Badgers doesn’t have a star like Sam Dekker or Frank Kaminsky, but the whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts. Wisconsin starts five seniors, including three fifth-year seniors in D’Mitrik Trice, Aleem Ford, and Micah Potter. 

Louisville’s backcourt is turning heads
There was a general consensus in college basketball that David Johnson had the requisites to have a terrific sophomore season, but nobody expected Carlik Jones to be this good out of the gate after arriving from Radford as a grad transfer. Well, that’s not entirely true. In the preseason, a well embedded mole in the Cardinals’ program informed me of Jones’ potential to be a game changer. I was skeptical because grad transfers from the mid-major level rarely have the same type of production once they get into a power conference. Thus far, Jones is proving to be an exception to the rule. The 6-1 guard is averaging 17.3 points, seven rebounds, and 5.3 assists this season, all while oozing confidence on each and every possession. Jones and Johnson are quickly on their way to being mentioned among the best backcourts in the ACC. Louisville is 4-0 overall and has two starters — Malik Williams and Charles Minlend — out with injuries.

UConn needs to identify a consistent second scorer
James Bouknight is going to be one of the best guards in the country this season, but he needs help. The All-American candidate led the Huskies with 18 points in Thursday night’s 61-58 win over USC and at times down the stretch looked like the only tangible option for UConn to generate offense. For the Huskies to be a force at the top of the Big East this season, they need to find somebody aside from Bouknight who can consistently put the ball in the basket. Keep an eye on Rhode Island transfer Tyrese Martin, who missed UConn’s opener due to suspension, but had 11 points and seven rebounds against USC. Dan Hurley’s squad will next face NC State on Saturday at Mohegan Sun in another quality non-conference opportunity. 

On The Side

  • There is no greater compliment to a guard than when Baylor’s Davion Mitchell is assigned to be your defender. Mitchell frustrated Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu all night long in the Bears’ 82-69 win over the Illini on Wednesday, further cementing his reputation as the nation’s top perimeter defender. If Baylor was a snake, Mitchell would be the head.
  • North Carolina’s two primary point guards — Caleb Love and R.J. Davis — have a combined 16 assists to 21 turnovers through the team’s first five games. Both Love and Davis are in their freshman seasons. It’s going to be a work in progress early for Roy Williams’ squad, who is also only shooting 27.1 percent from three-point range as a team.
  • Arkansas freshman Moses Moody is quietly averaging 17 points through the first three games of his college career. The 6-6 wing is one of the top first-year players in the sport that has yet to receive significant national attention. Don’t be shocked if Moody winds up leading the Razorbacks in scoring.
  • Both Oregon and Seton Hall enter tonight’s game in Omaha without their starting point guards.  The Ducks recently announced that Will Richardson will miss approximately six weeks following thumb surgery while Bryce Aiken remains sidelined for the Pirates due to an ankle injury. This is an early desperation game for both programs, who each enter tonight’s game under .500.
  • BYU’s top four scorers — Alex Barcello, Brandon Averette, Connor Harding, and Trevin Knell — are all shooting 37.5% or better from three-point range. The Cougars’ next four games feature road tilts at Utah State and San Diego State as well as home games against Boise State and Utah. Mark Pope’s squad is currently 4-1 overall.

Daily Specials

  • Wisconsin at Marquette
  • Detroit at Michigan State
  • Stetson at Miami
  • North Texas at Mississippi State
  • Oregon/Seton Hall (Omaha)
Leftovers: