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
Cliff Omoruyi’s Big Ten debut
Starting as a freshman for a program that brings back the majority of its personnel from a 20-win team is no small feat. The 6-11 Omoruyi was a consensus top-50 recruit and his first Big Ten game tonight at Maryland gives him an incredible canvas to paint on. Foul trouble in last week’s tilt against Syracuse limited Omoruyi’s effectiveness, but it’s only a matter of time before he makes his presence known nationally. Omoruyi enters tonight’s game in College Park averaging 6.5 points and seven rebounds.
The top of the ACC looks like wide open
This league has more questions than many think. In addition to Duke’s struggles, Virginia has yet to find its vintage form and is currently on pause due to COVID-19. North Carolina? The Tar Heels are clearly better than they were a year ago, but their best win as of today is a neutral court victory over Stanford. North Carolina is also shooting just 27 percent from three-point range as a team and has a combined 75 turnovers to just 99 turnovers. So far, the teams in the ACC who have performed at the highest level are Florida State, Louisville, Clemson, and Virginia Tech, who beat Villanova a few weeks ago at Mohegan Sun. The blue blood programs in this conference have not looked like blue blood programs out of the gate. That could open the door for other programs — like the ones mentioned above — to come to the forefront even more as conference play begins this week.
A contrast of styles in Omaha
Creighton is one of the top offensive teams in college basketball. Marquette looks tougher than it’s ever been under Steve Wojciechowski. Something’s gotta give tonight in Omaha. The Bluejays are averaging 85.2 points and their four top scorers — Denzel Mahoney, Marcus Zegarowski, Christian Bishop, and Damien Jefferson — are all shooting 38.5 percent or better from three-point range. Marquette meanwhile, no longer has Markus Howard, but boasts an old school nastiness that permeates as soon as the ball is thrown in the air for the opening tip off. This is a heck of a Big East opener for both programs.
On The Side
- UCLA’s greatest strength may be its overall depth. Nine different players on the Bruins’ roster are averaging 12.8 minutes or more.
- Hunter Dickinson is living up to the hype for Michigan. Through six games, the 7-foot freshman is averaging 15.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. Dickinson had 20 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in Sunday’s Big Ten opener against Penn State. The Wolverines are currently 6-0 overall.
- Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said on Sunday that Geo Baker returned to practice for 40 minutes on Saturday and hoped to go for an even longer period on Sunday. Baker has only played a total of nine minutes this season due to an ankle injury. “I don’t think he’ll play (tonight at Maryland), but he’s getting closer,” Pikiell said. The 6-4 Baker averaged 10.9 points, 3.5 assists, and three rebounds last season.
- San Diego State is again getting defensive. Through five games, the Aztecs are holding their opponents to 57 points and just 37.5 percent shooting from the field and 32.5 percent shooting from three-point range. Brian Dutcher’s squad will next face BYU on Friday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
- Auburn freshman Justin Powell is playing like he’s going to be one of the top newcomers in the SEC. Just ask Penny Hardaway. The 6-6 guard hit a massive three-point shot late in Saturday’s win over Memphis in Atlanta and has scored 26 points in back-to-back games. Powell is averaging 16.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.
Daily Specials
- Rutgers at Maryland
- Marquette at Creighton
