College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: DJ Steward, Alabama/Arkansas, Indiana’s treacherous closing slate

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

D.J. Steward is blossoming for Duke
There’s many reasons for Duke’s four-game winning streak. One of them is Steward. The 6-3 freshman was a five-star prospect entering college, but has really emerged over the past few games. Steward had 21 points in Monday night’s win over Syracuse, but also impacted other areas of the game by handing out seven assists and blocking two shots. He’s reached double figures in nine of the Blue Devils’ last 10 contests, with the only outlier coming when he scored nine in last Saturday’s one-point win over Virginia. Duke will next host Louisville on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  

Alabama’s trip to Arkansas
Since losing by 31 to the Crimson Tide on Jan. 16th in Tuscaloosa, Arkansas has won seven of eight with its only loss coming at Oklahoma State by four. Are the Razorbacks a potential dark horse team to watch during the NCAA Tournament? Tonight’s game will be a pretty good indication. Eric Musselman’s squad can completely change its national perception this week with a pair of wins against Alabama and LSU at Bud Walton Arena.

Indiana’s treacherous finish begins tonight at Rutgers
The great part about playing in the Big Ten is that you always have opportunities to move the needle if you’re a bubble team. The bad part about playing in the Big Ten is that all of those opportunities come against quality competition that could easily hand you a loss during a critical juncture. This is what Indiana (12-10) is currently dealing with. The Hoosiers begin their arduous finish to the regular season tonight in Piscataway against Rutgers. It is the first of three road games on Indiana’s remaining schedule as trips to Michigan State at Purdue also loom. There’s also a home game against Michigan in Bloomington. That’s three games against three NCAA Tournament locks — Michigan, Purdue, and Rutgers — and a fourth against a team in Michigan State that just beat Indiana and Illinois back-to-back. The Hoosiers need at least a split over their next four games to feel decent about their position entering the Big Ten Tournament. 

On The Side

  • USC’s defense made a statement on Monday against Oregon. The Trojans held the Ducks to just 58 points in a 14-point victory at the Galen Center as Oregon shot just 40.4 percent from the field. The most impressive thing about the victory? USC won in convincing fashion without sophomore big man Isaiah Mobley, who was nursing a leg injury. 
  • North Carolina’s ball security is improving. In two wins last week against Northeastern and Louisville, the Tar Heels had a combined 49 assists and 21 turnovers. For the entire season, North Carolina has a total of 332 assists and 300 turnovers. 
  • Kalib Boone is emerging into a legitimate third option for Oklahoma State behind Cade Cunningham and Isaac Likekele. The 6-9 sophomore has scored 15 or more points in six of the Cowboys’ last nine games and had 18 points and seven rebounds in Monday’s win over Texas Tech. This kid looks like a player.
  • Xavier’s path to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2018 won’t be an easy one. Three of the Musketeers’ final four regular season games are on the road with a home tilt sandwiched in against Creighton. Xavier (12-4) does have a win over Oklahoma on its resume, but will need to play well down the stretch to hear its name called on Selection Sunday.
  • Keep an eye on Houston’s Fabian White. The veteran power forward played in just his second game of the year due to a knee injury on Sunday against Cincinnati and tallied 10 points, nine rebounds, and one block in 20 minutes. White could add a new dimension for the Cougars over the final month of the season because of his experience. 

Daily Specials

  • NC State at Virginia
  • Marquette at North Carolina
  • Indiana at Rutgers
  • Florida State at Miami
  • Alabama at Arkansas

Leftovers: