College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Purdue’s trip to Illinois, Drew Timme in “video game mode”, N’Faly Dante

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

Purdue’s trip to Illinois
A standalone game between these two teams at Noon ET on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Sounds delicious. In a lot of ways, it’s the year of the big man in college basketball and this tilt reiterates that very sentiment. Illinois is anchored in the pivot by Kofi Cockburn (21.9 points, 12.3 rebounds) while Purdue’s two-headed monster of Trevion Williams (13.3 points, 8.6 rebounds) and Zach Edey (15.4 points, 7.4 rebounds) is one of the best combinations that society has seen since Sonny & Cher. Both of these teams have the requisites to play deep into the NCAA Tournament, but the Illini are being a bit undervalued nationally. A win today at home would instantly change that.

Drew Timme is again in “video game mode”
Gonzaga’s talented big man hasn’t gotten the same level of national attention as other players in college basketball over the last month for various reasons. Part of it is because there’s more great players in the sport this year than past years and part of it is that the Bulldogs missed a few games due to issues related to COVID. Timme’s lack of attention is officially over. The 6-10 big man is officially back to “video game mode” as he’s averaging 26.7 points in Gonzaga’s first three WCC games while shooting an unfathomable 79 percent from the field. Timme is also 2-4 from three-point range during that span and has already made four three-point shots this season — he made six during all of last year.

N’Faly Dante is finally healthy
This is the player who won MVP of the Peach Jam a few summers ago on the AAU circuit. It’s no fluke that Dante’s emergence has coincided with Oregon’s best stretch of the season. The 6-11 center has had issues staying healthy since he arrived in Eugene a few years ago, but is now finally starting to have things align. Dante is averaging 11 points, 8.8 rebounds, and one block over his last four games all while providing Dana Altman with one of the most physically imposing presences in the sport. Oregon (11-6) is back on the national radar after back-to-back wins last week in Los Angeles over UCLA and USC. Dante is a major reason why.

On The Side

  • Kansas is now 34-6 over the past four years in games where David McCormack scores in double figures. Can you say X-Factor?
  • Don’t forget about Johnny Juzang. UCLA’s NCAA Tournament hero from a year ago is quietly getting into an offensive rhythm, as he’s averaging 23.5 points in his last two games while shooting an efficient 15-27 from the field during that span.
  • Houston (15-2) is the only team from the American Athletic Conference that’s firmly in the at-large picture for the NCAA Tournament. As of Sunday, the Cougars were the only team from this league that was in the Top 50 of the NET.
  • Marquette has a gem in freshman guard Kam Jones. The 6-4 lefty is a lethal outside shooter and has made multiple three-point shots in six straight games. Jones is averaging 7.9 points and shooting 38.9 percent from long distance. This kid will be an All-Big East player down the road.
  • Rutgers is 6-0 in games this season where Ron Harper Jr. scores 20 or more points. The 6-6 wing is averaging 20.3 PPG in six Big Ten conference games. Steve Pikiell’s team is now 10-6 and will next host Iowa on Wednesday night in Piscataway.

Daily Specials

  • Purdue at Illinois
  • Notre Dame at Howard
  • Penn at Princeton
  • Indiana at Nebraska
  • Wyoming at Nevada

Leftovers