College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Arizona/Tennessee, CBS Sports Classic, Houston/Virginia

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

Arizona/Tennessee
Great offense against great defense? That’s an understatement. According to the analytics website KenPom.com, Arizona is the top ranked offensive team in college basketball and Tennessee is the top ranked defense. The Vols are only surrendering an average of 51.4 points in their first 10 games. “They’re an interesting team to try and figure out,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd told College Hoops Today this week regarding Tennessee. “They only shoot 40 percent from the field, but their opponents shoot 32 percent. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen something like that.” Tennessee enters today’s game in Tucson on an eight-game winning streak.

The CBS Sports Classic
Madison Square Garden plays host to this year’s annual event which features four of the best brands — North Carolina, Ohio State, Kentucky, and UCLA — in all of college basketball. The matchup between the Tar Heels and Buckeyes will get things going at 3 PM ET on CBS followed by the Wildcats and Bruins about two and a half hours later. This feels like a Sweet 16 regional doubleheader during the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Houston/Virginia
This game is more important for the Cougars than it is for the Cavaliers. Why? Both of these teams — who were ranked in the Top five of last week’s ROTHSTEIN 45 — have aspirations to be No. 1 seeds in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, but this is Houston’s final key non-conference game and so far, its best wins are at Oregon and on a neutral court against Saint Mary’s. The Cougars won’t get more than a handful of opportunities to move the needle during league play in the American Athletic Conference. Virginia has already beaten Baylor and Illinois on a neutral court and won at Michigan. The Cavaliers will also get opportunities to get significant victories in the ACC.

On The Side

  • Gonzaga is 16-1 over the past three seasons in games where Julian Strawther scores 15 or more points. The Bulldogs will face Alabama today in Birmingham. Tip off is at 1 PM ET on CBS.
  • Keep an eye on Indiana’s Tamar Bates entering today’s game against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. The 6-5 sophomore is averaging 16 points in his last two games and has the ability to emerge into a consistent double figure scorer. Bates is averaging 8.8 points this season.
  • Butler’s Big East opener tonight against UConn at Hinkle Fieldhouse could be the game where Manny Bates officially breaks out as a national name. The NC State transfer is thriving for the Bulldogs at center and enters tonight’s tilt averaging 13.9 points, seven rebounds, and 2.8 blocks. The 6-11 Bates will have his hands full with the Huskies’ center combo of Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan.
  • A pair of brothers — Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer (13.1 points) and Davidson’s Foster Loyer (19.5 points, 5.5 assists, five rebounds) — will go head-to-head today as the Boilers face the Wildcats at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Davidson is 7-3 in its first season under Matt McKillop.
  • St. John’s (10-1) has nothing to gain and everything to lose in today’s game against Florida State (3-9) in the Orange Bowl Classic. If the Red Storm win, they gain a victory that doesn’t move the needle and if they lose, they’ll have a defeat on their resume that will follow them all the way to Selection Sunday.

Daily Specials

  • Alabama/Gonzaga (Birmingham)
  • Indiana at Kansas
  • Houston at Virginia
  • Kentucky/UCLA (CBS Sports Classic, MSG)
  • Tennessee at Arizona

Leftovers