College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: UConn/Creighton, Kentucky, Scott Drew versus Jerome Tang

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

UConn looks to exorcise its demons against Creighton
The Huskies are 0-5 against the Bluejays since rejoining the Big East and four of those losses have come by four points or fewer. UConn is also on a two-game losing streak entering today’s tilt at Gampel Pavilion. Keep an eye on the showdown in the middle between UConn’s Adama Sanogo (17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds) — the Big East Preseason Player of the Year — and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.3 points, seven rebounds, 1.9 blocks) — the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Kentucky can change the course of its season today against Alabama
That is not hyperbole. The Wildcats do not own a single Quad 1 win on their resume and need to start stacking some if they hope to earn a decent seed in the NCAA Tournament. The irony of today’s matchup in Tuscaloosa? Three of Alabama’s top four scorers — Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney, and Jaden Bradley — are true freshmen while four of Kentucky’s top five scorers — Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, Antonio Reeves, and Sahvir Wheeler — are transfers. For years the Wildcats were always loaded with a high volume of blue chip freshmen under John Calipari, but things have shifted in the transfer portal era. The Crimson Tide already own wins this season over Houston, Michigan State, Memphis, and North Carolina.

The first meeting between Scott Drew and Jerome Tang
Prior to becoming the head coach of Kansas State, Tang was Drew’s top assistant for nearly 20 years at Baylor. Their marriage led to one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball history and a national title in 2021. Now comes the hard part: Coaching against someone who’s probably more like a brother than a close friend. The Wildcats enter tonight at 2-0 in Big 12 play while the Bears are 0-2 after Wednesday night’s home loss to TCU.

On The Side

  • Duke freshman Dereck Lively is averaging three points and 1.7 rebounds in three ACC games. The 7-1 Lively — who was a five-star prospect — does not have a made field goal in the Blue Devils’ last two games. Duke will visit Boston College this afternoon.
  • Villanova (8-7) has a massive “swing game” today at home against Xavier (12-3). The Wildcats do not have a Quad 1 victory and need this type of a win to add a jolt to their season. The Musketeers enter today’s game on an eight-game winning streak.
  • Rutgers (11-4) has held 12 of its 15 opponents this season to 65 points or fewer.
  • Iowa State is 13-2 over the last two seasons in games where Caleb Grill scores in double figures. The Cyclones will visit TCU this afternoon in Fort Worth.
  • Just 48 hours after winning by two points at San Francisco, Gonzaga has a dangerous game tonight at Santa Clara. The Broncos have gotten off to a surprising 14-4 start after losing a lottery pick in Jalen Williams and have a gem in Illinois transfer Brandin Podziemski (18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists). This is a massive opportunity for Herb Sendek’s squad.

Daily Specials

  • Creighton at UConn
  • Kentucky at Alabama
  • Iowa State at TCU
  • Kansas at West Virginia
  • Kansas State at Baylor

Leftovers