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The Breakfast Buffet: A battle of elite guards in Fayetteville, NC State visits “The Jungle”, Boopie Miller

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

A battle of elite guards in Fayetteville
Louisville’s first true road test of the season comes against a team that’s going to be desperate for a significant win. Arkansas took Duke to the wire on Thanksgiving Night in Chicago only to fall victim to the greatness of Cameron Boozer down the stretch, as the talented freshman tallied 35 points and nine rebounds in the victory. Tonight’s matchup features the nation’s best perimeter — the Cards’ troika of Mikel Brown (17.0 points, 6.0 assists), Ryan Conwell (20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds), and Isaac McKneely (12.3 points) — against the Razorbacks’ first-year tandem of Darius Acuff (17.4 points, 4.4 assists) and Meleek Thomas (17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds). Bud Walton Arena should be on fire for this Sweet 16 caliber showdown.

NC State visits “The Jungle”
Will Wade had a miserable Thanksgiving in Hawaii. So did his team. The Wolfpack went 1-2 last week in the Maui Invitational and didn’t earn a power conference victory. To make matters worse, they gave up an average of 93.5 points in a pair of losses to Seton Hall and Texas. Things won’t get much easier tonight as Wade leads his team in a road game at Auburn as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. This is the type of win that NC State needs in order to recalibrate its resume for the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers have played good basketball under Steven Pearl and are 6-2, with their only losses coming against Houston and Michigan. Keep a close eye on Keyshawn Hall (20.9 points, 9.0 rebounds), who could feast on any potential holes in the Wolfpack’s defense.

Boopie Miller is playing like an All-ACC First-Team caliber player
Never heard of Miller? That will soon change. SMU’s veteran lead guard has willed the Ponies to an 8-0 start in their second season under Andy Enfield. He’s averaging 21.3 points, 7.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 45.9 percent from three-point range entering tonight’s game at Vanderbilt. The Dores are also undefeated entering tonight’s matchup. SMU has not earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1993. Miller could change that in 2026.

On The Side

  • Indiana’s Darian DeVries was Tuesday’s guest on INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To watch the full interview, click HERE. The Hoosiers are 7-0 and will begin Big Ten play tonight at Minnesota.
  • BYU has already lost two guards in its rotation — Dawson Baker (knee) and Nate Pickens (undisclosed) — to season-ending injuries. The 6-4 Baker was averaging 7.5 points and shooting a whopping 47.4 percent from three-point range before going out of the lineup. The Cougars are going to have to do more with less moving forward.
  • Tonight’s matchup in Tuscaloosa between Alabama and Clemson is the fourth meeting between these two programs since 2020. The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers in the 2024 Elite Eight en route to their first-ever appearance in the Final Four.
  • Creighton and Marquette — two Big East programs that have been single digit seeds in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments — currently have an overall combined record of 10-7.
  • LSU’s Dedan Thomas has 27 assists and three turnovers in his last four games. The 7-0 Tigers will visit Boston College tonight as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. 

Daily Specials

  • Louisville at Arkansas
  • Clemson at Alabama
  • NC State at Auburn
  • SMU at Vanderbilt
  • Virginia at Texas

Leftovers