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The Breakfast Buffet: Alabama’s guards, Memphis, Ohio State battling human nature

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 SampleOhio State

Alabama’s guards made a statement against Gonzaga
So you think there’s a better guard core in college basketball than Alabama’s? Guess again. The Crimson Tide’s quartet of Jahvon Quinerly, Jaden Shackelford, Keon Ellis, and JD Davison combined for 69 points in Alabama’s 91-82 win over Gonzaga on Saturday night in Seattle. Nate Oats’ team controlled this game from tip to finish and sent a message that last season’s SEC regular season and tournament titles were no one-hit wonder. Alabama is again indeed a factor nationally and that’s mostly because it possesses the elite perimeter in the sport.

Memphis is running out of opportunities to move the needle
If the Tigers don’t get a split of their upcoming games with Alabama and Tennessee, they’ll have to rip through the American Athletic Conference in order to have an at-large resume for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Right now, that seems like a tall task. Memphis fell to 5-3 following its third straight loss at Ole Miss on Saturday and still suffers to display the type of rhythm and chemistry needed to be a top tier team in college basketball. The Tigers again had issues with their ball security, finishing with 20 turnovers as a team. Five-star freshmen Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren also struggled, combining for just nine points and eight rebounds. Time is running out for Memphis if it wants to build a strong non-conference resume.

Ohio State will battle human nature tonight against Penn State
Coaches always worry about how their teams will respond after they have a major win and that’s the main reason why Chris Holtmann is so concerned with tonight’s Big Ten opener at Penn State. Ohio State’s win over Duke earlier this week in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge was a huge breakthrough for the Buckeyes, especially since it came without both Justice Sueing and Seth Towns. Now it’s time to turn the page and refocus, which is easier said than done. Ohio State isn’t just battling a tough Penn State team tonight in its first season under Micah Shrewsberry — it’s battling the potential for a let down after Tuesday night’s massive victory against the Blue Devils in Columbus. We’ll know shortly after the opening tip off just how focused the Buckeyes are on their next task at hand.

On The Side

  • Villanova’s Collin Gillespie only has eight turnovers in 266 total minutes played this season. That’s one turnover every 33.3 minutes. The Wildcats are 6-2 and will play Syracuse on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
  • I’d like to officially announce that I’m running for president of the Race Thompson Fan Club. Every program in college basketball would love to have a player like Indiana’s reliable 6-9 veteran forward, who’s averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds over his last three games. There’s not many better utility guys in the sport.
  • Arizona (6-0) will play its first Pac-12 game under Tommy Lloyd today against Oregon State in Corvallis. The Wildcats are currently leading the nation in assists, averaging a whopping 23 dimes as a team.
  • It’s time to officially start getting concerned about Notre Dame. The Irish are 3-4 and were blown out by Boston College on Friday. The next two games for the Irish? A home tilt against Kentucky next Saturday in South Bend followed by a neutral site game against Indiana on Dec. 18th in the Crossroads Classic.
  • Maryland’s game today in College Park against Northwestern will be its first tilt without Mark Turgeon as its head coach since March of 2011.

Daily Specials

  • Northwestern at Maryland
  • North Carolina at Georgia Tech
  • Arizona at Oregon State
  • Xavier at Oklahoma State
  • Ohio State at Penn State

Leftovers