College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Caleb Wilson, NC State has a big week, Bryce Hopkins

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

Caleb Wilson could wind up pushing Duke’s Cameron Boozer for in the National Player of the Year race
A lot of that is going to depend on just how well North Carolina plays between now and Selection Sunday, but don’t rule it out of the realm of possibility. The 6-9 Wilson has the unique ability to dominate a game while still being unselfish. It’s a gift and it was on full display on Tuesday night when he tallied 22 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists when the Tar Heels beat Florida State 79-66 in Chapel Hill. The two best players in college basketball — Wilson and Boozer — may very well reside on Tobacco Road.

NC State has a big week
And the Wolfpack need to win both of their games in Raleigh — today against Wake Forest and Saturday against Virginia — if they’re going to stay on track to play in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. NC State is currently 9-4 and hasn’t truly helped or hurt itself yet. It desperately needs more mileage out of Darrion Williams (14.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists). The ACC Preseason Player of the Year has scored in single digits in three of the Wolfpack’s last four games and didn’t have a made field goal against Ole Miss on Dec. 21st.

St. John’s needs more out of Bryce Hopkins
The gem of the Red Storm’s loaded transfer class has had a very quiet December. That needs to change tonight against Georgetown in Washington D.C. The 6-7 Hopkins has grabbed a total of just six rebounds in his last three games and is only averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in his last six games. More production from Hopkins is paramount if St. John’s is going to go on a run after a disappointing 8-4 start.

On The Side

  • Six of Michigan’s 12 wins are by 40 points or more.
  • One thing I didn’t think I’d be writing before the season? Georgia and Vanderbilt are a combined 25-1 entering SEC play.
  • It’s time to start talking about Jack Benter about a legitimate reserve for Purdue. The 6-6 freshman has scored a combined 31 points in the Boilers’ last two games and is a perfect 11-11 from the field and 9-9 from three-point range during that span.
  • Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas (illness) will be available for today’s ACC opener against Virginia and Tobi Lawal (ankle) is a game-day decision, Mike Young told College Hoops Today on Tuesday. The 6-9 Avdalas (14.6 points, 5.0 assists) did not play in the Hokies’ last game while the 6-8 Lawal (12.8 points, 10.3 rebounds) has been out since late-November.
  • INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW will be making its TV debut on Friday at Noon ET on CBS Sports Network.

Daily Specials

  • Wake Forest at NC State
  • Virginia at Virginia Tech
  • Georgia Tech at Duke
  • UConn at Xavier
  • St. John’s at Georgetown

Leftovers