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The Breakfast Buffet: Cameron Boozer against Caleb Wilson, BYU is straddling a fence, Illinois/Michigan State

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

Cameron Boozer against Caleb Wilson
No individual matchup can usurp Duke/North Carolina, but this head-to-head showdown feels pretty close. Two top-tier members of the deepest freshman class we’ve ever see headline tonight’s matchup in Chapel Hill. The 6-9 Boozer is the clear favorite in the National Player of the Year race and is currently averaging 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while the 6-10 Wilson checks in with averages of 20.0 points and 9.8 rebounds. The Blue Devils have won three straight meetings against the Tar Heels.

BYU is straddling a fence
The Cougars are either going to get their season back on track or they’re going to fall further down in the Big 12 standings. And tonight’s opponent — Houston — is not one that’s usually in a forgiving mood. BYU enters its matchup against Kelvin Sampson’s squad in Provo with four losses in its last five games, but more alarming than the losses may be the Cougars’ lack of defensive tenacity. During this five-game stretch, BYU is allowing an average of 87.4 points. Unless that changes, this team isn’t going to finish anywhere near the top of this conference.

Illinois/Michigan State
The Ilini are playing some of the best basketball in the country while the Spartans are not. Illinois enters tonight’s game in East Lansing on a 12-game winning streak while Michigan State has dropped two in a row. Brad Underwood’s team is also tied with Michigan for first place in the Big Ten standings. The Illini have not won an outright Big Ten regular season title since the 2004-05 season, which was the last time this program advanced to the Final Four.

On The Side

  • Darrion Williams is averaging 22.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in NC State’s last three games. This is the player that Will Wade thought he was getting out of the transfer portal. The Wolfpack will go for their sixth straight win today in Raleigh against Virginia Tech.
  • I love that the SEC has two massive games — Texas A&M at Florida and Tennessee at Kentucky — tonight! I hate that they’re both tipping off at 8:30 PM ET. What are we doing here?!
  • Chris Beard returns to Austin today as Ole Miss visits Texas. Beard was the Longhorns’ head coach for a little more than a season before being removed from his post during the middle of 2022-23.
  • Next month will mark seven seasons since Cincinnati played in an NCAA Tournament game. The Bearcats simply haven’t been the same program since Mick Cronin left Fifth Third Arena for UCLA.
  • Miami’s (OH) Travis Steele was Friday’s guest on INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To watch the full interview, click HERE. The 23-0 Redhawks will visit Marshall today as part of the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge.

Daily Specials

  • Duke at North Carolina
  • Illinois at Michigan State
  • Tennessee at Kentucky
  • Florida at Texas A&M
  • Houston at BYU

Leftovers