College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Cameron Boozer, Kentucky, the freshmen shined in Las Vegas

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 takes centerstage in Charlotte
Duke’s talented freshman put up video game like numbers during the preseason as he averaged a whopping 28.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in two exhibition games. Can the 6-9 Boozer sustain that type of production throughout the course of the regular season? We’ll get our first peak tonight when the Blue Devils face Texas at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The Longhorns will be playing their first game under Sean Miller, who was previously the coach at Xavier.

Kentucky is still trying to get healthy
The team that the Wildcats put on the floor in tonight’s opener against Nicholls at Rupp Arena will be vastly different than the team they put on the floor later in the season. Mark Pope told College Hoops Today on Monday that he’s still unsure if both Jaland Lowe (shoulder) and Denzel Aberdeen (leg) will be available for tonight’s game. Both players are potential starters and did not play in last week’s exhibition game against Georgetown. The Wildcats are also without Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance (9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds), who still does not have a clear timetable for a return. Kentucky is currently ranked 13th in the ROTHSTEIN 45.

The freshmen shined in Las Vegas
An elite doubleheader on college basketball’s opening day didn’t disappoint. Neither did Arizona’s Koa Peat and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. In the first game on Monday in Las Vegas, the 6-8 Peat tallied a whopping 30 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in the Wildcats’ 93-87 win over Florida. In the nightcap, Dybantsa finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists in narrow five-point win over Villanova all while making several crucial plays down the stretch. These freshmen delivered at a high level on Monday in Sin City.

On The Side

  • Purdue has not lost a non-conference game at Mackey Arena since Nov. 9th, 2019. That’s 2,187 days ago! The Boilers — who are currently ranked FIRST in the ROTHSTEIN 45 — begin the 2025-26 season tonight in West Lafayette against Evansville.
  • Donovan Dent may be the most exciting player in college basketball. UCLA’s newly minted point guard had 21 points, nine assists, and just one turnover in Monday night’s opener against Eastern Washington. The Bruins’ defense gave up 74 points in a six-point win against the Eagles and remains a work in progress, but Dent is a known commodity. There aren’t many players in the sport better than this guy.
  • NCAA Senior VP of Basketball Dan Gavitt was Monday’s guest on INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To watch the full interview, click HERE.
  • Last season’s Horizon League Player of the Year — Alvaro Folgueiras — will face his old team tonight as Robert Morris visits Iowa. The 6-10 Folgueiras averaged 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds last season for the Colonials before transferring to play for the Hawkeyes during the offseason. Tonight will also mark Ben McCollum’s head coaching debut at Iowa following a 31-4 campaign a year ago at Drake.
  • Long Beach State’s Chris Acker returns to Viejas Arena tonight as the Beach visits San Diego State. The 45-year old Acker was an assistant for the Aztecs from 2019-24 and was on the staff in 2023 when Brian Dutcher’s squad advanced all the way to the national title game before losing to UConn.

Daily Specials

  • Evansville at Purdue
  • Nicholls at Kentucky
  • Robert Morris at Iowa
  • Duke/Texas (Charlotte)
  • Hawaii at Oregon

Leftovers