College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Dalton Knecht, Chris Collins, Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s

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

Dalton Knecht could take things to a different level against Alabama
College basketball’s most explosive scorer had 39 points and made five three-point shots in Wednesday night’s win over Auburn in Knoxville, but tonight’s matchup in Tuscaloosa may provide an even greater opportunity for him to flourish offensively. Why? The Crimson Tide’s defense has been abominable. Alabama is allowing an average of 88 points in its last six games and that’s something that has to improve if this team is going to advance deep in the NCAA Tournament. Knecht has already scored 36 or more points four times this season. The winner of this game will be in sole possession of first place in the SEC standings.

Chris Collins should repeat as Big Ten Coach of the Year
Matt Painter, Brad Underwood, and Fred Hoiberg are all doing terrific jobs at Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska respectively, but as of today, Collins deserves the nod for this award. One year after the best season in program history and its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Northwestern is again on track to reach March Madness despite limited personnel. The Wildcats lost starting guard Ty Berry (11.6 points, 3.9 rebounds) for the season a few weeks ago due to a knee injury and won earlier this week at Maryland without Ryan Langborg (12.5 points), who is battling an ankle injury. This is all being done at a place that had never reached the NCAA Tournament before Collins’ arrival in 2013. 11 years later, he’s got Northwestern in position to play in the event in back-to-back years for the first time ever despite not having a full roster. The Wildcats will enter today’s game against Iowa in Evanston with an overall record of 20-8.

Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s
The Gaels clinched an outright WCC regular season title on Thursday for the only the second time under Randy Bennett, but that doesn’t mean that a sweep of the Bulldogs wouldn’t be music to their ears. What’s at stake for Gonzaga tonight in Moraga? This is a “win and in” type scenario for Mark Few’s squad. Gonzaga picked up its second Quad 1 win of the season on Thursday against San Francisco and a third would make the Bulldogs essentially a lock to hear their names called on Selection Sunday. Gonzaga last missed the NCAA Tournament in 1998.

On The Side

  • The last time that Kentucky had guards off the bench as good as Rob Dillingham (14.8 points, 3.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds) and Reed Sheppard (12.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.7 steals)? The 2014-15 season when John Calipari had both Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker in reserve behind Andrew and Aaron Harrison. The Wildcats will host Arkansas today at Rupp Arena. Tip off is at 1:30 PM ET on CBS.
  • Illinois is averaging 87.8 points while allowing an average of 80.7 points since Terrence Shannon Jr. returned to the lineup on Jan. 21st. The Illini will visit Wisconsin today in Madison.
  • The winner of today’s game between Providence and Villanova at Amica Mutual Pavilion will be projected to be in the NCAA Tournament. The loser will not.
  • The most amazing part of Iowa State’s 22-6 start? Omaha Biliew — a five-star freshman — has only played a total of 13 minutes during Big 12 play.
  • Richmond won 15 games last season prior to Tyler Burton’s decision to transfer to Villanova. The Spiders will enter today’s home game against VCU at 21-7. Anarchy? Nope. Just college basketball. Tip off is at 6 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.

Daily Specials

  • Florida at South Carolina
  • Kansas at Baylor
  • Marquette at Creighton
  • Tennessee at Alabama
  • Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s

Leftovers