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The Breakfast Buffet: Damien Jefferson, Arizona, Gonzaga/BYU

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

Damien Jefferson is an emerging star for Creighton
Earlier this season, I thought Jefferson was destined to be the Bluejays “Glue Guy”. I underestimated him. The 6-5 forward has done all the little things for Creighton all while developing offensively. When Greg McDermott needed a bucket a few weeks ago to send the game into overtime at UConn, it was Jefferson who got the call and delivered. He also scored 19 points in Wednesday night’s rout of Seton Hall and is averaging 18.5 points over his last two games. If Jefferson keeps emerging as a bonafide offensive threat, the Bluejays’ ceiling will only continue to rise.

Arizona could be the second-best team in the Pac-12
We’ll have a better idea of how legitimate that statement is after this weekend. The Wildcats are 9-1 entering tonight’s game against USC in Tucson and will also host UCLA on Saturday. Is Sean Miller’s team the top challenger to Oregon in the Pac-12? Possibly. The Bruins have to reconfigure themselves moving forward without Chris Smith while Arizona State has chemistry issues that they have to rectify. Stanford? The Cardinal have shown early promise, but it remains to be seen if they can withstand things over the course of a full season. Arizona may not be eligible for the postseason due to a self-imposed ban, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t win the Pac-12 regular season title. 

BYU’s trip to Spokane
The game of the night in college basketball comes from the WCC, where top-ranked Gonzaga will host arguably the second-best team in the conference. BYU doesn’t have the same caliber of personnel as the Bulldogs, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be intimidated. The Cougars have prepared for this game by playing an arduous non-conference schedule that was highlighted by wins over San Diego State, Utah, Utah State, and St. John’s. Mark Pope wants to get BYU to the NCAA Tournament on an annual basis with a chance to advance. It can take a major step in that direction with an upset tonight over a team in Gonzaga that many anticipate will enter Selection Sunday without a loss. 

On The Side

  • Hunter Dickinson isn’t just one of the best freshmen in the country; he’s one of the best players. Michigan’s man in the middle torched Minnesota for 28 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday night’s blow out win while shooting an astronomical 12-of-15 from the floor. Dickinson has yet to shoot below 55 percent from the field in a game this season.
  • It’s looking more and more like Andre Curbelo is Illinois’ third-best player behind Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn. The 6-1 point guard has a feel for the game that extends well beyond his years and has tallied a total of 33 assists in his last five games. The Illini visit in-state rival Northwestern tonight in Evanston.
  • UCLA needs Johnny Juzang and Jake Kyman to augment their production if it’s going to be a factor at the top of the Pac-12 without Chris Smith. Juzang and Kyman are a combined 9-40 from three-point range entering tonight’s game at Arizona State. 
  • Need more proof that this is a crazy season in college basketball? Kentucky and Duke won home games on back-to-back nights this week against Vanderbilt and Boston College that both came down to the final possession. Nuts!
  • Kudos to the Pac-12 for bumping up today’s start time between Oregon and Colorado to 5 PM ET. The game was originally slated to begin six hours later. The Pac-12’s product is underrated nationally and needs more standalone games — especially if they’re earlier in the day.

Daily Specials

  • Iowa at Maryland
  • Indiana at Wisconsin
  • BYU at Gonzaga
  • Illinois at Northwestern
  • Oregon at Colorado

Leftovers: