College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Duke/Arkansas, North Carolina’s frontcourt, Thomas Haugh

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

Duke/Arkansas
A heavyweight matchup on Thanksgiving night in primetime? Where do we sign. This is the second year of the Thanksgiving Classic on CBS and this year’s matchup is tailor made for TV. It also features three of the best freshmen — Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Arkansas’ Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas — in a season where the first-year players in college basketball have seemingly dominated every major headline. Tip off is at 8 PM ET. Join Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, and myself for the call.

North Carolina’s frontcourt gets a toughness test against Michigan State
The Tar Heels’ baseline tandem of Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar combined for 44 points and 27 rebounds in Tuesday’s win over St. Bonaventure, but things will have a much different feel today against Michigan State in Fort Myers. The undefeated Spartans have already notched wins this season over Arkansas and Kentucky, partially because of their size, depth, and toughness. Tom Izzo rotates four players — Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, Cam Ward, and Jesse McCulloch — at two spots up front and that’s 20 fouls to use against both Wilson and Veesaar. This is the first game this season for the Tar Heels against a power conference opponent at a neutral site.

Thomas Haugh is the player to watch at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego
Florida’s jumbo lineup is bringing out the best in the 6-9 Haugh, who’s averaging 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds entering today’s matchup with TCU. Haugh averaged 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds on last season’s team that won that won the national title. While the Gators are still waiting for their newly minted backcourt of Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland to hit their stride, their frontcourt continues to be their ultimate strength. Wisconsin meets Providence in the other game of this two-day tournament in Southern California.

On The Side

  • Dan Hurley told reporters on Wednesday that UConn’s Tarris Reed (ankle) and Braylon Mullins (ankle) will both be game-time decisions for Friday’s game against Illinois at MSG. The 6-11 Reed has missed the last two games and averages 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds while Mullins — a five-star prospect — has yet to play this season.
  • The Players Era Festival has completely transformed Feast Week, but a traditional bracket with a traditional champion may be the one thing lacking from this terrific event.
  • UCLA’s Donovan Dent is just 1-11 from three-point range and 17-30 from from the free throw line. He’s also dealing with a leg injury. The Bruins need to get this guy healthy and back to playing in peak form quickly.
  • Indiana has a terrific long-term piece in 6-8 freshman Trent Sisley, who’s averaging 13.5 points in a pair of power conference games against Marquette and Kansas State. The Hoosiers are 6-0 in their first season under Darian DeVries.
  • The NCAA announced on Wednesday that the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees proposed that the notification-of-transfer windows open for 15 days starting after the conclusion of the 2026 Men’s and Women’s Final Fours.

Daily Specials

  • TCU/Florida
  • Wisconsin/Providence
  • North Carolina/Michigan State
  • BYU/Miami
  • Duke/Arkansas

Leftovers