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
E.J. Liddell is on an absolute tear
Players always make their biggest jump from their freshman to sophomore season and Liddell is just another example. Ohio State’s do-everything forward has scored 22 or more points in four of his last five games and has quickly emerged into one of the best players in the Big Ten. The 6-7 forward has also grabbed seven rebounds in four straight games and six or more boards in his last seven outings. The Buckeyes have won five of their last six.
League Commissioners are on the clock
Will conference tournaments be played in March? It’s a key question right now in college basketball and it’s one that all 31 conference commissioners should answer sooner rather than later. Why? If leagues decide that they’re not going to play their respective conference tournaments to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19, it will instantly make the rest of the regular season in their conference that much more interesting. Remember: If there’s no conference tournament, the winner of the regular season title will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan State returns to action against Rutgers
It’s been 20 days since the Spartans last played a game, but they’re back tonight at the RAC against Rutgers in Piscataway. Who was Michigan State before it dealt with a slew of postponements due to COVID-19? A team that blew a big lead against Purdue and fell by one to the Boilermakers on Jan. 8th in East Lansing. It will be interesting to see how they respond tonight against Rutgers, who is coming off a big road win on Sunday against Indiana.
On The Side
- Auburn freshman Sharife Cooper has gone to the free throw line 10 or more times in four of the six games he’s played this season. In Tuesday night’s win over Missouri, Cooper was 18-21 from the stripe. Whatever “it” is, Cooper possesses. This is the best point guard in the SEC.
- How are opponents going to prepare for Florida State? In Wednesday night’s win over Miami, seven different players on the Seminoles’ roster scored between eight and 11 points. Another thing to keep in mind? Anthony Polite is still out with a shoulder injury. Leonard Hamilton’s squad has now won five straight games.
- Penn State has now lost at Michigan and Ohio State by a combined six points. The Nittany Lions are in 13th place in the Big Ten. The depth in this league is utterly ridiculous.
- Western Kentucky’s win at Alabama is going to carry an awful lot of weight on Selection Sunday if the Hilltoppers don’t win the Conference-USA Tournament. This is a big storyline to monitor for bubble teams over the next six weeks.
- Notre Dame is a combined 60-55 since losing to West Virginia in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Barring something unforeseen, the Irish won’t even be in contention for an at-large bid to this year’s field of 68. Mike Brey’s squad fell to 5-9 following Wednesday night’s home loss to Virginia Tech.
Daily Specials
- Michigan State at Rutgers
- TCU at Kansas
- Gonzaga at San Diego
- Houston at Tulane
- Stanford at Arizona
Leftovers:
- The Breakfast Buffet: Tobe Awaka, Nebraska’s defense, Texas/Kentucky
- INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW (1/20): Guest — Virginia’s Ryan Odom
- The Breakfast Buffet: Michigan returns home, Seton Hall/St. John’s, Kansas hits the road at Colorado
- INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW (1/19): Florida, Kentucky, The ACC, The Big East, JT Toppin, Darryn Peterson
- The Breakfast Buffet: Brad Brownell, Florida, St. John’s is thriving on the road
