College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Illinois, Vlad Goldin, Georgetown/Villanova

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

Illinois is one of the most talented teams in the country
I’ve felt since the beginning of the season that on a neutral court, Alabama, Auburn, and Duke had the three most talented rosters in college basketball. The Illini are at the top of the next tier. In fact, they may be close to the top tier that I just mentioned. I’m fully aware that Illinois lost by two points on Sunday at Michigan State, but the fact that the Illini were that close with All-American guard Kasparas Jakucionis (15.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists) only playing nine minutes due to foul trouble is mightily impressive. There was also a questionable technical foul late in the game on Illinois’ bench that felt like a miscarriage of justice. If all things are equal, Illinois is on the short list of teams that will have the highest ceiling on a neutral court during the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Brad Underwood’s squad can get to San Antonio. The Illini are 13-5 and will next host Maryland on Thursday in Champaign.

Vlad Goldin is on a tear for Michigan
This guy was an anchor for Florida Atlantic in 2023 when the Owls advanced to the Final Four. He’s now the epicenter of Michigan’s interior attack. Over the last two weeks, the 7-1, 250 pound Goldin has put up first-team all-conference caliber numbers for the Wolverines. In his last four games, Goldin is averaging 26.0 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting an astronomical 58.9 percent from the field. Dusty May’s team is 13-4 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play.

Georgetown/Villanova
The Big East got significantly more interesting on Saturday when Creighton won at UConn and Xavier beat Marquette in Milwaukee. Are the Hoyas and/or Wildcats also capable for joining the party? That’s why today’s game in Philadelphia is so critical. Georgetown coming off a home loss to DePaul without Thomas Sorber (14.2 points, 8.6 rebounds) while Villanova are coming off a close win over Providence. This is the start of a key stretch for Kyle Neptune’s squad, who’s currently 12-7 and will visit Marquette and host Creighton back-to-back following today’s matchup at home with Georgetown.

On The Side

  • I love college basketball as much as anyone, but these end of game delays have to be shortened. Games are becoming UNWATCHABLE. Someone please help!
  • Gonzaga gave up an average of 100 points last week in back-to-back losses to Oregon State and Santa Clara.
  • Missouri is 15-3 through 18 games and already has seven more wins than it did during all of last season.
  • VCU has lost just two games since Nov. 24th — at New Mexico and at St. Bonaventure. The Rams are 14-4 and have the look of a dangerous double digit seed in the NCAA Tournament if they can win the Atlantic 10 Tournament in March.
  • New Mexico is 10-0 in games this season where Tru Washington scores in double figures and 5-4 when he does not. The Lobos return to action today in Albuquerque against Fresno State. Tip off is at 5 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.

Daily Specials

  • Fresno State at New Mexico
  • Georgetown at Villanova
  • Rutgers at Penn State

Leftovers