College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Iowa/Iowa State, Ohio State still feels like a mystery team, Nick Smith Jr.

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

Iowa/Iowa State
Rivalry game? Check. Contrasting styles? Sounds delicious. The annual showdown between these two in-state rivals is part of a massive week for the Hawkeyes, who played Duke on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden and will also host Wisconsin on Sunday. Iowa (6-2) averages 83.4 points, but only scored 62 in a 12-point loss to the Blue Devils in New York. Iowa State (7-1) only allows an average of 48.7 points. Something’s gotta give tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Ohio State still feels like a mystery team
The Buckeyes — who are currently 6-2 overall — have five players averaging 9.9 points and 14.3 points entering their Big Ten opener tonight against Rutgers in Columbus. There’s no go-to scorer like we’ve seen in recent years with guys like Duane Washington Jr., E.J. Liddell, and Malaki Branham. Chris Holtmann’s team has performed well early with wins against Texas Tech and Cincinnati at the Maui Invitational, but we still don’t know how this group is going to respond to the totality of the Big Ten without a primary scorer and without proven Big Ten experience. Seven of Ohio State’s top nine scorers are in their first year in the Buckeyes’ program. Tonight’s game against Rutgers (6-2) — who’s coming off an emotional win at home against Indiana — will be another good litmus test.

Nick Smith Jr. is starting to get into a rhythm for Arkansas
His production hasn’t been as mainstream since it hasn’t come against power conference competition, but Smith is starting to look the part of the player that many envisioned he’d be this season. A five-star prospect, the 6-5 freshman is averaging 19 points in his last two games after only logging five minutes in his season debut on Nov. 28th against Troy. Smith missed the first six games of the season due to a knee issue. How high is the ceiling for this kid? There’s a legitimate chance that Smith will be the first college player selected in the 2023 NBA Draft. Before that happens, his presence should put Arkansas (8-1) in position to again have a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks have advanced to back-to-back Elite Eights under Eric Musselman, but suffered a bit of a setback when Missouri transfer Trevon Brazile (11.8 points, six rebounds) was lost for the year with a knee injury.

On The Side

  • Tony Bennett is gaining confidence in Ryan Dunn. The 6-8 freshman has averaged four points, five rebounds, and two blocks in his last two games while logging 34 minutes during that span. Dunn was on the floor in crunch time on Tuesday against James Madison. Remember the name.
  • Wisconsin’s last six games have been decided by five points or less, with the Badgers winning four of them. This team is built for the Big Ten.
  • Matthew Mayer had 21 points in Illinois’ win over Texas on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic. He only scored 41 points in the eight games prior. Anarchy? Nope. Just college basketball.
  • Nine of the 11 teams in the Mountain West are above .500. One of the two teams that isn’t is Wyoming (4-5), who has played the entire season so far without Graham Ike — the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year — due to a leg injury. The 6-9 Ike averaged 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds last season and is expected to return at some point in January.
  • Iona has a star in Daniss Jenkins. The 6-3 guard — who could have played for Rick Pitino when he was at Louisville — had 21 points and five assists in Tuesday night’s 22-point win over Saint Louis. Through seven games, Jenkins is averaging 18.6 points, 4.9 assists, and four rebounds.

Daily Specials

  • Rutgers at Ohio State
  • Iowa State at Iowa
  • Michigan at Minnesota
  • Colorado State at Colorado
  • Jacksonville State at Utah

Leftovers