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
Josh Hubbard steps into the spotlight
People from the periphery will look at tonight’s game in Starkville between Kentucky and Mississippi State as just another stop for the Wildcats as they prepare to make a deep run in the postseason. Others know that it’s also a major showcase for Hubbard, who has quietly been one of college basketball’s best freshmen during the 2023-24 season. The 5-10 guard has been an offensive revelation for the Bulldogs, who are significantly better offensively than last season’s team that made the NCAA Tournament. Hubbard enters tonight’s game averaging 15.3 points while shooting 35.5 percent from three-point range. He had 32 points and made six three-point shots in Saturday’s win at LSU. Remember the name.
Jay Pal has emerged as a factor for San Diego State
If the Aztecs again go on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, this guy will be a major reason why. Much like many players who came before him at Viejas Arena, the 6-9 Pal is a disruptor defensively that can guard multiple positions and protect the front of the rim. A transfer from Campbell, Pal has started San Diego State’s last three games and is gradually becoming an “identity guy” for Brian Dutcher. How significant has Pal’s impact been for the Aztecs? In games this season where he logs 20 minutes or more, San Diego State is 10-1. The Aztecs will next host San Jose State tonight. Tip off is at 11 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.
UMass is the latest school to choose football over tradition
My first thought when I heard on Monday that UMass was going to join the MAC in 2025? 30 years ago, this program and Temple were at the epicenter of what made the Atlantic 10 what it was — a truly unique basketball league. The Minutemen went to the Final Four in 1996 and the Owls went to five Elite Eights between 1988 and 2001. In two years, neither will be in the conference. I don’t fault UMass for taking a better financial offer in an effort to enhance its football program, but I do offer this warning: The front porch of this university for the last three decades has been the men’s basketball program. That front porch will now never be the same moving forward. Dollars and cents make a big difference, but so does upholding traditions and long-standing rivalries. Just ask Temple.
On The Side
- Matt Painter said Monday on the College Hoops Today Podcast that this will be Zach Edey’s final season at Purdue. The 7-4 Edey is on the verge of becoming the first player to win National Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Ralph Sampson did at Virginia in the early 1980s. He’s got one year of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- I’m officially concerned about Kevin McCullar’s health moving forward for Kansas. Bill Self has already announced that he won’t play tonight against BYU due to a lingering knee injury and his status moving forward is TBD for the rest of the regular season. The Jayhawks are vulnerable with McCullar in the lineup. Without him? They look like a team that’s destined to lose by the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis is 16-24 from three-point range in his last five games.
- St. John’s is now 11-4 in games this season where Jordan Dingle reaches double figures and 4-8 when he does not. Dingle is averaging 20 points during the Red Storm’s current two-game winning streak.
- Nevada’s Nick Davidson is averaging 19 points and 9.1 rebounds in his last seven games entering tonight’s tilt against Colorado State in Fort Collins. This is the best player in the Mountain West that not enough people are talking about.
Daily Specials
- Cincinnati at Houston
- Kentucky at Mississippi State
- BYU at Kansas
- Texas at Texas Tech
- Nevada at Colorado State