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The Breakfast Buffet: JT Toppin, Duke visits Stanford, St. John’s/Villanova

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

JT Toppin is putting up ridiculous numbers
Is it possible to be the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and a first-team All-American from the previous season and be underrated? It certainly feels that’s what’s happening with Toppin. The 6-9 big man is averaging career-highs in points (21.3), rebounds (11.1), assists (2.2), blocks (1.9), and steals (1.1), but doesn’t seem to be getting near the attention that he was receiving a year ago. That can change if the Red Raiders continue to flourish, starting with tonight’s game in Lubbock against BYU. Just another night in the Big 12!

Duke visits Stanford
The second-best player in tonight’s game after Cameron Boozer doesn’t play for the Blue Devils. And if you haven’t become familiar with Cardinal freshman point guard Ebuka Okorie (22.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists), now is a good time to get yourself acclimated. The 6-2 Okorie torched North Carolina for 36 points and nine assists in Wednesday night’s upset win in Palo Alto and has designs on leading this program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. A win tonight would go a long way. Remember: Kyle Smith’s team has already won at Virginia Tech, beaten Saint Louis on a neutral court, and earned victories against both Louisville and North Carolina at home.

St. John’s/Villanova
Old friends reunite in Philadelphia as Rick Pitino squares off against his former assistant Kevin Willard for the first time since Willard returned to the Big East to coach the Wildcats. Pitino’s former pupil has done yeoman’s work thus far on The Main Line, leading Villanova to a 14-3 record and 5-1 mark in Big East play. Pitino meanwhile, has rallied the Red Storm after a disappointing start and will take a three-game winning streak into tonight’s matchup. Keep an eye on St. John’s depth and full-court pressure, which has been a major factor over the past few weeks.

On The Side

  • UConn freshman Braylon Mullins has already made 25 three-point shots in 12 games this season. Former Husky guard Jordan Hawkins — who was an integral part of the team that won the 2023 national title — made 27 three-point shots in 27 games when he was a freshman in 2021-22. Dan Hurley’s team resumes action today against Georgetown in Washington D.C. This is ONLY January.
  • Three of Kentucky’s next five games are on the road at Tennessee (today), Arkansas, and Vanderbilt. Yikes!
  • North Carolina is giving up an average of 92 points in its last three games entering tonight’s matchup with Cal in Berkeley.
  • Trent Perry is averaging 20.3 points in UCLA’s last three games entering today’s matchup with Ohio State in Columbus (1 PM ET, CBS).
  • Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger was Friday’s guest on INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To watch the full interview, click HERE.

Daily Specials

  • Kentucky at Tennessee
  • Florida at Vanderbilt
  • Duke at Stanford
  • BYU at Texas Tech
  • St. John’s at Villanova

Leftovers