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The Breakfast Buffet: Kansas/Kansas State, UConn hits the road, Boo Buie

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

The rematch between Kansas and Kansas State
Two weeks ago, the Wildcats emerged as a legitimate contender for the Big 12 regular season title when they beat the Jayhawks in overtime by a point in Manhattan. The two teams meet again tonight at Allen Fieldhouse, a place where Kansas State has not won since 2006. Kansas currently trails the Wildcats by a game in the Big 12 standings. Under Bill Self, the Jayhawks are currently 38-7 against Kansas State.

UConn hits the road
Getting out of the fishbowl is sometimes a good thing. Don’t be surprised if it works to the Huskies’ advantage in a pair of road games this week at DePaul (tonight) and Georgetown (Saturday). UConn (16-6) has lost six of its last eight games after starting the season 14-0, but this is still a team that has more than enough to be a major factor in the postseason. Rebuilding confidence over the next 80 minutes is imperative for the Huskies because of what comes next. Following Saturday’s game against Georgetown in Washington D.C., UConn will return home to host Marquette (17-5) next week followed by a road game at Creighton (13-8) on Feb. 11th.

Northwestern’s Boo Buie is evolving as a point guard
The Wildcats — who are currently 15-5 overall — will take a three-game winning streak into tonight’s game at Iowa (13-8). A major reason for that is Buie’s evolution at the most important position on the floor. A volume scorer for the majority of his career, the 6-2 senior has 15 assists and just four turnovers during the Wildcats’ last three games. He’s also averaging 19.3 points while shooting 47.7 percent from the field during that span. “I can’t speak enough about how Boo (Buie) has evolved as a point guard,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said on this week’s edition of the College Hoops Today Podcast. The Wildcats were ranked 30th in this week’s ROTHSTEIN 45.

On The Side

  • Providence (17-5) has won 10 straight games with Jared Bynum in the lineup. The 5-10 Bynum — who had 19 points and five assists in Sunday’s win at Villanova — missed several games in January due to an abdominal injury.
  • Nevada’s game tonight against San Diego State (17-4) is the best remaining regular season opportunity for the Wolf Pack to earn a Quad 1 victory. All of Nevada’s remaining games against quality opponents are on the road aside from tonight’s matchup with the Aztecs. Tip off is at 11 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.
  • Virginia Tech (13-8) is now 13-4 with Hunter Cattoor in the lineup and 0-4 when he is not. Cattoor is averaging 17.5 points in his last two games entering tonight’s tilt against Miami (16-5) in Coral Gables. The Hokies will also host Virginia this weekend in Blacksburg.
  • Michigan and Ohio State have a combined record of 22-20.
  • Fordham’s Keith Urgo is the early favorite for Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. The Rams have already surpassed their win total from last season and are 17-4 entering tonight’s tilt with Saint Louis (15-6) in the Bronx.

Daily Specials

  • Virginia Tech at Miami
  • Kansas State at Kansas
  • West Virginia at TCU
  • UConn at DePaul
  • San Diego State at Nevada

Leftovers