College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Kentucky visits Bud Walton Arena, BYU/Kansas, Virginia Tech has a golden opportunity against Duke

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

Kentucky visits Bud Walton Arena
A year ago, Arkansas turned around its season when it beat John Calipari’s former team at Rupp Arena. Tonight, the Wildcats arrive in Fayetteville on the heels of a 25-point loss at Vanderbilt earlier in the week. Expect the Razorbacks to smell blood. Another thing to expect? Calipari is going to try to win this game by fifty if he can. As usual, keep a close eye on Arkansas freshman point guard Darius Acuff (20.2 points, 6.3 assists), who continues to look like the leader in the SEC Player of the Year race.

BYU/Kansas
I’m not somebody who gets too caught up in where college basketball players are projected to be at the next level, but I’ll be the first to admit that today’s showdown at Allen Fieldhouse between AJ Dybantsa (23.6 points, 6.7 rebounds) and Darryn Peterson (21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds) should be tremendous theater. This is the start of a vicious two-week stretch for the Jayhawks, who will also play Texas Tech, Arizona, and Iowa State before mid-February.

Virginia Tech has a golden opportunity against Duke
The Hokies may have more to gain today than any other team in college basketball. Virginia Tech has been hovering around the bubble all season and currently only owns one Quad 1 win, which came earlier in ACC play against Virginia. A win against the Blue Devils — who have only lost once this season — would completely change the trajectory for Mike Young’s team between now and Selection Sunday.

On The Side

  • Iowa State’s 19-2 start is the best in program history.
  • Mark Few told reporters this week that Gonzaga’s Graham Ike (ankle) returned to practice and is expected to play tonight against Saint Mary’s in Spokane. The 6-9 Ike has not played since Jan. 15th and averages 18.1 points and 8.8 rebounds.
  • San Diego State’s Magoon Gwath (hip) is OUT for today’s game against Utah State, Brian Dutcher told College Hoops Today. The 7-foot Gwath has not played since Jan. 17th and averages 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Tip off for today’s game is at 1 PM ET on CBS.
  • Oklahoma is on a seven-game losing streak entering today’s game against Texas in Norman.
  • Michigan State’s Tom Izzo was a recent guest this week on INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To watch the full interview, click HERE.

Daily Specials

  • Duke at Virginia Tech
  • SMU at Louisville
  • BYU at Kansas
  • Kentucky at Arkansas
  • Saint Mary’s at Gonzaga

Leftovers