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The Breakfast Buffet: Ohio State, Florida hits the road, Chris Mack returns for Louisville

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

Ohio State’s long term ceiling is high
That’s an easy thing to say after the Buckeyes upset top-ranked Duke on Tuesday night in Columbus, but it makes more sense when you add certain context. Ohio State’s win over the Blue Devils came without two injured forwards — Justice Sueing and Seth Towns — who were a major part of how this team earned a two seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Both are expected to return in a few weeks. The Buckeyes’ two starting guards against Duke — Jamari Wheeler and Malaki Branham — are both in their first year in Chris Holtmann’s program and need time to continue to learn in a new system. And E.J. Liddell? He had a terrific game against Duke with 14 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, but didn’t have to break out score 30 or 35 points for Ohio State to outlast a team that was ranked number one in the country. It’s going to be real interesting to see where the Buckeyes are on Feb. 1st.

Florida takes its show on the road
The Gators — who are 6-0 without Keyontae Johnson — are arguably the biggest early surprise of the college basketball season, but they haven’t played a true road game. That changes tonight in Norman against Oklahoma. The Sooners don’t have a juggernaut in their first season under Porter Moser, but they’re a capable team whose whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Florida already owns victories over both Florida State and Ohio State this season, mostly because of its defense. Through six games, the Gators are only allowing an average of 55.7 points. It will be interesting to see if that type of defense can travel on the road tonight against Oklahoma.

Chris Mack returns for Louisville
It will be trial by fire. The Cardinals’ game tonight against Michigan State in East Lansing will serve as Mack’s first game on the sidelines this season after serving a six-game suspension. Louisville is coming off back-to-back wins over Mississippi State and Maryland last week in the Bahamas under assistant Mike Pegues. Tonight’s task will be taller — especially on the road. The Cardinals were elite defensively in their last two games, holding both the Bulldogs and Terps to 58 points or less. It will be interesting to see if they can slow down the Spartans, who are averaging 86.5 points in their two games this season at the Breslin Center. Michigan State is 5-2 overall, with its two defeats coming against Kansas and Baylor.

On The Side

  • Purdue’s average margin of victory through five home games is 34.6 points. Prediction: The Boilers won’t lose a single game this season at Mackey Arena.
  • The curtain comes up tonight for Texas Tech as it travels to Providence as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle. The Red Raiders — who are in their first season under Mark Adams — are 6-0 overall, but have yet to face a power conference opponent.
  • Auburn has a dangerous week. The Tigers host UCF — the sleeper team in the American Athletic Conference tonight — and then will entertain Yale on Saturday. The Bulldogs were picked first in the Ivy League Preseason Poll. These two games are the equivalent of playing two double digit seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Nebraska’s Bryce McGowens is quietly performing like one of the best freshmen in the country. The 6-7 wing is averaging 19.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and four assists over his last three games. The Huskers (5-2) visit NC State tonight as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
  • Cincinnati is playing a road game tonight at Miami (Ohio) — why? The Bearcats have absolutely nothing to gain from playing a MAC team away from home, especially one that’s already won a buy game this season at Georgia Tech.

Daily Specials

  • Louisville at Michigan State
  • Virginia Tech at Maryland
  • Michigan at North Carolina
  • Colorado at UCLA
  • Utah at USC

Leftovers