College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Oklahoma’s massive win, Collin Gillespie, Mike Young

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

Oklahoma earned arguably the best win of the season against Alabama
Once in a while, sport completely reflects life. Saturday in Norman was one of those moments. Down two starters — Austin Reaves and Alondes Williams — due to COVID-19 protocols, Oklahoma didn’t allow being short handed to be an excuse against one of the best teams in the country. Instead, it served as a catalyst. The Sooners’ relentlessness and unwillingness to concede led to an inspirational victory, one that saw Oklahoma outrebound Alabama 42-34, which included 13 offensive boards. The Sooners also held the Crimson Tide to 61 points, over 20 below their average. There’s been several standout wins in college basketball this season, but for now, this one stands apart from the rest. 

Collin Gillespie’s ball security is at another level
Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs may be better pro prospects at the point guard position, but neither they nor anybody else in college basketball protects the ball quite like Gillespie. Villanova’s steady senior floor general had 11 assists to just one turnover in Saturday’s win at Seton Hall and has only accumulated four turnovers in his last 142 minutes played. That’s one turnover every 35.5 minutes. There’s many reasons why the Wildcats are 11-1 after their first 12 games, but Gillespie may very well be the biggest.

Mike Young is a runaway choice for ACC Coach of the Year
There’s still six weeks left between now and Selection Sunday, but this feels like a formality. The Hokies lost their top scorer from last season in Landers Nolley — who transferred to Memphis — yet have gotten significantly better. How? The guy on the sidelines has a lot to do with it. Young has taken a slew of players who were recruited to play at the mid-major level — Keve Aluma, Justyn Mutts, and Hunter Cattoor — and turned them into capable ACC contributors. That trio combined for 48 of Virginia Tech’s 65 points in Saturday’s win over Virginia. The Hokies — along with Gonzaga — are the only teams in college basketball this season who are 4-0 against teams in the AP Top 25.

On The Side

  • Georgia Tech isn’t just an NCAA Tournament team; it’s a team that can win in the NCAA Tournament. The Yellow Jackets’ victory over Florida State on Saturday again reiterated its potential, which has already been displayed in triumphs over both North Carolina and Clemson. This team can make another statement on Monday when it travels to Louisville. 
  • Can Penn State play its way onto the bubble? Don’t rule it out of the realm of possibility. The Nittany Lions are just 6-7, but own wins over Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, and Rutgers. This team is going to have an opportunity to move the needle in just about every game it plays for the rest of the season.
  • LSU is on the ropes. The Tigers blew a seven-point lead with under two minutes to play in Saturday’s loss to Texas Tech and now will be without Darius Days for the next few weeks due to a knee injury. LSU’s next two games are at Alabama and home against Florida.
  • Kudos to Mike White, who has rallied Florida after an early season COVID-19 pause and the loss of Keyontae Johnson for the year due to a heart issue. The Gators have now won four straight games following Saturday’s massive victory at West Virginia. 
  • St. Joseph’s is a combined 2-25 in Atlantic 10 regular season conference games since it decided to part ways with Phil Martelli. That is not a misprint. 

Daily Specials

  • SMU at Houston
  • Michigan State at Ohio State
  • St. John’s at Marquette
  • NC State at Syracuse
  • Rutgers at Northwestern

Leftovers: