College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Oregon/UCLA, Chris Youngblood, John Mobley

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

Oregon/UCLA
The Bruins lost four straight games to start 2025, but have since won four in a row entering tonight’s game against the Ducks at Pauley Pavilion. Oregon has lost two of its last three and is coming off a road defeat at Minnesota. UCLA won the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season in Eugene, but that was before the emergence of Aday Mara in the pivot. The 7-3 sophomore is averaging 15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks in his last three games and has given UCLA an entirely new dynamic at center. It will be interesting to see how Mick Cronin manages the combination of Mara and Tyler Bilodeau (13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds) up front if Bilodeau — who’s missed the last two games — returns from an ankle injury.

Chris Youngblood is emerging for Alabama
And that’s a good sign for the Crimson Tide. Last season’s Co-AAC Player of the Year when he was at South Florida, Youngblood missed the first month of the season due to an ankle injury, but really put things together in Alabama’s 88-84 win at Mississippi State on Wednesday night. The 6-4 guard had a season-high 23 points and was a ridiculous 7-10 from three-point range. Youngblood looks primed to fill the role for the Crimson Tide that Latrell Wrightsell left behind when he was lost for the season due to an achilles injury. Alabama is 11-1 this season with Youngblood in the lineup.

John Mobley is Ohio State’s X-Factor
The Buckeyes are 9-4 this season when Mobley scores in double figures and 3-4 when he does not. That’s a big piece of information to monitor as Ohio State takes a two-game winning streak into tonight’s game against Penn State in State College. The 6-1 freshman has been pressed into extended minutes after veteran guard Meechie Johnson stepped away from the team for personal reasons and Mobley has answered the bell. He made a huge shot late last week in the Buckeyes’ massive win over Purdue at Mackey Arena and is averaging 14.3 points in his last three games. As Mobley goes, so does Ohio State.

On The Side

  • Pat Kelsey is just 49 years old and on the verge of taking three programs — Winthrop, Charleston, and now Louisville — to the NCAA Tournament.
  • Duke has won 13 straight games since Sion James replaced Caleb Foster in the Blue Devils’ starting lineup.
  • Arizona’s Tobe Awaka has grabbed 48 rebounds in his last four games. This is the unsung presence in the Wildcats’ 8-1 start in Big 12 play.
  • Remember: The bottom three teams in both the ACC and the Big Ten will not qualify for their respective conference tournaments this season. That means six power conference programs will have their seasons completed by March 9th.
  • UCF has now taken Kansas to the wire at Allen Fieldhouse and Houston to the wire in Orlando, but lost both games. That really stings for a team that’s clearly on the bubble.

Daily Specials

  • Ohio State at Penn State
  • Illinois at Nebraska
  • Memphis at Tulane
  • UC Irvine at Long Beach State
  • Oregon at UCLA

Leftovers