College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Purdue/Indiana, Miami’s perimeter, San Francisco takes a crack at Gonzaga

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

Purdue/Indiana
Rivalry games are one of the main things that make college basketball special. One of the best takes place tonight in Bloomington. Indiana (13-4) has proven that it’s capable of being a team that makes the NCAA Tournament in its first season under Mike Woodson, but to be considered among the top teams in the Big Ten it has to beat a team like Purdue (15-2). It will be far from easy. The Boilers have nine starters, multiple All-Americans, and the type of seasoning and experience that allowed them to win on the road on Monday in Champaign against Illinois in double overtime. This game also features a fascinating battle of elite frontcourt players as Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis (19.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2,9 blocks) squares off with Purdue’s two-headed monster of Zach Edey (15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds) and Trevion Williams (13.4 points, 8.5 rebounds).

Miami’s perimeter is again serving as its anchor
Jim Larranaga has had two Sweet 16 teams during his tenure at Miami. The common trait in both of them was great guard play. The same thing is resonating with this year’s group of Hurricanes. Just like in 2013 with Shane Larkin and Durand Scott and in 2016 with Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan, Ja’Quan Newton, and Davon Reed, Miami’s perimeter of Charlie Moore, Isaiah Wong, and Kameron McGusty has completely laid a foundation for this program to compete for an ACC regular season title. That troika is currently averaging a combined 47 points, 12.9 rebounds, 8,4 assists, and 4.7 steals. It’s only Jan. 20th, but the Hurricanes already own wins over both Duke and North Carolina; they will take a 14-4 record into Saturday’s massive game against Florida State in Coral Gables. Miami (14-4) is currently in sole possession of first place in the ACC.

San Francisco takes a crack at Gonzaga
Todd Golden and the Dons don’t want sympathy from America, but the way the Bulldogs have been playing as of late, they may need it. Gonzaga has won its first three games in WCC play by an average margin of 34 points while averaging 114 points and 26.7 assists. Those aren’t just great offensive numbers — they’re great offensive numbers on steroids. “We have to make them (Gonzaga) execute in the half court,” Golden told College Hoops Today earlier this week. “We can’t try and trade baskets.” San Francisco (15-3) enters tonight’s game in Spokane fresh off a two-point home loss last Saturday to BYU. To have a chance tonight in Spokane, the Dons will need their three primary guards — Jamarree Bouyea, Khalil Shabazz, and Gabe Stefanini — to minimize their turnovers. San Francisco enters tonight’s game averaging 14.2 turnovers as a team. Tip off for tonight’s tilt is at 11 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.

On The Side

  • Florida State freshman John Butler is not Jonathan Isaac, but he reminded Leonard Hamilton of Jonathan Isaac when Florida State was recruiting him. The 7-1 forward finally broke out in Tuesday’s win over Duke, tallying 14 points on eight shots to go with two blocks in 27 minutes. Remember the name.
  • Texas (13-5) has seven players on its roster who averaged in double figures last season, with only three of those players — Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr, and Andrew Jones — averaging in double figures this year. The Longhorns loaded up via the transfer portal during the offseason, but at times appear like they may have too many mouths to feed.
  • Colorado’s hopes of playing in the NCAA Tournament may ultimately hinge on how it performs in Boulder this weekend against both USC and UCLA. The Buffs enter tonight’s game against the Trojans at 12-4, but currently don’t own a Quad 1 win.
  • What is going on at Butler (9-8)? The Bulldogs have lost four of their last five games and have been far from competitive in the games that they haven’t won. Butler’s average margin of defeat in its last four losses is 21.8 points. LaVall Jordan’s squad will host UConn (12-4) tonight at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
  • Dayton (12-6) is a legitimate bid stealer to watch at the Atlantic 10 Tournament in March. After starting out the season at 1-3 with losses against UMass Lowell, Lipscomb, and Austin Peay, the Flyers have won 11 of their last 14 games.

Daily Specials

  • Purdue at Indiana
  • USC at Colorado
  • San Francisco at Gonzaga
  • UCLA at Utah
  • Arizona at Stanford

Leftovers