College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Rodney Terry, Xavier’s offense, UCLA/Washington

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

Rodney Terry deserves credit for the job that he’s doing at Texas
There’s difficult situations and then there’s what Terry has dealt with over the past few weeks after Chris Beard was suspended indefinitely by Texas. Terry — who was previously the head coach at both UTEP and Fresno State — improved to 5-0 as the Longhorns’ acting head coach with Saturday’s 70-69 win over Oklahoma in Norman. Nobody knows when and if Beard will ever return for Texas, but Terry’s stewardship has been a quality alternative. Another thing to remember: In addition to Terry, the Longhorns’ staff features several other assistants — Bob Donewald, Chris Ogden, and Steve McClain — who have been head coaches previously in their careers. That type of experience on the bench can’t be understated. Texas is 12-1 and will next host Kansas State on Tuesday in Austin.

Xavier’s offense continues to impress
Being the first team to beat UConn this season is impressive. The way that the Musketeers did it on Saturday at the Cintas Center is equally impressive. The Huskies entered Saturday’s game allowing an average of just 59.1 points; Xavier scored 83 in the 10-point triumph while shooting 53.8 percent from the field. The Musketeers also had 20 assists on 28 made field goals. Xavier is currently averaging 83.8 points, which is higher than any team that Sean Miller has ever coached.

UCLA/Washington
The Bruins played their worst game of the season on Friday night, but managed to escape Pullman with a dramatic 67-66 victory over Washington State. UCLA (12-2) will have to be considerably sharper today to beat an improved Washington (9-5) team in Seattle. UCLA freshman Amari Bailey (9.5 points) did not play on Friday night against the Cougars due to a foot injury and his elusiveness could be a real factor against the Huskies’ 2-3 zone if he returns. Mick Cronin is 6-0 against Washington since he was hired as UCLA’s head coach in 2019.

On The Side

  • South Carolina transfer Devin Carter has been a revelation for Providence. An elite defender, the 6-3 Carter is averaging 20.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 steals in his last two games entering tonight’s tilt against DePaul in Chicago. The Friars have won six straight.
  • Memphis’ three losses have come by a combined 10 points. One of those defeats — against Seton Hall — came on a banked three-point shot at the buzzer. This team is a bit underrated nationally.
  • Northwestern (10-2) has won two straight home games against Ohio State (9-3) entering tonight’s matchup in Evanston. The Wildcats have three of their next four games at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
  • USC’s Joshua Morgan has already blocked 42 shots this season — he blocked 28 during all of last year. The 6-11 center is currently fourth nationally in blocked shots, averaging three per game.
  • St. John’s (11-4) has allowed an average of 83.3 points in its last three games, which have all been losses. The Red Storm will next host Marquette on Tuesday at Carnesecca Arena. This team badly needs a win.

Daily Specials

  • Providence at DePaul
  • Maryland at Michigan
  • Iowa at Penn State
  • UCLA at Washington
  • Ohio State at Northwestern

Leftovers