College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Seton Hall/Michigan, Illinois, BYU’s golden opportunity

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

Seton Hall’s trip to Michigan
32 and a half years after these two programs met in the 1989 national title game, the Pirates and Wolverines will face off tonight in Ann Arbor as part of the Gavitt Games. Both teams will be facing their first power conference opponent of the season. While Michigan enters the game with more cache, Seton Hall should not be taken lightly. Kevin Willard has publicly stated that this could be the deepest team that he’s had in South Orange; it will need every piece in its arsenal to beat the Wolverines on their home floor. What are the biggest keys for Seton Hall? Defending Hunter Dickinson in the low post while also using its versatile array of big men to open up the floor. Two of the Pirates’ key frontcourt pieces — Alexis Yetna and Tyrese Samuel — are a combined 5-11 from 3-point range through two games and could be used in an effort to bring Dickinson away from the basket. On defense, 7-2 big man Ikey Obiagu has to use his wide body to keep Dickinson away from the front of the rim. This should be a fascinating chess match between Willard and Juwan Howard.

Illinois’ ball handling against Marquette was abominable
That may be putting it mildly. The Illini — who were playing without Kofi Cockburn due to an NCAA suspension — outrebounded Marquette by 20 and had a 12-point lead with 10 minutes to play, but still managed to lose by a point thanks to their uncanny ability to be loose with the basketball. Illinois finished with 26 turnovers, seven of which came by Andre Curbelo. The performance by Curbelo — an All-American candidate — was shocking. While many people — including myself — expected the sophomore to guide Illinois on the road like an upperclassmen, he did the exact opposite. Rather than exuding patience and precision, Curbelo forced offense, over dribbled, and failed to trust his teammates. It felt at times like Brett Favre was playing point guard for Illinois. This was a horrific loss for the Illini and a tremendous win for Shaka Smart, Marquette, and the Big East.

BYU’s golden opportunity
The Cougars earned a quality win last week against San Diego State that should hold all the way to Selection Sunday. They’ll try and do the same thing tonight against Oregon in the Phil Knight Invitational. Why is this game so important for BYU? The Ducks represent the best remaining opponent on BYU’s schedule other than its two regular season games against Gonzaga. None of the other non-conference opponents on the Cougars’ early slate — Utah, Utah State, Creighton, or anyone in the Diamond Head Classic — is currently projected to be an NCAA Tournament team in 2022. The most likely candidate may be Liberty, who is a part of the Diamond Head field in Hawaii. A win tonight over a brand name opponent like Oregon would likely put Mark Pope’s team into next week’s AP Top 25 and make BYU a full fledged national story early in the season.

On The Side

  • North Carolina has a potential trap game tonight at Charleston (8:30 ET, CBS Sports Network). This tilt is the first true road game for the Tar Heels under Hubert Davis and comes just days before North Carolina faces Purdue in the Hall-of-Fame Tip Off at Mohegan Sun on Saturday. A second game in Connecticut against either Villanova or Tennessee will follow on Sunday.
  • Baylor has the best freshmen in the Big 12 with Kendall Brown and Jeremy Sochan. It may not be close. The duo combined for 29 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in Monday’s win over Nicholls. Buy stock in both — now!
  • Nebraska freshman Bryce McGowens (27 points) enters tonight’s game against Creighton tied for fifth nationally in scoring and is first among freshmen. The 6-7 wing is also averaging 5.5 rebounds. Pinnacle Bank Arena should be on fire for this evening’s in-state showdown, which feels like the biggest game that the Huskers’ program has had under Fred Hoiberg.
  • Syracuse’s Joe Girard is 8-8 from three-point range in his first two games, with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 12:4. That’s as close to flawless as you can get if you’re a point guard.
  • Isaiah Thompson has played 45 minutes without committing a single turnover in Purdue’s first two games. He’s also 6-11 from three-point range. The junior point guard is a critical piece to monitor in West Lafayette. The Boilers next host Wright State tonight at Mackey Arena.

Daily Specials

  • Creighton at Nebraska
  • Virginia at Houston
  • North Carolina at Charleston
  • Seton Hall at Michigan
  • BYU/Oregon (Phil Knight Invitational)

Leftovers