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The Breakfast Buffet: SMU gets a crack at Duke, D.J. Wagner, Baylor visits Hilton Coliseum

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

SMU gets a crack at Duke
Are the Ponies going to be a real contender at the top of the ACC in their first year of the conference? We’ll have a better idea after today’s game against the Blue Devils at Moody Coliseum. Andy Enfield deserves credit for guiding SMU to an 11-2 start, but the Ponies currently do not own a Quad 1 win entering today’s game against Duke. It should be noted that SMU was very competitive in a five-point loss to Mississippi State on Nov. 22nd in Dallas and owns wins over three power conference teams in Virginia, LSU, and Boston College. The Blue Devils meanwhile, are 11-2, on a seven-game winning streak, and look poised to run away with the ACC regular season title in their third season under Jon Scheyer.

Arkansas needs D.J. Wagner against Tennessee
Boogie Fland (15.9 points, 6.2 assists. 3.5 rebounds) has established himself as the next great freshman guard to play under John Calipari, but if the Razorbacks are going to have a chance to beat the Vols and some of the other top teams in the SEC, they need Wagner to also be a regular scoring force on the perimeter. In the last two seasons, Wagner’s teams — Arkansas and Kentucky — are 19-1 when he scores in double figures and the only loss came last season in overtime at Texas A&M. The 6-4 Wagner is averaging 11.8 points in his last four games and has been very solid. The ceiling will change for Arkansas if and when he goes from solid to spectacular. Tennessee is currently 13-0 and ranked FIRST in the ROTHSTEIN 45 while the Razorbacks check in at 27.

Baylor visits Hilton Coliseum
A slew of injuries kept Jeremy Roach, Langston Love, and VJ Edgecombe out of the Bears’ lineup at different points during the first two months of the season. Now fully healthy, Baylor looks fresh and ready for what lies ahead in the guts of the Big 12. Does that mean going to Ames today and beating Iowa State? We’ll find out this afternoon. Scott Drew’s team enters today’s game on a four-game winning streak, but the Cyclones have been clearly the best team in the Big 12 this season and are 11-1, with their only loss coming to Auburn in the Maui Invitational. Tip off is at 2 PM ET on CBS.

On The Side

  • Today’s game between Kentucky and Florida at Rupp Arena is the first meeting between both programs since March 8, 1996 that didn’t include John Calipari or Billy Donovan. How long ago that? The head coach of the Wildcats on March 8, 1996 was Rick Pitino.
  • Arizona will play back-to-back Quad 1 games in the next four days at Cincinnati and West Virginia. The Wildcats currently do not own a Quad 1 win this season.
  • Nebraska has won 11 straight games against Big Ten opponents at Pinnacle Bank Arena entering today’s matchup with UCLA in Lincoln.
  • St. John’s Kadary Richmond (10.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists) is just 3-15 from three-point range and 18-39 from the foul line entering today’s game at Butler at Carnesecca Arena.
  • College Hoops Today exclusively reported on Friday that the NCAA is considering allowing five years of eligibility for players in all sports.

Daily Specials

  • Florida at Kentucky
  • Arkansas at Tennessee
  • Baylor at Iowa State
  • UCLA at Nebraska
  • Oklahoma at Alabama

Leftovers