College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Tennessee’s offense, Villanova, Nevada/Washington

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

Tennessee’s offense looks the part
Rick Barnes has averaged 24 wins in each of the past six seasons with the Vols, but only one time during that span has Tennessee averaged 80 points or more. That occurred during the 2018-19 season when Barnes led the Vols to a two seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Purdue in the Sweet 16. This season’s team could be on a similar trajectory. Tennessee has scored 80 points in each of its first two games, but its 80-point outing in Friday night’s win against Wisconsin at the Kohl Center is a tangible sign that the Vols’ offense can travel against quality competition. The Vols also scored 89 points against Michigan State in East Lansing during a charity exhibition in late October. A pair of transfers — Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado) and Jordan Gainey (USC Upstate) — have spearheaded Tennessee’s augmented offensive attack and are combining to average 32.5 points.

Things are about to get real for Villanova
The Wildcats will play 29 more games until the Big East Tournament and every single one of those contests will have substance. Moving forward, every remaining tilt on Villanova’s regular season schedule will be either against a power conference opponent or a member of the Big 5 unless it faces Northern Iowa in the Battle 4 Atlantis. That’s a tall order. After Monday night’s matchup with Penn at The Palestra, Villanova (2-0) will play two other Big 5 games along with a trip to Kansas State (Big East-Big 12 Battle), a home game against Maryland (Gavitt Games), and another home game against UCLA in December. That doesn’t include three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis beginning with Texas Tech in the first round on Thanksgiving Eve and 20 Big East regular season games. Yikes!

Nevada visits Washington
A First Four caliber game in Seattle? That’s what it certainly feels like. The Huskies won their first two games against a pair of quality mid-majors in Bellarmine and Northern Kentucky, but the Wolf Pack should present stiffer competition. Nevada returns several key pieces from last season’s team that reached the NCAA Tournament, headlined by a pair of quality guards in Jarod Lucas and Kenan Blackshear. Keep an eye on Washington’s Keion Brooks, who’s averaging 27 points and 6.5 rebounds this season in his fifth year of college basketball.

On The Side

  • Hunter Dickinson has seven assists to just one turnover in Kansas’ first two games.
  • Memphis outscored Missouri 55-26 over the final 26 minutes of Friday night’s game in Columbia. I would want no part of the Tigers in February or March.
  • BYU sent a message to the rest of the Big 12 with its win over San Diego State on Friday night: Don’t expect any easy games in Provo. Every single conference game that the Cougars play at home will be an event.
  • Clemson’s PJ Hall is quietly on a massive tear to the start the season. The veteran big man is averaging 23.5 points and seven rebounds through his first two games entering today’s matchup with Davidson in the finals of the Asheville Championship.
  • Weber State’s Dillon Jones will play in his first showcase game of the season tonight when the Wildcats visit Saint Mary’s. The 6-6 Jones has averaged a double-double in each of the past two seasons and tallied 26 points and 14 rebounds in Weber State’s opener earlier in the week.

Daily Specials

  • Maryland/UAB (Asheville)
  • Clemson/Davidson (Asheville)
  • San Francisco at Boise State
  • Weber State at Saint Mary’s
  • Nevada at Washington

Leftovers