College Hoops Today

Serving College Basketball 365 Days a Year

The Breakfast Buffet: Tom Izzo’s “tweak”, Braden Smith, Mississippi State

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

Tom Izzo’s “tweak” deserves more attention
Michigan State will enter tonight’s game against Washington in East Lansing on a seven-game winning streak and a major reason why is because of an adjustment that Izzo made during the Maui Invitational in November. Prior to the Spartans’ final game in the event against North Carolina, Izzo opted to insert Tre Holloman (7.1 points, 3.8 assists) into Michigan State’s starting lineup to give his team another capable ball handler alongside Jeremy Fears (7.3 points, 6.0 assists) and move Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler to the bench. Since the change was made, the Spartans have assisted on 64.8 percent of their made baskets and won seven straight games by an average of 17 points. Michigan State goes for its eighth straight victory tonight at home against Washington in the first-ever Big Ten meeting between the two programs.

Braden Smith is playing like a first-team All-American
Purdue is a combined 74-15 over the past three seasons with Smith as its point guard and with Zach Edey now in the NBA, the 6-foot Smith has seamlessly transitioned to being the face of the Boilers’ program. He’s also playing like one of the best players in the country. Entering tonight’s game against Rutgers in Piscataway, Smith is averaging 25.3 points, 9.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in his last three games. Those are video game like numbers for a point guard. His assist-to-turnover ratio during that span is better than 4:1. Purdue isn’t nearly as physically imposing as its been over the past few years without Edey, but Smith’s presence alone will keep this program among the nation’s elite for as long as he’s in West Lafayette. The Boilers are currently 11-4 and will play three of their next four games on the road.

Mississippi State’s long-term potential will be revealed in the next two weeks
The Bulldogs’ 14-1 start — which currently features four Quad 1 wins — has made a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance under Chris Jans feel like inevitability. The question is though, can Mississippi State elevate itself into the SEC’s top tier in what is the best season that the conference has had in its storied history? We’ll have a better idea in the next two weeks. The Bulldogs will host Kentucky on Saturday in Starkville and then visit Auburn on Jan. 14th. Ole Miss — who’s currently ranked 23rd in the ROTHSTEIN 45 — will then visit Mississippi State on Jan. 18th which will precede a trip to Tennessee on Jan. 21st. If the Bulldogs can get a split during this four-game stretch then they should be viewed as a team that can win multiple games in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

On The Side

  • Bruce Pearl became the winningest coach in Auburn history after Tuesday’s win at Texas.
  • Prediction: Duke will win at least 17 games in ACC play and win the conference by at least four games.
  • Milos Uzan is averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 assists in Houston’s first three Big 12 games. His assist-to-turnover ratio during that span? 15:3.  
  • St. John’s is shooting just 30 percent from three-point range as a team, but is still 13-3 and its three losses have come by a combined five points. If this team ever starts making outside shots, look out.
  • Tre Donaldson made 25 three-point shots during all of last season when he was at Auburn. He’s already made 31 shots from long distance this season at Michigan.

Daily Specials

  • Purdue at Rutgers
  • Oregon at Ohio State
  • Washington at Michigan State

Leftovers