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
Virginia is quietly having a season to remember
For a team that’s earned 24 wins in its first 27 games, the Cavaliers are very much under-the-radar nationally. It may not stay that way for long. Michigan’s Dusty May has gotten praise all season — and rightfully so — for his ability to successfully mold a roster in this new landscape of college basketball, but Ryan Odom deserves similar credit. Virginia’s roster is essentially built from scratch and features a healthy mix of freshmen, transfers, and international prospects that have all had a hand in bringing this program back to life. With a win tonight against NC State in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers will earn their 25th victory, which will tie the most amount of wins that Virginia has had in a season since it won the 2019 national title under Tony Bennett.
AJ Dybantsa is taking things to a different level
We knew that Richie Saunders’ season-ending ACL tear would force BYU’s star freshman to amplify his game and early indications are that’s exactly what he’s going to do. In the two games last week that the Cougars played following Saunders’ injury, the 6-9 Dybantsa averaged 32.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range. One of those games was Saturday night’s win in Provo against Iowa State, which was unequivocally BYU’s best victory of the season. The Cougars return to action tonight at home against UCF.
Keep a close eye on Patrick Ngongba
Duke is a different team when this 6-11 big man stays on the floor for long stretches and that was reiterated in Saturday’s massive win over Michigan. The Blue Devils out rebounded the Wolverines 41-28 in the victory and a main reason why was Ngonga was able to stay on the floor for 28 minutes as he finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocks. In games this season where Ngongba plays 25 minutes or more, he averages 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks.
On The Side
- Illinois’ four losses in Big Ten play have come by a combined nine points. Three of those games ended in overtime.
- Only 26.5 percent of Arizona’s field goal attempts this season have been from three-point range. The Wildcats will take a 25-2 record to Waco tonight to face Baylor.
- Dillon Mitchell has 17 assists and one turnover in St. John’s last three games. This is the best Glue Guy in the Big East.
- Wisconsin is 10-0 this season when Austin Rapp scores in double figures.
- NC State’s Will Wade was today’s guest on INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To watch the full interview, click HERE.
Daily Specials
- Miami (OH) at Eastern Michigan
- NC State at Virginia
- Tennessee at Missouri
- UCF at BYU
- USC at UCLA
