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
Peak TCU is still a Final Four contender
If you don’t believe me, just ask Oklahoma State, who lost to the Horned Frogs by 25 on Saturday in Fort Worth. The return of Mike Miles — who missed the past three weeks with a knee injury — immediately vaults TCU back into the national discussion as a threat to play deep in the NCAA Tournament. Remember: With Miles in the lineup, the Horned Frogs won at Kansas by 23 and beat Baylor in Waco. They also played the Bears to the wire last week in Fort Worth before falling by just four points without Miles in the lineup. “They’re so good,” Baylor coach Scott Drew told College Hoops Today last week. “When healthy, they’re Final Four good.” Miles had 15 points in Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State.
Houston faces a worthy adversary
With or without Kendric Davis (21.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds) — who suffered an ankle injury in Memphis’ win on Thursday against UCF — the Cougars will be tested today at the Fertitta Center. The last time that Houston played a team that was in the NCAA Tournament picture? Dec. 17th when it won at Virginia. Memphis (20-6) has won eight of its last nine games. The Cougars were selected as a No. 1 seed in Saturday’s Bracket Preview Show on CBS, but have a much smaller margin of error than other teams who were projected as top seeds because their schedule does not present them with the same amount of opportunities to earn quality wins as the other teams — Alabama, Purdue, and Kansas — who were on the top line.
Bill Self is now firmly in the National Coach of the Year conversation
That’s not a surprise considering that Self is arguably the best coach in the sport, but it’s worth noting how well Kansas (22-5) is performing after what it lost from last season’s team that won the national title. Three starters — Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, and David McCormack along with Remy Martin — departed from the squad that cut the nets down in New Orleans and the Jayhawks are still projected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Both Agbaji and Braun were among the Top 21 picks in the 2022 NBA Draft. Saturday’s win over Baylor was Kansas’ 13th Quad 1 win — the most in college basketball. Self was previously named the AP National Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2016.
On The Side
- Kentucky freshman Chris Livingston is starting to emerge. The 6-6 forward averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two wins this week for the Wildcats.
- Boo Buie is averaging 19.8 points, four assists, and 3.8 rebounds during Northwestern’s current-four game winning streak. The Wildcats can remain in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten with a win tonight over Iowa (17-9) in Evanston.
- Mark Adams is rallying Texas Tech (15-12). The Red Raiders have won three straight games and five of their last seven. It’s going to be real interesting to see how close this team is to the bubble if it can split its final two regular season games over the next two weeks.
- Will Maryland (18-8) have a letdown today at Nebraska (13-14) after its massive win on Thursday night at Purdue? The Huskers have won three of their last four games, including a pair of wins over Penn State and Wisconsin at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
- Iona’s Rick Pitino said after Friday’s win over Manhattan that he feels more pressure coaching in a mid-major conference tournament than he did when he was coaching at the power conference level. “The pressure is much greater at this level,” Pitino said. “There’s pressure at Kentucky and Louisville if you’re a No. 1 seed and that’s great, but last year we won our league by three games and lost in the first round of the conference tournament and felt like it was one of the worst years of all-time.” The Gaels are currently in sole possession of first place in the MAAC entering today’s game at St. Peter’s.
Daily Specials
- Ohio State at Purdue
- North Carolina at NC State
- Memphis at Houston
- Maryland at Nebraska
- Iowa at Northwestern
Leftovers
- The Breakfast Buffet: Kansas visits TCU, Duke is set up for a strong finish, North Carolina
- The Breakfast Buffet: Peak TCU is still a Final Four contender, Houston, Bill Self
- The Breakfast Buffet: Jaime Jaquez, Baylor/Kansas, Tennessee/Kentucky
- The Breakfast Buffet: Purdue’s freshman guards have a tall task at Maryland, Houston, UCLA’s bench
- The Breakfast Buffet: Texas A&M steps into the spotlight, Marquette has a chance to make history, Alabama/Tennessee