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The Breakfast Buffet: Shaka Smart meets his old team, AJ Storr, Big East starting to have separation

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

Shaka Smart meets his old team
The game of the night in college basketball is in Milwaukee as Texas visits Marquette as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle. It will be the first time that Smart — who coached the Longhorns from 2015-21 — faces Texas. This game presents the last true opportunity for Texas — who’s currently ranked 12th in the ROTHSTEIN 45 — to earn a quality win during non-conference play. Marquette is coming off a road loss at Wisconsin. Keep an eye on the matchup between Golden Eagles point guard Tyler Kolek (13.5 points, 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds) and Longhorns guard Max Abmas, who’s averaging 24.5 points in his last two games.

AJ Storr has been a revelation for Wisconsin
The Badgers lost eight games last season by five points or fewer and needed more offense after failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They’re getting it from Storr. A transfer from St. John’s, the 6-7 wing has completely changed Wisconsin’s makeup. Storr scored 22 points in Tuesday night’s win against Michigan State in East Lansing and is averaging 14.2 points, which leads the Badgers. Greg Gard’s squad will go for its seventh straight win on Saturday at Arizona.

The Big East is starting to have separation
Until proven otherwise, Creighton, Marquette, and UConn are clearly the three best teams in this conference. All three are currently ranked in the Top 16 of the ROTHSTEIN 45 and all three are more than capable of going to the Final Four. After that, things are a bit jumbled. Providence has two all-conference players in Bryce Hopkins and Devin Carter while St. John’s is always going to be viewed as a dangerous opponent because of Rick Pitino. Villanova? The Wildcats have now lost three straight since winning the Battle 4 Atlantis and feel like a bit of a mystery moving forward. Butler meanwhile, is 7-2 and a bonafide sleeper in Year Two under Thad Matta. Xavier — who has lost three straight games at the Cintas Center — headlines the rest of the league which also includes Seton Hall, Georgetown, and DePaul.

On The Side

  • Purdue is 20-3 over the past four seasons in games where Mason Gillis scores in double figures.
  • Mick Cronin told reporters on Tuesday that UCLA’s Berke Buyuktuncel (ankle) is OUT for Saturday’s game against Villanova in Philadelphia. The 6-9 forward averages 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, but had six points and three rebounds in 10 minutes last week against UC Riverside prior to suffering the injury. Saturday’s matchup will be the first true road game of the year for the Bruins.
  • Five of the top seven scorers in college basketball — Tyler Thomas (Hofstra), Tommy Bruner (Denver), Xavier Johnson (SIU), Jaedon LeDee (San Diego State), and Boogie Ellis (USC) — are COVID seniors. The other two members of the top seven — Zach Edey (Purdue) and Tyson Acuff (Eastern Michigan) — are in their fourth year.
  • One interesting note heading into tonight’s matchup between Clemson and South Carolina: The Gamecocks only have 11 total turnovers in their last two games. Think Bo Ryan had an influence on Gamecocks head coach Lamont Paris when he was an assistant at Wisconsin?
  • The sleeper game of the night in college basketball is in Albuquerque as UC Santa Barbara visits New Mexico. The Gauchos are a perfect 4-0 this season with star point guard Ajay Mitchell (23.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists) in the lineup.

Daily Specials

  • Rutgers at Wake Forest
  • Memphis at VCU
  • Texas at Marquette
  • South Carolina at Clemson
  • UC Santa Barbara at New Mexico

Leftovers