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The Breakfast Buffet: Purdue/Wisconsin, UConn, Kentucky’s defense

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

Purdue visits Wisconsin
Sole possession of first place in the Big Ten will be on the line today at the Kohl Center as the Boilers visit the Badgers. Both teams are Final Four contenders. Look for Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl to play a significant role in this matchup because of his ability to stretch the defense from the center position and “go over the top” of Zach Edey (23.4 points, 11.6 rebounds). The 7-foot Crowl has attempted two three-point shots in each of his last two games. A win by the Badgers would immediately put them in the discussion to be a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tip off is at 1 PM ET on CBS.

UConn is winning in spite of injuries
The Huskies won five straight games without Donovan Clingan and beat St. John’s on Saturday by 13 at MSG without Alex Karaban (14.5 points, 5.8 rebounds), who was out with an ankle injury. Both are starters for UConn, who is now 20-2 and on a 10-game winning streak. Remember: The Huskies’ loss to Kansas in December came without Stephon Castle and their loss at Seton Hall was when Clingan went out of the lineup with an injured foot. This team still hasn’t lost a game this year at full strength. As of today, there are no debates to be had — UConn is clearly the best team in the sport. And it doesn’t need to have all hands on deck to sustain its product.

Kentucky’s defense is a mess
John Calipari’s team may have one of the highest ceilings in college basketball, but it also currently has a defense that won’t get it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Following Saturday night’s loss to Tennessee at Rupp Arena, Kentucky is now giving up an average of 97.7 points in its last three home games. That is not a misprint. The backbone of Calipari’s best teams has always been hard, physical man-to-man defense that stifles the opponent. This team has yet to display any of those attributes or abilities. If the Wildcats don’t fix their issues on that side of the floor, it’s hard to see them as a major threat to do damage during March Madness.

On The Side

  • Harrison Ingram made 36 three-point shots in each of the past two seasons while he was at Stanford. He’s already made 41 this year at North Carolina.
  • Terrence Shannon Jr.’s return for Illinois hasn’t inhibited Marcus Domask. The 6-6 wing is averaging 18.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in the four games that the the Illini have played since Shannon rejoined the lineup after being suspended for rape charges. Brad Underwood’s squad goes for its fifth win in its last six games tonight in Champaign against Nebraska.
  • The top three brands in the Big Ten — Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio State — are a combined 33-33.
  • Villanova’s Justin Moore is averaging just 6.6 points in the six games that he’s played since returning from a mid-season knee injury. The Wildcats — who host Providence this evening at the Wells Fargo Center — are just 1-5 during that span with their only win coming against DePaul.
  • Arkansas fell to 11-11 and 2-7 in SEC play following Saturday’s 21-point loss at LSU. Six of the Razorbacks’ seven losses in conference play have come by double figures. Remember: This program reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons.

Daily Specials

  • Purdue at Wisconsin
  • UAB at SMU
  • Providence at Villanova
  • Nebraska at Illinois
  • Stanford at Arizona

Leftovers