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The Breakfast Buffet: March Madness Edition

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

Isaiah Stevens takes centerstage
Tonight’s First Four matchup between Colorado State and Virginia is a showcase for Stevens, who consistently performed like one of the best point guards in the country this season. A fifth-year floor general, the 6-foot Stevens enters tonight’s matchup with the Cavaliers averaging 16.5 points, seven assists, and 3.1 rebounds while shooting an impressive 48.3 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from three-point range. While the Rams have cooled off a bit after a 13-1 start, Stevens has not. He’ll be a focal point tonight for Colorado State as the Rams aim to be the first team from the Mountain West to prove that the league was not seeded appropriately by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Tip off is at 9:10 PM ET on TruTV.

Seth Towns returns to the spotlight
Eight years ago, Towns committed to Harvard with hopes of being the Crimson’s next focal point after Tommy Amaker led the Ivy League school to three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2013-15. Things didn’t go as planned. Towns had three knee surgeries after two productive years as a freshman and sophomore. He then had a season at Ohio State in 2020-21, but was never himself and nearly gave up basketball before transferring to Howard, where’s he’s now a star. The versatile forward is averaging 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds entering tonight’s First Four matchup with Wagner. Tip off is at 6:40 PM ET on TruTV.

The Big East’s story has not been fully written yet
This league may only have three teams in the NCAA Tournament, but those three teams — UConn, Marquette, and Creighton — are all good enough to go to the Final Four. The Jays are the lowest seeded team of that troika and they’re a three seed. Could the Big East have multiple teams in the Final Four for the first time since 2009? Without question. Just because this conference doesn’t have five or six teams in the NCAA Tournament like many people anticipated doesn’t mean that this league isn’t going to be a factor in the NCAA Tournament. The Big East’s script is still unwritten for March Madness in 2024.

On The Side

  • Under Kelvin Sampson, Houston is 12-5 in the NCAA Tournament.
  • A word to the wise: Keep an eye on UConn freshman Jaylin Stewart. The 6-7 freshman has scored 17 points in his last two games and could continue to emerge as another weapon in reserve for the Huskies during March Madness.
  • Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard (15.4 points) will face his old team when the Ducks meet South Carolina in the Round of 64. Couisnard played three seasons in Columbia under Frank Martin before transferring to Eugene in 2022.
  • McNeese will complete the biggest single season turnaround in NCAA history if it can beat Gonzaga in the Round of 64. The Cowboys won just 11 games last season, but will take a 30-3 mark into Thursday”s showdown with the Bulldogs in Salt Lake City.
  • The Postseason NIT is on life support. This event no longer plays its Final Four at MSG, no longer gives out automatic qualifiers to regular season champions, and also now begins alongside the start of transfer portal season. Interest is dwindling quickly.

Leftovers