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The Breakfast Buffet: Hunter Dickinson, Mark Pope, Champions Classic should add UConn

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

Hunter Dickinson looks like a National Player of the Year candidate
That isn’t a grand discovery since he was a Preseason All-American, but the 7-2 big man has really looked the part in back-to-back games against North Carolina and Michigan State. During that span, Dickinson has averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds while shooting a combined 20-36 from the field. Those are substantial averages considering the caliber of competition. Thanks to an improved supporting cast which features a bevy of capable shooters, Dickinson can now operate in more space on offense for Kansas, who improved to 3-0 following Tuesday night’s 77-69 win over Michigan State in the Champions Classic. The Jayhawks will return to Lawrence for two buy games prior to facing Duke in Las Vegas on Nov. 26th.

Mark Pope picked up a signature win against Duke
This guy needed all of nine days to endear himself to college basketball’s most wild fanbase. Many people questioned how Kentucky could hire Pope — who has never won an NCAA Tournament game — to replace a Hall-of-Famer like John Calipari, but the former Wildcat big man answered the bell on Tuesday against Duke in the Champions Classic. Despite not inheriting a single player who played for Kentucky last season, Pope quickly molded a team together that was good enough to beat the Blue Devils on a neutral court. Tuesday night’s 77-72 win isn’t just validation for Pope as a coach — it’s also a testament to his aesthetically pleasing style which features great spacing and all sorts of unselfishness on offense. The Wildcats had 17 assists on 25 made field goals in the victory and shot a whopping 40 percent from three-point range. The Pope era is officially underway in Lexington.

The Champions Classic should add UConn
Can this event really exist without the Huskies? It shouldn’t. UConn has won back-to-back national titles in convincing fashion, beating its last 12 NCAA Tournament opponents by an average of 21.7 points, but can’t seem to find its way into this event, which was extended through 2028 according to an announcement on Tuesday. A word to the wise to the great organizers of the Champions Classic: Add UConn against a blue blood caliber opponent starting in 2025 and make the event — which already features Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan State — intro a triple header.

On The Side

  • I’m extremely fascinated to see how Nate Oats manages Alabama’s rotation this season. The Crimson Tide had 10 different players log eight or more minutes in Monday night’s win over McNeese. Remember: Alabama is still playing without South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood — last season’s AAC Co-Player of the Year — who’s currently out of the lineup with a foot injury.
  • Villanova has given up a combined 98 points in the second half of its two losses to Columbia and St. Joe’s.
  • Ohio State freshman John Mobley is averaging 15 points and is 7-8 from three-point range in his first two games. Remember the name.
  • Sunday’s game between St. John’s and New Mexico at MSG all of a sudden has a big-time feel. The Red Storm were ranked in this week’s AP Top 25 for the first time since 2019 and the Lobos look like a potential NCAA Tournament team for the second consecutive season after last Friday’s decisive over UCLA. A Quad 1 or 2 opportunity is in play for both teams. Rick Pitino’s team will host Wagner tonight in Queens.
  • DePaul has already won as many games — three — as it did during all of last season.

Daily Specials

  • Wagner at St. John’s
  • Le Moyne at UConn
  • Montana at Tennessee
  • Kent State at Auburn
  • Troy at Arkansas

Leftovers