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The Breakfast Buffet: Things are about to get real for St. John’s, Ryan Conwell, Notre Dame

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

Things are about to get real for St. John’s
The Honeymoon is officially over. After winning three buy games out of the gate by an average of 25.3 points, the Red Storm will begin a crucial four-game stretch today at MSG against New Mexico. Today’s matchup with the Lobos precedes a matchup on Thursday with Baylor in the first round of the Baha Mar Bahamas Hoops Championship. St. John’s will then play either Tennessee or Virginia on Friday followed by another game in the Bahamas against Georgia on Sunday. These four games will go a long way in determining what type of a resume the Red Storm could potentially put together for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This is ONLY November.

Ryan Conwell is going to do massive things for Xavier
He’s not the same player that Souley Boum was in terms of his position, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think that Conwell could have a comparable impact on the Musketeers this season to what Boum had in 2022-23 when Xavier advanced to the Sweet 16. The 6-4 lefty was the best player on the floor in Saturday’s 75-60 win over Wake Forest at the Cintas Center as he tallied 21 points, four assists, and zero turnovers all while making several big plays down the stretch. Through four games, Conwell is averaging 18.8 points while shooting 48.5 percent from three-point range. This guy is on a trajectory to be one of the best players in the Big East during the 2024-25 season.

Notre Dame looks like a potential bubble team
Georgetown isn’t necessarily projected to be an NCAA Tournament team in 2025, but the Irish’s convincing 21-point win on Saturday over the Hoyas in Washington D.C. was a promising sign of what may be to come over the next few months in South Bend. Micah Shrewsberry’s team returned 85.6 percent of its scoring from last season’s team that won 13 games and also added a starter in Princeton grad transfer Matt Allocco, who had 17 points, seven assists, and five rebounds on Saturday against Georgetown. The ACC feels a bit wide open this season after Duke and North Carolina; expect Notre Dame to be among the mix of teams in the league’s next tier.

On The Side

  • Braden Smith is having the type of multi-year career for Purdue that Ryan Arcidiacono had years ago for Villanova. There’s constant production, constant intangibles, and constant winning. The Boilers’ combined record is 67-11 over the past three seasons with Smith — who’s averaging 15.5 points, 9.5 assists, and 6.3 rebounds — as their starting point guard.
  • At what point does Baylor start getting concerned about Langston Love’s long-term health and availability? The versatile guard is fully cleared, but has yet to appear in a game this season due to an ankle injury. It’s the same injury that kept Love — who averaged 11 points last season — unavailable last spring during the Big 12 Tournament and March Madness. The 6-5 Love hasn’t appeared in a game for Baylor since March 9th — that’s 253 days ago. The Bears will host Tarleton State tonight in Waco.
  • All eight of the players that logged double figure minutes for Ole Miss in Saturday’s 15-point win over Colorado State were either juniors, seniors, or COVID seniors. This is one of the oldest teams in college basketball.
  • Saint Mary’s game today against Nebraska at the Sanford Pentagon is the first true showcase this season for Arizona transfer Paulius Murauskas, who’s currently averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Gaels. Remember the name!
  • In five games this season, Villanova has 64 assists and 63 turnovers.

Daily Specials

  • New Mexico at St. John’s
  • Nebraska/Saint Mary’s
  • Clemson at Boise State
  • Utah/Mississippi State
  • Cal at USC

Leftovers