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The Breakfast Buffet: Georgetown, St. John’s returning to relevance, Xavier Booker, Cincinnati/Dayton

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

Two of the Big East’s premier brands may be returning to relevance
It’s only Dec. 20th, but as of today both Georgetown and St. John’s have identical 9-2 records. That’s music to the ears of the Big East, who has yet to get consistent mileage out of either of these programs since realignment. Remember: Georgetown and St. John’s have combined to win just one game in the NCAA Tournament since the league began its current rendition prior to the start of the 2013-14 season. It’s been a very disappointing start to the season for the Big East as a whole, but the return of these once proud brands to the national stage at the same time could be a silver lining. The Red Storm will play their first true road game of the season tonight at Providence while the Hoyas are over .500 in conference play for the first time since early 2019.

Xavier Booker is turning a corner for Michigan State
Is the light finally going on for this talented big man? It certainly appears that way. After a 12-point, seven-rebound performance against North Carolina on the final day of the Maui Invitational, the 6-11 Booker has been a model of consistency for the first time in his college career. During his last four games, he’s averaging 13 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18.8 minutes off the bench. His continued development is a major thing to track as the Spartans — who are currently 9-2 — take aim at the top of the Big Ten standings.

Cincinnati/Dayton
This burgeoning local rivalry will take place for the second straight season at Heritage Bank Center in Downtown Cincinnati. It has big implications for both programs. The Bearcats will have a plethora of Quad 1 opportunities in the Big 12 while the Flyers will only have a handful in the Atlantic 10. For Cincinnati, this is a perception game — it can’t lose for the second year in a row to a local program who plays in a lesser league. For Dayton — who already owns wins over Marquette, UConn, and Northwestern — it’s another opportunity to bolster its resume in non-conference play.

On The Side

  • Marquette’s Kam Jones (20.3 points, 6.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds) is just 12 assists away from tying his total number of assists from all of last season.
  • Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV (16.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds) is having an All-American caliber senior season, but he’s not getting enough credit for his defense.  The 6-foot Taylor has tallied nine steals in his last three games. Buzz Williams’ squad is 9-2 and will host Houston Christian today in College Station.
  • Houston’s three losses to Auburn, Alabama, and San Diego State came by a combined 13 points.
  • Memphis is 6-1 this season in games played away from FedExForum.
  • Penn State will play two of its next four games in Philadelphia. The Nittany Lions — who are 9-2 in their second season under Mike Rhoades — will face Drexel on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center and also play Indiana in The Palestra on Jan. 5th.

Daily Specials

  • Houston Christian at Texas A&M
  • St. John’s at Providence
  • Dayton/Cincinnati (Downtown Cincinnati)

Leftovers