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The Breakfast Buffet: UCLA/Gonzaga, Ole Miss visits FedExForum, the depth of the Big Ten

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

UCLA/Gonzaga
The Bruins have lost four straight meetings to the Bulldogs and two of them came in excruciating fashion during the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and 2023. Can UCLA — who blew a 16-point second half lead last Saturday against North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic — beat Gonzaga for the first time since Dec. 12, 2015? It all comes down to guard play. The Bruins’ point guard combo of Skyy Clark and Dylan Andrews greatly contributed to their second half collapse against the Tar Heels as Clark missed two front ends of a one-and-one late in the game while Andrews had a key turnover with just seconds remaining. They’ll be matched up with arguably the sport’s top pure point guard today in Ryan Nembhard (11.8 points, 10.2 assists), who’s been the heartbeat of the Bulldogs’ offense for the past two seasons. Today’s matchup between UCLA and Gonzaga will be the first-ever college basketball game played at Intuit Dome, which is the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Ole Miss visits FedExForum
Has there ever been a less talked about 11-1 team than the Rebels? Chris Beard’s team had expectations coming into this season and has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for weeks, but when people talk about the premier teams in the SEC, few put Ole Miss at the top of the list. That could change after today because of the magnitude of the showcase. When the Rebels played BYU and Purdue in the Rady Children’s Invitational during Thanksgiving Weekend, it was lost in the shuffle of Feast Week. It then dominated Louisville at the KFC Yum Center on Dec. 3rd, but the victory was thrusted into the shadows because of other happenings during the ACC/SEC Challenge. On a quiet day for college basketball in terms of marquee matchups, Ole Miss may not have a bigger canvas to paint on than the one it has this afternoon against Memphis at FedExForum. This is also a key 40-minute stretch for the Tigers, who are aiming to add one more Quad 1 victory before league play begins in the American Athletic Conference.

The Big Ten’s depth deserves more attention
In Friday’s BRACKET BREAKDOWN, I had 14 of the SEC’s 16 teams forecasted to play in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. I also had 11 teams from the Big Ten projected to play in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. While that storyline is less pronounced because of the SEC’s early dominance, it’s still a major thing to track moving forward. As of Friday, the Big Ten had 14 of its 18 teams ranked in the Top 67 of the NET, which means it’s going to be in prime position to also put 10 or more teams into March Madness. Five Big Ten teams who were not ranked in the Top 10 of the league’s preseason poll — Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Penn State — are all currently ranked in the Top 54 of the NET. The quality of this league’s depth deserves more attention.

On The Side

  • Jim Larranaga’s decision to retire came just 635 days after he coached Miami in the 2023 Final Four against UConn. The only coach to ever lead both the Hurricanes and George Mason to the Final Four, Larranaga led Miami to second the weekend of the NCAA Tournament four times during his tenure in Coral Gables. He won’t be an easy person to replace in South Florida.
  • Georgetown has won two straight games without its starting point guard Malik Mack (12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists), who hasn’t played since Dec. 14th due to a lower body injury. The Hoyas are 10-2 and will host Coppin State today in Washington D.C.
  • The sleeper game of the day in college basketball is at Viejas Arena as San Diego State hosts Utah State in the Mountain West opener for both teams. The Aggies — who are currently 11-1 in their first season under Jerrod Calhoun — are seeking their second straight Quad 1 win after Sunday’s road victory at Saint Mary’s.
  • Nebraska’s Brice Williams averaged 22 points in three games this week in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii and is quietly playing like one of the best players in the Big Ten. A fifth-year senior, the 6-7 Williams is currently averaging career-highs in points (19.7), field-goal percentage (51.4), three-point field-goal percentage (43.2), and free-throw percentage (91.0).
  • Four of Loyola Marymount’s first five WCC games — at San Francisco (tonight), at Washington State, at Saint Mary’s, and Gonzaga at home — will be Quad 1 opportunities. The Lions are 8-4 and have won seven of their last eight games.

Daily Specials

  • Ole Miss at Memphis
  • New Mexico at Colorado State
  • Gonzaga/UCLA (Intuit Dome)
  • Utah State at San Diego State
  • Delaware at St. John’s

Leftovers