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The Breakfast Buffet: Morez Johnson, Louisville, Memphis’ perimeter

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

Morez Johnson is a name to watch for Illinois
The college basketball world is well aware of the Illini’s elite core of newcomers with Kasparas Jakucionis, Tomislav Ivisic, and Will Riley, but Johnson also deserves to be mentioned in that group. The 6-9 freshman hasn’t gotten the same recognition as the players mentioned above, but he’s gradually becoming a bigger and bigger piece to Illinois’ puzzle. Johnson had 20 points and 11 rebounds in a blowout win over Penn State on Jan. 8th and is averaging 9.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 18.5 minutes in his last four games. If Johnson can continue to blossom, it will give Brad Underwood another capable big man to go along with Ivisic. That could be pivotal when this team gets into the NCAA Tournament in March. The Illini will next host Maryland tonight in Champaign.

Louisville has separated itself as the second-best team in the ACC
Many people — including myself — wondered how the Cardinals would perform with a team that had never played together before. They’ve answered those questions emphatically. After starting the season 6-5, Louisville has won nine straight games with seven of those victories coming by double figures. The Cardinals have already tallied 15 wins this season in their first year under Pat Kelsey, which is three more than this program won in the previous two years combined. It’s only January, but Louisville has clearly separated itself as the ACC’s second-best team behind Duke. The Blue Devils beat the Cardinals on Dec. 8th at the KFC Yum Center in what is the only regular season meeting between the two teams.

Memphis’ perimeter is appointment television
After a ruthless non-conference schedule in November and December featured a plethora of big games for the Tigers, Penny Hardaway’s squad has now drifted off to obscurity a bit because it’s entrenched in league play in the American Athletic Conference. That shouldn’t be the case. Memphis’ perimeter of Tyrese Hunter (15.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists), PJ Haggerty (22.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.1 steals), and Colby Rogers (11.7 points) is as good of a troika as there is in the sport. Hunter — who previously played at both Texas and Iowa State — is currently having the best year of his college career while Haggerty is playing like an All-American. And Rogers? The long distance sniper has made 40 three-point shots in the first 18 games of the season and is shooting 37.0 percent from deep. These three players have combined to score 62.0 percent of the Tigers’ points this season. Memphis is 14-4 and will resume action tonight against Wichita State at FedExForum.

On The Side

  • The two regular season meetings between Alabama and Auburn are on Feb. 15th and March 8th. Save the dates!
  • Otega Oweh (15.7 points) is averaging over four points more per game this season at Kentucky than he did a year ago when he was at Oklahoma.
  • Texas Tech has a gem in freshman Christian Anderson. The 6-2 guard is averaging 13.5 points in his last four games while shooting an impressive 11-18 from three-point range during that span.
  • Saint Mary’s is in position to win at least a share of the WCC regular season title for the third straight season. The Gaels currently have a two-game lead over Gonzaga in the WCC standings entering tonight’s game against San Francisco (9 PM ET, CBS Sports Network). 
  • How many point guards would you take over New Mexico’s Donovan Dent? There aren’t many. The 6-2 junior is currently averaging 18.9 points, 6.9 assists, and 1.6 steals. Dent is the clear favorite to be the Mountain West Player of the Year.

Daily Specials

  • Wichita State at Memphis
  • Maryland at Illinois
  • San Francisco at Saint Mary’s
  • UC Santa Barbara at UC San Diego
  • Washington State at Santa Clara

Leftovers