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The Breakfast Buffet: Kentucky is on the verge of getting healthy, Michigan State/Maryland, St. John’s

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.

Things To Sample

Kentucky is on the verge of getting healthy
And that’s music to the ears of Mark Pope. The Wildcats’ three primary ball handlers — Lamont Butler (shoulder), Kerr Kriisa (foot), and Jaxson Robinson (wrist) — have all missed extended time this season, but Butler and Robinson were both listed as probable for tonight’s game at Oklahoma on Tuesday evening’s SEC Injury Report. Their return could drastically change the ceiling for Kentucky, who enters tonight’s game at 18-9 overall and 7-7 in SEC play. The Wildcats’ record this season with Butler (12.5 points, 4.6 assists) in the lineup? 14-5.

Michigan State/Maryland
The game of the night in college basketball features two of the best teams in the Big Ten going head-to-head in College Park. The Spartans have won their last two road games at Illinois and Michigan and sandwiched in between those victories was a home win over Purdue. The Terps have won four straight. Both of these teams are Sweet 16 caliber. Expect an NCAA Tournament type feel at the XFinity Center.

St. John’s aims to make history
The Red Storm can clinch at least a share of the Big East regular season title with a win tonight at Butler. St. John’s has not won at least a share of a conference regular season title since 1991-92, which was Lou Carnesecca’s final season as head coach. Tip off of tonight’s game is at 9 PM ET on CBS Sports Network. I’ll be on the sidelines while Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas have you covered in the booth.

On The Side.

  • Under Kelvin Sampson, Houston has won at least a share of its league’s regular season title in six of the last seven years. 
  • North Carolina’s Hubert Davis has a received a contract extension through the 2029-30 season, a school spokesman told College Hoops Today on Tuesday. The deal was re-done in December of 2024. Davis is currently in his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater. 
  • Chris Collins is quietly doing one of his best coaching jobs. Northwestern has won back-to-back Big Ten road games after losing a pair of starters — Brooks Barnhizer (17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds) and Jalen Leach (14.3 points) — to season-ending injuries.
  • The Diamond Head Classic will not be played during the 2025-26 season, a source told College Hoops Today on Tuesday. The status of this tournament beyond next year is TBD. 
  • I’ll say it again: TV windows for college basketball games need to be longer than two hours. Games are constantly starting 15 or 20 minutes later than their initial tip-off time. This is a recurring problem for the sport. 

Daily Specials

  • Michigan State at Maryland
  • Ole Miss at Auburn
  • Kentucky at Oklahoma
  • St. John’s at Butler
  • Texas at Arkansas

Leftovers