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The Breakfast Buffet: March Madness Edition

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

Alabama/Duke has a chance to be a classic
The Elite Eight often produces special games that create memories for a lifetime and that’s the vibe entering tonight’s showdown between the Crimson Tide and Blue Devils in Newark. Alabama averages 91.1 points and is coming off a 113-point performance in Thursday’s win over BYU while Duke scored 100 in its win two days ago against Arizona. Expect a high volume of possessions as these two teams — who are both loaded with top tier talent — chase a berth in the Final Four. Tip off is at 8:49 PM ET on TBS.

Florida’s frontcourt depth could be a big factor against Texas Tech
The Gators’ bevy of options up front could pay major dividends against Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin (18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds), who will undoubtedly be a focal point for the Red Raiders. Florida has a slew of post players — Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Micah Handlogten, and Reuben Chinyelu — to use against the 6-9 Toppin, who had 20 points and nine rebounds in Thursday’s Sweet 16 against Arkansas. This is a major storyline to watch in today’s West Regional Final in San Francisco, which can been seen on TBS starting at 6:09 PM ET.

Tahaad Pettiford continues to shine for Auburn
This kid’s ridiculous NCAA Tournament run got even more ridiculous on Friday night when he came off the bench to score 20 points in the Tigers’ 78-65 win over Michigan. The 6-1 freshman is averaging 19.7 points in three games in March Madness and has emerged as a bonafide difference maker for Auburn. Bruce Pearl’s squad will play Michigan State on Sunday in the Elite Eight and is one win away from its second Final Four since 2019.

On The Side

  • Houston is 17-6 in NCAA Tournament games under Kelvin Sampson.
  • Tennessee has held its last two opponents in the NCAA Tournament — Kentucky and UCLA — to an average of 61.5 points.
  • Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is 8-2 in Elite Eight games during his Hall-of-Fame career.
  • All four head coaches in Saturday’s two regional finals — Todd Golden (Florida), Grant McCasland (Texas Tech), Jon Scheyer (Duke), and Nate Oats (Alabama) — are 50 years old or younger.
  • New Mexico transfer and Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent announced a commitment to UCLA on Friday night. The 6-2 Dent averaged 20.4 points and 6.4 assists during the 2024-25 season.

Leftovers