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The Breakfast Buffet: Alabama/St. John’s, Arkansas visits East Lansing, Neoklis Avdalas

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

Alabama/St. John’s
A Sweet 16 caliber matchup at the World’s Most Famous Arena on the first Saturday of the season? Where do we sign. Rick Pitino and Nate Oats split a pair of meetings in 2021 when Pitino was at Iona, but this is the first time that the two head coaches have gone head-to-head since Pitino returned to the power conference level. The Red Storm have monumental expectations this season and it will be interesting to see how they perform against the Crimson Tide’s high-octane attack. Keep an eye on St. John’s sophomore Ian Jackson, who’s tailor made to play in the breakneck pace that Alabama will provide. A transfer from North Carolina, the 6-4 Jackson had 15 points in 15 minutes in the opener on Monday against Quinnipiac and was a perfect 5-5 from the field and 3-3 from three-point range.

Arkansas visits East Lansing
The Razorbacks ripped through a pair of exhibition games against Cincinnati and Memphis before blowing out Southern by 32 on opening night, but none of those teams are locks for the 2026 NCAA Tournament. We’ll find out a lot more about John Calipari’s squad after a road game this evening at Michigan State. Keep a close eye on Arkansas’ two first-year guards — Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas — who combined for 43 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in the opener.

Neoklis Avdalas introduces himself to America
Much of the college basketball world may not be familiar with Avdalas’ game, but that could change after today. Virginia Tech’s 6-9 freshman arrived in Blacksburg by way of Greece and could be for the Hokies this season what Egor Demin was for BYU a year ago. Avdalas tallied eight points, nine assists, and just one turnover in Virginia Tech’s opener earlier this week against Charleston Southern. Mike Young’s squad does battle today with an improved Providence team at Mohegan Sun. This is the sleeper game of the day in college hoops.

On The Side

  • North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson isn’t just one of the best freshmen in the country — he’s one of the best players in the country. The 6-9 big man had 24 points and seven rebounds in Friday night’s win over Kansas and is averaging 23.0 points and 5.5 rebounds through his first two college games. Marvin Williams 2.0?
  • Braden Smith has 20 assists and just four turnovers in Purdue’s first two games. That’s a 5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio if you’re keeping score at home!
  • San Diego State’s Magoon Gwath (knee) has been cleared for live contact and gradual return to play, Brian Dutcher told College Hoops Today on Friday. The 7-foot Gwath did not play in the Aztecs’ opener, but averaged 8.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 2.6 BPG last season en route to winning both Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.
  • Two Division 1 programs — Western Michigan and Delaware — lost buy games on Thursday and Friday to non-Division 1 opponents. Anarchy? Nope. Just college basketball.
  • Georgetown’s Ed Cooley was Friday’s guest in INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To view the full interview, click HERE. The Hoyas improved to 2-0 following Friday night’s win at Maryland.

Daily Specials

  • Alabama at St. John’s
  • Towson at Houston
  • Providence/Virginia Tech (Mohegan Sun)
  • Arkansas at Michigan State
  • Oklahoma at Gonzaga

Leftovers