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The Breakfast Buffet: Baha Mar, Wisconsin/BYU, Meleek Thomas

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

A fun couple of days await in Baha Mar
Who said early season tournaments are no longer a thing? Over the next two days in the Bahamas, four quality programs — Purdue, Memphis, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest — will do battle in a traditional, four-team bracket. The Boilers open up against the Tigers while the Red Raiders will face the Demon Deacons. All of the games from this event in the Bahamas are on CBS Sports Network, starting with tonight’s tilt between Purdue and Memphis at 6 PM ET. Both Purdue and Texas Tech are ranked in the Top 15 of the ROTHSTEIN 45.

Wisconsin/BYU will be one of the best games of the weekend
Friday afternoon’s showdown at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City is a rematch of last season’s game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which the Cougars narrowly won. BYU’s heavyweight troika of Rob Wright, Richie Saunders, and AJ Dybantsa is a known commodity nationally, but not many people — yet — know about the Badgers’ backcourt combination of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell. The duo is currently averaging a combined 39.5 points through Wisconsin’s first four games. Friday’s game will be the first power conference tilt of the season for Greg Gard’s squad.

Meleek Thomas is separating himself as Arkansas’ go-to guy
The Razorbacks had the most returning scoring among SEC teams from last season, but it’s becoming more and more clear that this team’s best player is a freshman. The 6-5 Thomas is averaging an impressive 19.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists through Arkansas’ first five games and had 26 in Tuesday’s come-from-behind victory over Winthrop. John Calipari has had many elite freshmen during his Hall-of-Fame Career and Thomas is next in line to join the conversation. 

On The Side

  • Florida’s starting backcourt — Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland — is a combined 8-51 from three-point range.
  • Something to monitor: Duke was plus 19 on Tuesday night against Kansas with Cayden Boozer on the floor.
  • North Carolina’s Luka Bogavac has averaged 16 points in the three games that the Tar Heels have played since Seth Trimble went out of the lineup with a wrist injury.
  • San Diego State’s loss to Troy on Tuesday night puts immense pressure on the Aztecs next week in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Brian Dutcher’s squad will open the event with Michigan on Monday and Oregon on Tuesday.
  • The WCC currently has four teams — Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, and Loyola Marymount — who are all still undefeated. 

Daily Specials

  • Memphis/Purdue
  • Wake Forest/Texas Tech
  • Bucknell at St. John’s
  • New Mexico/Nebraska
  • Mississippi State/Kansas State

Leftovers