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The Breakfast Buffet: Ziaire Williams, Kentucky/Kansas, Jalen Johnson

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

Ziaire Williams could have an Andrew Wiggins type freshman season
The five-star prospect arrived in Palo Alto with massive expectations and he lived up to the billing in his college debut. The 6-8 forward had 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in Stanford’s 82-62 win over Alabama on Monday night in Maui Invitational, regularly looking like an effortless high-level producer. Much like Wiggins, Williams has the uncanny ability to control a game without making it look difficult. An elite defender and underrated passer, his presence will make the Cardinal appointment television in each game that they play this season. 

Kentucky’s bounce back attempt versus Kansas
The Wildcats have no time to feel sorry for themselves after Sunday’s 12-point loss to Richmond at Rupp Arena. The question is, will they be able to guard Kansas tonight in the Champions Classic? Bill Self’s squad is averaging 92 points during its first games and has again played a four-guard lineup like most of the past few seasons. It will be interesting to see how John Calipari opts to defend Christian Braun, a small ball power forward who always seems to exploit mismatches against biggest defenders. The 6-6 Braun is averaging 19 points and 5.5 rebounds through his first two games while shooting 7-11 from three-point range.

Jalen Johnson’s production level versus Michigan State
The highest rated member of Duke’s freshman class was spectacular in Saturday’s opener against Coppin State as he tallied 19 points and 19 rebounds, but achieving that type of production level against the Spartans will be exceptionally more difficult. For Duke to compete for an ACC regular season title, it needs Johnson to play like one of the best players in the conference. How he performs against Tom Izzo’s plethora of wings tonight in the Champions Classic will be a good early barometer as to how the 6-9 forward will fare against top flight competition once he gets to league play.

On The Side

  • Tonight’s game between Oklahoma State and Marquette features the first power conference tilt for Cowboys’ freshman Cade Cunningham. The 6-8 point guard is averaging 20 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists through his first two games and is the likely top overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
    
  • Xavier is off to a 4-0 start, but has won its last three games by a combined seven points; all three of those games have come down to the final possession. The Musketeers will host Tennessee Tech on Wednesday before traveling to Cincinnati on Sunday for the Crosstown Shootout.
    
  • Can Western Kentucky continue its rise? The Hilltoppers will get another crack at a signature victory tonight when they face Louisville at the KFC Yum Center. Through three games, 6-11 big man Charles Bassey is averaging 15.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks for Rick Stansbury’s squad.  
    
  • This afternoon’s showdown between Texas and Indiana in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational features a matchup of two former coaching rivals. Shaka Smart and Archie Miller were previously linked to each as the head coaches of VCU and Dayton respectively while they were each at their previous stops in the Atlantic 10. Miller led the Flyers to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2014 while Smart took the Rams to the Final Four in 2011.
    
  • College basketball’s early schedule has been staggered because of COVID-19, but the makeup helps the sport. The more standalone games, the better. Let’s hope that key people remember that once we’re on the other side of this pandemic for good.

Daily Specials

  • Texas vs Indiana (Asheville)
  • North Carolina vs Stanford (Asheville)
  • Western Kentucky at Louisville
  • Michigan State at Duke (Champions Classic)
  • Kentucky vs Kansas (Champions Classic)
Recent Leftovers