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The Breakfast Buffet: Villanova/Creighton, Cam Thomas vs. Tennessee’s freshmen, Lon Kruger

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

Villanova’s trip to Creighton
The two best teams in the Big East do battle in what should be the game of the day in college basketball. Villanova finally looked like vintage Villanova in Wednesday’s win over Marquette and had 25 assists on 34 made field goals. And Creighton? The Jays could be the most balanced team that Greg McDermott has had during his time in Omaha with five different players averaging in double figures. This feels like a game that could be played during the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. 

Cam Thomas against Tennessee’s star freshmen
Success in college basketball is contingent on having the right amount of veteran experience, but it’s still okay to appreciate the elite freshmen. Today in Baton Rouge is one of those opportunities. LSU’s game against Tennessee features two of the SEC’s top teams and also three of the nation’s top freshmen. Tigers guard Cam Thomas (22.4 points) has scored 25 or more points in 12 of his 18 games this season and is currently leading the SEC in scoring. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s first-year combo of Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson is starting to hit their stride. Springer is averaging 26.5 points over his last two games while Johnson has tallied double figures in three straight games and had 27 last week against Kentucky.

Lon Kruger is quietly doing one of his best coaching jobs
He doesn’t have Trae Young or Buddy Hield, but right now that doesn’t matter. In a challenging season that’s featured limited continuity, Kruger has put Oklahoma in position to again finish in the top half of the Big 12. That’s a pretty impressive accomplishment considering that this conference is set to have 70 percent of its teams in the NCAA Tournament. It’s also impressive since the Sooners’ roster isn’t necessarily among the most talented that Kruger has had during his tenure in Norman. Oklahoma (12-5) will visit West Virginia today in Morgantown. 

On The Side

  • Virginia has won 10 of its last 11 games since falling to Gonzaga on Dec. 26th in Fort Worth. The Cavaliers are only allowing an average of 58.3 points during that span. Tony Bennett’s squad will host North Carolina today in Charlottesville.
  • Jalen Wilson is starting to get his mojo back. Kansas’ redshirt freshman has tallied three straight double-doubles for the first time this season and is starting to resemble the form that he displayed earlier this year. The Jayhawks are 6-1 in games where Wilson grabs 10 or more rebounds.
  • When all things are equal, Oregon looks like the best team in the Pac-12. It will be really interesting to see what the Ducks can become over the next three weeks if they stay healthy. Dana Altman’s team is in Tucson today to take on Arizona. 
  • Drake (17-1) will play its first Quad 1 games of the season this weekend against Loyola Chicago. It will also be forced to face the Ramblers without its top scorer and rebounder ShanQuan Hemphill, who underwent foot surgery this week and is expected to miss the next month. This is a huge mid-major development that could affect whether or not the Missouri Valley Conference will wind up with multiple bids in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Xavier’s game today against UConn at the Cintas Center will be just the Musketeers’ second tilt since Jan. 10th due to COVID-19. Xavier has currently played a total of six Big East conference games while the Huskies have currently played 10. Welcome to the 20-21 college basketball season. 

Daily Specials

  • Indiana at Ohio State
  • Oklahoma at West Virginia
  • Tennessee at LSU
  • Villanova at Creighton
  • Gonzaga at San Francisco

Leftovers: