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The Breakfast Buffet: Jahvon Quinerly, Florida State, Gonzaga/Baylor

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

Jahvon Quinerly is Alabama’s X-Factor
All teams that go to a Final Four and have a chance to win a national title usually have a super substitute. For Alabama, that’s Quinerly. The Villanova transfer has been electric for the Crimson Tide in reserve, averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 assists, and four rebounds in two NCAA Tournament games. Since he stepped foot in Indianapolis, Quinerly has handed out 13 assists and only committed four turnovers. If he plays well over the next few weeks, the Crimson Tide are more than capable of winning a national title.

Florida State is again at bat
The Seminoles are in the Sweet 16 for the third straight NCAA Tournament. Is this the year that Hamilton finally gets to the Final Four? To be determined. Florida State plays Michigan on Sunday and if it were to advance, it would then play the winner of Alabama/UCLA. The Wolverines beat the Seminoles in the 2018 Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four in San Antonio. Last season, Leonard Hamilton’s team won the ACC regular season title before the sport was shut down due to COVID-19.

Gonzaga and Baylor feel like they’re on a collision course
With all due respect to the other 14 teams in the bracket, this is the matchup that feels like it is destined to happen. If it does, it will be in the national title game on April 5th. Gonzaga and Baylor were set to play in Indianapolis in December before the game was cancelled due to COVID-19. Through two rounds, they clearly look like the two best teams in the bracket — Alabama would be third. 

Lower seeded teams were set up with a better chance to advance
Don’t tell North Texas, Oral Roberts, Ohio, and Abilene Christian that their victories in the NCAA Tournament were flukes — they weren’t. But it’s important to point out that with the entire NCAA Tournament being played in Indianapolis, higher seeded teams didn’t have the geographic advantage in the early rounds that they normally do. Duke has often been seeded in Greensboro and Villanova has previously played NCAA Tournament games in both Philadelphia in New York. It matters. Those types of things were not in play this year due to the event being held in one place. 

Athletic Directors better be careful how long they wait to hire a head coach
I know these guys want to get “the right guy”, but waiting too long to get that guy could inhibit your program. With immediate eligibility now an option for all players via transfer, things are moving quicker than ever from a personnel perspective. Here’s an example: Indiana fired Archie Miller nine days ago and has still not named a replacement. Time is moving. 

Leftovers: