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The Breakfast Buffet: Texas’ litmus test, Iowa/Iowa State, the Big East

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

Texas’ litmus test at Seton Hall
How good are the Longhorns? We’ll have a much better idea after tonight’s game in Newark. Texas enters this evening’s tilt against Seton Hall at 6-1 overall, but lost its only game against a quality opponent when it fell to Gonzaga on Nov. 13th in Spokane. The Pirates are the Longhorns’ first opponent this season from a power conference. One big thing to monitor tonight in Newark? Texas’ lack of rim protection. The Longhorns are ranked 258 out of 358 Division 1 teams in blocked shots and average only 2.6 blocks as a team. Texas’ top shot blocker Dylan Disu — a transfer from Vanderbilt — has yet to play this season due to a knee injury. The 6-9 Disu averaged 15 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a year ago with the Commodores. No player on the Longhorns’ current roster is averaging more than 0.7 blocks.

Iowa/Iowa State
One of the great in-state rivalries in the sport tips off tonight at Hilton Coliseum in what will be a fascinating contrast in styles. Iowa State is only allowing an average of 60.1 points during its first eight games of the season and at 8-0, is one of the biggest surprises in the sport under first-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones were picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll. Iowa meanwhile, is averaging 90.1 points and is ranked fifth in adjusted offense according to KenPom. The Hawkeyes have lost two straight games and are 7-2 entering tonight’s matchup in Ames.

The Big East is bouncing back
This conference would have only had three teams in last year’s NCAA Tournament if Georgetown didn’t win an automatic qualifier by winning the Big East Tournament. If the first month of the season is any indication, this league should have much better representation in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Entering today, the Big East has an overall record of 77-21 with three of its teams — Villanova, UConn, and Seton Hall — ranked in this week’s AP Top 25. Xavier was also nearly ranked and received a substantial amount of votes. The Big East looks like it’s putting itself in position to potentially earn six or seven bids on Selection Sunday.

On The Side

  • UCLA’s Cody Riley (knee) and Jaime Jaquez (head) are being listed as day-to-day, per Mick Cronin. The 6-9 Riley — who was the Bruins’ starting center during last season’s Final Four run — only played four minutes in the opener against CSU Bakersfield before leaving with injury. He averaged 10 points and five rebounds last season, highlighted by a 14-point, 10-rebound, five-assist performance against Gonzaga in the Final Four. UCLA (7-1) will next visit Marquette on Saturday in Milwaukee.
  • Purdue plays its first true road game of the season tonight at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are just 4-4 overall and have to get something out of their two games this week if they’re going to be a factor nationally. After tonight’s game against the Boilers, Rutgers will face in-state rival Seton Hall on Sunday in Newark.
  • Only one team from the ACC — Duke — was ranked in this week’s AP Top 25. Two teams from this conference — Notre Dame and Pitt — are currently under .500. It will be interesting to see how many bids this league winds up with on Selection Sunday.
  • Tramon Mark is starting to round into form for Houston. The 6-5 sophomore is averaging 17.3 points and four rebounds over his last three games after missing the first few weeks of the season due to a shoulder injury. Mark averaged 11.7 points last season as a freshman in games where he logged 20 minutes or more. Houston (8-1) will next visit Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
  • St. John’s (6-2) can’t afford to stub its toe in any of its final three non-conference games prior to opening Big East play. All three of the Red Storm’s final three non-conference opponents — Monmouth, Colgate, and Pitt — are capable. The Hawks — who visit Carnesecca Arena tonight — have already won buy games this season at both Cincinnati and St. Joe’s while Colgate beat Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.

Daily Specials

  • Texas at Seton Hall
  • Purdue at Rutgers
  • Iowa at Iowa State
  • Monmouth at St. John’s
  • Grand Canyon at Arizona State

Leftovers