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The Breakfast Buffet: Seton Hall returns against Providence, LSU/Auburn, Grant Sherfield

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

Seton Hall returns against Providence
The Pirates haven’t played since their win over Rutgers on Dec. 12th in Newark and are set to return tonight against Providence at the Dunkin Donuts Center. A balanced attack has allowed Seton Hall to earn nine wins in its first 10 games. The Friars meanwhile, are 11-1 and are coming off a road victory at UConn in their Big East opener on Dec. 18th. It will be interesting to see how the Pirates respond to a team as physical as Providence following a 17-day absence due to COVID.

The curtain comes up for LSU
I wrote about LSU’s arduous start to SEC play on Monday. It begins tonight at Auburn. As of Wednesday, Will Wade’s squad is first in defensive efficiency according to KenPom and third in the NET, but it remains to be seen if this team can score on the road against a team like Auburn. In LSU’s three games this season against power conference opponents, it’s only averaging 70.7 points. Auburn meanwhile, is averaging 88 points against power conference opponents. This feels like a Sweet 16 caliber game — plan accordingly.

Grant Sherfield visits Phog Allen Fieldhouse
Nevada (6-4) hasn’t had the start that many expected. Sherfield has. The 6-2 guard — who initially committed to UCLA prior to playing one year at Wichita State before transferring to play for the Wolf Pack — is currently averaging 20 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 47 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three-point range entering tonight’s game at Kansas. Those are the type of numbers that are normally synonymous with an All-American. Don’t be shocked if Sherfield is a national name by Thursday morning.

On The Side

  • John Calipari told reporters on Tuesday that Kentucky’s entire team has been vaccinated and boosted. He also said that his program wouldn’t be testing players moving forward for COVID unless they’re symptomatic. This may be the way that college basketball needs to go if it wants to get any sense of normalcy back.
  • DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty is currently leading the Big East in scoring (20.9) and is fourth in rebounding (8.3). The 6-4 guard is also fourth in the conference in steals (2.0). This is one of the best players in college basketball that not enough people are talking about. The Blue Demons will open Big East play later today against Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
  • Mississippi State (9-3) hasn’t truly helped or hurt itself yet. The Bulldogs don’t have any marquee wins and their three losses came against opponents — Louisville, Minnesota, and Colorado State — who are currently firmly in the NCAA Tournament discussion. This team needs to hold serve tonight at home against Arkansas (10-2) in its SEC opener.
  • Is Wake Forest (11-1) the third-best team in the ACC behind Duke and North Carolina? We’ll have a better idea after this week. The Demon Deacons visit Louisville tonight at the KFC Yum Center and will then play Miami on Saturday in Coral Gables.
  • St. John’s star Julian Champagnie (20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds) hasn’t played in a game since Dec. 12th. The 6-8 forward missed the Red Storm’s last game on Dec. 18th against Pitt due to COVID.

Daily Specials

  • Seton Hall at Providence
  • LSU at Auburn
  • Nevada at Kansas
  • Tennessee at Alabama
  • Arkansas at Mississippi State

Leftovers