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The Breakfast Buffet: Adam Flagler, Villanova/Seton Hall, things are about to get real for Texas

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

Adam Flagler is rounding into form for Baylor
Today’s showdown in Ames between Iowa State (12-0) and Baylor (12-0) features arguably college basketball’s biggest surprise — the Cyclones — and the sport’s defending national champion in a battle of undefeated teams. It’s also another platform for Flagler to show why’s one of the best guards in the Big 12. The 6-3 Flagler was slowed by a preseason hand injury, but is starting to resemble his former self as he’s averaging 16.3 points over his last three games. He also has 19 assists to four turnovers during that span. Remember: Flagler averaged 10.7 points in six NCAA Tournament games last spring and had 13 in the national title game against Gonzaga.

Villanova/Seton Hall
The Wildcats have become the Big East’s flagship program since realignment, but the Pirates have always been a stern challenger. Since the 2014-15 season, Seton Hall (9-2) is 4-12 against Villanova (8-4), but six of those losses have come by two points or less. The Pirates only had eight available players in Wednesday night’s loss at Providence due to COVID, but they still had enough to push the Friars until the final buzzer. Expect another highly contested battle today in Newark. Tip off is at 2 PM ET on CBS.

Things are about to get real for Texas
This is where they say “the plot thickens”. 75 percent of Texas’ first 12 games were against mid-major competition, with a neutral site win over Stanford serving as its best victory to date. The weight class will reach another level moving forward for the Longhorns, beginning with today’s Big 12 opener in Austin against West Virginia (11-1). Each opponent that Texas (10-2) plays for the rest of the season will be from a power conference, with Tennessee serving as the only non Big 12 team on the remainder of the Longhorns’ schedule. The Vols will visit Austin on Jan. 29th as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

On The Side

  • Villanova needs more out of Brandon Slater. The 6-7 senior averaged 14 points over the first eight games of the year, but hasn’t scored in double figures since Dec. 4th. Slater is only averaging 2.4 points in his last five games entering today’s tilt against Seton Hall in Newark (2 PM ET, CBS).
  • LSU’s ball security must improve if it’s going to have a chance to finish near the top of the SEC. The Tigers — who are currently 12-1 — have 171 assists to 183 turnovers as a team this season. In Wednesday night’s loss at Auburn, LSU had just four assists to 17 turnovers.
  • Texas Tech (10-2) will start Big 12 play on Wednesday at Iowa State then return home to face Kansas before heading back on the road to play at Baylor on Jan. 11th. Yikes!
  • Providence is 18-8 over the last two seasons with Jared Bynum in the lineup. In the Friars’ last two wins against Seton Hall and UConn, Bynum is averaging 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Ed Cooley’s squad is 12-1 and will visit DePaul today in Chicago.
  • San Diego State (8-3) has held seven of its first 11 opponents to 60 points or less. The Aztecs visit UNLV today in Las Vegas. Tip off is at 4 PM ET on CBS.

Daily Specials

  • West Virginia at Texas
  • Creighton at Marquette
  • Baylor at Iowa State
  • Villanova at Seton Hall
  • DePaul at Providence

Leftovers