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The Breakfast Buffet: Villanova’s trip to UConn, Kansas-Kansas State, Phil Martelli steps back into the spotlight

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 UConn
The Huskies have lost five straight games against the Wildcats entering tonight’s tilt at the XL Center in Hartford. UConn (19-7) though, seems primed for a breakthrough. Following back-to-back wins last week over Seton Hall and Xavier at Gampel Pavilion, Dan Hurley’s squad looks like it’s ready to play its best basketball of the season. A big key for the Huskies in this game? Keeping their starting frontcourt — Adama Sanogo and Isaiah Whaley — on the floor. In the earlier game between these two programs this season in Philadelphia, Sanogo and Whaley only played 27 and 24 minutes respectively due to foul trouble. UConn has not beaten Villanova (21-6) since the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

Kansas-Kansas State
Kansas State (14-12) might be on the right side of the bubble today if it didn’t blow a 16-point halftime lead against its in-state rival on its home floor on Jan. 22nd. The only was to rectify that is win tonight at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. That’s easier said than done. Bruce Weber is 0-9 against Kansas (22-4) in Lawrence since becoming the Wildcats’ head coach in 2012 — seven of those losses have come by double figures. A win tonight would change Kansas State’s season and firmly propel it into the NCAA Tournament picture. The Jayhawks have won five of their last six games and are in sole possession of first place in the Big 12.

Phil Martelli steps back into the spotlight
The decision by both the Big Ten and Michigan to suspend Juwan Howard for the remainder of the regular season opens the door for Martelli — the former head coach at St. Joe’s who was the 2004 National Coach of the Year — to be the Wolverines’ steward as they aim to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 67-year old Martelli was hired by Howard as Michigan’s Associate Head Coach in 2019. Michigan (14-11) will play four straight games in Ann Arbor against Rutgers, Illinois, Michigan State, and Iowa before closing the regular season against Ohio State in Columbus on March 6th. Martelli will be the Wolverines’ acting head coach for all of them.

On The Side

  • Jay Wright said Monday on the College Hoops Today Podcast that Villanova’s Collin Gillespie (ankle) and Justin Moore (ankle) are at “about 80 percent” entering tonight’s game at UConn. “They’re not practicing,” Wright said of Gillespie and Moore. “We’re just taking it game to game.” The Wildcats are currently 21-6 overall and 14-3 in the Big East.
  • Gonzaga’s last game that was decided by single digits was its last loss — Dec. 4th against Alabama in Seattle. The Bulldogs have won 16 in a row.
  • Michigan State needs Gabe Brown back on track offensively. The 6-8 senior is only averaging 4.8 points in his last four games while shooting just 6-25 from the field and 3-16 from three-point range during that span. The Spartans have lost four of their last five and will visit Iowa tonight in Iowa City.
  • USC is a combined 70-21 overall and 37-16 in Pac-12 regular season games over the past three seasons. The Trojans are 23-4 this year — without a post player like Evan Mobley or Onyeka Okongwu.
  • Former Duquesne forward Marcus Weathers is thriving for SMU (19-6) as a small-ball center. The 6-5 Weathers is averaging 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds over his last six games for the Ponies, who have now swept Memphis and beaten Houston.

Daily Specials

  • Michigan State at Iowa
  • Arkansas at Florida
  • Villanova at UConn
  • Oklahoma at Texas Tech
  • Kansas State at Kansas

Leftovers