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The Breakfast Buffet: Gonzaga’s big WCC finish, UCLA/Oregon, OVC steps 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

Gonzaga’s big WCC finish
Kudos to the WCC league office, who has saved arguably Gonzaga’s two most difficult league road tests for last. The Bulldogs will visit San Francisco (22-7) tonight and then Saint Mary’s (22-6) on Saturday as they conclude the regular season. Gonzaga (23-2) has won its first 12 WCC conference games this season by an average of 27.8 points and hasn’t played a game that’s been decided by single digits since Dec. 4th. It is again in the driver’s seat to be the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Will Mark Few’s squad be truly tested in the next 80 minutes? Don’t rule it out of the realm of possibility. San Francisco (22-7) enters tonight’s game on the bubble and can essentially cement an at-large berth with a win while Saint Mary’s is in line to be a single digit seed on Selection Sunday.

UCLA looks to slay the Ducks
Mick Cronin is 0-3 against Oregon since becoming UCLA’s head coach in 2019. He’ll look to change that tonight in Eugene. This is a critical opportunity for Oregon (17-10), who nearly beat Arizona last Saturday in Tucson before falling by three. The Ducks won the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season in Westwood, but no fans were in attendance due to COVID-19. UCLA is 20-5 and has won three straight games.

The OVC steps into the spotlight
So you thought this was a one-bid league? To quote Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco, “forget about it”! In all seriousness, three teams from the OVC — Murray State, Belmont, and Morehead State — currently have 20 or more wins and two of them — Belmont (24-5) and Murray State (26-5) — play tonight in Kentucky. While the Racers have had a consistent presence in the AP Top 25 over the past few weeks, either of the other two teams mentioned above are capable enough to earn an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament by winning the OVC Tournament in a few weeks. Belmont entered this season as the conference’s team to watch while Morehead State represented the league last year in the NCAA Tournament before losing to West Virginia in the Round of 64. If anyone other than Murray State wins the OVC Tournament during Championship Week, one team on the bubble will then be left out of the NCAA Tournament.

On The Side

  • With all due respect to Iowa, if Keegan Murray played for a blue blood program, he’d be universally viewed as a first-team All-American. The 6-8 sophomore is averaging 27.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and two blocks in his last six games.
  • Texas Tech is holding opponents to an average of 62.9 PPG in 15 Big 12 games. Five of those opponents have scored 60 points or less.
  • Illinois’ Jacob Grandison has made 51 three-point shots this season — he only made 17 during all of last year. The 6-6 wing is shooting 41.8 percent from three-point range entering tonight’s game in Champaign against Ohio State.
  • Need the name of a mid-major guard who could break open a bracket during this year’s NCAA Tournament? Try Liberty’s Darius McGhee. The 5-9 senior has had five games this season with 30 or more points and has scored in excess of 40 on two separate occasions.
  • Maryland will honor its 2002 national championship team during Sunday’s game against Ohio State in College Park. Hall-of-Famer Gary Williams and many other key former members of this program’s proud history will be in attendance.

Daily Specials

  • Belmont at Murray State
  • Gonzaga at San Francisco
  • Ohio State at Illinois
  • UCLA at Oregon
  • Arizona at Utah

Leftovers