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The Breakfast Buffet — March Madness Edition

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

Coach K’s fairytale ending continues to align
Duke’s 78-69 win over Arkansas wasn’t as dramatic as its Sweet 16 victory over Texas Tech on Thursday, but it was more significant. With the win, Duke advanced to its first Final Four since 2015 and put Mike Krzyzewski just two wins away from his sixth national title in the final season of his career. Duke will play the winner of today’s game between North Carolina and St. Peter’s next Saturday in New Orleans.

David versus Goliath
This is not hyperbole or cliche — it’s the absolute truth. St. Peter’s matchup today with North Carolina in Philadelphia with a berth to the Final Four on the line truly epitomizes what the NCAA Tournament is about. Nobody roots for Goliath and nobody outside of fans of the Tar Heels’ program will be rooting for Hubert Davis’ squad. The Peacocks are the highest seeded team to ever reach the Elite Eight. Tip off for this game is at 5:05 PM ET on CBS.

Jim Larranaga aims to again make history
Miami’s 72-year old head coach is back in the Elite Eight for the second time as a double digit seed. The last time that Larranaga advanced this far in the NCAA Tournament was in 2006 when he led George Mason to an improbable berth in the Final Four. There are multiple coaches in the history of college basketball that have taken two schools to a Final Four, but if Larranaga does it at two programs who were double-digit seeds in the NCAA Tournament, it will cement his place in the all-time history of college basketball. The Hurricanes will face Kansas today in Chicago. Tip off is at 2:20 PM ET on CBS.

Bill Self gets another crack in the Elite Eight
This round of the NCAA Tournament hasn’t been kind to the Hall-of-Famer. Self is 3-7 in his career in Elite Eight games entering today’s tilt between Kansas and Miami in Chicago (2:20 PM ET, CBS). Six of those losses came when Self was the higher seed. The Jayhawks have advanced to the Final Four three times under Self and won a national title in 2008.

My heart breaks for Justin Moore
Villanova is headed back to the Final Four for the fourth time under Jay Wright, but it may be headed there without Moore. The 6-4 guard suffered a lower leg injury late in Saturday’s Elite Eight win over Houston and his status for the rest of the NCAA Tournament is very much in doubt. Wright told reporters postgame on Saturday that Moore would have an MRI when Villanova returned to Philadelphia and his status moving forward is “probably not good”. Moore is averaging 13 points in four NCAA Tournament games.

Leftovers