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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

Mark Williams is already doing historical things defensively
Mike Krzyzewski has had four primary five-men — Christian Laettner, Carlos Boozer, Brian Zoubek, and Jahlil Okafor — occupy the center spot during his five trips to a national title. Neither averaged more than 1.4 blocks. Williams is currently averaging four blocks in four NCAA Tournament. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Williams is the key to Krzyzewski winning a sixth national title.

Bryan Antoine steps back into the spotlight
The most decorated recruit in Villanova’s program again has a chance to return to a primary role. Antoine has never gotten into a rhythm during his career with the Wildcats due to multiple injuries, but the 6-5 guard was once five-star prospect. With Justin Moore out for the rest of the NCAA Tournament due to an achilles injury, Antoine has a strong chance to pick up extended minutes on Saturday in the Final Four against Kansas. He’s only averaging 1.4 points this season and has scored a total of 67 points in his college career. Antoine picked Villanova over Duke out of high school.

Eric Musselman is keeping Arkansas in position
Back-to-back Elite Eight appearances isn’t enough to satisfy “The Importer”. Arkansas has secured commitments from three five-star prospects — Anthony Black, Nick Smith, and Jordan Walsh — in its 2022 class and could also return Davonte Davis (8.3 points) and Jaylin Williams (10.9 points, 9.8 rebounds) as starters. That’s a unit — without any other additions from the transfer portal — that could challenge for an SEC regular season title next season. JD Notae (18.3 points) and Au’Diese Toney (10.5 points) have yet to announce whether or not they plan to return to school and use their additional year of eligibility.

Jonas Hayes deserves credit for the job he’s done at Xavier
The Musketeers’ interim head coach has Xavier in the finals of the Postseason NIT despite losing this team’s best perimeter player — Paul Scruggs (11.2 points) — to a season-ending injury. This run also came after Hayes’ boss — Travis Steele — was fired and after Sean Miller — Steele’s replacement — was hired. Keep an eye on this guy’s trajectory moving forward. Hayes has the makings of a potential star in the coaching profession.

A salute to St. Bonaventure’s senior class
All five of these players — Kyle Lofton, Dominick Welch, Jaren Holmes, Jalen Adaway, and Osun Osunniyi — could technically return to school next season and use their additional year of eligibility, but regardless of what happens, these guys deserve a proper send off. The Bonnies’ program and the Atlantic 10 have been represented in a first-class manner by these players for the entirety of their careers in Olean. They’ve also won big, tallying 76 wins in the last four years before losing to Xavier in the semifinals of the Postseason NIT on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Leftovers