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The Breakfast Buffet: Illinois is an extremely difficult team to prepare for, Duke’s interior defense, Andre Jackson

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

Illinois is an extremely difficult team to prepare for
That’s because anyone on this roster can be this team’s go-to scorer on a given night. On Tuesday against Texas in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, Matthew Mayer was the Illini’s primary offensive threat in the first half. Then freshman guard Jayden Epps was huge down the stretch in regulation and made several key shots to send the game into overtime. Finally, Terrence Shannon Jr. sparked the Illini in the extra period and helped seal an 85-78 overtime win. Mayer led Illinois with 21 points while Shannon and Epps chipped in with 16 and 11 respectively. “I love this team,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said following the game. “I don’t where our offense is coming from at times, but I love the makeup and DNA of this team.” Illinois — who did not return a double figure scorer from last year’s team — is now 7-2 and has wins over Texas and UCLA.

Duke’s interior defense is one of its greatest strengths
Just ask Iowa’s Kris Murray. Yesterday, I wrote about how Murray was the player to watch entering Tuesday night’s Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Then he went up against the Blue Devils’ front court quartet of Mark Mitchell, Kyle Filipowski, Dereck Liveley, and Ryan Young, who all stand between 6-8 and 7-1. After scoring 31 points and grabbing 20 rebounds in his last game against Georgia Tech, Duke held Murray to just eight points and seven rebounds. He shot just 3-9 from the field. While Mitchell drew the bulk of the defensive assignment against Murray, the totality of the Blue Devils’ defense was on full display in the 74-62 victory. Iowa entered the game averaging 86.4 points. “It’s starts with our guards pressuring the ball,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said following the game. “We’ve got great length and even if our guys up front like Dereck (Lively) don’t block the shot — they alter it.” It’s going to be very hard for teams to get offense going in the paint against the Blue Devils.

Andre Jackson is flourishing in his new role for UConn
Beyond his emergence as arguably the top utility player in the sport, Jackson is also excelling as a facilitator. After missing the first few games of the season due to a finger injury, the 6-6 junior is setting into things as UConn’s “point forward”. In Jackson’s last two games, he’s handed out 11 assists and only had a single turnover. During that same span, he’s averaging 10.5 points, 10 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 2.5 steals. Dan Hurley’s team will visit Florida tonight in its first true road game of the season. The Huskies are currently 9-0 and ranked fifth in the ROTHSTEIN 45.

On The Side

  • Houston is now 17-0 over the past three seasons in games where Tramon Mark scores in double figures. Can you say X-Factor? This is the unsung presence on the top team in college basketball.
  • Gonzaga needs more out of Hunter Sallis. The former five-star prospect has just 10 points in his last four games and is averaging just 4.6 points as a sophomore. Sallis averaged 4.3 points last season as a freshman.
  • After missing the first five games of the year due to suspension, Derrick Walker has changed Nebraska’s season. A fifth-year senior, the 6-9 Walker is averaging 16.8 points and 9.5 rebounds. Walker also tallied 22 of the Huskers’ 63 points in Sunday’s upset win over Creighton in Omaha. Fred Hoiberg’s squad is 6-3 and will face Indiana tonight in Bloomington.
  • The most alarming part of St. John’s (8-1) loss at Iowa State on Sunday? The Red Storm had just six assists to 20 turnovers in their first head-to-head meeting with a team that’s currently projected to be in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Mike Anderson’s squad will open Big East play tonight against DePaul (5-3) in Queens.
  • Is the Atlantic 10 going to be a one bid league on Selection Sunday? The conference had just two teams — Saint Louis and UMass — ranked in the Top 75 of the NET on Tuesday prior to the Billikens’ 22-point loss at Iona.

Daily Specials

  • DePaul at St. John’s
  • Dayton at Virginia Tech
  • Michigan State at Penn State
  • Nebraska at Indiana
  • UConn at Florida

Leftovers