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The Breakfast Buffet: Bob Huggins returns to the Cintas Center, Cliff Omoruyi, Houston/Saint Mary’s

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

Bob Huggins returns to the Cintas Center
The Hall-of-Fame head coach was 1-1 in games on Xavier’s current home court when he was the head coach of Cincinnati. He’ll return to his former city today as West Virginia (6-1) visits the Musketeers as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle. Many people in the Queen City still revere Huggins, but that doesn’t mean that Xavier fans do. Expect a raucous atmosphere at the Cintas Center for Huggins’ return. This is a “swing game” for both teams, who were each ranked in the Top 35 of last week’s ROTHSTEIN 45.

Cliff Omoruyi could become a national name after today’s game against Indiana
Steve Pikiell saw this coming. Most of America hasn’t taken notice yet. That will change if Rutgers (5-2) can beat Indiana (7-0) today in Piscataway. The 6-11 Omoruyi — who is averaging 16.7 points and 9.9 rebounds — is the best big man in America that not enough people are talking about. Pikiell has repeatedly said that Omoruyi is right in the conversation with Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, and Purdue’s Zach Edey as one of the best big men in the Big Ten. He’ll get a chance to prove that today against an undefeated Indiana team that’s coming off a massive win on Wednesday against North Carolina.

Houston begins its strong December slate against Saint Mary’s
The Cougars were ranked No. 1 in this week’s AP Top 25 for the first time in over 30 years, but thus far their best win has been at Oregon. They’ll have opportunities to amend that over the next few weeks. Houston will play Saint Mary’s (5-2) — who is desperate for a win after losing two straight — tonight in Fort Worth before a home game next Saturday against Alabama and a road trip to Virginia on Dec. 17th. We’ll know a lot more about Houston (7-0) after the next few weeks, starting with tonight’s showdown with one of the best mid-majors in the country. This feels like a Round of 32 game in the NCAA Tournament.

On The Side

  • To those who thought that Brady Manek was a “replaceable piece” for North Carolina following last season, remember this: The Tar Heels were 26-6 a year ago when Manek scored in double figures and 3-4 when he did not.
  • Wisconsin (5-2) will begin a pivotal three-game stretch today in Milwaukee against Marquette (6-2). After today’s matchup with the Golden Eagles, the Badgers will host Maryland and then travel to Iowa before hosting three buy games to close out their non-conference schedule.
  • Villanova freshman Mark Armstrong is averaging 7 points in games this season where he’s logged 15 minutes or more. This a key piece to monitor moving forward for the Wildcats, who host Oklahoma today at the Wells Fargo Center as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle. Tip off is at 12:30 PM ET on CBS.
  • Out of the 50 starters on the teams that were ranked in the Top 10 of this week’s AP Top 25, 38 were a part of their current program during last season. Player retention matters.
  • Is tonight the night where Steve Lavin makes San Diego (5-3) nationally relevant? The Toreros host undefeated UNLV (7-0) in Southern California.

Daily Specials

  • Oklahoma at Villanova (Big East-Big 12 Battle)
  • Indiana at Rutgers
  • Wisconsin at Marquette
  • West Virginia at Xavier (Big East-Big 12 Battle)
  • Houston/Saint Mary’s (Fort Worth)

Leftovers