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The Breakfast Buffet: Brad Underwood snubbed, Baylor’s return, Jalen Wilson’s rise

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

Brad Underwood should be on the Naismith Coach of the Year list
This isn’t an oversight, it’s a flat out insult. Illinois is 16-5 and in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten entering tonight’s game against Michigan State in East Lansing. The Illini are currently projected to be a two seed in the NCAA Tournament and will have their highest seed in the event since 2005, when they lost to North Carolina in the national title game. How do those types of credentials preclude Underwood from being on a list with the top 15 coaches in the sport? People need to be reminded sometimes that Illinois is not a blue blood program. Since 2005, the Illini have only won a total of three games in the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor finally returns to play
After five postponements in the past three weeks due to COVID-19, the Bears will finally take the court tonight in Waco against Iowa State (2-16). A word to the wise: Expect this team to show some rust. Baylor (17-0) has not played since it beat Texas in Austin on Feb. 2nd. The Bears need to use tonight’s matchup with the Cyclones as a “dress rehearsal” before they host West Virginia on Thursday.

Jalen Wilson has been a catalyst during Kansas’ five-game winning streak 
This is the player that Bill Self thought he was going to have at the start of the season. As the Jayhawks enter tonight’s game against Texas in Austin with momentum, Wilson enters with confidence. The 6-8 forward is averaging 15.8 points and 10.4 rebounds during Kansas’ five-game winning streak and has posted four double-doubles during that span. In the game that Wilson didn’t have a double-double, he was a rebound short and finished with nine. It will be interesting to see how performs tonight against Texas’ formidable baseline of Greg Brown, Kai Jones, and Jericho Sims. 

On The Side

  • Andrew Nembhard continues to look like Gonzaga’s wildcard entering the postseason. Since being inserted into the Bulldogs’ starting lineup, the 6-5 guard is averaging 11.3 points, 3.5 assists, and two steals. Remember: Nembhard led Florida in minutes played last season before transferring.
  • Kudos to Houston for scheduling a non-conference game on Thursday against Conference-USA favorite Western Kentucky. The Cougars are in position to be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, but opted to add a game in late February against a quality opponent. Not many programs would do this
  • Michigan’s Mike Smith has a combined 14 assists to just four turnovers in the three games that the Wolverines have played since returning from a COVID pause. The grad transfer from Columbia has quietly made a major difference in Ann Arbor.
  • Ron Harper Jr. hasn’t been the same player offensively since December. After starting the year as an All-American candidate, Rutgers’ junior forward has really tapered off. Harper is just 1-17 from three-point range during the month of February. 
  • Is the Atlantic 10 trending towards being a one-bid league? Not yet, but the conference is highly unlikely to have a single digit seed in the NCAA Tournament. St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, and VCU remain in the mix for at-large bids. The Billikens will visit the Rams tonight. Tip off is at 6 PM ET on CBS Sports Network. 

Daily Specials

  • Illinois at Michigan State
  • St. John’s at Villanova
  • Iowa State at Baylor
  • Kansas at Texas
  • UConn at Georgetown

Leftovers: