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The Breakfast Buffet: Creighton begins a massive home stand, Illinois/Missouri, Norchad Omier

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

Creighton begins a massive home stand
There’s a scene in The Shawshank Redemption where Tim Robbins tells Morgan Freeman that it’s time to “Get busy living or get busy dying”. It’s reached that point for the Bluejays. After starting out the season with six straight wins — including victories over both Texas Tech and Arkansas — Creighton has lost six straight. Four of those defeats came with Ryan Kalkbrenner — the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year — out of the lineup due to illness. The Bluejays will begin a three-game home stand tonight against Butler, which will be followed by back-to-back home games against DePaul and Seton Hall. Remember: Creighton has already beaten two teams currently ranked in the ROTHSTEIN 45 — Texas Tech and Arkansas — in the Maui Invitational and only lost to Arizona by two in the event’s title game. Get busy living or get busy dying.

Illinois/Missouri
The annual “Braggin Rights” game takes place tonight in Saint Louis and features one team — Illinois (8-3) — that’s been up and down and another — Missouri (10-1) — who’s still trying to gain national relevance in its first season under Dennis Gates. The Tigers have not beaten a team from a power conference this season and will face Kentucky and Arkansas back-to-back after tonight’s matchup with the Illini. Which Illinois team is going to show up tonight? No one knows for sure. The Illini are just 4-3 in their last seven games.

Norchad Omier is Miami’s unsung presence
Omier is much different than Sam Waardenburg — who started for Miami at center during last year’s run to the Elite Eight — but he’s still having a major impact up front for the Hurricanes, who improved to 12-1 following Tuesday night’s win over Virginia. A transfer from Arkansas State, the 6-7 Omier can’t stretch the defense on offense the way that Waardenburg could a year ago, but his speed, versatility, and ability to rebound have made him a seamless addition alongside Miami’s four-guard sets. Another underrated part of Omier’s game? His evolving ability to protect the front of the rim. Omier — who is averaging 13.5 points and 9.8 rebounds — has blocked a total of seven shots in the Hurricanes’ last two games.

On The Side

  • Xavier is 18-6 over the past three seasons in games where Zach Freemantle (14.3 points, 7.5 rebounds) scores 15 or more points.
  • Eight of Oklahoma’s first 12 opponents have scored 60 points or fewer. The Sooners have won nine of their last 11 games in their second season under Porter Moser and will open up Big 12 play on New Year’s Eve in Norman against Texas.
  • A big reason for Northwestern’s 9-2 start? A healthy Chase Audige. After battling a hip injury last season, the 6-4 Audige is averaging 14.5 points and shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range. Audige averaged just 9.8 points last season and shot 25 percent from long distance.
  • Add Temple to the list of teams who have been among college basketball’s biggest disappointments. The Owls are just 6-7 entering league play and have lost buy games to both Maryland-Eastern Shore and Wagner.
  • Baylor, Florida, and Pitt will headline the 2023 Preseason NIT at the Barclays Center, multiple sources told College Hoops Today. The fourth team in the event is currently TBD.

Daily Specials

  • Towson at Bryant
  • Boise State at Santa Clara
  • Harvard at Kansas
  • Butler at Creighton
  • Illinois/Missouri (Saint Louis)

Leftovers