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The Breakfast Buffet: Creighton/Texas, Amari Bailey, UConn is thriving without a pure PG

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

Creighton/Texas
At the start of the season, I thought this was an Elite Eight caliber game. Today, it feels like a Final Four caliber game. Both Creighton and Texas enter tonight’s game in Austin ranked in the Top six of this week’s ROTHSTEIN 45. Both have already beaten high quality competition as the Bluejays knocked off both Texas Tech and Arkansas in the Maui Invitational while the Longhorns beat Gonzaga at home by 19 a few weeks ago. Texas has held its first five opponents to an average of 52.8 points. Creighton averages 83.9 points. Something’s gotta give tonight in this high-level showdown in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.

Amari Bailey aims to continue to turn the corner
UCLA’s five-star freshman has a long way to go in order to become the player that he hopes to be this season, but Bailey is quietly making quality steps in that direction. After struggling a few weeks ago in Las Vegas in back-to-back games against Illinois and Baylor, the 6-5 lefty has bounced back with two strong outings, averaging 15.5 points, six assists, and 3.5 rebounds in a pair of wins over Bellarmine and Pepperdine. Bailey averaged just three points, four rebounds, and 1.5 assists in the two games in Las Vegas. The Bruins will open Pac-12 play tonight in Palo Alto against Stanford.

UConn is thriving offensively
Many people — including myself — wondered how the Huskies would function offensively after losing an All-Big East point guard in R.J. Cole following last season. They’ve responded in impressive fashion. Entering tonight’s game against Oklahoma State in the Big East-Big 12 Battle, UConn has had assists on 65.9 percent of its made baskets. It never had assists on more than 52.2 percent of its made baskets in each of the previous four seasons under Dan Hurley. Thanks to great spacing and tremendous passing, the Huskies have made the open man the go-to man all while sprinkling in guys like Andre Jackson, Hassan Diarra, and Tristen Newton as players who can initiate the offense from possession to possession. UConn is 8-0 entering tonight’s game at Gampel Pavilion.

On The Side

  • Terrence Shannon Jr. made a total of 33 three-point shots last season at Texas Tech. He’s already made 21 this season at Illinois. The 6-6 wing — who’s averaging 19.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists — is playing like an All-American.
  • It’s hard to think this way given the current climate of college basketball, but every single player that contributed to Marquette’s 26-point win over Baylor on Tuesday night in Milwaukee is eligible to come back next season.
  • Iowa needs to get more offensively out of Payton Sandfort. The 6-7 sophomore hasn’t scored in double figures in his last five games and is just 2-17 from three-point range during that span.
  • Looking for an under-the-radar transfer? Try San Diego State’s Micah Parrish. The 6-6 wing — who spent last season at Oakland — is shooting 40 percent from three-point range and hit the game-winner for the Aztecs on Tuesday night against UC Irvine. Parrish is currently averaging 8.1 points for San Diego State in reserve.
  • Wyoming’s Graham Ike (leg) will return at some point in January, Jeff Linder told College Hoops Today on Wednesday. The 6-9 Ike — who was the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year — has yet to play this season and averaged 19.9 points and 9.6 rebounds a year ago when the Cowboys reached the NCAA Tournament. Wyoming fell to 3-4 on Wednesday after losing at Santa Clara.

Daily Specials

  • Oklahoma State at UConn (Big East-Big 12 Battle)
  • Creighton at Texas (Big East-Big 12 Battle)
  • Arizona at Utah
  • Seton Hall at Kansas (Big East-Big 12 Battle)
  • UCLA at Stanford

Leftovers