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The Breakfast Buffet: Dajuan Harris, Ed Cooley returns to Providence, Clemson visits Duke

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

Kansas needs a big game from Dajuan Harris at Hilton Coliseum
The Jayhawks’ veteran point guard always elevates his team to a different level when he’s a threat to score offensively. He needs to be today if Kansas is going to beat Iowa State at home, where it’s 12-0 this season. Harris has only reached double figures in one of his last five games. Bill Self’s team is 30-1 over the past four seasons in games where Harris scores 10 or more points. The lone defeat? Last year’s loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament — which came by a single point — when Self was unable to coach due to health issues. As Harris goes, so do the Jayhawks. Today’s game can be seen on CBS. Tip off is at 1:30 PM ET.

Ed Cooley returns to Providence
Do not expect a warm reception. Providence fans have been waiting a long time for this day after Cooley — who led the Friars to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and the only Big East regular season title in program history — left last spring for Georgetown. Things will be emotional, intense, and potentially extremely hostile for Cooley when he steps back into Amica Mutual Pavilion. Conversely, this is an important game for Providence. The Friars are 13-6 and firmly on the bubble after a huge win on Wednesday night at Seton Hall. This team can’t afford a bad loss at home against a sub .500 opponent like the Hoyas, who are just 8-11 and 1-7 in Big East play.

Clemson visits Duke
Only three teams from the ACC — these two and North Carolina — were projected to make the NCAA Tournament in this week’s BRACKET BREAKDOWN, which is released every Friday. The Tigers are still comfortably in the bracket, but have lost four of their last six games following an 11-1 start. This is the type of win that could cement Clemson as an NCAA Tournament team team. Keep an eye on the matchup up front between Tigers big man PJ Hall (19.7 points, 7.1 rebounds) and Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (18.2 points, nine rebounds). Both players are having All-American caliber seasons.

On The Side

  • Kentucky needs more out of Justin Edwards. The five-star freshman — who was projected to be this team’s best NBA prospect — has only scored a combined 10 points in his last three games. The Wildcats currently have five players averaging in double figures and Edwards isn’t one of them. John Calipari’s team will face Arkansas later today at Bud Walton Arena.
  • Seven of the Big 12’s 14 teams were ranked in this week’s AP Top 25. That doesn’t include Cincinnati, Texas, or TCU, who were all currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament in this week’s BRACKET BREAKDOWN.
  • Is Villanova’s game today at Butler a must win for the Wildcats? It’s pretty close. Kyle Neptune’s team is only 11-8 entering today’s tilt at Hinkle Fieldhouse and has lost four of its last five games. The one win during that stretch? A home triumph over DePaul.
  • UCLA will try and do something tonight that it’s never done under Mick Cronin: Beat USC at the Galen Center.
  • The sleeper game of the day in college basketball is in the Atlantic 10 as Dayton travels to Richmond. Both teams are undefeated in league play. Tip off is at 6 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.

Daily Specials

  • Kansas State at Houston
  • Georgetown at Providence
  • Kansas at Iowa State
  • Clemson at Duke
  • Arizona at Oregon

Leftovers