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The Breakfast Buffet: Dosunmu/Cockburn, Virginia’s front court, time to stop talking about the struggling blue bloods

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

Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn look like the best 1-2 punch in college basketball 
One could argue that Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs and Drew Timme are just as formidable, but the Bulldogs have other weapons to carry the load on their roster that the Illini don’t. Illinois’ primary inside/outside duo features two players who are both in the All-American conversation and two players who also are starting to play like the hourglass is running out on a potential dream season. Both Dosunmu and Cockburn played with tremendous urgency in Saturday’s win over Wisconsin and combined for 44 points and 26 rebounds; Dosunmu also added 12 assists and finished with a triple-double. The Illini have now won four straight after back-to-back home losses to Maryland and Ohio State. If this team goes on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, it’s going to be because of Dosunmu and Cockburn.

Virginia’s frontcourt can really shoot the basketball
How well can this baseline extend the defense? Better than any front court that’s played for Tony Bennett since he’s been in Charlottesville. Virginia’s starting power forward and center — Sam Hauser and Jay Huff — were a combined 13-15 from the field and 6-8 from three-point range in Saturday’s win over Pitt. That’s utterly ridiculous. All three players in the Cavaliers’ starting lineup who stand 6-8 or taller — Hauser, Huff, and Rice transfer Trey Murphy — are shooting 40 percent or better from long distance. 

It’s time to stop talking about the blue bloods who are struggling
So this is the last time that I’ll address this topic unless something drastic over the next month. We’re officially five weeks away from Selection Sunday.  Kentucky is 5-12. Michigan State is 9-7. Duke is 7-7 and has already lost three games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It’s time to officially shift our attention away from these blue blood programs and move it elsewhere in an effort to focus on other stories in the sport. Barring something unforeseen, none of the three programs listed above are going to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

On The Side

  • Drake improved to 18-0 after Saturday’s win over VALPO, but has still yet to play a Quad 1 game this season. How good are the Bulldogs? We’ll find out next week when they play back-to-back games against Loyola Chicago.
  • Providence hasn’t been the same team since Jared Bynum went down with a groin injury. The Friars were 7-4 when Bynum — their starting point guard — was in the lineup and are just 2-6 without him. Bynum hasn’t played since Jan. 2nd and was averaging 5.8 points and 4.5 assists prior to injury. Ed Cooley’s team is 9-10 overall after Saturday’s loss to St. John’s. 
  • Clemson is college basketball’s ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team. After losing to Duke by 26 eight days ago at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Tigers won a pair of games this week against North Carolina and Syracuse by an average of 15 points. 
  • Indiana is 2-4 in Big Ten home games this season entering today’s tilt in Bloomington against Iowa. A regular sweep over the Hawkeyes would go a long way for Archie Miller’s club on Selection Sunday.
  • Looking for the perfect Super Bowl appetizer? Check out this afternoon’s game between Boise State and Nevada in Reno. Wichita State transfer Grant Sherfield has been a revelation lately for the Wolf Pack and is averaging 17.7 points and 9.7 assists over his last three games.

Daily Specials

  • Iowa at Indiana
  • Drake at VALPO
  • Georgetown at Villanova
  • Boise State at Nevada
  • Cal at Stanford

Leftovers: