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The Breakfast Buffet: Florida State’s statement, Tahj Eaddy, North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament chances

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

Florida State made a statement against Virginia
There’s no longer any debate about who the best team in the ACC is. Florida State’s 81-60 win over Virginia on Monday night in Tallahassee was authoritative, surgical, and forceful all at the same time. The Seminoles had 10 different players play eight minutes or more in the victory and wore down Virginia possession by possession. Only two of Florida State’s players — M.J. Walker and RaiQuan Gray — reached double figures. This team has the depth, balance, and offense to reach the Final Four on April 3rd in Indianapolis. How good offensively are the Seminoles? In addition to scoring 81 points against Virginia, Florida State also shot 50 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from three-point range. 

Tahj Eaddy has been a revelation for USC
Much like Louisville’s Carlik Jones, Eaddy has been an exception to the grad transfer rule. It is very rare for a player to go from a mid-major conference to a power conference and have a comparable impact. As of now, Eaddy is exceeding what he did a year ago in the WCC when he was at Santa Clara. The 6-2 guard is currently USC’s second-leading scorer behind Evan Mobley and is averaging 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists; he averaged 9.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists a year ago with the Broncos. From a statistical perspective, Eaddy has given USC almost identically what it got out of Jonah Mathews last season.

North Carolina is the blue blood program to watch in the next few weeks
That’s because the Tar Heels could join Kentucky, Duke, and Michigan State as a high-profile program that misses the 2021 NCAA Tournament. North Carolina (12-7) is firmly on the bubble and will have to play well down the stretch to hear its name called on Selection Sunday. Roy Williams’ team currently still has home games remaining against Northeastern, Louisville, Duke, and Florida State with road games set to be played at Boston College and Syracuse. The Tar Heels will have to win at least four of those games to comfortably reach the NCAA Tournament.

On The Side

  • Xavier (11-3) has won 11 straight meetings against St. John’s (13-8) entering tonight’s game at Carnesecca Arena. This is a significant 40 minutes for both teams as it pertains to the NCAA Tournament picture. The last time the Red Storm beat the Musketeers was Feb. 23rd, 2015.
  • Duke freshman Jalen Johnson officially entered the 2021 NBA Draft on Monday and opted to forgo the remainder of the current season. The 6-9 forward was averaging 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds and is a projected lottery pick. One question though: Did Johnson forgo the remainder of the current season or quit on his teammates in mid-February? 
  • Eric Musselman has rallied Arkansas. Since losing back-to-back games against LSU and Alabama by double figures in January, the Razorbacks (16-5) have won six of their last seven and are well positioned to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. Arkansas will host Florida (10-5) tonight at Bud Walton Arena. 
  • Drake’s ShanQuan Hemphill (foot) could be available for Arch Madness in a few weeks, per Darian DeVries. The 6-6 forward currently leads the Bulldogs in both scoring (14.1 PPG) and rebounding (6.3 RPG). This is a huge situation to monitor between now and the start of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. 
  • Boston College fired Jim Christian on Monday after a 3-13 start and seven seasons as head coach. The Eagles have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2009 under Al Skinner. Only two seasons since have featured winning records. 

Daily Specials

  • Providence at UConn
  • Michigan State at Purdue
  • Florida at Arkansas
  • Xavier at St. John’s
  • Missouri at Georgia

Leftovers: