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The Breakfast Buffet: Kansas State invades Carnesecca Arena, Kam Jones against John Tonje, Gonzaga/Kentucky

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

Kansas State invades Carnesecca Arena
The first game that St. John’s plays since the passing of Lou Carnesecca features an early morning start (11:30 AM ET) against a quality Big 12 opponent. The Wildcats should expect a hornet’s nest. The Red Storm are normally significantly harder to play against in games that are played on campus versus MSG. Given the emotional aspect of the week this program has had, today should be no different. Keep an eye on Michigan transfer Dug McDaniel (11.0 points, 5.9 assists), who will be critical for Kansas State as it aims to navigate a raucous environment on the road. McDaniel torched St. John’s for 26 points and seven assists last season when Michigan beat the Red Storm at MSG. Three of St. John’s next four games will be played in Queens.

Kam Jones against John Tonje
Two All-Americans going against each other in a rivalry game? Sounds delicious! Both Marquette and Wisconsin are coming off losses entering today’s game at Fiserv Forum and both will be desperate for a win. Jones and Tonje though, figure to be right in the middle of the action as both are playing like first-team All-Americans. The 6-5 Jones enters today’s tilt averaging 19.0 points, 6.6 assists, 5.0 rebounds while shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range. Tonje meanwhile has been a revelation for Wisconsin and is averaging 22.3 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 44.2 percent from three-point range. Remember: This guy only appeared in eight games last season for Missouri due to injury prior to transferring to Madison.

Gonzaga/Kentucky
The “Battle in Seattle” is without question the best game on today’s college basketball slate. The Wildcats are coming off a close road loss earlier in the week at Clemson while the Bulldogs will playing in front of a pseudo home crowd in the Great Northwest. Gonzaga currently has seven different players — Graham Ike, Khalif Battle, Braden Huff, Nolan Hickman, Ryan Nembhard, Ben Gregg, and Michael Ajayi — averaging between 7.6 points and 13.8 points while Kentucky also possesses tremendous balance. Six different members of the Wildcats — Otega Oweh, Lamont Butler, Koby Brea, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams — are averaging 9.9 points or more. Kentucky shot just 7-27 from three-point range in its loss at Clemson and is primed to bounce back. Gonzaga meanwhile, is in the midst of a massive seven-day stretch as it will also face UConn at MSG on Dec. 14th. The winner of this game will add a major victory to its NCAA Tournament resume.

On The Side

  • After being picked 13th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, West Virginia looks like it has NCAA Tournament potential in 2025. The Mountaineers improved to 6-2 after Friday night’s win over Georgetown and should be 9-2 entering their Big 12 opener at Kansas on Dec. 31st.
  • Ball security is officially a problem for Xavier. The Musketeers have a combined 50 turnovers in their last three games, including several down the stretch in Thursday’s excruciating loss at TCU.
  • Since the 2014-15 season, Syracuse has an overall combined record of just 196-141 and a 96-91 mark in ACC regular season games. 
  • Murphy’s Law has hit Louisville. Two members of the Cards’ rotation — Kasean Pryor (knee) and Koren Johnson (shoulder) — are out for the season while another starter — Aboubacar Traore (arm) — is currently out indefinitely.
  • UC Irvine is off to a 9-0 start under Russell Turner. This program has averaged 22 wins per season under Turner’s stewardship since 2012-13.

Daily Specials

  • Kansas State at St. John’s
  • Wisconsin at Marquette
  • Iowa at Michigan
  • Butler at Houston
  • Kentucky/Gonzaga (Seattle)

Leftovers