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The Breakfast Buffet: Louisville, A big night in the Big East, Oklahoma State building momentum for 22-23

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

Louisville is again enduring in-season drama
There’s simply never a dull moment with this program. After years of NCAA violations and even postseason bans, the Cardinals are now expected to take part in an in-season coaching change, as Chris Mack is expected to be relieved of his duties later today with assistant Mike Pegues set to take over as interim head coach. Mack went to one NCAA Tournament in his three and a half seasons at Louisville and would have had a high seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament had it not been cancelled due to COVID. Who will be his replacement? Current New York Knicks assistant and former Louisville star Kenny Payne — who served as a longtime assistant to John Calipari at Kentucky — is certain to be mentioned as a possibility, but there will massive interest across the board. Many in the industry believe that this is one of the top seven or eight jobs in all of college basketball. Expect a long line for this vacancy.

A big night in the Big East
Don’t show up if you’re soft! As of now, there are currently seven teams from the Big East — Villanova, UConn, Xavier, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, and Creighton — projected to be in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Four of those squads are in action tonight. Xavier hosts Providence at the Cintas Center (6:30 PM ET, CBS Sports Network) in a game that the Musketeers need to win in order to hold pace with the rest of the conference. Meanwhile, Marquette’s trip to Newark to face Seton Hall should be nothing short of a bloodbath. The two teams played 11 days ago in Milwaukee in a game won by the Golden Eagles on a controversial call in the final seconds. Shaka Smart’s squad enters tonight’s game at 14-6 overall and on a six-game winning streak.

Oklahoma State’s nucleus is building towards 22-23
This team won’t get a chance to play in the Big 12 Tournament or the NCAA Tournament due to a ridiculous postseason ban, but the majority of the Cowboys’ nucleus is still in place for the rest of this season and beyond. Seven of this team’s top nine scorers — Avery Anderson, Bryce Thompson, Kalib Boone, Moussa Cisse, Keylan Boone, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, and Rondel Walker — are in position to return next season. Oklahoma State (10-8) also has won two of its last three games entering tonight’s matchup with Iowa State in Stillwater. Both victories came against NCAA Tournament caliber teams in Baylor and TCU. “We’ve got really good guys on this team”, Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton told College Hoops Today on Tuesday. “If we didn’t have good guys on this team, I don’t know if this would be possible.” The Cowboys won’t be able to play in the postseason, but if they keep showing tangible improvement, it could put them in position to begin next season with the rhythm and chemistry needed to be one of the top teams in the Big 12 in 22-23.

On The Side

  • Four of Texas Tech’s top six scorers — Bryson Williams, Kevin Obanor, Davion Warren, and Adonis Arms — were not members of the Red Raiders’ program last season. Don’t underestimate the recruiting job that Mark Adams and his staff did via the transfer portal last spring. Texas Tech is 15-5 and will next host Mississippi State on Saturday as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
  • Duke transfer Henry Coleman has found a home at Texas A&M. The 6-8 forward is thriving as a primary interior presence for the Aggies and is averaging 14.6 points in his last five games.
  • St. John’s win over Seton Hall on Monday night was the first victory that the Red Storm have had with Julian Champagnie scoring in double figures since March 11, 2020.
  • LSU is only averaging 59.8 points since Xavier Pinson has been out of the lineup with a knee injury. The Tigers will try and snap their three-game losing streak tonight against Texas A&M in Baton Rouge.
  • South Dakota State (17-4) is one of the best mid-majors that not enough people are talking about. The Jackrabbits have won eight games in a row and haven’t lost since Dec. 15th. Remember: This team won the Summit League last season before falling to Oral Roberts at the buzzer in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament.

Daily Specials

  • Florida at Tennessee
  • Providence at Xavier
  • Marquette at Seton Hall
  • Iowa State at Oklahoma State
  • Texas A&M at LSU

Leftovers