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The Breakfast Buffet — March Madness Edition

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

The 2022 Final Four is the best Final Four on paper since 2015
Seven years ago, Wisconsin played Kentucky in a Final Four rematch and Duke took on Michigan State. This is the best Final Four — at least on paper — since. Saturday’s game between Duke and North Carolina — who split two meetings during the regular season — is the biggest rubber match in the history of college basketball. It is also the first meeting ever between the two rivals in the NCAA Tournament. The other national semifinal between Villanova and Kansas is a battle of blue blood programs who are very familiar with one another. The Wildcats and Jayhawks have faced each other in two of the last five NCAA Tournaments, including the 2018 Final Four.

A salute to St. Peter’s
Do not be sad that it’s over — cherish that it happened. The Peacocks’ improbable run to the Elite Eight came to an end on Sunday against North Carolina, but the memories that this team created along the way have forever changed both its basketball program and its community. Given the lack of resources that St. Peter’s possesses and the fact that it won three NCAA Tournament games against three quality teams — Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue — this run may be more impressive overall than UMBC’s upset of Virginia in 2018. Take a bow, St. Peter’s. You’ve earned it.

Kansas’ second half effort against Miami was beyond elite
I would have cashed in part of my SEP IRA to hear what Bill Self said to the Jayhawks at halftime. Whatever message was conveyed obviously worked. After trailing by six after the first 20 minutes on Sunday against Miami, Kansas outscored the Hurricanes 47-15 the rest of the game en route to a 76-50 win. It was one of the best halves of basketball that the Jayhawks have ever played under Self, who reached his fourth Final Four as a head coach with the victory.

David McCormack remains the X-Factor for Kansas
The numbers don’t lie. Over the last four years, the Jayhawks are 44-9 in games where McCormack scores in double figures. His surge during the second half on Sunday against Miami was a major reason why Kansas was able to get separation and advance to the Final Four. McCormack finished with 15 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes against the Hurricanes.

Villanova is not in uncharted territory without Justin Moore
The Wildcats don’t have what they had, but they still have enough despite losing their second-leading scorer to a torn achilles tendon. Remember: Villanova lost Collin Gillespie last season to a knee injury before the NCAA Tournament and still managed to reach the Sweet 16, where it held a seven-point lead at the half before losing to Baylor. With Moore (14.8 points) now sidelined, look for Caleb Daniels, Brandon Slater, Chris Arcidiacono, and Bryan Antoine to all assume bigger roles in the Final Four against Kansas. Villanova played one game this season without Moore and won by 11 against UConn in South Philadelphia.

Leftovers