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The Breakfast Buffet: March Madness Edition

Mangia!

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.

Things To Sample

Dusty May chose wisely
One day after Florida Atlantic was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, May opted to become Michigan’s next head coach, spurning both Louisville and Vanderbilt. It was the right decision. An Indiana alum, May has deep Big Ten roots and should be able to operate in comfort in Ann Arbor as he rebuilds the Wolverines’ basketball program without the microscope that he would have dealt with if he was at Louisville. Michigan finished 8-24 this season and its leading scorer Dug McDaniel (16.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds) entered the transfer portal.

Houston/Texas A&M
A word to the wise: Don’t show up for this game if you’re soft. Two of the toughest teams in college basketball will trade blows tonight in Memphis for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. Do not expect a beauty contest. Both Kelvin Sampson and Buzz Williams pride themselves on molding their respective teams into units that epitomize toughness. Another thing to keep in mind? The winner of this game will play Sweet 16 and possibly Elite Eight games next week in Dallas. That’s only a few hours away from each team’s campus. Tip off is at 8:40 PM ET on TNT.

Steven Ashworth continues to be an X-Factor for Creighton
Somewhere in the middle of the season, the Bluejays’ big three of Trey Alexander, Baylor Scheierman, and Ryan Kalkbrenner added Ashworth as a fourth member of their ensemble. Creighton hasn’t looked back since. Operating with the focus of a surgeon, Ashworth scored 21 points and handed out four assists while making several timely shots as the Bluejays beat Oregon 86-73 on Saturday night in overtime to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the past four NCAA Tournaments. Creighton is now 19-5 this season when Ashworth scores double figures. Greg McDermott’s squad is just two wins away from the Final Four and will next face Tennessee next week in Detroit.

On The Side

  • Regardless of what happens today against UConn, Chris Collins deserves major credit for the job that he’s done this season at Northwestern. The Wildcats are in the Round of 32 for only the third time in program history and have gotten to this point with two starters — Ty Berry (knee) and Matthew Nicholson (leg) — out of the lineup.
  • The winner of today’s game between San Diego State and Yale in Spokane will play a Sweet 16 tilt on Thursday in Boston. That’s a long way to go for the winner. Tip off of today’s game is at 8:40 PM ET on TruTV.
  • Gonzaga has advanced to the Sweet 16 in nine straight NCAA Tournaments.
  • Texas A&M is 14-6 over the past three seasons when Manny Obaseki scores in double figures.
  • Utah State’s Isaac Johnson is averaging 15 points and four rebounds while shooting 3-6 from three-point range in his last two games entering today’s matchup with Purdue. This is the wildcard to watch for Danny Sprinkle’s squad today in Indianapolis.

Leftovers