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The Breakfast Buffet: March Madness Edition

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

Dan Hurley and Nate Oats go way back
When Hurley was building Rhode Island’s program a little over 10 years ago, his first major recruit was a guard from Romulus, Michigan named E.C. Matthews. Oats was Matthews’ high school coach. Hurley was so impressed with the way that Oats ran his program that he recommended him to his brother Bobby as a potential assistant when Bobby became the head coach at Buffalo. Oats was hired and when Bobby Hurley became Arizona State’s head coach in 2015, Oats was promoted to be Buffalo’s head coach. The rest is history. There’s deep, deep ties between these two men who will coaching against each other head-to-head on Saturday when UConn faces Alabama in the Final Four.

NC State’s run is eerily similar to 1983
41 years ago, Jim Valvano led the Wolfpack to arguably the most improbable run in the history of the NCAA Tournament. NC State feels like it’s been on a similar journey in 2024. In 1983, the Wolfpack entered the ACC Tournament at 17-10 and needed to earn an automatic qualifier to reach the NCAA Tournament. This year’s NC State team entered the ACC Tournament at 17-14 and also needed to earn an automatic qualifier to reach to the NCAA Tournament. If Kevin Keatts’ squad wins two more games, it will be in the discussion among the most unlikely teams to ever win a national title.

Josh Schertz has made Indiana State appointment TV
You don’t always say that in April about a team that plays in the Postseason NIT. The Sycamores picked up their 32nd win of the season on Tuesday night against Utah and will play Seton Hall on Thursday night in the title game of the event. Schertz’s crisp offensive sets made Indiana State a fascinating watch throughout the regular season and while the Sycamores didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament, their aesthetically pleasing style has been showcased over the past few weeks. Schertz has been reportedly linked to the head coaching vacancy at Saint Louis, but first he’s got a chance to lead Indiana State to a postseason title. This is the best season that this program has had since Larry Bird led the Sycamores to the national title game in 1979.

On The Side

  • Purdue’s Zach Edey is 36-54 (66.7 percent) from the free throw line in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Alabama is 10-0 this season in games where Latrell Wrightsell scores in double figures. The 6-3 Wrightsell has missed the Crimson Tide’s last two games with a head injury, but is expected to play in Saturday’s Final Four matchup with UConn.
  • 27 of UConn’s 35 wins this season have been by double figures.
  • NC State finished ACC play at 9-11. It’s now two wins away from a national title. Anarchy? Nope. Just college basketball.
  • South Carolina transfer Meechie Johnson announced his commitment to Ohio State on Tuesday. He averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 2023-24. The Buckeyes should have one of the best backcourts in the Big Ten next season with Johnson and Bruce Thornton.

Leftovers