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
Will Wade was the star of the first full day of the NCAA Tournament
Nobody said this guy couldn’t coach. The 42-year old Wade always seems to find his way into the headlines and the print was never bolder than it was on Thursday when he led McNeese to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win over Clemson at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence. The 12/5 upset wasn’t a massive surprise, but it again validated the coaching ability of Wade — who will reportedly be the next coach at NC State — after leading the Cowboys to a 58-10 record in his two years at McNeese. Wade’s squad will next face Purdue on Saturday in the Round of 32.
Donovan Dent squares off with Kam Jones
Two of the best guards in the country headline what should be a fascinating first-round game today in Cleveland as New Mexico squares off with Marquette. The Mountain West Player of the Year, Dent (20.6 points, 6.4 assists) is underrated nationally and has the ability to trade blows with any opponent. And Jones? The crafty southpaw has evolved beautifully for the Golden Eagles after taking over for Tyler Kolek at point guard and enters today’s game averaging a whopping 19.3 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds. I’ll be on the sidelines for this tilt while Spero Dedes and Jim Spanarkel have the call. Tip off is at 7:25 PM ET on TBS.
Nique Clifford should be on your “must watch” list
Colorado State’s star has quietly performed like one of the best players in the country over the past few weeks and we’ll see if that translates into the NCAA Tournament. The 6-6 Clifford averaged 25.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists last week in three games at the Mountain West Tournament. The Rams will face Memphis today in Seattle. Tip off is at 2 PM ET on TBS.
On The Side
- Duke and North Carolina are the only remaining teams from the ACC in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
- Kansas has missed the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season for the first time ever under Bill Self.
- Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn is averaging 24.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in his last six games. I’ll say it again: Braden Smith isn’t the only All-American on the Boilers’ roster. The 6-9 big man had 21 points and eight rebounds in Thursday’s win over High Point.
- Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears averaged 28.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in two games last week at the SEC Tournament. He’ll need to be close to that level again if the Sooners are going to get past UConn in Raleigh tonight in the Round of 64.
- Creighton has now won at least one game in each of the past five NCAA Tournaments under Greg McDermott.
