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
Tyrese Proctror is elevating Duke’s ceiling
The Blue Devils have the most talented roster in college basketball and that sentiment only gets more amplified with the way that Proctor is playing. The 6-6 senior is averaging 22.0 points in two NCAA Tournament games and was a whopping 7-8 from three-point range in Sunday’s 89-66 win over Baylor. When Proctor plays like this as an ancillary scoring option alongside both Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, things drastically change for Duke. Jon Scheyer’s squad will next face Arizona on Thursday in the Sweet 16.
The SEC reigns supreme
The best power conference of all time has added another thing to its resume. Seven of the teams that will play in this week’s Sweet 16 will be from the SEC, breaking the ACC’s record of six that was set in 2016. There’s still a lot left to be sorted out this season, but one thing that can’t be denied is the historical impact of this league. The SEC during the 2024-25 season is the best league that we’ve ever seen in the history of college basketball from a volume perspective.
Michigan State won a big game with very little from Jase Richardson
And that’s a very encouraging sign for the Spartans. Michigan State’s 71-63 win over New Mexico on Sunday night was a blue collar victory and one that came with only six points and one made field goal from Richardson. The 6-3 freshman previously scored in double figures in every game that the Spartans played since Feb. 4th. Tom Izzo’s squad will next play Ole Miss this week in the Sweet 16 in Atlanta.
On The Side
- Houston has made the second weekend of every NCAA Tournament since 2018.
- UConn’s loss on Sunday to Florida was its first NCAA Tournament defeat since March 17th, 2022. That’s 1,102 days ago.
- Think BYU’s Richie Saunders (16.3 points, 4.4 rebounds) has made a jump? The Cougars’ 6-5 wing has made 78 three-point shots this season after making just 36 a year ago.
- The Big East does not have a single team in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
- Auburn’s Bruce Pearl will be Monday’s guest on my new podcast with CBS Sports. The show begins at 4:30 PM ET. You can watch live here.
