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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

Notre Dame makes a long awaited return to the NCAA Tournament
How long has it been since the Irish last played a game in the bracket? 1,824 days to be exact. Notre Dame makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017 tonight against Rutgers in the First Four in Dayton (9:10 PM ET, TruTV). The Irish previously advanced to back-to-back Elite Eights under Mike Brey in 2015 and 2016. This is Notre Dame’s 13th NCAA Tournament appearance under Brey, who was hired to his current post in 2000.

Indiana finally found a third scorer
The Hoosiers have had a solid one-two punch all season with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Xavier Johnson, but they’ve needed a third option to emerge. One finally did on Tuesday night. Jordan Geronimo came off the bench to score 15 pounds and grab seven rebounds in 19 minutes to spark Indiana to a 66-58 win over the Cowboys in the First Four. The Hoosiers will now move on to face Saint Mary’s in the Round of 64. Jackson-Davis led Indiana in the victory over Wyoming with 29 points and nine rebounds.

Steve Pikeill needs more credit for what he’s done at Rutgers
I know Pikiell got a contract extension last week. I know that he’s made Rutgers into a perennial contender for an NCAA Tournament bid. But do people really understand how hard that was to do? The Scarlet Knights are playing in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1975 and 1976, when Rutgers reached the Final Four. How long ago was that? Before the original Star Wars hit the box office!

Bryant/Wright State could be the best First Four game ever between 16 seeds
Star power? Check. A team playing near its campus? Check. A full crowd in the stands? You better believe it. Tonight’s First Four showdown between Bryant and Wright State could be the most compelling First Four matchup featuring 16 seeds since the event’s inception. The Bulldogs are led by the nation’s leading scorer in Peter Kiss (25.1 points) while Wright State is literally playing just minutes away from its campus. Sounds delicious, right?

The pageantry has returned to college basketball
The fans. The band. The popcorn. All of the things that were missing last season in college basketball when the sport was so limited due to COVID-19 are back. It’s a beautiful thing. Tuesday’s First Four was a tremendous springboard for the sport into the NCAA Tournament. Tonight’s games should be even better with Bryant taking on Wright State and Rutgers squaring off with Notre Dame.

Leftovers