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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

UConn is going to see a different Keaton Wagler compared to earlier this season
When the Huskies faced the Illini on Black Friday at MSG, Wagler scored just three points in a total of 14 minutes. He’s since become an All-American and one of the best players in college basketball. The 6-6 freshman is averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists during the NCAA Tournament. He’ll be in bold print on UConn’s scouting report entering tonight’s matchup in Indianapolis. Tip off for tonight’s game is at 6:09 PM ET on TBS.

Tommy Lloyd is staying at Arizona
The 51-year old head coach announced on Friday that he will remain with the Wildcats after heavy interest from North Carolina and Arizona then announced shortly thereafter that Lloyd received a new five-year deal through the 2030-31 season. Lloyd and the Wildcats can both now fully focus on tonight’s Final Four matchup with Michigan. Tip off is at 8:49 PM ET on TBS.

North Carolina is officially on the clock
Say what you want about LSU, but the Tigers knew exactly what they were doing when they made a head coaching change as they went out and hired Will Wade in less than 24 hours. Things are not moving as swiftly in Chapel Hill. It’s been 11 days since the Tar Heels have parted ways with Hubert Davis and they’ve already been spurned by their top choice — Lloyd — and multiple sources have told College Hoops Today that Michigan’s Dusty May is unlikely to leave Ann Arbor for Chapel Hill. Billy Donovan? It’s been well documented that he isn’t going to entertain a conversation with the North Carolina brass until the Chicago Bulls are done playing on April 12th. Fans of this program better be prepared for the Tar Heels to keep moving down their list over the next few days.

On The Side

  • Arizona is shooting 50.8 percent from the field in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Michigan has won all four of its NCAA Tournament games by double digits, but its opponents are averaging 72.8 points during that span. The Wolverines haven’t held an opponent under 60 points since Feb. 14th.
  • UConn has never lost a game in the Final Four at full strength. The Huskies’ lone loss during the final weekend of the college basketball season came in 2009 against Michigan State, but UConn’s best all-around athlete — Jerome Dyson — was lost for the season about a month before March Madness with a torn meniscus.
  • Illinois’ David Mirkovic is averaging 14.8 points and 11.0 rebounds during March Madness.
  • Duke’s Cameron Boozer was awarded AP National Player of the Year honors on Friday while Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg was the AP National Coach of the Year.

Leftovers