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The Breakfast Buffet: Michigan, Iowa State, Memphis’ NCAA Tournament resume is aging nicely

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

Michigan goes for its sixth straight win at Minnesota
The most aesthetically pleasing team in college basketball will take a five-game winning steak into tonight’s game in Minneapolis and is still somehow flying under-the-radar nationally. It shouldn’t be. Michigan can go to the Final Four. Michigan could easily still be undefeated. The Wolverines’ three losses this season have come by a combined five points and despite those defeats, Dusty May’s squad is still 13-3 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play. Since losing to Oklahoma in December, Michigan has won five straight games by an average of 25 points while averaging 94.2 points itself during that span. This is a beautiful offensive basketball team. Don’t wait until early March to have a sample.

Iowa State could win its conference regular season title for the first time since 2001
The Cyclones didn’t have Milan Momcilovic (10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds) — who is out indefinitely with a hand injury — on Wednesday night against Kansas and that didn’t stop them from beating the Jayhawks by double figures at home. Iowa State’s 74-57 win over Kansas without Momcilovic is another reminder of this team’s potential ceiling and reiterates the rhythm and chemistry that comes with returning multiple staters from a team that won 29 games and reached the Sweet 16 last season. The Cyclones have not won a conference regular season title since the 2000-01 season, but that could change in a few months. At 15-1 overall and 5-0 in league play, Iowa State currently has the same conference record as both Arizona and Houston, but its continuity feels like it gives it a substantial advantage. The Big 12 goes through Hilton Coliseum.

Memphis’ NCAA Tournament resume is aging nicely
That wasn’t the case a year ago. Last season, the Tigers finished non-conference play with an 11-2 record, but most of their big wins didn’t hold up throughout the course of the season as many expected. That shouldn’t be the case over the next few months. Memphis’ wins in November and December over Missouri, Ole Miss, UConn, Michigan State, and Clemson continue to hold strong and were only enhanced on Tuesday night when the Rebels won at Alabama and the Tigers won at Florida. Memphis is currently 13-3 and has five Quad 1 wins entering tonight’s game against Temple in North Philadelphia.

On The Side

  • Auburn’s Chaney Johnson is averaging 15.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in games this season where he’s logged 30 or more minutes. Remember: This is the guy that’s going to pick up the slack up front for the Tigers as long as Johni Broome is out of the lineup with an ankle injury.
  • International recruiting has been an inexact science in college basketball, which makes Illinois’ ability to procure both Kasparas Jakucionis (16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists) and Tomislav Ivisic (13.0 points, 8.8 rebounds) so impressive. The Illini didn’t hit a single or double with these two newcomers — they hit a pair of walk off home runs.
  • Ole Miss feels comparable to Chris Beard’s teams at Texas Tech that advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2019. During that two-year span, Beard was a combined 8-2 in March Madness. 
  • The sleeper game of the night in college hoops is in Corvallis as Gonzaga visits Oregon State. This is a Quad 1 opportunity for the Bulldogs. Tip off is at 11 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.
  • Santa Clara has quietly won nine of its last 10 games following a disappointing 3-5 start to the season. The Broncos were viewed as a potential at-large team prior to the year. Herb Sendek’s squad will visit Loyola Marymount tonight.

Daily Specials

  • Memphis at Temple
  • Michigan at Minnesota
  • Maryland at Northwestern
  • Rutgers at Nebraska
  • Gonzaga at Oregon State

Leftovers