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The Breakfast Buffet: Michigan State/Wisconsin, Minnesota’s window of opportunity, Michigan’s first road game

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

Michigan State/Wisconsin
The only thing that would have been more entertaining than sitting in on the Spartans’ practices over the last few days in East Lansing after Sunday’s loss to Northwestern would have been if 15 years ago there was a movie made about The Sopranos. Everyone expects Michigan State to bounce back because of its history and tradition under Tom Izzo, but it’s also facing a team in Wisconsin that’s more comfortable in its own skin than any other team in the sport. The Badgers don’t flinch. They know exactly who they are and they’re more than comfortable operating in the mud. Wisconsin is only allowing an average of 57.5 points. 

The beginning of Minnesota’s window of opportunity 
Every game in the Big Ten this season is going to be an arduous task, but Minnesota’s upcoming stretch is exceptionally formidable. The Gophers will host Iowa tonight and Michigan State on Monday before heading to Wisconsin. That’s three games against three of the best teams in the best conference in the country. It’s also an opportunity for Minnesota to make a national statement. The Gophers enter tonight’s tilt against the Hawkeyes averaging 82.5 points and should be able to score on Iowa. But can they defend the front of the rim against Luka Garza? That’s the million dollar question after Kofi Cockburn torched Minnesota in the paint last week when the Gophers were blown out at Illinois. 

Michigan’s first true road game
How good are the Wolverines? We still don’t truly know. Juwan Howard’s team is a perfect 6-0 entering today’s Big Ten opener at Nebraska, with wins against upstart UCF and Penn State. Is Michigan going to be a threat at the top of the Big Ten? Time will tell. How good is Nebraska? Significantly better than it was last season. The Cornhuskers have been competitive with both Creighton and Wisconsin, but can’t seem to finish games against high-level competition. Today marks the first conference game for Nebraska’s Dalano Banton, a transfer from Western Kentucky who possesses major upside. The 6-9 point guard is currently averaging 13.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks. Think another Kyle Anderson.

On The Side

  • If Gonzaga beats Virginia on Saturday in Fort Worth, the discussions regarding an undefeated regular season for the Bulldogs will officially begin. The Cavaliers currently represent the last power conference opponent that’s currently on Gonzaga’s schedule. The WCC is significantly better this season than it’s been, but so is Gonzaga. With limited fans in attendance, it will be hard to go against the notion of Mark Few’s squad running the table in league play. Saturday’s game will be at 4 PM ET on CBS.
  • Since losing to Virginia Tech, Villanova has won six straight games by an average of 17.8 points. This includes a four-point win at Texas, whose only defeat this season came at the hands of the Wildcats. The Big East once again goes through the Main Line.
  • There is only one active player on Kentucky’s roster who has more assists than turnovers this season: Davion Mintz. The grad transfer from Creighton was also the Wildcats’ best player in last week’s loss to North Carolina, leading Kentucky in both scoring (17) and rebounding (8).
  • Washington State has a gem in Efe Abogidi. The 6-10 big man is only the second freshman in program history to record double-doubles in three straight games. Abogidi is averaging 10.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks for the Cougars, who are off to an 8-0 start in their second season under Kyle Smith.
  • Bryant is 7-2 and off to its best start in program history. The most amazing part of that? The Bulldogs only won three games one year ago before Jared Grasso was hired as head coach. 

Daily Specials

  • Wisconsin at Michigan State
  • Maryland at Purdue
  • Michigan at Nebraska
  • Iowa at Minnesota

Leftovers: