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The Breakfast Buffet: New Mexico visits Saint Mary’s, Syracuse’s upcoming slate, Riley Kugel

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

New Mexico visits Saint Mary’s
Two of the top non-power conference teams in the sport will trade blows in Moraga for the second straight season in what is unquestionably the game of the night in college basketball. The Lobos beat the Gaels by four a year ago in the same venue. This is a key tilt for both teams, but it’s probably more critical for New Mexico, who has struggled to land consistent opportunities during the non-conference portion of its schedule in November and December. Richard Pitino’s team could be “in position to be in position” with a win tonight. Both teams are currently ranked in the ROTHSTEIN 45.

Syracuse’s honeymoon is over
Two wins in two buy games have gotten the Orange off to a nice 2-0 start under Adrian Autry, but moving forward they’ll be stepping up a weight class. Syracuse will host mid-major darling Colgate — a program that has beaten the Orange in back-to-back years on their home floor — next Tuesday before heading to Hawaii to play three games in the Maui Invitational, starting with Tennessee on Nov. 20th. Following that tournament, Syracuse returns home to host LSU in ACC/SEC challenge and then will open ACC play at Virginia on Dec. 2nd. That’s a six-game litmus test against bonafide competition.

Riley Kugel could be a national name within 48 hours
Never heard of Kugel? You may by the weekend. Florida’s promising sophomore will need to be a focal point for the Gators if they’re going to beat Virginia on Friday night in Charlotte. The 6-6 Kugel had 23 points on 15 shots in Florida’s opener on Monday against Loyola Maryland and has the requisites to be an All-SEC first-team caliber player this season. This is a critical game for the Gators, who are eyeing a jump in the SEC in their second year under Todd Golden.

On The Side

  • Two of Auburn’s newcomers — Aden Holloway and Denver Jones (FIU) — shot a combined 7-13 from three-point range in Tuesday night’s loss against Baylor. The Tigers shot just 31.4 percent from long distance as a team last season.
  • Vladislav Goldin is the indispensable piece in Florida Atlantic’s foundation — especially defensively. The 7-1 big man had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in Wednesday night’s win over Loyola Chicago in the Barstool Sports Invitational.
  • TCU will play its first six — and seven of its first nine — games in Fort Worth.
  • The hidden gem among Friday’s loaded slate of games is Gonzaga’s opener against Yale in Spokane. The Bulldogs return four double-figure scorers — Bez Mbeng, August Mahoney, John Poulakidas, and Matt Knowling — from last season’s team that won 21 games and shared the Ivy League regular season title with Princeton.
  • Xavier freshman Lazar Djokovic (hand) is doubtful for Friday’s game against Jacksonville, Sean Miller told College Hoops Today on Wednesday. The 6-10 forward did not play in Monday night’s opener against Robert Morris. Djokovic was projected to be the Musketeers’ starting power forward during the preseason.

Daily Specials

  • John Brown at Baylor
  • Southern Indiana at Michigan State
  • Cal State Bakersfield at USC
  • New Mexico at Saint Mary’s
  • Northern Kentucky at Washington

Leftovers