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The Breakfast Buffet: Purdue, Arizona’s Statement, St. Bonaventure

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

Anything less than a Final Four appearance will be a disappointment for Purdue
That may be a hard statement for fans of this program to digest in mid-November, but it’s the ultimate truth. Purdue displayed its depth, versatility, and shotmaking prowess this past weekend at Mohegan Sun, which was highlighted by Sunday’s 80-74 win over Villanova in the title game of the Hall-of-Fame Tip Off. The Boilers trailed the Wildcats by 11 with nine minutes to go before closing the game on a 34-17 run. If you can do that against college basketball’s model program then you shouldn’t accept anything less than a trip to New Orleans during the first weekend of April. Purdue has three All-Big Ten players in Jaden Ivey, Trevion Williams, and Zach Edey along with a plethora of role players who are bought into the Boilers’ system. This is as good of a chance as Matt Painter has ever had to take his alma mater to the Final Four. Anything less in 2022 will be a disappointment.

Arizona made a statement against Michigan
I’ve never seen the Wolverines take such a one-sided loss in the two-plus years that Juwan Howard has been the head coach in Ann Arbor. Many wondered how Arizona would respond on such a big platform and the Wildcats sent a message that they could very well be the Pac-12’s top challenger to UCLA. Arizona’s 80-62 win on Sunday night in Las Vegas reiterated this team’s offensive potential under Tommy Lloyd, but also displayed what it can do defensively. The Wildcats’ collective length and rim protection — which was anchored by Christian Koloko (22 points, seven rebounds, four blocks) — stifled Michigan from tip to finish. The ceiling in Tucson is high. The ceiling in Ann Arbor may have to be adjusted.

St. Bonaventure can run the table in the Atlantic 10
The Bonnies don’t have an Obi Toppin, but St. Bonaventure’s experience, rhythm, and chemistry is on par with what the Flyers had during the 19-20 season. That’s a recipe to potentially post an undefeated regular season in the Atlantic 10. Other than UCLA and Purdue, no other program in college basketball has five starters back from a team that reached the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Bonnies earned three quality victories over Boise State, Clemson, and Marquette during the past week in Charleston and still have neutral site game games remaining with UConn and Virginia Tech. This team simply looks like it’s on a different level than anyone else in the Atlantic 10, a league that has lost 11 buy games in the first 12 days of the season.

On The Side

  • Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn will make his season debut tonight against Cincinnati in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. Cockburn missed the first three games of the year due to an NCAA suspension. The 7-footer averaged 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds last season.
  • North Carolina’s defense is a major work in progress. The Tar Heels gave up an average of 91 points in back-to-back losses to Purdue and Tennessee this past weekend at Mohegan Sun.
  • Don’t be shocked if James Akinjo leads the Big 12 assists. Baylor’s starting point guard has handed out a combined 21 dimes in his last two games and is averaging eight each time that he takes the floor.
  • America is going to run out of adjectives for Utah State’s Justin Bean by Christmas. Through five games, the 6-7 forward is averaging 24 points and 13.8 rebounds. This is the early favorite for Mountain West Player of the Year.
  • Can Santa Clara keep its momentum going tonight against TCU? The Broncos are 4-0 and already own double figure wins over both Stanford and Nevada. Tip off is at 10:30 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.

Daily Specials

  • Butler/Houston (Maui Invitational)
  • Ohio State/Seton Hall (Fort Myers)
  • Illinois/Cincinnati (Kansas City)
  • Arkansas/Kansas State (Kansas City)
  • Belmont at LSU

Leftovers