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The Breakfast Buffet: Rick Pitino, Banchero vs. Holmgren, Baylor/Michigan State

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

Rick Pitino has made Iona nationally relevant
And it’s only late November. The Gaels’ 72-68 win over Alabama on Thursday in the ESPN Invitational in Orlando was far from a fluke and it further reiterates Pitino’s ability to make Iona’s program a national factor. Iona’s non-conference schedule was meticulously put together with the hopes of putting together an at-large resume to the 2022 NCAA Tournament if the Gaels don’t earn an automatic bid via the MAAC Tournament. That plan is coming to fruition. In addition to Iona’s win over Alabama, the Gaels have also already beaten multiple teams — Appalachian State, Harvard, Liberty, and Hofstra — who are picked to win their respective leagues. There’s also a neutral site game looming at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 18th against Seton Hall. If Iona can win its game today against Belmont, there’s a very good chance that it will be ranked in next week’s AP Top 25.

Paolo Banchero against Chet Holmgren
No other words are needed. Three days after Gonzaga dominated UCLA at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the best team in college basketball will go toe-to-toe with Duke in the very same venue. That means a head-to-head showdown between two players who are very much in discussion to be the top overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. It will be interesting to see how much the 6-10 Banchero (17.8 points, eight rebounds) can bring the 7-foot Holmgren away from the basket with his face up game. Holmgren (13.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.5 blocks) has already blocked 21 shots this season —- no one on Gonzaga’s roster blocked more than 23 during all of last year.

Baylor/Michigan State in the finals of the Battle 4 Atlantis
This is an Elite Eight caliber game. The Spartans have went to the wire in back-to-back days in a pair of wins against Loyola Chicago and UConn while the Bears have advanced with victories over Arizona State and VCU. Baylor may have a slight edge in this game at point guard with James Akinjo, but that’s only if he plays better than he did on Thursday against VCU when he finished with seven turnovers. In Akinjo’s previous three games, he tallied 28 assists. Both of these teams rebound exceptionally well and both teams have quality size and depth up front. Expect a competitive game for 40 minutes and for Michigan State to play a game for the third consecutive day that could come down to the final possession.

On The Side

  • The biggest observation that I have after watching Auburn over the past few days in the Battle 4 Atlantis? The Tigers will be good enough to win an SEC regular season title when Allen Flanigan returns in December. The 6-6 wing — who averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds last season — is currently nursing an achilles injury.
  • Duke’s three primary perimeter players — Jeremy Roach, Wendell Moore, and Trevor Keels — have a combined 73 assists to just 26 turnovers. That’s an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.8:1
  • Memphis is now 21-5 over the past two seasons with DeAndre Williams in the lineup. The Tigers will face Iowa State tonight in the finals of the Preseason NIT at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
  • Oklahoma transfer Alondes Williams has found a home at Wake Forest. The 6-5 guard is averaging 19.4 points, five rebounds, and 3.8 assists after averaging just 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists a year ago with the Sooners. The Demon Deacons play Oregon State tonight in the first round of the Emerald Coast Classic. LSU faces Penn State in the other game of the event. Coverage begins at 7 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.
  • Notre Dame is quietly at an early crossroads. The Irish lost two of three games this week at the Maui Invitational in Las Vegas and will be 3-2 entering Monday’s game at Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Daily Specials

  • Michigan State/Baylor (Battle 4 Atlantis)
  • Kansas/Dayton (Orlando)
  • Xavier/Virginia Tech (Barclays Center)
  • Memphis/Iowa State (Barclays Center)
  • Duke/Gonzaga (Las Vegas)

Leftovers