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 is now firmly in the National Coach of the Year discussion
Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and Duke’s Jon Scheyer also have compelling cases for this award, but St. John’s lack of success over the last 25 years makes what Pitino is doing that much more impressive. Unlike the Tigers — who went to a Final Four in 2019 — and the Blue Devils — who have won three national titles this century — St. John’s is experiencing a renaissance for the first time in a long time. That’s because of Pitino, who has the Red Storm at 21-3 and in position to win an outright Big East regular season title for the first time since the 1984-85 season, which was the last time that this program advanced to the Final Four. St. John’s has also not won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 2000, which was also the last time that the Red Storm won the Big East Tournament.
Florida made a statement at Auburn
The Gators have somehow been a bit of an afterthought this season when it comes to discussions regarding the best teams in the SEC, but that won’t be the case moving forward after Saturday’s win at Neville Arena. Playing without starting guard Alijah Martin (15.3 points) due to a hip injury, Florida was near flawless offensively en route to a 90-81 win. Todd Golden’s team shot 48.4 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from three-point range, 83.3 percent from the free throw line, and had 22 assists on 31 made field goals in the victory against the Tigers. Now 19-3 overall, the Gators have put themselves in position to chase a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Coleman Hawkins deserves credit for the way he’s played during Kansas State’s five-game winning streak
The most scrutinized player in college basketball is finally start to play like the player that the Wildcats thought that they were getting out of the transfer portal. And if the 6-10 Hawkins is going to be criticized because he’s reportedly earning approximately two million dollars this season in NIL then he deserves to be applauded for how he’s had a major hand in Kansas State’s turnaround. During the Wildcats’ current five-game winning streak, Hawkins is averaging 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 2.0 steals. This is the type of multi-tool player that we saw for four years at Illinois prior to his arrival in Manhattan. Hawkins and Kansas State are now officially in the NCAA Tournament picture and will next host Arizona on Tuesday.
On The Side
- Michigan State’s Tom Izzo tied Bob Knight on Saturday for the most Big Ten wins in conference history.
- Iowa State is now 15-1 with Milan Momcilovic (10.6 points) in the lineup this season and 3-4 when he is not. Can you say X-Factor? The Cyclones are now a different team with the 6-8 Momcilovic back in the lineup after he missed about a month with a hand injury.
- One big thing to remember regarding Creighton’s nine-game winning streak? The Bluejays’ two best players — Ryan Kalkbrenner (19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks) and Steven Ashworth (16.9 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds) — are both COVID seniors who are playing in their fifth seasons of college basketball. Experience matters.
- UCLA has only committed six turnovers in its last two games.
- Five of Nebraska’s final eight games are at Pinnacle Bank Arena, starting with today’s tilt against Ohio State. If the Huskers are perfect during the rest of the regular season in Lincoln, they’ll play in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season under Fred Hoiberg.
Daily Specials
- Xavier at Villanova
- Rutgers at Maryland
- Temple at Memphis
- Arizona State at Oklahoma State
- Ohio State at Nebraska
