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The Breakfast Buffet: RIP Lou Carnesecca, Oregon, San Diego 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

RIP Lou Carnesecca
Nearly one month shy of his 100th birthday, Carnesecca — who had two separate stints as St. John’s head coach and led the Red Storm to the 1985 Final Four — passed away on Saturday. He will deeply missed. One of the founding fathers of the Big East in the early 1980s, Carnesecca rose to national prominence thanks to his famous sweaters, unique personality, and italian charm. He never seemed to drift too far away from the school after his retirement in 1992, which was also the same year that he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall-of-Fame. The Queens campus will never be quite the same without Carnesecca, who was an institution at St. John’s home games at Carnesecca Arena. An era has officially ended on Utopia Parkway.

Oregon cements itself as a contender in the Big Ten
What a difference a few days makes. The Ducks didn’t own a win over a power conference opponent prior to this week’s Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, but they picked up several victories of significance during their stay in the desert. Oregon beat Alabama in the title game of the event on Saturday night and also earned wins earlier in the week over both Texas A&M and San Diego State. A perfect 8-0 in its first eight games, Dana Altman’s squad now should be viewed as a bonafide contender in the Big Ten in its first year in the conference, especially because it looks like the league does not have a truly dominant team. The Ducks will open Big Ten play on Wednesday against USC at the Galen Center.

San Diego State changed the course of its season by beating Houston
This was a win that will travel for the Aztecs all the way to Selection Sunday. Brian Dutcher knew that in order for San Diego State to build an at-large resume for the NCAA Tournament it needed to move the needle this week in Las Vegas at the Players Era Festival. His team won two of three games in Sin City, first on Tuesday against Creighton and then on Saturday against Houston. The 73-70 overtime triumph over the Cougars was simply an incredible accomplishment, especially considering the fact that the Aztecs’ roster is primarily comprised of players that are in their first year in San Diego State’s program while Houston returned 80 percent of its scoring from last season’s team that was a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Dutcher and the Aztecs may very well look back on Saturday as the day that changed the trajectory of their season.

On The Side

  • The early struggles in the ACC and Big East means one thing: There’s a legitimate chance that the Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC could all have 10 teams reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament. 
  • Wisconsin’s John Tonje is averaging 9.1 free throw attempts per game. He’s had double figure free throw attempts in four of the Badgers’ eight games this season.
  • Utah State transfer Great Osobor is currently leading Washington in points (14.6), rebounds (10.3), assists (3.9), and steals (3.3).
  • Xavier can’t be a contender at the top of the Big East without more from John Hugley. The 6-9 big man has only tallied a combined eight points and 12 rebounds in his last four games. The Musketeers will next host South Carolina State today at the Cintas Center.
  • Nebraska has a dangerous buy game today against North Florida. The Ospreys have already won this season at both Georgia Tech and South Carolina. Fred Hoiberg’s squad can’t afford to lose momentum after last week’s win at Creighton.

Daily Specials

  • North Florida at Nebraska
  • South Carolina State at Xavier

Leftovers