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The Breakfast Buffet: San Diego State, Seton Hall/St. John’s, UCLA

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

San Diego State has significant early equity
It’s only the second week of December, but the Aztecs have already put themselves in position to earn a quality seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament if they can simply just handle their business in the Mountain West. After opening the season with a 15-point win over UCLA at Viejas Arena, San Diego State made an even bigger statement on Thursday night by beating Arizona State 80-68 in Tempe. That’s now a pair of victories for Brian Dutcher’s squad over the two teams that were picked first and second respectively in the Pac-12’s preseason poll. The Aztecs (5-0) still have non-conference games against both BYU and Saint Mary’s before jumping into league play at the end of the month.

Seton Hall’s ball handling against St. John’s full-court pressure
The Big East opener for these two programs features a tantalizing task for the Pirates. Seton Hall — who is averaging 13.8 turnovers as a team through its first six games — will be forced to navigate St. John’s relentless style at less than full strength in the back court. Kevin Willard said on Thursday that the Pirates’ starting point guard — Bryce Aiken — still has no timetable for a return from an ankle injury. This means a bigger focus on senior Shavar Reynolds, who is in the midst of going through his first season as a perimeter starter. Tip off for this game is at 4:30 PM ET on CBS Sports Network.   

UCLA’s first major test at full strength
The Bruins’ opened the season at San Diego State, but didn’t have two starters — Johnny Juzang and Jalen Hill — available due to injuries and wound up losing by 15. Tonight against Marquette will be more of a real barometer as to what UCLA could be at full strength. The Golden Eagles head to Westwood still armed with momentum after last week’s dramatic win over Wisconsin and have a quality blend of youth and experience. It will be interesting to see just how capable Mick Cronin’s squad is with all of its available personnel.

On The Side

  • Villanova opens Big East play tonight in Washington D.C. against Georgetown. The Wildcats are a combined 103-23 in regular season conference games since realignment.
  • Oklahoma State’s freshman class is about more than just Cade Cunningham. Three of the Cowboys’ top four scorers — Cunningham, Rondel Walker, and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe — are freshman.
  • Pitt sophomore Justin Champagnie is the best power conference player that not a lot of people know about nationally. The 6-6 forward had 20 points and 20 rebounds in a road win at Northwestern and is averaging 18.3 points and 11 rebounds. Champagnie’s brother Julian — who is also a sophomore — is currently leading St. John’s leading scorer.
  • Don’t be surprised if the WCC again pushes for three bids to the NCAA Tournament. The league currently has a combined overall record of 34-13 and continues to prove that it’s much more than just Gonzaga. Remember, the WCC would have had three single digit seeds — Gonzaga, BYU, and Saint Mary’s — in last year’s field of 68 if it wasn’t cancelled due to COVID-19.
  • UMass sophomore Tre Mitchell will finally make his long awaited season debut today in Amherst against Northeastern. The 6-9 big man averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds last season as a freshman. Mitchell is widely considered to be the most talented prospect to play for the Minutemen since Marcus Camby.

Daily Specials

  • St. John’s at Seton Hall
  • Villanova at Georgetown
  • Nebraska at Creighton
  • Iowa State at Iowa
  • Marquette at UCLA

Leftovers: