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The Breakfast Buffet: Skyy Clark, Utah State is building equity, Memphis

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

Skyy Clark has stabilized the point guard spot for UCLA
He’s not Tyus Edney, Jordan Farmar, Darren Collison, or Tyger Campbell, but Clark — who’s played for both Illinois and Louisville already in his college career — has given the Bruins a steady presence at the most important position on the floor. In Saturday’s 65-62 win over Gonzaga, the veteran floor general filled the box score, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. He also only committed two turnovers in 35 minutes. Over his last four games, the 6-3 Clark is averaging 10.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 7-14 from three-point range. UCLA is 11-2 and will next play Nebraska next Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Utah State is building equity
Jerrod Calhoun is the latest head coach in Logan to have immediate success. Just like Craig Smith, Ryan Odom, and Danny Sprinkle before him, Calhoun is flourishing in his first season with the Aggies and has Utah State on track to play in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday’s comeback win over San Diego State at Viejas Arena joins a resume that already includes a road win at Saint Mary’s and a neutral site victory over Iowa. As of Saturday, all three of those triumphs are Quad 1 wins. It’s still only late-December, but at 12-1, the Aggies have a resume in place that will travel all the way to Selection Sunday.

Memphis made the most of its non-conference schedule
The Tigers actually have a worse record than they did a year ago at this time, but their resume looks like it’s built more for the long-term. Last season, Memphis entered league play in the American Athletic Conference at 11-2, but many of their big non-conference wins didn’t hold up throughout the course of the season. That coupled with Caleb Mills’ season-ending knee injury derailed the Tigers’ hopes of playing in March Madness. Penny Hardaway’s squad finished non-league play at 10-3 on Saturday after an impressive win over Ole Miss at FedExForum. That victory coupled with neutral site wins over UConn and Michigan State along with a road victory at Clemson should go a long way in positioning Memphis to return to March Madness in 2025.

On The Side

  • Alabama’s Mark Sears is averaging 21.5 points, 4.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in December entering today’s game against South Dakota State in Tuscaloosa.
  • St. John’s is now 13-0 under Rick Pitino at Carnesecca Arena. I totally get that the Red Storm have to have a presence at MSG, but they’re six or eight points better when they play games in Queens.
  • Purdue has a combined 29 assists and 28 turnovers during its current two-game losing streak. The Boilers — who haven’t won a game game since Dec. 8th — return to action tonight against Toledo at Mackey Arena.
  • St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island, and VCU currently have a combined overall record of 30-5, but 27 of those victories are currently in Quad 3 and 4. It’s still hard to see how the Atlantic 10 is going to send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament if Dayton wins the Atlantic 10 Tournament in March and earns the league’s automatic bid.
  • A salute to Greg Gumbel — my former colleague at CBS Sports — who passed away at 78 on Friday after a battle with cancer. I’ve never met anyone in my life who blended kindness and talent quite like Greg, whose warmth and welcoming nature was evident as soon as he stepped into a room. There was nothing that he couldn’t do on the air and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to make someone feel welcome. March Madness will never be quite the same moving forward without Greg’s voice, which possessed an iconic and distinct inflection that made Selection Sunday a national holiday each year. Prayers to his family.

Daily Specials

  • Indiana State at Ohio State
  • Northeastern at Northwestern
  • Belmont at Drake
  • South Dakota State at Alabama
  • Western Kentucky at Michigan

Leftovers