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The Breakfast Buffet: St. John’s-Michigan, Armando Bacot, Xavier

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

St. John’s-Michigan at MSG
Rick Pitino leads the Red Storm against the Wolverines in his first game as St. John’s head coach at The World’s Most Famous Arena. This is not a coronation. Michigan has been incredibly impressive during the first week of the season, disposing of two quality mid-majors — UNC Asheville and Youngstown State — by an average of 27.5 points. Keep an eye on the matchup up front between St. John’s big man Joel Soriano (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Michigan’s combo of Tarris Reed (Nine points, 5.5 rebounds) and Olivier Nkamhoua (21 points, 8.5 rebounds). Madison Square Garden should be on fire for this highly anticipated matchup.

Armando Bacot is on a tear for North Carolina
Hubert Davis said a few weeks ago on the College Hoops Today Podcast that Bacot had to be “dominant” for the Tar Heels this season. The veteran big man obviously heard his coach. Through two games, the 6-11 Bacot is averaging 23.5 points and 16.5 rebounds while shooting 60 percent from the field. Those are video game like numbers. North Carolina (2-0) will next host UC Riverside (1-1) on Friday night in Chapel Hill.

Trial by fire for Xavier
The Musketeers’ tilt tonight against Purdue at Mackey Arena would have been a tall task if they had Zach Freemantle (foot) and Jerome Hunter (medical condition) in the lineup. Without them? It’s the definition of pushing a boulder up a hill. Xavier currently only has one player in its rotation — Desmond Claude (18.5 points) — who was an integral part of last season’s run to the Sweet 16. Purdue meanwhile, has 48 assists on 59 made field goals in its first two games and won both contests by an average of 41.5 points. Trial by fire for the Musketeers? You better believe it.

On The Side

  • Either Duke (1-1) or Michigan State (1-1) is going to be 1-2 after the two teams meet on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic in Chicago.
  • Louisville has just 20 assists to 29 turnovers in its first two games.
  • Kansas State (1-1) needs more offense out of Arthur Kaluma (nine points, eight rebounds). A transfer from Creighton, the 6-7 Kaluma is just 6-25 from the field and 1-10 from three-point range during the Wildcats’ first two games.
  • One thing I didn’t think I’d write after the first seven days of the 2023-24 season? Maryland is 1-2 after back-to-back losses to Davidson and UAB. Anarchy? Nope. Just college basketball.
  • Pitt (2-0) freshman Carlton Carrington has put up big numbers out of the gate. The 6-5 guard is averaging 18.5 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists through the Panthers’ first two games. Jeff Capel’s squad will next host Florida Gulf Coast (1-1) tonight.

Daily Specials

  • Michigan at St. John’s
  • FIU at Miami
  • Villanova at Penn
  • Xavier at Purdue
  • Old Dominion at Arkansas

Leftovers