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The Breakfast Buffet: TCU, Pryce Sandfort, Donovan Atwell

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

TCU got its season back
There were several big storylines that came out of Feast Week, but the Horned Frogs’ resurgence is quite notable. Murphy’s Law hit Jamie Dixon’s squad earlier this month when it lost its opener against New Orleans and subsequently, its starting center Malick Diallo to a season-ending injury. But TCU got its season back on Thursday and Friday with back-to-back wins over Florida and Wisconsin in San Diego. This is the team that many people envisioned at the start of the season. The Horned Frogs are now 5-2 and will play their next seven games in Fort Worth.

Pryce Sandfort is an under-the-radar Big Ten transfer
The brother of former Iowa star Payton Sandfort, Pryce Sandfort started his college career in Iowa City before opting to head to Lincoln to play for Fred Hoiberg and Nebraska. Thus far, the marriage has been nothing short of magnificent. The Huskers are 8-0 for the first time since the 1977-78 season and Sandfort is a major reason why. The 6-7 junior had 20 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s win over USC Upstate and is averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 36.8 percent from three-point range. By comparison, he averaged 8.8 points and 2.9 rebounds last season at Iowa. Nebraska looks like a potential bubble team — or better.

Donovan Atwell is quietly emerging for Texas Tech
He isn’t getting the same attention as JT Toppin and Christian Anderson, but Atwell is slowly emerging into a key cog in the Red Raiders’ attack. A transfer from UNC Greensboro, the 6-5 Atwell has made three three-point shots in each of Texas Tech’s last three games and has hit five or more shots from long distance three separate times this season. He’s averaging 13.1 points and shooting 45.8 percent from three-point range entering today’s game against Wyoming in Lubbock.

On The Side

  • The most underrated part of Duke’s elite defense? Caleb Foster’s ball pressure. The guy is elite at bothering the other team’s point guard or primary player at the point of attack.
  • 234 of Alabama’s 469 field goal attempts this season are from three-point range. That’s 49.9 percent.
  • Cal’s upset win over UCLA last week could be the start of a big run. The Bears — who are currently 6-1 — will play their next eight games in Berkeley and won’t have another another road game until Jan. 7th at Virginia. Keep a close eye on Mark Madsen’s squad.
  • One storyline from the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas that didn’t get enough attention this week? Oregon went 0-3 in the event and lost all three games by double figures.
  • Providence is giving up an average of 99.5 points in its four losses. That is not a misprint.

Daily Specials

  • Yale at Vermont
  • Texas Tech at Wyoming
  • Mercyhurst at West Virginia

Leftovers