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The Breakfast Buffet: TCU’s massive week, Alabama goes for an encore, NCAA Tournament headed to Indy

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

The beginning of a massive week for TCU
The Horned Frogs haven’t been a major topic of conversation in regards to the Big 12 this season, but that could change after their next two games. TCU will host Kansas tonight and Baylor on Saturday in what will be its two best opportunities all season to make a national statement. Jamie Dixon’s team enters tonight’s tilt at 9-2 and already has a road win at Oklahoma State on its resume. The Horned Frogs possess one of college basketball’s most underrated backcourt tandems in freshman Mike Miles and junior RJ Nembhard, who are combining to average 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and eight assists.

Alabama’s attempt at an encore
The Crimson Tide have been a different team since losing to Western Kentucky a few weeks ago, especially defensively. In Alabama’s last three games, it’s only surrendering an average of 65.3 points; it allowed an average of over 80 points last season during SEC play. Can Nate Oats’ squad continue its upward trajectory tonight against Florida in Tuscaloosa? We’ll find out soon enough. Keep an eye on Villanova transfer Jahvon Quinerly, who has flourished during the Crimson Tide’s three-game winning streak, averaging 16.7 points and 4.7 assists.

The NCAA makes Indianapolis official for the 2021 NCAA Tournament
The NCAA formally announced on Monday that the entire 2021 NCAA Tournament will be played in Indianapolis and held at local venues. NCAA Senior VP of Basketball Dan Gavitt said during a phone interview that while official dates for the event have still yet to be finalized, they will be announced “sooner rather than later”. Gavitt also added that despite additional testing and clearance protocols due to COVID-19, the event will still begin with Selection Sunday on March 14th and end with the national title game on April 5th. According to Gavitt, no games in the tournament will be played on back-to-back days.

On The Side

  • Rutgers is 0-9 against Michigan State since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Only one of those losses came by single digits. Can the Scarlet Knights change the course tonight in East Lansing? Another massive opportunity awaits Steve Pikiell’s team. 
  • UConn has yet to play a true road game this season, but it will play three in the next six days, starting with tonight’s tilt at Marquette. Dan Hurley’s squad is 4-1 and will visit Butler and DePaul back-to-back following this evening’s showdown in Milwaukee.
  • Stanford’s Oscar da Silva is one of the best big men in the country that not enough people talk about. The 6-9 forward had 31 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s win at Oregon State and was unguardable in the second half. A Germany native, da Silva has shot better than 50 percent from the field in every single game this season. 
  • The most impressive part of Drake’s 13-0 start? 12 of its 13 victories have come by double figures with the average margin an impressive 20.6 points. 
  • Boise State’s Devonaire Doutrive is expected to make his season debut on Wednesday against Air Force, according to Leon Rice. Doutrive has yet to play this season due to undisclosed reasons. The Arizona transfer is a former top-100 recruit and should instantly be an impact addition for the 8-1 Broncos. 

Daily Specials

  • Florida at Alabama
  • Iowa State at Texas
  • Rutgers at Michigan State
  • UConn at Marquette
  • Kansas at TCU

Leftovers: