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The Breakfast Buffet: Terrence Shannon Jr. returns for Illinois, Zvonimir Ivisic, Tyler Kolek

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

Terrence Shannon Jr. returns for Illinois against Rutgers
The All-American wing has not played since Dec. 22nd after being charged with rape, but was reinstated on Friday when a federal judge granted him a temporary restraining order. Shannon will have his preliminary hearing in the criminal case on Feb. 23rd. The 6-6 Shannon averaged 21.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 11 games prior to his indefinite suspension and was playing like one of the top five players in the sport. The Illini went 4-2 in his absence. Brad Underwood told reporters on Saturday that Shannon would not start today against the Scarlet Knights and instead come off the bench in his first game back.

Zvonimir Ivisic had an impressive debut for Kentucky
Just when you thought that the Wildcats’ ceiling couldn’t get any higher, it just did. The season debut for the 7-2 Ivisic — who was just recently cleared by the NCAA — on Saturday against Georgia was beyond impressive. Ivisic came off the bench to score 13 points, grab five rebounds, and block five shots in the 105-96 victory. He was also 3-of-4 from three-point range. Again, this was the first time that this kid had ever played college basketball. With Ivisic, Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso, and Tre Mitchell, John Calipari now has four options at center to pair with one of the deepest perimeters in college basketball. That’s bad news for the rest of the sport.

Tyler Kolek is again looking like Tyler Kolek
The reigning Big East Player of the Year is back on track. After a brief shooting slump a few weeks ago, Kolek has regained the form that made him the best point guard in the country last season when he led the Golden Eagles to both the Big East regular season and tournament titles. In two wins this past week against Villanova and St. John’s, the 6-3 lefty averaged 18 points, 11 assists, and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. He also only had five turnovers to go with his 22 dimes. Consider yourself warned!

On The Side

  • North Carolina has won eight consecutive games by double figures and 11 of its last 13 overall. The two losses during that span? UConn and Kentucky in a pair of neutral site tilts in December.
  • Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit has officially graduated from “Glue Guy” status. The 6-4 guard is averaging 20 points in his last three games and a whopping 12-of-16 from three-point range during that span. That’s ridiculous.
  • Kansas is now 3-2 in Big 12 play. The two losses are against West Virginia and UCF. Anarchy? Nope. Just college basketball.
  • Maryland’s game today against Michigan State in College Park is a Quad 1 opportunity. The Terps are far from being “in position to be in position”, but a win today would get them closer. Remember: Kevin Willard’s squad won at Illinois last Sunday and nearly beat Northwestern in Evanston earlier this week. Tip off is at Noon ET on CBS.
  • Think Damari Monsanto is going to make a difference for Wake Forest? The 6-6 wing made his season debut on Saturday against Louisville and came off the bench to score 12 points. He was also 4-of-6 from three-point range. It was Monsanto’s first game action since Feb. 22nd because of a knee injury. Keep your eyes on the Demon Deacons in the ACC.

Daily Specials

  • Michigan State at Maryland
  • Memphis at Tulane
  • Rutgers at Illinois
  • Florida Atlantic at UTSA
  • Oregon at Utah

Leftovers