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The Breakfast Buffet: Texas A&M’s portal class, Xavier/St. John’s, Murphy’s Law has hit Arkansas

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

Texas A&M’s portal class deserves more attention
The Aggies returned 82.5 percent of their scoring from last season’s team that lost to Houston in overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but their offseason additions have also had a major hand in this team’s 14-4 start. The three players that Buzz Williams added out of the transfer portal — Zhuric Phelps (SMU), Pharrel Payne (Minnesota), and CJ Wilcher (Nebraska) — have all had a major impact in Texas A&M’s rotation. The 6-4 Phelps is currently leading the Aggies in scoring (15.6), rebounding (5.1), and steals (2.2) while the 6-9 Payne (9.0 points, 4.6 rebounds) has given this team more size and length up front next to Henry Coleman. The 6-5 Wilcher meanwhile, is a specialist from long distance who made three three-point shots and scored nine points in 15 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s win over LSU. Texas A&M was capable a year ago, but it’s now a legitimate threat to go to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and potentially further because of its enhanced arsenal of options. The Aggies will visit Ole Miss tonight in Oxford.

Xavier/St. John’s
The World’s Most Famous Arena will play host for this critical Big East game, which features a pair of teams that are playing their best basketball of the season. The Musketeers are coming off an emotional win on Saturday at Marquette where they won despite only making two three-point shots in the entire game. The Red Storm meanwhile, are 16-3 and in sole possession of first place in the Big East standings. How big is this game for Xavier? A win on the road would move Sean Miller’s team firmly into the NCAA Tournament picture and squarely on the bubble.

Murphy’s Law has hit Arkansas
An 0-5 start in SEC play was bad, but losing your five-star point guard for the season may be worse. College Hoops Today exclusively reported on Tuesday night that Razorbacks freshman Boogie Fland (15.1 points) will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season due to a hand injury. An official announcement is expected today. This is a brutal blow to a team that’s been struggling throughout conference play to get anything consistent from its perimeter. John Calipari’s squad will resume action tonight against Georgia at Bud Walton Arena.

On The Side

  • Tennessee has been dominant at home to start SEC play, beating its first three opponents in Knoxville by an average of 18.0 points in Knoxville while only surrendering an average of just 54.6 points.
  • Houston is 21-3 in Big 12 regular season games under Kelvin Sampson entering tonight’s game against Utah at the Fertitta Center.
  • Aday Mara’s 22-point, five-rebound performance was the headline in UCLA’s 85-83 win over Wisconsin on Tuesday night, but the reason for the Bruins’ current two-game winning streak has been the turnaround of junior point guard Dylan Andrews. The veteran floor general is averaging 11.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 1.5 steals in his last two games and has only committed two turnovers during that span.
  • Florida State has quietly won four of its last five games entering tonight’s game at Cal. The Seminoles will also play at Stanford on Saturday. Leonard Hamilton’s squad is 13-5 and is trying to make a push towards the NCAA Tournament. This program hasn’t played in March Madness since 2021.
  • As of Tuesday, UC Irvine was ranked 43rd in the NET and boasted a 17-2 record with a 7-0 mark in Big West play. Since the 2012-13 season, this program has averaged 22 wins per season under Russell Turner. The Anteaters are the double digit seed that you don’t want to see on Selection Sunday.

Daily Specials

  • Utah at Houston
  • Kansas at TCU
  • Xavier at St. John’s
  • Texas A&M at Ole Miss
  • Georgia at Arkansas

Leftovers