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The Breakfast Buffet: The door is open for Houston, Baylor may remind Villanova of vintage Villanova, Ethan Thompson

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 door is open for Houston
This isn’t a slight on the other teams that remain in the Cougars’ bracket, but it is the absolute truth. Two double digit seeds — Syracuse and Oregon State — remain in Houston’s region along with Loyola Chicago, who is an eight seed. You’re not going to get many cleaner looks at a potential Final Four berth if you’re Kelvin Sampson and you’re a two seed. Two years ago in 2019, Houston advanced to the Sweet 16 and lost a close game to Kentucky, who was also a two seed. 

Baylor may remind Villanova of vintage Villanova
When Jay Wright got things going on the Main Line about 15 years ago, his team looked just like Baylor. Now the roles feel reversed. The Bears’ perimeter heavy lineup of Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, and MaCio Teague features the best backcourt in the sport. Now the Wildcats have to counter without Collin Gillespie, who was lost for the season with an MCL injury a few weeks ago. The task will be tall. Baylor looks similar in makeup to the Villanova team that Wright coached 15 years ago that featured Randy Foye, Allan Ray, Kyle Lowry, and Mike Nardi.

Meet Ethan Thompson
Never heard of Oregon State’s lead guard? You may soon enough. The son of Beavers assistant coach and former Syracuse star Stevie Thompson, Ethan Thompson has been instrumental in Oregon State’s turnaround over the last month. He’ll play a major role in whether or not the Beavers can get by Loyola Chicago on Saturday. In two NCAA Tournament games, Thompson is averaging 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and three assists. This is one of the best guards that most are not familiar with. 

Indiana is on the clock
It’s now been 10 days since the Hoosiers fired Archie Miller and there’s still no sign of his eventual successor. Since Miller’s departure, four of Indiana’s players — Al Durham, Armaan Franklin, Race Thompson, and Parker Stewart — have entered the transfer portal. Why would Indiana spend $10 million dollars on Miller’s buyout if it didn’t have a firm grasp on who it was going to hire to replace him? I don’t understand it either. 

North Carolina is going to be in the market for a big man
It’s been an eventful week for the Tar Heels. They first lost promising freshman Walker Kessler to the transfer portal and then Day’Ron Sharpe — as expected — declared for the 2021 NBA Draft on Wednesday. If Garrison Brooks does not return to school and exercise his additional year of eligibility, North Carolina will need to find another capable baseline piece up front to go with Armando Bacot next season.

Leftovers: