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The Breakfast Buffet: UCLA hits the road, Butler, the Pac-12 is coming back to life

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

UCLA hits the road
Mick Cronin will get a taste of what road games will be like in the Big Ten in a few years when his team faces Maryland (8-2) tonight in College Park. The matchup is the start of a home-and-home series between the two programs that will conclude during the 2023-24 season in Westwood. Following tonight’s game, UCLA (8-2) will head to New York to play Kentucky on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden. Both games are critical for the Bruins’ overall resume. UCLA did not win either of its games (Illinois, Baylor) in the Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas last month and will not have any non-conference games of significance after this week.

Butler is “in position to be in position”
The Bulldogs have won four straight games since the Battle 4 Atlantis and now sit at 8-3 entering Big East play. Butler doesn’t have any bad losses (Penn State, Tennessee, NC State) and can emerge on the national radar if it wins either of its first two conference games during the next two weeks. Hinkle Fieldhouse should be on fire for Saturday’s Big East opener against UConn, which will be followed by a trip to Creighton on Dec. 22nd. If the Bulldogs can split those games, they’ll officially enter the discussion as a potential NCAA Tournament team under Thad Matta in 2023.

The Pac-12 is coming back to life
There’s no doubt that this league had a brutal start to the season, but it’s quietly regaining traction. Recent surges at Arizona State (10-1) and Utah (9-2) have given the Pac-12 new life to go with its two flagship programs in Arizona and UCLA. A third of this league can still make the 2023 NCAA Tournament. And don’t discount both USC (7-3) and Oregon (5-5) from turning things around in January and February. The Ducks are currently playing without two perimeter starters in Jermaine Couisnard (knee) and Keeshawn Barthelemy (ankle).

On The Side

  • UConn’s Jordan Hawkins has already made more three-point shots this season (29) as a sophomore than he did last year as a freshman (27). The 6-5 wing is averaging 14.4 points and is currently shooting 42.6 percent from long distance.
  • Four of Penn State’s top five scorers — Jalen Pickett, Andrew Funk, Camren Wynter, and Myles Dread — are in their fifth season of college basketball. Seth Lundy — who is also one of this team’s top five scorers — is a senior. That type of experience can’t be understated.
  • UCF’s Taylor Hendricks (15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds) is the best freshman in the American Athletic Conference aside from Houston’s Jarace Walker. The Knights have quietly won seven of eight and will visit Ole Miss tonight in Oxford.
  • Creighton (6-5) can’t get out of its current funk until Ryan Nembhard gets back to playing like himself. The sophomore point guard is just 9-33 from the field during his last three games and just 2-19 from three-point range in his last four games. The Bluejays haven’t won a game since beating Arkansas in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
  • Louisville has lost its first nine games of the season by an average of 17.1 points. The Cardinals have lost their six games this season against power conference opponents by an average of 25.2 points. Western Kentucky (8-1) visits the KFC Yum Center tonight in the 10th game of the Kenny Payne era.

Daily Specials

  • South Carolina at UAB
  • UCF at Ole Miss
  • UCLA at Maryland
  • Western Kentucky at Louisville
  • New Mexico State at Saint Mary’s

Leftovers