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The Breakfast Buffet: UConn begins its quest for a three-peat, Calipari era begins at Arkansas, Auburn/Vermont

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

UConn begins its quest for a three-peat
Can the Huskies be the first program to win three straight national titles since John Wooden did at UCLA from 1971-73? The journey begins tonight in Storrs against Sacred Heart. One important thing to remember: UConn has won 12 NCAA Tournament games over the past two seasons by an average of 21.7 points, which means that Dan Hurley’s team doesn’t need to be nearly as good as it’s been to win another national title. The Huskies return four players — Alex Karaban, Samson Johnson, Hassan Diarra, and Solomon Ball — who averaged 11.5 minutes or more on last season’s team that won it all in convincing fashion.

The John Calipari era begins at Arkansas
The Hall-of-Famer hasn’t coached a team other than Kentucky since the Sweet 16 of the 2009 NCAA Tournament when Memphis lost to Missouri. That will change tonight when Calipari makes his coaching debut with the Razorbacks against Lipscomb at Bud Walton Arena. Three of Calipari’s projected starters — D.J. Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic — played for Kentucky last season prior to transferring to Arkansas.

Auburn opens with a trap game against Vermont
All eyes are on the Tigers’ colossal showdown against Houston on Saturday at the Toyota Center, but it would be foolish to look past the Catamounts. Vermont won a buy game on Monday at UAB and has won at least a share of eight straight America East regular season titles under John Becker. This feels like a 2/15 matchup in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

On The Side

  • Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard had 11 assists to two turnovers in Monday night’s win over Baylor. Those totals plus his final six games of last season give him an assist-to-turnover ratio of 72:17 during that span. This is the least appreciated guard in America.
  • North Carolina’s front court troika of Jalen Washington, Jae’Lyn Withers, and Van-Allen Lubin combined for 22 points and 21 rebounds in Monday’s opener against Elon. Hubert Davis would sign for 3/4 of that on a nightly basis post-Armando Bacot. We’ll know a lot more about the Tar Heels’ big men after Friday’s trip to Kansas.
  • Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner has never fouled out of a game during his four-year college career. The three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year will begin his fifth college basketball season in Omaha tonight as the Jays host UT Rio Grande Valley.
  • Virginia’s opener tonight against Campbell is the first time in 5,718 days since someone other than Tony Bennett has coached the Cavaliers. It will be real interesting to see how this program responds to Ron Sanchez, who’s serving as Virginia’s interim head coach.
  • Nevada’s Kobe Sanders is going to be a household name by Thanksgiving. A transfer from Cal Poly, the 6-9 point guard had 27 points, six rebounds, and four assists Monday night versus Sam Houston State. The Wolf Pack will next host Washington on Saturday in Reno.

Daily Specials

  • Wagner at Rutgers
  • Sacred Heart at UConn
  • Vermont at Auburn
  • Lipscomb at Arkansas
  • Oakland at Boise State

Leftovers