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The Breakfast Buffet: UConn looks to get back on track, Wendell Green, Emanuel Miller

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 looks to get back on track at Seton Hall
The Huskies have lost four of their last five games entering tonight’s tilt at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Pirates meanwhile, have won four of their last five games and are playing their best basketball of the season. In order for UConn to rediscover the form that it showed early in the season, it needs to be much crisper on offense. During this recent five-game stretch, the Huskies have a total of 73 assists to 75 turnovers. Another wildcard to watch in this game? Al-Amir Dawes. A transfer from Clemson, the 6-2 Dawes is averaging 15.6 points over his last five outings for Seton Hall and only has three turnovers in his last three games.

Wendell Green is playing at a high level for Auburn
The Tigers feel like the least talked about 14-3 team in college basketball, but that could change if Green continues to play the way that he’s played recently. The 5-11 junior is averaging 19.7 points, 3.3 assists, and 3.3 steals in his last two games entering tonight’s matchup with LSU (12-5) In Baton Rouge. Green is also 25-27 from the free throw line during that span. Auburn doesn’t have the star power that it’s possessed in recent years, but it still has the requisites to be one of the best teams in the SEC. Green is a primary reason why.

Emanuel Miller is the player to watch on TCU
This is the guy that could take the Horned Frogs from a team that is “sneaky good” to one that’s viewed as a threat to play deep into the NCAA Tournament. The 6-7 forward has already made more three-point shots this season — 13 — than he did during all of last year when he made 11. He’s also shooting 48.7 percent from long distance after shooting just 24.4 percent a year ago. Miller is cut from a similar cloth as Gilbert Brown, who was a starter on Jamie Dixon’s team at Pitt that earned a No. 1 seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Miller — who averaged 16.2 points and 8.2 rebounds two years ago at Texas A&M before transferring — is starting to resemble the form that he showed early in his career and could emerge as a strong secondary option alongside Mike Miles on the perimeter. Miller is averaging 22 points and six rebounds in his last two games entering tonight’s matchup with West Virginia in Morgantown.

On The Side

  • Matthew Mayer is starting to play like an All-Big Ten player for Illinois. A transfer from Baylor, the 6-9 Mayer is averaging 14.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and three blocks over his last four games. The Illini have won four straight.
  • Virginia freshman Isaac McKneely has made 13 three-point shots in his last five games. McKneely has attempted 83 shots this season — 64 have been from long distance.
  • San Diego State needs more out of Jaedon Ledee. The Aztecs had all-conference caliber hopes for Ledee, but he’s only averaging seven points and 5.2 rebounds entering tonight’s game at Colorado State. The 6-9 Ledee has yet to tally a double-double this season.
  • It’s time to start talking about both Florida Atlantic (15-1) and Charleston (18-1) as potential at-large candidates for the NCAA Tournament. Both were ranked in the Top 42 of the NET as of Tuesday and remember this: If both of these teams continue on their current pace and don’t win their respective conference tournaments, both the CAA and Conference-USA could be multi-bid leagues and knock other teams off the bubble on Selection Sunday.
  • It’s been 676 days since Georgetown has beaten a Big East opponent.

Daily Specials

  • UConn at Seton Hall
  • TCU at West Virginia
  • Xavier at DePaul
  • Arkansas at Missouri
  • Providence at Marquette

Leftovers