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 punched St. John’s in the mouth
That might actually be putting it mildly. The Huskies’ 72-40 win over the Red Storm on Wednesday night in Hartford was St. John’s most lopsided loss under Rick Pitino and by a large margin. Prior to Wednesday’s loss, the Red Storm’s biggest defeat under Pitino was a 16-point loss against Michigan during the 2023-24 season. The 40 point-effort was also the lowest point total of any team Pitino has ever coached. UConn wasn’t just elite in its execution on Wednesday night — it played with a reckless abandon that was apparent from the opening tip off. There’s still a strong chance that these two teams meet again in a few weeks at the Big East Tournament at MSG. Both squads now have two losses in league play and could share the conference regular season title if they both win the remainder of their regular season games.
Tarris Reed was dominant
When UConn and St. John’s played a few weeks ago at MSG, Zuby Ejiofor stole the show with a 21-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist performance. Reed returned the favor on Wednesday night in Hartford. The 6-11, 265 pound big man finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks, and three assists in the Huskies’ dominant win over the Red Storm. When Reed plays like one of the best big men in the country, the ceiling changes for UConn.
Michigan State/Purdue
Potential seeding in the Big Ten Tournament and a Quad 1 win of major significance is on the line tonight at Mackey Arena. The matchup between the Spartans and Boilers pits two of the best coaches — Tom Izzo and Matt Painter — and two of the best point guards — Jeremy Fears (15.0 points, 9.2 assists) and Braden Smith (14.9 points, 8.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds) against each other. Both of these teams were among the Top 16 protected seeds in last Saturday’s Bracket Reveal on CBS.
On The Side
- Michigan can clinch an outright Big Ten regular season title with a win at Illinois on Friday.
- Donovan Dent has 22 assists and no turnovers in UCLA’s last two games. That is not a misprint.
- Nebraska is 24-4 and just two victories away from tying the program’s all-time record for wins. The Huskers won 26 games under Danny Nee in 1991 when they were a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- Virginia’s Jacari White (8.9 points) has attempted 146 shots this season. 111 have been from three-point range.
- After starting the season at 16-0, Vanderbilt is just 6-6 in his last 12 games.
Daily Specials
- Michigan State at Purdue
