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The Breakfast Buffet: Villanova has a big opportunity against UConn, Brad Underwood, Texas A&M

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

Villanova has a big opportunity against UConn
Kyle Neptune and the Wildcats can change the entire trajectory of their season with a win tonight at home against the two-time defending national champions, who are playing without star freshman Liam McNeeley (13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds) due to a high ankle sprain. How good is Villanova? We still don’t truly know. Neptune deserves credit for the way he’s rallied this team after a 2-3 start and has led the Wildcats to eight victories in their last 10 games. Beating UConn would represent a seminal moment for the 39-year old head coach, whose team is now ranked 50th in the NET. Keep a close eye on Villanova’s Eric Dixon (25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds), who has separated himself as one of the top two players in the Big East along with Marquette’s Kam Jones (19.7 points, 6.4 assists, 4.9 rebounds). The Huskies have won four straight meetings between the two programs and haven’t lost since losing three games in three days at the Maui Invitational in November.

Brad Underwood has reached “Bo Ryan/Matt Painter” status
What exactly does that mean? It’s pretty simple. Ryan had a legendary run when he was at Wisconsin from 2001-15 where the Badgers never finished lower than fourth in the Big Ten standings. Regardless of the personnel in Wisconsin’s program during that time, there was an expectation that because Ryan was the coach, the Badgers would consistently perform like one of the top teams in the conference. Painter has created a similar type of feel around Purdue’s program over the last decade. You can now also say the same thing about Underwood thanks to the success he’s had at Illinois. Since the 2020-21 season, the Illini have finished no worse than tied for fifth in the Big Ten standings and have finished second or better in three of the last four years. Illinois is also 11-3 entering tonight’s game against Penn State in Champaign despite not returning a single player who averaged double figure minutes on last season’s team that won 29 games and lost to UConn in the Elite Eight. That’s a credit to Underwood, who like both Ryan and Painter has created an expectation that he’s annually going to have one of the best teams in the Big Ten.

Texas A&M needs to be mentioned in the SEC’s top tier
A Final Four contender that’s hiding in plain sight? It certainly feels like it. The Aggies aren’t getting the same attention as Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, and Florida, but they’re in the same weight class as those teams on a neutral court. Remember: Texas A&M has won eight straight games and will take a 12-2 record into tonight’s game against Oklahoma in Norman. The Aggies have also not lost a game this season when they’ve been at full strength. This is the best team that Buzz Williams has coached since his last team at Virginia Tech in 2019 when the Hokies advanced to the Sweet 16 and nearly beat Zion Williamson and Duke.

On The Side

  • San Diego State’s Myles Byrd has already scored more points (153) than he did during all of last season (137).
  • Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley is 2-0 against Kansas entering tonight’s game between the two programs at Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Wisconsin’s John Blackwell looks like the most underrated guard in the Big Ten. Despite not being highly recruited out of high school, the 6-4 sophomore has given the Badgers major mileage in his first two seasons of college basketball. He’s averaging 18.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in his last four games.
  • North Texas is going to be a bid stealer to watch at the AAC Tournament in March. The Mean Green should be a 20-win team entering the postseason and nearly beat Memphis at FedExForum on Sunday before falling by four.
  • It’s easier to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament than it is to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if you’re an Atlantic 10 program other than Dayton. Want proof? St. Bonaventure and VCU are a combined 25-5, but neither has more than one Quad 1 opportunity remaining in the regular season.

Daily Specials

  • UConn at Villanova
  • Ole Miss at Arkansas
  • Texas A&M at Oklahoma
  • Arizona State at Kansas
  • Penn State at Illinois

Leftovers