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The Breakfast Buffet: Walter Clayton Jr., Illinois has a massive week, Arkansas/Michigan

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

Walter Clayton Jr. is playing like an All-American
Remember when this guy used to play for Iona? The backbone of Florida’s 9-0 start is Clayton, a player that spent the first two years of his college career playing for Rick Pitino when he was in the MAAC. He’s now one of the best guards in all of college basketball. Through nine games, the 6-3 Clayton is averaging career-highs in points (18.4), assists (3.7), field-goal percentage (48.0), and three-point field-goal percentage (37.3). Clayton’s production level has had zero drop off since he transferred from the mid-major level two years ago as he averaged 16.8 points and 3.2 assists during his final year at Iona during the 2022-23 season. The Gators will next face Arizona State on Saturday in Atlanta.

Illinois has a massive week
Are the Illini a fun team with a plethora of promising long-term prospects or a team that’s going to be in the mix for a Big Ten regular season title and a high seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament? We’ll find out over the next 80 minutes. Illinois will host Wisconsin — who’s currently on a two-game losing streak — tonight in Champaign and then host undefeated Tennessee on Saturday. The Vols are currently ranked FIRST in this week’s ROTHSTEIN 45. We’re about to get some major answers regarding Brad Underwood’s team, who’s currently 1-2 this season against power conference competition.

Arkansas/Michigan
The showcase game in tonight’s Jimmy V Classic at MSG features one team that’s playing great basketball and another that’s trying to find itself. The Wolverines enter tonight’s matchup on a seven-game winning streak and have already won five games this season against power conference opponents. The Razorbacks meanwhile, are still searching for their first marquee win under John Calipari. Keep a close eye on how Arkansas defends Michigan’s power forward/center combo of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin, who enter tonight’s game averaging a combined 24.1 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks.

On The Side

  • UConn’s Hassan Diarra has 23 assists to just four turnovers during the Huskies’ current three-game winning streak.
  • San Diego State is 6-0 this season when it holds its opponents to 70 points or fewer and 0-2 when it does not.
  • DePaul has not won a game against a Big East opponent in 643 days. The Blue Demons open league play tonight in Chicago against Providence. It’s the first Big East game for Chris Holtmann as DePaul’s head coach.
  • Don’t underestimate the impact of player retention in Penn State’s 8-1 start. Four of the Nittany Lions’ five leading scorers — Ace Baldwin, Zach Hicks, Nick Kern, and Puff Johnson — played in State College last season. Mike Rhoades’ squad will next visit Rutgers tonight in Piscataway.
  • Tennessee’s Rick Barnes was this week’s guest on the College Hoops Today Podcast. 

Daily Specials

  • Tennessee/Miami (MSG)
  • Penn State at Rutgers
  • Providence at DePaul
  • Wisconsin at Illinois
  • Arkansas/Michigan (MSG)

Leftovers