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The Breakfast Buffet: Wisconsin’s offense hits College Park, Aden Holloway, Rick Pitino in Year Two

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

Wisconsin’s offense hits College Park
These aren’t your father’s Badgers. Wisconsin made 32-of-67 three-point shots in its two games last week and enters tonight’s game at Maryland averaging more points (82.5) and assists (15.3) than it did when it went to back-to-back Final Fours in 2014 and 2015. Greg Gard’s team is also assisting on 55.5 percent of its made baskets, which is approximately five percent more than this program did when it played in the Final Four twice under Bo Ryan. It will be interesting to see how the Terps defend Wisconsin. Maryland is coming off back-to-back road victories at Illinois and Indiana. This has the makings of a terrific matchup in College Park. .

Aden Holloway is flourishing as Alabama’s sixth man
That’s something I definitely didn’t think I’d be writing a year ago when Holloway was at Auburn. Nevertheless, the 6-1 sophomore is flourishing in his current role as a key reserve for the Crimson Tide. An elite shooter and floor spacer, Holloway opens up the entire court for Alabama on offense and has been one part of an electric three-guard lineup for Nate Oats alongside both Mark Sears and LaBaron Philon. He’s averaging 15.4 points in his last five outings while shooting 50 percent from three-point range during that span. Holloway has found a home in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide will visit Mississippi State tonight in Starkville.

Rick Pitino’s success in Year Two is ridiculous
St. John’s improved to 18-3 on Tuesday night with a blowout win over Georgetown which further enhanced the success of its Hall-of-Fame head coach in his second season with a program. Pitino now has a combined winning percentage of 77.2 percent in his second seasons at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona, and St. John’s, a number that should only improve this season if the Red Storm continue to win at a high level. Pitino’s greatest success in his second year with a program came during the 1986-87 season when he took Providence to the Final Four.

On The Side

  • Tennessee is now a combined 15-67 from three-point range in back-to-back losses to Auburn and Kentucky. Its two primary guards — Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier — are a combined 6-33 from long distance during that span.
  • Dylan Andrews is averaging 11.0 points and 4.8 assists during UCLA’s four-game winning streak. His assist-to-turnover ratio during that span? 19:6.
  • Saint Mary’s 14-game road winning streak is in serious jeopardy tonight at Santa Clara. The Broncos are only 14-8, but recently won at Gonzaga and should be a 20-win team for the fourth straight season under Herb Sendek.
  • Miami is 0-8 since Jim Larranaga’s retirement. Its average margin of defeat during that span? 19.4 points. 
  • The NCAA announced on Tuesday that the 2025 national title game will tip off at 8:50 PM ET, which is 30 minutes earlier than the normal start time.

Daily Specials

  • Auburn at LSU
  • Houston at West Virginia
  • Wisconsin at Maryland
  • Alabama at Mississippi State
  • Texas at Ole Miss

Leftovers