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The Breakfast Buffet: Duke makes a statement, UConn/St. John’s, Indiana

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.

Things To Sample

Duke made a statement against Illinois
Many people — including myself — wondered if the ACC was going to prepare Blue Devils enough when they played a higher caliber of competition. That question was answered emphatically on Saturday night at MSG. Duke’s 110-67 win over Illinois at the World’s Famous Arena was the largest margin of defeat in the history of the Illini’s program. It also showcased the overall talent level of Jon Scheyer’s team, which had seven different players score in double figures in the lopsided victory. The Blue Devils continue to trend towards being the top seed in the East Region on Selection Sunday.

UConn/St. John’s
The game of the year in the Big East happens today at MSG and it features the two-time defending national champions and the Red Storm, who have been one of the great stories in college basketball during the 2024-25 season. Rick Pitino’s team enters today’s game at 23-4 overall and is seeking its first outright Big East regular season title since 1984-85. St. John’s currently has a two and a half game lead over Creighton for first place in the Big East standings. The Huskies meanwhile, are trying to begin a late-season surge. Keep an eye on UConn freshman Liam McNeeley, who’s averaging 21.8 points and 9.3 rebounds since returning from an ankle injury.

Indiana is in “position to be in position”
The Hoosiers were the first team OUT in Friday’s BRACKET BREAKDOWN and they’ll be projected to be in the NCAA Tournament if they can beat Purdue today in Bloomington (1:30 PM ET, CBS). The Boilers won the first meeting between the two teams by five points on Jan. 31st at Mackey Arena. Indiana has lost five of its past six games, but has no Quad 3 or 4 losses and owns road wins against both Michigan State and Ohio State. A win today against Purdue could be a difference maker on Selection Sunday.

On The Side.

  • Think veteran guard play matters? Tennessee’s grizzled troika of Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, and Jordan Gainey combined for 60 of the Vols’ 77 points in Saturday’s win at Texas A&M.
  • Michigan State is 10-0 this season in games where Tre Holloman scores in double figures.
  • Mick Cronin can earn his 500th career win today when UCLA hosts Ohio State. Tip off is at 3:45 PM ET on CBS.
  • Multiple teams from the SEC will have better seeds in the NCAA Tournament than they will in the SEC Tournament.
  • Memphis hasn’t played a team that was a lock for the NCAA Tournament since it beat Ole Miss on Dec. 28th. That’s 57 days ago. The Tigers will host Florida Atlantic this afternoon at FedExForum.

Daily Specials

  • UConn at St. John’s
  • Florida Atlantic at Memphis
  • Purdue at Indiana
  • Ohio State at UCLA
  • Georgetown at Creighton

Leftovers