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The Breakfast Buffet: Ohio State, Lynn Kidd enters the national spotlight, BYU

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

Ohio State has different ways to skin a cat
On Friday night, Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle combined for 52 of the Buckeyes’ 92 points in their win against Alabama in the first round of the Emerald Coast Classic. On Saturday, Jamison Battle sparked Ohio State, scoring 21 points and making five three-point shots in a convincing 86-56 win over Santa Clara in the title game. This team doesn’t have to rely on one person offensively, which is an encouraging sign for the Buckeyes early in the season. Chris Holtmann’s team is now 5-1 overall and will play its next three games at home, starting with Wednesday’s matchup against Central Michigan.

Lynn Kidd enters the national spotlight
Not familiar with Kidd? You might be after today. Virginia Tech’s primary post presence, the 6-10 Kidd has quietly been one of college basketball’s breakout stars. After only averaging five points and 3.4 rebounds last season as a junior, Kidd has exploded out of the gate and is averaging 17 points and 8.2 rebounds entering today’s matchup against Florida Atlantic in the finals of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando. While he’ll have his hands full inside today against the Owls’ Vladislav Goldin, Kidd can use this stage against Florida Atlantic as a way to propel himself into the national conversation. Remember the name.

BYU emerges as the sleeper team in the Big 12
The Cougars were picked 13th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, but they definitely don’t look like they’re going to finish there. BYU is currently 6-0 with two wins over power conference opponents in addition to a home triumph over San Diego State. It will play six of its final seven non-conference games in Provo and could conceivably begin Big 12 play in January at 12-1 or 13-0. Mark Pope’s team possesses great balance as seven different players are averaging between 9.5 points and 15.3 points. BYU is also currently shooting 38.6 percent from three-point range as a team and has assisted on 130 out of 197 of its made field goals this season.

On The Side

  • One thing to keep in the back of your mind regarding Baylor: American Airlines Center in Dallas will host the South Regional during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. That’s only 90 minutes from Waco.
  • Tristen Newton is currently leading UConn in both rebounds (7.8) and assists (6.8). His assist-to-turnover ratio is also currently better than 2:1.
  • New Mexico’s Donovan Dent is one of the best guards in the country that not many people know about. The 6-2 sophomore is thriving with Jaelen House out of the lineup for the Lobos and is averaging 18.5 points and 6.8 assists while shooting 55.7 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range.
  • Iowa State freshman Omaha Biliew is only averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. A five-star prospect, the 6-8 Biliew hasn’t scored in two games this weekend at the ESPN Events Invitational.
  • The Ivy League has another platform to make national waves today as Harvard visits Indiana and Yale travels to Rhode Island. Six of the eight teams in the conference currently possess a winning percentage of 66.7 percent or better.

Daily Specials

  • Florida Atlantic/Virginia Tech (ESPN Events Invitational)
  • Wyoming at Texas
  • Harvard at Indiana
  • Butler/Boise State (ESPN Events Invitational)
  • Iowa State/Texas A&M (ESPN Events Invitational)

Leftovers