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The Breakfast Buffet: Niko Medved, RJ Davis, Iowa/Purdue

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

Niko Medved has established himself as an early National Coach of the Year candidate
There was tangible belief once Isaiah Stevens (17.1 points, 7.9 assists) decided to return to school for his fifth year of eligibility that the Rams could be a contender atop the Mountain West. What they’ve done so far though has usurped anyone’s expectations. That’s a credit to Medved, who has quickly made Colorado State the best non-power conference team in college basketball this season alongside both Gonzaga and Florida Atlantic. The Rams’ 8-0 start features wins over four power conference opponents — Boston College, Creighton, Colorado, and Washington — and three of those victories came on a neutral court. This is the second time in three seasons that Medved has led Colorado State to national relevance as this program was also a six seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. This is ONLY December, but this guy has firmly entrenched himself as a strong early candidate to be the National Coach of the Year.

RJ Davis is playing the best offensive basketball of his career
The ascension of North Carolina freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau — who has 24 assists and just two turnovers in his last five games — has allowed Davis to focus on being more aggressive offensively. He’s making his opponents pay. In the Tar Heels’ last four games, the 6-foot junior is averaging 26.8 points while displaying a major knack for getting to the free throw line. Davis is 29-30 from the stripe during this recent four-game span. North Carolina is 7-1 and will next face UConn on Tuesday at MSG as part of the Jimmy V Classic.

Iowa/Purdue
Big Ten play continues tonight at Mackey Arena as the Boilers try and bounce back from Friday’s OT loss at Northwestern. Purdue will have to provide Zach Edey with better spacing than it did a few days ago when it made just 5-19 shots from long distance. How good is Iowa? Good enough to finish somewhere in the middle of the Big Ten standings, but it’s yet to be determined if this group is capable of playing a competitive game in an atmosphere as hostile as Mackey Arena. The Hawkeyes boast tremendous balance as five different players — Ben Krikke, Payton Sandfort, Tony Perkins, Patrick McCaffery, and Owen Freeman — are averaging in double figures.

On The Side

  • Gonzaga has won 16 straight games against Pac-12 opponents.
  • It took Chris Beard all of seven games to make Ole Miss — who beat Memphis on Saturday — nationally relevant. Don’t be shocked if the Rebels enter SEC play on Jan. 6th against Tennessee in Knoxville with a 13-0 record.
  • The remaining 22 games on Villanova’s schedule are against power conference opponents. The Wildcats visit Kansas State on Tuesday as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle and then will host UCLA on Saturday before beginning Big East play on Dec. 20th at Creighton.
  • USC freshman Isaiah Collier has 36 assists and 37 turnovers.
  • Georgia Tech has a gem in 6-9 freshman Baye Ndongo. The big man had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in Saturday’s win over Duke and has been a consistent producer for the Yellow Jackets all season. Ndongo is currently averaging 10.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks.

Daily Specials

  • Iowa at Purdue
  • Arkansas State at Alabama
  • Furman at Arkansas

Leftovers