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The Breakfast Buffet: Cooper Flagg is taking things to another level, Kentucky, RJ Luis

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

Cooper Flagg is taking things to another level
Duke’s five-star freshman has been playing like a first-team All-American all season long, but he’s augmented his level of performance over the past few weeks. Flagg’s 42-point, seven-assist, six-rebound performance in Saturday’s win over Notre Dame set an ACC freshman record for points scored in a game and also sent a message that the 6-9 forward is playing his way into the National Player of the Year discussion. Over his last four games, Flagg is averaging 27.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. He’s now firmly in the mix with guys like Auburn’s Johni Broome and Marquette’s Kam Jones for the distinction of who’s having the best individual season in the sport. The Blue Devils are 14-2 and will next face Miami on Tuesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Kentucky’s offensive performance against Mississippi State was high-level
Scoring against teams coached by Chris Jans over the years has been like trying to get blood from a stone. That’s what makes what the Wildcats did on Saturday night in Starkville so impressive. It wasn’t just that Kentucky scored 95 points in a five-point win against Mississippi State — it was how crisp its offense was on the road in a hostile environment. Mark Pope’s team shot 55.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point on the road with six different players hitting double figures against the Bulldogs. The Wildcats also had 21 assists on 34 made field goals. Kentucky’s wins earlier this season over Duke and Gonzaga were special because of the grit that it displayed in coming back from large deficits on a neutral court. Saturday’s victory was all about elite offensive execution, which has been the backbone of Pope’s success as a head coach. The Wildcats are now 14-3 overall and 2-1 in SEC play.

RJ Luis continues to will St. John’s
The breakout season continues for Luis, who has firmly established himself as the Red Storm’s go-to option on the perimeter. The 6-7 junior had 30 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday night’s 80-68 win over Villanova at MSG and is averaging 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in his last three games. Those are All-Big East caliber numbers. “He has an incredible desire to score,” St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino said of Luis on Saturday night. “He’s also a great passer. RJ is a pro. I think he’s a player that’s going to get better and better.” Beyond his statistics, Luis’ relentlessness on the offensive glass and his ability to get loose balls have become just as synonymous with his game as his habit of filling the box score. St. John’s is now 14-3 and 5-1 in Big East play for the first time since the 2000-01 season.

On The Side

  • Oregon is 3-0 in true road games this season entering today’s game with Penn State in State College.
  • Five of Michigan’s top six scorers — Vlad Goldin, Tre Donaldson, Danny Wolf, Nimari Burnett, and Will Tschetter — are shooting 36.6 percent or better from three-point range entering today’s game against Washington in Ann Arbor.
  • Purdue is 8-0 against Nebraska at Mackey Arena since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011 entering today’s game in West Lafayette.
  • One bright spot in UCLA’s 18-point loss to Maryland on Friday night? 6-4 freshman Trent Perry had unequivocally the best game of his young college career and finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 21 minutes. Perry was a McDonald’s All-American last season.
  • Louisville’s Reyne Smith has 178 field goal attempts this season — 156 have been from three-point range.

Daily Specials

  • Michigan State at Northwestern
  • Nebraska at Purdue
  • Washington at Michigan
  • West Virginia at Colorado
  • Oregon at Penn State

Leftovers