College Hoops Today

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The Breakfast Buffet: Aday Mara, Iowa State/Arizona, Jason Edwards

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

Aday Mara is emerging for UCLA
And he’s drastically changing the complexion of things in Westwood. The 7-3 big man has played extended minutes in back-to-back games for the first time in his college career is averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks during that span. It will be interesting to see how Mick Cronin uses Mara going forward. The Bruins have won three straight games and are 14-6 entering tonight’s game against USC at the Galen Center.

Iowa State/Arizona
Realignment has allowed college sports to have certain special intra conference matchups that didn’t exist prior to this season. Tonight’s game in Tucson is one of those examples. For the first time as Big 12 members, the Cyclones and Wildcats will go head-to-head. Iowa State is 17-2 and has won 14 of its last 15 games while Arizona has won nine of its last 10. Keep a close eye on Cyclones guard Curtis Jones, who’s quickly emerging as a Big 12 Player of the Year and All-American candidate. The 6-4 Jones is averaging 24.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in his last six games.

Jason Edwards is America’s least appreciated transfer
How did Vanderbilt go from being picked 16th in the SEC Preseason Poll to now having a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament? This guy has had a lot to do with it. A transfer from North Texas, the 6-1 Edwards didn’t get the same attention as other players that the Dores added during the offseason, but he’s now solidified himself as this team’s go-to guy. Edwards had 18 points in each of Vanderbilt’s wins against Kentucky and Tennessee to go along with seven assists and just one turnover in those two games. He’s averaging 17.3 points and shooting an impressive 39.2 percent from three-point range. This is the best guard in the SEC that not enough people know about.

On The Side

  • Mason Gillis is doing Mason Gillis things for Duke. The former Purdue forward is averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in his last three games while shooting 7-12 from three-point range during that span. The Blue Devils resume action tonight against NC State at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
  • St. John’s Deivon Smith (shoulder) has not practiced since reaggravating his injury last week against Seton Hall, Rick Pitino told College Hoops Today on Sunday. The Red Storm return to action on Tuesday at Georgetown. Smith averages 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.
  • Things are starting to spike for Baylor freshman V.J. Edgecombe. The 6-5 guard has scored a combined 51 points in his last two games and is averaging 23.0 points in his last three. The Bears have won two straight and will next visit BYU on Tuesday.
  • Missouri has now doubled its win total from all of last season. The Tigers are 16-4 after Saturday’s win over Ole Miss and are trending towards their second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three seasons under Dennis Gates.
  • College Hoops Today reported on Friday that Clemson, Xavier, Georgia will headline the 2025 Charleston Classic. The fourth team in the event is currently TBD.

Daily Specials

  • Penn State at Michigan
  • Iowa at Ohio State
  • NC State at Duke
  • UCLA at USC
  • Arizona at Iowa State

Leftovers