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The Breakfast Buffet: Darius Acuff, Jake Davis, Eric Olen deserves credit for the job he’s doing at New Mexico

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

Darius Acuff is playing as well as any freshman point guard as John Calipari has ever coached
That doesn’t mean that Acuff is going to be what Derrick Rose, John Wall, De’Aaron Fox or others have been in the NBA, but it does mean that Acuff’s production level at the most important position on the floor has been comparable to the players listed above during their college careers. Through 21 games, the 6-3 Acuff is averaging 20.2 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three-point range. His assist-to-turnover ratio is also slightly better than 3:1. Those are All-American caliber numbers. The Razorbacks have won three straight games and will next host Kentucky on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena.

Jake Davis is the unsung presence for Illinois
How are the Illini filling the void on the perimeter with Kylan Boswell out of the lineup for the next few weeks due to a hand injury? This guy! People from the periphery will point to Keaton Wagler’s 46-point performance last Saturday at Purdue and that’s for good reason, but it would be foolish to not acknowledge Davis. The 6-6 wing has stepped in seamlessly to Illinois’ starting lineup following Boswell’s injury and is averaging 10.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in his last two games as a starter while shooting 6-13 from three-point range during that span. Brad Underwood’s squad is 17-3 and will next host Washington tonight in Champaign.

Eric Olen deserves credit for the job he’s doing at New Mexico
12 months ago, Olen was the steward of America’s favorite potential Cinderella at UC San Diego. He’s now proving that last year’s journey to the NCAA Tournament and near upset of Michigan in the Round of 64 was no fluke. After inheriting nothing more than a recommendation to a good Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque from Richard Pitino — who left the Lobos to become the head coach at Xavier — Olen has incredibly made New Mexico relevant at the top of the Mountain West with a brand new roster. Four of the Lobos’ top seven scorers from last season’s team that won a game in the NCAA Tournament — Donovan Dent (UCLA), Tru Washington (Miami), Filip Borovicanin (Xavier), and Jovan Milicevic (Xavier) — are now playing at the power conference level, but New Mexico still finds itself at 17-4 overall and 39th in the NET as of Wednesday. That’s a credit to Olen, whose team should have a few more Quad 1 opportunities before it begins Championship Week in March in Las Vegas.

On The Side

  • Kansas’ Bill Self was Wednesday’s INSIDE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NOW. To watch the full interview, click HERE.
  • UConn is 8-1 this season in games that have been decided by five points or fewer or in overtime.
  • Five of Nebraska’s next seven games will be played at Pinnacle Bank Arena, starting with Sunday’s massive tilt against Illinois. The Huskers are right in the mix for a Big Ten regular season title.
  • Saint Louis hasn’t earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2014.
  • Syracuse is a combined 79-72 since losing to Houston in the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Daily Specials

  • Colorado at Iowa State
  • Washington at Illinois

Leftovers