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The Breakfast Buffet: Tomislav Ivisic, Jeremiah Fears, Pitt/Ohio State

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

Tomislav Ivisic is a major mismatch
Let’s make this real simple: Traditional Big Ten big men are going to have a very hard time staying on the floor when they play Illinois. Why? Because the 7-1 Ivisic is one of the biggest mismatches in college basketball. A lethal pick-and-pop threat, Ivisic extends the defense instantly and puts major pressure on opposing centers. He had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in the Illini’s 90-77 win over Arkansas on Thursday in Kansas City while making a ridiculous 6-of-9 nine shots from three-point range. This looks like the best offensive team that Brad Underwood has had at Illinois and Ivisic is a major reason why.

Jeremiah Fears is breaking out at the Battle 4 Atlantis
Oklahoma lost four of its top six scorers — Javian McCollum, Otega Oweh, Milos Uzan, and John Hugley — from last season’s team that just missed the NCAA Tournament and still finds itself in the title game of the Battle 4 Atlantis today against Louisville. How? Fears’ poise has a lot to do with it. His decision to reclassify and play for the Sooners has completely changed the entire feel around Porter Moser’s team. In two games this week in the Bahamas, he’s averaging 23 points, 4.5 assists, and six rebounds. Remember: This kid was supposed to be in high school this season. With Fears in tow, Moser and the Sooners may very well be a factor in what looks to be the most loaded SEC we’ve seen in recent memory.

Pitt/Ohio State
The best game today in college basketball that isn’t part of an early season tournament will be in Columbus as the Buckeyes host the Panthers in the first installment of a home-and-home series. Both teams enter the game with only one loss. Keep a close eye on the point guard matchup between Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton (15.2 points, 5.8 assists) and Pitt’s Jaland Lowe (15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists), who’s the best floor general in the sport that not enough people know about. This is the first of three straight true road games for Jeff Capel’s squad, who will visit both Mississippi State and Virginia Tech next week.

On The Side

  • UConn and Creighton — two of the top programs in the Big East — are a combined 8-6. 
  • Looking for an under-the-radar breakout guy? Try Oregon’s Nate Bittle. Through seven games, the 7-foot Bittle is averaging 14 points and 9.4 rebounds. Bittle only appeared in five games last season due to injury and averaged just 7.3 points and 5.1 rebounds during the 2022-23 season
  • 11 teams that were ranked in this week’s AP Top 25 have already lost to teams that were unranked. Anarchy? Nope. Just college basketball.
  • Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin has officially graduated from Glue Guy status. In two games this week at the Sunshine Slam in Dayton Beach, the 6-8 senior averaged 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 6.5 assists. Schieffelin looks primed to earn All-ACC honors in 2024-25.
  • Long delays and monitor reviews are killing the flow of college basketball games. It’s been a major deterrent this week for what has been a great couple of days for the sport. Be better!

Daily Specials

  • Pitt at Ohio State
  • Arizona/West Virginia (Battle 4 Atlantis)
  • Louisville/Oklahoma (Battle 4 Atlantis)
  • Purdue/Ole Miss (San Diego)
  • BYU/NC State (Ole Miss)

Leftovers