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The Breakfast Buffet: Trey Kaufman-Renn, ACC and Big East need to move the needle, Rhode Island

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

Trey Kaufman-Renn is “the next one” for Purdue up front
Three years ago when I was at a preseason practice, Matt Painter told me that Kaufman-Renn was an All-Big Ten caliber player, but he was playing behind Trevion Williams and Zach Edey. That was one season prior to Edey becoming the first player to win National Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Ralph Sampson did it at Virginia in the early 1980s. With those players no longer in the Boilers’ program, Kaufman-Renn’s time is now and he’s making the most of it. The 6-9 junior has slid down to center in the past three games as Painter has opted to alter Purdue’s starting lineup and it’s bringing out the best in Kaufman-Renn as he’s averaging 21.7 points and 7.7 rebounds during that span. This is the next great interior player in the Boilers’ program.

The ACC and Big East need to move the needle in the next few days
If they don’t it’s going to seriously inhibit how many of their teams will wind up playing in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. As of today, the ACC has a 12-28 record against power conference opponents and the Big East has a 10-12 record against power conference opponents — neither of those marks is the type of percentage that either of these leagues are going to require to get quality volume on Selection Sunday. With this week’s ACC/SEC Challenge and Big East-Big 12 Battle set to begin on Tuesday, both the ACC and Big East need some significant wins over the next 72 to 96 hours if they’re both going to be a major part of March Madness in 2025.

Rhode Island has a big week
When was the last time that someone said that? Archie Miller has the Rams off to a strong 7-0 start in his third season in Kingston, but the caliber of the Rams’ opponents will increase significantly over the next six days. Rhode Island will host Yale tonight at the Ryan Center and then host Providence on Saturday (Noon ET, CBS Sports Network). Two home wins would represent a tangible sign that the Rams have officially turned a corner and have the requisites to be a factor in the Atlantic 10. Five players on Rhode Island’s roster — David Green, Sebastian Thomas, Jaden House, Javonte Brown, and Jamarques Lawrence — are currently averaging in double figures.

On The Side

  • Marquette’s Kam Jones has 30 assists to just six turnovers in his last four games. Who said this guy couldn’t play point guard?!
  • Since losing to New Mexico on Nov. 8th., UCLA has held five straight opponents to an average of 49 points.
  • Three of Miami’s four losses this season have come against non-power conference opponents. The Hurricanes have lost four straight after a 3-0 start.
  • What’s up with Arkansas’ Johnell Davis? A transfer from Florida Atlantic, the 6-4 Davis has only scored a combined 11 points and is just 3-12 from the field and 1-7 from three-point range in the Razorbacks’ games this season against Baylor and Illinois, which were both losses.
  • The first NET rankings of the 2024-25 season will be released on Monday.

Daily Specials

  • UMBC at Georgetown
  • Yale at Rhode Island
  • Washington State at Nevada

Leftovers