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The Breakfast Buffet: Zakai Zeigler, AJ Dybantsa’s commitment to BYU reiterates how NIL has leveled playing field, Kadary Richmond

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

Zakai Zeigler could be this season’s Jamal Shead
They’re definitely not identical as players, but like Shead, Zeigler is a point guard that affects the most important thing — winning. 12 months ago, nobody talked about Shead as a potential All-American for Houston, but by the end of the season it was a consensus among everyone in the sport. Zeigler could be on a similar path. His poise on offense and relentlessness on defense have had a major hand in Tennessee’s 9-0 start. Since an 11-turnover performance in a win at Louisville on Nov. 9th, the 5-9 point guard has averaged 11.0 points, 8.0 assists, and 1.9 steals. Zeigler’s assist-to-turnover ratio during that span? 3.1:1. This guy belongs in the All-American conversation.

AJ Dybantsa’s commitment to BYU reiterates how NIL has leveled the playing field
The rich get richer? Not entirely. Years ago before NIL and the transfer portal, blue blood programs used to annually pluck the top prospects in college basketball. That’s no longer the case. The decision by the 6-9 Dybantsa — the top overall player in the 2025 class — to play for BYU next season is just another sign of how things have evened out in the sport. If you have strong collectives and strong NIL packages to offer to potential recruits, it enhances your ability to secure blue chip talent. This is a major reason why the college basketball’s landscape has been so balanced and unpredictable during the first month of the 2024-25 season.

Kadary Richmond has quietly regained his old form
This guy was a non-factor when St. John’s lost to Georgia by three on Nov. 24th in the Bahamas as he tallied just three points, four rebounds, and two assists. In the two games since Richmond has returned to the form that made him college basketball’s most coveted transfer during the offseason. During that span, the 6-6 guard has averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 blocks while shooting an impressive 13-25 from the field. The Red Storm can’t come close to reaching their ceiling this season unless Richmond is one of the best players in the Big East. Rick Pitino’s will take a 7-2 record into tonight’s game against Bryant at Carnesecca Arena (7 PM ET, CBS Sports Network).

On The Side

  • UConn’s two-headed monster at center of Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed is currently averaging a combined 18.7 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks.
  • The SEC currently has an overall combined record of 128-19 as a conference.
  • The most impressive part of Saint Mary’s 9-1 start? The Gaels lost two starters — Aidan Mahaney (UConn) and Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State) — from last season’s team that earned a five seed in the NCAA Tournament and are still playing at an elite level..
  • West Virginia announced on Tuesday that Tucker DeVries will be out indefinitely with an upper body injury. The 6-7 senior was averaging 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. This is a major blow to the Mountaineers, who are 6-2 and have the requisites to be the surprise team in the Big 12.
  • Loyola Chicago’s Jayden Dawson (ankle) is out 4-6 weeks and hopes to return in mid-January at the latest, Drew Valentine told College Hoops Today on Tuesday. The 6-4 junior is currently averaging 12.0 points for the Ramblers, who are currently 8-0.

Daily Specials

  • Bryant at St. John’s
  • UTEP at Louisville
  • Colgate at Kentucky

Leftovers