The college basketball season began Monday, with four of the top five teams in the sports rankings starting the season as favorites, and each of the four teams getting the job done in their own decisive fashion. No. 1 Kansas University outscored Howard by 30 points. No. 2 Alabama defeated UNC vs. Asheville 110-54. And Big 12 powerhouses Houston and Iowa State (ranked No. 4 and No. 5) won by 57 and 39 points, respectively.
There were no major upsets, but there were some surprises (like Louisville looking competent again) and plenty of highlights (like every time Cooper Flagg jumped in the air).
There were also newcomers, freshmen, who took the opportunity to put their own stamp on a young season and executed with vigor.
Below is a look back at everything that happened on Monday’s opening day, how the AP Top 25 teams fared on Monday, and here are the winners and losers of the night.
TEAM (RECORDS) MONDAY RESULTS NEXT No. 1 Kansas (1-0) defeated Howard 87-57. No. 9 North Carolina State, Friday. 2 Alabama (1-0) defeated UNC Asheville 110-54. Arkansas Street, Friday. 3 UConn (0-0) could not play. Sacred Heart, Wednesday. 4 Houston (1-0) defeated Jackson St. 97-40. No. 11 Auburn, Saturday. 5 Iowa St. (1-0) defeated MVSU 83-44. UMKC, Monday. no. 6 Gonzaga (0-0) vs. No. 8 Baylows. Arizona Street, Sunday. 7 Duke (1-0) defeated Maine 96-62. Army, Friday, no. 8 Baylor (0-0) vs. No. 6 Gonzagafs. No. 16 Arkansas State, Saturday. On Friday, No. 9 North Carolina State (1-0) defeated No. 1 Kansas State Elon 90-76. 10 Arizona (1-0) defeated Canisius 93-64vs. Old Dominion, Saturday, no. 11 Auburn (0-0) did not play in the game. Vermont, Wednesday. no. No. 12 Tennessee (1-0) defeated Gardner-Webb 80-64 on Saturday in Louisville. 13 Texas A&M (0-1) lost to UCF 64-61vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, Friday. 14 Purdue (1-0) defeated Texas A&M-CC 90-73vs. Northern Kentucky, Friday. 15 Creighton (0-0) did not play. Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Wednesday. 16 University of Arkansas (0-0) did not play in the game. Lipscomb, Wednesday, no. 17 Indiana (0-0) did not play. SIU-Edwardsville, Wednesday. 18 Marquette (1-0) defeated Stony Brook 102-62vs. George Mason, Friday, no. 19 Texas (0-1) lost to Ohio State 80-72. Houston Christian, Friday, no. 20 Cincinnati (1-0) defeated Ark. Pine Bluff, 109-54. Morehead Street, Friday. No. 21 Florida (1-0) defeated South Florida 98-83. Jacksonville, Thursday. 22 UCLA (0-0) beat Rider 85-50 vs. New Mexico, Friday. no. 23 Kentucky (1-0) defeated Wright-St., 103-62. Bucknell, Saturday, no. 24 Mississippi (1-0) defeated LIU 90-60. Grambling Street, Friday. 25 Rutgers (0-0) did not play. Wagner, Wednesday.
Losers: Only major conference in the SEC with multiple losses.
It wasn’t a good night for the SEC, though Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Kentucky took care of business with ranked teams beating unranked teams.
The SEC had four teams lose, but was the only team in a major conference with multiple losses. The other major conference team loss was No. 8 Baylor to No. 10 Gonzaga. All four SEC losses were to unranked teams.
No. 13 Texas A&M lost to UCF as a favorite, No. 19 Texas lost to Ohio State in Las Vegas, South Carolina lost to North Florida 74-71 despite trailing by 19 points, and Missouri State lost to UCF. They lost to Woking Thorpe 83-75. Opera It was the Memphis Tigers and was part of what was overall a pretty brutal showing for the SEC to mark the end of the season. — Kyle Boone
Winner: Cooper Flagg soars in debut
The most anticipated freshman debut in years took place Monday night in Durham, North Carolina. Flagg played in his first game with the Blue Devils. He led Duke to a 96-62 victory over his hometown of Maine. Flagg was Duke’s best highlight of the day by a wide margin with 18 points, seven boards and five assists. —KB
Winner: Con Knuppel shines as co-star
Duke, ranked No. 7, earned an overwhelming 96-62 victory over Maine State, led by a perfect performance from No. 1 rookie Cooper Flagg, who recorded 18 points, a team-high seven rebounds, and five assists. The season has begun. But fellow freshman Con Knuppel topped the flag in their respective debuts, paying off the preseason buzz emanating from Durham that has reached deafening levels in recent weeks. Knuppel scored a game-high 22 points and looked like a capable member of a co-star who could impact the game on both ends. —KB
Winner: Struggles of New Bluegrass State Coach
Given that the University of Kentucky’s 2023-24 season ended at the hands of a Horizon League opponent in the NCAA Tournament opener, we see another Horizon foe come out on top with a 2024-25 season record. It was unpleasant. But in Mark Pope’s first game as coach, the Wildcats did what they failed to do when they lost to No. 14 seed Oakland in the Big Dance. They jumped on the visiting Raiders from the start and never showed any mercy, winning 103-62. Six players on the UK national team reached double figures, led by Otega Oweh, who transferred from Oklahoma, with 21.
Louisville also turned the page on a new era with a cathartic victory over a dominant opponent when the Cardinals defeated Morehead State 93-45, handing coach Pat Kelce his first victory. . The Cardinals had a 29-2 advantage in points off turnovers and won without drama. The Cardinals opened last year’s season with a 94-93 win over UMBC, followed by non-conference losses to Chattanooga, DePaul and Arkansas State. Kelce’s early return from the club is much better. But their mettle will be tested on Saturday when they visit No. 12 Tennessee. — David Cobb
Loser: Missouri blows its chance.
Missouri State looked on track to erase the disastrous 2023-24 season on opening night after opening up a 42-32 lead at halftime against Memphis. But in one of the top matchups on opening night, Mizzou’s 54.5 percent shooting in the first half proved unsustainable as Memphis roared back for an 83-75 victory. P.J. Haggerty led Memphis with 22 of his 25 points after halftime as Missouri’s defense faltered. — DC
Queen, a freshman center from the University of Maryland, had 22 points and 20 rebounds in his debut as the Terrapins defeated Manhattan 79-49. With this impressive performance, Queen became the first Maryland player to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in the same game since Joe Smith did so in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. Ranked No. 12 overall in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, Queens entered with high expectations. If early impressions are any indication, Queen may actually surpass that. — DC
The second year of the Will Wade era got off to a slow start. McNeese lost to South Dakota State 80-73 in the season opener. The Jackrabbits headed to the locker room tied at 33 points and pulled away late. McNeese finished 30-4 last season, losing only three games in the regular season (two of which were in non-conference play). With games against Alabama and Santa Clara coming up next month, the Cowboys will have a chance to add to their resume before conference play begins. — Cameron Salerno
