College basketball season began Monday with four of the top five ranked teams in the sport kicking off their seasons as heavy favorites and each of the four handling business in decisive fashion. No. 1 Kansas trounced Howard by 30 points. No. 2 Alabama downed UNC-Asheville 110-54. And Big 12 heavyweights Houston and Iowa State – ranked No. 4 and No. 5 – won by 57 and 39 points, respectively.
While there were no major upsets there were some surprises (like Louisville looking competent again!) and plenty of highlights (like every time Cooper Flagg jumped in the air) to go around.
There were also newcomers – namely freshmen – across the landscape who seized the opportunity to put their stamp on the young season and did so in emphatic fashion.
Below is our spin of all that transpired Monday on opening day with a look at how the teams in the AP Top 25 fared Monday, followed by our winners and losers of the night.
| Team (Record) | Monday’s result | Up next |
|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Kansas (1-0) | beat Howard 87-57 | vs. No. 9 North Carolina, Friday. |
| No. 2 Alabama (1-0) | beat UNC-Asheville 110-54 | vs. Arkansas State, Friday. |
| No. 3 UConn (0-0) | did not play | vs. Sacred Heart, Wednesday. |
| No. 4 Houston (1-0) | beat Jackson State 97-40 | vs. No. 11 Auburn, Saturday. |
| No. 5 Iowa St. (1-0) | beat MVSU 83-44 | vs. UMKC, Monday. |
| No. 6 Gonzaga (0-0) | vs. No. 8 Baylor | vs. Arizona State, Sunday. |
| No. 7 Duke (1-0) | beat Maine 96-62 | vs. Army, Friday. |
| No. 8 Baylor (0-0) | at No. 6 Gonzaga | vs. No. 16 Arkansas, Saturday. |
| No. 9 North Carolina (1-0) | beat Elon 90-76 | at No. 1 Kansas, Friday. |
| No. 10 Arizona (1-0) | beat Canisius 93-64 | vs. Old Dominion, Saturday. |
| No. 11 Auburn (0-0) | did not play | vs. Vermont, Wednesday. |
| No. 12 Tennessee (1-0) | beat Gardner-Webb 80-64 | at Louisville, Saturday. |
| No. 13 Texas A&M (0-1) | lost to UCF 64-61 | vs. Texas A&M Commerce, Friday. |
| No. 14 Purdue (1-0) | beat Texas A&M-CC 90-73 | vs. N. Kentucky, Friday. |
| No. 15 Creighton (0-0) | did not play | vs. Texas Rio Grande Valley, Wednesday. |
| No. 16 Arkansas (0-0) | did not play | vs. Lipscomb, Wednesday. |
| No. 17 Indiana (0-0) | did not play | vs. SIU-Edwardsville, Wednesday. |
| No. 18 Marquette (1-0) | beat Stony Brook 102-62 | vs. George Mason, Friday. |
| No. 19 Texas (0-1) | lost to Ohio State 80-72 | vs. Houston Christian, Friday. |
| No. 20 Cincinnati (1-0) | beat Ark.-Pine Bluff 109-54 | vs. Morehead State, Friday. |
| No. 21 Florida (1-0) | beat South Florida 98-83 | vs. Jacksonville, Thursday. |
| No. 22 UCLA (0-0) | vs. Rider | vs. New Mexico, Friday. |
| No. 23 Kentucky (1-0) | beat Wright State 103-62 | vs. Bucknell, Saturday. |
| No. 24 Mississippi (1-0) | beat LIU 90-60 | vs. Grambling State, Friday. |
| No. 25 Rutgers (0-0) | did not play | vs. Wagner, Wednesday. |
Loser: SEC has a rough opening night
Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Kentucky took care of their business as ranked teams defeating unranked teams but it was not a good night for the SEC. No. 13 Texas A&M fell as a favorite to UCF, No. 19 Texas lost to Ohio State in Las Vegas, South Carolina lost 74-71 to North Florida despite being favored by 19 points, and Missouri fell 83-75 to the walking soap opera that is the Memphis Tigers, part of what was overall a pretty brutal showing for the SEC to tip off the season. — Kyle Boone
Winner: Cooper Flagg flies high in debut
The most anticipated freshman debut in years took place Monday night in Durham, North Carolina, as Flagg played his first game for the Blue Devils and led Duke to a 96-62 win over his hometown school of Maine. Flagg had 18 points, seven boards and five assists and put up the best highlight of Duke’s day by a wide margin. — KB
Winner: Kon Knueppel shines as co-star
No. 7 Duke strutted its way to a dominant 96-62 win over Maine to open the season led by a complete performance from No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, who turned in 18 points and had a team-high seven rebounds and five assists. But fellow freshman Kon Knueppel outscored Flagg in their respective debuts, paying off preseason buzz that emanated from Durham and reached deafening levels in recent weeks. Knueppel had a game-high 22 points and looked the part of a more than capable co-star who can impact the game on both ends. — KB
Winner: No sweat for new coaches in the Bluegrass State
Considering that Kentucky’s 2023-24 season ended at the hands of a Horizon League opponent in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, it was uncomfortable to see another Horizon foe leading off the 2024-25 docket. But in Mark Pope’s first game as coach, the Wildcats did what they couldn’t do during a loss to No. 14 seed Oakland in the Big Dance. They jumped on the visiting Raiders from the start and never relented in a 103-62 victory. Six players reached double figures for UK, led by 21 from Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh.
Louisville also flipped the page to a new era with a cathartic drubbing of an overmatched foe as the Cardinals handed coach Pat Kelsey his first victory with a 93-45 beatdown of Morehead State. The Cardinals rode a 29-2 edge in points off turnovers to a drama-free win. The Cardinals had to sweat out a 94-93 win over UMBC in last year’s season opener before suffering non conference losses against Chattanooga, DePaul and Arkansas State. The early returns from Kelsey’s club are much better. But their mettle will be tested Saturday during a visit from No. 12 Tennessee. — David Cobb
Loser: Missouri blows an opportunity
Missouri looked well on its way to flushing the taste of a disastrous 2023-24 season on opening night as it opened up a 42-32 halftime lead at Memphis. But Mizzou’s 54.5% first-half shooting mark proved unsustainable as Memphis roared back for an 83-75 win in one of opening night’s top matchups. PJ Haggerty led Memphis with 22 of his 25 points coming after halftime as Missouri’s defense wilted. — DC
Queen, Maryland’s freshman center, popped off in his debut with 22 points and 20 rebounds as the Terrapins beat Manhattan 79-49. The huge performance made Queen the first Maryland player to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in the same game since Joe Smith did it in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. Ranked the No. 12 overall player in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, Queen entered with lofty expectations. If the early impressions are any indication, Queen might actually exceed them. — DC
Year 2 of the Will Wade era got off to a slow start. McNeese fell 80-73 to South Dakota State in its season opener. The Jackrabbits pulled away down the stretch after heading to the locker room tied at 33. McNeese finished last season 30-4 and lost only three regular season games (two in nonconference play). With games against Alabama and Santa Clara next month, the Cowboys will have a chance to add to their résumé before conference play begins. — Cameron Salerno
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