Cliffnotes from Opening Night of College Basketball

College Hoops are finally back after 7 long months of waiting, so here’s what you may have missed on Opening Night.

#1 Gonzaga’s new weapon is seven-foot Freshman Chet Holmgren. He scored 14 points on four-for-six shooting, picked up 13 rebounds, dished out six assists, and swatted seven shots while only picking up a solitary foul. He runs the floor just as well as anybody at that size, but he will need to put on weight to bang in the post with the elites in the long run.

Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin, third-ranked Kansas’ star duo, will make each other better. Martin didn’t have his best night in his Jayhawk debut, but Agbaji dropped 29 points on just 17 shots at Madison Square Garden. Michigan State should be fine, they’re still a tournament-caliber team and they should settle in as the season goes on.

Jaden Ivey struggled, but seventh-ranked Purdue was able to dominate Bellarmine by 29 points. Ivey shot just four-for-eleven, and the Boilermakers scored just 0.89 Points Per Possession with him on the court, but his slack was picked up by his teammates. Trevion Williams’ role will likely expand as the season continues, he played just 15 minutes last night.

#10 Kentucky shot just 37% from inside the arc and forced just nine turnovers while permitting the ninth-ranked Blue Devils to shoot 23 free throws. They didn’t play the ideal game, but I expect Coach Cal to figure it out. Meanwhile, Duke’s Paolo Banchero is a star, seven-of-eight from inside the arc, eight-of-nine from the line, 22 points, and 7 boards with just one turnover in 31 minutes. The Freshman was Duke’s most effective offensive player, as they scored 1.40 Points Per Possession with him on the court. He is very clearly one of the best players in the country already.

Justin Moore was dynamite for #4 Villanova. He dropped 27 points on 79.9 TS% with seven assists and zero turnovers. He got the Cats out to an early start, and they never looked back, beating Mount St. Mary’s by 40.

#17 Ohio State survived a MASSIVE scare on a Zed Key buzzer-beater. Ohio State star EJ Liddell, who scored 25 points with 11 rebounds, fouled out of the game, so the Buckeyes had to turn to the rest of the team to find a shot late. A great performance by Akron, they nearly knocked off one of the best teams in college basketball, and Head Coach John Groce was very pleased with his team’s effort, “At the end of the day, I’m really proud of how our guys competed, the toughness that they showed.”

Hofstra led #15 Houston by as much as 13 points in the second half, but they cooled off as Houston heated up. The Pride were dominating, but they ran out of gas late and succumbed to the Houston trademark tough defense. Marcus Sasser and Taze Moore hit clutch shots, and the Cougars survived, winning 83–75 in overtime. Kelvin Sampson, who led Houston to their first Final Four in nearly forty years in March, said “I am thankful to win, but I am also thankful we struggled.” Speedy Claxton’s Pride travel to Duquesne for their next game on Saturday.

Life without Jay Huff and Sam Hauser for #25 Virginia got off to a very rough start. The Cavs shot 25% from deep and lost the rebound battle to Navy. The Midshipmen sunk eleven threes, which was enough to break UVA’s trademark tough defense. They scored 66 points, which was enough to beat the freezing cold Cavs. Venerated Head Coach Tony Bennett was concerned with the effort that his team provided in the first half, especially on defense, as they allowed 42 points in just the opening term. There is definitely cause for concern for the Cavs going forward.

LIGHTNING ROUND

• #11 Illinois looked just fine without multiple stars, including National Player of the Year candidate Kofi Cockburn.
• #2 UCLA shot 48.1% from deep and had five players in double figures as they destroyed Cal St. Bakersfield
• #5 Texas had six players reach double figures en route to a dominant win over Houston Baptist
• Osun Osunniyi swatted seven shots in just 21 minutes before leaving with a nagging back injury. #23 St. Bonaventure overcame a slow start to cruise to a 75–47 win over Siena
• Emoni Bates, just seventeen years old, was dominant, scoring 17 points in 30 minutes in his Memphis Tiger debut, leading them to a 24 point win.
• #24 UConn’s SWAT Team of Adama Sanogo, Isaiah Whaley, and Akok Akok combined for 8 blocks, while Sanogo scored 20 points on nine-for-eleven shooting. The Huskies dominated Central Connecticut on both ends, winning by 51.
• SEC Stars Darius Days (LSU) and JD Notae (Arkansas) each dropped 30 on their way to season-opening victories
• Trayce Jackson Davis dominated on both ends, putting up 21 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks, in a Hoosier win.
• Tyson Etienne drilled a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the logo to win the game for Wichita State.
• Loyola (Chicago) sunk 20 three-pointers in a big win
• #13 Oregon cruised past Texas Southern thanks to Will Richardson’s 20 points
• Nate Oats and the 14th ranked Crimson Tide defeated Louisiana Tech by 29
• Despite a slow start, #18 Tennessee pulled away from UT Martin to win by 28
• The first game of the Hubert Davis Era of North Carolina basketball was a 16 point home win over Loyola (MD) for the 19th ranked Tar Heels
• Qudus Wahab led #21 Maryland with 17 points in his 17 minute Terp debut as they defeated Quinnipiac by 14.
• #22 Auburn held Morehead State to just 0.78 Points Per Possession in a 23 point win

New York Recap

• Manhattan defeated Manhattanville by 57, recap available in my blog
• Fordham defeated Columbia in the Lions’ first game since the 2019–20 season. The Rams were led by 25 points from Youngstown State Transfer Darius Quissenberry, and a 13 point, 15 rebound, double double from COVID senior Chuba Ohams. Fordham visits Manhattan on Friday, while Columbia will play host to Marist on Friday.
• Rick Pitino’s Iona Gaels defeated Appalachian State by 12 thanks to a big second half. Tyson Jolly shot eight-for-13 and Dylan van Eyck added 17 points of his own. The teams combined to shoot six-of-37 from three point range in this game. On Saturday, Pitino’s Gaels face-off with Harvard in New Rochelle.
• Will Martinez came off the bench to score 18 points for the Wagner Seahawks in a 77–59 win at home against the Hartford Hawks. Wagner led by as many as 27 points in the game. The Seahawks' next game, this Saturday, will be more life-altering than a 10-day trip to Europe.
• Star Forward Julian Champagnie led St. John’s with 20 points en route to a massive home win against Mississippi Valley State. The Johnnies led by as many as 62 points, and they ended up winning 119–61. Sophomore guard Posh Alexander, last year’s Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year, showed major strides offensively, sinking four of five three-pointers and dishing out seven assists to go along with his 18 points. St. John’s faces Saint Peter’s at home on Saturday.
• San Francisco led wire-to-wire against LIU, and defeated the Sharks by a score of 98–64. Senior Forward Eral Penn scored 18 points for the Sharks. LIU’s road trip continues with Fresno State on Friday, UConn next Wednesday, and then Saint Peter’s on the 23rd, all before their first home game.
• A trip to Madison likely netted cash for St. Francis’ athletic program, but they only netted five of their 21 three-point attempts and got out-rebounded 48–31 by the Badgers. The Terriers face St. Thomas at home on Saturday.