There was no marquee matchup between the top 25 teams on day one of college basketball, but plenty of major storylines and some drama followed as the new season kicked off on Monday. One of his most engaging matchups of the night came at Cameron Indoor Stadium. No. 7 Duke faced and dealt with adversity in his first match since the retirement of legendary coach Mike Krzywski.
The Blue Devils got off to a slow start with two top-ranked freshmen, but eventually beat Jacksonville 71-44 in John Shayer’s head coaching debut. With No. 2 overall Derek Lively and No. 3 overall Darik Whitehead sidelined by injury, it was freshman Mark Mitchell who trailed Duke by 18 points.
Junior point guard Jeremy Roach was the only rotation player to return from a Final Four team last season, adding 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while freshman big man Kyle Filipowski added 10 points and 12 rebounds. , recorded 2 blocks. Mitchell and Filipowski were five-star prospects in their own right, and fellow freshman Tyreese appeared to play the part while his proctor struggled in his debut.
Duke led just 25-21 with five minutes left in the first half against the Atlantic Sun’s second-choice Jacksonville team, but the Blue Devils closed the half with a 14-2 run to take control. Fellow Bluebloods No. 4 Kentucky and No. 16 Villanova also overcame the absence of key players to record double-digit wins on opening night.
The Wildcats fielded Player of the Year Oskar Zibwe, veteran point guard Savil Wheeler and sophomore rotation player Daimion Collins to defeat Howard 95-63. Villanova overtook La Salle 81-68 in manager Kyle Neptune’s debut, but was without freshman Cam Whitmore and veteran stalwart Justin Moore, who are expected to miss the first few weeks of the season. Despite that.
On opening night, things were a little more tense for several other ranked teams. The No. 14 TCU trailed Arkansas Pine Bluff by an 11 margin at halftime, his only seven wins last season, as he went 73-72 against SWAC. Although the Horned Frogs escaped disaster, their performance has been alarming against a non-major program that has gone just 15-71 over the past three seasons.
No. 9 Clayton also struggled in surprising fashion, finishing with a 16-3 run in a 72-60 win over the St. Thomas program to start their second season at Division I level. The Blue Jays hit only 8 of 34 attempts from the 3-point range, but picked up a pair of outside makes from South Dakota transfer Baylor Shireman to spark a second-half run. .
But there were more upsets than just the top 25. Stetson beat Florida State his 83-74 and the Hatters recorded his 18th straight loss to the Seminoles. FSU had not lost to Stetson at home since his 1953.
In another upset, Sam Houston’s sophomore Lamar Wilkerson filled in a 3-pointer in the fifth of the game with four seconds remaining to give the Bearcats a 52–51 victory over Oklahoma.
college basketball score, schedule
No. 5 Baylor 117, Mississippi Valley State 53 — wrap up
No. 4 Kentucky 95, Howard 63 — wrap up
No. 22 Michigan 75, PFW 66 — wrap up
No. 16 Villanova 81, La Salle 68 — wrap up
No. 7 Duke 71, Jacksonville 44 — wrap up
No. 13 Indiana 88, Morehead 53 — wrap up
No.11 Tennessee 75, Tennessee Tech 43 — wrap up
No. 15 Auburn 70, George Mason 52 — wrap up
No. 3 Houston 83, Northern Colorado 36 — wrap up
No. 10 Arkansas 76, North Dakota 58 — wrap up
Memphis 76, Vanderbilt 67 — wrap up
No.5 Kansas 89, Omaha 64 — wrap up
No. 9 Clayton 72, St. Thomas 60 — wrap up
No. 1 North Carolina 69, UNC-Wilmington 56 — wrap up
No. 2 Gonzaga 104, North Florida 63 — wrap up
No.12 Texas 72, UTEP 57 — wrap up
Check out the full opening night scoreboard
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