The college basketball season began Monday with four of the five top-ranked teams in the sport kicking off their season as heavy favorites and each of the four handling business decisively. No. 1 Kansas beat Howard by 30 points. No. 2 Alabama beat 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 weren’t any major upsets, there were a few surprises (like Louisville looking competent again!) and plenty of highlights (like every time Cooper Flagg jumped in the air) to browse.
There were also newcomers – notably freshmen – to the landscape who seized the opportunity to make their mark on the young season and did so with insistence.
Below is our look at everything that happened on Monday’s Opening Day with a look at how the AP Top 25 teams fared on Monday, followed by our winners and losers of the night .
| Team (Record) | Monday’s result | To be continued |
|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Kansas (1-0) | beat Howard 87-57 | against No. 9 North Carolina on Friday. |
| No. 2 Alabama (1-0) | beat UNC-Asheville 110-54 | against Arkansas St. on Friday. |
| No. 3 UConn (0-0) | I didn’t play | against Sacré-Cœur, Wednesday. |
| No. 4 Houston (1-0) | beat Jackson St. 97-40 | against No. 11 Auburn on Saturday. |
| No. 5 Iowa Street (1-0) | beat MVSU 83-44 | against UMKC, Monday. |
| No. 6 Gonzaga (0-0) | against No. 8 Baylor | against Arizona St. on Sunday. |
| Duke n°7 (1-0) | beat Maine 96-62 | against the army on Friday. |
| No. 8 Baylor (0-0) | at No. 6 Gonzaga | against No. 16 Arkansas on Saturday. |
| No. 9 North Carolina (1-0) | beat Elon 90-76 | at No. 1 Kansas on Friday. |
| No. 10 Arizona (1-0) | beat Canisius 93-64 | against Old Dominion on Saturday. |
| No. 11 Auburn (0-0) | I didn’t play | against Vermont on Wednesday. |
| No. 12 Tennessee (1-0) | beat Gardner-Webb 80-64 | in Louisville, Saturday. |
| No. 13 Texas A&M (0-1) | lost to UCF 64-61 | vs. Texas A&M Commerce on Friday. |
| No. 14 Purdue (1-0) | beat Texas A&M-CC 90-73 | vs. N. Kentucky, Friday. |
| No. 15 Creighton (0-0) | I didn’t play | against Texas Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday. |
| Well 16Arkansas (0-0) | I didn’t play | against Lipscomb on Wednesday. |
| No. 17 Indiana (0-0) | I didn’t play | against SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday. |
| No. 18 Marquette (1-0) | beat Stony Brook 102-62 | against George Mason on Friday. |
| No. 19 Texas (0-1) | lost to Ohio State 80-72 | against Houston Christian on Friday. |
| No. 20 Cincinnati (1-0) | beat Ark.-Pine Bluff 109-54 | against Morehead St., Friday. |
| No. 21 Florida (1-0) | beat South Florida 98-83 | against Jacksonville on Thursday. |
| No. 22 UCLA (0-0) | beat Rider 85-50 | against New Mexico on Friday. |
| No. 23 Kentucky (1-0) | beat Wright St. 103-62 | against Bucknell on Saturday. |
| No. 24 Mississippi (1-0) | beat LIU 90-60 | against Grambling St., Friday. |
| No. 25 Rutgers (0-0) | I didn’t play | against Wagner on Wednesday. |
Loser: SEC is the only major conference with multiple losses
Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Kentucky took care of business as ranked teams beating unranked teams, but it wasn’t a good night for the SEC.
The SEC has seen four teams suffer losses, the only major conference team to suffer more than one loss. The other major conference team to lose was No. 8 Baylor, which fell to No. 10-ranked Gonzaga. All four SEC losses were to unranked teams.
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 leading by 19 points, and Missouri lost 83-75 to the walking soap. opera that is the Memphis Tigers, part of what was overall a pretty brutal performance for the SEC to start the season. -Kyle Boone
Winner: Cooper Flagg flies high from his 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 victory over his hometown school in Maine. Flagg had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists and was easily the best highlight of Duke’s day. – Ko
Winner: Kon Knueppel shines as co-star
No. 7 Duke cruised its way to a dominant 96-62 victory over Maine to open the season thanks to a complete performance from No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, who had 18 points and had seven rebounds and five assists decisive goals, a team record. But his compatriot Kon Knueppel dominated Flagg on their respective debuts, paying off the pre-season buzz that emanated from Durham and reached deafening levels in recent weeks. Knueppel scored a game-high 22 points and looked like a more than capable co-star who can impact the game on both ends. – Ko
Winner: No problem for new Bluegrass State coaches
Considering Kentucky’s 2023-24 season ended at the hands of a Horizon League opponent in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it was uncomfortable to see another Horizon foe at the top of the 2024 schedule- 25. But in Mark Pope’s first game as coach, the Wildcats did what they couldn’t do in a loss to No. 14 seed Oakland in the Big Dance. They jumped on the visiting Raiders early 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 turned the page to a new era with a cathartic drubbing of an overmatched foe as the Cardinals gave coach Pat Kelsey his first victory with a 93-45 loss to Morehead State. The Cardinals took a 29-2 lead in turnovers to earn a drama-free victory. The Cardinals had to sweat for a 94-93 win over UMBC in last year’s season opener before suffering non-conference losses to Chattanooga, DePaul and Arkansas State. Kelsey’s early club returns are much better. But their mettle will be tested Saturday when No. 12 Tennessee visits. —David Cobb
Loser: Missouri misses an opportunity
Missouri appeared on track to erase the taste of a disastrous 2023-24 season on opening night by opening a 42-32 halftime lead in Memphis. But Mizzou’s 54.5 percent shooting rating in the first half proved unsustainable as Memphis stormed back for an 83-75 victory in one of the best matchups of opening night. PJ Haggerty led Memphis with 22 of his 25 points after halftime as Missouri’s defense wilted. — CC
Queen, Maryland’s freshman center, had 22 points and 20 rebounds in his debut 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 No. 12 overall in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports , Queen signed up with high expectations. If first impressions are any indication, Queen might actually surpass them. — CC
Year two 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 just three regular season games (two in non-conference games). With games against Alabama and Santa Clara next month, the Cowboys will have an opportunity to beef up their resume before conference play begins. — Cameron Salerno