And so college basketball was back Monday, with not only the usual heavyweights, but also helpful upstart intrigue from Bethune-Cookman to Hawai'i Pacific. A lot can happen when they tip off 169 games on one opening day.
Twenty ranked teams would play and 19 would win — everyone except the defending national champions. No. 3 Florida had beaten 11 consecutive ranked opponents on its way to the trophy podium last April, but not anymore. The Gators were taken down by No. 13 Arizona 93-87, partly because they missed 10 of their 30 free throws and 20 of their 27 shots from 3-pointville, gave up 50 points in the paint and were out-rebounded, even with the entire front line returning from the title bunch. But most of all, there was this 18-year-old Arizona freshman who had sometimes been lost in the hubbub about all the other glittering newcomers in the sport.
True, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson would have his 21 points in 22 minutes Monday to help the Jayhawks plaster Green Bay 94-51, allowing their fewest points in an opener in 33 years. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa would have his 21 points to lead the Cougars past Villanova, even if he did go 2 for 7 from the free throw line. Caleb Wilson would get 22 in his first North Carolina game — 10 points more than Michael Jordan did — as the Tar Heels were all over Central Arkansas 94-54, their largest opening margin in 50 years. But the fairest freshman of them all would be Arizona’s Koa Peat, slapping 30 points on Florida, the most for a Wildcat freshmen in a first game since 1972. Also seven rebounds and five assists, to personally take charge of getting the national champions started at 0-1.
🎥 DEBUT: Koa Peat drops 30 points on the defending national champs
“It was a coming out party for him, so to speak,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. Say hello to this youngest of seven kids, the other six also college athletes, and father Todd Sr. a former NFL lineman.
So yeah, that was one message for the day — Koa Peat can play, and so can his team. The Gators left Las Vegas unhappy about what a freshman had done to their veteran front line, guys with championship rings. "We can't let someone like that come out and score 30 points against us. That's unacceptable,” said Florida’s Thomas Haugh, who had 27 himself. “Won't happen moving forward."
Forty-one teams would break 100 points in one day. That included IU Indianapolis, who scored 102 and lost, seeing as Ohio State scored 118. It was one of those defense-optional evenings. The two teams combined to take 130 shots and only one was blocked. IU Indy led for only 25 seconds in a game in which it shot 50 percent and went for 102 points. The Buckeyes were 26 for 32 in 2-pointers. “Obviously,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said afterward, “this was a unique opener.”
The Steven Pearl Era at Auburn would get off to a, well, a sigh of relief. In a battle of 31 lead changes and 13 ties, the No. 20 Tigers finally escaped Bethune-Cookman 95-90 in overtime. Good thing Auburn had a 27-8 gap at the free throw line and made 20 of 22 after halftime. The largest lead either team had all night was six points. Hard to anticipate such a fight when Auburn entered the game 39-0 all-time against the SWAC and Bethune-Cookman was 0-28 vs. ranked opponents. Now it’s 40-0 and 0-29. Barely. “I’m thrilled we found a way to get the win,” said Pearl, “but my mind is immediately going to all the film I’m going to be watching tonight and trying to find ways to get better.”
OPENING DAY: Recap Monday's biggest moments and highlights
There would be other troublemakers. Division II Hawai'i Pacific would put a 79-78 stunner on Boise State, an NCAA tournament hopeful picked third in the Mountain West. New Orleans, 4-27 last season, would be all over TCU, leading by 21 points and winning 78-74. The Horned Frogs clanged their way into a corner, going 3 for 27 in 3-point attempts.
Loyola Chicago, playing its first game in ages without a certain famous nun in its corner, would beat Cleveland State on a 3-pointer at the buzzer, a shot taken by Deywilk Tavarez but no doubt guided by Sister Jean. Tavarez scored seven points in the final 18 seconds.
Tom Izzo would get annoyed in East Lansing. No. 22 Michigan State was one of the few other ranked teams to struggle, tied with Colgate in the second half before settling in to win 80-69. “Well, it's a win. That's about the only good thing I'll say about it,” Izzo said afterward. He had no good things to utter about his team’s ability to guard.
The ACC would need to put in extra work, Georgia Tech escaping UMES 56-52 in overtime, and Boston College falling in OT at Florida Atlantic, the Owls’ first home win over a power league opponent in 23 years.
Most of the big fish would do what they do: St. John’s wiping out Quinnipiac 108-74 to go 62-3 in Carnesecca Arena season openers since the place opened in 1961. Kansas cruising to its 53rd consecutive home opener in a row. Arkansas sailing to its 52nd in a row, 109-77 over Southern. North Carolina moving to 104-12 in openers. Tennessee whipping Mercer 76-61 to go 101-17 against the Southern Conference, including 27-1 by coach Rick Barnes. Connecticut pushing a home court nonconference winning streak to 34 with a 79-55 win over New Haven, who picked a tough place to begin life in Division I. Houston tossing the usual defensive blanket on an opponent, holding Lehigh to 37.7 percent shooting as Kelvin Sampson won his 800th game 75-57.
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No muss, no fuss for most of the big guys. Some of the not-so-big guys, too, since opening day in many places means inviting in willing victims from the lower divisions and getting the season started with a nice, fat winning margin. Kennesaw State would welcome Division II Paine, jump ahead 37-2, lead 60-10 at halftime and finish 105-30. Paine’s top scorer had five points. Loyola Marymount would host DII Lincoln, go for 137 points and win by 83. Forty miles down the freeway, Cal State Fullerton would have in Caltech and roll 136-82, getting 86 points off the bench.
But while opening day was heavy with stress-free routs, there was tension elsewhere. Take the Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt, who chose the first day of the season as a fine time to start their annual challenge against one another. No easing into that.
The MAC, playing all the games at home (the Sun Belt gets its home court turn later in the season), carried the day 9-4, but it was not easy labor for either side. Buffalo had to come from 15 points down to beat Southern Miss 85-79, Miami (Ohio) from 14 behind to storm past Old Dominion 87-72. South Alabama was up on Toledo by as many as 19 points but the Rockets had a chance to win in the last second and lost by two. Troy blew a 15-point lead at Kent State in the last 12 and half minutes, saved itself in the final second to force overtime, then won 103-97. In a match of preseason league favorites, Akron rallied from 10 points behind in the second half to beat James Madison 85-71, thanks largely to a 28-4 advantage in points off turnovers. Marshall survived a messy affair with Massachusetts 78-72 despite 26 turnovers.
“It’s like Christmas,” Miami (Ohio) coach Travis Steele said of opening day. “It’s like a blind date, though. You don’t know what to expect.”
Some places you did Monday, some you didn’t. They played all day — starting at 8 a.m. with Winthrop over Queens in South Carolina — and by the time the 169th game was finished in Seattle, the college basketball season had truly blasted off. Four days after Halloween. "Never played a game on November 3 that counted," Arizona's Lloyd said. This one certainly did. Five months to go.
