Opening day is the most overwhelming day of college basketball all season. There were 118 Division I vs. Division I games, and another batch of Division I teams playing against non-Division I opponents. It’s impossible to have eyes on everything, especially during the 7 p.m. Eastern window. So we asked fans to tell us what they saw from their teams on the first day of action.
Here’s what some of them said:
Miami (OH) picked up one of the most impressive wins of the mid-major slate on Monday. The Redhawks took down James Madison in Harrisonburg in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge. This Miami fan wasn’t pleased with the rebounding, as Miami gave up 16 offensive rebounds, but the team still won the battle on the glass. The Luke Skaljac/Evan Ipsaro two-point guard lineups were terrific. In the 19 minutes that they shared the floor, Miami was plus-19. I’d push back on Skaljac having All-American potential, but I am a big fan of his.
Tulane’s identity under Ron Hunter has been to score, and then score some more. The Green Wave played one of the most exciting games of opening night, defeating UT Martin in double overtime. Krystian Lewis was unbelievable with 40 points. That’s the closer that is being referenced. However, from watching this game, I do feel as though UT Martin let chances to win go by the wayside. Especially with free throws late.
I talked all offseason about Kolton Mitchell, Kyler D’Augustino, and Jackson Paveletzke for Ohio being one of the best mid-major backcourts in the sport. Well, we have to add Siebe Ledegen to that group. He may be 6-foot-7, but he plays like a guard. He scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds, and had five assists in Ohio’s win over South Alabama. The Bobcats made 16 threes against USA’s zone defense.
Jonathan will have more on this, but Illinois State absolutely should’ve been able to close that game against Saint Mary’s. While pushing Saint Mary’s to overtime on the road is a good result altogether for the Redbirds, they had too many chances to win the game to feel good about a loss.
I wouldn’t feel great if I were a Saint Mary’s fan either. A win is a win, but the Gaels are used to stomping on quality mid-majors in early non-con games. That was certainly not the case Monday night. I was impressed with Thomas Ndong on both ends, and Darius Bivins made a few big plays late.
Division II transfers Zach Philipkoski (28 points) and Ben Bill (15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) starred in St. Bonaventure’s loss to Youngstown State. It certainly feels weird to look at the Bona sideline and not see Mark Schmidt. Mike MacDonald should be able to lean on his two Daemen studs that came with him, but they’ll need more than that — and a healthy Mason Blackwood — to make noise in the A-10.
On the YSU side, I think it’s an overreaction to say that the Penguins are going to win the Horizon League, but you could definitely sell me on a bounce-back season for Ethan Faulkner’s team. VMI transfer Linus Holmstrom is a sniper and Division II transfer Kelvin Amoako was a monster on the offensive boards.
The preseason buzz for Junjie Wang translated to opening night. The San Francisco transfer scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for UMass in a road win over Troy. The Minutemen are better than I gave them credit for in my MAC Preview.
I believe this will be the best East Texas A&M team since the jump to Division I. In the team’s win over Oklahoma last night, two clear stars emerged: Freshman Mohamed Diakite (15 points and 7 rebounds) along with JUCO transfer Bo Aldridge (22 points and 5 assists).
But the biggest piece is MARFO transfer Alonzo Dodd, who returned to Commerce after playing two seasons at App State. He was a super reliable PG for the Mountaineers last year, and is back with the Lions as a five-in-five transfer. I believe he was added to the roster just a few weeks ago. Already paying off.
The Lions only have to finish higher than 288 to beat a program best in KenPom (last year). The win over Oklahoma launched them to 231.
American probably isn’t going to win very many games where Greg Jones and Matt Mayock combine for 4 points. Jones averaged double digits each of the last two seasons for the Eagles, and he’ll need to do it again. I feel like I’ve been waiting for the Matt Mayock breakout season for three years now. I just can’t confidently say that it’s coming. There was a ton of pressure on Madden Collins to create the offense last night for American. He’ll need more help going forward. I think he’ll get enough of it.
This is not an especially high bar. Maine was really untalented last season, and even in a loss to Providence, I can see where this take is coming from. Killian Gribben was a starter two seasons ago, and is now back after missing last season. Freshman Hudson Franz scored 13 points in his college debut. Ohio transfer big man Ayden Evans had 11 points and 3 blocks. The Black Bears are well-coached, and I’d be surprised if they’re below the No. 348 in KenPom that they were last year.
Dayton’s 89-58 clobbering of NJIT on Monday was impressive. Freshman Aiden Derkack had a big performance, with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He’ll be one of the best freshmen in the A-10 this year. But did the Flyers look the best of anybody in the A-10? GW held Navy to .55 points per possession, which is impressive. Richmond’s transfers looked awesome — with Derin Saran, Jamie Kaiser, Amon Dorries, and especially Dom Stewart — looking like studs, albeit against UNC Asheville. Davidson went on the road and handled Washington State wire-to-wire. SLU and George Mason also took care of business.
Western Kentucky dominated Morehead State. Extremely impressive performance by the Hilltoppers, who were my preseason pick to win CUSA. I don’t know how this author defined “for real,” but if he means CUSA favorites/contenders, I’m in.
In Jake Hall’s last three competitive games, he’s attempted 11, 9, and 11 free throws. For a player who is already one of the sport’s best shooters, adding the ability to get to the line at a high level is a total game changer. He dropped 30 in New Mexico’s win over Utah Tech despite “only” making three triples. He’s going to have an unbelievable year.
Bryant played really well on Monday. Keegan Harvey showed why he’s a contender for America East Player of the Year, and Onyx Nnani had a dynamic debut performance. Remember, the Bulldogs didn’t have Eric Chatfield in this win over Siena. I’d still say Vermont until proven otherwise in the America East, but the Bulldogs, to me, seem to be the clear No. 2.
Wes Miller’s group has everything that it takes to be one of the best mid-major teams in the sport. They didn’t play their best game on opening night, especially not on defense, but when you have Keyshuan Tillery making seven threes, you can still win on the road. I’m a big fan of the 49ers this year.
Memphis is a mid-major. And the Tigers picked up a huge win on night one of the season against Iowa State without Nemanja Popovic, the team’s projected top player. SEMO transfer Luke Almodovar played an excellent game, and so did Northwestern transfer Jayden Reid. There aren’t quite as many big names on this Memphis roster as in past years, but maybe that’s just what this program needs to get things back on track in a hot-seat year for Penny Hardaway.
Denver kept it closer with Wisconsin than I expected. It only allowed 75 points, a win for a program that finished 359th in defense last year. How much of that is due to Wisconsin shooting 7-for-18 from the line and 6-for-26 from three? Probably a good portion of it, lol. What I do know, however, is that Carson Johnson is a bucket. I think he’ll lead the country in scoring this year.
