What we learned from opening day of men's college basketball: Gonzaga cruises, freshmen impress

What was supposed to be the main game on the first day of the 2024-25 men's college basketball season was a mismatch from the first tip. No. 6 Gonzaga appeared to be in midseason form when it beat No. 8 Baylor 101-63 on Monday night in Spokane.

Baylor opened the game by switching ball screens and doubling the post, and Gonzaga took advantage of both approaches to sprint to a 49-30 halftime lead. As Baylor tried to adjust, Gonzaga still got what it wanted and simply had too much size and experience for the Bears.

On a day that was impressive for some of the country's other top rookies, it was a difficult start for expected lottery pick VJ Edgecombe, who struggled to shoot the ball and instead drove into longer defenders to take difficult shots at the To force the edge in search of open teammates. Edgecombe finished the game with four points on 2 of 11 shooting and also had three turnovers. But Edgecombe was not alone. Baylor looked like a team whose guys were trying to win on their own, while Gonzaga played together and took great shots, finishing with 25 assists on 40 field goals and five players scoring in double figures – an unsurprisingly hot start for a team that gave up six of them seven top scorers from last season. Mark Few also added some firepower from the portal, and new starter Khalif Battle fit in well, knocking down four 3s.

The Bears have talent, but their lack of internal size — they only have two bigs in their rotation, and both are starting — could be an issue this year. It's still early, but Baylor seemed nowhere near ready to face a top-10 team, and things won't get any easier with a game against No. 16 Arkansas on Saturday in Dallas.

Here's what else you need to know from opening day.

This freshman class is pretty good, and it's not just about Cooper Flagg

Duke's highly touted freshman showed a few glimpses of why he's considered one of the best prospects of the last decade, but if opening night was any indication, this could be a challenging course. Flagg's classmate Kon Knueppel was the Blue Devils' star in the opener, leading Duke with 22 points in a 96-62 win over Maine. Flagg filled the statistics with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Other freshmen who impressed:

• Alabama coach Nate Oats told me this fall that point guard Labaron Philon, a former Kansas player who transferred to Alabama in April, was better than he thought. Philon started the opener against Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell and justified the point with a near double-double, posting 10 points and nine assists with three steals and two blocks on defense. Alabama was my No. 1 pick in the preseason and played a key role in a 110-54 win over UNC Asheville, a team that won 22 games last season.
• Five-star center Flory Bidunga came off the bench to score 13 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 17 minutes in top-ranked Kansas' 87-57 win over Howard. Bill Self's plan is to let veteran stars Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams play fewer minutes this season, and it looks like he has the depth to make that happen. Self went deep 10 times in the first half, and he's still without Mississippi State transfer Shakeel Moore. Self told me he was the best defender on his team. Bidunga will benefit from having an excellent lob thrower in Harris. Bidunga can pivot his hips quickly and run to the rim, and then you can put him almost anywhere near the basket and he will go get it.

Head tip 😤#Payheed X @FBidunga pic.twitter.com/E0QOBb80hs

— Kansas Men's Basketball (@KUHoops) November 5, 2024

• Texas star freshman Tre Johnson scored 29 points and four assists in the Longhorns' 80-72 loss to Ohio State in Las Vegas. Texas had a handful of experienced scorers this offseason, but Johnson could end up being the right player. Transfer guard Tramon Mark (formerly of Houston and Arkansas) is out with an injury, and with so many moves elsewhere, it's too early to make a judgment on Rodney Terry's team.
• Will Riley, who transferred to Illinois this year, came off the bench to score 31 points in a 112-67 win over Eastern Illinois. Lithuanian guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who drew a lot of attention from NBA scouts who watched the Illini before the season, also had a solid game, finishing the game with 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
• Another rookie I've heard is better than expected is Michigan's LJ Cason, who originally transferred to Florida Atlantic and followed coach Dusty May to Michigan. He had 14 points and three assists off the bench in Michigan's 101-53 win over Cleveland State.

Another slow start from Texas A&M

Texas A&M has had to step it up during SEC play the last two seasons to secure an overall bid after struggling with its non-conference schedule, and it could be the same this year. UCF defeated the No. 13 Aggies 64-61, setting off an on-court storm in Orlando. The Aggies were without transfer guard Zhuric Phelps, who is expected to start, but UCF was also missing key pieces: leading returning scorer Jaylin Sellers was sidelined with an injury and Memphis transfer Mikey Williams was wearing a walking boot.

The key to the Aggies' recovery last season was the scoring from guard Manny Obaseki, who started the final eight games of the season and contributed to a five-game winning streak. Obaseki came off the bench and had just two points in the loss to UCF. The Aggies were the best offensive rebounding team in the country last year and kept that trend going with 16 offensive boards, but they just couldn't get enough from their guards. We give credit to Buzz Williams for agreeing to open the season with a true away game, but this is one you'd expect a ranked team with one of the oldest rosters in the country to win.

UCF storms the court after defeating No. 13 Texas A&M‼️ pic.twitter.com/7zfvr5fJrb

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 5, 2024

The Great East…meh

The Big East only put three teams in the NCAA Tournament last season, and it wasn't a good opening night in terms of the prospects of improving that number. All eight active conference members won, but Seton Hall, Butler, Providence, Villanova and DePaul all trailed mid- or low-strength opponents in the second half. DePaul needed overtime to beat Southern Indiana; Seton Hall won by four over Saint Peter's; Providence just defeated Central Connecticut 59-55.

Marquette took care of business, following a trend where teams' roster continuity looked better on Opening Day. The Golden Eagles defeated Stony Brook 102-62, and Kam Jones had one of the most impressive performances of the day, scoring 32 points on 14 of 16 shooting. Jones put up big numbers last year when Tyler Kolek was out, and he could have an All-America season with Kolek now with the New York Knicks.

The portal also accepts high majors

It's a frustrating time in college for middle majors because when they develop a star, he usually transfers to a higher major in order to get a higher salary. Well, sometimes it happens with high majors too.

This spring, South Carolina lost leading scorer Meechie Johnson when he returned to his original school, Ohio State, although the Gamecocks made the NCAA Tournament and retained up-and-coming head coach Lamont Paris. The Gamecocks were one of the big surprises last year, but they got off to a rough start without Johnson. They were the only high majors defeated by a mid-major on opening day, losing 74-71 to North Florida.

Johnson was part of the Buckeyes' big win on Monday, playing 30 minutes in the upset of No. 19 Texas.

Best game of the day

The best game I saw on Monday was Santa Clara's 85-78 win over Saint Louis at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota. The Broncos have big, talented wings, an experienced low-post scorer in German 7-footer Christoph Tilly and real depth. Adama-Alpha Bal, who began his career in Arizona, led the Broncos with 24 points and looked like a pro. The Broncos have a solid non-conference schedule, with upcoming games against high-majors Arizona State (on Friday), Stanford and TCU. Typically, Saint Mary's is the second-best team in the WCC behind Gonzaga, but don't be surprised if this year Santa Clara is that team and is competing for an at-large bid.

The Billikens should also be relevant as Josh Schertz's offense with Robbie Avila as the focal point continues to be must-see television. Avila twisted his right ankle with 4:36 to play and returned to the bench with his leg wrapped in ice. Hopefully he won't be out for much longer. Both he and fellow Indiana State University transfer Isaiah Swope, who scored 24 points in his SLU debut, are expected to be two of the best players in the Atlantic 10. This win should go down well for Santa Clara, assuming Avila's ankle injury isn't serious, and it shouldn't be a terrible loss for the Billikens. Be sure to watch both. They are DVR worthy.

(Photo: William Mancebo / Getty Images)