There were no showdowns between the top 25 teams on college basketball’s inaugural day, but there were plenty of key storylines and some drama to follow as the new season rolled on Monday. One of the night’s most spectacular encounters came at Cameron Indoor, as the No. 7 Duke faced – and tackled – some adversity in his first game since legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski retired.
The Blue Devils started slow with the top two starters out, but eventually pulled off a 71-44 win over Jacksonville in John Scheer’s first appearance in training. With second-placed Derek Lively and potential No. 3 of the year eliminated due to injury, Mark Mitchell was a lesser-known freshman, with Duke scoring 18 points.
Junior point guard Jeremy Roach, the program’s only tournament player from last season’s Final Four squad, added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists while new senior player Kyle Filipovsky contributed 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Mitchell and Filipovsky were five-stars in their own right and looked a role as new teammate Therese Proctor struggled on his debut.
Duke led just 25-21 five minutes before halftime against a Jacksonville team that was selected to finish second at the Atlantic Sun, but the Blue Devils closed in at 14-2 to seize control and didn’t look back. Two blue-blooded teammates, 4th-seeded Kentucky and 16th-ranked Villanova, also overcame the absence of key players to score double-digit wins on opening night.
The Wildcats outperformed Howard 95-63 with National Player of the Year Oscar Chebwe, veteran point guard Saffar Wheeler and second-round player Damon Collins. Vilanova sparkled against La Salle 81-68 in coach Kyle Neptune’s debut despite the absence of new player Cam Whitmore and veteran player Justin Moore, who is expected to miss the first several weeks of the season.
Things were a bit more tense for the two other ranked teams on opening night. Number 14 in the TCU is trailing Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 11 at halftime before rallying and holding a grueling bid for a 73-72 win over a SWAC opponent who won just seven games last season. Although The Horned Frogs avoided disaster, their performance has nonetheless been alarming against a low-income major program of only 15-71 over the past three seasons.
No. 9 Creighton also struggled in surprising fashion before closing out in the 16-3 round for a 72-60 win over the St. Thomas program beginning his second season at the Division I level. The Blue Jays hit just 8 attempts out of 34 from a 3-point range, but they got a pair of clutches outside from Baylor Sherman for the South Dakota State move to spice up their late run.
However, there were disruptions outside the top twenty-five. Stetson defeated Florida State 83-74 as the Hatters picked up an 18-game losing streak to the Seminoles. FSU hasn’t lost at home to Stetson since 1953.
In another upset, sophomore Sam Houston’s Lamar Wilkerson buried his third pointer in the game with four seconds remaining to give the Bearkats a 52-51 victory over Oklahoma.
College basketball results, schedule
No. 5 Baylor 117, Mississippi Valley 53- a summary
No. 4 Kentucky 95, Howard 63 – a summary
No. 22 Michigan 75, PFW 66 – a summary
No. 16 Villanova 81, La Salle 68 – a summary
No. 7 Duke 71, Jacksonville 44- a summary
No. 13 Indiana 88, Morehead State 53 – a summary
No. 11 Tennessee 75, Tennessee Tech 43 – a summary
No. 15 Auburn 70, George Mason 52 – a summary
No. 3 Houston 83, Northern Colorado 36- a summary
No. 10 Arkansas 76 North Dakota 58- a summary
Memphis 76, Vanderbilt 67- a summary
No. 5 KS 89, Omaha 64 – a summary
No. 9 Creighton 72, St. Thomas 60 – a summary
No. 1 North Carolina 69, UNC-Wilmington 56 – a summary
No. 2 Gonzaga 104, North Florida 63 – a summary
No. 12 Texas 72, UTEP 57 – a summary
Check out the entire opening night scoreboard
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