First impressions from college basketball’s opening week

Three hundred fifty-one teams from Division I have played at least one match. Guess what? All of them are awesome! Every new transfer has been great. Every new coach is elite. Everywhere, the culture is amazing. This is glorious. Enough embellishment. Let’s look at what we’ve learnt since the season began on Monday.I am legally required to inform you that at the end of my column, there are game picks.)Let’s dive in.

Darryn Peirson will face his first real test in college basketball when Kansas faces UNC early on.

Gary Parrish

No. In Tuesday’s first game, Kentucky defeated a Nicholls side that had been well-coordinated 77-51. It was not a masterpiece. The box score may look good, but the game wasn’t. Kentucky took 13 minutes to score thirteen points. Nicholls had been shooting 1 of 15 at one point and was only six points behind. The vibes weren’t great.

The charting of Kentucky’s offensive possessions in the first half was shocking. It’s easy to understand if you award gold, silver, or bronze for each possession. The final outcome doesn’t depend on whether the ball goes into or not. Process is key. The exact definitions can be slightly different for each team, but the general gist usually includes: Gold: open layups or in-rhythm, open 3-pointers. Silver: 2-point jumpers made in the paint by a good shooter or contested 3-pointers. Bronze: Your tough 2-pointers, late-clock attempts and turnovers. No medals: Turnovers. You’ll recognize these possessions. Kentucky’s offensive play in the first half, even against a Southland Conference opponent, was turbulent. A gold medal was awarded for 20 possessions. Nine possessions earned a medal of silver. Five medals were bronze and seven medals weren’t awarded. This is 21 of 41 times (51%) when Kentucky’s offense failed to generate an optimal look against Nicholls, a program which does not have NIL. Can’t happen.

This is all made worse by the timing, visibility, and $22 million roster. A win in an exhibition game over the No. 1 Purdue sent already-high expectations to the moon. The emotions have been triggered by a clunker at Georgetown and a half-time performance similar to that of Nicholls. Pope stated, “I believe we are just a bit lost on the offensive side.” We have offensive challenges as a team. We will be very good; we were just bad in the first half.”Getting healthier will be a good starting point. Jaland Lowe is expected to play Friday against Valpo, after missing a few games with a shoulder problem. Lowe’s combination of speed, agility and vision on the floor can change the look of Kentucky’s offensive game. Lowe creates the advantages that Kentucky’s offensive needs to reach their top output but it will take time. 

Kentucky hasn’t been able to shoot well from the distance against Purdue. Georgetown, or Nicholls. Lowe will be able to generate more of these gold medal-winning shots from beyond arc. Kentucky’s slow, choppy offense could take weeks to fix, particularly as Lowe becomes more integrated. Kentucky’s win-now mentality is not going to have time for that, with the rivalry game against Louisville on Tuesday. Let’s come back to this after UK’s Nov. 18 game against Michigan State. Not bad for openersNo. 5 St. John’s chose to start Dillon Mitchell, Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins together in its 108-74 season-opening win vs. Quinnipiac on Monday. The obvious problems with 3-point shooting are there, but I truly believe that ridiculous athleticism could cover some of them. Quinnipiac could not have reacted to that type of bounce. Mitchell was all over the place. Zuby had 17 points and 6 rebounds. Hopkins did not force anything, and blended in well. St. John’s had a +11 score in 15 minutes when that trio was on the floor. Please give us more! Too big, way too fast and too strong. 12 UCLA had 20 transition possessions in its shaky opening-night win over Eastern Washington. This is the third most in Mick Cronin’s tenure at UCLA (203 matches). Welcome to Donovan Dent’s show. Cronin has not placed any restrictions on the man who led college basketball in terms of transition points scored per game last season. In just 36 minutes he scored 21 points, had nine assists, and got four rebounds. Twelve of those points were transition points. Ben McCollum made Iowa look crisp against Robert Morris. Darian DeVries eliminated Indiana’s midrange jumpers, and the Hoosiers were close to 100. Darrion Williams, who had 19 points and eight assists in NC State’s 48-point win over NC Central, looked slim and healthy. Will Wade was delighted to see young guards Matt Able and Paul McNeil combine for 30 points. This is exactly what this team needs. Terrance Arceneaux only played 10 minutes, which is a bit interesting. I thought that the Houston transfer would have a larger role in the rotation. We’ll continue to monitor that. Texas A&M is all-in on Bucky Ball. The Aggies scored 98 points and 104 points, respectively, against Northwestern State, Texas Southern and Texas Southern. The Aggies are zooming around and raining down treys. Texas A&M hit double-digit 3-pointers in new coach Bucky McMillan’s first two games. It was never done during the Buzz Williams years.Things you should monitorNo. Purdue’s Daniel Jacobsen & Oscar Cluff center platoon combined for 20 points, 18 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and a steal during the Boilermakers’ Opening Day romp against Evansville. However, the tape looked shakier. Missed rabbits. Whiffing on Braden Smith’s pinpoint lobs. Evansville, a team without its star center Connor Turnbull, had 20 offensive rebounds. Not a warm feeling. A date with No. 15 Alabama looms in less than six days for the Boilermakers, who along with No. According to FanDuel, Houston and No. 2 are both favorites at +950 for the national championship. I am very concerned about Oregon’s defensive unit with Jackson Shelstad on the mend. Takai Simpkins — everyone calls him TK — saved Oregon with a game-winner in the final seconds against Hawaii on Tuesday. Elon’s transfer scored 18 points. Wei Lin, Dez Lindsay and their combined four points were a disaster. They made just 13 shots on which they had seven turnovers. Dana Altman had to trust a walk on (Drew Carter), to play the final minutes. Credit to the Ducks for scheduling a good Hawaii team and finding a way to win, but Oregon has serious work to do. No. 18 Tennessee controlled Mercer 76-61 on Monday, and five-star freshman Nate Ament went off for 18 points and nine rebounds, but the Vols’ offensive process is still working out some serious kinks. A total of 19 turnovers will not get the job accomplished, and Ament’s mid-post backdowns were a lot without any cutting off the basketball. I’m curious to see how fast Rick Barnes can integrate some extra offensive possessions in the two-man games with Ja’Kobi and Ament. It’s only been used sparingly up until now against No. 6 Duke in the exhibition and the opener against Mercer. Save it for later? It’s probably too early for this, but I’d be surprised if Tennessee is a top-30 offense this season.Loyola-Chicago needed a Sister Jean-inspired miracle to knock off Cleveland State at the buzzer and promptly fell to KenPom’s No. Mercyhurst, rated 360 by KenPom. Bernie Blunt dropped 27 for Lakers. This week, two teams were defeated by Division II programs. Western Michigan was defeated by Northwood. Boise State was beaten by Hawaii Pacific. It will be noted on the team sheet. It’s Quad 5 (!!) loss. No. 8 BYU’s defense was an absolute sieve without Keba Keita, as initially feared. Keita’s presence on the floor for 37 possessions gave BYU a defensive score of 86. It had a defensive rating of 113 when Keita was on the floor for 30 possessions.
Weekend six-pack

No. 19 Kansas at No. 25 North Carolina Friday, 7 p.m. ET | ESPN, fuboTV (try for free)Darryn Peterson versus Caleb Wilson. Grab your popcorn. Wilson’s defensive play has been excellent and overwhelming. He’s been playing like an elite pick but this is not yet the general consensus. It could change with an impressive showing on Friday. Peterson is incredible, but UNC has a defense that’s much more solid than the Louisville unit which he destroyed in exhibition play. Seth Trimble’s dreadlocks will cover Peterson. Wilson and Henri Veesaar await in the wings. Kansas will not win on the road unless Kohl Rosario and Jayden Dawson hit open threes. The pick: UNC  

No. 15 Alabama at Number 5 St. John’sSaturday, 12 p.m. ET | FS1, fuboTV (try for free)I don’t think St. John’s young guards are very good defensively yet. Labaron Holloway and Aden Holloway are going to test them. Alabama’s big men haven’t shown much on the glass. This, uh… seems to be a problem for Mitchell, Ejiofor, and Hopkins. St. John’s is the pick

No. 14 Arkansas at No. 22 Michigan State Saturday, 7 p.m. Fox (try free)Jeremy Fears Jr. will do his best to eliminate Darius Acuff when he returns to the Mitten States.| Fox, fuboTV (try for free)Jeremy Fears Jr. is an excellent defensive guard, who will do everything in his power to take out Darius Acuff in his return to the Mitten State. Meleek Thomas and DJ Wagner will have to cook Michigan State secondary guard defenders. Arkansas wins if this happens. Michigan State might be in good shape if it doesn’t because John Calipari’s teams are known to take advantage of transition opportunities. Michigan State thrives on this. Karter Knox needs to be back from his toe injury to face Coen Carr. Social media will go crazy if those two guys meet on the top square. You can’t just stroll into the Breslin and pick Michigan State.

Oklahoma is ranked No. 21 Gonzaga Saturday, 10:30 p.m. This game is going be very, very exciting.| ESPN2, fuboTV (try for free)This is going to be a very, very good game. Gonzaga could have a strong point-of attack defense this year. We’ll find out more on Saturday. Adam Miller and Emmanuel Innocenti can stop Nijel Brown and Xzayvier Pack. Oklahoma’s starters could be great, but I believe the Zags this year have a very deep roster. That’s what I think makes the difference. The pick is Gonzaga

Indiana vs. Marquette Sunday, 1 p.m. ESPN, fuboTV (try for free)These two teams have real-deal strengths.| ESPN, fuboTV (try for free)These two teams have real-deal strengths. Marquette has the fastest players and more raw athleticism thanks to Chase Ross. Indiana built an older roster with sweet shooting. Marquette is concerned about a frontcourt which has some slack in its pants. Indiana has exactly the same problem. I think that will be a draw. Indiana’s team reminds me a bit of Xavier, whom Marquette faced three times last year. These results were 72-70 Marquette; 59-57 Xavier; and 89-87 Marquette. This is going to be a razor thin game. I honestly have no clue who will win. The IU double-point guard lineup of Tayton Conerway, Conor Enright and Conor Enright seems to be the key against Marquette’s hyena pressure defense. The pick: Indiana
Washington at Baylor Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ESPNBaylor now has 15 players on its roster. Washington has 13 players. Extreme makeover, roster edition! Both teams are still figuring their teams out and what makes them tick. Baylor’s roster is expected to be more defensively sound this year due to the addition of size and defensive versatility. However, if they can’t guard their paint, then they are going up against Hannes Steinbach and the UW frontline. Baylor’s defense in the interior is still somewhat of a concern, especially with center Juslin B. Bodo Bodo on the mend. UW has the discipline to put the ball in the paint whenever they want. JJ Mandaquit, a freshman point guard, has a serious feel you can’t really teach. He also won’t make dumb shots. Washington is able to defend lead guards. However, I’m concerned about their ability to handle big wings, such as Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou. 

The more I consider it, I find myself more and more convincing that Washington could pull off an improbable roadkill dub. Washington

2025-11-07 22:43:33