College basketball’s opening night wasted no time serving up the usual mix of fireworks, chaos and a few early warning signs.
Illinois looked every bit like a team ready to run teams out of the gym, Memphis walked into Ames and stunned Iowa State, and Thomas Haugh put himself squarely in the national-player conversation for Florida. Elsewhere, UCF survived a scare, High Point and Murray State made loud statements, and Miami learned it still has some frontcourt questions to answer.
Illinois, though, was the headliner.
The Illini are in the middle of a full offensive makeover, trading a slower, pick-and-roll-heavy approach for a faster transition style with far fewer set plays. One game in, the change already looks dangerous.
Illinois blasted FDU 120-45, a 75-point margin that was the largest in program history at State Farm Center, which opened in 1963. The Illini also came seven points shy of the school scoring record.
The numbers were absurd. Illinois hit a program-record 19 3-pointers, took 51 of them, and finished 26-for-31 on layups or dunks.
Thirty of its 46 field goals were assisted. Seven different players made multiple 3s.
Andrej Stojakovic led the way with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Quentin Coleman posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Ethan Brown added 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Stefan Vaaks chipped in 20 points, four assists and no turnovers.
And Illinois did all of that without CBS Sports First Team All-American David Mirkovic, who is recovering from early August foot surgery, had an appendectomy Saturday and is out indefinitely. Brad Underwood’s willingness to change is looking like a major strength, and the offensive evolution already has Illinois operating at a different speed.
Florida had its own standout performance, and Thomas Haugh made sure the Gators’ opener came with a national spotlight. Haugh buried four 3-pointers against Miami, matching the only other game in his Florida career when he reached that mark - the Elite Eight against Texas Tech in 2025. He finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal, a full stat line that showed exactly why he’s being talked about as a top NPOTY contender.
That night, though, was a rough one for Miami’s Malik Reneau. The fifth-year big man, who led the Hurricanes in scoring last season at nearly 18 points per game, never found a rhythm against Florida’s frontcourt.
He fouled out in 24 minutes and finished with five points, including 0-for-5 on 2-pointers. Reneau is now shooting just 50% on 2-pointers in his last 25 games against top-50 opponents, and Miami is going to need more from him if it wants to make a serious run.
Memphis delivered the biggest upset of the night, taking down No. 18 Iowa State 80-76 behind 26 points from Jayden Reid and 18 points plus eight rebounds from SEMO transfer Luke Almodovar.
Iowa State entered the night ranked No. 6 on KenPom.com, but the first look at this roster raised questions. The Cyclones are missing injured defensive stopper Killyan Toure, Jamarion Batemon was scoreless, and Tamin Lipsey managed just 12 points on 13 shots while looking rusty.
T.J. Otzelberger’s team has plenty to clean up after a rough opener.
UCF, meanwhile, was very much UCF. Dior Johnson poured in 41 points, because Dior Johnson does that kind of thing, and the Knights still had to sweat all the way through a 96-95 overtime win over FGCU. It was the sort of game that made the result feel a lot stranger than the box score.
High Point also made a strong early impression with a 72-57 win over Liberty. Flynn Clayman’s team showed off a defense that looks like it could be the backbone of a very good season.
South Florida transfer CJ Brown and top-150 freshman Trey Pearson hounded Liberty’s guards all night, and the Panthers’ point-of-attack pressure stood out. High Point may not be a great shooting team, but it can win with defense and transition chances.
Pearson and ex-Arizona walk-on Conrad Martinez combined for 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and just one turnover off the bench.
Murray State turned in another eye-catching performance, too, rolling past Tennessee State 94-64. The Racers have changed their defensive approach from passive to aggressive, and the first test went exactly as planned.
Tennessee State, which had several former high-major names on the roster, turned it over 26 times. Sophomore wing Roman Domon was the star, finishing with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
Murray State looks deep, talented and still capable of more growth, but the opening statement was loud enough to suggest something bigger may be building.
In Other News...
Iowa State's Bowl Push Comes Down To A Defining Final Stretch
Iowa States path to a bowl berth is now down to the kind of stretch that tends to define a season. At 4-4, the Cyclones have banked wins over Southeast Missouri State, Bowling Green, West Virginia and Oklahoma State, while the losses have come against ranked opponents, leaving them in position but not yet secure as the calendar turns toward the finish line.
The final four games will decide whether this group gets back to postseason play, with Baylor, Cincinnati, UCF and Kansas State still ahead. ESPN analytics give Iowa State varying chances in those matchups, but the math is simple enough for the Cyclones: they need two more wins to become bowl eligible, and every one of these remaining Saturdays now carries real weight. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Just Faced A Bigger Problem Than One Opening Loss
Iowa States season opened with more than a frustrating 80-76 loss to Memphis at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Cyclones were beaten in the areas that usually travel best for a T.J. Otzelberger team, with Memphis getting the edge in steals, free throws and three-point shooting, leaving Iowa State to sort through the kind of early-game issues that can linger if they are not corrected quickly.
Otzelberger pointed to the need for more defensive pride and commitment moving forward, a message that carries extra weight after a game like this. For a team that expects to defend at a high level and control the terms of play, the opener was a reminder that the bigger concern is not just the loss itself, but whether the response shows up fast enough. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States New Transfer Could Force A Tough Minutes Battle
Iowa State added a proven perimeter piece in Mya Babbitt, a 5-8 guard who arrives after three seasons at Kent State and brings a track record of stretching the floor. Her sophomore year stood out in particular, when she set a program record with 83 made three-pointers and shot 41.5% from beyond the arc, the kind of production that can change how defenses have to guard a lineup.
For the Cyclones, the appeal goes beyond the shooting. Babbitt is expected to help as both a perimeter threat and a defensive presence, which gives the staff another useful option when the game calls for spacing or extra pressure on the ball. The bigger question is how often she gets on the floor, since her role figures to shift depending on matchups and game flow, creating a deeper competition for minutes on a roster that already has plenty of moving parts. [Read more 🡒]