Category: NCAA Basketball

After beating Lipscomb, Arkansas must quickly shift attention to the Baylor Bears, who lost big to Gonzaga on Monday.

Harper, a combo guard, is considered one of the top freshmen in the country.

Before the game, the Huskies unveiled their 2023-24 national championship banner.

Max Mackinnon scored 20 points as Portland beat Lewis & Clark 83-70 on Wednesday night to begin the season. Mackinnon also contributed six rebounds and five assists for the Pilots. Austin Rapp added 15 points while shooting 6 for 9, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc while he also had nine rebounds.

It turns out the Big East’s three-time defensive player of the year can play a little offense.

Artese Stapleton scored 17 points as Eastern Illinois beat Earlham 97-61 on Wednesday night. Stapleton added eight assists for the Panthers (1-1). Kooper Jacobi added 16 points while going 5 of 12 from the floor, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and 4 for 4 from the line while he also had 11 rebounds and three steals.

O'Mar Stanley's 15 points helped Boise State defeat Oakland 87-43 on Wednesday night. Stanley also added eight rebounds for the Broncos in their season opener. Tyson Degenhart finished 6 of 13 from the field to finish with 13 points.

Stefan Todorovic scored 25 points as Pepperdine beat Western Illinois 77-64 on Wednesday night. Todorovic added five rebounds for the Waves (1-0). Moe Odum scored 18 points and added eight assists.

Aubin Gateretse scored 24 points and Utah State won its season opener 101-46 over Alcorn State on Wednesday night. Tucker Anderson scored 12 points, shooting 4 for 12, including 2 for 9 from beyond the arc for the Aggies. Ian Martinez shot 3 of 5 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the line to finish with 12 points.

Creighton snuck out a tight win thanks to a historic outing from Ryan Kalkbrenner on Wednesday night.

Big East preseason player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 49 points and 15th-ranked Creighton needed just about every one of them in a season-opening 99-86 win over UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday night. The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner's point total was the second-highest in program history behind Bob Portman's 51 against UW-Milwaukee in 1967. Steven Ashworth scored 25 points for the Bluejays.

Chase Johnston's 31 points led High Point over Coppin State 93-51 on Wednesday night. Johnston shot 11 for 13, including 9 for 11 from beyond the arc for the Panthers (1-0). Kezza Giffa scored 16 points while shooting 3 for 7 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 8 of 11 from the free-throw line and added five rebounds.

After a slow start in two preseason exhibition games, Arkansas graduate senior guard Johnell Davis blossomed in the Razorbacks' season-opening 76-60 win over Lipscomb on Wednesday night inside Bud Walton Arena. The former highly-touted Florida Atlantic transfer shot 7-of-12 from the floor (58.3%) with six rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and only two turnovers. According to HogStats, Davis is the first Razorback since Marshawn Powell in 2009 with 15+ points, 6+ rebounds, 1+ blocks and 1+ steals in a debut game.

Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa scored 22 points as Columbia beat Villanova 90-80 on Wednesday night. De La Rosa added three steals for the Lions (2-0). Avery Brown scored 18 points, going 5 of 7 and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line.

HawgBeat takes a look at how Arkansas' three highly-touted freshmen looked in the team's season-opener against Lipscomb.