Category: NCAA Basketball

While Gonzaga and UCF shined and Cooper Flagg got off to a strong start, the SEC stumbled out of the starting blocks.

Nolan Hickman scored 17 points, Graham Ike had 15 points and eight rebounds, and No. 6 Gonzaga beat No. 8 Baylor 101-63 at Spokane Arena on Monday night in the teams' season-opener. Braden Huff added 14 points for the Bulldogs, who got their 19th consecutive season-opening victory. It was Gonzaga's biggest margin of victory over a top-10 opponent in school history, over a team it lost to in the 2021 National Championship game in Indianapolis and the 2022 Peacock Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Langston Reynolds' 21 points helped Northern Colorado defeat Colorado College 75-55 on Monday night in a season opener. Reynolds added seven rebounds and four steals for the Bears (1-0). Brock Wisne added 15 points while going 7 of 9 from the field while they also had nine rebounds.

Cedric Coward scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Isaiah Watts came off the bench to score 20, and Washington State beat Portland State 100-92 on Monday night, earning David Riley a victory in his debut as the Cougars' head coach. Coward made 7 of 12 shots from the floor with three 3-pointers and 6 of 7 free throws for Washington State to lead six players in double figures. Watts, one of just two returnees for a Cougars squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, hit 5 of 8 shots with four 3-pointers and all six of his foul shots.

Kobe Sanders scored 27 points as Nevada beat Sam Houston 91-75 on Monday. Sanders added six rebounds for the Wolf Pack. Nick Davidson scored 26 points while going 8 of 10 from the floor, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range, and 7 for 9 from the line and added 10 rebounds.

Kwame Evans Jr. scored 23 points and Nate Bittle added 16 points and 11 rebounds Monday night to help Oregon beat UC Riverside 91-76 in the season opener for both teams. Stanford transfer Brandon Angel had 17 points and TJ Bamba, who started at Washington State before playing last season at Villanova, scored 12 and grabbed seven rebounds for Oregon.

Damarco Minor scored 23 points and Oregon State pulled away in the second half to post an 80-57 win over Utah Tech in the season opener Monday night. The Beavers have won each of their 11 season openers under coach Wayne Tinkle, who is now one win shy of 300. Michael Rataj, from Augsburg, Germany, scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Parsa Fallah, a transfer from Southern Utah from Amon, Iran, had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in his debut.

Marko Maletic scored 13 points as Western Illinois beat San Jose State 59-55 on Monday. Maletic added five rebounds for the Leathernecks (1-0). Sean Smith added 11 points while shooting 5 for 10, including 1 for 5 from beyond the arc while they also had seven rebounds and seven assists.

Kobe Johnson is a two-way force and Tyler Bilodeau shows off his offensive skill set as new-look UCLA opens the season with an 85-50 victory over Rider.

Tyler Bilodeau scored 18 points in his UCLA debut after transferring from Oregon State, and the 22nd-ranked Bruins routed Rider 85-50 on Monday night in their season opener. Dylan Andrews added 14 points and six assists. Kobe Johnson, who transferred from crosstown-rival USC, had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Nique Clifford's 20 points helped Colorado State defeat North Dakota 82-56 on Monday night in a season opener. Clifford added 14 rebounds for the Rams. Keshawn Williams shot 6 of 9 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line to add 14 points.

Wynston Tabbs scored 24 points as Morgan State beat Frostburg State 89-76 on Monday night in a season opener. Tabbs shot 8 of 12 from the field, including 3 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 5 from the line for the Bears. Ahmarie Simpkins scored 19 points and added five rebounds.

Chibuzo Agbo had 14 points, reserve Matt Knowling scored 13 points and Southern Cal cruised to a 77-51 victory over Chattanooga in a season-opening victory for first-year coach Eric Musselman on Monday night. Agbo made 4 of 9 shots from 3-point range and 5 of 11 overall for USC. Knowling made all six of his shots and his only free throw.

Bruce Thornton scored 20 points, and the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the 19th-ranked Texas Longhorns 80-72 on Monday night. Micah Parrish added 17 points and six rebounds for the Buckeyes, who led wire-to-wire and shot 55.6% in the second half. Devin Royal had 16 points and John Mobley Jr. scored 14 off the bench, leading Ohio State to a 33-10 advantage in bench scoring.

Reserves Sebastian Rancik scored 13 points and Trevor Baskin scored 12 points and Colorado took control after halftime and beat Eastern Washington 76-56 on Monday night in a season opener for both teams. Javon Ruffin added 12 points for Colorado and Andrej Jakimovski 11. Nic McClain scored 16 points for the Eagles and Vice Zanki scored 12 shooting 4 of 8 from 3-point range.