Day 1 takeaways: Flagg, Kansas, court-storming and more

And just like that, we’re back. The 2024-25 men’s college basketball season began Monday, as some of the top teams in America, impactful transfers and new faces made their debuts. We could have called this Cooper Flagg Day, too.

The 6-foot-9 freshman phenom and five star recruit for Duke, whom LeBron James recently called the future of the NBA, has officially arrived. But those watching Flagg’s first collegiate matchup against Maine didn’t see the fireworks they had anticipated — before halftime, at least. Until 3:20 left in the first half, when Flagg took flight and rose above the rim for the first time. The real takeaway from Duke’s win, though, was that it won’t be a one-man show in Durham this season.

Elsewhere, Purdue got off to a slow start in the post-Zach Edey Era. Kentucky looked smooth under first-year head coach Mark Pope. One of college basketball’s most beloved players suffered an ankle injury. A top-15 Texas A&M squad had to fight on the road against UCF.

Just hours into the first day of the season, the drama had already started. And that’s why we love this sport. ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello and Joe Lunardi discuss the opening slate of men’s college basketball.

play

Cooper Flagg sends Duke crowd into frenzy with one-handed jam

Cooper Flagg flexes his muscles after throwing down a one-handed slam to pad Duke’s lead over Maine.

How did Cooper Flagg perform in his official college debut?

Jeff Borzello: Flagg showed the versatile, two-way ability that has made him such a highly-touted player. He finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, doing most of his playmaking in the first half then getting his own shots to fall in the second. He had 2 assists on Duke’s first three baskets and didn’t make his first shot from the field until just over six minutes left in the first half. After the break, he was able to get going downhill a little bit more, finishing at the rim or in transition or getting to the free-throw line.

Flagg didn’t make any 3-pointers, missing all four attempts, but his 3-for-6 second-half effort from the field is more indicative of the efficiency we expect from him moving forward. Another positive is the consistent effort he showed at the defensive end of the floor, a staple of the competitiveness that attracted coaches and scouts at the high school level.

How did Duke look overall with its elite freshman class?

Myron Medcalf: While Flagg dazzled with a handful of high-flying dunks, Kon Knueppel, the five-star recruit from Milwaukee, probably offered the night’s most surprising performance. He was aggressive on both ends of the floor, and he was efficient, going 8-for-14 with a game-high 22 points while connecting on 38% of his 3-point attempts. At 6-7, he’s a great counter to Flagg. He also poses problems for any team that attempts to focus its defensive efforts solely on the projected No. 1 draft pick.

Duke’s 7-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach finished with 3 blocks, his presence forcing Maine into shots it might not have otherwise taken. He was also 3-for-3 from the field. The rest of Duke’s freshman class didn’t get a ton of minutes, so it’s difficult to judge, but Knueppel and Maluach look like threats alongside Flagg.

play

UCF faithful storm court after upset win over Texas A&M on opening night

UCF fans storm the court after the Knights’ 64-61 comeback win over No. 12 Texas A&M.

What stood out from other top-25 teams’ games?

Borzello: The first game of the post-Zach Edey era at Purdue wasn’t overly impressive. The No. 14 Boilermakers led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by just three points with 6:20 left in the game before pulling away for a 17-point win. But Braden Smith didn’t miss a beat without the two-time Wooden Award winner. Smith finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 15 assists, his third career game with 15-plus assists

Medcalf: With the return of Wade Taylor IV, an all-SEC first team honoree last season, Texas A&M entered the season with conference title aspirations and dreams of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. It could still happen, but the Aggies ended their first game swarmed by a sea of fans in the first court-storm of the year after they lost to UCF in Orlando. Taylor finished 4-for-15, and the team made just 31% of its 3-point attempts and 37% of its field goal attempts. Here’s the number to watch going forward: Texas A&M shot just 40% from inside the arc. Under Buzz Williams, the Aggies have never made more than 50% of their 2-point attempts in a season. That trend could impact the Aggies this year, too.

Borzello: Kansas‘ win over Howard was noteworthy for a couple of rotation observations. Bill Self consistently spoke about South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo as the team’s most consistent player in the offseason, while Wisconsin transfer A.J. Storr was one of the top-five players in the portal this past spring. Neither started on Monday; Northern Illinois transfer David Coit, an under-the-radar pickup, did. Mayo eventually came off the bench to score 19 points and bury five 3-pointers. Self could tweak his lineup moving forward, but it was an interesting start nonetheless.

Which teams outside the top-25 surprised you?

Medcalf: In a battle of potential future Cinderellas, South Dakota State upset Will Wade’s McNeese Cowboys squad on Monday, 80-73. McNeese returned multiple key players from the previous 30-win season. South Dakota State, led by head coach Eric Henderson, won the Summit League title last season but lost Zeke Mayo, the Summit League player of the year to the transfer portal. In his place, redshirt freshman Joe Sayler (18 points) led the Jackrabbits, who had four players record at least 12 points in the win in Sioux Falls.

Borzello: We’ve seen what Rick Pitino can do when his team has a slew of big, experienced perimeter players — and that’s exactly what this year’s St. John’s team has on its roster. The Red Storm beat Fordham by 32 points on Monday night, getting 17 points from potential breakout candidate Simeon Wilcher and 16 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists from No. 1 transfer Kadary Richmond in his St. John’s debut. Perhaps more importantly for Pitino, the Johnnies turned 19 Fordham turnovers into 20 points. This is a team I might regret not having in my preseason top 25.

play

Asa Newell skies for big flush

Asa Newell skies for big flush

Which players left an impression on you?

Borzello: Cooper Flagg wasn’t the only McDonald’s All-American last year at Montverde Academy (Florida) — Maryland big man Derik Queen was another. And Queen showed Monday why he was such a crucial recruit for Kevin Willard and the Terrapins. He finished with 22 points and 20 rebounds — including 6 on the offensive end — in a win over Manhattan. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Queen is the first Maryland player to go 20-20 since Joe Smith in the 1995 NCAA tournament; the only other player in the last 25 years to reach those marks in his debut was Michael Beasley in 2007.

Not to lean too heavily into the former Montverde player trend, but Georgia freshman Asa Newell also had a fantastic debut, in the Bulldogs’ win over Tennessee Tech: 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, shooting 13-for-22 from the field. Newell put up gaudy numbers in Georgia’s preseason exhibition games, and it’s carrying over to the regular season.

Harvard coach Tommy Amaker might have another freshman star this season to follow Malik Mack — one of last season’s surprise first-year players who averaged 17. 2 points and 4.8 assists before transferring to Georgetown. Robert Hinton generated some positive buzz in the preseason after playing well against UConn in a scrimmage, and he opened his career with 27 points in a win over Marist.

What other storylines will you be watching this season?

Borzello: Robbie Avila’s injury is something to monitor. Saint Louis‘ star big man twisted his ankle late in the Billikens’ loss to Santa Clara; he needed to be helped to the locker room and didn’t return to the game. He was seen on the bench in the final minutes, with his shoe off and ice on his ankle. Avila missed much of the preseason with a sprained ankle, and this could be another injury that keeps him out a few weeks. Avila was the fulcrum of one of the best offenses in the country last season on Josh Schertz’s Indiana State squad, and he was terrific against Santa Clara prior to the injury, finishing with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. If Avila is out for an extended period, Saint Louis might not hit its stride until conference play.

play

Robbie Avila forced off with ankle injury in St. Louis debut

Check out the best of Robbie Avila’s St. Louis debut before he was forced to leave the game due to an ankle injury.

There was a surprising amount of personnel news on opening day, headlined by the redshirt of Illinois guard Ty Rodgers, who started all 38 games last season for the Fighting Illini. Rodgers averaged 6.2 points and 5.3 boards a year ago, but a slew of perimeter arrivals — freshmen Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley, transfers Kylan Boswell and Tre White — has pushed Rodgers down the pecking order. Clemson freshman Dallas Thomas, a former ESPN 100 recruit, is also redshirting, while Memphis forward Tyreek Smith, who arrived this season after a year at SMU, has decided to transfer.

Lamont Paris put forth a National Coach of the Year-caliber campaign last season, leading South Carolina to a 15-win improvement in his second season at the helm. Through one game in 2024-25, that magic has not carried over. The Gamecocks suffered a shocking 74-71 home loss to North Florida. For context, North Florida hasn’t finished above .500 since 2020, and was picked seventh in the preseason Atlantic Sun poll. Carolina was expected to take a step back, picked 11th in the SEC in the preseason. But Paris and the Gamecocks have some work to do to even get to that point.

Which new head coach impressed or disappointed most?

play

Pope talks about soaking in his first win at UK

Mark Pope talks about how special Kentucky nation is to him as the Wildcats make a statement against Wright State in Rupp Arena.

Medcalf: Mark Pope kicked off his first year at Kentucky impressively. In the first half of his team’s matchup against Wright State, the Wildcats made 58% of their shots, 44% of their 3s. Five players had at least eight points before the break. Kentucky finished with 103 points. Jaxson Robinson is a potential future pro, but the program doesn’t have a clear star yet. Which is OK, as long as UK continues to play selflessly in the former BYU coach’s offensive scheme that spreads the floor — 50% of BYU’s shots last season were 3s — and encourages players to push the pace and attack the rim. It’s a fun style.

Borzello: In a vacuum, Louisville beating Morehead State by 48 points in Pat Kelsey’s first game at the helm isn’t reason to get overly excited. But remember how bad the Cardinals have been the past two seasons. This is a program that suffered nonconference home losses to the likes of Chattanooga, Arkansas State, Appalachian State, Wright State and Bellarmine during Kenny Payne’s short tenure. On Monday, Louisville turned 21 turnovers into 29 points, and was led by South Florida transfer Kasean Pryor’s 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Tennessee comes to town on Saturday.

Which teams’ NCAA tournament chances were impacted most?

Lunardi: One of the first games of the day was a likely bubble battle between Santa Clara of the WCC and Saint Louis of the Atlantic 10. High expectations surround both Jesuit schools, with each doing everything possible to craft a schedule worthy of NCAA at-large consideration. On Monday, that meant a neutral-site meeting in Sioux Falls, with the Broncos frontrunning to an 85-78 victory. The Billikens were hampered by another injury to Robbie Avila, but were chasing the game regardless. It’s very early, but chalk up one statement win for the WCC and a lost opportunity for the A-10.

Under America’s outcast Will Wade, McNeese has generated plenty of NCAA at-large talk. Those prospects took a decent sized hit on Monday following the 80-73 loss to South Dakota State. Yes, the game was in Sioux Falls. Yes, the Jackrabbits have made the tournament two of the past three years. But South Dakota State wasn’t picked to win the Summit League this time, and this was a game the Cowboys simply had to win. McNeese will have other chances — Alabama, Santa Clara and Mississippi State remain on the schedule — but low majors can almost never take this kind of hit.