Men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball – there’s no shortage of college ball, every night.
Don’t worry, we’re here to help you figure out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from the last night in college basketball.
Lights off? No problem
Traditionally, basketball is played with the lights on. Whether you’re talking recreational, amateur or professional, domestic or international, that’s just how things go. Maybe lights aren’t necessary to make it work, though. Maybe we need basketball played in the dark. Hey, it worked fine for Trey McKenney in No. 7 Michigan’s season opener:
Not only did he get the bucket, but he snagged an And-one, too! Good thing McKenny stayed on the floor, or else there would have been no way to prove he had been knocked down.
Michigan’s record-breaking half
That’s just how the game against Oakland went for Michigan overall — McKenney’s in-the-dark points came late, after a record-breaking first half by the Wolverines: Michigan scored 69 points in the first half, besting the previous record of 66 — set in 1987 against Eastern Michigan — for the school.
Michigan would end up winning 121-78, with seven players logging double-digits in points, while McKenney had 21 overall and Morez Johnson Jr. led with 24.
A father-son moment
Last bit from Michigan’s blowout: Charlie May is the son of Wolverines’ coach Dusty May, and while he’s in his third season with Michigan he had been yet to score a point across 11 games. He got three of them in one go on Monday:
A three! Big move for the first points, but May nailed it. Dusty May spoke up on coaching his son and watching him score that bucket in the postgame, too.
Smooth move from Dent
What a play under the basket here by UCLA’s Donovan Dent. The senior made it look easy moving the ball around defenders and taking his shot here.
That was part of an overall big night from him, too, as Dent scored 21 points, picked up 4 rebounds and logged 9 assists to help power an 80-74 UCLA win over the Eastern Washington Eagles. Dent led the Bruins in both points and assists, and was tied for fourth in rebounds.
Paris, Texas
The women’s college basketball season opened up in France, with a showdown in Paris between No. 16 Baylor and No. 7 Duke. While Duke led 39-29 at the half, they couldn’t slow the Bears in the second: Baylor ended up winning 58-52 for the early-season upset.
Taliah Scott led both teams with 24 points, and she scored half of those in the fourth quarter alone. Scott didn’t do it alone, though: Jana Van Gytenbeek hit her first three in nearly a full year — since Nov. 7, 2024 — to put Baylor up 52-49…
…and the Bears’ defense limited Duke to just nine points in the fourth, as well, after starting the quarter tied at 43.
Iowa State does it again
No. 14 Iowa State opened their season with a win, which should surprise no one since that’s what they do. This was their NCAA-leading 31st-consecutive opening win, downing St. Thomas-Minnesota 85-36. Center Audi Brooks led all players with 20 points, while third-year forward Addy Brown added 11 more with 6 rebounds and assists a piece.
Dybantsa lives up to the hype
BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa is expected to be a big deal for the eighth-ranked Cougars, and he didn’t make anyone wait to see why that is. In the opening game of the season, Dybantsa scored 21 points and six rebounds to help BYU take down Villanova, 71-66.
BYU needed Dybantsa to be that good, too, as it was actually Villanova’s Bryce Lindsay who led all scorers in points, with 22, and even with their freshman’s big performance, the Cougars won by just five. Dybantsa wasn’t alone in making it happen, though: Richie Saunders scored 15 and added 7 rebounds, while center Keba Keita had 8 points and 7 boards, and sophomore guard Robert Wright had 14 points, too.
Loyola wins at the buzzer
Loyola’s Ramblers won with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer against the Cleveland State Vikings in a 91-88 thriller. That’s wonderful on its own — well, not for Cleveland State — but that it came in the wake of Sister Jean’s recent passing had to make it mean that much more for the team and its fans.
If you look quick, you’ll notice the official scorer originally made that a 6-point shot before correcting it to the usual three points. Save those points for the next game!
St. John’s fans wanted Fotis (and they got him)
St. John’s fans wanted to see Greek freshman Fotis Konstantinidis play in Monday’s season opener, and anyone listening at the game was aware of as much. Cries of “We want Fotis!” were coming from the stands, and coach Rick Pitino gave them what they wanted.
Konstantinidis ended up with just the two minutes played and the one basket — the 3-pointer from above — but No. 5 St. John’s took Quinnipiac down 108-74 all the same, with five players scoring at least 10 points for the Red Storm — senior Dillon Mitchell, who played for Cincinnati last season, led St. John’s with 18, while sophomore Jaden Zimmerman led Quinnipiac and all scorers with 19.
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