With the Champions Classic a week aboriginal than accustomed this year, the 2022-23 men's assemblage hoops play began Monday without the header matchups of past campaigns. According to ESPN Stats & Information, however, it was the archetypal clip each azygous AP apical 25 squad was successful enactment connected the aforesaid day. As a result, determination was the unsocial accidental to get an aboriginal consciousness for astir each azygous applicable squad successful the athletics connected time 1 of the season.
Which newcomers are going to marque a bigger interaction than expected? Which returnees are acceptable to instrumentality a large jump? Which top-25 squad looks similar it could spell done immoderate increasing pains?
ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf and John Gasaway received aboriginal indications connected each of those questions -- and more.
Who didn't play earns the biggest headlines
We'll person to hold for the assemblage debuts of astatine slightest 5 imaginable NBA draught lottery picks: freshmen Arkansas' Nick Smith Jr., Duke's Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead, Villanova's Cam Whitmore and UCLA's Adem Bona. Four of the 5 missed Monday's games owed to injury, portion Bona was held retired owed to an NCAA issue. (What's more, 3 of the supra teams are successful the midst of a transition, with Duke and Arkansas bringing successful a ton of newcomers and the Blue Devils and Villanova some replacing legendary coaches.)
That quintet of players was joined connected the wounded database by reigning statement nationalist subordinate of the twelvemonth Oscar Tshiebwe (right leg) and his Kentucky teammate, All-SEC constituent defender Sahvir Wheeler (right leg). The Wildcats inactive cruised past Howard, of course. But it mightiness beryllium a fewer weeks earlier we spot immoderate of the sport's biggest programs astatine afloat strength. -- Borzello
2:25
Baylor has nary issues successful its play opener, scoring implicit 100 successful a immense triumph implicit Mississippi Valley State.
Baylor sets the gait for offense
Sure, it was against Mississippi Valley State, but it's inactive clip to overreact. In a 117-53 victory, Baylor recorded what is apt to beryllium its astir businesslike crippled of discourtesy successful 2022-23. This was really a 16-10 contention (in favour of the Bears) 10 minutes into the game. Then Scott Drew's radical woke up and went into halftime up 61-21. Adam Flagler paced the Bears with 21 points and 4 3s successful 25 minutes. (Good happening I picked him for Big 12 POY. He has this successful the bag!) When the last horn sounded, Baylor had rung up 1.48 points per possession. That qualifies officially arsenic an Extreme Scoring Event (1.45-plus.) Well done, Bears! -- Gasaway
3:02
Following a 95-63 season-opening triumph vs. the Bison, John Calipari praises the Wildcats for playing hard defence and relentlessly grabbing rebounds.
Kentucky tin really sprout this season
This could alteration everything for a programme coming disconnected back-to-back shocking results, with a 9-16 2020-21 run followed by a nonaccomplishment to Saint Peter's Peacocks successful the archetypal circular of past season's NCAA tourney arsenic a 2-seed.
Kentucky has changeable beneath 35% from 3 for 3 consecutive seasons. But successful Monday's lopsided 95-63 triumph against Howard, Illinois State transportation Antonio Reeves (6-for-12) and CJ Fredrick (2-for-5), who sat retired past play owed to injury, helped the Wildcats decorativeness with a 46% clip from the 3-point line. Jacob Toppin continues to improve, portion five-star recruits Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace look acceptable to lend early. If Kentucky gets steadfast (it was without Tshiebwe, Wheeler and Daimion Collins connected Monday) and stays blistery from beyond the arc, the Wildcats could germinate into America's astir challenging matchup.
"It's hard to play america zone," Kentucky manager John Calipari said aft Monday's win. "When you person an Oscar, he's going to spell and drawback these balls we're not getting." -- Medcalf
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) November 7, 2022Stanford should see having transfers much often than erstwhile each 11 years
In his archetypal crippled successful a Stanford uniform, Davidson transportation Michael Jones went disconnected for 31 points successful the Cardinal's 88-78 triumph against Pacific. Jones represents a existent rarity successful Palo Alto, California. He is the archetypal transportation to instrumentality the level for the Stanford men's hoops squad since one-time Santa Clara subordinate Andrew Zimmermann did truthful backmost successful 2011-12. If his debut is immoderate indication, Jones could springiness Jerod Haase's programme a boost arsenic it seeks its archetypal NCAA tourney bid since 2014. The 6-foot-5 elder was the representation of versatility against the Tigers, notching 12 points wrong the arc, 9 extracurricular of it and 10 astatine the line. -- Gasaway
1:00
Jett Howard scores 22 points, draining 5 3-pointers arsenic Michigan rolls successful opener 75-56.
Jett Howard makes Michigan unsafe offensively
When Howard scored 30 points successful the Wolverines' accumulation triumph implicit Ferris State past week, I took it with a atom of salt. This was an accumulation game, aft all. But helium showed that show was nary fluke connected Monday. The lad of Michigan manager Juwan Howard recorded 21 points, 5 3s and 5 assists, and helium was 1 of lone 2 Wolverines successful treble figures. If Michigan is going to beryllium a origin successful the Big Ten rubric race, it needs to find perimeter accumulation (read: shooting) to make abstraction for Hunter Dickinson to run inside. This is simply a squad that ranked 11th successful the Big Ten successful 3-point shooting past season. But Howard looked similar 1 of the nation's champion freshmen connected Monday. If helium tin execute consistently, the Wolverines volition beryllium a batch much unsafe offensively than I expected. -- Borzello
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