The new college basketball season is underway, and the initial takeaways from the preseason poll haven't been tested much yet. The first week of the season is usually a feeling out period for the nation's top teams, who often schedule low or mid-major buy games to get their squads into the flow of the year before actually working on building their resumes later in November.
Given there were few matchups featuring ranked teams in Week 1, there won't be a dramatic shakeup in the AP Top 25 entering Week 2. Let's take a look at the projected rankings before diving into some of the more impactful contests staged in Week 1.
Projected AP Top 25 Rankings After Week 1 Results
- Houston Cougars
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Duke Blue Devils
- UConn Huskies
- Michigan Wolverines
- Arizona Wildcats
- Florida Gators
- BYU Cougars
- Kentucky Wildcats
- St. John's Red Storm
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Louisville Cardinals
- UCLA Bruins
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Michigan State Spartans
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Creighton Bluejays
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Kansas Jayhawks
- NC State Wolfpack
Arizona takes down the defending champs in Vegas
The biggest game of opening night was a huge test for the defending champs, but No. 3 Florida was overwhelmed by No. 13 Arizona's standout freshman class in a 93-87 loss in Las Vegas. While Cameron Boozer and A.J. Dybantsa drew national headlines for their NBA potential, the Wildcats' Koa Peat had the most impressive freshman debut of the week, racking up 30 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the victory.
It was a rough night for Florida's new look back court as Xavian Lee and Boogie Fland combined for 23 points on 8-of-26 shooting. The fact that the Gators were competitive was encouraging, but they will need to acclimate their new guards if they hope to set themselves up for their best chance to win a second straight title.
Better late than never for Cameron Boozer
One of the more odd stat lines to emerge from the first week of action came in Charlotte when No. 6 Duke took on Texas in the inaugural Dick Vitale classic. Blue Devils' freshman Cameron Boozer, a potential top pick in next year's NBA Draft, was shut out in the first half of Duke's win over Texas.
Things turned around quickly for Boozer after the break as he finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds to showcase his potential to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Isaiah Evans led all scorers with 23 points as the Blue Devils picked up an early resume booster in Sean Miller's Longhorns' debut.
North Carolina put on a show against Kansas
There is some heat on Hubert Davis entering the year as the Tar Heels have largely underachieved since he took over for Roy Williams as head coach. Some of that heat dissipated on Friday night as No. 25 North Carolina exploded for 58 second half points to upset No. 19 Kansas in the Dean Dome.
While Jayhawks' freshman Darryn Peterson had a good night with 22 points, it was North Carolina's own freshman star Caleb Wilson who led the way with 24 points. Davis' team had a well-balanced attack, seeing four different players reach double figures as they dispatched a quality opponent at home to showcase their potential this season.
Alabama races past St. John's in The Garden
Perhaps the biggest non-conference game involving No. 5 St. John's in years saw Madison Square Garden rocking on Saturday afternoon as No. 10 Alabama came to town. The fans got treated to an absolute barn-burner that saw the Crimson Tide escape with a 103-96 victory on the strength of elite guard play, with Labaron Philon racking up 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino wasn't happy with his team's perimeter defense, which had trouble slowing Alabama's guards all night long. While St. John's does still have a potentially elite front line, they will need to get better guard play to compete with the nation's best teams when it counts.
Michigan State may be better than we thought
Expectations are a bit lower for No. 22 Michigan State entering the season after a few surprising transfer portal departures, but Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo still challenged his team with a gritty non-conference schedule. After a so-so effort in their opener on Monday, the Spartans were much tougher in a 69-66 victory over No. 14 Arkansas, a top SEC contender that retains much of the rotation from its Sweet 16 team of a year ago.
Coen Carr led returning Spartans with 15 points while freshman Cam Ward scored 18 to lead all scorers. John Calipari won't be happy with his team's effort from deep (the Razorbacks hit just 7-of-28 three-point attempts) or the charity stripe (missing eight free throws), but there is plenty of time to clean those things up for Arkansas.