Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Caleb Love highlight opening day of men's college basketball season
The 2021 men's college basketball season tipped off with a bang Tuesday night, with big performances across the country.
Twenty-two ranked teams took the floor, giving some of the nation's best players a chance to make good first impressions in their season openers.
Here are some of the top performers from opening night.
Chet Holmgren, C, Gonzaga
Gonzaga enters the season as the No. 1 team in the country, despite losing three starters from its national runner-up team. A big reason for that is the arrival of Holmgren, a 5-star freshman center. Holmgren announced his arrival to college basketball in a major way in a 97-63 win over Dixie State, recording 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and seven blocks. Not a bad introduction.
Emoni Bates, SF, Memphis
Holmgren wasn't the only freshman to make a splash in his debut, with Memphis' Bates also living up to his 5-star billing in an 89-65 win over Tennessee Tech. Bates showed off a sweet shooting stroke, draining four 3-pointers on his way to a 17-point debut. He also chipped in four rebounds and four assists.
Love is a sophomore, which practically makes him a veteran in college basketball these days. So it should come as no surprise that he looked poised in No. 19 North Carolina's season-opening win, scoring 22 points with two assists and two steals in 31 minutes.
Kennedy Chandler, PG, Tennessee
Another freshman, another dominant performance. Chandler looked the part of an experienced point guard and not a player in his first game, scoring 20 points while making all four of his 3-point attempts. Chandler was efficient and effective for the Volunteers, and if this is a sign of things to come, they will be able to compete for an SEC championship this season.
Justin Moore, SG, Villanova
After averaging 12.9 PPG as a sophomore last season, Moore has the look of a player ready to make a major leap. In No. 4 Villanova's 91-51 win over Mount St. Mary's, Moore exploded for 27 points and seven rebounds while shooting 6-for-8 from 3-point range. Once again, Villanova is expected to be a Final Four contender, and Moore will be the featured player on one of the nation's best teams.
Trevor Keels and Paolo Banchero, Duke
Duke made the statement of the night with a win over No. 10 Kentucky, and the stars of the night for the Blue Devils were freshmen Keels and Banchero. The tandem combined for 47 of Duke's 79 points, proving to be too much for Kentucky. Duke has become one of the premier one-and-done programs in college basketball over the past decade, and it appears it could have another batch of freshmen stars on hand in Durham.
