Games to Watch in CBB This Week - Quick Thoughts on Monday's Games (that I watched)
- Luke Loew
- Nov 3
- 9 min read
A lot to get into today so will keep the intro short -- College Basketball is officially back this week and there's plenty of high-level games on the schedule. I'm going to preview the biggest games of the week -- the ranked vs ranked, the highly-anticipated, big program match-ups throughout Week 1 of the season. I'll also give my very brief thoughts on the games I watched Monday -- perk of working from home, having CBB on in the background when there's day games rolling. Lots of mid-major matchups -- which most people don't care about until it's March Madness and Conference Tourneys -- but many of these teams may resurface come Tourney Time.
Monday Games - Quick Hits
Biggest game of the night -- Defending Champs get upset in Vegas.
Arizona broke away in the 2nd half, but boy fucking howdy did they try to give it away.
Jaden Bradley was getting busy all night for AZ -- especially late. He will have to carry the backcourt all year, but looks capable. 27 and 5 dimes.
But he is literally their only guard -- no one can handle the rock outside him, hence the late TO's.
The AZ big boys can PLAY -- not many teams can go toe-to-toe with UF's frontcourt.
The freshman Koa Peat heard he wasn't on my Top 10 Freshman and took it personally. Monster debut -- 30 pts, 7 boards, 5 assists.
The German frosh Kharchenkov flies around the floor -- 12/10 debut.
Don't love Krivas -- but dude is massive. Can see why Henri Veesar transferred.
Thought Thomas Haugh for UF was a little overrated, but he made me eat my words. That guy is a bucket-getter, which this team really needs. 27 points.
Handlogten + Condon are a really good big combo -- I like them over Chinyelu, but they have a versatile and huge frontcourt when you add in Hough.
Florida's guards didn't impress me at all -- Lee had a fine stat line but was crazy inefficient, Boogie Fland looked okay but didn't score like I'd expect him to.
However, I fucking love the Slovenian kid off the bench Urban Klavzar
Winthrop 81 vs Queens 74
Played in a 7 am CT game at the Field of 68 "Opening Day Marathon" to kick off Hoops Szn.
Game was wire-to-wire but Queens couldn't buy a bucket late.
Daylen Berry was huge for Winthrop and scored 23 -- great off the bounce
Queens has good size but shot it poorly -- Yoav Berman made a few big ones and had 19 points.
St. Bonaventure 69 vs Bradley 63
The Bonnies came up clutch to win a tight one with the MVC's finest.
2 dynamic 5'11 guards in this game:
Jaquan Johnson for Bradley is electric, got to the rim at will and finished very well
Darryl Simmons II for SBU shot the hell out of the ball (5 three's).
SBU pounded Bradley on the boards 44-29 -- Bradley's shoots it better, but got bullied a bit.
SBU's Joe Grahovac (11/8, 2 blocks) -- 6'10 with a red afro and thick beard, can shoot, rebound, jump -- quickly becoming a Bean's favorite.
Omaha 77 vs Murray State 85
Game wasn't as close as the final score makes it seem.
Murray hounded Omaha defensively -- 15 TO's forced. They have lots of size and length.
Omaha had 5 guys in double-figures but only 6 assists as a team.
Murray will be an interesting mid-major to watch -- almost an entirely new roster.
Javon Jackson (UIC-transfer) led them in scoring with 24
2 Freshmen from France that are versatile and tall (Roman Domon especially -- 14 pts).
Layne Taylor was a 17+ppg scorer at C-ARK -- twitchy & flashy. 12/6/6 today.
Transfer big-men -- a 7-footer Dylan Anderson and JJ Traynor from high-majors.
Mason Miller from Creighton -- a 6'9 shooter.
Northern Arizona 71 vs Drake 77
Pair of teams with low expectations this year, but a shockingly good game.
6'9 Montana Transfer Zack Davidson can HOOP for NAU -- 29 points and 9 boards.
Ryan Abelman shot the shit out of it for NAU as well -- 5 three's, 18 points.
Willguens Exacte is a Canadian built like a Mack Truck for Drake -- 14/12/4 for the big guy.
Contributions from all over for Drake -- well-rounded team with size, shooting, athleticism.
Central Arkansas 54 @ UNC 94
My Tar Heels kicked off the season with an ass-whooping
Caleb Wilson had an excellent debut -- 22 points on 8-10 shooting. Super excited to see what he can do this year.
Henri Veesar is such a welcome sight after a year of UNC struggling down low -- 14/10.
Kyan Evans looked great after a couple lackluster exhibitions -- 4/7 from deep
Seth Trimble did his thing, excited to see the freshmen Dixon/Denis grow
Luka Bogavac is FINALLY cleared -- love this guy and think he'll be huge for this team
Mizzou 88 @ Howard 67
Shoutout Mizzou for playing a true road game as a Power 5 to start the year.
I'm not watching this game, making spaghetti and meatballs took priority I fear.
Catching up through highlights -- does Mizzou finally have a useful 7-footer? Shawn Phillips from AZ St with a double-double
The MIZ bench shot the 3 very well -- if that bench of Crews/Northweather/Barrett crew can make shots that'll help a ton.
Jayden Stone might be a stud for the Tigers.
Robinson and Mitchell didn't even score a lot tonight and they put up 80+.
SEMO 67 @ Saint Louis U 92
Had to watch the Bills -- an A-10 favorite against SEMO who's a top dog in the OVC
Robbie Avila -- AKA Cream Abdul Jabbar -- is one of my favorite players in the country to watch. Big-bodied center that can shoot/pass/and plays at his pace. He’s 6’10 and I don’t know if he can dunk, he’s the fucking best.
Kellen Thames looked much more comfortable and a lot stronger for SLU
I like a couple of SLU's transfers -- think Otieno will be a good Ying to Avila's Yang. Want to see more from Brown/Jones/Green
McCottry needs to have a huge season for this team to reach their potential.
5 Games to Watch - Rest of the Week
Texas vs #6 Duke - 8:45 ET, Tuesday 11/4
Will get our first look at Duke and this new crop of freshmen on Tuesday night in a pseudo-home game in Charlotte. Cam Boozer is the guy to watch -- Freshman who's a POY-contender with great size and polish beyond his 18 years. Nik Khamenia and Dame Sarr are 2 more Freshmen to watch -- 6'8 wings with versatile skillsets. Returners Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba figure to take sophomore jumps -- Caleb Foster and Maliq Brown provide veteran presence.
Don't know a ton about Texas coming in -- Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope are definitely a couple guards who figure to lead them offensively. Chendall Weaver is back, Simeon Wilcher is in from St. John's, Cam Heide from Purdue may be a rotational piece.
I like Duke to win this game relatively handily -- uncertainty from Texas and a high-floor Duke team with tons of size makes me think they're a great early-season bet.
Kansas held off a UNC comeback last season when they met at Allen Fieldhouse by a score of 92-89. This year they'll head to the Dean Dome for the rematch, and both rosters have changed wildly.
Bill Self boasts one of the best Freshman in the Nation in Darryn Peterson -- who we wrote in depth about last week (on a blog linked below -- "Faces in New Places"). He figures to lead a backcourt with Melvin Council Jr (Bonnies transfer) and Jayden Dawson (Loyola). Flory Bidunga will anchor the paint -- a Freshman last year that pushed Hunter Dickinson for minutes will step into a starting role as a Sophomore. I'd expect transfer Tre White to be a key contributor as well. Not super familiar with the Freshman outside of Peterson -- I’ve heard Kohl Rosario may be a key piece at guard.
UNC has a revamped roster as well -- the lone carry-over player that played 5+ minutes a game being Seth Trimble (athletic freak guard, 12 ppg). They added size and shooting in the portal: Henri Veesar (7-foot C, Arizona xfer), Jarin Stevenson (6'10 F, Bama xfer), Kyan Evans (CSU xfer, 45% 3-pt), and Jonathan Powell (West Va xfer, 35% 3-pt). They'll count on talented Freshman Caleb Wilson on both ends -- an athletic 6'10 forward with huge potential. Luka Bogavac's activation could be the key difference -- he was deemed eligible by the university before their game Monday, and the Montenegro native is a silky smooth scorer at 6'6 that adds a shooting-dimension for the Heels.
Alabama saw their season end in the Elite 8 last season and the Final 4 the year before, while St. John's was upset in the 2nd round to Arkansas after missing the field entirely in 2024. Nate Oats and Rick Pitino both have unfinished business in March, and the road back starts now.
The Tide lost star guard Mark Sears -- but return some pieces they expect to take a leap forward this season. Labaron Philon is the buzzy name from the offseason -- a sophomore guard with a great handle and shooting ability. Aden Holloway is in his 2nd season at Bama after transferring from Auburn, and he and Latrell Wrightsell are 2 more backcourt pieces that averaged 10+ ppg, but might have injuries coming in? In the frontcourt, Aiden Sherrell should see more minutes, and a couple of transfers should be key figures: Noah Williamson (Pepperdine), and Taylor Bol Bowen (FSU) — as well as whatever freshmen Oats brought in that I don’t know about yet.
Rick Pitino's squad looks very different in 2025-2026, but the cornerstone of his roster is back in Zuby Ejiofor. The 6'9 Center was a FORCE last season (15 ppg, 8 rpg), and they added frontcourt depth with Providence transfer and former Big-East-1st-teamer Bryce Hopkins and Cincy transfer Dillon Mitchell. Ian Jackson comes over from UNC after a solid Freshman season, and the New York native will feel right at home playing in MSG. Dylan Darling (20 ppg at Idaho St.) and Oziyah Sellers from Stanford (14 ppg), and Joson Sanon from ASU will make up the backcourt, as well as some Freshman newcomers I'm sure.
I'm not an Alabama fan whatsoever, but do think there will be a learning curve with this Johnnies team without a true PG. I like the Tide to win in MSG and make a statement to start the year.
Coach Cal vs Coach Izzo in the 1st week of College Basketball Season -- how lucky are we? Arkansas in Cal's 1st season broke through to a Sweet 16 -- and they have the roster to make even more noise this year. While Izzo's Michigan State teams are a threat every single year.
Arkansas is coming in with a good mix of returners and newcomers with star power -- one of which is Freshman Darius Acuff, who has the potential to be the patented Coach Cal-star point guard that so many of his great teams were built on. Meleek Thomas is another Frosh to watch out for -- similar skillset to the Monk/Fox backcourt we saw Cal deploy at UK. Karter Knox and Billy Richmond are wings that will undoubtedly build on solid freshman seasons, Trevon Brazille and Nick Pringle are a pair of veteran bigs with great athleticism, and DJ Wagner is the vet guard coming off a solid sophomore year.
The player I'm most excited to watch on Michigan State this year is Coen Carr -- who is also the player I was most excited to watch last year. He's a Zion-type athletic freak who looks like he's built out of granite and jumps out of the gym. And the Spartans return several key contributors from last year's squad -- Jeremey Fears at guard, Jaxon Kohler at forward/wing, and center Carson Cooper. They also have Trey Fort coming in from Samford who was a near 15 ppg scorer last year and fits Izzo's system.
I may be biased from year's past, but it seems to be Izzo teams are more likely to start slow and pick up steam toward March than come out firing on all cylinders. With the carry over Cal has on this Ark roster, I like the Razorbacks to eek out a road win.
Oklahoma @ #21 Gonzaga - 10:30 ET, Saturday 11/8
Not going to go as long with this one because, frankly, I don't know Oklahoma's roster well. But I do think Gonzaga is worth mentioning -- I expected them to be ranked inside the Top 12 or so with Graham Ike and Braden Huff back, plus a slew of good transfers. Steele Venters from East Wash can fill it up, Braden Smith from Colgate is Mr. Do-it-All (13/6/6 last yr), and I think Tyon Grant-Foster is going to return to his dominant ways in this new system after a down year at GCU.
The Sooners have a great coach in Porter Moser, who led those great Loyola Chicago teams a few years back. They have a lot of roster turnover, but in looking at the roster I actually really like a few of their pieces. Say what you want about Nijel Pack, the guy's played a shitload of NCAA games on the biggest stages, consistently knocks down 3's, and is a winner. Xzayvier Brown out of St. Joe's is an absolute stud -- 18/5/4 last year and will be a good scoring option. Derrion Reid is a talented kid coming over from Bama, Tae Davis was a 15+ ppg guy at Notre Dame, and Jadon Jones has 4 years of experience at Long Beach State under his belt. Sooners always have a way of sneaking up on you.
The Zags are very tough to beat in Spokane -- and I imagine that'll play out late Saturday Night -- but in researching the squad, I think Oklahoma is a team to watch come January/February once they've played with each other for a little while.
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