College Basketball Opens With Illinois Rout and Memphis Upset

The men’s college basketball season began on November 2 with a full slate of games, including several early tests for ranked teams. Illinois delivered the night’s biggest blowout, beating FDU 120-45 and making 19 three-pointers, a program record. The 75-point margin was the largest in a game at the Illini’s State Farm Center, which opened in 1963. Illinois played without David Mirkovic, who is out indefinitely while recovering from surgery and an appendectomy.

Memphis opened with an 80-76 road win over No. 18 Iowa State. Jayden Reid scored 26 points and Luke Almodovar added 18 for the Tigers, who were also without big man Nemanja Popović, suspended for the first six games as a condition of his NCAA eligibility. Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey scored 12 points, while Jamarion Batemon did not score.

Florida beat Miami in a matchup of highly regarded frontcourts, with Thomas Haugh scoring 19 points and collecting 10 rebounds. The Gators made 11 of 26 attempts from three-point range. Miami’s Malik Reneau fouled out after 24 minutes with five points.

UCLA defeated Arizona in a neutral-site game, holding on after Arizona cut the margin to one late. The Bruins held the Wildcats below 37% shooting. BYU also rallied past Ohio State, powered by Rob Wright III’s 33 points. Elsewhere, Grambling State edged Northern Illinois 89-87, and UCF beat FGCU 96-95 in overtime despite Dior Johnson’s 41-point performance.