Standouts, key wins, more reactions from men’s hoops opening day

College hoops is finally here! After a tumultuous offseason, the focus is back on the hardwood. Things officially tipped Sunday in Rome, where Notre Dame got the first win of the 2026-27 season over Villanova (more on that below).

With nearly 200 games on the first Monday, there’s a lot to take in — and a lot of early insights to take away.

That’s where ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf and Joe Lunardi come in. They’ll be reacting to the best, most surprising, noteworthy results and performances all day, so bookmark this page.

Micah Shrewsberry starts the season on a high note

At ACC media day last month, fourth-year Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said he’d had an epiphany: He realized he hadn’t enjoyed the moments he thought he should have been enjoying at Notre Dame, even though he was coaching his son, Braeden Shrewsberry. He said this as he enters this season squarely on the hot seat following a 13-win campaign and a third straight without an NCAA tournament appearance. This season, he said, his attitude is different.

Against Villanova on Sunday in Rome, Notre Dame had more rhythm and cohesiveness than ever under Shrewsberry. Four players registered double figures and the team made 38% of its 3-point attempts. The most important part of the win was the finish, when the Irish battled back from 6 points down to take the lead and keep it through the final two minutes. Shrewsberry’s team lost multiple games just like that a season ago, but the ending worked in his favor this time. — Medcalf

High Point has the pieces to win another NCAA tournament game

High Point was a Cinderella of last season, winning 31 games and knocking off 5-seed Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling to Arkansas in the second round. Coach Flynn Clayman lost a couple of key pieces in the offseason, including star guard Rob Martin, but has since completely reloaded. The Panthers once again have a roster that can win in March. In fact, they might be even deeper than a season ago.

They opened the Field of 68 marathon early Monday morning with a dominant win over Liberty, and their second five looked like it could legitimately compete for a Big South championship. Cam’Ron Fletcher was the 2026 Big South Preseason Player of the Year, and while he had a solid 8 points and 7 boards against Liberty, he was arguably overshadowed by South Florida transfer CJ Brown, Tulane transfer Curtis Williams Jr., freshman Trey Pearson and returnee Conrad Martinez. Even more impressive, the 72-57 win came without Monmouth transfer Jason Rivera-Torres, a preseason All-Big South selection.

This team has high-major athleticism, high-major depth and enough playmakers on the offensive end to strike fear into a power-conference opponent come Selection Sunday. — Borzello

Two more mid-majors to monitor come March

The first stretch of college basketball’s full opening-day schedule centered around mid-major programs, and both two in particular look ahead of the pace because of retention.

Murray State

Ryan Miller was able to keep star sophomore Roman Domon out of the transfer portal in the offseason, and he stood out in a 30-point win over Tennessee State, finishing with 22 points and 5 rebounds.

While Domon gets most of the recognition, Miller also has a high-level backcourt with France native Talis Soulhac and Auburn transfer Kaden Magwood. Soulhac is active at both ends of the floor, while Magwood is a bucket-getter. Miller also brought in Pavle Nikolic and Mark Padjen from the international ranks. As the international trio gets more accustomed to NCAA basketball, this team is going to get more dangerous.

Queens University

Meanwhile, Grant Leonard and Queens had fairly uncommon continuity for a mid-major NCAA tournament team, bringing back three double-figure scorers: Nasir Mann, Avantae Parker and Jordan Watford, who was terrific in a 103-98 win over Winthrop with 26 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists.

Plus, the Royals are incredibly fun to watch. They push the pace, have historically shot 3-pointers at a high rate and love to play in attack mode. Watford, especially, has the ability to become an elite mid-major player. He’s a 6-foot-5 point guard — reminding me a bit of former St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond — and is nearly impossible to keep out of the lane when he gets going downhill. He had 19 points and 6 assists in the 2026 Atlantic Sun championship game and could be even better this year. — Borzello