College basketball's much-needed return on opening night is Christmas Day … until it starts to get hairy in the second half of a buy game. Just ask North Carolina's Michael Malone, who had to bench his starters midway through the middle of a second-half collapse against Western Carolina. UNC, with help from an untimely technical on the Catamounts, avoided disaster in Monday's 80-72 win, but it was a pucker-worthy showing from a $20 million roster that looks far from the top of the ACC pecking order.

The Field of 68 also garners some well-deserved recognition for bringing back the opening day marathon! Grambling State and Northern Illinois played one of Monday's best games in a 4 a.m. banger. The Tigers of Grambling State won 89-87.

Let's dive into the rest of the winners and losers from Monday's slate.

Winner: Illinois is good at the whole offense thing

The Illini are in the middle of changing their offensive gameplan, pivoting from a team that played slow and relied heavily on pick-and-rolls into a zoom-zoom transition attack that basically has no plays.

It took one game to break record books.

The Illini drained a program-best 19 3-pointers in a 120-45 romp over FDU. They shot 51 3-pointers. They went 26-for-31 on layups or dunks. 30 of the 46 buckets were assisted. These stat lines were bonkers:

Seven different players deposited multiple treys. Offensive coordinator Tyler Underwood remains at the top of his craft, and Brad Underwood's willingness to change may be his strongest attribute. Even stronger than excellent evals of guys like Brown, who was a three-star recruit with no high-major offers and all of a sudden looks every bit the part of a multi-year Big Ten starter. – Isaac Trotter

Winner: Thomas Haugh shows why he's a top NPOTY contender

Thomas Haugh has two games with four 3-pointers made in his Florida career: In the Elite Eight against Texas Tech in 2025 and on Monday against Miami. Haugh shot a respectable 32.6% on 5.9 attempts from beyond the arc last season, but one of the best shooting nights of his career came in the first game of the new season.

And it wasn't just the shooting that stood out. Haugh, known as the ultimate Swiss Army Knife, finished with 10 rebounds, four assists and a block and a steal to go along with his 19 points. Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year. However, there is a case for Haugh winning the award. And if this was any indication, it's going to be a special season for Haugh and the Gators. – Cameron Salerno

No. 1 Florida opens season with convincing victory vs. Miami: Gators show why they deserve No. 1 ranking
Cameron Salerno
No. 1 Florida opens season with convincing victory vs. Miami: Gators show why they deserve No. 1 ranking

Loser: Malik Reneau's struggles against elite competition continue

Reneau led Miami in scoring last year at nearly 18 points per game. It was a big boon to get him back for a fifth year of eligibility, but he had no real answer for Florida's elite frontcourt. Reneau fouled out in 24 minutes and finished with just five points, including an 0-for-5 mark on 2-pointers. Reneau is now shooting just 50% on 2-pointers in his last 25 games against top-50 opponents. Miami will have to get through elite teams if it wants to make the Final Four. It needs more from Reneau to scale that mountain. – Trotter

Loser: Iowa State isn't the same ole Iowa State yet

Memphis knocked off No. 18 Iowa State 80-76, behind 26 points from Jayden Reid and an 18-point, eight-rebound showing from SEMO transfer Luke Almodovar. Iowa State entered Monday rated No. 6 on KenPom.com. That seemed high for a roster that lost Milan Momcilovic (to Kentucky) and Joshua Jefferson (to the NBA). The first impression hints that Iowa State isn't close to a top-10 team at the moment. Not without injured defensive maven Killyan Toure. Not if breakout candidate Jamarion Batemon is going to go scoreless. Not if Tamin Lipsey is going to score just 12 points on 13 shots, while looking pretty rusty. T.J. Otzelberger's group has a ton of work to do. – Trotter

Winner and loser: UCF does UCF stuff while Dior Johnson does Dior Johnson stuff

Dior Johnson scored 41 points, as Dior Johnson is one to do. Meanwhile, UCF survived FGCU 96-95 in overtime. I don't have high hopes for UCF in the Big 12 this year, but at least Johnson is going to go absolutely insane like once a week. – Trotter

Winner: This is only the beginning for High Point

High Point coach Flynn Clayman, clad in his ice-cold purple suit, was back in the spotlight, and his Panthers delivered a 72-57 shellacking of a good Liberty squad. High Point's point-of-attack defense is going to be a major strength this season. South Florida transfer CJ Brown and top-150 freshman Trey Pearson are hounding defenders who were draped onto Liberty's point guards for all 40 minutes. 

This High Point squad does not project to be an awesome 3-point shooting team, but its best offense could be this suffocating defense that can lead to numerous good looks in the open floor. Pearson and ex-Arizona walk-on Conrad Martinez combined for 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and just one turnover. Oh, and they both were coming off the bench. Clayman's got another real-deal squad. High Point is currently favored by double figures in every single Big South game. – Trotter

Winner: This is only the beginning for Murray State, too

Murray State has some of the deepest pockets at the mid-major ranks, and this roster looks like a high-major outfit. Full stop. The Racers buried Tennessee State 94-64, with a new defensive recipe. Murray State has flipped from a passive to an aggressive defensive scheme, and it passed the first test with flying colors. Tennessee State, filled with numerous former high-major names like Arterio Morris (Texas), Aaron Bradshaw (Kentucky) and Ty-Laur Johnson (Wake Forest), turned the basketball over a whopping 26 times. 

Murray State was everywhere. Sophomore wing Roman Domon was awesome, finishing with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Domon has a chance to get paid to play basketball for a very long time. This team is deep and talented, but it also has so much room to grow. If the first impression is any indication, Murray State has the pieces to earn an at-large bid. That hasn't happened for the Missouri Valley since 2021. – Trotter