Five Early College Basketball Takeaways: UConn Surges, Purdue Stumbles

Nov 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; UConn Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. (5) and his teammates celebrate after defeating the Michigan Wolverines at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images I’m just emerging from a hoops coma, which is like a food coma except instead of stuffing yourself on Thanksgiving, you inject college basketball games big and small every night for a week.In that vein, there’s almost too much to digest from the first week of the new college basketball season. Here are five early takeaways, including one about the surprise team that’s 0-2:UConn may have another group capable of a national titleThe best game of the first week, for my money, was the national championship rematch between Michigan and UConn. And while the final score was 85-77, the Huskies were clearly the better team, leading the entire game except for Michigan’s opening basket. Braylon Mullins (23 points) is a good bet to be the best sophomore scorer in the nation, they’re in reliable hands with Silas Demary Jr. running the show, and the additions of freshman wing Colben Landrew and transfer center Na’jai Hines look like wins so far. The depth has yet to be tested much, but the Huskies are about to be put through the ringer with the likes of Arizona, Duke, Illinois and Kansas on the horizon.Saint Louis is a top-25 teamJosh Schertz knows what he’s doing. His Billikens took on a stacked Missouri team in an emotional rivalry setting and came away with a 90-84 win. They look like they’ll have one of the most efficient offenses in the sport (again) and the starting five of Trey Green, Quentin Jones, Amari McCottry, Ishan Sharma and Alon Michaeli is ready to go up against anyone. (Michaeli was on triple-double watch against Mizzou with 13 points, nine boards and six assists.) Oh by the way, they’re on the verge of bringing Robbie Avila back into the fold. Avila was granted an injunction in order to play a fifth NCAA season, though he didn’t wind up playing against Missouri due to a new challenge over roster limits.Watch out for the high-powered offense at... Virginia? Oct 7, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Virginia Cavaliers Thijs De Ridder (28) answers questions from the media during the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte, NC. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images We have reason to believe the Cavaliers will be even better on offense in Year 2 under Ryan Odom than they were in Year 1, which was already a night-and-day difference from the Tony Bennett era. In a 91-72 win over No. 12 Arkansas on Sunday, all five starters scored 13-plus points and four of them made multiple 3-pointers for the ninth-ranked Cavaliers. Virginia was great in Odom’s first year but went 1-4 against Top 25 competition, so this lopsided win over John Calipari and company augurs well.Year of the European importMore of Europe’s top youngsters are coming to college than ever before, and regardless of your feelings on the right or wrong of the matter, it’s introduced more high-level players into the fray. Some of them seem too old for freshman accolades -- Quinn Ellis (Great Britain) is like a pro running point for St. John’s at 23 years old. But 17-year-old Nikola Kusturica helped UCLA topple No. 5 Arizona, and Duke center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje is also a mere 17. Even some players not on national radars -- Asim Djulovic at Butler is a great example -- have dominated early in their debut seasons and could be difference-makers later on.Some concern for Purdue, but there’s time to right the shipThis isn’t a program used to starting 0-2, yet here the Boilermakers are after falling by a combined nine points to Gonzaga and Valparaiso. The former was a terrific opening-night contest against a legitimate opponent, and the latter... well, Valpo’s no slouch, for one thing. Purdue outplayed Valpo in most areas other than the big one, shot-making. It’s been a cold start for C.J. Cox (7-for-18 FG, 1-for-8 from three) and Omer Mayer (3-for-22, 1-for-10), but they’re a safe bet to gradually revert to the mean of where they were last year. The good news in West Lafayette: Daniel Jacobsen (25.0 points, 8.5 rebounds per game) is ready to be Matt Painter’s next star big man. We think they’ll be just fine.