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NCAA Basketball: 2018-19 Winners/losers of the week (version 1)

By Tristan Freeman

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Duke Blue Devils cheerleaders carry their schools flags on to the court prior to the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Duke Blue Devils cheerleaders carry their schools flags on to the court prior to the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 06: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils and Javin DeLauier #12 celebrate against the kentucky Wildcats during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 06: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils and Javin DeLauier #12 celebrate against the kentucky Wildcats during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

In a jam-packed first week of the 2018-19 NCAA Basketball season, there were plenty of notable performances. Some had a better start to the campaign than others.

The season has finally started, putting an end to the preseason speculation by all of us on how things will ultimately go for 2018-19. And on November 6, an election wasn’t the only consequential results happening.

The Champions Classic opened off the season, with the Kansas Jayhawks showing why they were ranked No. 1 to start the season by leading the entire way in the win over Michigan State, although the Spartans remained tough throughout.

It wasn’t close in the other game, with Duke destroying Kentucky in a 34-point blowout. It only enhanced the legend of Zion Williamson, who along with RJ Barrett and Cameron Reddish has another Blue Devil team listed as a title contender.

Related Story. 8 takeaways for the 1st week of the season. light

But plenty of other things happened as well with the other 349 teams. North Carolina quietly won a pair of impressive road games against Elon and Wofford, while the reigning champs Villanova showed why they’re still a threat to repeat this year. And Auburn made a statement themselves, defeating Washington in the only other matchup between ranked teams.

A bunch of good things happened for teams but also some bad for others. Numerous programs suffered some “buy game” defeats while others had less than impressive debuts. The good news is that the season has just begun, so teams can fix their shortcomings and still have a good year.

So who are the biggest winners and losers of the very first week? Some are clear, while others were under the radar. Find out who they are now.

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