NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest takeaways from opening day of 2020-21 season

What are some takeaways after a great first night of the NCAA Basketball season?

It has been nearly eight months since any NCAA Basketball games being played. But finally, we were able to see nearly 100 games being played, despite a fair amount having been postponed or cancelled altogether. It’s part of the “new normal” for the sport, as it attempts to get in as full a season as possible, along with the NCAA Tournament to avoid massive financial problems.

Something else that will be a “new normal” is watching a ton of great talent on the court. Despite not having much of a preseason or scrimmages, teams and players were ready to go, giving us a number of great performances to watch.

We already had a top-25 program go down in UCLA falling at San Diego State, while Villanova had to fight to avoid the same fate against Boston College in the Empire Classic. There were several “upsets” throughout the day, including Pittsburgh falling to Saint Francis (PA) and Kansas State losing to Drake.

The most eye-opening result wasn’t who won or lost but rather the game itself, with Georgia State outlasting Georgia Tech in four overtimes, 123-120. It was one of the last games of the night and a great exclamation point to a solid opening day slate.

There’s no need to go over the top with reactions in terms of teams that looked very impressive, or those who underwhelmed. However, there are some signs that one can take away from the games we did see. Here are 10 that caught my eye.