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

3. Cade Cunningham got a great learning lesson at UT Arlington

The No. 1 overall prospect had a rough start in his debut at Oklahoma State, going 0-4 from the field with a couple of turnovers. But he played great the rest of the way, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 7/16 shooting in the team’s 75-68 road win. It was a close game throughout and former JUCO All-American Shahada Wells (21 points), showed why he’ll be a contender for Sun Belt Player of the Year this year.

Between he and returning all-conference guard David Azore (14 points), Cunningham had his hands full on both ends of the court. He had his share of lapses on defense and forced a couple of shots but since he settled, the freshman star showed why he’s the clear-cut No. 1 draft pick for 2021. It’ll be great to see him matched up with the best of the Big 12 a month from now.

4. Evan Mobley had just as strong a debut as Cunningham

Although he’s the No. 2 overall rated freshman, Mobley has flown under the radar a bit compared to the Cowboys star. But he had a quality performance of 21 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks, in USC’s overtime victory over Cal Baptist. It was certainly a shootout, with a final score of 95-87 and there’s a little concern that the Trojans needed five extra minutes to beat a rebuilding WAC program.

However, seeing some of the other results in the Pac-12, USC certainly isn’t out of contention for anything. Evan, along with his brother Isaiah (14 points and 10 rebounds), can give the team a great frontcourt but it’ll take time for all the new transfers to mesh. They definitely need to improve on defense though.