NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest takeaways from opening day of 2020-21 season
9. San Diego State is the clear frontrunner in the Mountain West
Despite losing arguably its three best players from last season’s roster, San Diego State was still the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West. However, the thought was that teams such as Boise State, UNLV, and Utah State have a shot at de-throning them. It’s early but the Aztecs clearly look highly impressive, beating No. 20 UCLA at home, 73-58. The two returning starters, Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel, each had 15 to lead the way.
Meanwhile, Utah State lost to VCU after getting blitzed in the second half. And UNLV lost a tough one at home against Montana State as well. We’ll see how these teams look once conference play gets underway soon but if there’s any question as to who’s the favorite, there should be no question now.
10. UCLA has a high floor but low ceiling
To start off, the Bruins were missing a pair of key players in starting forward Jalen Hill and Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang both injured. That’s one talented big man and another shooting threat on the perimeter. They clearly needed them because they only had production from a few guys, including Jaime Jaquez Jr. with 17 points and Cody Riley with 14.
Considering that this game was at San Diego State, who did get preseason top-25 votes, and was underhanded, UCLA losing this game doesn’t mean that they’ll be at the bottom of the Pac-12. However, this team simply doesn’t have much offense and has to muster everything they have just to reach 60-65 points.
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If the defense doesn’t play at a high level, which it wasn’t on Wednesday night, UCLA’s offs of winning the Pac-12 title will be slim, as their offense just isn’t good enough to win them the most important games. With a high-scoring foe in Pepperdine up next, the Bruins will need to find some scoring production somewhere to keep up.