College basketball’s opening night

It was a balanced attack for the Fighting Irish, who completely overwhelmed the Hatters from the get-go. The defense clamped down in the first half, holding Stetson scoreless for three minutes on two separate occasions. That helped give the Fighting Irish a 30-point lead at halftime, and they kept the boot on the throat for the entirety of the game.

With 11 minutes left in the game, coach Mike Brey had enough of a lead that he felt comfortable putting three freshmen in to get some game experience. It was a solid defensive effort from Notre Dame, who held Stetson to 32 percent shooting and harried them into 13 turnovers.

Maryland’s Dez Wells got off a decent shot with three seconds remaining that would have upset No. 18 Connecticut, but it went long and the Huskies held on for a one-point victory in the season opener. Connecticut built a lead early, but Maryland rallied in the closing minutes to bring a little college basketball drama to the Barclays Center.

Here are the rest of the Top 25 scores from the opening night of the college basketball season:

College basketball fans won’t remember Friday’s slate of season-opening games because of last-minute drama or a controversial call by referees. Those things didn’t really happen. But even if they did, last night would still be remembered for the debut of a group of freshmen unrivaled in the history of the sport.

Drawing comparisons to Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce, Duke’s Jabari Parker didn’t do anything to dissuade Blue Devil fans of his talent. In a run-and-gun contest against Davidson, the Chicago native had 22 points on eight of ten shooting, including a perfect three of three from behind the arc.

St. Francis a school of around 2,600 students in Brooklyn Heights, New York. They play in the Northeast Conference alongside Robert Morris, who is known for an upset of their own.

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The Hoyas looked slow early, but picked it up behind the massive Joshua Smith. Georgetown rallied behind their big man, who had 25 points and three offensive rebounds in 27 minutes of play.

But the speedy backcourt of Oregon was too much, using a three-guard lineup to run circles around the Hoyas. Jason Calliste had 16 points as he and Young combined to make all 23 of their free-throw attempts on the night.

While Connecticut nearly led wire-to-wire, the two teams traded runs to keep the game close. The Huskies built a double-digit lead on several occasions, leading by as many as 17 points. The Terrapins made runs of their own and the game came down to the final possession. Dez Wells had a chance to give Maryland the lead late, but missed and the Huskies held on for the win.

Connecticut got off to a strong start, building a 10-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. Maryland made a late run in the half, before the Huskies pulled away in the last three minutes to take a 48-36 lead into halftime.

It’s time to stop the predictions, speculation and ultimately pointless talk that got us through the offseason. College basketball is back.

Tonight, more than half of Division I will start the regular season, and from Stillwater to Syracuse, the expectations are high and the anticipation has hit its peak.