The only matchup between top-10 teams on the opening day of the 2024-25 college basketball season was more lopsided than most so-called buy games. If you went to bed early, congrats, because as awesome as the 2021 NCAA Tournament title game looked on paper, the on-the-court product failed to match when it tipped around midnight ET.
Final score: Gonzaga 101, Baylor 63. The 38-point win for the Zags represents the biggest margin of victory by any team in a season-opener against a top-10 opponent in the history of the AP Top 25 poll.
"I think it's fair to say Gonzaga, returning eight or nine starters, looked like that and us, with one returning starter, looked like that," Baylor coach Scott Drew said afterward.
Obviously, Gonzaga didn't actually return eight or nine starters. Five is the limit. Drew was just having fun. But the Zags did bring back literally every piece that mattered except for Anton Watson from a team that won 27 times while advancing to the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. That's why expectations are high for the West Coast Conference program that has made nine consecutive Sweet 16s and played in two of the past seven championship games of the NCAA Tournament.
"You gotta give credit to Gonzaga -- great coaching, great players," said Baylor forward Norchad Omier. "They were exploiting the mismatch. We couldn't find a way to figure it out. So all we can do is learn from it and move on from here."
With the win, Gonzaga is up to No. 7 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Baylor is down to No. 17.
The only team in the Top 25 And 1 that lost Monday to a team not also in the Top 25 And 1 is Texas A&M, which fell 64-61 at UCF. As I've explained many times previously, I've found over the years that overreacting to single-game results this early in any season quickly becomes problematic. Upsets happen, particularly on the road. So, with that in mind, I've simply hit Texas A&M with the 10-spot auto-drop I implemented a while back that's designed to punish the Aggies for a rough loss without completely overreacting and leaving a team unranked that basically everybody believed was one of the best 25 teams in the country less than 24 hours ago.
That's why Texas A&M is now No. 21 heading into Friday's game with Texas A&M Commerce. If you're curious, the Aggies are still 13th at BartTorvik.com, 17th at EvanMiya.com and 18th at KenPom.com despite starting 0-1.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Monday's 87-57 win over Howard. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against North Carolina. | -- | 1-0 |
| 2 |  | Mark Sears finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Monday's 110-54 win over UNC Asheville. The Crimson Tide's next game is Friday against Arkansas State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 16 points and three assists in Monday's 97-40 win over Jackson State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Auburn. | -- | 1-0 |
| 4 |  | RJ Davis finished with 24 points and seven assists in Monday's 90-76 win over Elon. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday at Kansas. | -- | 1-0 |
| 5 |  | Alex Karaban is UConn's leading returning scorer. The Huskies open the season Wednesday against Sacred Heart. | -- | 0-0 |
| 6 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 16 points and four assists in Monday's 83-44 win over Mississippi Valley State. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against Kansas City. | -- | 1-0 |
| 7 |  | Nolan Hickman finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Monday's 101-63 win over Baylor. The Zags' next game is Sunday against Arizona State. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 8 |  | Kon Knueppel finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Monday's 96-62 win over Maine. The Blue Devils' next game is Sunday against Arizona State. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 9 |  | Johni Broome is Auburn's leading returning scorer. The Tigers open the season Wednesday against Vermont. | 1 | 0-0 |
| 10 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 90-73 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Northern Kentucky. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 11 |  | Trevon Brazile is Arkansas' leading returning scorer. The Razorbacks open the season Wednesday against Lipscomb. | 2 | 0-0 |
| 12 |  | Jordan Gainey finished with 16 points and three steals in Monday's 80-64 win over Gardner Webb. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Louisville. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 13 |  | Bruce Thornton finished with 20 points and five assists in Monday's 80-72 win over Texas. The Buckeyes' next game is Monday against Youngstown State. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 14 |  | Caleb Love finished with 17 points and six assists in Monday's 93-64 win over Canisius. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Old Dominion. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 15 |  | Kam Jones finished with 32 points and three assists in Monday's 102-62 win over Stony Brook. The Golden Eagles' next game is Friday against George Mason. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 16 |  | Malik Reneau is Indiana's leading returning scorer. The Hoosiers open the season Wednesday against SIU Edwardsville. | 2 | 0-0 |
| 17 |  | VJ Edgecombe finished 2 of 11 from the field in Monday's 101-63 loss to Gonzaga. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | 10 | 0-1 |
| 18 |  | Tyler Bilodeau finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Monday's 85-50 win over Rider. The Bruins' next game is Friday against New Mexico. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 19 |  | Ryan Kalkbrenner is Creighton's leading returning scorer. The Bluejays open the season Wednesday against UT Rio Grande Valley. | 2 | 0-0 |
| 20 |  | Chendall Weaver finished 3 of 10 from the field in Monday's 80-72 loss to Texas. The Longhorns' next game is Friday against Houston Christian. | -- | 0-1 |
| 21 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished 4 of 15 from the field in Monday's 64-61 loss at UCF. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Texas A&M Commerce. | 10 | 0-1 |
| 22 |  | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 29 points and two assists in Monday's 98-83 win over USF. The Gators' next game is Thursday against Jacksonville. | -- | 1-0 |
| 23 |  | Jeremiah Williams is Rutgers' leading returning scorer. The Scarlet Knights open the season Wednesday against Wagner. | -- | 0-0 |
| 24 |  | Simas Lukosius finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Monday's 109-54 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Bearcats' next game is Friday against Morehead State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 25 |  | Jaylen Murray finished with 24 points and three rebounds in Monday's 90-60 win over Long Island. The Rebels' next game is Friday against Grambling State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 26 |  | Kadary Richmond finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 92-60 win over Fordham. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday against Quinnipiac. | -- | 1-0 |
