Opening Week Wrap Up

Rejoice, the college basketball season is officially underway. The first week was highlighted by a couple of big upsets and the arrival of several heralded freshman. Here's a look at some of the big stories from the season's opening.

Gardner-Webb Who?
New Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie certainly didn't anticipate his second career game in blue to pan out like this. Unranked Gardner-Webb out of the Atlantic Sun Conference shocked the 22nd ranked Wildcats 84-68 in front of a sold out crowd of Kentucky faithful. Despite a solid 12-point 12-rebound performance from blue chip freshman forward Patrick Patterson, Kentucky shot a paltry 35.5% from the floor and were outrebounded 36-28. The Runnin' Bulldogs however had no trouble finding the basket, shooting 53% from the field, and seeing four starters reach double figures in scoring.
This by no means sinks Kentucky, it just was an unexpected upset, and not a solid way for Gillispie to begin his coaching career in the bluegrass state. For Gardner-Webb though this is the kind of win that can make a season. Now this isn't to say that they are going to run away with their conference and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in March; of course the chances of them making the tournament as an at-large bid is small too. At the end of the season though, having a signature win like Kentucky on your resume is never a bad thing for a mid-major team.

Other Early Season Upsets of Note
O.J. Mayo had his college debut spoiled by Mercer who shocked #18 USC in the Trojans season opener. The Bears could not have been hotter, hitting on nearly 60% of their shots, and were led by sophomore guard James Florence who poured in 30 points, despite shooting just 2-9 from beyond the arc. This loss drops USC coach Tim Floyd's opening game record with USC to 0-3.
A couple of lesser upsets were UNC-Greensboro's 83-74 win on the road at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets obviously lost a lot with the early departures of Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton, but the team still has a decent amount of talent, including guard Anthony Morrow who put up a 23-point performance in the loss. Greensboro's senior forward Kyle Hines was by far the best player on the court though. The 6'6" bruiser posted 25 points and 9 rebounds in leading all players in scoring.

Freshman Make Early Statements
Entering the season there were those who though this year's crop of freshman could be deeper and more talented than last years group which produced Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Well, so far so good. Here's a look at the stat lines thus far of some of the most heralded freshman in the country.

Kevin Love (UCLA) - 22 points, 13 rebounds vs. Portland St
Michael Beasley (Kansas St) - 32 points, 24 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks vs. Sacramento St
Derrick Rose (Memphis) - 2 game averages: 19 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists
O.J. Mayo (USC) - 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists vs. Mercer
Nick Calathes (Florida) - 21 points, 3 assists vs. North Dakota St