This week, Duke coach Jon Scheyer really lit a fire under his star recruit Cameron Boozer; Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue’s leading scorer/rebounder last season, missed the opener with a hip woe; and AJ Dybantsa justified the hype by pouring in 21 points in his college debut. Other college basketball stories we’re keeping an eye on include…

Jalin Rice’s Big Debut

Back in 2022-23, the Nicholls Colonels finished just 16-15, but have responded well since, posting back-to-back 20-win efforts. Okay, so their NCAA tourney drought extends back to 1997-98, but with some solid results within the Southland Conference in recent seasons, a conference tourney victory is a possibility.

If nothing else, the Colonels hung in well in their season opener against No. 9 Kentucky, taking advantage of a depleted Wildcat team, so not surprisingly managed to keep the score respectable (77-51).

Nicholls is expected to be better on D this season, but may struggle to score, and that certainly reared its ugly head in the first half as it shot just 12 per cent from the field and made just 1-of-14 from downtown.

Senior backup guard Jalin Rice was the leading scorer for the Colonels, putting up 13 points in just 14 minutes on 5-for-6 shooting (2-for-2 from three-point range) with two boards and a block. A transfer from Cleveland State, he had a fairly limited role in his two seasons there, and while he showed improvement in only game last season, he missed the rest of the campaign with an injury.

Still, an effort like this should earn Rice more minutes, and perhaps at the very least he can grab more of a sixth man role this season (as long as he doesn’t get posterized like he did in high school — see video below). The combo guard is likely a bit too small to have a pro future unless he proves he can handle PG duties. But chances are that Rice is done playing b-ball after this season, so let’s hope he can carve out more PT and help the Colonels get back to the Big Dance.

Lions Roar in Easy Opener

The Loyola Marymount Lions’ program has been nothing if not inconsistent over the last decade or so. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, they posted two straight seasons of improvements, but since then have alternated good campaigns with bad ones.

But maybe, just maybe, that trend is ending this season.

The Lions improved by five wins to 17 last season, and after winning their opener (albeit, against a Division II foe), they are an 8.5-point favorite against Eastern Washington on Wednesday as per FanDuel.

On Monday, junior forward Aaron McBride sure enjoyed a big season debut. He poured in a team-high 20 points with six boards, two treys, two assists, two steals and a block in a stat-stuffing performance. He took a step forward as a sophomore, but looks poised to really break out this season – especially if he keeps shooting from downtown like he did in the first game.

The 6’7”, 230-pound McBride will clearly have a much bigger role this season, so perhaps he can start gaining attention as a potential pro player in time.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

Canadian soul/disco band Sweet Blindness launched in 1969 and remained active until 1977. Here’s “National Poddy” from their eponymous debut album in 1974.

The post College Hoops Today: Nicholls Avoids Complete Embarrassment first appeared on RotoRob.