FAU OPENS WITH BIG VICTORY
Tenth-ranked Florida Atlantic came in with its highest ranking and the expectations to match. The Owls are off to a good start.
Florida Atlantic 75, Loyola Chicago 62
No. 10
Vladislav Goldin tied a career-high 19 points and set one with 10 rebounds and FAU beat host Loyola Chicago 75-62 in the teams’ season opener on Wednesday night.
Goldin also set personal bests with five blocks and four steals.
Nick Boyd scored 13, while Johnell Davis and Brandon Weatherspoon added 12 apiece. Boyd and Weatherspoon each hit three 3-pointers, and the balanced Owls showed why they have their sights on the NCAA championship coming off a surprising run to the Final Four. With all five starters back and only one player gone from a team that went 35-4 and got knocked out by San Diego State in the semis on a buzzer-beating jumper, FAU is off to a good start.
“Just to put closure on last year,” coach Dusty May said. “It was a special season, but as a coach, as a program and as a group of players still chasing their individual goals and dreams, it was nice just to move on to the next chapter and see what this team can become.”
Goldin sounded as if he has turned the page.
“New team, new season, new chapter,” he said.
May was an assistant at Florida during the 2017-18 season when Loyola knocked off the fifth-ranked Gators for their first win over a top-five team since 1984. The Ramblers won 32 games and stunned the nation with a Final Four run.
There were no surprises this time, though FAU didn’t exactly have an easy go of it. Though there were no lead changes, Loyola didn’t go quietly.
The Owls went on a 17-2 run in the first half to break open a two-point game. They withstood several pushes in the second half by Loyola — no stranger to surprising Final Four runs — and opened their sixth season under May on a winning note.
Philip Alston scored 15 for the Ramblers, who are trying to bounce back from a 10-win season.
“Big picture, that is a top-10 team and it’s our first game of the year so that’s a gauge, that’s where we want to be by the end of the year,” he said. “I thought that gives us a little confidence that obviously we know we can play with anybody.”
West
USD 87, Jackson State 61: The host Toreros trailed by four at halftime but finished with a flourish, outscoring the Tigers 52-22 in the second half. Dragos Lungu scored 20 off the bench and Wayne McKinney III added 16 for USD (2-0).
Mississippi State 71, Arizona State 56: The host Bulldogs got 21 points from Trey Fort to beat ASU in the opener for both schools.
Women’s Top 25
No. 2 UConn 102, Dayton 58:
Aaliyah Edwards scored 23 points and Paige Bueckers made her long-awaited return from injury as host UConn opened its season with a rout of Dayton (0-1).
It was Bueckers’ first game since the Huskies loss to South Carolina in the 2022 National Championship. She scored eight points in 21 minutes while on a coach-imposed minutes restriction.
No. 13 Texas 80, Southern 35: Taylor Jones had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Amina Muhammad added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Texas began its season with an easy victory over visiting Southern (0-1).
No. 16 North Carolina 102, Gardner-Webb 49: Indya Nivar had 17 points and 11 rebounds as North Carolina beat visiting Gardner-Webb in the season opener for both teams. Joining Nivar with a double-double was Alyssa Ustby, who had 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals.
No. 20 Colorado 97, Le Moyne 38: Maddie Nolan and Frida Formann scored 15 points apiece, Aaronette Vonleh added a 13 points and 11 rebounds and Colorado (2-0) followed up its season-opening win over No. 1 LSU with a rout of visiting Le Moyne (0-2).