In the pay-for-play era, we're not in the business of getting overly excited that a highly paid, high-major club waxed a low-major team that doesn't have a dime to pay players. That makes some of these debuts a bit hard to get fired up about because so many teams are stat-padding in the second half of romps. Now, if a close game emerges?
Oh, that's a different story. Oklahoma being upset, 68-64, by East Texas A&M is a problem. Kansas State losing 68-66 to South Dakota State at home is a scary thought for what could be in store in Big 12 play.
Casey Alexander's got a lot of work to do because that roster looked like a solid mid-major outfit on paper. South Dakota State played well and is a good Summit League foe. Jackrabbits freshman Davis Kern went off for five 3-pointers and 24 points, but it's a problem when Kansas State doesn't look all that more talented than South Dakota State.
With context in mind, let's grade the first impressions from some of the hottest new names in college basketball. Wade's offseason was annoying, but as we've reiterated from the start, a fully whole LSU roster is one of the 30 best teams in the sport. A top-30 club should have this overmatched LSU-New Orleans outfit that could be one of the worst in the Southland.
LSU was never pushed in a 100-57 laugher. Here are three actionable takeaways: You can see why the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Saliou Niang in the 2025 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-8 junior wing was awesome. 14 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and six steals?
What else could you ask for? Niang is an elite wing defender — he "just missed the cut" on CBS Sports' All-Defense team for a reason — who gives Wade a true shutdown defender who can be used in a ton of ways. He picked up full-court and was a deflection machine.
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