Arizona forward Koa Peat was incredible Monday, getting 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in a season-opening win over Florida. On the same night, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson scored 21 points in a blowout of Green Bay. BYU wing AJ Dybantsa also got 21 in a victory over Villanova.
This heralded freshman class got off to a great start.
So, on Tuesday, all eyes turned to Duke forward Cameron Boozer, a two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year who was making his season-debut against Texas. And, believe it or not, his college career started with … seven consecutive missed field-goal attempts.
Seven!
Tracking college basketball freshman debuts: Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa impress, Koa Peat explodes
Cameron Salerno
Boozer missed multiple 3-pointers. He missed multiple shots at the rim. His zero-point performance in the opening 20 minutes had Duke behind at halftime. But, and this is a testament to his overwhelming talent, Boozer still finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block in 36 minutes of the Blue Devils’ 75-60 win over Texas that doubled as fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer’s 90th career victory.
“It was obviously a tough first half; I think my teammates did a great job picking me up,” Boozer said afterward. Scheyer challenged me at halftime, said that I played soft in the first half, which, you know, was true. It was true. Second half, like you said, had to change my mentality. Teammates did a great job finding me. We were the tougher team in the second half as a unit.”
Duke remains No. 10 in Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Texas, 24th in Tuesday’s Top 25 And 1, is now out after losing by 15 — and because the Longhorns are down to 38th at BartTorvik.com, and down to 45th at KenPom.com after shooting just 32.2% from the field against the Blue Devils.
Texas has been replaced in the Top 25 And 1 by Ole Miss, which is 1-0 following Monday’s season-opening win over Southeastern Louisiana. The Rebels will return to the court Friday to play Louisiana Monroe.
