CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Thijs De Ridder had 24 points and nine rebounds as No. 9 Virginia beat Drexel to open the season. Sam Lewis added 20 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Ladricus Pittman and Dillon Tingler came off the bench to combine for 21 points for the Dragons.
UNDATED (AP) — The undefeated Miami Hurricanes received top billing in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings, with Georgia, undefeated Utah and defending national champion Indiana filling out the top four spots in the initial projected playoff bracket. The biggest surprise from the selection committee was its choice to rank Notre Dame 11th — seven spots lower than its spot in the AP Top 25 and the last team in the bracket if the playoffs started today. The rest of the rankings: No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Texas and undefeated UCLA at No. 8. BYU was slotted in the ninth spot, followed by Ole Miss, the Irish and Ohio State.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — There’s a subplot to No. 1 Miami vs. No. 4 Notre Dame this weekend. It’s Malachi Toney vs. Leonard Moore. And that matchup might be just as noteworthy to college football fans as the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish squaring off with huge College Football Playoff implications. Toney is the star wide receiver and dazzling Heisman Trophy candidate for the top-ranked Hurricanes (8-0), the go-to guy for the nation’s best offense. Moore is the lockdown cornerback and quite possibly the top defensive player in the country for the Fighting Irish (7-1). The teams meet Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Florida State receiver Duce Robinson will have season-ending knee surgery. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the severity of Robinson’s injury has not been disclosed publicly. ESPN first reported the surgery. Robinson finishes his senior season with 24 receptions for 438 yards and four touchdowns. He was coming off a 1,000-yard season as a junior in 2025, earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors. The 6-foot-6 Robinson struggled to create the same chemistry with new quarterback Ashton Daniels that he found with quarterback Tommy Castellanos a year ago.
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ben Hammond had 20 points, Jaylen Curry scored 19 and Virginia Tech rolled to an 88-54 victory over Coppin State in a season opener. Hammond made 6 of 14 shots with four 3-pointers for the Hokies, adding eight assists and seven steals. Curry made 6 of 9 shots with three 3-pointers. Amani Hansberry totaled 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Virginia Tech, and Tyler Johnson scored 13 off the bench. Brendan Johnson led Coppin State with 17 points
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Arianna Roberson had 15 points and four blocked shots while No. 4 Duke took control after halftime to beat Green Bay 76-60 in Tuesday night’s opener for both teams. Riley Nelson also scored 15 for the Blue Devils, who are picked to win a third straight Atlantic Coast Conference title. Duke led just 33-31 at halftime but pushed out to a double-digit lead by midway through the third quarter. Maddy Skorupski finished with 16 points to lead Green Bay, which has won the past three Horizon League titles. The Phoenix made just 6 of 27 shots after halftime.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The college basketball season tips off with many players unexpectedly gaining an extra year of eligibility. They have received injunctions from courts in various states after the NCAA adopted a new five-year eligibility model that did not apply to them as they wrapped up their playing careers last season. As of last week, the NCAA reported about 200 lawsuits involving 850 athletes. So far, most of the courts — though not all — have sided with athletes seeking another year of eligibility. But nothing has been definitively decided as the season gets underway, leaving coaches to wonder whether their players will remain eligible through March.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina won its debut under Michael Malone with a tougher-than-expected tussle with Western Carolina on Monday night. Malone led the NBA's Denver Nuggets to an NBA championship in 2023. Now he's leading a blueblood program with six NCAA championships and a record 21 trips to the Final Four. After this one, retired Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams and North Carolina athletic director Steve Newmark presented Malone with a game ball for his first win with the Tar Heels.
