Shocking SEC Basketball Results from College Basketball's Opening Night

Auburn F Keyshawn Hall played well, but Steven Pearl's team struggled in his SEC head coaching debut, via John Reed-Imagn Images

In the SEC, it just means more. On the opening night of the 2025-26 college basketball season, it meant more sweat for a pair of fanbases with National Championship aspirations.

The Defending National Champions are starting the season 0-1. The Gators’ defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed. Arizona shot 49.2% from the field in the 93-87 win. That adds up. The part that doesn’t is what happened behind the three-point line. The Desert Wildcats were 2-5 from three. Tommy Lloyd’s team scored 93 points on five three-point attempts. That’s not normal in modern college basketball.

It worked because Florida had no answer for Koa Peat. The 6-foot-8 freshman swingman scored 30 points (11-18 FG), and had 7 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals in a dominant debut.

“It was a coming out party for him, so to speak,” Lloyd said after the win. “Everyone’s known about him, but no one’s really, really studied him and watched him, and he’s a special player.”

After the first day of college basketball, Koa Peat of Arizona delivered the best performance by any freshman and any player in a win over Florida: The former top 10 SC Next prospect scored 30 points, with 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. @kpeat10 | @ArizonaMBB @TNTSportsUS pic.twitter.com/2r5rlR8MnX
— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) November 4, 2025

It wasn’t a one-man show for Arizona, but that was kind of the case for Florida. Four Gators scored in double figures, while Thomas Haugh did the heavy-lifting with 27 points. On the other side, Peat got plenty of help from point guard Jaden Bradley, who scored 27 points, including 11 of Arizona’s final 18.

Todd Golden teams are pretty good at putting the ball through the hoop. What made last year’s team the best in a loaded SEC was their ability to get stops. That certainly is in question after one night of college basketball.

Auburn Nearly Loses to Bethune-Cookman

You’re never gonna believe this, but Bruce Pearl’s son looked in over his head during his debut as the Auburn head basketball coach. “Steven Pearl’s first game went about as bad as anyone could have imagined,” wrote Myron Medcalf.

How bad was it? Auburn trailed at home with 2:05 to play as a 25.5-point favorite. The Tigers let Bethune-Cookman shoot 55% (12-22) from three-point land. Auburn’s defense was so bad that Steven Pearl shattered an LED scoreboard.

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Steven Pearl just slammed the courtside screen in frustration after then Bethune-Cookman three pic.twitter.com/4WVVrVxWWi
— Gunner Norene (@norene_gunner10) November 4, 2025

Just wait — it actually gets funnier. Auburn was so bad at defending the three, they didn’t want to let their opponent get off a game-tying three in the final seconds. So instead, they fouled a three-point shooter with less than a second on the clock, who proceeded to make three free throws and force overtime.

Ultimately, the Tigers were able to pull away by outscoring the HBCU 14-9 in overtime. UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall had 28 points in the 95-90 win, but this team has a lot to figure out in a hurry, or Steven Pearl’s first season as an SEC head coach may go even worse than we expected.

Master P gets a Power Conference W

Master P made TCU say ugh. The legendary hip-hop artist joined the New Orleans men’s basketball program this offseason as the Southland Conference program’s President of Basketball Operations. A year ago, New Orleans was 4-27 and ended the season with 13 straight losses.

In Master P’s first game with the team, they secured a Power Conference win, a 78-74 victory at TCU. It’s New Orleans’ first win over a Power Conference school since 2017 and first victory over a Big 12 school since 2007.

No Limit. No Problem. 🍦🏴‍☠️

Master P and the Privateers walked in your trap and took over your trap — shocking TCU in Fort Worth. pic.twitter.com/W1265AvPZN
— Southland Conference (@SouthlandSports) November 4, 2025

More Scores from Around the SEC and CBB

AJ Dybansta left some meat on the bone, going 2-7 from the free throw line and missing some layups, but the top freshman in the country still had 21 points and six rebounds in his debut, propelling No. 8 BYU to a hard-fought 71-66 win over Kevin Willard’s Villanova Wildcats. More scores: