What to watch for in College Basketball's season premiere

It's been 210 days since the UConn Huskies beat the Purdue Boilermakers to win back-to-back championships, and now the wait is over. College Basketball returns Monday night, and here are four things to look for as the 2024-25 season begins.

Cooper Flagg's debut:

Cooper Flagg will make his official debut for the Duke Blue Devils Monday night, when No. 7 Duke takes on Flagg's home college, the Maine Black Bears. Duke is expected to handle its business, but eyes will be on the top recruit of the 2024 class and the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

In two exhibition games against Lincoln University and Arizona State, Flagg averaged 15.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 22.5 minutes. He'll start in his first regular season game Monday against Maine, the school his brother committed to for next season.

Mark Pope and Kentucky:

When the No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats take the Rupp Arena floor against Wright State Monday night they'll be led by a new head coach for the first time since the 2008-09 season. John Calipari left Kentucky after 15 seasons to become the head coach at Arkansas, and Mark Pope was hired to replace him. Pope played at Kentucky from 1994-1996, winning the 1996 championship with the Wildcats. He's been the head coach of BYU for the last five seasons, making the NCAA Tournament twice. Pope will try to bring Kentucky back to the Final Four for the first time since 2015. Kentucky has been upset in the first round in two of the past three tournaments, one of the reasons it and Calipari mutually agreed to part ways.

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Texas-Ohio State:

It wouldn't be opening night of the college basketball season without some good games. While Texas-Ohio State isn't the headliner for Monday, it's a nice appetizer. The No. 19 Texas Longhorns play the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes, who got votes in the preseason AP Poll, in Las Vegas. Guard Tre Johnson will make his Longhorns debut on Monday. The 6-6 freshman was ranked sixth in the Class of 2024 and he complements the talent added in the transfer portal this offseason. Texas added Jordan Pope from Oregon State, Tramon Mark from Arkansas and Arthur Kaluma from Creighton. In head coach Rodney Terry's third season, Texas will look to make their first Final Four since 2003. They've won at least one game in each of Terry's first two seasons. Tip-off is at 10 on TNT and TruTV.

Baylor-Gonzaga:

If Texas-Ohio State is the appetizer, Baylor-Gonzaga is the main course. The No. 8 Bears will play the No. 6 Bulldogs in Spokane in the only ranked matchup on Monday. Gonzaga is returning 75% of its scoring from last season's Sweet 16 run. Baylor added talent through the transfer portal including Norchad Omier from Miami and Jeremy Roach from Duke while adding the fifth best prospect in the Class of 2024 in V.J. Edgecombe. The Bears lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. The game is a rematch of the 2021 National Championship won by Baylor. Both teams would like to start their seasons with a signature win. Tip off is at 11:30 on ESPN2.

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