Indiana shows size in rout of North Carolina, Quinn Ellis stars for St. John's lead top exhibition takeaways

College basketball games are back! Dozens of high-major teams tipped off their first exhibition games last week, with more right around the corner. After a trying offseason filled with injunctions, temporary restraining orders and appeals, it's refreshing to have actual basketball, not court cases, to talk about again.

The takes were sure flying in this week after Florida, likely the No. 1 team in Monday's preseason AP Top 25 poll, lost 82-76 to Baylor in overtime on Sunday. North Carolina got destroyed by Indiana in Michael Malone's second exhibition game. Oregon was in the news because Dana Altman abruptly retired right before Big Ten Media Days last week. The Ducks promptly went out and got handled by Seattle U in a 71-65 loss in Thursday's first exhibition game. I didn't like Oregon's roster already, and now you remove a potential Hall of Fame coach? All the concerns about the Ducks are totally valid at this point.

But do these exhibition games actually matter? It's a touchy subject.

Here are some of my favorite exhibition scores in college basketball from last year at this time:

• Cincinnati 100, Michigan 98: Cincinnati would go on to miss the NCAA Tournament and fire coach Wes Miller, while Michigan won the title and was one of the most dominant teams in college basketball's last 25 years. Dusty May was so good at his job that the Dallas Mavericks hired him, even though he had a home preseason loss on his ledger.
• Georgetown 84, No. 9 Kentucky 70: We should have gotten the hint that Kentucky's offense was going to be a disaster whenever point guard Jaland Lowe didn't suit up. Any positive Georgetown takeaway didn't end up mattering. The Hoyas finished 16-18, including 6-14 in Big East play. 
• BYU 78, North Carolina76: AJ Dybantsa (18 points, eight boards, three steals and three blocks) was pretty good. Caleb Wilson (22 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) was very good. That data point proved to be valuable. Wilson so clearly looked way, way better than anyone was initially projecting. Dybantsa and Wilson were two of the best players in the sport before going in the lottery. 
• Oklahoma State 97, No. 20 Auburn 95: On paper, it was pretty easy to see that Auburn's defense was going to be significantly worse after leaning on Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell to lead the Tigers to the 2025 Final Four. Auburn's defense getting shredded by Oklahoma State proved to be a warning sign of what was to come.  Auburn's defense finished 109th in efficiency in 2025-26.  

You get the point. Some exhibition takeaways do matter. Some are totally irrelevant. Context matters more than ever to decipher what's real, what's probably not real and what is totally pointless before the real games start in less than two weeks. 

Let's dive in to some notable results and takeaways from recent exhibition games

Baylor looks better than expected in OT win vs. Florida

What might be real: Baylor's point guard play is way better this year. Penn State transfer Kayden Mingo was absolutely frying against a Florida defense that played all five starters at least 33+ minutes and projects to be one of the best defenses in the sport. Mingo deposited 31 points and four assists, including some tough late-clock buckets over elite defenders. Mingo was in total control. Baylor nailed that portal coup.

What definitely isn't real: Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar will not shoot a combined 0-for-15 from 3-point range again this year. Aberdeen shot 36% from downtown last year on 4.8 attempts per game. Klavzar was 40% on 5.0 attempts. The rims looked tight to the eye test, too. 

Final word: Florida lost in overtime in a game that it shot 4-for-29 on 3-pointers and missed 13 free throws. Any other team is getting run off the floor in that scenario, but Florida's two-way paint dominance gives it the highest floor in college basketball. Florida is totally fine. The Gators are going to win a ton of games this year, but it'd be nice if this team didn't brick jumpers for months at a time again.

Preseason No. 1 Florida gets tripped up by Baylor in an exhibition. All five Gators' starters played 33+ minutes, but the offense was brutal for long stretches. 4-28 from downtown. Baylor PG Kayden Mingo (31 points, eight rebounds, four dimes) has taken a major sophomore leap. pic.twitter.com/2YVdLIqDO3

— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) October 18, 2026

Indiana frontcourt dominates in win vs. UNC

What might be real: Freshman big fella Sayon Keita is going to be a real nice player, but UNC's lack of physicality up and down the lineup is apparent. The Tar Heels got bullied on the glass (53-31) and gave up 17 second-chance points to Indiana's new-look frontline. Outside of getting five-in-five senior Cameron Fens eligible or ramping up the minutes for freshman wing Maximo Adams, I don't know what Michael Malone can do about it. It's going to be the Achilles' heel for the Tar Heels all season long. 

What definitely isn't real: Indiana is currently projected to finish 12th in the Big Ten and just inside the top-50 on KenPom. That isn't right. Indiana is a better team than that. The Hoosiers' investment in revamping the frontcourt is reaping rewards right away. Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu controlled the boards, and Indiana has multiple guards who can go get one. The Hoosiers weren't clicking on all cylinders offensively yet, but Darian DeVries has a roster that should have no issues holding its own in the Big Ten. I had IU fifth in CBS Sports' Big Ten preview. That's higher than consensus, and I feel good about it right now. This is a real team with plenty of competent high-major players and real rebounding appeal.

Final word: North Carolina has no shot at contending in the ACC without its guards playing awesome basketball. Neo Avdalas and Terrence Brown struggled mightily against Indiana. It's just one game, but that can't be the status quo. I'd like to see more on-ball reps for NC State transfer Matt Able, but Malone clearly doesn't want to play Avdalas or Brown off the ball too much because of their shooting concerns. It's a funky mix in a backcourt that has to be dynamic.

UNC freshman big man Sayon Keita has had some real moments in this first half against Indiana. Coast-to-coast for an off-hand layup is good stuff. Also multiple blocked shots. Couple defensive hiccups too, but that’s to be expected for a freshman. Tools are obvious. pic.twitter.com/rRv3rGm6w3

— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) October 18, 2026

Illinois picks up the pace in win vs. Cincinnati

What might be real: Illinois has changed its offensive gameplan. Last year, the Illini played slow (335th in average offensive possession length), and used a ton of pick-and-rolls because Keaton Wagler was a savant in that action. That blueprint led to the No. 2 offense in the country. This roster doesn't have Wagler, so the Illini have reverted to playing way, way faster with fewer pick-and-rolls. The Miami Heat famously scaled down its ball-screen usage in historic ways last year, instead relying on playing with pace, using one-on-one drives and sharp spacing to create advantages. Illinois may be trying to emulate that in some ways because it has numerous guys like Andrej Stojakovic, freshman Quentin Coleman, Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks and David Mirkovic (when healthy) who can slash and hunt mismatches. Illinois also got more 3-pointers from its big men than any other team in America, so it can play a ton of lineups with five guys who can dribble, pass, shoot and cut. Scoring 105 points at a 1.3 points-per-possession clip in the exhibition was a pretty good start for a new plan. 

What definitely isn't real: Cincinnati's defense isn't going to be this poor all year. This was just a brutal matchup. Jerrod Calhoun is too sharp and won't be afraid to throw a bunch of defenses out there to cause headaches.

Final word: Illinois' freshmen guards looking ahead of schedule is promising for Brad Underwood. Five-star recruit Quentin Coleman (14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds) is a lean, mean baller. Three-star recruit Ethan Brown is going to be a real factor as well. Brown had 15 points with three 3-pointers and earned the starting nod over Vaaks. Illinois' returners keep the floor high, but the freshmen raise the ceiling considerably.

St. John's PG Quinn Ellis goes off vs. Rutgers

What might be real: Rick Pitino played ex-EuroLeague point guard Quinn Ellis a whopping 56 minutes in a quadruple-overtime 104-99 win over Rutgers. That's outrageous. Ellis totaled 13 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and just one turnover, to go along with plenty of real-deal defense. The 23-year-old has awesome feel and will be a high-level, two-way player for St. John's. Ellis is a top-20 player in college basketball, even if his points-per-game stats won't blow you away. 

What definitely isn't real: If you don't think this exhibition game was important to both coaching staffs, you're in la-la land. This game mattered.

Final word: Rutgers was picked 16th or 17th in the Big Ten, depending on where you look. I think it can finish better than that, partially because Virginia Tech transfer big man Christian Gurdak looks like a hit. He had 20 points and 15 rebounds against St. John's. Rutgers already retained shot-making guards like Tariq Francis and Lino Mark, but Gurdak is a real floor-raising addition at the 5-spot. The St. John's discourse is just so hard right now. Ellis, Tounde Yessoufou and Ian Jackson are going to be a handful in that backcourt, but it's impossible to have real discussions about St. John's upside until we know if Babacar Sane, Keyshawn Hall and Reed Bailey can play all season. All need court cases to go their way.

Extra quick hitters from a week of ball-watching

• Creighton's Katrelle Harmon was one of my favorite under-the-radar guards in the incoming freshman class. He popped off for 16 points and six assists in the Bluejays' win over Iowa State. He also had the ball in his hands at the end of the game. Noticing. I think it's very much in play for Harmon to solve Creighton's ongoing point guard questions sooner rather than later.  
• Providence coach Bryan Hodgson is going to let these Friars get 'em up. 39 of the Friars' 70 shots were from 3-point range in a romp over Pittsburgh. Hodgson has revamped the shot chart for transfers like Miles Byrd and Arrinten Page. That stuff matters in preseason.
• Loyola-Chicago found a gem in Guillaume Grotzinger, who totaled 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in an exhibition loss to DePaul. The Frenchman can consistently get his shoulders past defenders time and time again. That matters. 

• Baylor may have beaten Florida, but this was in my notes: "This Baylor frontcourt is oof." Also, five-star freshman Dylan Mingo has some weird shooting mechanics. Make of that what you will
• Kentucky's offense was a slog in a 69-49 win over Little Rock. I need to see more before forming a real opinion, but it was pretty disjointed.
• Xavier destroying Tennessee on the road, 86-70, doesn't move the needle. I want to victory-lap the concerns I have for this Tennessee frontcourt, but the rotations for the Vols were all over the place. 

• Florida State freshman big man Marcis Ponder is so big and so physical that we may need a birth certificate check. How is he only 19!? Ponder devoured 21 rebounds in FSU's win over Auburn and raises the floor for the Seminoles considerably. 

Dominant offensive rebounding performance from Florida State freshman Marcis Ponder The 7-0, 285 pound freshman was ultra dominant crashing the glass using his monster frame to bully Auburn’s frontcourt Ponder had 13 points, 21 rebounds (12 offensive rebounds) 3 blocks, 83%… pic.twitter.com/kRsOVnsbns

— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) October 15, 2026