The 2026-27 regular season opened on Monday with Southeast Missouri and SIUE picking up victories.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Ty-Laur Johnson scored 15 points and Deondrea Lindsey added 10, but Tennessee State fell to Murray State 94-64 Monday at the Sanford Pentagon in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon.
The Tigers (0-1) trailed by 11 at halftime before Murray State shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half to pull away.
Johnson added four rebounds, four assists and two steals while going 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. Lindsey made all four of his free throws and recorded a steal and a block in his Tennessee State debut.
Christian Alston finished with eight points and a team-high five rebounds. Aaron Bradshaw and Kavien Jones scored seven points apiece and each collected four rebounds. Jayden Jones added six points and four rebounds off the bench, while Arterio Morris contributed six points and four assists.
Tennessee State finished with 11 assists on 17 field goals but shot 30.9 percent overall and committed 26 turnovers. Murray State converted those turnovers into 26 points and held a 50-22 advantage in points in the paint.
Bradshaw knocked down a 3-pointer for Tennessee State's first basket of the season, giving the Tigers an early 3-2 lead. Johnson later connected from beyond the arc to put TSU ahead 6-5.
The teams were tied at 12 before Murray State used a 10-0 run to build a 22-12 advantage with 11:36 remaining in the first half. Tennessee State made four first-half 3-pointers and shot 42.3 percent from the field, but the Racers carried a 46-35 lead into the break.
Murray State extended its advantage after halftime, making 16 of its 24 second-half field-goal attempts. Tennessee State was limited to six field goals in the period.
Trailing 84-54, the Tigers put together a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 84-60 with 5:25 remaining. The Racers closed the game by outscoring TSU 10-4.
Roman Domon led Murray State (1-0) with 22 points, while Kaden Magwood added 15 off the bench.
SIUE 91, EUREKA COLLEGE 39
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball used a total team effort for a 91-39 victory over Eureka to open the 2026-27 regular season Monday at First Community Arena.
All 13 players who saw the floor for SIUE scored and the Cougars won their home opener for their sixth consecutive season.
SIUE used the first of several runs to take control midway through the first half. Eureka's Santino Ruma made a pair of free throws to put the Red Devils up 5-3 just over two minutes into the game. The Cougars then used a 16-0 run to push out to a 19-5 advantage. SIUE finished the half with a 9-0 run to lead 41-17.
Jaxson Provost used a traditional three-point play to cut the SIUE lead 54-33 with 12:56 left when SIUE turned up the intensity.
The Cougars used an 18-0 run, fueled in part by nine Eureka turnovers to extend the advantage to 72-39. In all, the SIUE defense limited Eureka to just six points over the game's final 12:56.
Freshman Brennan Miller led SIUE with 13 points and eight rebounds. Fellow freshman Belal Sohaib scored 11 and added five rebounds. Gianni Cobb and Jordan Pickett each scored 10 points.
SIUE dominated inside, scoring 62 points in the paint, compared to just six for Eureka.
The Cougars' defense limited Eureka to just 26 percent (12-47) shooting and forced 28 turnover, while scoring 41 points as a result.
For the game, SIUE connected on 54 percent (37-68) of its shots and outrebounded Eureka 43-29.
Provost lead Eureka with 17 ponts. He was the only player in double figures for the Red Devils.
BELMONT 72, SOUTHERN INDIANA 54
NASHVILLE - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball had a slow start to the season, falling to Belmont University in the 2026-27 season opener at Curb Event Center on Monday night.
The Screaming Eagles' (0-1) offense could not catch a spark early, leading to the Bruins (1-0) jumping out to an early lead and rolling to a 72-54 final.
The first frame was anything but kind for the Screaming Eagles on offense. USI's first made field goal came after eight minutes with junior Ari Gooch driving into the paint for a layup followed by a jumper by redshirt sophomore Yesan Warren to make it 9-5 in favor of Belmont.
After Gooch scored once more to pull within one score, the Bruins went on a 13-2 run that extended their lead to 23-9. After Pautsch scored his first USI bucket, Brown drilled a three with just under a minute and a half left in the first half as the final basket of the frame, sending USI to the locker room trailing 27-14.
Belmont quickly scored five points to begin the second half before junior Fredy-Salam Sylla put up his first points as a Screaming Eagle, cutting the Bruins' lead to 16. Following another basket from Belmont, Brown nailed back-to-back treys to force a Bruins timeout and make it a 12-point game.
The Screaming Eagles continued its strong surge with back-to-back layups by Gooch and Sylla to make it 34-26. Rather quickly, Belmont recovered and scored seven straight to extend the lead to 15. Brown would drain his third triple of the night and Pautsch would score again inside the paint to pull within 10.
USI and Belmont would trade baskets through the next few minutes until the Bruins started to pull away with several short runs that built into a 64-48 advantage entering the final media timeout. Dunham and senior Didier Maleng accounted for all of USI's final six points of the game.
INDIANA 91, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Playing with a nearly new roster for the 2026-27 season, Eastern Illinois men’s basketball had solid stretches of play before eventually falling 91-57 at Indiana in the season opener on Monday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Panthers were solid in the opening 12 minutes of the first half trailing 21-19 with 10:19 to play in the first half with solid minutes by freshman Jayden Wright. Wright scored seven points with two rebounds and two assists during his first stint on the floor.
EIU would hit a cold streak from the floor after getting within two as IU went on an 18-0 run with the Panthers going nearly nine minutes without scoring late in the first half. Tanner Vogel snapped the cold streak with free throws with 30 seconds left in the half as Indiana led 44-23 at the half.
Tanner Vogel finished with eight points and seven rebounds. The Hoosiers won the battle on the glass with a 34-26 edge including 13 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second chance points.
Demar Burton was the Panthers leading scorer with ten points going 4-of-8 from the floor. As a team EIU finished the night shooting 50 percent including 16-of-29 in the second half (55.2 pct).
Daniel Ntambwe added eight points for the Panthers who play at Iowa on Friday night.
Markus Burton carried the Hoosiers offense most of the night scoring 19 points. Bryce Lindsay added 14 going 3-of-5 from 3-point range where Indiana went 9-of-24 in the game.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 83, MOREHEAD STATE 58
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Morehead State men's basketball hung with in-state foe Western Kentucky for a half Monday night in both team's 2026-27 season openers, but the host Hilltoppers used a barrage of three-pointers late in the first period and second half to pull away and hand MSU a 83-58 defeat at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Junior guard Chase Dawson led the Eagles with 13 points, while sophomore Clayton Parker got to doubles as well with 12. All 13 Eagles saw action in the season opener.
The Eagles held a couple of early leads, including 7-6 after falling behind 6-0. WKU edged ahead 21-17, but a bucket by Vince Dawson III had MSU within two (21-19) with 9:41 left in the first half. However, the 'Toppers used an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to distance themselves. MSU was never able to cut the deficit below six the rest of the half and trailed 38-28 at the break.
WKU hit four of its first five triples in the second stanza and eventually built its cushion to 20+ by the second media timeout. WKU outscored MSU 45-30 in the final 20 minutes.
The Eagles finished the night shooting 36 percent (21-of-58) but was limited on its three-point accuracy, hitting just 22 percent. WKU out-rebounded MSU 43-35. Tayvion Tangiora led the Eagles with seven boards.
Tegan Moore led the home team with 17 points as four WKU players scored 10+. WKU shot 44 percent and drained 10 three-balls.
Morehead State had 13 turnovers but just three in the second half.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 86, LIPSCOMB 79
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (1-0) used a balanced effort with Drew Cooper scoring 14 points to lead five double-digit scorers in an 86-79 season-opening win over Lipscomb (0-1) Monday night at the Show Me Center.
PJ Farmer followed with a career-high 13 points, Fontaine Williams, Jr. added 13, Alonzo Clawson-Smith pitched in 12 and Marqueas Bell contributed 10 joining Cooper in double figures.
SEMO showed its strong depth outscoring LU by a staggering, 51-15, off the bench. The Redhawks trailed, 42-40, at halftime before outscoring the Bisons, 46-37, in the final 20 minutes.
Clawson-Smith buried a 3-pointer to put SEMO ahead, 57-56, with 12:20 left to play and the Redhawks didn't lose their lead the rest of the way. The Redhawks led by as many as nine points three times in last 12-plus minutes. Cooper's 3-pointer made it an 86-77 game with 33 seconds on the clock before SEMO put the win on ice.
SEMO jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first 8:03 of the contest. Marcus Eaves made a pair of 3-pointers and a jumper. Eaves' second three put the Redhawks ahead, 19-12, with 11:57 left to play in the first half. LU answered with a 12-0 run and went up 24-19 on Titas Sargiunas' 3-pointer at the 9:42 mark.
The Redhawks later regained a 36-34 edge on Farmer's layup before the Bisons carried their two-point lead into the intermission.
Farmer shot 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He also dished out two assists and collected two steals. Williams, Jr. was 4-of-8 from the floor and had four assists, while Clawson-Smith hit 5-of-9 field goals. Cooper hit 5-of-10 from the field and pulled down six rebounds.
Clayton Jewell led SEMO with seven rebounds and the Redhawks outrebounded LU, 38-33. SEMO shot 55 percent (11-of-20) from downtown and 47.9 percent (34-of-71) for the game.
Takai Simpson paced LU with a game-high 22 points.
The Redhawks opened a season at home against an NCAA Division I opponent for the first time since 2003. SEMO improved to 14-22 all-time in season-openers during its D-I era and 4-3 in such games under Head Coach Brad Korn.
VALPARAISO 80, WESTERN ILLINOIS 58
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Recap coming soon.
TULANE 100, UT MARTIN 98 (2OT)
NEW ORLEANS - Recap coming soon.
TCU 98, LINDENWOOD 59
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Lindenwood Men's Basketball team (0-1, 0-0 OVC) fell in their season opener on Monday night at TCU by a final score of 98-59. Malek Archie led the Lions in scoring with 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, while Lindenwood pulled down 16 offensive rebounds against the Horned Frogs.
To open the first half, Marsai Mason and Dom Clay each connected on their first three point attempts of the season to cut the early TCU lead down to four by a score of 12-8 at the under 16 media timeout. Coming out of the break, Malek Archie scored the next four points for the Black and Gold, but TCU responded with an 18-8 run over the next six minutes to build a 34-20 advantage with 8:37 remaining in the half. Archie and Derek Rollins briefly cut the deficit to 10, but the Horned Frogs closed the half with a 23-13 run to take a 57-37 lead into the locker room. TCU scored 19 of its 57 first half points at the free throw line, while Archie paced the Lions with 10 points before halftime.
In the second half, Noah Taitz scored four of Lindenwood's first five points to make it a 64-42 game with 15:49 remaining. However, the Horned Frogs responded with a 17-0 run to extend their lead to 81-42 with 10 minutes to play. TCU maintained its advantage the rest of the way to secure the 98-59 victory.
Over the final 10 minutes, Archie added eight more points, while Taitz chipped in five to finish with nine points in his Lindenwood debut.