My recap of the action between #1 Duke and #3 Gonzaga on Wednesday night in a big-time matchup early in the season. Gonzaga proved that Duke won't simply ease their way to a championship after squeaking out a victory against the Blue Devils.

College basketball season is starting to heat up among a sea of mismatches where powerhouse schools face off against liberal arts colleges even that one weird artsy aunt of yours has never heard of. Random tournaments give us the chance to see real contenders face off against each other before conference play begins next month.

On Wednesday night, I treated myself to an incredible basketball game as #3 Gonzaga faced off against #1 Duke in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Championship Game in Hawaii.

Duke is expected by many to win the 2019 NCAA National Championship. They are led by a group of freshmen that may be the single best group of freshmen in the history of college basketball. The group is led by forward 6'7, 285-pound Zion Williamson, and also includes three additional starters in R.J. Barrett, Cameron Reddish, and Tre Jones.

Freshmen, What Freshmen? First Half Recap

A team ranked 3rd in the nation isn't exactly flying under the radar, but there has been little talk about Gonzaga as an actual title contender. Led by junior Rui Hachimura from Japan and a strong supporting cast that includes Zach Norvell Jr. and forward Brandon Clarke, the Bulldogs were able to match Duke basket for basket, adjusting quickly to Duke's fast pace.

When facing off against a supremely talented group of young players who have little experience playing together, you have an opportunity to catch them off guard and test their ability to work together. While Duke was missing shots, shooting around 40% from the field going into halftime, Gonzaga shot 60% from the three-point line and 65% from the field.

Despite Duke's inconsistency in the first half, Zion played tough and allowed his athleticism to shine with two beautiful blocks. Duke went into halftime down by eight, and they were very lucky to only be down by eight (47-39) due to how well Gonzaga played.

Closing Out the Blue Devils & Final Thoughts

The second half was more of the same at the beginning while Duke continued to battle back after falling down nearly 20 points early in the half. Williamson continued to add blocks, rebounds, and points, but I did not think that it would be enough to keep up with Gonzaga's sharpshooting. Gonzaga overcame foul trouble and slowing down on offense by making plays when they absolutely needed to.

After a ferocious dunk off of a rebound, Zion Williamson put the Blue Devils within striking distance, now down only six (81-75) with five minutes left. R.J. Barrett added several timely dunks and an and-one to put Duke within one (83-82).

Zion Williamson tied the game with just 1:40 left to go before Hachimura put the Bulldogs back in the lead with a layup. After missing four straight free throws, Duke had a chance to win or tie with 10-seconds left, but just couldn't put the ball in the basket. Duke missed their final seven shots.

Gonzaga held off Duke for a close but impressive 89-87 win.

The most underrated aspect of the game will be Gonzaga's defense, which was able to pressure Williamson and cause him to make mistakes when on offense, including a missed dunk. It was clear that they began to get inside the heads of the freshmen. The older, more experienced Gonzaga team played that way, and they were not even at full strength with Killian Tillie, their best shooter, out for 4-6 more weeks with an ankle injury.

I was skeptical of Zion Williamson, and while he has a lot of improvements to make through the year, he is likely your #1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and he's probably worth the pick. Zion finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Hachimura finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks for Gonzaga.

I look forward to watching a lot of college basketball this season. This game has me warmed up for a lot more. I'm also a new fan of Gonzaga for this season, although I will still root for my Michigan State Spartans first.

Have you watched any college basketball yet this season? What teams should I check out?

Note: All screenshots were taken by me while watching on ESPN.com.