GAINESVILLE, FLA. ? Florida’s new group of freshmen looked fabulous in their season opener. Sophomore Christian Drejer was even better.

Drejer, the Danish standout who struggled because of injuries last season, had career highs of 19 points and 11 assists Tuesday night to lift No. 8 Florida to a 112-73 victory over Montana State.

“A guy like Christian, sometimes his passing becomes very, very contagious and all the guys start playing that way,” coach Billy Donovan said.

Freshman Ryan Appleby certainly got into the flow. The guard from Washington got a start in place of suspended Anthony Roberson and finished with six points and six assists.

Classmate Chris Richard, a 6-foot-8 forward from Lakeland, had 10 points and eight rebounds. Abukar, a 6-10 forward from California, had nine points and four rebounds.

“It was good getting out there,” Appleby said, “especially with the big game we’ve got coming up.”

Fresh off this easy win, the Gators get their first real challenge of the season Friday, when they play No. 4 Arizona in Springfield, Mass.

They’ll have plenty to build on, including the game-high, 20-point performance from David Lee, an 18-point night from Matt Walsh and, of course, Drejer’s stellar play.

Drejer’s fancy ballhandling defined a night in which the Gators simply toyed with their overmatched opponents from the Big Sky Conference.

“Our guys were just worried about ‘SportsCenter,'” Montana State coach Mick Durham quipped. “It’s going to be prime time in Montana when it comes on. They’ll watch to see which of our guys gets dunked on.”

Florida's Christian Drejer (10) goes up for two points as Montana State's Danny Faaborg (33) defends. Drejer had career highs of 19 points and 11 assists in the eighth-ranked Gators' 112-73 victory Tuesday in Gainesville, Fla.

No. 13 Saint Joseph’s 71, Boston University 56

Boston — Delonte West scored 20 points and Jameer Nelson added 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks (2-0) shot 12-of-29 from three-point range, including 8-for-16 in the first half. West scored nine of the Hawks’ first 14 points in the second half, including a layup with 12:23 left that gave the Hawks a 52-32 lead. Ryan Butt led Boston with 20 points.

No 15 Wisconsin 81, Eastern Illinois 47

Madison, Wis. — Freddie Owens scored a career-high 24 points and the Badgers (2-0) overcame shooting struggles for the victory. Devin Harris added 15 points, and Mike Wilkinson had 12 to help Wisconsin extend its home winning streak to 14 games. Jason Wright scored 11 points for Eastern Illinois (0-2), which had 23 turnovers and was whistled for almost twice as many fouls (29-15) as Wisconsin. The Badgers shot just 38 percent from the floor but were 34-of-41 from the free-throw line.

No. 25 North Carolina State 71, Howard 51

Raleigh, N.C. — Scooter Sherrill scored 17 points and Julius Hodge added 15 to lift the Wolfpack (2-0). Ilian Evtimov, who missed last season because of a knee injury, added 11 points and six rebounds. N.C. State improved to 59-6 at home against nonconference opponents under coach Herb Sendek, now in his eighth season. The Wolfpack also improved to 18-0 against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Louis Ford scored 13 points to lead the Bison (1-2).