The most anticipated Texas basketball season in recent memory tipped off in impressive fashion Friday night, with the Longhorns cruising to an 85-50 victory. Despite the Frank Erwin Center currently sitting as an isolated island in a sea of construction, over 9,000 fans showed up, with the lower-level student section completely filled. While the media has been bullish on this Texas team ever since Myles Turner donned a Longhorn bucket hat at the end of April, it’s clear that for the first time in years, Austin is already on the Texas hoops bandwagon in November.

With one game now in the books, here are eight notes and observations from the 2014-15 tip off:

1. Taylor unfazed by early miscues

The Longhorns were led by Isaiah Taylor, who was pulled in favor of Javan Felix less than four minutes into the game, following a turnover. Taylor coughed it up again a few minutes later and finished the first half just 1-of-6 from the field.

Despite the slow start, Taylor exploded after the break, finishing with 18 points in 28 minutes. The point guard logged just two assists, but he did have multiple drives that opened up the lane for the Texas bigs and resulted in trips to the line. He also tightened up his ball control, not allowing a single turnover the rest of way.

North Dakota State gave Taylor a ton of cushion when guarding him, yet he still managed to slash to the rim and draw additional defenders. He also knocked down outside jumpers — including a pair of threes — to keep the Bison honest, something certainly worth noting after he made just 26.3% of his threes last year.

2. Everything they said was true

With everyone returning for Coach Rick Barnes — with the exception of dismissed guard Martez Walker — and big man Turner added to the lineup, it was clear that the Horns would have a very deep bench and a massive frontcourt. That was on display early in this one, with North Dakota State settling for long jumpers and finding it difficult to reach the paint in the first half, regardless of who the Longhorns had on the floor.

Texas used multiple defensive looks, including some 2-3 zone combinations that were borderline unfair. With Connor Lammert, Cameron Ridley, Prince Ibeh, Jonathan Holmes, and Turner all available to choose from on the Texas bench, easy looks inside were few and far between for NDSU, while most corner threes had to be hoisted over one of those giants as they quickly closed out on the Bison shooters.

3. Free-throw shooting was steady

The Longhorns made just over 67% of their attempts at the charity stripe last season, a troubling number that was part of a larger trend for the Horns. That mark was actually the second-highest free-throw percentage for Texas in the last five seasons, with only the 2012 team serving as an outlier with its 73.3% success rate.

Last night, Texas sank 18 of 21 attempts (85.7%), although one miss by Prince Ibeh did come on the front end of a one-and-one. Even though it’s a very small sample size for a season with 30-plus games, it was reassuring to see multiple Longhorns confidently knock down their freebies.

4. Myles Turner made a quick splash

The heralded freshman instantly made an impact when he entered the contest just 3:55 into the game. Only 24 seconds later, he drilled a turnaround jumper, and scored in a variety of ways en route to a 15-point performance. One one first-half possession, he knocked down a face-up 17-footer when passing lanes were closed and the defense didn’t stay in his shirt. Later, Turner patiently backed his man down the baseline before popping a step-back jumper in front of the frozen defender. Myles played with a poise that often escapes freshmen, who sometimes try to play at 100 MPH in their early games.

On the defensive end, Turner’s length caused problems both inside the paint and out. He had no problem stepping out from the lane and forcing Bison players to retreat to the perimeter, using his length and good angles to severely limit their options. Down low, he altered numerous shots and officially recorded two blocks. Turner’s interior presence was a huge reason why NDSU managed to make just three shots inside the arc during the first half.

5. Holmes re-defined efficient

The lone senior on the roster has always been a phenomenal catch-and-shoot guy behind the arc, and he showed that early against the Bison. Holmes knocked down a pair of triples, plus sank all three of his attempts inside the arc, and was perfect on three free throws. He finished with 15 points in just 15 minutes, posting an insane 206.2 offensive rating on the night.

6. Lammert was unforgiving on the defensive glass

While the Texas defense was forcing miss after miss early in the game, Lammert was making sure that the Bison had no second chances. Lammert snagged five defensive boards in nine first-half minutes of action, and finished with seven on the night. With NDSU chucking up long-range shots, many of the caroms were long, but Lammert was on his toes and reacted quickly to every funny bounce.

7. Ridley unveiled a new look

Big man Ridley didn’t just shed some hair in time for the season opener, as he clearly had shed some pounds, too. He looked lean and mean, and was able to react quickly on the back line of the Texas zone when NDSU worked it into the corner for a three. Ridley has always been good at running the floor in transition, but he also seemed to be even a bit faster on the break last night, which resulted in a highlight-reel dunk following a behind-the-back assist from Taylor.

While Ridley probably won’t be required to play a massive amount of minutes thanks to the Texas depth, it’s good to know that if foul trouble requires him to absorb more playing time, the big man looks like he has the conditioning to handle it.

8. The D used some vacation hours in the second half

With a lead in the 20 and 30-point range in the second half, it probably isn’t too surprising that the Texas defensive pressure was a little lacking. After the break, the Horns allowed more dribble penetration, and their rotations were often slow, resulting in close looks or trips to the line. The Bison found it much easier to get to the paint in the second half, and they were simply quicker with their ball movement, allowing them to exploit the Texas D for wide open threes.

On a team with a ton of players looking for time on the court and a coach who highly values defense, that may result in some changes to how the minutes are distributed on Sunday against Alcorn State. The Longhorns still only allowed .930 adjusted points per possession, according to Ken Pomeroy, but obviously had some breakdowns they can work on.

Next up: vs. Alcorn State; 7 P.M. CT, Sunday (ESPNU)