It was a light slate of games on Sunday and there were a lot of games that ended in blowouts, as expected. Even the best game of the day turned out to be no contest. Drake blew out Belmont. The Bulldogs remain undefeated and are one of the four undefeated teams in the sport. Drake has a good and experienced roster that all understand what head coach Ben McCollum wants and how he likes to play.
Drake was not the only undefeated team to win on Sunday. Two others played as well. Oklahoma beat Prairie View and Florida blew out Stetson. SEC play awaits both of them next and it will be interesting to see how both teams fare in conference play. Florida is very good, and Oklahoma is playing very well right now. Each team will make the tournament pretty easily at this point.
Monday has basketball all day as part of the WAC/Conference USA Challenge. There are a lot of Big Ten teams in action for their final non-conference games. Big 12 conference play gets started. Southland Conference play resumes, and West Coast Conference games resume. There are some good games today that will provide some intrigue. Picks for day 53, December 30, 2024, are below.
Winner | Loser |
|---|---|
Florida International | Utah Tech |
Princeton | Akron |
Michigan State | Western Michigan |
Cornell | Siena |
Rutgers | Columbia |
Auburn | Monmouth |
Cincinnati | Kansas State |
McNeese | Southeastern Louisiana |
Iowa | New Hampshire |
South Carolina | Presbyterian |
Missouri | Alabama State |
Houston | Oklahoma State |
Arkansas | Oakland |
Arizona | TCU |
Grand Canyon | Bryant |
Vanderbilt | New Orleans |
Colorado | Iowa State |
Mississippi State | Bethune |
Washington State | LMU |
Oregon State | Portland |
Gonzaga | Pepperdine |
Seattle | Nicholls |
UC Irvine | Cal Baptist |
San Francisco | Santa Clara |
Pacific | San Diego |
The Big 12 will have the best games of the day. Cincinnati gets a test going to the Octagon of Doom to open up the conference slate. Kansas State desperately needs a big win to feel good about themselves; that game is one to watch.
Let’s talk about Iowa State for a second. They are playing like the best team in the country right now, and the Cyclones are traveling to Boulder to play Colorado. Iowa State is the much better team but going to Boulder in the altitude is a tough way to start the conference season. A lot of great teams have gone to Boulder and lost. Watch for that one as well. Enjoy the hoops.