Conference play is in full swing and some teams are already in trouble and are fighting an uphill battle. Villanova beat Butler at Hinkle. The Bulldogs blew a 13-point lead and surrendered a 21-1 run to lose the game to the Wildcats. Butler is now 0-3 in the Big East and head coach Thad Matta is having a hard time keeping Butler relevant in the Big East. DePaul, who had such a promising non-conference loss again, now falls to 0-3 in the Big East. The Blue Demons have lost 35 straight Big East regular season games.
In the ACC, Boston College beat Miami, The Hurricanes are a mess. Miami has lost Jim Larranaga to retirement, has only won 4 games, and looks overmatched in the ACC. It is going to be a long year in Coral Gables. Pitt beat California. The Panthers are at the top of the ACC and will continue to make that point all year. Clemson beat Stanford. The Tigers are very good and can win the ACC again this year. Finally, there were 3. Drake fell from the undefeated ranks as they lost to Illinois Chicago in Chicago. The Bulldogs are now in second place in the Horizon League behind 3-0 Bradley.
Conference play really gets going today. A lot of mid-major conferences begin their conference play today. The Big South, Atlantic Sun, Patriot League, Coastal Athletic, Conference USA, Big Sky, and Summit League all begin conference play. West Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big West, Ohio Valley, American, WAC and the Sun Belt all resume conference play today. Picks for day 56, January 2nd, 2025, are below.
Winner | Loser |
|---|---|
Charleston Southern | Gardner-Webb |
Longwood | Presbyterian |
North Florida | Austin Peay |
Winthrop | South Carolina Upstate |
Holy Cross | Loyola MD |
Troy | Appalachian State |
Memphis | Florida Atlantic |
High Point | Radford |
Colgate | Army |
Lafayette | Boston University |
Lehigh | Bucknell |
American | Navy |
Penn State | Northwestern |
James Madison | Southern Mississippi |
South Alabama | Georgia State |
Georgia Southern | UL Monroe |
Marshall | Texas State |
Coastal Carolina | Louisiana |
Arkansas State | Old Dominion |
Robert Morris | Detroit Mercy |
Oakland | Milwaukee |
Wright State | Green Bay |
Elon | North Carolina A&T |
Charleston | Hampton |
Hofstra | William & Mary |
UNC Wilmington | Towson |
Northeastern | Delaware |
Drexel | Campbell |
Monmouth | Stony Brook |
Queens | Stetson |
North Alabama | Bellarmine |
Lipscomb | Jacksonville |
Florida Gulf Coast | West Geogia |
Middle Tennessee | FIU |
LIberty | Western Kentucky |
Purdue | Minnesota |
Murray State | Illinois State |
Northern Arizona | Idaho State |
Northern Colorado | Weber State |
UC Irvine | Cal Poly |
North Dakota State | St Thomas |
Kansas City | South Dakota |
North Dakota | Omaha |
Indiana | Rutgers |
Eastern Kentucky | Central Arkansas |
Tennessee Tech | Southern Indiana |
Tennessee State | Southeast Missouri State |
UT Martin | Little Rock |
Eastern Illinois | Lindenwood |
Gonzaga | Portland |
Montana State | Idaho |
Montana | Eastern Washington |
South Dakota State | Denver |
SIU Edwardsville | Western Illinois |
UTEP | Louisiana Tech |
New Mexico State | Sam Houston |
Maryland | Washington |
Bakersfield | UC Davis |
Oregon | Illinois |
Fullerton | Northridge |
Long Beach | Riverside |
Saint Mary's | Pepperdine |
Santa Clara | San Diego |
San Francisco | Pacific |
Oregon State | LMU |
Hawaii | Santa Barbara |
There is one game that stands out above the rest. Illinois heads to Eugene to face a top-10 Oregon Ducks team. Oregon is almost impossible to beat at home and they will get their first major test as one of the premier teams from the Big Ten comes to their building. The Illini play fast and have one of the best freshmen in the county in Will Riley. The Ducks have a very experienced team and are doing it with fantastic guard play and defense. It will be a great game, with both teams looking to go 2-1 in the Big Ten. Enjoy the Hoops.