There was something for everyone on Saturday, and with over 130 games on the slate, that is not surprising. There is only one undefeated team left and that is the Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee blew out Arkansas in their SEC opener. Kentucky and Florida both scored 100 points, but Kentucky won the game. That gave the Gators their first loss of the season. Alabama destroyed Oklahoma, which resulted in the Sooners' first loss of the season.
There was a team who had something to prove and that was the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers beat UCLA in Lincoln. It was an ugly basketball game, with both teams shooting well under 40% from the floor, but the defense for Nebraska was unreal again, and Nebraska picked up their signature win in the conference. In other Big Ten games Michigan beat USC in LA. The Wolverines are now 3-0 and join Michigan State as the only undefeated Big Ten teams.
Those were the big storylines of the day. In other games, North Carolina struggled to beat Notre Dame. George Washington blew out Dayton. That is going to a potentially bad loss for the Flyers. Arizona looked good in their win over a ranked Cincinnati team. The Bearcats are now 0-2 in the Big 12. Jackson State was 0-13 and now got their first win after they won their conference opener. Finally, UC San Diego has moved to 3-0 in the Big West after a huge win over Fullerton.
The Sunday schedule is dominated by the Patriot League, Northeast Conference, and Big Ten conference games. The country will learn a lot about some Big Ten teams today. The day will also be dominated by huge NFL games so the games today end in the early part of the evening. It is going to be a great end to a huge weekend of hoops. Picks for day 59 January 5th, 2025, are below.
Winner | Loser |
|---|---|
Penn State | Indiana |
Florida Atlantic | East Carolina |
Boston University | Army |
Lehigh | Loyola Maryland |
Wagner | Fairleigh Dickinson |
Central Connecticut | Mercyhurst |
UConn | Providence |
Purdue | Northwestern |
St Francis | Stonehill |
Lafayette | Navy |
Holy Cross | American |
Bucknell | Colgate |
Long Island | Chicago State |
Siena | Iona |
Rider | Manhattan |
Mount St. Mary's | Niagara |
Marist | Quinnipiac |
Sacred Heart | Canisius |
Drake | Murray State |
UCF | Kansas |
Oregon | Maryland |
Illinois | Washington |
Illinois State | Southern Illinois |
Memphis | North Texas |
Let’s point out two games that have the potential for some chaos. UCF hosts Kansas, and the Knights have proven they are more than capable of beating quality teams, especially at home. Kansas just lost to West Virginia at the Phog and now has a huge game against UCF in Florida. The Jayhawks do not want to fall to 0-2 in the league. The Knights would move to 2-0 with a win after beating Texas Tech in Lubbock in the opener.
The other game that everyone needs to be watching is Oregon vs Maryland. Maryland just got beat by Washington and has struggled to win on the road under current head coach Kevin Willard. Struggling is nice, the Terps have been downright awful on the road over the last two seasons and this season doesn’t look any different. Oregon got beat by 36 against Illinois in their last game, and they are out to prove that was just a fluke, and the Ducks are for real. The loser of that game falls to 1-3 in the Big Ten and finds themselves in a big hole.