If we were going to think of a song to describe the Tuesday of basketball we just witnessed, it would be Oh, What a Night by the Dells. A party inspired that song, and last night, there were big parties in Gainesville and Iowa City. Florida destroyed Tennessee, beating them by 30, and the game was never that close. The Volunteers were the number 1 team heading into the game because they were the last undefeated team. Tennessee won’t be in the conversation for the number 1 team for a while now.
In Iowa City, Iowa beat Nebraska in a game that looked and felt like a tournament game. It was back and forth, and huge shots were being made all night long. This game also takes home the early award for the worst officiated game of the season, a football game broke out on both sides in the middle of the game. The Huskers jumped out to a 15-point lead early in the second half, and then Peyton Sandfort and Josh Dix took over. Sandfort scored 30 points in the second half and overtime, and he did it all in about nine total minutes of game time. It was an awe-inspiring display. Brice Williams was fantastic again for Nebraska, the Huskers were bad from the foul line last night which lost them the game.
One team was partying in Westwood, but it wasn’t UCLA. Michigan went into Pauley and put 94 points on UCLA. It was the most points UCLA had given up all season. UCLA is starting to see what life in the Big Ten is like. There were some other huge games last night as well. Arizona blew out West Virginia. The Wildcats are starting to find it now. Duke blew out Pitt, and the Blue Devils look like they should be in the conversation for the number 1 team in the country.
Finally, let's talk about some potential upsets followed by one huge upset. Georgetown almost went into Milwaukee and beat Marquette. Wyoming had a lead for most of the night before blowing it late and losing to New Mexico, Vanderbilt was a team I liked to beat Mississippi State in Nashville. It almost happened, but the Bulldogs were too much. Then we have a huge upset in the SEC. Georgia blew out Kentucky in Athens. It was the first top-10 win for the Bulldogs in 5 years. Coach Mike White has something in Athens this year.
It will be hard to top the Tuesday games, but Wednesday is going to do it’s best. There are two ranked teams who may lose today. One will for sure because they play another ranked team. Outside of that, there are a lot of bottom of the Big East teams in action. The Summit League, Patriot League, Missouri Valley, Atlantic 10, Sun Belt, Horizon League, SEC, ACC, Big 12, American, SoCon, and the Big South are all in action today. Picks for day 62, January 8, 2025, are below.
Winner | Loser |
|---|---|
Army | Loyola Maryland |
Holy Cross | Navy |
UConn | Villanova |
La Salle | Loyola Chicago |
Seton Hall | DePaul |
App State | Coastal Carolina |
Youngstown State | Northern Kentucky |
Alabama | South Carolina |
Arkansas | Ole Miss |
Presbyterian | South Carolina Upstate |
Longwood | UNC Asheville |
Gardner-Webb | Winthrop |
High Point | Charleston Southern |
UCF | Colorado |
Florida Atlantic | Charlotte |
East Carolina | Temple |
Florida State | Miami |
NC State | Notre Dame |
Rhode Island | George Washington |
George Mason | Richmond |
VCU | Fordham |
Saint Joseph's | Duquesne |
Dayton | UMass |
Northern Iowa | Murray State |
Bradley | Drake |
Colgate | Lehigh |
Boston University | American |
Bucknell | Lafayette |
Indiana | USC |
Robert Morris | Cleveland State |
Fort Wayne | Milwaukee |
Wofford | Western Carolina |
Mercer | ETSU |
Furman | The Citadel |
Belmont | Southern Illinois |
St. Bonaventure | Saint Louis |
Valpo | Indiana State |
Illinois State | Evansville |
Providence | Butler |
Georgia State | Georgia Southern |
Texas A&M | Oklahoma |
Kansas | Arizona State |
Illinois | Penn State |
Gonzaga | San Diego |
North Texas | Rice |
Stanford | Virginia Tech |
St Thomas | South Dakota State |
Kansas City | Omaha |
San Diego State | Air Force |
California | Virginia |
Two games stick out above the rest today. It starts in Philadelphia with Villanova hosting UConn. The Wildcats appear to have turned a corner and are favored to win today. However, UConn has not lost a game outside of Hawaii this year and has a better team than Villanova does. The Wildcats are going to see if they have turned a corner and will be tested tonight by the Big East favorite.
Then there is a huge game in primetime between 10th-ranked Texas A&M and 17th-ranked Oklahoma. The Aggies are a physical bunch who like to throw their weight around in the paint and have some fantastic guards who can score from anywhere on the floor. Oklahoma has one of the best freshmen in the country in Jeremiah Fears, but they may not have enough talent to beat Texas A&M even if the game is in Norman. Enjoy the hoops.