Every once in a while, life happens, and we don’t always get to do things that we would normally do. Yesterday, I had it all planned out I was going to sit down and have a lazy Sunday. I was going to watch as much college basketball as I could without interruption; well, life had other plans. I couldn’t do that or watch nearly as much college basketball as I wanted to. The one game I watched was a blowout. Purdue hammered Nebraska in Mackey. The Boilers won by 36 points, scored 100 points, and made 20 threes. It was one of those days for the Boilers where everything they put up went in the basket.
Nebraska has got to get their road woes sorted out. They are a much better team than last season and have relied on the defensive end for most of the year. In the first half of the game, the Huskers were playing their brand of defense, and Purdue was just making a ton of shots. In the second half, the Boilers broke Nebraska’s will and were able to do anything they wanted. Sometimes that happens. The Huskers are still in good shape this year and just need to start getting some wins. If they can beat Creighton in Omaha, they can beat anyone anywhere.
I mentioned yesterday that the Big Ten dominated the day. In the other Big Ten games, Michigan State beat Northwestern, Michigan beat Washington, and Oregon beat Penn State. The Spartans and Wolverines move to 5-0 in the league. They are the only two undefeated teams in the league. Oregon got out to a huge lead and then had to hang on at the end of the game to win it. West Virginia beat Colorado in the other power conference game on Sunday.
The Big Ten also dominates the Monday schedule. They have two big games in the league on the east coast. The ACC has two of their bottom-tier teams in action. Other than that, we get some SWAC, Patriot League, Southern, MEAC, and Southland conference play. It is the calm before another huge Tuesday of conference play. Picks for day 67, January 13, 2025, are below.
Winner | Loser |
|---|---|
Pine Bluff | Prairie View A&M |
UCLA | Rutgers |
Maryland | Minnesota |
Notre Dame | Boston College |
Texas Southern | Mississippi Valley State |
Loyola Maryland | American |
Alabama State | Alcorn State |
Furman | Wofford |
Norfolk State | Morgan State |
South Carolina State | Maryland Eastern Shore |
NC Central | Delaware State |
Howard | Coppin State |
Grambling | Florida A&M |
Southern | Bethune |
UT Rio Grande Valley | East Texas A&M |
Incarnate Word | Nicholls |
Stephen F. Austin | Southeastern Louisiana |
Jackson State | Alabama A&M |
Texas A&M Corpus Christi | Northwestern State |
Lamar | New Orleans |
McNeese | Houston Christian |
Elon | Campbell |
Staying with the theme of the last two days, the Big Ten has the best games of the day. UCLA visits Rutgers in desperate need of a win. The Bruins last win was against Gonzaga in Inglewood before traveling to Lincoln, where they lost. In that time head coach Mick Cronin has called out players by name and has called his whole team soft. UCLA needs to get back to their physical brand of basketball and get their playmakers involved.
Rutgers is not a gimmie game especially in New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights desperately need a get-right game, as it has been tough sledding for a team many thought highly of this season. Rutgers has two of the top freshmen in the game but not much else to go around them. Jersey Mike’s arena should be hopping but UCLA is going to be tough for Rutgers to beat if they are not making shots. Enjoy the hoops!