NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 68 of 2024-25 season featuring 12 Top 25 teams

Last night led to some keen observations. The first one is that UCLA is broken right now, and it seems that not all players and staff are marching forward toward the common goal of making it to the NCAA tournament. The team that beat Oregon, Arizona, and Gonzaga looks like a shell of themselves. They need to get back to the basics and start letting their defense drive their offense again. The second observation is Rutgers isn’t great but their two lottery pick Freshman are great. Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey did all the heavy lifting in the win over UCLA. It was a feel-good win for Rutgers, who is hoping to salvage their season. Next up for the Scarlet Knights. A matchup with an upset Nebraska team in Lincoln.

The Big Ten stole the show last night and Maryland narrowly avoided an upset against an improving Minnesota team. The Terrapins are fantastic at home, but like so many others, struggle mightily on the road. Maryland has three games this week, which is a strange scheduling quirk this season. The Terrapins play at Northwestern on Thursday and then back home to face Nebraska on Sunday.

There is one other game I would like to highlight, and that is the Nicholls win over Incarnate Word. It was a Southland game that didn’t, and won’t, mean much nationally, but Nicholls star Rob Brown scored 37 points and made 9 threes in the game. It was an impressive display of shooting. The other excellent display comes via Elon and their star Sam Sherry. Sherry carded a double-double and was 8-9 from the floor, 4-4 from the free throw line, and 3-3 from deep. It was a fantastic offensive display for the Phoenix star.

Monday was a good primer for an unbelievable Tuesday, especially in the SEC. Today may be the best weekday set of games that we have had all season long. There are three games between top 25 teams and a grand total of 12 ranked teams are in action. Three of the top five teams are in action today. The number 1 team will be shorthanded playing a game that they very well could lose. Good thing they are at home. Picks for a fantastic day 68 January 14, 2025, are below.

There are three games, all in the SEC, that are going to grab everyone’s attention. The problem is they are all on at the same time. Auburn, the new number 1 team in the country, hosts Mississippi State. Auburn star and National Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome is going to miss the game today with an ankle sprain. The injury doesn’t appear to be as serious as initially thought, and while he is out for an undetermined amount of time, it shouldn’t be a long-term absence though, which is good news for Auburn. Mississippi State is more than capable of beating Auburn, especially if they can slow them down, and without Broome, the task is a little easier.

Alabama and Ole Miss play another key game. Everyone knows about Alabama and how they play.  They play extremely fast and shoot a ton of threes. They have the tendency to blow teams out early and they also get into track meets frequently. Ole Miss also shoots a lot of threes and can make a lot of threes as well. The no-middles defense for the Rebels will likely keep Alabama at the three-point line, which should bode well for the Tide. Alabama at home is different.

Finally, Kentucky and their fast-paced, heavy three-point offense host Texas A&M and their fast-paced, heavy three-point offense. Kentucky has a few good wins but needs to get another one, and it can start with Texas A&M, especially without the Aggies star Wade Taylor. Taylor has not been healthy for a few games and missed the last one. Kentucky is going to take a ton of threes and play as fast as possible, and this game could be fun. It's going to be a track meet, and don’t be surprised if both teams score over 100. Enjoy the hoops!