It has been quite a week of basketball already. Wednesday provided more intrigue than the Tuesday schedule did. 3 ranked teams lost, 2 of them were pushed by non-ranked opponents, and one of them further cemented their ranking as one of the best teams in the country. Other than that, there were just 5 overtime games, with four of them going multiple overtime periods. None of them were power conference games but they were a lot of fun to watch.
Let’s start with the ranked teams. Iowa State blew out Kansas at Hilton. If you still haven’t watched Iowa State play, do that. They are fantastic and this is the best Cyclones team ever and they are a legitimate National Title contender. Kansas needs to get tougher. Flat out, they have been out worked and been the less physical team in all of their losses. Michigan State was the more physical team against Penn State. The Spartans only won by 5, but the game never felt in doubt; every time the Nittany Lions made a run, Michigan State had an answer. Purdue fresh off their absolute beatdown of Nebraska on Sunday, struggled on the offensive end all night. The Boilers prevailed behind defense and their big three. Even without Zach Edey, Purdue is a Big Ten title contender.
Kansas lost to Iowa State, but two other ranked teams lost. Newly ranked Georgia lost on the road to Tennessee. The Volunteers were losing at half time before finally turning it on and blowing out Georgia in the second half. Tennessee is still a great team just not the best team. UNLV has the Mountain West win of the year. They beat Utah State in Vegas. That is a big-time win for the Rebels. Utah State took only their second loss of the season last night.
The overtime games were a lot of fun to watch, even with most of them happening in smaller conferences. Winthrop beat Charleston Southern in triple overtime. UMass beat Fordham at Rose Hill in triple overtime. Fort Wayne beat Wright State in double overtime. That was a road win for the Mastodons. Chattanooga hung on to beat Wofford in overtime, and finally UIC beat Murray State in double overtime.
There are a lot of games today but only two ranked teams play. One of them is on a potentially upset watch. There are some teams who desperately need wins today in the power conferences and there is one team who can’t afford a loss. Most of the schedule today is dominated by low and mid-major conferences. Picks for day 70 January 16, 2025, are below.
Winner | Loser |
---|---|
Maine | NJIT |
UMBC | New Hampshire |
Albany | Bryant |
Delaware | Stony Brook |
Lipscomb | Bellarmine |
Florida Gulf Coast | West Georgia |
Memphis | Temple |
Michigan | Minnesota |
Longwood | High Point |
Vermont | Binghamton |
James Madison | Marshall |
Coastal Carolina | Georgia Southern |
Old Dominion | App State |
Charleston | Campbell |
Elon | Drexel |
Hampton | William & Mary |
North Carolina A & T | Monmouth |
Towson | Hofstra |
UNC Wilmington | Northeastern |
North Florida | Central Arkansas |
Queens | Stetson |
North Alabama | Jacksonville |
Quinnipiac | Merrimack |
Saint Peter's | Marist |
Fairfield | Niagara |
Rider | Mount St. Mary's |
Siena | Sacred Heart |
Iona | Canisius |
Kennesaw State | Sam Houston |
Louisiana Tech | Jacksonville State |
FIU | New Mexico State |
Morehead State | Western Illinois |
Northern Arizona | Sacramento State |
Northern Colorado | Portland State |
Arkansas State | Louisiana |
Eastern Kentucky | Austin Peay |
Utah Valley | UT Arlington |
Tarleton State | Cal Baptist |
South Dakota State | North Dakota |
South Dakota | Oral Roberts |
North Dakota State | Kansas City |
SIU Edwardsville | Tennessee State |
Tennessee Tech | SEMO |
Southern Indiana | Lindenwood |
UT Martin | Eastern Illinois |
Maryland | Northwestern |
Nebraska | Rutgers |
Idaho State | Montana State |
Grand Canyon | Abilene Christian |
Weber State | Montana |
Liberty | UTEP |
UC Davis | Cal Poly |
UC Irvine | Fullerton |
Santa Barbara | UC Riverside |
UC San Diego | Long Beach |
LMU | Santa Clara |
Portland | Pacific |
San Francisco | Pepperdine |
Washington State | San Diego |
Seattle | Utah Tech |
Gonzaga | Oregon State |
Hawaii | Northridge |
The game that I want to highlight today is one in the West Coast Conference between a powerhouse program and a new team to the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga takes their show on the road to Oregon State. The Beavers have had a good year so far but need a huge win to cement their place in the West Coast Conference. Tonight, is their first opportunity for a giant win and one that would go a long way towards making sure the Beavers are in some sort of postseason tournament.
Gonzaga needs not to have an off night tonight. Gill Coliseum will be amped up for the Bulldogs' arrival. The Bulldogs will likely take care of business but the game could be a lot closer than the spread suggests. Enjoy the hoops!