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NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 70 of 2024-25 season featuring Gonzaga vs Oregon State

Another unbelievable night of College Basketball on Wednesday. There were 5 overtime games and four of them went multiple overtimes. Three ranked teams lost and two more got pushed by non ranked opponents. Thursday has a lot of mid major games but big games in the Big Ten and WCC highlight the day.

Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle talks to his player Michael Rataj after subbing out the game during an NCAA basketball game at Gill Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Corvallis, Ore.
Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle talks to his player Michael Rataj after subbing out the game during an NCAA basketball game at Gill Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Corvallis, Ore. | Kevin Neri/Statesman Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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!