Big Monday was a huge day for a bubble team and for two other teams fighting for seeding. In the first of two power conference games, Pitt lost to Virginia at the Zoo. Pitt is firmly on the bubble, and they were one of the last four teams in the tournament heading into last night. Losing to a bad Virginia team at home is not good, even worse was that Pitt looked lifeless for most of the night and had a hard time scoring. The Panthers need to figure it out quickly. There is always time for a run, but given that the ACC is not a good league this year. It might be too late.
The Big 12 had a huge game between Kansas and Iowa State. The Jayhawks blew out Iowa State and were finally able to get a win against one of the top teams in the league. Iowa State has now lost 3 in a row, and two of those three are in blowout fashion. The Cyclones are in free fall. Iowa State is still a lock to make the tournament but went from a potential 1 seed all the way down to a 3 seed in a week. Tough for a team that I do think is one of the best teams in the country. Hopefully, they can get it back on track.
Tuesday has some dynamite games with 12 ranked teams playing and 4 of them will likely lose. There are two top 25 vs top 25 matchups one in the Big East and one in the SEC. There are huge games in the Big Ten tonight that will have huge conference standings implications and the Big 12 has two games with the very same meaning. Picks for February 4th, 2025 are below.
Winner | Loser |
|---|---|
St. John's | Marquette |
Texas Southern | Pine Bluff |
Kent State | Eastern Michigan |
Florida | Vanderbilt |
Purdue | Iowa |
Ole Miss | Kentucky |
Wichita State | Charlotte |
Florida State | Notre Dame |
Saint Louis | UMass |
VCU | La Salle |
Dayton | Davidson |
Murray State | Drake |
Penn State | Minnesota |
Ohio | Western Michigan |
Bowling Green | Northern Illinois |
Miami Ohio | Central Michigan |
Toledo | Buffalo |
Akron | Ball State |
Houston | Oklahoma State |
Utah State | Wyoming |
Xavier | Georgetown |
SIU Edwardsville | Eastern Illinois |
Auburn | Oklahoma |
Texas Tech | Baylor |
Wisconsin | Indiana |
Clemson | Georgia Tech |
Loyola Chicago | St. Bonaventure |
Nevada | Air Force |
Northwestern | USC |
UCLA | Michigan State |
Arizona State | Kansas State |
San Jose State | Fresno State |
Arizona | BYU |
Boise State | UNLV |
There are too many games to discuss individually, but let’s start with Marquette and St. John’s. It is the first game of the night against two teams who are at the top of the Big East. The winner of this game will give themselves a leg up in the Big East standings. The Johnnies come in with an 8-game winning streak and are playing their best basketball of the season. Marquette is as steady as it comes. The Golden Eagles do have an outside chance of obtaining the last one seed so every win for them counts. Rj Luis vs Kam Jones is going to be an excellent matchup all night long.
Let’s head to the SEC, where Ole Miss hosts Kentucky. The Rebels have a huge signature win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, but they have struggled to beat the other ranked teams they have played. The good news is that in the SEC you get an opportunity every night to play a good team with good metrics. Kentucky is fresh off a loss at Rupp Arena to Arkansas and will be looking to pick up a huge road victory. This game is going to be fast-paced and a lot of fun to watch. Enjoy the hoops!