Picks for Mens Basketball for Saturday, February 1, 2025, featuring Duke vs North Carolina

Friday only had 14 games, so there wasn’t much that could have happened, right? Wrong. There were almost two huge upsets, and one of those upsets would have gone a long way toward a team making the NCAA tournament. Purdue escaped Indiana after struggling the entire game. The Boilers could never hit the knockout punch on the Hoosiers. Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn did enough down the stretch to will Purdue to a victory. Indiana narrowly missed an opportunity to add a 3rd quad 1 win, and one that would have been one of the best in the country.

The other, almost upset, had far less significance. Georgetown beat Butler by three points in a game that was between two teams who likely won’t make the tournament unless they get hot in the month of February. The Hoyas are still in play for the Crown and the NIT so they need to avoid as many bad losses as possible. The Hoyas still do have an opportunity to get hot and find themselves on the bubble as well.

Friday always acts as a primer for a loaded Saturday of college hoops. This week, the sport brings us rivalry week. Most of the games this weekend are between heated rivals who share the same state and, in some cases, the same city. Something to note today is the fact that no ranked team is safe, and the overall number 1 team in the country might be in danger. The number 2 team could be in danger as well, given they have a huge rivalry game where anything can happen. My picks for the winners of every Saturday game are below.

It is hard to pick one game to highlight with so many great ones on the schedule but let’s pick the games with the biggest storylines first. Duke and North Carolina the Tobacco Road showdown. This game is usually close, but this year, the Blue Devils are much better than the Tar Heels. North Carolina has noticeable flaws especially on the defensive end that Duke should be able to exploit. The game should not be close because of the talent disparity, but these games are always close so don’t be surprised when it is close in the final five minutes.

The elephant in the room is in Rupp Arena. Kentucky welcomes Arkansas. Well why is that significant?  Arkansas’s head coach is none other than John Calipari. The former Kentucky coach makes his way back to Lexington with a new team and a goal of beating his old school with his new Razorbacks. Arkansas is without their best player for the rest of the year and Kentucky is rolling coming off a huge win at Tennessee. It might not be a happy return for Coach Calipari.

Then we have the most underrated rivalry in the sport. Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. The class of the West Coast Conference. This year the league is being ran by the Gaels and they get the Bulldogs at home first. Moraga has been a house of horrors for the Bulldogs in the past and this year could be the same. Saint Mary’s is very good with their ability to shoot threes and defend. They will force the pace and make Gonzaga slow down. The Bulldogs have the ultimate neutralizer in Ryan Nembhard who is the best point guard in basketball. This game will be physical and heated and fantastic. Enjoy the hoops!