Last night was an absolutely elite night of Mid-major basketball. If you weren’t watching, make sure you check out @bracketNKY on X to see the scores you amy have missed! 

Tonight’s slate is very solid, especially for a Friday with CFP games on! 

METHODOLOGY

Each game is assigned a Power Rating (1–5):

 5️⃣ Must-Watch
National-impact game; typically Q1 vs. Q1.

 4️⃣ High-Level Matchup
Strong game with postseason or résumé relevance.

 3️⃣ Notable/Competitive
High quality mid-major matchup and/or decent high-major game

 2️⃣ Worth Monitoring
Intrigue, rivalry angle, or stylistic fun; Typically the solid mid-major matchups will go here.

1️⃣  Minimal Impact
Not a major bracket game, but includes a fun storyline or a mid/low major game of interest

High Major/High Profile Matchups: 

3️⃣  The only AP-Top 25 team in action is BYU who is playing a Buy game! 

4️⃣ Seton Hall @ Providence | 6:30, FS1

The Pirates are the nations most surprising team, while Providence is one of the most disappointing. Will Providence pull off a big win? They’re favored by 2.5 per Vegas! 

5️⃣ Wisconsin vs. Villanova | 8:00, FOX

This is the second matchup in the Milwaukee Hoops Showdown, and pits two teams looking for a marquee resume building win against each other. This is your game of the night and has a high potential to be very impactful along the bubble come March! 

3️⃣  FAU @ Saint Mary’s | 10:00, ESPN+c

SMC is favored currently by 13.5, and I expect them to win relatively big, but this is awesome. I wanted to make sure to give credit to both teams for the creative scheduling here! 

2️⃣ Washington @ Seattle | 11:30, ESPN2

First: I love that this matchup continues to be home and home. Great job Huskies for not ruining it! Second: This is a sneakily tough matchup for UW as Seattle is 9-2 and will put up a tough test. I expect Washington to win, but as the spread (Washington favored by 7.5) indicates, this one should be a good contest! 

Mid-Major Games to Watch: 

1️⃣ Dartmouth @ Sacred Hart | 11:00, ESPN+

I’m almost always going to watch a matchup like this. A lot of points are expected and currently SHU is a 1.5 point favorite! Great mid-day action! 

1️⃣ Grambling vs. Hampton | 5:00, ESPNU

1️⃣ Norfolk State vs. Jackson State | 7:30, ESPNU

Day 2 of the Chris Paul HBCU challenge brings a couple of great matchups! I think Hampton and Norfolk are the winners, but both matchups should be fun! 

1️⃣ South Dakota State vs. Milwaukee | 5:00, Pass the Ball Live 

While most of us will be unable to watch this, it should be a very intriguing Summit vs. Horizon League matchup that I really wish wasn’t buried on a random streaming service. 

3️⃣  Tulsa @ Western Kentucky | 7:30, ESPN+

This is a monumental matchup for Tulsa in Bowling Green. If they want any at-large shot, they have to win this. They’re currently favored by 2.5, but WKU will not go quietly! 

2️⃣ Belmont @ UC Irvine | 9:00, ESPN+ 

This is yet another elite mid-major matchup! The west coast teams normally struggle to get games like this, so props to Belmont for going out there! Irvine is currently favored by 1.5, but this should be a great game!