Welcome to Winter! We have some really solid hoops today before the week will slow down with the Holiday! I’ve updated this daily piece a bit. It now includes yesterday’s recap, as well as today’s games to watch! I try to focus on recapping the relevant top end games, and highlighting some of the best mid-major games!

Saturday brought us some massive implications and very fun results!

Game of the Day likely included the comeback of the year! Texas Tech, led by Christian Anderson came all the way back to beat Duke last night in a classic in MSG! Huge win for the Red Raiders!

Purdue routed Auburn in Indy to move to 11-1! The gap between the top 8 or so teams and the field is growing, and this result, along with the Houston win over Arkansas just helps push that narrative further.

Arizona, despite a very slow 1st half ended up easily rolling past SDSU late Saturday. This team is just so talented and figures to be a 1 seed. SDSU, on the other hand is on life support!

Michigan State and Oakland played in the annual Christmas sweater matchup between Kampe and Izzo with some elite sweaters, and really good ball! Oakland is clearly the Horizon league favorite, and MSU looks to be a final 4 caliber team.

North Carolina took care of Ohio State in Atlanta behind a Vessaar bucket late! Kentucky beat St. John’s behind a crazy second half from the Cats D! For UNC, this was a really big result as this was the kind of game Davis and co, had been losing in years past. Ohio State will have plenty of opportunities this year, but this one will sting and could be highlighted in March. Kentucky appears to have found some sort of identity, while St. John’s is in crisis without a point guard.

Miami (OH) is officially 12-0 and on the board in the MAC! The Redhawks are rolling this year!

Nevada dominates Boise State in their MWC openers, which will boost the metrics for the Wolfpack!

Creighton appears to have found a bit of life, beating Marquette tonight in Omaha! The Bluejays are absolutely still alive (slimly) for an at-large bid! Marquette is clearly the worst team in the Big East.

Louisville, Iowa, UCF, Kansas State and Indiana all win big in buy games!

Loyola Chicago beats Santa Clara on the road today in a shocking result. While Loyola has looked like one of the worst D1 teams this year, Santa Clara had hopes for an at-large. SC has really faltered down the stretch of the NC slate.

Butler gets a very important win today in Indianapolis over Northwestern. NU is not a tournament level team, or a marquee win, but they’re just good enough to challenge bubble teams but still be a bad mark on the resume. Ajayi with another double double in the W! We will look for injury updates from the Bulldogs, however as there are some concerns coming from this game. I will not speculate, so will leave it at that.

Xavier rebounds from the worst home loss in 25+ years by beating Georgetown on the road! That’s a win that will help realign the year and keeps them moving forward. The Hoyas really needed to win that one, however, as that will be a Q2/3 L on the resume.

Grand Canyon is officially on the board in the MWC going into Laramie and winning

Mississippi State ends Memphis’ hopes at an at-large bid.

Virginia Tech avoids brutality and wins in OT vs. Elon.

Underrated result: Howard went into Trask Coliseum today and beat UNC Wilmington by a point. Trask is one of the hardest mid-majors to play at!

Utah State continues to set the pace in the MWC, this team dominating Colorado State 100-58 in Logan.

Liberty goes into UD Arena and snaps Dayton 30+ game winning streak at home in the non-conference today, beating them by 3!

Virginia continue to impress, this time beating Maryland by 9 tonight! UVA is now 10-1 and will be top 20 in my top 25!

New Mexico opens conference play with an easy win, as does Nevada!

Stanford beats Colorado 77-68 in Phoenix. This is a really solid start for the Cardinal who are now 10-2!

Today’s guide is below:

Sunday, per usual is a bit slower, but there are still some great matchups today!

Buy Games: Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, SMU, Notre Dame, OK State, Tennessee, South Florida, St. Louis, Michigan, USC, Texas A&M, TCU, Miami (FL), Iowa State, Minnesota, amd San Francisco.

I will be at the Charleston @ Northern Kentucky matchup today! Chris Mack returning to the area he grew up and grew into the coach he is is awesome to see! It should be a great game as well. 12:00, ESPN+

Pitt @ Penn State | 12:00, BTN

This is a battle of mid, but very likely will be a close game. There might be better options at noon, but it’s worth following this rivalry!

Vanderbilt @ Wake forest | 1:00, The CW Network

I love that these two teams scheduled this matchup! It gives Wake a huge opportunity to bolster its NCAA tournament resume with a Q1A opportunity, and it gives Vanderbilt a Q1 opportunity and allows them to show they’re legit this year!

Ole Miss vs.NC State | 1:00, ESPN | Greensboro, NC

This matchup had a lot more luster preseason, but now feels like a must-win for both teams. I like NC State more than Ole Miss this year, and will take Will Wade and co!

Murray State @ Valparaiso | 2:00, ESPN+

This is yet another really solid matchup in the MVC. I lean Murray here, but the Racers have been tested early this year!

Purdue Fort Wayne @ Notre Dame | 2:00, ACC Extra

This is a classic trap game. Irish beware!

Oregon State @ Arizona State | 3:00, ESPN2

I like the Sun Devils here, but this is a game that is absolutely worth keeping an eye on!

Cincinnati vs. Clemson | 3:00, ESPN

This game is must-win for the Bearcats if they want any real hope of an at-large bid. I don’t think they get there, but this game is huge for them. For Clemson, they’re 9-3 and in a solid spot. This isa neutral site so will be Q2 for them, it would be a great resume builder!

Drake @ Evansville | 4:00, ESPN+

Both of these teams are 0-1 in the MVC and looking for their first conference win! It should be a tight contest.

UConn @ DePaul | 4:30, FS1

Road conference games can get weird. I don’t think this one does, but it’s worth monitoring for a few minutes!

Columbia @ Cal | 5:00 ACC Extra

This is another trap feeling game on this last Sunday before break! Cal is only favored by 8.5 as well.

Oregon vs. Gonzaga | 6:00, Peacock | Portland

While this matchup doesn’t have the same ring to it that it would have preseason, it’s still a really fun game and a great feature of some Northwest hoops! I’ll be tuned in!

UC Davis @ Idaho State | 6:00, ESPN+

Another really intriguing west coast game! I’d expect it to be close as well.

UC Irvine vs. North Dakota State | 7:00, YouTube | El Paso

A: I have no idea why they’re playing the Sun Bowl invitational between these two in El Paso, but I will not complain! This figures to be high-level mid-major hoops, and a game I’m very excited to see!

Idaho @ Cal Poly | 7:00, ESPN+

Rounding out the night here, this should be a close matchup out west!