NYE brought us really fun matchups from both the basketball and football lens!

In Football:

Ohio State gets upset by Miami!! The Canes jumped out to a 14-0 lead and held on to take down the Buckeyes! Biggest CFP upset in the history of the CFP!

In basketball:

NC State takes down Wake Forest in a game that both teams really needed to win. Lubin double double and Copeland led the Wolfpack with 14!

Virginia and Virginia Tech played what very likely was the best game of 2025. The Hokies come out on top in TRIPLE overtime! Hammond with 30 points off the bench for the Hokies! Hansberry plays 51!! minutes and had a 17/15 double double. Gurdak had 17/19 on the night! De Ridder and Thomas led the Cavaliers.

Duke survived a scare at home from Georgia Tech, turning a 4 point halftime deficit into a 6 point win!

UConn dominated Xavier, leading by as much as 23 early in the half before winning 90-67. Mullins had 5 3’s and the Huskies shot 13-28 from deep!

VCU beats St. Bonaventure, strengthening their at-large hopes a bit.

Clemson beats Syracuse by 3 to pick up a Q1 win! Godfrey led the tigers with 14. Freeman had 18 for the Orange off the bench!

Charleston beats Elon 85-81 behind 19 from Kalu.

Memphis beats UNT in an ugly game, and Wichita State beats UAB on the road in key AAC battles!

Villanova survives a challenge from Depaul to win by 5. Wildcats are now 11-2 and look primed to grab a tournament bid!

St. John’s offense explodes, dropping 95 on Georgetown and winning by 12.

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

Thursday’s Matchups:

No, there aren’t any high-major games here, no there aren’t any happening on New Years day (thanks football). However, today should be electric from the mid-major stance. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re not watching!

Oakland @ Youngstown State | 1:00, ESPN+

This is a really intriguing horizon league matchup with significant top of the standings implications.

Samford @ VMU | 1:00, ESPN+

While Samford should win, this one will be fun!

Georgia Southern @ Coastal Carolina | 1:00, ESPN+

This will be a close battle, and while neither are expected at the top of the Sun Belt, this will be fun to watch!

IU Indy @ Northern Kentucky | 2:00, ESPN+

This is going to be a FAST game, and a ton of points should be scored. Will be a nice pick-me up after NYE!

Milwaukee @ Wright State | 2:00, ESPN+

MASSIVE Horizon league implications, and both coming off big wins (MKE did play Wisconsin on Tuesday Night), but yet another big game in the conference!

FGCU @ Central Arkansas | 2:00, ESPN+

Both teams are looking to prove they’re legit… and both teams enjoy scoring, this one will be fast, and high scoring!

Cal Baptist @ UT Arlington | 3:00, ESPN+

Massive WAC implications, as the loser goes to 0-2. These were two of the preseason favorites, but coming out of an 0-2 hole is very difficult.

Chattanooga @ UNC Greensboro | 4:00, ESPN+

This will be high-scoring and high intensity, these SoCon Rivals are very familiar with each other and looking to take their place at the top of the conference!

Omaha @ South Dakota State | 5:15, Summit League Network

This should be interesting. Omaha has been tested this year, and I think they’re better than their record. This is an opportunity to prove it!

Northern Arizona @ Montana | 6:00, ESPN+

Montana is looking to establish themselves at the top of the conference, NAU is looking to make noise in the Big Sky. Who can prevail? I expect the Grizzlies to take care of business at home.

Bradley @ Belmont | 7:00, ESPN+

I cannot overstate the significance of this matchup. Bradley is 3-0 in conference play and Belmont is 2-1. Belmont feels like the MVC favorite, so getting a 2 game lead on them if you’re Bradley would be crucial. Both teams love offense, and give up 69 ppg. This should be high scoring and fun to watch!

Hawai’i @ UC Riverside | 8:00, ESPN+

The Big West favorites are headed on the road after a 10-2 non-conference! They will be favored here by a good bit, but UC Riverside is trying to avoid falling behind.

Utah Valley @ Tarleton State | 8:00, ESPN+

Game of the day in my opinion, as Dior Johnson is able to go for 40 any night. UVU will be favored here, but there will be a ton of points and this one should be close.

Utah Tech @ Abilene Christian | 8:00, ESPN+

This is a great opportunity to catch some more WACTION as both of these squads are playing solid ball. Utah Tech has been relatively impressive this year and I’m very curious to see how they do on this trip to Texas!

Northern Colorado @ Montana State | 9:00, ESPN+

I know I keep saying that matchups are big, but that’s because we have a ton of high stakes mid-major matchups today, and this is no different. Northern Colorado looks primed to be the team to beat in the Big Sky this year, and this will be a tough test. Both teams love to score, and UNCO doesn’t play defense much at all. Look for this to be high-scoring and a fun nightcap after a great day of hoops!