1/1/25 Recap:

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention College Football today, but we’ll keep it quick. Indiana and Cignetti dominate Alabama in a shocking Rose Bowl performance!

Oregon rocks Texas Tech and wins easily!

Ole miss and Georgia played an instant classic, with Ole Miss’s kicker sending them to the semi’s!

Now, for the good stuff, Hoops:

Oakland avoids a disaster of a week, surviving Youngstown State

Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina go to OT before GA Southern wins, climbing to 3-0 in the Sun Belt

Wright State improves to 3-1 in the Horizon, beating Milwaukee in Dayton

Northern Kentucky comes back to beat IU Indy in a fun one

Green Bay upsets Purdue Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne!

Southern Illinois and Illinois state pick up big wins today. Illinois State is 4-0 in the MVC and are soaring right now!

UT Arlington beats Cal Baptist to send CBU to 0-2 in the WAC.

UNC Greensboro beats Chattanooga in Greensboro in a great SoCon battle

UC Irvine improves to 3-0 in the Big West, beating Cal State. Bakersfield

Montana opens Big Sky play with a win over NAU!

Belmont takes care of Bradley at home, improving to 13-2 and 3-1 in the MVC. Bradley falls to 3-1 in MVC Play

UNI improves to 3-0 in the MVC, beating IND State by 9

Hawai’i is now 11-2 and 3-0 in the Big West after dominating UC Riverside.

Utah Tech continues to impress, now 2-0 in the WAC.

Murray State survives a scare from UIC

Northern Colorado falls to Montana State on the road.

UC San Diego gets upset by Cal Poly!

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

Friday’s Preview:

2️⃣  New Mexico State @ FIU Noon, ESPN+

This is a really fun noon tipoff between CUSA foes! NMSU is favored by 1.5 and there should be a lot of points here.

1️⃣ The MAAC has a trio of games tipping between 3-4 ET today, all of them are 4.5 point spreads at this time. Great opportunity to catch some smaller schools on ESPN+!

2️⃣  Sam Houston @ WKU | 5:00, ESPN+

Another really intriguing matchup in the CUSA today. The Tops are favored by 4.5 here, but this should be fun as both teams look to get their first CUSA win of the year!

4️⃣ USC @ Michigan | 7:00, Peacock

Q1 game for USC, opportunity for Michigan to assert some dominance here, Michigan is favored by 22.5!

1️⃣ Siena @ Iona and Marist @ Saint Peters | 7:00, ESPN+

Two more key MAAC Matchups today, both of which should be very close

1️⃣ Wagner @ Chicago State | 7:00

CHI State is favored to win! Sound the alarms!

3️⃣ Oregon @ Maryland | 7:30, Peacock

Oregon heads east for the first time in Big Ten play in a battle of 0-2 Big ten teams! This one is crucial for both squads if they want to push towards March.

3️⃣ Louisville @ Stanford | 8:00, ACCN

Louisville will look to complete the sweep of the two Cali scores this week with this one! Cardinals are favored by 8.5

3️⃣ Ohio State @ Rutgers | 8:00, Peacock

I will be in Columbus for Nebraska coming to OSU on Monday… are the Buckeyes looking past Rutgers? Will they come ready to play? Time will tell. OSU is favored by 9.5.

3️⃣ WVU @ Iowa State | 9:00, ESPN2

Expect ISU to roll here, but WVU isn’t a pushover, and 16.5 is a lot of points!

3️⃣ Seattle @ Gonzaga | 9:00, ESPN+

The Bulldogs are favored by 23.5, but I feel like Seattle is a bit slept on this year, this team is solid and could challenge GU, at least for a bit!

5️⃣ Michigan State @ Nebraska | 9:00, Peacock

Game of the day!! Combined records of 25-1 between the two, and both are looking to cement themselves as a contender for the B1G title. This matchup is a perfect opportunity to do just that! Nebraska is favored by 2.5, but this is effectively a tossup.

4️⃣ Loyola Marymount @ Washington State | 9:30, ESPN+

This is a massive WCC matchup, and one that everyone should be locked into. Both teams are fighting for positioning in that 3rd tier of the conference. WSU is favored by 1.5.

3️⃣ Notre Dame @ California | 11:00, ESPN2

BUBBLE BATTLE! The loser of this one will have an extremely difficult time making the dance this year. The winner? In a shaky, but solidifying spot.