Your Home For College Hoops
Saturday, January 11, 2025
A quick look at key results and/or top stories from the night before, as well as a look ahead to key games during the season, to lead a reader into the new day
Friday was not a good day for the sport, and it had nothing to do with the limited on-court action. Plus one mid-major team remains undefeated in their conference, three teams are bunched up in another, and a coach is staying in an old home area for a little longer.
By its own lofty standards, the Big Ten has had a rather lousy basketball season. It’s hard to have much sympathy for a conference that practically prints money, but one supposes the league deserved a night like Thursday for its troubles this year.
There just might be a team finally ready to break free of the mass of sameness in the Missouri Valley, as Loyola Chicago took hold of first place at the halfway mark in resounding fashion Wednesday night in a battle for first at Drake.
A nearly full night of SEC action told us a lot about the conference all the way around. Plus one ACC team keeps rolling, a Big East team continues to slide, and an interesting home and road split out west.
We’re getting closer. It’s still only January yet, but with February just around the corner now, we’re nearing the time where talk about things like bracketology and bubbles can actually pick up in earnest as sample sizes finally reach a representative phase.
Miami gets a win they needed more than numbers might suggest. Plus no real surprise results, and another season-ending knee injury, this time to a solid NCAA Tournament contender.
Duke gathered in another primo recruit yesterday, yet on the same day Kentucky-with another loaded recruiting class-lost for the fifth time this season already, showing once again why perceived recruiting dominance doesn’t guarantee on-court dominance.
A light night features outcomes reminding us that winning is not easy, even if it might appear to be. Plus knee injuries remain in the news, and an investigation comes to an unhappy ending for several.
When Saint Mary’s suffered two disappointing losses in November at the Wooden Legacy tournament, the Gaels could’ve easily allowed it to affect their entire season. Rather than getting down, though, the Gaels just got to work at getting better.
Could SMU be a program for the long haul, beyond the days of a big-name coach? Plus the absence of a starter isn’t a problem in Fort Worth or Tuscaloosa, the Fighting Irish take another hit to their depth, and a historic loss in the nation’s capital.
