College basketball picks for Dec. 30-Jan. 5: Predictions for every Top 25 game

A very light week of college basketball action around the Christmas holiday served as a nice reset for the sport as a whole. While there was little movement in the new AP Top 25 poll, the calm probably won't last long with conference play set to gear up in earnest with the calendar set to flip to January on Wednesday.

How will the newly minted Top 25 fare in their games this week? Read on to find out and check out some of the best games to watch this week, which will be spotlighted underneath the respective day of predictions.

Note: Italicized games are the chosen Game of the Day.

Week 9 College Basketball Predictions For Every Top 25 Team

Monday, Dec. 30

Game of the Day - No. 3 Iowa State at Colorado

How unusual is it for conference foes to square off prior to the start of league play? Thanks to realignment, this may be happening a bit for the next few years, like it did in Maui when Iowa State blew out Colorado in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational.

Getting an early look at the Cyclones could be beneficial for the Buffaloes, who will surely look to improve on a 99-71 result in their own building. A one-point win over UCONN in Maui is the highlight of Colorado's NCAA Tournament resume at this point and it will be interesting to see what they learned from their first matchup with the Cyclones.

Tuesday, Dec. 31

Game of the Day - West Virginia at No. 7 Kansas

With a lot of Americans off work early for New Year's Eve, settling in for a highly competitive Big 12 opener is a good way to spend an afternoon before the festivities kick off in earnest. Kansas is a machine at home but they will have a difficult draw for their conference opener with a high-powered West Virginia outfit that already has an upset win over Gonzaga under its belt.

Home cooking has done well for Kansas this year, which has only lost on a road trip to Creighton and Missouri in early December. There are few bigger wins for a potential NCAA Tournament resume than beating the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse so if the Mountaineers can pull this one out we need to keep a close eye on them going forward.

Wednesday, Jan. 1

Thursday, Jan. 2

Game of the Day - No. 22 Illinois at No. 9 Oregon

One of the first major instances of Big Ten After Dark (RIP Pac-12 After Dark) comes here as Illinois heads out to Eugene for a showdown with Oregon in their first meeting as conference foes. The Fighting Illini have been an underrated unit all season long and have shown they can hang with the toughest competition, scoring upset wins over Arkansas and Wisconsin while taking Tennessee to the wire a few weeks ago.

Few expected much out of Oregon, which has showed impressive form over a 12-1 start that includes wins over Alabama and Texas A&M with the lone defeat coming at the buzzer to UCLA. Both of these teams can put the ball in the basket with ease so expect a track meet in this contest.

Friday, Jan. 3

Game of the Day - No. 18 Michigan State at Ohio State

It feels like tradition that Michigan State is unranked early and finds its way into the polls by January as Tom Izzo gets a handle on how to best establish his rotations. A win over North Carolina at the Maui Invitational appears to have galvanized the Spartans, who have ripped off five straight wins since taking the floor that day to build a gaudy 10-2 record that has its only blemishes in the form of eight-point losses to Memphis and Kansas.

Friday night brings a challenging road trip for Sparty to Ohio State, which has been inconsistent but has the potential for game-wrecking form as evidenced by a 20-point blowout of Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes figure to feed off their home fans in this one and make life very difficult for the Spartans in this contest.

Saturday, Jan. 4

Game of the Day - No. 6 Florida at No. 10 Kentucky

Saturday is a loaded day that had no shortage of Game of the Day candidates, but its best contest is the first one on the docket as Florida heads to Kentucky in a showdown of Top 10 teams. The Gators enter the week undefeated after a perfect 13-0 run through non-conference play but heading to Kentucky won't be an easy task, especially with the Wildcats looking to prove themselves after a shocking blowout against Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic.

Stopping the Gators' explosive offense, which averages 87.9 points per game, will be a challenge for a Kentucky unit that has looked inconsistent with starting point guard Kerr Kriisa sidelined due to a foot injury. This rivalry brings the best out of both teams so there is classic potential with this contest.

Sunday, Jan. 5