College basketball picks for Dec. 9-Dec. 15: Predictions for every Top 25 game
The theme of the 2024-25 college basketball season is chaos as evidenced by the amount of upheaval the AP Top 25 poll has gone through over the past two weeks. Just seven days after 15 Top 25 teams lost in Feast Week, another 12 suffered defeats in Week 5, including former No. 1 Kansas dropping both legs of a road trip against Creighton and Missouri.
Those losses were costly for the Jayhawks, who dropped nine spots to No. 10, thanks in part to a strong early body of work to provide voters with belief that the defeats were a blip on the radar for Bill Self's team. The new No. 1 is Tennessee, which was the only team inside last week's Top 5 not to lose, although Auburn remained in place at No. 2 after suffering a tight loss against new No. 4 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium during the SEC/ACC Men's Challenge.
Five new teams entered the poll this week, including both Michigan schools as the Wolverines and Spartans check in at No. 16 and No. 21 respectively. Clemson also made their debut in the poll this season after knocking off Kentucky to hand the Wildcats their first loss of the year.
Speaking of the Wildcats, Kentucky's incredible rally against Gonzaga on Saturday likely spared a larger drop in the polls for Mark Pope's squad, which slid just one slot to No. 5. The bigger questions with Kentucky concern how they will fare without point guard Kerr Kriisa, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
How will the newly ranked teams fare over the next week? Read on for predictions for every game involving a Top 25 team over the next seven days.
Week 6 College Basketball Top 25 Predictions
Tuesday, Dec. 10
Away Team | Home Team | Time | Network | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Miami | No. 1 Tennessee* | 6:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | Tennessee |
Incarnate Word | No. 4 Duke | 7:00 p.m. ET | ACC Network | Duke |
Troy | No. 15 Houston | 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Houston |
No. 14 Michigan | Arkansas* | 9:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | Arkansas |
No. 20 Wisconsin | Illinois | 9:00 p.m. ET | Peacock | Illinois |
*Jimmy V Classic presented by Corona at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
Wednesday, Dec. 11
Away Team | Home Team | Time | Network | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Colgate | No. 5 Kentucky | 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN2 | Kentucky |
California Baptist | No. 23 San Diego State | 10:00 p.m. ET | Mountain West Network | San Diego State |
Thursday, Dec. 12
Away Team | Home Team | Time | Network | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 3 Iowa State | Iowa* | 7:30 p.m. ET | FS1 | Iowa State |
*Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series
Saturday, Dec. 14
Away Team | Home Team | Time | Network | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Memphis | No. 16 Clemson | 11:00 a.m. ET | ESPN2 | Clemson |
No. 17 Texas A&M | No. 11 Purdue* | 12:00 p.m. ET | CBS | Texas A&M |
Ohio State | No. 2 Auburn** | 1:00 p.m. ET | ESPN2 | Auburn |
Xavier | No. 22 Cincinnati | 2:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Cincinnati |
No. 20 Wisconsin | Butler* | 2:30 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network | Wisconsin |
No. 24 UCLA | Arizona*** | 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN2 | Arizona |
NC State | No. 10 Kansas | 3:15 p.m. ET | ESPN | Kansas |
Arizona State | No. 8 Florida** | 3:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network | Florida |
No. 19 Ole Miss | Southern Miss | 4:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Ole Miss |
Louisville | No. 5 Kentucky | 5:15 p.m. ET | ESPN | Kentucky |
No. 1 Tennessee | Illinois | 5:30 p.m. ET | FOX | Tennessee |
McNeese | No. 25 Mississippi State**** | 6:00 p.m. ET | ESPNU | Mississippi State |
No. 6 Marquette | Dayton | 7:00 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Network | Marquette |
No. 8 Gonzaga | No. 18 UCONN***** | 8:00 p.m. ET | FOX | UCONN |
No. 13 Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPNU | Oklahoma |
Creighton | No. 7 Alabama | 8:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network | Alabama |
*Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN
**Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA
***Hall of Fame Rivalry presented by Continental Tire at Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ
****Magnolia Madness at Cadence Bank Arena in Tupelo, MS
*****Hall of Fame Series - New York City at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
Sunday, Dec. 15
Away Team | Home Team | Time | Network | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Omaha | No. 3 Iowa State | 1:00 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Network | Iowa State |
Stephen F. Austin | No. 12 Oregon | 6:00 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network | Oregon |
feed