We are ushering in the New Year with a slate of top college basketball games on the horizon for the first week of 2024. Conference rivalries and battles have commenced and most of the games that will be featured on this list are an involvement of two inner-conference teams. Not only has conference play started, we almost have a handful of top-25 matchups featured as well. Here are the top five games in the first week of the new year.
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No. 18 Clemson at Miami (FL)
This is the first game on this list this week taking place on Wednesday. One-loss Clemson has sky-rocketed into the top-25 after taking down former ranked Alabama, Pitt and TCU. The Tigers lost their first game against Memphis, which dropped them back down to No. 18 from No. 13. Center PJ Hall will be the player to watch as he matches up with Miami’s Norchad Omier. Miami started December ranked as the No. 8 team in the country, but after a loss to unranked Colorado and a win over La Salle by just seven points, it fell out of the rankings. This would be a game that would put the Hurricanes back on the map with a win.
No. 25 Providence at No. 22 Creighton
In conference games, anything can happen. However, I think Creighton runs away with this game and proves that it was ranked inside the top 10 for a reason. Devin Carter will match up against Baylor Scheierman as the team’s two leading scorers. However, the firepower behind Scheierman in Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner outweigh Carter’s backup. Providence is 11-2 on the season with losses to Oklahoma and Kansas State and wins over Wisconsin and Marquette.
No. 24 Ole Miss at No. 6 Tennessee
We have had the ACC and the Big East open up with big games and now with the SEC. The No. 24 team in the country will head on the road to take on the No. 6 team in Tennessee. Dalton Knecht, the leading scorer for the Volunteers, has been one of the most surprising transfers of the season, as he is averaging 15.7 points per game. On the other side, Ole Miss’s Matthew Murrell will match up with Knecht, as he is averages 16.9 points per game for the opponent. Tennessee looks like a lock for the win, but anything can happen in conference play.
No. 9 North Carolina at No. 18 Clemson
Clemson reaches this list twice with a second conference game in the same week against arguably two of the top four teams in the ACC. PJ Hall will be met with another talented big man in this outing going from Omier to Armando Bacot. However, it is RJ Davis that has developed into the leader of this team. He is averaging over 20 points per game for the three-loss Tar Heels. Those losses came against Kentucky, UConn, and Villanova, two of which are still ranked ahead of the baby blue.
No. 11 Illinois at No. 1 Purdue
The only ranked game on Friday will feature our Game of the Week as No. 11 Illinois heads on the road to take on the top ranked team in the country in Purdue. Illinois, however, will be without star guard Terrence Shannon Jr. after he was suspended from all team activities following legal allegations of a felony offense. Luke Goode is going to need to step up in his place, especially playing a team with the firepower of Purdue. The one-loss team sits on top after knocking down the former No. 1 Arizona just a couple of weeks ago. Zach Edey and Braden Smith continue to be a force both on the inside and perimeter.
