Basketball
The calendar will soon turn to 2026, ushering out a long, long 2025. UConn’s national title run last spring feels like it happened in a whole different universe.
But before we move to 2026, we have a little over a week of 2025 to power through. While this is the part of the year where people use up their PTO and basically hit the snooze button until the new year, that’s not true in sports. (I mean … college athletics do take a few days off for Christmas, but you know what I’m saying.)
There are still a handful of big games that will tell us a lot about certain teams. Let’s take a look at the five biggest games left in 2025 and what’s at stake in those games.
Dec. 22: Ole Miss vs. Michigan State
One of the final big non-conference matches of the season — and easily the best remaining one of this calendar year — finds Ole Miss taking on Michigan State on Monday evening.
This is a big one because of what’s at stake here for both sides. For Ole Miss, this is a chance to stem a lot of the concerns about this team, which dropped a spot in the AP poll this week despite not losing. The 12-1 Rebels haven’t gotten a ton of credit for their strong play, which includes a win over Notre Dame. Beating another Top 25 program might be enough to change the narrative around the team.
As for Michigan State, this is a chance to prove it belongs in the rankings. The No. 24-ranked Spartans have the second-best net rating in the country, but have yet to face a ranked team and suffered a fairly bad loss to Wisconsin. But if things click on Monday night, the team can solidify its place in the AP poll and would have a big resume-building win that might matter a ton when it comes down to tournament selection time.
Dec. 28: UCLA vs Ohio State
UCLA should win this. If the Bruins don’t, then we’ll have a shake-up in the top five of the AP poll.
But the team this really matters for is Ohio State. The Buckeyes sit at No. 19 in the AP poll, but have played one of the nation’s easiest schedules, with an opponent average win percentage of just 35.5, which ranks 345th among Division I teams. The team’s one game against a team that is currently ranked was a 32-point loss to UConn.
The Buckeyes don’t have to win this one, but they have to keep it close. A second blowout loss to a top team would prove that Ohio State isn’t a true Big Ten contender.
Dec. 29: USC vs Nebraska
This one kind of feels like USC’s last chance to prove it’s for real.
The Trojans have been very up-and-down this season with star JuJu Watkins out for the year, but freshman Jazzy Davidson has done a good job stepping up for the team. However, USC has struggled against good teams, losing to UConn, South Carolina and Notre Dame. The first two were convincing losses, though the game against the Irish went down to the wire.
But after just barely sneaking past Cal last time out, a loss to Nebraska would immediately change the narrative about the Trojans. If USC goes into 2026 with losses against the four best teams that it’s faced, the team’s potentially looking ahead to its Big Ten schedule with the thought in mind that maybe this won’t even be an NCAA Tournament team.
Dec. 29: Michigan vs Oregon
Michigan should roll in this one. The Wolverines have one of the nation’s best collections of young talent, led by Olivia Olson and Syla Swords, and the team’s only loss was by three points against UConn. Outside of that, Michigan’s wins have all been by wide margins, with the closest being a pair of 26-point victories against Syracuse and Akron.
So, the question for Oregon is this: Can you keep it respectable? The Ducks need to build an at-large resume and while a win over Michigan would certainly do that, surviving this game via losing by 15 or fewer points would at least keep this game from being a big negative against the team when the committee is putting things together.
Dec. 31: Baylor vs Oklahoma State
Baylor is on the ropes. The team opened conference play with a surprising loss to Texas Tech, and now it’s unclear exactly what this team is. Expected to be one of three main contenders for the Big 12 title, Baylor has clearly fallen behind TCU and Iowa State, and now it looks like it might fall back even deeper in the field.
The Bears have lost two of their last three. A loss to Oklahoma State makes it three of four heading into a big road showdown against Iowa State. An 0-3 start to Big 12 play would take Baylor from “dark horse conference contender” to “team that has to be worried about the bottom falling out down the stretch.”
As for the Cowgirls, this is a chance to climb back into the rankings. The team is currently the first one out of the rankings and was jumped by Texas Tech after its upset win over the Bears. A win here would send Baylor into the “others receiving votes” section and help Oklahoma State climb back into the Top 25.
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Read More Buffy Volkman