Friday had the potential to be a day full of upsets. It wasn’t full of upsets, but one team made a giant statement. Valparaiso went into Mackey Arena and beat Purdue in double overtime. It is a very rare occurrence for any visiting team to go into Mackey Arena and win. Good for Valpo; if the Beacons can stay the course, that win can go a long way toward a postseason tournament bid.

Saint Louis beat Missouri, which I expected. The Tigers decided that playing drop coverage on defense and not guarding the three-point line would help against one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. It backfired. Outside of that, it was a lot of chalk on the schedule. Friday was an excellent primer for a loaded Saturday.

Welcome to the first Saturday of the college basketball season. There are a ton of tremendous games and a lot of teams who are going to get a big test to see what they are made of. The record through six days is 209-39. Picks for day seven, November 7, 2026, are below.

• Louisville over Morehead State
• Winthrop over North Dakota
• Ohio over North Carolina A&T
• Marshall over Toledo
• Drexel over Colgate
• Fullerton over South Dakota
• UNC Wilmington over East Carolina
• Abilene Christian over Lamar
• Montana State over Long Beach State
• Longwood over NC Central
• Memphis over VCU
• La Salle over Long Island
• Colorado over San Diego State
• Utah State over Omaha
• Santa Barbara over Oakland
• UNLV over Samford
• Saint Joseph’s over Lafayette
• Rhode Island over Monmouth
• Gonzaga over New Mexico State
• UTSA over VMI
• Furman over Northern Iowa
• Bucknell over Old Dominion
• UT Martin over IU Indy
• Lipscomb over SIU Edwardsville
• High Point over Washington State
• Miami Ohio over Bellarmine
• UTRGV over Prairie View A&M
• UNC Asheville over Western Carolina
• George Washington over Hampton
• New Mexico over Northern Arizona
• Niagara over Morgan State
• Davidson over Mercer
• Nebraska over Providence
• Houston Christian over Western Illinois
• Canisius over Saint Bonaventure
• Dayton over Northern Illinois
• UC Riverside over Denver
• Maryland over Georgetown
• Murray State over Northwestern State
• Evansville over Southern Indiana
• Little Rock over Southeastern Louisiana
• Bradley over Pacific
• Grand Canyon over Bethune
• Utah Valley over Weber State
• UC San Diego over Fresno State
• Santa Clara over Sacramento State
• Seattle over Portland State
• San Jose State over UC Irvine

Three games stick out tomorrow. Colorado and San Diego State is a game that you may want to take the unders in as well. Colorado isn’t great and will be one of the worst teams in the Big 12, but they still have a good shot at beating San Diego State. The Aztecs are not your normal Aztecs. San Diego State is a rebuild. Each team needs a win to feel good about their first week.

The second game takes place at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Nebraska and Providence are a fantastic early test for both teams. These are two teams that should make the NCAA Tournament and get better as the year goes on. The Huskers have Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager, and an elite defense. Providence has a brand-new roster, but their aggressive defense and big men may give Nebraska trouble. Huskers are favored by 4.

Finally, San Jose State and UC Irvine cap off the night. This could be a sneaky good game. San Jose State has a good and experienced roster, the best one coach Tim Miles has had, who should make noise in the Mountain West. UC Irvine is the class of the Big West and is one of the best mid-major programs in the country. Enjoy the hoops.