Holiday Sports Preview: Must-Watch NBA, NFL, NHL & NCAA Games

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and that means sports are taking center stage. Late December and January involve some of the biggest sporting events of the year, including vital NFL games as the end of the regular season approaches and the traditional multiple NBA clashes taking place on Christmas Day. There’s also New Year’s Day college football bowl and playoff games, and outdoor NHL matchups.

Here’s a rundown of all of the important sports moments happening during the 2024-25 holiday season.

NBA Christmas Day Game: Schedules & Must-Watch Matchups

Christmas Day has been a very big deal for the NBA for a very long time. Dating all the way back to 1947, the league has played games on December 25. This year, there will be five NBA Christmas games, and they will feature some of the best teams and biggest names the sport has to offer.

The festivities will kick off on December 25, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. EST with an East vs. Southwest battle featuring Jalen Brunson and the Knicks going up against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. An afternoon of more star-studded action will ensue.

Timberwolves vs. Mavericks – featuring two of the brightest young stars in the league, Anthony Edwards and Luka Dončić – tips off at 2:30 p.m. EST. Later, the 76ers-Celtics rivalry will be on display at 5:00 p.m. EST. The night cap includes Lakers vs. Warriors at 8:00 p.m. EST ahead of the finale: Nuggets vs. Suns at 10:30 p.m. EST.

 

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NFL Christmas Day Games: Holiday Football Highlights

Scheduling games on Christmas Day was not an annual occurrence for the NFL before 2020. For most of the league’s history, an occasional game would be played on Christmas Day if the holiday happened to fall on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday.

But as of four years ago, the league has made a point of putting at least one game on December 25. In 2024, lucky for fans, there will be a doubleheader featuring four soon-to-be playoff teams.

The action begins at 1:00 p.m.EST when Patrick Mahomes and the seemingly unstoppable Chiefs go up against the AFC North leading Steelers. The two AFC juggernauts are destined to make the playoffs, so this very well may be a postseason game preview. The second and final game of the day kicks off at 4:30 p.m. EST and features the Ravens and Texans. While the Texans have the AFC South in their pocket already, Lamar Jackson and Baltimore are still in the AFC North hunt. The AFC North division standings will move based on how the Steelers and Ravens perform.

 

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NHL Winter Classic: A New Year’s Tradition

For the 16th time, the NHL Winter Classic is set to take place at the end of December. This year, the event will include the Chicago Blackhawks-St. Louis Blues rivalry, with the teams battling outside at Wrigley Field, the home of MLB’s Chicago Cubs, on December 31, 2024.

In the past, the Winter Classic has mostly been played on New Year’s Day (barring the three occasions in which January 1 fell on a Sunday). Starting with this year’s Winter Classic, all future ones will take place on New Year’s Eve. The game is normally held at a baseball or football stadium.

While this is the NHL’s premiere outdoor game planned around the holidays, it is not the league’s only outdoor game. The NHL also hosts the Stadium Series, which typically takes place at the end of January or beginning of February and occasionally features multiple games taking place at one outdoor stadium in the United States, as well as the NHL Heritage Classic, which is played in Canada.

College Sports on New Year’s Day: Bowl Games & Beyond

Both college football and college basketball take center stage about a week after Christmas, just in time for the new year.

For college football, this time of year is as exciting as it gets. The playoffs are in full swing leading up to Christmas Day and culminate at the end of January with the National Championship. The College Football Playoff bracket was revealed on December 8. Below are the teams that met the College Football Playoff criteria:

• No. 1 seed: Oregon
• No. 2 seed: Georgia
• No. 3 seed: Boise State
• No. 4 seed: Arizona State
• No. 5 seed: Texas
• No. 6 seed: Penn State
• No. 7 seed: Notre Dame
• No. 8 seed: Ohio State
• No. 9 seed: Tennessee
• No. 10 seed: Indiana
• No. 11 seed: SMU
• No. 12 seed: Clemson

Below is the schedule for the College Football Playoffs, highlighted on New Year’s Day by three massive quarterfinal matchups.

First round

Friday, December 20

• No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 10 Indiana 17

Saturday, Dec. 21

• No. 6 Penn State 38, No. 11 SMU 10
• No. 5 Texas 38, No. 12 Clemson 24
• No. 8 Ohio State 42, No. 9 Tennessee 17

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Dec. 31

• No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14 (Fiesta Bowl)

Wednesday, Jan. 1

• No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (Peach Bowl)
• No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21 (Rose Bowl)

Thursday, Jan. 2

• No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Georgia 10 (Sugar Bowl)

Semifinals

Thursday, Jan. 9

• No. 7 Notre Dame 27,  No. 6 Penn State 24 (Orange Bowl)

Friday, Jan. 10

• No. 8 Ohio State 28, No. 5 Texas 14 (Cotton Bowl)

National Championship

Monday, Jan. 20

• No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Ohio State (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia), 7:30 p.m. EST

For college basketball, the time to shine is in March, when March Madness takes over the sports world. But December and January are vital as well. New Year’s Day will be filled with mostly in-conference battles, including UConn vs. DePaul and Stanford vs. Clemson.