The entire attitude around college basketball season changes in January. It starts a transition and moves out of the carefree fun of the non-conference fall months, eventually landing in the thick of league play by the time the new year kicks into gear. It crystallizes the season in time for February's critical run and offers nightly fights for positioning as postseason dreams start seeping into matchups.
It serves as a reminder to programs that losses can dismantle the dancing dreams before they ever really begin, and every game, even those that don't feel as important, are injections of life for tournament resumes.