NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 18 of the 2024-25 season
By Bryan Mauro
It didn’t look like the Wednesday night games would provide much intrigue, but College Basketball always delivers and last night was one of the best nights of the season so far. Virginia Tech was beaten at home by Jacksonville. That is a huge upset, even if the Hokies are not very good. Columbia beat Long Island in what turned out to be one of the best games of the night. Alabama beat Illinois and hung 100 even with star Mark Sears not scoring a point. Texas A&M came back from a 16-point deficit against Southern to win by 17 points. Rutgers struggled against Merrimack, Stanford struggled against Norfolk State, and Arizona State beat Cal Poly by 4 points. Finally, Grand Canyon lost to UC Davis. It appears everything we thought about the Lopes might have been wrong this year. They are not nearly as dominant as last year.
Yesterday I went 27-10 in my picks. That brings my 17-day total to 562-145 overall. Happy Feast Week. For the next 10 days, there will be day basketball, and it will be some of the best basketball we will watch all season long. Next to the NCAA Tournament and Championship Week, Feast Week delivers, and the sport's viewership is always greater during this time. The Myrtle Beach Invitational, Charleston Classic, Boardwalk Battle, Bahamas Championship, Legends Classic, Axe Em Classic, and the Cal Classic all begin today. Picks for day 18, November 21, 2024, are below.
Illinois-Chicago over James Madison
Ohio over Middle Tennessee
Miami over Drake
La Salle over UC San Diego
South Florida over Portland
Florida Atlantic over Oklahoma State
Jacksonville State over East Carolina
Youngstown State over Monmouth
VCU over Seton Hall
Bradley over Texas State
Toledo over Stetson
Cornell over Robert Morris
Indiana over UNC Greensboro
St. John’s over Baylor
Bryant over Stonehill
Bucknell over NJIT
Kent State over Niagara
Oakland over Eastern Michigan
South Carolina over Mercer
Texas over Syracuse
Clemson over Radford
Stephen F. Austin over Presbyterian
Nevada over Vanderbilt
SEMO over Central Arkansas
Oklahoma over East Texas A&M
Valpo over Lindenwood
Central Connecticut over Sacred Heart
Texas A&M Corpus Christi over Tennessee Martin
Princeton over Wright State
Ole Miss over Oral Roberts
Michigan over Tarleton State
New Mexico over Grambling
Texas Tech over Saint Joseph’s
Tennessee over Virginia
Washington State over Eastern Washington
San Francisco over Memphis
Oregon over Oregon State
California over Air Force
There are so many good games today. Here is one from each time slot. Ohio and Middle Tennessee is a game that is going to be extremely competitive and should be close. Neither team will be great this year, but that game will be competitive. Florida Atlantic and Oklahoma State in Charleston are two contrasting styles of play. Another game that will be very competitive. VCU and Seton Hall, the Pirates have failed to score 60 points yet, and VCU looks very good this season. Will the Seton Hall defense slow down the Rams?
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St. John’s and Baylor is the game of the night. The Red Storm are rolling under Rick Pitino and are a sleeper Final Four team. Baylor is always good and has matchup problems all over the floor. If they are healthy, they are hard to beat. Texas Tech and Saint Joseph’s is the next best game. The Hawks have already beaten Villanova, and the Red Raiders can score and feel like a forgotten team in the Big 12. Enjoy the hoops.