NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 19 of the 2024-25 season

The first day of Feast Week delivered in a huge way!  There were upsets all over the place. There was also a game we will talk about for quite some time. Let's just start with the early games. In the Boardwalk Battle, James Madison beat Illinois-Chicago, Jacksonville State beat East Carolina, Toledo beat Stetson, and UC San Diego beat La Salle. In the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Middle Tennessee beat Ohio in overtime. That game was fantastic, which I knew it would be. South Florida beat Portland, Bradley beat Texas State, and Wright State blew out Princeton.

Then there was the Charleston Classic. Vanderbilt beat Nevada, Seton Hall found their offense and beat VCU in overtime, Florida Atlantic beat Oklahoma State, and over 50 fouls were called in that game. In the first surprise of the day, Drake blew out Miami. The Axe ‘Em Classic saw Youngstown State beat Monmouth and Presbyterian beat host school Stephen F. Austin. Those were the games that likely didn’t get a lot of eyes because the games in prime time were fantastic.

Baylor beat St. John’s on a buzzer-beater in double overtime in what will go down as one of the best games ever. St. John’s started out in cruise control and got to an 18-point lead late in the first half. Then in the second half Baylor made a ton of threes and took a late lead before St. John’s tied it. At the end of the second overtime, the Johnnies missed two free throws, and Jeremy Roach got the ball and buried a last-second three to win the game. In the rest of the night games Texas beat Syracuse, Saint Joseph’s blew a big lead in the second half to hang on and beat Texas Tech by one point. Philly basketball runs through Hawk Hill this year. We finished the night with two fantastic games as Memphis beat San Francisco and Oregon took their first lead late in the second half and fought off Oregon State.

Yesterday I went 23-15 in my picks. That brings my 18-day total to 585-160 overall. Are you all ready for day 2 of feast week?  I know I am! The Boardwalk Battle, Myrtle Beach Invitational, Charleston Classic, Axe ‘ Em Classic, Legends Classic and Bahamas Classic resume. There are a slew of tournaments that start today. Those events are the Homewood Suites Classic, Paradise Jam, Puerto Rico Clasico, Greenbrier Tip-Off Mountain Division, Cream City Challenge, Bulldog Bash, Hall of Fame Tip-Off, Akron Basketball Classic, BBN Invitational, Hall of Fame Classic, and the Metro NY/NJ Classic. Those are all sandwiched in between some huge non-tournament games. Picks for day 19, November 22, 2024, are below.

La Salle over Illinois-Chicago

Florida Gulf Coast over Bakersfield

Ohio over Portland

Florida Atlantic over Drake

UAB over Longwood

East Carolina over Stetson

Northeastern over Florida International

South Florida over Middle Tennessee

Miami over Oklahoma State

Pitt over LSU

McNeese over Illinois State

UC San Diego over James Madison

Youngstown State over Presbyterian

Kansas City over American

UCF over Wisconsin

Wright State over Bradley

Vanderbilt over Seton Hall

St Thomas over Wofford

Coastal Carolina over IU Indy

Florida State over Temple

Toledo over Jacksonville State

Utah over Utah Tech

Liberty over Louisiana

Stephen F. Austin over Monmouth

UT Martin over Le Moyne

Akron over Lamar

Ohio State over Campbell

Kentucky over Jackson State

Florida over Southern Illinois

St. John’s over Virginia

Texas Tech over Syracuse

NC State over William & Mary

Georgia State over NC Central

Manhattan over Army

Davidson over VMI

Harvard over Colgate

Indiana State over Chicago State

Buffalo over Morgan State

ETSU over SC Upstate

Fordham over Drexel

Butler over Merrimack

Louisville over Winthrop

Princeton over Texas State

Nevada over VCU

Northwestern State over Louisiana Monroe

Tulane over New Orleans

UNC Asheville over SEMO

Notre Dame over Elon

Missouri over Pacific

Houston over Hofstra

Creighton over Nebraska

South Dakota over Southern Indiana

Murray State over Utah Valley

Green Bay over Evansville

Alabama A&M over South Carolina State

Northern Arizona over Incarnate Word

Rice over Houston Christian

Milwaukee over Portland State

Northwestern over Pepperdine

Iowa over Utah State

Kansas State over George Washington

Omaha over Alabama State

Wyoming over Southeastern Louisiana

SMU over Mississippi State

Arkansas over Little Rock

Texas over Saint Joseph’s

Grand Canyon over Norfolk State

Colorado State over Riverside

UC Irvine over Weber State

Tennessee over Baylor

Southern Utah over San Diego

LMU over North Dakota

Washington over Alcorn State

UCLA over Fullerton

Arizona over Duke

Wichita State over Saint Louis

North Carolina over Hawaii

There is a lot of games today and so many good games. Let’s do it by time slot here again. Drake and Florida Atlantic is a game with two new coaches and new rosters, but both offenses can light it up. That will be a fun one. Pitt and LSU is a game between two undefeated teams playing in the first ever Greenbrier Event. Wisconsin and UCF is a game featuring two teams who are better than most thought at least right now. That game will be a battle, and a physical one at that. Creighton and Nebraska have a heated rivalry that is usually one-sided. Nebraska was embarrassed last year, and Creighton is a good team. Nebraska can keep this close and prove something.

Arizona and Duke shouldn’t need an explanation as to why that is a fantastic game, and the Blue Devils are playing a true road game in November. Hawaii and North Carolina is the biggest game for Hawaii in a long time North Carolina is playing the game as a primer for Maui. The Tar Heels are the better team, but these types of games sometimes have weird results. Enjoy the hoops.