Yesterday was a lot of fun. It was a fantastic close to a great first week of Feast Week. The schedule yesterday had some games that were perfect for an upset, and they were delivered. Kennesaw State beat Rutgers on their home court. The Owls have now beaten their first top-25 team in program history, and they look like a legitimate contender in Conference USA. Georgia beat St. John’s in the Bahamas. Liberty beat Kanas State to advance to the Paradise Jam championship game. Bradley won the Myrtle Beach Invitational. Drake stays undefeated as they won the Charleston Classic and beat Miami, Florida Atlantic, and Vanderbilt on their way to the title. The Bulldogs are awfully good.
Yesterday I went 35-17 in my picks, which brings my 21-day total to 711-216. Everyone will say that Feast Week truly starts today because that is when the big-time tournaments start. That isn’t fair to the other little tournaments, but this week is going to be awesome. The Sunshine Slam, Fort Myers Tip-Off, Gulf Coast Showcase, Maui Invitational, Coke Classic, Trojan Turkey Tipoff, Jaguar Classic, and Ball Dawgs Classic all begin today. The Paradise Jam will crown a champion, and the Cayman Islands Classic and the Stew Morrill Classic will continue. Today is just a primer for the rest of the week, but The Maui Invitational will be a must-watch. Picks for day 22, November 25, 2024, are below.
Radford over Chicago State
Hampton over Duquesne
Siena over Miami Ohio
Eastern Kentucky over Ball State
Howard over UMBC
UAB over Louisiana
Fort Wayne over Drexel
Boise State over South Dakota State
Jacksonville over Mercer
UConn over Memphis
Illinois State over George Washington
Louisiana Tech over Southern Illinois
Alabama A&M over IU Indy
Northridge over Denver
Penn State over Fordham
High Point over Old Dominion
Michigan State over Colorado
Kansas State over Longwood
UMass Lowell over Merrimack
Michigan over Virginia Tech
Winthrop over Long Island
Clemson over San Francisco
Chattanooga over Tennessee State
Stonehill over East Texas A&M
Columbia over New Hampshire
Buffalo over North Carolina A&T
Cornell over Iona
Boston College over Missouri State
UT Rio Grande Valley over Le Moyne
Montana over Utah Tech
Arkansas over Maryland Eastern Shore
McNeese over Liberty
Indiana State over Southern Indiana
North Texas over Oregon State
Saint Louis over Quinnipiac
Troy over UTSA
South Alabama over Incarnate Word
Eastern Michigan over Houston Christian
Ohio State over Green Bay
Minnesota over Central Michigan
UTEP over San Jose State
South Carolina over Xavier
Iowa State over Auburn
Illinois over Little Rock
Abilene Christian over Southern Mississippi
UC Davis over Norfolk State
UNC Greensboro over Long Beach State
North Carolina over Dayton
That is a jam-packed Monday, and the day's game is between Auburn and Iowa State in Maui. Those are two top 5 teams who both play the same style of basketball. Iowa State has one of the best defenses in the country. They also have an extremely efficient offense. Auburn is blowing people out because they are shooting 56% from the floor as a team and don’t allow much on the defensive end. That game is going to be one of the best of the year. Don’t sleep on Dayton over North Carolina in Maui. The Flyers are capable. Liberty and McNeese for the Paradise Jam Championship is the best mid-major game of the day. It has two players who can both carry a team and win games. Sincere Parker for McNeese and Kaden Metheny for Liberty. Enjoy the hoops.