NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 24 of the 2024-25 season

What a day of College Basketball. I don’t know if there will be another day, outside of the first two days of the NCAA tournament, that will have games that competitive for the rest of the year. It may have been the best day in the Maui Invitational history. There were a ton of close games, buzzer-beaters, and huge performances in that tournament. Colorado beat UConn; the Huskies are now staring 0-3 in Maui right in the face. Iowa State beat Dayton, Memphis beat Michigan State, and Auburn beat North Carolina.

The Players Era tournament in Vegas had its own great games. San Diego State blew out Creighton. The Bluejays have some issues they need to iron out quickly. Oregon trailed the whole game except for the last 5 minutes in their win over Texas A&M. Rutgers needed 36 points from Dylan Harper to beat Notre Dame by 1 in Overtime. The game of the day in that tournament was Alabama beating Houston. That game went to Overtime, and the vibes were a Final Four-type atmosphere. Those are two teams that could be there in late March. Kansas and Duke was a stand alone game and it was back and forth, Hunter Dickinson got ejected and the Jayhawks were able to fend off a very pesky Duke squad. Duke has now lost both of their big-time opportunities in Kentucky and Kansas. Clemson beat Penn State to win the Sunshine Slam.

Yesterday I went 37-19 in my picks. That brings my 23 day total to 783-247 overall. The final Feast Week tournament starts today, and I can tell you that I am extremely excited about that field. It could be better than Maui. That tournament in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Outside of that, a champion will be crowned in Maui; The Cancun Challenge will crown a champion as well. The Players Era tournament continues, and the Fort Myers Tip-Off and Acrisure Holiday Invitational will crown a champion. Picks for day 24 November 27, 2024, are below.

Indiana over Louisville

Louisiana Tech over Eastern Kentucky

Rhode Island over Detroit Mercy

UMBC over Morgan State

Southeastern Louisiana over North Dakota

Charleston over Northern Kentucky

Merrimack over UTSA

Baylor over New Orleans

Chattanooga over Bryant

Brown over Stony Brook

Youngstown State over Western Michigan

Charlotte over ETSU

Presbyterian over Tennessee Tech

Gonzaga over West Virginia

Iowa State over Colorado

Georgia State over Tulsa

Gardner-Webb over Bethune

Tennessee over UT Martin

Morehead State over NJIT

North Dakota State over West Georgia

App State over Sam Houston State

Valpo over Northern Illinois

Air Force over Sacramento State

San Diego State over Oregon

Harvard over UMass

Robert Morris over Canisius

Maryland over Bucknell

Auburn over Memphis

Austin Peay over UT Arlington

Providence over Oklahoma

Richmond over Ball State

South Carolina over Virginia Tech

Belmont over Tulane

Western Illinois over Incarnate Word

Creighton over Texas A&M

Missouri over Lindenwood

Nebraska over South Dakota

Cincinnati over Alabama State

Marshall over South Carolina State

UNC Wilmington over Colgate

UCF over Milwaukee

Syracuse over Cornell

Villanova over Rider

Arizona over Davidson

UTEP over UNC Greensboro

Samford over Utah Valley

Georgia Tech over Charleston Southern

Little Rock over Maryland Eastern Shore

Saint Louis over Lowell

Northern Arizona over Houston Christian

Xavier over Michigan

Wyoming over LMU

Marquette over Stonehill

Montana over Northridge

North Carolina over Michigan State

Washington State over SMU

Alabama over Rutgers

Pacific over Pine Bluff

California over Mercyhurst

San Jose State over Long Beach State

UConn over Dayton

Cal Baptist over Fresno State

Houston over Notre Dame

There are not as many good games today, but there are still many interesting ones. The day's first game might be one of the best with Indiana and Louisville. Pat Kelsey coaches Louisville, and he has them playing like old Louisville basketball. Indiana is ranked in the top 15, but are they worthy of that ranking?  UConn, Dayton, North Carolina, and Michigan State might be two of the day's best games. UConn isn’t playing very well right now and Dayton has looked like a top 20 team in Maui just has not won yet. Michigan State looks like it always does and loves to get out in transition and stop the other team in transition. North Carolina has two unbelievable guards and will push Michigan State the whole game.

Finally, Auburn, the best team in the country, plays surprising Memphis in the Maui title game. I have been very impressed with the Tigers the whole week. That game will be excellent. Enjoy the hoops.