NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 38 of 2024-25 season

I hope you enjoyed your Tuesday night of basketball. I know that I did. Tennessee protected the number 1 ranking at the Jimmy Classic with a win over Miami. The Hurricanes fall to 3-7 and look like one of the worst teams in the country. I did not expect that this season. Arkansas and head coach John Calipari finally got their signature non-conference win. The Razorbacks beat Michigan in the second half of the Jimmy V Classic. Arkansas got down early, then went on a huge run and went up big and had to fend off a huge Michigan run to win by 2. The Wolverines had a chance to win the game at the buzzer. Wisconsin fell to 0-2 in the Big Ten, and Rutgers got a much-needed win over Penn State.  

The Big East and ACC had some other very interesting results. Providence beat DePaul in Chicago.  Neither team has looked great this season, but the Friars desperately needed that win, and they start 1-0 in Big East play. Butler lost to North Dakota State at Hinkle. That was a bad loss for a Butler who has now lost two home games to low major schools. The loss to the Bison joins the loss to Austin Peay. The Bulldogs are going to need some big-time wins to get back into tournament conversation. In the ACC, Duke beat Incarnate Word, NC State struggled to beat winless Coppin State, Syracuse beat Albany, and Cornell beat California. I don’t how strong the ACC is this season. So far, it doesn’t look that great.

Yesterday, I went 18-6 in my picks, bringing my 37-day total to 1,127-401 overall. Today, there is daytime basketball between two Division 1 teams, and that is always a good day. There are also Horizon League conference games today. Outside of that game, there is not much on the schedule today. It looks like a lot of games could end up in a blowout. My picks for day 38, December 11, 2024, are below.

Baylor over Norfolk State

UMass Lowell over Long Island

Alabama State over Tennessee Martin

Wright State over Marshall

Delaware State over NJIT

Duquesne over Maine

Notre Dame over Dartmouth

Villanova over Fairleigh Dickinson

St. John’s over Bryant

Fort Wayne over IU Indy

Green Bay over Milwaukee

East Carolina over North Alabama

Pitt over Eastern Kentucky

Louisville over UTEP

Louisiana Monroe over Pine Bluff

Kentucky over Colgate

Utah Valley over North Dakota

Louisiana over Southeastern Louisiana

BYU over Fresno State

San Diego State over Cal Baptist

Nevada over South Dakota State

There are not many good games today, and the best game of the day is the last game with Nevada and South Dakota State. Nevada has not been nearly as good as many thought this year, and South Dakota State looks to be the class of the Summit League again. That one will be a competitive game. Outside of that, there is not much on the schedule. Enjoy the hoops.