The 12-game schedule on Monday didn’t provide much intrigue, but it almost did. Alcorn State had a lead on Rice late in the game before losing by 2. The Braves now fall to 0-12 on the year. In the game of the night, Louisiana Tech beat Grand Canyon in Ruston. The Bulldogs are the team we expected Grand Canyon to be this year. Louisiana Tech doesn’t look like a team that will lose much and has an opportunity to get some quad 1 wins in the conference. They likely won’t get an at-large, but they will likely have a big season. Grand Canyon won’t lose much in the WAC, but they are not the same dominant team they were last year that saw them win an NCAA tournament game.
Yesterday, I went 11-1 in my picks. That brings my 43-day total to 1,257-432 overall. The schedule this Tuesday is much better than it was yesterday, and there are some big-time games today. Big East Conference play resumes but begins for most schools. The Jumpman Invitational begins today, the WAC/Conference USA challenge resumes, and the top two teams in the country are in action. Picks for day 44, December 17, 2024, are below.
Howard over Drexel
St. John’s over DePaul
UNC Asheville over North Florida
Tennessee over Western Carolina
Duke over George Mason
North Carolina over Florida
Ole Miss over Southern
Michigan State over Oakland
Dayton over UNLV
Clemson over South Carolina
Georgia Southern over Gardner-Webb
Robert Morris over Towson
Marist over Stony Brook
North Carolina A&T over Coastal Carolina
East Carolina over FIU
Charlotte over West Georgia
Quinnipiac over Holy Cross
Saint Bonaventure over Siena
Florida State over Winthrop
Wake Forest over James Madison
Mississippi State over Central Michigan
Wichita State over Kansas City
Villanova over Seton Hall
Missouri over Jacksonville State
Maryland over St Francis PA
Auburn over Georgia State
Western Kentucky over Seattle
Southern Mississippi over Lamar
Ohio State over Valpo
Kansas State over Drake
Louisiana Monroe over Houston Christian
Western Illinois over Tennessee Tech
Utah State over UC San Diego
Colorado State over Radford
Boise State over Texas Southern
Utah over Florida A&M
LSU over Stetson
UCLA over Prairie View
Cal Poly over Denver
Oregon State over Sacramento State
Stanford over Merrimack
Some quality games are on the schedule tonight, which come from both the power conference and the mid-major ranks. North Carolina and Florida is one to watch for a potential upset. Only an upset in that North Carolina is the unranked team. The Tar Heels desperately need a huge non-conference win, and they will get a neutral site game in Charlotte against a great Florida team. Clemson is on upset watch against rival South Carolina. South Carolina desperately needs a signature win as well. Michigan State is playing Oakland in Detroit, a neutral site game for both teams, even though the Spartans should cruise. Utah State and UC San Diego is going to be a fantastic game, but you have to have the Mountain West Network to watch it.
There is a potential upset tonight in Manhattan, KS. Drake comes to town, and the Bulldogs are undefeated and hard to prepare for with their run-and-gun style. Kansas State doesn’t lose much at the Octagon, but Drake is the best team they have played so far and can beat them. Enjoy the hoops.