There may not have been many games yesterday but there were a lot of quality games that had big-time implications on the NCAA tournament. South Florida beat Florida Atlantic to continue their hold on the AAC. The Bulls have won 12 out of their last 13 games. Ohio State gets a huge win after firing Chris Holtmann. The Buckeyes beat Purdue in Columbus. It was not a win that instantly got Ohio State into the field, but it was a feel-good win for the Buckeyes as the season continues. Seton Hall beat St. John’s effectively ending the Red Storm and their quest for the NCAA tournament. Utah needed a late surge to beat UCLA to stay in the conversation for the NCAA tournament. Finally, Rider shot almost 80% from the floor in a win over Manhattan.
Yesterday I went 13-8 in my picks which brings my 103-day total to 3,060-1,241 overall. It is another Big Monday on ESPN with games in the ACC and the Big 12. Chicago State, the lone independent in college basketball, will end their season today. There is a huge game in the Patriot League to determine seeding for the conference tournament and there is another HBCU game on late tonight on ESPNU. Picks for day 104 February 19, 2024, are below.
Colgate over Lafayette
Virginia Tech over Virginia
Southeastern Louisiana over Lamar
Howard over SC State
Delaware State over Morgan State
Incarnate Word over Texas A&M Commerce
New Orleans over Nicholls
Charleston over William & Mary
Maryland Eastern Shore over Coppin State
Texas A&M Corpus Christi over Northwestern State
Texas Southern over Southern
Alabama State over Mississippi Valley State
Pine Bluff over Alabama A&M
Alcorn State over Florida A&M
Prairie View over Grambling
Jackson State over Bethune
Houston over Iowa State
Texas over Kansas State
Norfolk State over North Carolina Central
There are some big-time games on the bubble today. Virginia and Virginia Tech is a big game with eyes on the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers are safe in the NCAA tournament right now but if they start losing to teams not in the field, they could start dropping some seed lines. Houston is currently a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and Iowa State is good enough to climb to that line. The Cougars lost to Iowa State in Hilton earlier this year and likely are not going to lose at the Fertitta Center.
Texas and Kansas State is a battle between two bubble teams. One team is in the field in Texas and the other Kansas State has a lot of work to do to make the field. A win over Texas on the road would help them a lot toward making a late season push to the field.