Tuesday was one of those nights in NCAA Basketball where a lot of teams got upset. Iowa continued its late-season push toward the NCAA tournament with a win over Michigan State in East Lansing. Wisconsin finally got back to winning with a close win over Maryland at the Kohl Center. Tennessee survived a scare from Missouri, Saint Mary’s beat San Francisco, and BYU beat Baylor at the Marriott Center.
There was a lot of movement on the bubble last night as well. Villanova beat Butler which puts Butler in a tough position. Texas A&M continued their late-season swoon with a loss to Arkansas. Wake Forest blew out Pitt, Nevada beat Wyoming, Boise State blew out San Jose State, West Virginia beat UCF, and Syracuse beat NC State. Duquesne continued their late-season push toward the top of the Atlantic 10. UMass is currently having their best season in a long time and they are dangerous in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Creighton blew out UConn in Omaha. That means that two number 1 teams have fallen in the state of Nebraska this year. Will Houston be the new number 1 on Monday?
Yesterday I went 19-6 in my picks that brings my 105 day total to 3,092-1,253 overall. Another day with a lot of potential movement on the NCAA Tournament cut line. There are a lot of bubble teams who have road games, and tough home games. There are also some tournament locks who have tough road games. Today is going to be a big moving day on the cutline before the schedule quiets down a bit before another big time Saturday of basketball. Picks for day 106 February 21, 2024, is below.
Lehigh over Army
UNC Greensboro over Western Carolina
Illinois over Penn State
Winthrop over Presbyterian
La Salle over Saint Bonaventure
Duke over Miami
Alabama over Florida
George Mason over Dayton
Louisville over Notre Dame
Clemson over Georgia Tech
Cincinnati over Oklahoma State
UNC Asheville over Longwood
SC Upstate over Charleston Southern
St John’s over Georgetown
American over Boston University
Rhode Island over Richmond
Saint Joseph’s over George Washington
Loyola Md over Navy
Holy Cross over Bucknell
Mercer over The Citadel
ETSU over VMI
Chattanooga over Wofford
James Madison over Marshall
Georgia State over Coastal Carolina
Jacksonville State over Middle Tennessee
Samford over Furman
South Florida over UTSA
UAB over Rice
Memphis over Charlotte
Indiana State over Valpo
Evansville over Illinois-Chicago
Southern Illinois over Murray State
Missouri State over Bradley
Illinois State over Northern Iowa
Drake over Belmont
Xavier over Providence
Georgia over Vanderbilt
Nebraska over Indiana
Marquette over DePaul
Kentucky over LSU
Wichita State over Tulsa
Mississippi State over Ole Miss
New Mexico over Colorado State
Pepperdine over Pacific
UNLV over Air Force
Power conference teams are going to be in action in every window tonight. Illinois takes on a short-handed Penn State team in State College. That game is being played at the old arena at Penn State and its small arena is going to give Illinois some issues tonight. George Mason gets Dayton at home and that is a juicy upset candidate. George Mason is good enough to get it done. Nebraska plays another game on the road today against a reeling Indiana team.
Can Nebraska get its first road win in the Big Ten? If they do, they will be much safer in the NCAA tournament field. Mississippi State and Ole Miss are both either in the last 4 in the NCAA tournament or among the first four out. That is a huge game for both teams. Xavier and Providence have NCAA tournament implications for both teams as well. Providence needs a win to stay in the field and Xavier needs a win to start a late-season push to the field. A lot of exciting basketball today.