NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 113 of the 2023-24 season

It was another one of those nights in College Basketball last night. There were a ton of upsets and a lot of buzzer beaters and a lot of shifting in the NCAA tournament brackets. Villanova picked up a huge win over Georgetown. The win doesn’t move the needle much but it’s a win against a bad team instead of a loss to a bad team which can break you this late in the year. Houston handled Cincinnati, which ends the NCAA tournament hopes for Cincinnati. Kentucky needed a buzzer beater by Reed Sheppard to beat Mississippi State at the Hump. Dayton picked up a needed win against Davidson. The Flyers have an interesting resume because they score very high in metrics, but they have not beaten a single team in the projected field. Syracuse beat Virginia Tech and the Orange at 19-10 are very much alive for the NCAA tournament.

Clemson beat Pitt. That loss will end the Panthers' hopes of making the NCAA tournament as an at-large. Indiana beat Wisconsin at Assembly Hall. The Badgers went from an NCAA tournament lock a few weeks ago to a team that may find themselves closer to the bubble on selection Sunday. The Badgers have lost 6-8 games in February. Loyola Chicago dropped a game to Saint Bonaventure. That loss means Richmond is alone in first place in the Atlantic 10. BYU did the unthinkable and went into Allen Fieldhouse and beat Kansas.

The Jayhawks were my preseason pick to win it all and that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Wake Forest took a bad loss to Notre Dame. The game was on the road but for a team who wants to make the tournament that is not a loss they can take. Texas blew out Texas Tech in Lubbock and that means the Longhorns are officially off the bubble. Iowa remains in the NCAA tournament discussion with a win over Penn State. The Mountain West is nuts UNLV beat Wyoming, Nevada beat Colorado State in Fort Collins on a half-court buzzer beater, Boise State beat Air Force, Utah State beat Fresno State and San Diego State beat San Jose State. UNLV is now a game back in the standings and the conference tournament is in Vegas. That league will be very interesting down the stretch.

Yesterday I went 19-12 in my picks that brings my 112 day total to 3,320-1,360 overall. There are a ton of games on the schedule today but not as many games with an impact. There are two top 15 teams playing in the SEC and a bubble team looking for a signature win the Big East. The Big Ten has two teams that need wins to keep themselves comfortably in the field and both of those games are against opponents who can beat them. The stretch run before championship week is always great basketball. Picks for day 113 February 28, 2024, are below.

American over Army

Lehigh over Boston University

Florida over Missouri

VCU over Rhode Island

Youngstown State over Detroit Mercy

Appalachian State over Old Dominion

Tennessee over Auburn

Marquette over Providence

Duke over Louisville

North Texas over Tulane

Presbyterian over South Carolina Upstate

High Point over Winthrop

Charleston Southern over Radford

Maryland over Northwestern

Jacksonville over Stetson

Xavier over DePaul

Colgate over Holy Cross

Lafayette over Navy

Duquesne over La Salle

Loyola MD over Bucknell

Chattanooga over Mercer

Western Carolina over Furman

The Citadel over ETSU

UNC Greensboro over VMI

Samford over Wofford

Robert Morris over Northern Kentucky

Milwaukee over IUPUI

Cleveland State over Green Bay

Wright State over Fort Wayne

James Madison over Georgia State

Marshall over Georgia Southern

North Florida over Florida Gulf Coast

Arkansas State over Coastal Carolina

Iowa State over Oklahoma

Colorado over California

Oklahoma State over UCF

UTSA over Tulsa

UAB over Wichita State

Rice over Temple

Drake over Illinois Chicago

Murray State over Belmont

Illinois State over Missouri State

Indiana State over Evansville

Bradley over Southern Illinois

Richmond over Saint Louis

Lipscomb over Bellarmine

Southern Mississippi over South Alabama

Louisiana over Troy

Eastern Kentucky over Austin Peay

Western Kentucky over Louisiana Tech

Texas A&M over South Carolina

St. John’s over Butler

Creighton over Seton Hall

Illinois over Minnesota

Alabama over Ole Miss

Boston College over Virginia

Arizona over Arizona State

Oregon over Oregon State

Another loaded slate of games especially in the 8 pm time slot. St. John’s and Butler is a de facto elimination game. The loser must win the conference tournament and the winner stays alive for another day on the bubble. Illinois and Minnesota is very intriguing. The Illini were sent a message in their win over Iowa that coach Brad Underwood will sub every player on the team to get guys that care. It worked against Iowa and will the starters show more against Minnesota tonight. The Gophers had been playing some of the best basketball in the league but then were dominated Sunday night at Nebraska. Minnesota is going to be heading to Illinois with something to prove that they are better than they showed on Sunday.

Northwestern has had a ton of trouble scoring points without Ty Berry in the lineup and tonight they face Maryland at Xfinity Center. The Terps pose enough problems on the defensive end that scoring is a chore with a full slate of players. The Terps are favored and should win that game. Creighton and Seton Hall is a game between a team looking to bounce back after an uninspiring performance at St. John’s and Seton Hall needs to keep winning to stay in the field. If Ole Miss wants to make the NCAA tournament beating Alabama would be a good start. Tennessee and Auburn is a game between 2 top 15 teams and should be a fantastic game for all 40 minutes.