NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 53 of the 2023-24 season
By Bryan Mauro
The first Friday after Christmas delivered in a big way. There were upsets, buzzer-beaters, and large comebacks. That is what we are all going to be looking forward to every night as the season gets closer to the NCAA tournament. McNeese and head coach Will Wade went into Ann Arbor and beat Michigan. Michigan has now lost to McNeese and Long Beach State at home. Southeast Missouri hit a buzzer-beater to beat Southern Indiana. Illinois passed their first test without suspended star Terrence Shannon. Arizona State led for all of 30 seconds in their win over Stanford. What a day it was and I am so glad it is back.
Yesterday I went 34-12 in my picks. That brings my 52 day total to 1,474-511. It is another huge schedule of games today with the ACC conference play starting again. Sun Belt conference play starts. The Big East resumes their conference schedule. The Legends of Basketball Showcase takes place in Cleveland and tons of ranked teams are in action. Picks for day 53 December 30,2023, are below
Syracuse over Pittsburgh
Virginia over Notre Dame
Delaware State over Mount St. Mary’s
Navy over William & Mary
Rutgers over Stonehill
St. John’s over Hofstra
Florida State over Lipscomb
Rhode Island over Northeastern
Fordham over Columbia
Appalachian State over UL Monroe
UMass over Siena
Florida over Quinnipiac
Ohio over Davidson
Marquette over Creighton
Duke over Queens
James Madison over Texas State
Wake Forest over Virginia Tech
Loyola Chicago over Central Michigan
Bucknell over Saint Peter’s
Michigan State over Indiana State
La Salle over Howard
South Carolina over Florida A&M
Princeton over Delaware
Marist over Lehigh
Alabama over Liberty
Merrimack over Boston University
Harvard over Iona
George Mason over North Carolina A&T
Troy over Coastal Carolina
Georgia State over Arkansas State
Dayton over Longwood
Fairfield over Le Moyne
VCU over Gardner-Webb
Georgia over Alabama A&M
Western Kentucky over Abilene Christian
Southern Mississippi over Georgia Southern
Missouri over Central Arkansas
Kansas over Wichita State
Oregon over UCLA
Cornell over Colgate
Chicago State over DePaul
Richmond over Lafayette
Campbell over St Francis PA
Tennessee Tech over Tennessee Martin
Murray State over Middle Tennessee
Louisiana over Marshall
George Washington over Maryland Eastern Shore
Saint Bonaventure over Akron
Long Beach State over Northridge
Northern Colorado over Northern Arizona
Weber State over Montana State
Little Rock over Tennessee State
Vanderbilt over Dartmouth
Arkansas over UNC Wilmington
Utah Tech over FIU
UC Davis over Cal Poly
Idaho over Portland State
Eastern Washington over Sacramento State
BYU over Wyoming
San Francisco over Mississippi Valley State
Idaho State over Montana
Houston over Penn
Florida Atlantic over Florida Gulf Coast
Memphis over Austin Peay
Southern Illinois over Illinois Chicago
High Point over Bellarmine
Manhattan over Wagner
South Alabama over Old Dominion
Santa Clara over Yale
Texas A&M over Prairie View
Ohio State over West Virginia
UT Rio Grande Valley over Incarnate Word
Grand Canyon over Louisiana Tech
Santa Barbara over UC Riverside
UTEP over Seattle
Cal Baptist over New Mexico State
Auburn over Chattanooga
Oregon State over USC
UC Irvine over Bakersfield
Hawaii over Fullerton
There is a huge slate of games today headlined in the Big East with Marquette and Creighton. Those two teams were picked to finish near the top of the league in the preseason and nothing that either team has done so far would suggest that is not a possibility. Michigan State has a tough game against a great Indiana State team. If the Spartans keep playing like they have been over the last two weeks they will be fine. Arkansas is on upset watch against UNC Wilmington. The Seahawks went into Rupp Arena and won earlier this year.
Next. Top 10 two-time impact transfers. Top 10 two-time impact transfers. dark
Chicago State plays another game against a power school that they will likely win. Can the Cougars get two Chicago teams in one season? The best mid major game is Grand Canyon and Louisiana Tech. The Lopes have one loss this year and don’t look like they are going to lose for a while and Louisiana Tech has a solid roster that is led by some power conference transfers.