It was another huge Saturday in College Basketball and there were results up and down the schedule that are going to affect a teams resume in a few short months. Miami beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Texas Tech had a huge comeback at home to beat Kansas State by 1 point, and Creighton held on to beat St. John’s in Omaha. There were some teams who proved they were as good as we all thought. North Carolina dominated Syracuse. Wisconsin is still the only undefeated team in the Big Ten after they beat Northwestern. Seton Hall beat Butler. Kansas got back to winning after beating Oklahoma, Texas A&M beat Kentucky, and Purdue blew out Penn State. Clemson beat Boston College and TCU handed Houston their second straight loss.
All of those teams helped their resumes. How about the teams who hurt themselves today with a key loss. Texas lost to West Virginia. James Madison is likely going to need the autobid now after losing to Appalachian State at home. Arizona lost to Washington State. Mississippi State lost to Alabama and San Diego State lost to New Mexico. The Lobos finally get their signature win and get themselves back into the tournament conversation. Finally, Providence has not won since star Bryce Hopkins went down and they are struggling to find it again after a loss to Xavier.
Yesterday I went 88-43 in my picks. That gives me a 67 day total of 1,952-737 overall. There is always a lighter slate on Sunday after a huge Saturday of college hoops. There are some huge Big East games, huge Big Ten games, and huge games in the Pac 12. There is also conference action in the American, MAAC, CAA, Missouri Valley, and Horizon League. Picks for day 68 January 14,2024 are below.
UConn over Georgetown
Florida Atlantic over UAB
Michigan State over Rutgers
Wichita State over Memphis
Iona over Mount St. Mary’s
Green Bay over Cleveland State
Illinois over Maryland
Saint Peter’s over Manhattan
Rider over Marist
Tulane over Tulsa
Illinois State over Valpo
Louisiana Tech over Liberty
Murray State over Northern Iowa
UNC Wilmington over Delaware
Utah over Stanford
UCLA over Washington
Upon first look, there are some bold picks in here but some of these teams are due to win a game. Michigan State has a lot of winnable games from here on out and will likely make a huge run in the league and find themselves in the middle in a few weeks. Illinois will take sole possession of second place in the Big Ten with a win over Maryland. Utah and Stanford are the game of the day. Utah is very good and one of the tallest teams in the country. They play through their bigs as well as anyone in the country.
Stanford has seen a resurgence over the past month especially after their win over Arizona. That game won’t be easy for the Utes. If you are into the mid-majors take a look at Louisiana Tech and Liberty. That game is going to be a defensive battle with the Bulldogs coming out on top.