What a weekend of hoops we were all treated to. There were the three top ten matchups on Saturday and then yesterday the top 4 teams in the Big Ten all battled and treated everyone to two fantastic games. Purdue beat Wisconsin to take over first place outright in the league. Nebraska gave Illinois everything they could handle in Champaign before finally falling in overtime by 3 points.
It was a great showing by the Huskers, but they need to start winning games on the road to solidify their NCAA tournament hopes. They have 4 more road games to get some wins and that team is too good to not get some over Indiana, Ohio State, or Michigan. Arizona won a tight one over Stanford to first place in the Pac-12.
Yesterday I went 13-4 in my picks that brings my 89 day total to 2,593-1,045 total. It’s another Monday after a huge weekend and there is not much quality on the schedule today. ESPN does have two huge games with tournament implications though. They have one in the ACC and one in the Big 12 featuring one of the premier college basketball teams in the country. The rest of the games are all from the low and mid major conferences. Picks for day 90 February 5, 2024, are below.
Virginia over Miami
Southeastern Louisiana over Incarnate Word
North Carolina Central over Morgan State
Delaware State over Howard
South Carolina State over Coppin State
Nicholls over Northwestern State
New Orleans over Houston Christian
Norfolk State over Maryland Eastern Shore
McNeese over Texas A&M Commerce
Prairie View over Pine Bluff
Alcorn State over Grambling
Alabama State over Florida A&M
Alabama A&M over Bethune
Kansas State over Kansas
Jackson State over Southern
Sacramento State over Idaho
Eastern Washington over Portland State
The two power conference games are going to be good. Virginia is in the tournament right now but needs to start stacking wins in order to solidify that. Miami needs to win this game to help them get back into the tournament conversation.
Then there is Kansas and Kansas State. The Wildcats are on the bubble and need signature wins, especially after losing four games in a row. A win over Kansas would be a huge step in the right direction. Kansas is fresh off a huge win over Houston and is going to a hostile Manhattan Kansas where the Wildcats have to win. It is an upset in the making. Can McNeese regain their dominance in the Southland after losing on Saturday?