Welcome to all the football fans who are now going to focus on the last 5 weeks of the season before the NCAA tournament. Even though yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday there were still some good College Basketball games on that had an impact in the NCAA tournament bracket. Northwestern struggled to score but did enough to beat Penn State at Welsch-Ryan.
Iowa came back from 20 down in the second half to beat Minnesota. The Gophers were trending up but that is a loss that is going to relegate them to the NIT. The Gophers also may have lost star Dawson Garcia for a bit as he didn’t play much of the second half. Florida Atlantic needed overtime to beat Wichita State. Villanova blew out Seton Hall. The Pirates look like they are destined for the NIT. Memphis got revenge for an earlier loss to Tulane.
Yesterday I went 9-2 in my picks that gives me a 96 day total of 2,817-1,151 overall. Today is another ESPN Big Monday with some big games in the ACC and the Big 12. Those games are sandwiched in with some games in smaller conferences. The schedule really picks up as the week goes on. Picks for day 97 February 12, 2024, are below.
Southern over Alabama State
Duke over Wake Forest
Bucknell over Lehigh
Lamar over Incarnate Word
Nicholls over Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Northwestern State over New Orleans
Texas Southern over Bethune
TCU over West Virginia
Southeastern Louisiana over Texas A&M Commerce
McNeese over Houston Christian
Alcorn State over Mississippi Valley State
Grambling over Alabama A&M
Pine Bluff over Jackson State
Kansas over Texas Tech
Towson over Elon
Prairie View over Florida A&M
The Big Monday games like to have Duke and Kansas on ESPN. They have played on Monday a few times this year. Wake Forest is in desperate need of a signature win, but it is going to be tough to get it in Cameron. The Jayhawks were beaten last Monday when they lost to Kansas State in Manhattan. This week they have another tough game against Texas Tech in Lubbock but it's a game I think Kansas wins.
If you like to watch HBCU hoops there is a great HBCU game on ESPNU tonight between Florida A&M and Prairie View. Them being on national TV is a big deal, neither team is great, but they are both going to love the exposure.