Big Monday presented some big opportunities for some teams to get a signature win and cement themselves in the NCAA tournament. One team failed to do so and the other made a huge statement. Duke beat Wake Forest in Cameron. The Deacs have a lot of wins but do not have a quad 1 win yet and they won’t be included if they don’t get one. Texas Tech beat Kansas by 29 points in Lubbock. I have been watching basketball for a long time and I can never remember Kansas getting beat by that many points. It was a tough night for the Jayhawks and doesn’t look like they are going to end up with a one seed after all.
Yesterday I went 10-6 in my picks that brings my 97 day total to 2,827-1,157 overall. There are some huge games on the schedule today especially in the Big East, SEC and the Big 12. The Atlantic 10 has some big games as well for seeding purposes in their conference tournament. Championship Week is not that far away. Picks for day 98 February 13, 2024, are below.
Marquette over Butler
North Carolina over Syracuse
Iowa State over Cincinnati
Illinois over Michigan
Dayton over Duquesne
Virginia over Pittsburgh
Indiana State over Illinois State
Providence over St. John’s
Texas A&M over Vanderbilt
George Mason over George Washington
Davidson over La Salle
Drake over Evansville
Florida over LSU
Northern Illinois over Buffalo
Creighton over Georgetown
Tennessee Tech over Tennessee State
Baylor over Oklahoma
BYU over UCF
Wisconsin over Ohio State
Kentucky over Ole Miss
Boston College over Louisville
Virginia Tech over Florida State
San Diego State over Colorado State
San Jose State over Air Force
Nevada over New Mexico
There are a lot of teams playing today that are on the bubble. A good win on the bubble can provide a lot of separation between you and the bottom of the cut line. Marquette and Butler is a huge game for both teams. Butler needs to win to solidify its spot in the field and Marquette needs to win to help secure one of the top 16 seeds in the tournament. Iowa State still has an outside chance at a top seed in the NCAA tournament and a loss to Cincinnati would not help that cause. The Bearcats need wins against good teams to get in the field. Dayton needs to protect home court.
Virginia is playing well but Pittsburgh could present some matchup problems for the Cavaliers. Providence and St. John’s are both teams that need to start stacking wins to earn their way into the bracket. Ole Miss is still looking for their signature win, but I would doubt Kentucky will lose 4 home games in a row. Wisconsin gets the ideal get right game against an Ohio State team that is not playing very well right now. The Badgers have lost 4 in a row and are looking for wins again to improve their seeding.