NCAA Basketball: Picks for Day 98 of the 2023-24 season

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.