Expert Basketball Picks and Previews

The Cleveland Cavaliers head to the United Center on Thursday night for an Eastern Conference matchup with the Chicago Bulls. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM, and the game will air on CHSN. Cleveland enters this game at 42-27, sitting 4th in the Eastern Conference and 2nd in the Central Division, while Chicago comes in at 28-41, good for 12th

The Los Angeles Clippers head to the Smoothie King Center on Thursday night for a Western Conference matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM, and fans can watch on the Gulf channel. The Clippers come in at 34-35, sitting 8th in the Western Conference and 3rd in the Pacific Division, while the Pelicans are 24-46

Texas A&M and Saint Mary’s meet Thursday night in the South Region, with the 10-seed Aggies facing the 7-seed Gaels at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Tip is set for 7:35 PM ET on truTV, and this looks like one of the tighter first-round matchups on the board. Texas A&M enters at 21-11 after navigating a difficult SEC schedule, while

The NCAA Tournament opens Thursday night in Greenville with one of the tighter first-round matchups on the board. VCU, the 11 seed out of the Atlantic 10, meets 6-seed North Carolina at Bon Secours Wellness Arena with tipoff set for 6:50 PM ET on TNT. VCU enters at 27-7 after winning the A-10 tournament and closing the year on a

The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Arkansas Razorbacks meet in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, with tipoff set for 4:25 PM ET on TBS. Hawaii enters as the No. 13 seed at 24-8 after a strong run through the Big West, while Arkansas comes in as the No. 4 seed at

The Phoenix Suns head to the Frost Bank Center on Thursday night for a Western Conference matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM, and the game will be broadcast on AZFa. Phoenix enters this one at 39-30, good for 7th in the Western Conference and 2nd in the Pacific Division, while San Antonio comes in

The NCAA Tournament gets going Thursday night in Buffalo with a really interesting 8-9 matchup in the Midwest Region. Saint Louis draws Georgia at KeyBank Center, with tipoff set for 9:45 PM ET on CBS. Saint Louis comes in as the No. 9 seed after a 28-5 season and an Atlantic 10 title push that ended with a one-point loss

The Penn Quakers and Illinois Fighting Illini meet in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Tipoff is set for 9:25 PM ET on TNT. Penn comes in as the No. 14 seed at 18-11 after winning the Ivy League tournament, while Illinois enters as the No. 3

The Milwaukee Bucks head to the Delta Center on Thursday night for a regular season matchup with the Utah Jazz, with tip-off set for 9:00 PM. Milwaukee comes in at 28-40, sitting 11th in the Eastern Conference and 3rd in the Central Division, while Utah is 20-49 and buried near the bottom of the Western Conference standings in 14th place.