Daily Three 1/24

  Hello,

  So, we got back on track yesterday. A 2-1 effort with the Hawks just completely disappearing. Tonight we are going all basketball as we got two giant college basketball match-ups and a semi-late night hammer in the NBA.

NCAAB
Kansas Jayhawks at West Virginia Mountaineers -3.5

 Man, this is going to be another wonderful Big 12 basketball game. For all of the dominance Kansas has had over the years, West Virginia has been dominating head to head match-ups the past few years. I remember three years ago, when a highly-praised freshman for Kansas named Andrew Wiggins went into Morgantown to take on the Mountaineers.  The Mountaineers were underachieving but were up to the challenge that day as Juwan Staten led WVU in a stunning victory over the Jayhawks. That was just the start as West Virginia has also won the last two match-ups between the two teams, including a Mountaineer victory over #1 ranked Kansas last season. These three wins have also made coach, Bob Huggins $75,000 richer (he gets 25k for every victory the Mountaineers get over Kansas). Tonight, another highly-touted freshman, Josh Jackson, will be heading to Morgantown. I expect him to suffer the same fate as Wiggins. Despite what the AP poll says, the Mountaineers are actually ranked higher in the Kenpom ratings as the WVU is at #4 while Kansas is a mere #8. I think couches will be burning tonight and Huggins's wallet is going to get a little heavier as the Mountaineers stun the Jayhawks yet again.

Virginia Cavaliers at Notre Dame Fighting Irish -1.5

I am going to use this write-up to talk about the most underrated coach in college basketball, Mike Brey. Constantly in the shadow of their highly overrated football program, Brey has consistently won in difficult conferences (Big East and ACC) and has consistently gotten great athletic talent to South Bend (Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton, Demetrius Jackson, etc.). Brey has gotten his squad to the Elite Eight the past two seasons, and still his most impressive coaching job might be currently happening. Despite losing stars Jackson and Zach Auguste, the Fighting Irish have managed to jump out to a 17-3 record including a big win over top ten squad Louisville. Irish vets VJ Beachem, Steve Vasturia, and Bonzie Colson have really been carrying the load and have much experience against Tony Bennett and his stout defense at Virginia. I am a little concerned about their disparity in the Kenpom ratings, but I really think home court will make a big difference. Notre Dame will not need the luck of the Irish tonight as Mike Brey shows once again what a great basketball coach he is.

NBA
Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets -2

Minor bang bang, minor bang bang. It is a semi-late night hammer tonight that includes a nickname discussion. In tonight's version of NBA nicknames, I am going to commend the Denver Nuggets. During their time in the old ABA, the team was actually called the Denver Rockets, because the team owner apparently ran a trucking company called "Ringsbury Rockets" (thank you http://www.remembertheaba.com). Once the team made the move to the NBA in mid-70's, ownership renamed the team the Nuggets in honor of the great rush to the Colorado in the 1800s to find very valuable nuggets thats could change people's lives. Really, any name that puts your team in the same category as gold and silver is cool with me. Also, it is a great tribute to a very historical time in the Rocky Mountains. Anyway, the Jazz are coming off a super tough loss last night to Russell Westbrook and are coming into Denver on short rest. They also have fallen to two point underdogs after starting off a one and a half point favorite even though they have received half of the spread bets. Also, the Nuggets demolished the Jazz the last time these two teams played in Denver. Nikola Jokic will continue is historic run, and the Nuggets will mine for a victory tonight.

Yesterday: 2-1
Overall: 28-21-2 (57%)