Daily Three 1/26

  Hello,

  Last night led to another 2-1 night. Yes, it is frustrating to miss the perfect record by a game the past three nights, but the units do continue to rise. Also, the late night hammer has yet to fail, and we got a fun one tonight. Unfortunately, hockey has just not been offering up too much this week (although I will probably have a prop bet for the All-Star game Sunday). Thus, we continue with the 2 NCAAB games and 1 NBA game on this Thursday night.

NBA
Indiana Pacers at Minnesota Timberwolves -3

 In today's version of stupid NBA nicknames, we go to the great state of Indiana to find the Pacers. When I first thought of it, I thought it must have to do with the Brickyard and must be named for the pace car that leads the cars into the race and during cautions. It turns out I was partially correct. Along with the pace car, the name also recognizes the state's remarkable history with harness racing pacers, which is a form of horse racing. This is not the traditional horse racing that you see at Churchill Downs or Pimlico, but rather the type of racing where the jockey will sit in a little cart directly behind the horse and control him or her with a harness. So, the investors of the Indiana basketball team when they entered the ABA decided that it was best to name their team after a second rate form of racing and the slowest car on a race track. Brilliant!! I guess it is better than naming themselves after the race track and calling themselves the Bricks. Apparently, according to the Pacers website, coming up with the nickname was the easiest part. Deciding whether to name the team the Indiana Pacers or the Indianapolis Pacers was the more difficult decision. Obviously go with Indiana, represent the entire state that loves the sport of basketball. The Colts' stupid, drunk, drug addict, owner chose the name Indianapolis and has alienated the northwestern part of the state who prefer to watch Bears games over Colts games. Good job Irsay, idiot!! Anyway, the big matchup tonight will be Karl-Anthony Towns vs Myles Turner. The two players were highly-regarded recruits heading into their freshman years at Kentucky and Texas, respectively. With all of the hype, Towns broke out and pushed his way to becoming the number one pick, while Texas coach Rick Barnes struggled to properly integrate Turner into the Texas rotation and ultimately led to Barnes' firing. Turner still ended up being the eleventh pick just based on sheer talent alone. Still, Towns is way further along in his development thus far and should dominate Turner tonight. Also, the Pacers are a mess having just lost to the Lakers and Knicks, plus, Paul George just looks like the most miserable superstar in the league currently. Take the T'Wolves at home tonight, you won't be sorry.

NCAAB
Xavier Musketeers at Cincinnati Bearcats -3.5

Hot take Alert: Go get your screen guards since you are about to spit out whatever you are drinking. Xavier-Cincy is the most underrated rivalry going on currently in college sports. Last year, I made my roommates late to a party, because we needed to watch the last five minutes of this thrilling rivalry. Need more proof? Read this article by Grantland Alum Mark Titus. Still not convinced? Watch this video from the 2011 showdown and make sure to stay for the press conference footage. These guys simply hate each other. This isn't like Duke-UNC where they are all just friends and can be like, well we get each other because he played in such a great rivalry. This isn't even like Ravens-Steelers where there is definitely hate in the air, but the players have great respect for one another, because the play in the best rivalry in football. This game is just a hatred between two sides of a Midwestern city that are just looking to have bragging rights for year. In recent years, Xavier has had control of the series winning the last three meetings and four of the last five. However, I think this is the year the Bearcats take it back from the Musketeers. Cincy has a much higher Kenpom rating, 17, compared to Xavier, 29. They will get a nice home court edge in front of a Cincy student section ready to get their first win over Xavier during their tenures at the school. The Bearcats are also the hotter team, winning their last ten games, while Xavier has lost 3 of 4, with all three losses coming to ranked teams (which Cincy is). The biggest thing that Cincy has going for it this year is that they have finally found some offense to go along with its traditionally stingy defense. Jacob Evans has really taken on the role of offensive playmaker and has succeeded leading the team in points. Also, Xavier has really struggled to find help inside to make up for the losses of Jalen Reynolds and James Farr from last year's team. Also, prolific scorer Myles Davis has finally decided to leave Xavier's program after being reinstated for just three games this season. The turmoil at Xavier will only add to Cincinnati's momentum as the Bearcats take back Cincy in this year's Crosstown Shootout.

Oregon Ducks at Utah Utes Pick Em'

 Bang bang. Bang bang. Bang bang. It is time again for another edition of the late night hammer. Tonight, we head to Huntsman Center (Fun fact: His son John Huntsman, Jr. was the commencement speaker at my graduation) for some Pac-12 basketball after dark. This game is really playing tricks with the mind. Oregon's star player, Dillon Brooks, is currently a game-time decision. The line started out with Utah as the slight favorite, making me believe that Vegas thought that Brooks would not suit up tonight. Now, the line has moved to a pick em', making me unsure of whether Vegas really knows what is going to happen. Anyway, I have never taken part in the Pac-12 regional schedule, but if I had to take a guess on which trip is the hardest, I'd probably have to go with the Rocky Mountain trip. I'm thinking it must be difficult for college kids to adapt to the Mile High altitude, especially if they have never played in a setting like it. Also for a team that has won 16 straight games and holds an 18-2 record, I find their Kenpom rating to be pretty low at 16. Utah has a respectable Kenpom rating of 34, which is definitely higher than I expected. The Utes really need a big win, and I think they have a great opportunity against a team that will be dealing with the thin air and at best, will have their best player playing at half-strength. Take the Utes tonight and continue to bang that late night hammer.

Yesterday: 2-1
Overall: 32-23-2 (+85 Units)