Hello,
1-2 last night. Oh well. Can't win them all. However, the late night hammer hit yet again. Hope you stayed up to watch the Lake Show. Today, I'm going to write for the huge college basketball slate and will include more than three games. There was no college basketball last Saturday, so let's just call this a make-up.
NCAAB
Nebraska Cornhuskers -2 at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers is an embarrassment to the Big Ten. Added to the conference to get the Big Ten Network into homes in the New York metropolitan area, the school has managed to be a train wreck in both football and basketball. Horrible coaching, undisciplined players, and incompetence in the AD's office has put the New Jersey school a notch below the rest of the Big Ten. Nebraska has been on a little bit of a slide since starting 3-0 in conference, but they are receiving the perfect antidote today in the Scarlet Knights. Don't be stupid like the Big Ten, stick with the Cornhuskers and avoid Rutgers.
Iowa State Cyclones at Oklahoma Sooners -2
The Big 12 has just been a grind this year. Every single team, with maybe the slight exception of Texas, has been very competitive this year. The conference has really had parity issues, considering Kansas has won twelve straight conference titles and look to be on their way to a thirteenth straight. With that being said, there are no easy games and that could really be helpful for a conference that has struggled in the Big Dance in recent years (yes, Oklahoma made the Final Four last year, but again, the exception). Speaking of Oklahoma, they just had a huge victory in Morgantown, and the return of Jordan Woodard has really helped get this team back on track. With how unlikeable their football team is, it is quite amazing that the basketball program can be the complete opposite. Lonnie Kruger is a well-respected coach, they had guys like Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins and now have Jordan Woodard, who seem to be really good guys. I think the home court advantage will shift this game and sports insights has the Sooners has the contrarian bet with sharp money to boot (we like that). I'm going with OU here.
Marquette Golden Eagles at Creighton Blue Jays -5.5
When making picks, we do our best to keep emotion out of the decision process. However, there are some cases where we just want to cheer for a side that needs it. Earlier this week, it was announced that senior point guard, Maurice Watson Jr., would miss the rest of the season with a Torn ACL. Watson, who transferred to Creighton from Boston University, has been a huge part of this program for the past two seasons and has sparked their return to national relevance. He was leading the country in assists per game with 8.5 assists games and really had the Blue Jays primed to be final four contenders. However, his unfortunate injury has sadly ended his college career and possibly the Blue Jays' championship hopes. With that being said, the Blue Jays have one of the best home court advantages in the country, and with Watson in the building today, I can imagine emotion pushing these guys to a big victory. Expect Marcus Foster to play a giant role in that as the Blue Jays win handedly over Marquette.
Arizona Wildcats at UCLA Bruins -5.5
The Pac-12 basketball schedule is always well-prepared and incredibly easy to understand. Every person should strive to be like the Pac-12 basketball schedule. In the Pac-12, there are six regions with two teams each: Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Southern California, Arizona, and the Rocky Mountains. Each week, one region will go to another region and play two games, and then there are two weeks where each team will play the other team in their region and get essentially a bye date. For example, when we saw UCLA was playing Arizona State on Thursday, we knew that Arizona would be coming into Westwood this weekend for the Pac-12 Game of the Year. I have got to give Sean Miller props for the job he has done with the Wildcats so far this season. Dealing with some uncertainty on his roster and thus a lack of depth, Arizona has managed to jump out to a 17-2 record and asserted themselves as the number one contender to the Bruins. They have managed to do this without their star guard, Alonzo Trier, who will finally be back today after finally clearing the PED/academic (who knows which one is really true) hurdle that tripped him up all year. While this will definitely be huge for the Wildcats in the long-term, I think integrating him back into the lineup for such a big matchup will hurt them today. The guy is a shooter, and he is bound to be a little rusty. Lonzo Ball and Issac Hamilton should continue to have their way even in this hard matchup, and the Bill Walton voodoo should continue to hang around Pauley Pavilion. So, try to catch this high scoring affair and make sure to celebrate the Bruins' victory with some ice cream sandwiches from Diddy Reese.
Wisconsin Badgers -4.5 at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Again, I am obviously biased, but the Badgers should have no problems here. Throughout the seven years that I have been associated with the UW, we have absolutely owned our so-called "rival" in both basketball and football. Throughout this time, we have owned the axe played for in the football game for literally every second I have been a Badger and have only lost to them twice in basketball. The domination shall continue today as the Badger is greater than the Gopher.
Baylor Bears -2 at TCU Horned Frogs
Before I pick against his team, let's give credit to Jamie Dixon for absolutely turning around the TCU basketball program. It has only been half of a season and the Horned Frogs are already better than they have ever been at any point in their Big 12 tenure. Hell, he has them up 31 in the Kenpom ratings. That is unbelievable. Despite the early success, the Baylor Bears are still just a superior basketball team. While I think the game will be close, 2 points is literally one possession. I think Baylor is more than one possession better than TCU, even if the game is being played in Fort Worth. Baylor Bears all day, as we perfect the college basketball slate this saturday.
Yesterday: 1-2
Overall: 25-15-2 (62.5%)
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