Oh man. I wish I had more time to write about the games today. Some really good games for a pretty a thin Tuesday. (Watch, now I'll lose all my picks.)
Adding:
Ohio State -15.5Anyway, here's a brief on my take of all the games. I'll just post them as I write them so that I don't finish off at tip-off....:
I fucking hate Seton Hall. This team will do nothing in march and they''re boring to watch. They have very few wins against quality teams, they're offense is dreadful, and they shouldn't be in the last 4 in. selection committee relies entirely too much upon RPI. they're not an efficient offensive team, they run the shot clock all the way down, they have 1:1 matchups and georgetown is goign to bother them.
seton hall can't beat teams with strong defenses. here are their wins in conference this and the defensive ranks of those wins in the big east:
WVU: 11th best defense in BE
Uconn: 9th
Providence: 15th
SJU: 14th
DePaul: 16th
Rutgers: 10th
Pitt: 12th
All their losses come against teams with strong defenses. Georgetown has teh #1 defense in the big east. tehy're going to bother SH, and I don't think they can match the Hoyas defensively.
It's usually not wise to bet against teams that are fighting for their playoff lives, at home, but I don't care. SH blows.
Although this is a de facto elimination game for Xavier, I'm a little surprised to see most of the public on them after getting burned so often. They're 8-4 in conference, but their two best wins since the brawl are St. Joe's and the Bonnies, both of which were at home. I've been thinking they just haven't been the same, but they're starting to show signs of life, and Holloway's showing some semblance of his old self, and has scored 20, 23, and a career-high 32 in his past 3 outing. I'm a big fan of Holloway, and if he's playing well I would never bet against him. Still, they needed OT at home in a revenge game against a struggling Dayton, and they've been awful on the defensive end of the ball; their big problems in games is they give up huge runs, they can't play complete games, and tapping out of a few minutes of a UMass game might be something they won't be able to overcome. But Mack says he's been looking to up the intensity and the pace for the rest of the season, so this might get good. Holloway's so talented, but this team has just failed to click in many ways recently, and I wouldn't trust them on the road, especially @ UMass who is 12-1 at home. But I also wouldn't trust UMass; that 12-1 home-court record has a fair share of cupcakes in it. PASS.
Colorado State gets a New Mexico team that has seemingly come out of nowhere after quietly winning 20 of their last 22, and has immediately become a public favorite. They're coming off of their two biggest wins of the season, and now they head to Colorado State, who's also quietly gone 12-1 at home this season. There are 2 teams that are head-and-shoulders above the rest in the MWC (I won't give SDSU credit, they're overrated), but Colorado State's still had a very good season. I think we see a ton of energy out of Colorado State tonight to upset a peaking New Mexico, and there's a very good chance of a let down for NMU.
Also, teams have trouble with the altitude at Colorado State, an added bonus.
illinois is going up in flames right now. they've lost 8 of their last 9, and weber's going to lose his job. awful spot for them catching ohio state at home and off a loss. the last 2 home games have been shaky for ohio state, but prior to those they won their last 13 straight by 15+ points.
oh, and illinois handed ohio state one of their 5 losses. i dont think we see any mercy from ohio state tonight.
northwestern matches up REALLY well with michigan. very similar styles. that was an enormous win for Michigan, who's dropped their last 5 or 6 straight to the buckeyes. michigan has been a shaky 2-6 on the road this year, potential let-down, and this game is awfully important for northwestern. plus, revenge angle after losing at Michigan in OT last month.
kent state looks awfully square, and it is. but i can't not play this; kent state matches up better at every position, tehyre coming off a loss at home, and they're playing extremely well. miami is typically tough at home in prior years and kent state has had trouble winning there, but they're beatable this year, they don't know how to win a game, and that's pretty much all i have to say.