Random stream of consciousness and senseless blathering:
-It makes no sense, but
URI has
SLU's number as of late. Five in a row for the Rhody Rams against the Bills, including an inexplicable stunner at Chaifetz early last season. This year's URI team is leaps and bounds more talented than last year with the infusion of the transfers (Biruta, Minnis, Rieschel) and two very good freshmen (Matthews and Adams). Watching them against LSU on Saturday, I got the sense that they are finally beginning to gel in Hurley's system. Tonight will be a much different game in terms of style as unlike LSU, Saint Louis will not be willing to run up and down the court all game (75 possessions). Rhody
must execute in the halfcourt against a ridiculously good SLU defense that plays together as well as any team in the country. Can Rhody knock down enough shots? They'll have an advantage on the glass and will need to collect some second-chance points to have a chance to steal one.
-Good luck figuring out
JMU and
Charleston. Neither team makes much sense. JMU gets Andre Nation back tonight, which is freakin' massive. No idea what kind of shape he's in right now, though. Team to watch moving forward.
-
Tennessee and
LSU should be a physical affair down low with some big, strong bodies butting heads. Stokes/Maymon vs. O'Brien/Mickey/Martin is an NBA scout's dream. Big concern for LSU is the size disparity in the backcourt. Stringer & Hickey are quality players, but they may have trouble finding driving lanes against the ridiculously long UT guards and wings. Should be a good game.
-I really don't like this
Duke team at all and faded them in South Bend on Saturday. That said,
Georgia Tech might be in some serious trouble tonight at Cameron. Coach K is a really, really good motivator after losses and he was certainly not pleased with the lack of defense and rebounding on Saturday. Notre Dame exposed Duke's soft and undersized interior and pounded the Devils all afternoon in the paint. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech probably won't be able to do the same, especially without Robert Carter, who was Tech's do-it-all guy on the interior (Top 10 Def Reb %). Without him, Tech doesn't have a guy it can throw the ball to on the low block and get a bucket or trip to the free throw line. Sherman killed Duke on Saturday with a variety of post moves. Without Carter, Tech doesn't have that type of guy. Where will they turn for offense? Probably to jump shots and bad decisions by Trae Golden. Bad jump shooting teams - which Tech certainly is - often get run right out of Cameron, and I suspect that could happen tonight.
-
Baylor/Iowa State is probably the most entertaining game of the night (yup, more than OSU/MSU). Iowa State has only played two teams who had the weapons to keep up offensively, and both of those teams (Boise and Iowa) were in position to win the game at the end. Typically, getting into track meets with Iowa State at Hilton is a bad idea, but Baylor is as good as anyone in the country at scoring in transition. Obviously the big matchup of the night is ISU's undersized bigs (Niang and Ejim) against two future NBA regulars (Austin and Jefferson). I wouldn't be surprised if Baylor stole one here, but I'm scared to death of fading ISU at Hilton, especially against a Scott Drew zone.
-Not much to say about
Kansas State and
TCU. Ultimate sandwich spot for KSU. I backed them Saturday in a great spot against OK State - who was playing its first game w/o Cobbins and also Stevie Clark - but tonight is a different story. They knocked off a Top 10 team and conference co-favorite and travel to the other co-favorite, Kansas, on Saturday. There's no need to elaborate on how much that Kansas game will mean to KSU. As far as TCU goes...they're really young and have played a dogcrap schedule, but Johnson's teams will always defend well and fight for 40 minutes. Hopefully they hit enough shots to pull one out here...
-I'll be on
NC State in some capacity. As expected,
Notre Dame played its absolute best game of the year against Duke on Saturday. Brey had nearly a week of prep time (magical) and Duke's soft interior defense was a perfect matchup for ND, particularly at the Joyce Center. NC State played a great first half against Pitt and then crapped itself in the second half. For some reason, this Wolfpack team seems to play better on the road. There's some concern with a Brey offense playing a Gottfried defense, but the spot is what it is.
-No need to elaborate on
Ohio State and
Michigan State. Two legitimate top five teams and national title contenders. Edge to Sparty playing at Breslin and Ohio State struggling a bit to rebound against big, physical teams. Potential for barnburner here.
-I really hate this
Cincinnati team. Serious, inexplicable hatred. I don't know why...but I just can't stand the way they play. And I'm fading them again. And it will probably cost me. That said,
Houston can match them athletically and on the glass. Cincy played its best game of the year on Saturday in Memphis, and I'm a huge fan of fading teams on the back half of consecutive road games after a big win in the first game. That said, I'm sure Cincy will win by 20 again and my hatred will grow even further.
-I wouldn't subject my worst enemy to watching
Vandy and
Alabama. Game should be aired on TV at Guantanamo.
-Similar angle with
DePaul as I'm using with Houston. Back-to-back road games in conference can be very difficult, especially with the travel Creighton must have endured getting from Newark to Chicago. DePaul should be comfortable playing
Creighton's up-tempo game, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned with the discipline of Creighton's offense against the chickens-with-heads-cut-off defense of DePaul. Blue Demons have a bunch of wings who could be problematic for Creighton defensively. Then again, if Creighton really comes to play, this isn't particularly close.
-On paper,
Syracuse should eviscerate
VA Tech. The Hokies look lost on offense and James Johnson said they are way, way behind where he expected them to look at this point. Injuries and suspensions have been a big problem for the Hokies all season. They're young, can't hang onto the ball, and are way too jump-shot happy. But with all of that said...they do shoot the three ball quite well. If those shots are falling, look out. And does anyone really want to lay DD chalk on the road with this Syracuse offense? Tech will pack it in and force 'Cuse to win the game from the outside. Pretty big stay-away game, IMO.
1/7 Final CardHouston +9.5
TCU +4.5
Duke -16.5
DePaul +11
NC State 1H +3
Cuse/VA Tech Under 134.5
Sparty PK/Rhode Island +13