TSR 11/14/19 CBB Picks

Last night in college basketball, we had some more memorable action. VCU hosted LSU and they emerged in a back and forth affair. Ohio State bullied Villanova, and Marquette launched a comeback in a win over Purdue. Big Takeaways from Last Night 1. Koby McEwen is the key to Marquette's season this year. While Markus Howard is the star of the show, someone needs to step up as the second scoring option if the Golden Eagles want to improve on last year's NCAA Tournament appearance. McEwen's 23 points sparked a comeback as they overcame an eighteen point deficit to beat Purdue. 2. Who is Northwestern? The Wildcats looked lethargic last week in an embarrassing home loss to Merrimack, shooting 2/16 from three. Last night in the Gavitt Games against Providence, they shot 49% from the floor and 44% from three, and they beat the Friars. With Radford and Norfolk State on the schedule in the next week, we will not learn this team's true identity until they visit Fort Meyers over Thanksgiving. 3. Ohio State is going to be a factor in the Big Ten race. They stepped up on the national stage and defeated Villanova without Andre Wesson. If this team gets this type of production from Duane Washington Jr and Luther Muhammad, they could make some noise in the Big Ten title race, as well as in the NCAA Tournament. 4. VCU hosted LSU and College of Charleston hosted Oklahoma State last night. Yesterday, South Alabama played host to Auburn and played a game that went down to the wire, and North Carolina visited UNC-Wilmington last Friday. The fact that mid-major teams are able to get their fair shot against the big boys on their home turf is fantastic. This should become a more consistent trend, especially in in-state series. Let's have Michigan State play at University Arena against Western Michigan, what an amazing environment that would be. Yesterday's Pick Results (Season Pick Standings can be found here) Zach 8-2 Sam 7-3 Nick 6-4 The Gavitt Games continue on Thursday night, highlighted by a game in New Jersey between Seton Hall and Michigan State. Take a look at who we think will win this game, as well as others. Make sure you check in on Friday for the first Big Ten Power Rankings of the season. Game 1: Penn State at Georgetown (6:30, FS1)

Nick: Penn State--The Nittany Lions finally have some depth this year behind star player Lamar Stevens. The stellar play of Myreon Jones and Myles Dread in their first two games show that they are capable of providing firepower for PSU. On another note, Georgetown’s Mac McClung is as good as he once appeared in YouTube highlight reels.

Sam: Penn State-- I love the Georgetown backcourt, but I love the Lamar Stevens-Mike Watkins duo even more. Watkins against Georgetown’s Omer Yurtseven will be a great battle at the five spot. As Zach mentioned, this is a big out of league game for Pat Chambers and his squad.

Zach: Penn State-- Penn State is a different team this year as I believe they will be in the NCAA tournament come the end of the season. For that to happen, this is a key game as their non-conference schedule is fairly weak. They get the job done on the road convincingly 

Game 2: Siena at Harvard (7:00, ESPN+)

Nick: Harvard--This is a battle of two small conference teams that have had success in March over the last decade. Tommy Amaker’s bunch, led by Bryce Aiken, will use this win to justify a slightly higher seed come March.

Sam: Harvard-- Exact same answer as Zach, plus Bryce Aiken.

Zach: Harvard solely because of Tommy Amaker.

Game 3: Towson at Florida (7:00, ESPN2)

Nick: Florida

Sam: Florida

Zach: Florida-- The loss to Florida State fires up the Gators and they obliterate the Tigers.

Game 4: Vanderbilt at Richmond (7:00, ESPN+)

Nick: Richmond--Another appealing matchup with an SEC team travelling to Richmond (see LSU yesterday at VCU). The Spiders can score inside with Grant Golden while Jacob Gilyard can shoot on the perimeter. Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s Commodores struggled with Texas A&M-CC the other night, and this will be a tougher road environment.

Sam: Vanderbilt-- You gotta love seeing Jerry Stackhouse coaching college basketball.

Zach: Vanderbilt-- The Commodores have shown they have the ability to put points up, and Aaron Nesmith (23 ppg) continues his hot start on the road.

Game 5: UL Monroe at Mississippi State (7:00, SEC)

Nick: Mississippi State

Sam: Mississippi State

Zach: Mississippi State-- The Hump is a tough environment for any road team, and that proves to be accurate again on Thursday night

Game 6: Winthrop at East Tennessee St (7:00, ESPN+)

Nick: East Tennessee State

Sam: East Tennessee State

Zach: Winthrop-- The momentum after the win over No. 18 Saint Mary’s carries over into another road victory over the Bucs.

Game 7: Michigan State at Seton Hall (8:30, FS1)

Nick: Michigan State--The absence of Myles Powell is huge for Seton Hall in this game. Cassius Winston is America’s best player this season, and he should prove this once again on Thursday night. It will be interesting to see if Xavier Tillman go up against Sandro Mamukelashvili, as this low-post battle will go a long way in determining the winner. Will Aaron Henry or Gabe Brown be the Spartan who steps up as the third scorer on Thursday night?

Sam: Michigan State-- Much like Zach and Nick said, Powell is a huge loss. But make no mistake, Seton Hall still has tons of talent and size. They start 6’11 and 7’2 with 6’10 and 7’2 off the bench. Xavier Tillman and Thomas Kithier will have their hands full in the frontcourt, but the Spartans have the advantage in the backcourt. Look for Rocket Watts to be more assertive offensively.

Zach: Michigan State-- If Myles Powell played in this game, I would still take Michigan State. Tom Izzo again has one of the best teams in the nation and they will prove that against Kevin Willard and his Pirates. The Spartans have their first true road test of the season in what will also be a tough environment. It will be interesting to watch how the freshman play, especially Mark Watts, as he has struggled offensively the first two games.

Game 8: VMI at Arkansas State (8:30, ESPN+)

Nick: VMI

Sam: VMI

Zach: Arkansas State-- Top player from last year Bubba Parham, now at Georgia Tech, along with three other transfers, deteriorate any chance of the Keydets of being anything but mediocre this year, and the Red Wolves win ugly

Game 9: Long Beach State at Saint Mary’s (10:00)

Nick: Saint Mary’s--The loss to Winthrop on Monday was tough, but Randy Bennett’s bunch will not do it again on Thursday night. Dan Monson’s bunch was overmanned by Stanford in a loss on Tuesday.

Sam: Saint Mary’s

Zach:Saint Mary’s-- Like Florida, the loss only makes them play better. Blowout win for the Gaels

Game 10: Central CT State at Arizona State (10:00, PAC12)

Nick: Arizona State

Sam: Arizona State

Zach: Arizona State

Upset Pick (not in games above): 

Nick: Southwest Baptist over Little Rock--Every year, we have a couple D2 teams defeat D1 clubs. The Little Rock Trojans are projected to struggle in the #FunBelt, and last year the Bearcats took SE Missouri State to the wire.

Sam: San Jose State over Arizona-- I hate Sean Miller

Zach: Southern wins over New Mexico State