TSR 11/15/19 CBB Picks
Another fantastic night of college basketball brought us a game against Michigan State and Seton Hall. This back and forth affair saw Michigan State finally emerge with a victory.
Big Takeaways from Last Night
1. On a night where Cassius Winston was in early foul trouble, Xavier Tillman did not play his best game and Aaron Henry suffered an injury, the freshman stepped up to the challenge. Mark 'Rocket' Watts hit some big shots and finished with eight points, but Malik Hall was the star of the show. The freshman was 7/7 from the floor, including three made three-pointers for 17 total points in 19 minutes. The play of these two could propel the Spartans to live up to their preseason #1 billing.
2. Myles Powell was a game-time decision on Thursday night for Seton Hall, as he suffered an ankle injury in their game last week. He decided to play and showed on a national stage how explosive of a player he can be. The Preseason Big East Player of the Year was a dynamic scorer, racking up 37 points on 12/27 shooting. When healthy, he could carry Seton Hall a long way this season.
3. Penn State made a big statement on Thursday night. They went on the road to Georgetown and beat the Hoyas by fifteen points. Myreon Jones was the star of the show, hitting five threes on his way to 21 points. If they get this play out of him, in addition to the play of a healthy Mike Watkins to complement Lamar Stevens, the Nittany Lions could get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
Game 1: Georgia State at Duke (7:00, ACC)
Nick: Duke--The biggest question here, who will lead the team in scoring on Friday? Cassius Stanley currently leads the team with 15.0 PPG, but I will go with Vernon Carey Jr against the Panthers. The ESPN #6 player will assert his dominance in the post against a Georgia State team that lost their top four scorers from last year.
Sam: Duke
Zach: Duke
Game 2: Missouri State at Xavier (7:00)
Nick: Xavier
Sam: Xavier
Zach: Xavier
Game 3: CS Northridge at Auburn (7:00, SEC)
Nick: Auburn
Sam: Auburn
Zach: Auburn
Game 4: Marshall at Notre Dame (7:00, ACC)
Nick: Notre Dame
Sam: Notre Dame
Zach: Notre Dame
Game 5: Western Michigan at Ole Miss (7:00, SEC)
Nick: Ole Miss--As Zach says below, the Broncos have some good players (Michael Flowers is averaging 25.3 points per game). With a huge game against Alma College on the clock next Tuesday, the Broncos may be looking past the Rebels. In all seriousness, Ole Miss's KJ Buffen will be a tough matchup for WMU.
Sam: Ole Miss
Zach: Ole Miss-- The Rebels win, but it will be closer than most expect. Western Michigan has a solid core of experienced players.
Game 6: West Virginia at Pittsburgh (7:00, ESPNU)
Nick: West Virginia
Sam: West Virginia-- Really like what they have down low in Derek Culver
Zach: West Virginia wins in this toss-up because of Bob Huggins
Game 7: Alabama at Rhode Island (7:30, NBCSN)
Nick: Rhode Island--The Atlantic 10 has had success this week defeating SEC teams on their home courts (VCU over LSU and Richmond over Vanderbilt). The best non-power conference will continue to flex its muscle against Alabama on Friday night.
Sam: Alabama-- I think Nate Oats was a tremendous hire for the Crimson Tide. I also love the backcourt trio of Kira Lewis, John Petty, and Beetle Bolden.
Zach: Rhode Island
Game 8: Gonzaga at Texas A&M (9:00, SEC)
Nick: Gonzaga
Sam: Gonzaga-- Even if Tillie doesn’t play I like the Zags. Filip Petrusev will be a breakout star this season.
Zach: Gonzaga-- if Killian Tillie (Game Time Decision) does not play, this one could get interesting.
Game 9: BYU at Houston (9:00, ESPNU)
Nick: Houston--The newly renovated Fertitta Center is one of the most underrated venues in college basketball. DeJon Jarreau, the AAC 6th Man of the Year a season ago will look to show success in an increased role, already averaging 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
Sam: Houston-- For all the talk about the incoming recruiting class of the Tigers it’s Houston, not Memphis, who was picked to win the AAC. And for good reason. The Cougars have tons of depth and Kelvin Sampson is one heck of a coach.
Zach: Houston-- Transfer Quentin Grimes and returner DeJon Jarreau lead the Cougars this season after many key departures, and they will be a force again in the AAC. I like the Cougars to win in this Cougars vs Cougars matchup.
Game 10: Minnesota at Utah (9:00, PAC12)
Nick: Minnesota-- The Gophers are a good team that has been tested so far this season. They are bound to finally win one of these games, and I think that this is it. Daniel Oturu's 18.3 PPG and 9.7 RPG early this year has been impressive, and his development could help Minnesota have success again in 2019-20.
Sam: Minnesota-- Daniel Oturu is a force in the low post for the Gophers, and Gabe Kalscheur can be a knockdown shooter at times. And just because they’re having “meme night” I don’t like Utah.
Zach: Utah-- Minnesota had a nice showing on the road the other night at Butler, but how can you pick against a team having “Meme Night”, as well as having a nice win over Nevada and putting up 143 the last time out.
Via: UtesMarketing
Upset Pick (not in games above):
Nick: South Dakota State over Nebraska--Is it really an upset if you have already lost to UC Riverside and Southern Utah? Regardless, the Huskers have a long way to go this year, and Fred Hoiberg’s bunch will get tested against the Jackrabbits.
Sam: Merrimack over Dartmouth-- The Warriors already knocked off Northwestern, showing they have the confidence and ability to pull off a big upset. I pick this in part because I love that after the Northwestern win Merrimack coach Joe Gallo walked into the locker room yelling “I told you so!” Now that is the confidence I like to see in a buy-game visitor.
Zach: Texas State over #24 Baylor-- Texas State has been known to win a few games that they weren’t supposed to and they do it again. The Bobcats can really score the basketball and Baylor is coming off a loss to Washington. How do they respond? With another loss.
Comments
Post a Comment