TSR 11/17/19 CBB Picks

College football rules the roost this time of year on Saturdays, but there was some pretty fantastic college basketball this Saturday.

Big Takeaways from Saturday
1- Yves Pons is a breakout star-- Pons started a handful of games last year for Tennessee, but he never made large impacts. He averaged just 2.2 ppg and 1.8 rebounds last season. The first three games of this year have been a breakout opportunity for Pons. After scoring 15 in a big win over Washington for Tennessee last night, Pons is now averaging 17 points and 5.5 rebounds a game this year. 2- Belmont has not skipped a beat after the retirement of Rick Byrd. The Bruins' offense exploded yesterday in an impressive road victory against Boston College. Adam Kunkel's thirty five points were an impressive total, and the Bruins will be a competitor in the OVC and they are capable of pulling off a first weekend upset. 3- Vermont is another small-conference team that has the ability to make some noise in March. Today, they went on the road to St. John's and defeated the Red Storm. Anthony Lamb is someone to keep your eye on as the year progresses, and it would be a disservice to college basketball fans if the Catamounts miss the NCAA Tournament. Yesterday's Pick Results (Season Pick Standings can be found here) Zach 9-1
Nick 8-2
Sam 7-3 (upset pick of Belmont also defeated Boston College)

Our predictions for Sunday's action:

Game 1: Marquette at Wisconsin (1:00, FS1)

Nick: Marquette--The Golden Eagles proved that they can get points outside of Markus Howard, as Koby McEwen added 23 points in their win against Purdue. “Buzzcut Brad” Davidson’s play will certainly be affected this year by the flopping rules, so can he keep Markus Howard in front of him? In the frontcourt, Ed Morrow may be used more extensively to match-up with Nate Reuvers, who has the capability to stretch the floor. 

Sam: Marquette-- I’m not very confident in this pick, but I don’t like Wisconsin either. I think the depth of the Marquette frontcourt is the difference in this one, and Theo John has a big day.

Zach:Marquette-- Marquette has too many offensive weapons to contrast against the Badgers’ defense and the Golden Eagles win the in-state matchup on the road. 

Game 2: New Mexico St at Arizona (2:00, PAC12)

Nick: Arizona

Sam: Arizona-- Nico Manion is the difference in what figures to be a stiff test for the Wildcats.

Zach:Arizona-- Nico Mannion is one of the best freshman in the country and he and the Wildcats win big at home

Game 3: UCF at Illinois St (2:00, ESPN3)

Nick: Illinois St

Sam: UCF

Zach:UCF

Game 4: Florida at UCONN (3:00, ESPN)

Nick: Florida--Kerry Blackshear is the difference in this game. His experience in big games will pay off in this game in Storss. UCONN has many issues that they need to fix, and this is not the game that they can work on them.

Sam: Florida-- The Gators haven’t played well out of the gates this season, but I think they’ll play their most complete game against the Huskies. Kerry Blackshear will have a huge game down low.

Zach:Florida

Game 5: Yale at Oklahoma St (2:30, ESPN+)

Nick: Yale

Sam: Oklahoma State

Zach:Oklahoma State

Game 6: Detroit at Clemson (3:00, ACC)

Nick: Clemson--Antoine Davis is the most explosive scorer in America that most have not watched play. He scored 28 points this past Sunday in Detroit’s loss to NC State, will he be able to top this total on Saturday against Clemson? Outside of Davis, the talent does not matchup with John Newman III and Tevin Mack for the Tigers.

Sam: Clemson-- The other two can have Antoine Davis, or should I say off brand Carsen Edwards.

Zach:Clemson-- Davis scores big but the Tigers win in the end

Game 7: Seton Hall at St. Louis (4:00, ESPNU)

Nick: Seton Hall--Myles Powell. The man can score, perhaps better than anyone in the country. He scored 37 points against Michigan State on Thursday, and that was with a bum ankle. The Billikens are undefeated at 3-0, but Travis Ford’s bunch will struggle to reign in Powell.

Sam: Seton Hall-- I think Myles Cale is a big key in becoming the second fiddle to Powell, and I expect him to play well in a big road contest for the Pirates.

Zach:Seton Hall-- Powell goes back to back with huge games and the Pirates win on the road

Game 8: Ball St vs Indiana State (4:30, ESPN3) 

Nick: Indiana St--I love the fact that this game is being played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. BLF is the best arena to watch basketball, without a doubt.

Sam: Indiana State-- Ditto Nick, I still talk about how great the 2016 Big Ten Tournament at BLF was.

Zach: Indiana State-- Bankers Life Fieldhouse is not even close to the best arena to watch basketball

Game 9: Wake Forest at Charlotte (6:00, ESPNU)

Nick: Charlotte--After an impressive win over Davidson on Tuesday, the 49ers have a chance to further their resume with a home win over Wake Forest. Jordan Shepherd leads the way for Charlotte (13.5 PPG), while Danny Manning's Demon Deacons have some questions to answer this year.

Sam: Wake Forest

Zach:Wake Forest

Game 10: UT Arlington at Oregon (8:00, PAC12)

Nick: Oregon

Sam: Oregon

Zach:Oregon-- I still have a soft spot in my heart for UTA  but the Ducks will win the game handily.

Upset Pick (not in games above): 

Nick: NC Central over Louisville--This one is a longshot, but given the lack of possible upsets not mentioned above, it’s not a bad idea to try to go with the three-time reigning MEAC Champion. LeVelle Moton’s bunch could pull off a miracle for the ages, I mean Evansville did it.

Sam: Coppin State over Northern Kentucky--Juan Dixon’s squad beat Loyola Chicago already this year, what’s one more upset?

Zach:VMI over UC Davis-- VMI gets their first win on the season.