TSR 11/21/19 CBB Picks

Big Takeaways from Wednesday

1-James Wiseman was dealt a twelve game suspension today by the NCAA for the Penny Hardaway moving scandal. Since he already sat out one game, he has eleven more to go. While he will miss big non-conference games (Ole Miss, NC State, Tennessee and Georgia), he only misses one league game (Wichita State). The Tigers should be able to achieve their goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament still when Wiseman returns.

2-We will soon learn the fate of Michigan State's Joey Hauser. He posted on his social media a black screen that read "Until next year..". I assume that in the next press conference, Tom Izzo will let us know if that means that Hauser will be out until next calendar year/semester, or if he will need to miss the entire 2019-20 campaign.

3-Anthony Edwards is as good as advertised. The Georgia phenom freshman scored sixteen of his eighteen points in the second half to carry the Bulldogs to victory over Georgia Tech. He has the ability to help Tom Crean's bunch make some noise in the SEC this year.


Yesterday's Pick Results (Season Pick Standings can be found here) Sam 10-0 Zach 10-0 Nick 9-1
Our Picks for Thursday's Action

Game 1: Villanova vs Middle Tennessee (Myrtle Beach Invt’l) (11:30 AM, ESPN2)

Nick: Villanova--Feast Week is back! How fantastic that college basketball’s best eleven days of the regular season are finally here, tipping off Thursday morning!

Sam: Villanova

Zach: Villanova

Game 2: Missouri St vs Miami FL (Charleston Classic) (11:30 AM, ESPNU)

Nick: Missouri St--This just has the feeling of an “upset” that occurs in the early days of Feast Week. The Bears took Xavier to the wire in a 59-56 defeat last Friday night.

Sam: Miami-- Dana Ford’s team is a sneaky good mid major but the Canes will eek out a win.

Zach: Miami

Game 3: Florida vs St. Joe’s (Charleston Classic) (2:00, ESPN2)

Nick: Florida

Sam: Florida-- Much like Zach said, some wins in Charleston will go a very long way for this Gators bunch.

Zach:Florida-- Probably the most disappointing team in all of college basketball out of the gate, they should be able to get a few wins in this tournament to get things back on track.

Game 4: Mississippi St vs Tulane (Myrtle Beach Invt’l) (2:00, ESPNU)

Nick: Mississippi State

Sam: Mississippi State-- I still love Ron Hunter, though.

Zach: Mississippi State

Game 5: Xavier vs Towson (Charleston Classic) (7:00, ESPNU)

Nick: Xavier--As I mentioned before, the Musketeers escaped with a narrow victory against Missouri State last weekend. This game against Towson should be much easier.

Sam: Xavier

Zach:Xavier

Game 6: Texas vs Georgetown (2K Classic) (7:00, ESPN2)

Nick: Texas

Sam: Texas-- The hire of former Michigan defensive guru assistant Luke Yaklich is already paying off for the Longhorns. According to kenpom.com, Texas is the thirteenth best team in adjusted defensive efficiency. I also love the backcourt anchored by Matt Coleman and Courtney Ramey.

Zach:Texas-- Jericho Sims was next in line of talented bigs at Texas, and he has fulfilled his duty, averaging just under a double-double. It will be interesting to watch what he can do against talented NC State transfer Omer Yurtseven

Game 7: Central Michigan at Minnesota (8:00)

Nick: Minnesota--The Chips don’t have the firepower inside to keep up with Daniel Oturu’s Golden Gopher frontcourt. He is averaging 19.0 PPG and 11.8 RPG, in addition to 3.5 BPG.

Sam: Minnesota

Zach:Minnesota-- Central Michigan struggled against Sam Houston State and this game will not be any easier. David DiLeo has the ability to shoot from just about anywhere at 6’8’’, but at times his teammates resist to give him the ball. If the Chips want to be anything at all, they need to find him more shots.

Game 8: Duke vs California (2K Classic) (9:00, ESPN2)

Nick: Duke--The Blue Devils have a blowout victory in their sights on Thursday night against Cal. While I disagree with Sam on the Mark Fox hire at Cal, the Bears are not close to being able to contend with Duke at this point.

Sam: Duke-- This is a very balanced Blue Devils team with 6 guys averaging over 6 ppg. I also absolutely hated the Mark Fox hire by Cal, Duke wins in a blowout.

Zach:Duke-- The number one ranked Blue Devils have no problem with Cal. Good matchup of guards to watch as Tre Jones and Matt Bradley face off.

Game 9: Green Bay at Wisconsin (9:00, BTN)

Nick: Wisconsin--The Badgers played a tremendous game against Marquette on Sunday, coming away with a sixteen point win. I fully expect them to get the second victory against an in-state foe on Thursday night.

Sam: Wisconsin

Zach:Wisconsin

Game 10: Buffalo vs UCONN (Charleston Classic) (9:00, ESPNU)

Nick: Buffalo--The Bulls had a great game against Harvard in Toronto last weekend, and there are still pieces here from a back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. I think that UCONN is one of the more inconsistent teams around this early in the season, and I think they will suffer a bit of a hangover after the Florida win.

Sam: UCONN

Zach: UCONN-- Riding high off the upset win over Florida, UCONN keeps it rolling over a tough Buffalo team

Upset Pick (not in games above): 

Nick: William & Mary over Stanford

Sam: Wofford over USF

Zach: Toledo over Notre Dame