TSR 11/22/19 CBB Picks

Big Takeaways from Thursday

1-Today served as a reminder that daytime college basketball is the greatest gift that Feast Week, Championship Week and the NCAA Tournament gives us. Enjoy it while it lasts folks.

2-Mac McClung and James Akinjo can carry Georgetown to the NCAA Tournament. The Hoyas have not made the tournament since 2015, but this will be Patrick Ewing's best chance to date. They can take a huge step if they are able to defeat Duke on Friday night.

3-UC Irvine and Toledo squandered big opportunities for victories on the road. The Anteaters lost to TCU on a game-winning three pointer by RJ Nembhard. In South Bend, the Rockets squandered a lead at the end of both regulation and overtime.


Yesterday's Pick Results (Season Pick Standings can be found here)
Sam 9-1 Zach 9-1 Nick 7-3 This Week's Big Ten Power Rankings are also available here. Our Picks for Friday's Action

Game 1: Miami FL vs Florida (Charleston Classic, 12:00, ESPN2)

Nick: Miami--The Hurricanes held off Missouri State on Thursday afternoon for their fourth straight win. They will ride a strong backcourt trio of Kameron McGusty, Chris Lykes and Dejan Vasiljevic to a victory over their in-state foe.

Sam: Florida-- Wow am I very unconfident in this pick, but I’ll go with the Gators anyway. They were playing very well before Kerry Blackshear was ejected in the first round win over St Joe’s

Zach: Florida-- Kerry Blackshear, at times can be the most dominant player in the country...that is when he’s not ejected.

Game 2: Villanova vs Mississippi St (Myrtle Beach Invitational, 2:30, ESPN2)

Nick: Villanova

Sam:Villanova-- Reggie Perry is a grown man for the Bulldogs, but the Cats turned in a dominant performance yesterday vs Middle Tennessee. Even better for Villanova, 5-star freshman Bryan Antoine played in his first game of the year yesterday, and he should be closer to full health against the Bulldogs.

Zach: Villanova

Game 3: Cincinnati vs Illinois St (Paradise Jam, 5:45)

Nick: Cincinnati

Sam: Cincinnati

Zach: Cincinnati

Game 4: Temple vs USC (11:00)

Nick: Temple--The Owls will give Aaron McKie his first marquee victory with a road win against USC. Nate Pierre-Louis is off to a hot start averaging almost 19 points per game.

Sam: USC

Zach: USC

Game 5: LSU vs Utah State (Jamaica Classic, 7:00, CBSSN)

Nick: LSU

Sam: LSU-- Utah State’s Neemias Queta’s status being questionable, as he has still yet to debut this season, is enough for me to pick the Tigers. Trendon Watford has had about as good of a start to his freshman year as Will Wade and LSU could’ve asked for.

Zach: LSU-- Trendon Watford once like a post of mine on instagram, he’s pretty good at basketball too.

Game 6: Texas vs Cal (2K Classic, 5:00)

Nick: Texas--Texas wasn't able to match up with Georgetown, to the surprise of many, but this is a bounce back victory over an overmatched Cal team. Who decided that Cal should be in this tournament with the other three teams? As the old saying goes, "One of these things is not like the other.."

Sam: Texas

Zach: Texas- Disappointing loss to Georgetown as they could not slow down Mac McClung, but they bounce back against Cal

Game 7: Georgetown vs Duke (2K Classic, 7:00)

Nick: Mac McClung has been a pleasant surprise since joining Georgetown, as he has proven that he is more than just the highlight reel dunker that YouTube shared with the world. He will have another great game, but there are just too many star players for Duke.

Sam: Duke-- If Mac McClung and James Akinjo can catch fire for the Hoyas, they’ll have a fighters chance. Otherwise, Duke will have no issue winning this one comfortably.

Zach: Duke- Close game, but Duke wins.

Game 8: Missouri St vs St. Joe’s (Charleston Classic, 2:30, ESPNU)

Nick: Missouri St

Sam: Missouri St

Zach: St. Joe’s 

Game 9: Houston vs Oregon (9:00, PAC12)

Nick: Houston--This is a game that gets buried on the first weekend of Feast Week, as it is on Pac 12 Network. The Cougars, led by Quentin Grimes prove that they are capable of another second weekend run in the NCAA Tournament by getting a large statement win over the Ducks.

Sam: Oregon-- Payton Pritchard vs Quentin Grimes is going to be a phenomenal matchup at the point guard position. Thanks to being at home, I have the Ducks in a close one.

Zach: Oregon- I really like Houston again this year but Payton Pritchard and the Ducks are too much for the Cougars in this one

Game 10: Xavier vs UCONN

Nick: Xavier

Sam: In a preview for UCONN of what’s to come starting next season in the Big East, Xavier wins in an absolute rockfight. 

Zach: Xavier

Upset Pick (not in games above): 

Nick: Norfolk State over Northwestern--The Spartans have put up strong fights against Ole Miss and Bradley, two teams that appear to be better than Northwestern thus far. On the otherside, the Wildcats cannot figure out who they are this season.

Sam: Milwaukee over Rice

Zach: Houston Baptist over Michigan--Jalon Gates is averaging 20.7 PPG for the Huskies. He has the opportunity to shine against a Big Ten team, and his play will keep them in the game.