TSR 12/4/19 CBB Picks

Takeaways from Tuesday's Action

1-Kamar Baldwin is a gamer. The senior stepped up on the road in Oxford on Tuesday night and scored 31 points in Butler's victory over Ole Miss. Averaging 17.5 points per game on the season, Baldwin is a huge reason that Lavall Jordan's bunch is 8-0 and ranked #24 nationally.

2-The Louisville defense looked fantastic on Tuesday night against Michigan. They shut down one of the country's hottest teams, holding them to 43 points on 15/58 from the floor and 3/19 from deep. While they only managed 58 points of their own, this defense showed that they can be a title contender this season.

3-Indiana played their biggest game of the season to date, and they did not dissapoint. The Hoosiers move to 8-0 on the year after beating #17 Florida State 80-64 in Assembly Hall on Tuesday. The star of the show was Devonte Green, who chipped in 30 points. This was a big win for Archie Miller and the Hoosiers, who appear to be a legitimate Big Ten team this year.

4-Tuesday's Performance you didn't notice has to go to UTSA's Keaton Wallace. In their win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he led all scorers with 31 points. Impressively, he was 15/15 from the free throw line. He also added nine rebounds and five assists. The Roadrunners now improve to 2-6 on the season.

Nick Opinion
Duke embarrassed Michigan State on their own home floor. Vernon Carey looked like a man amongst boys down low on Tuesday night, and he was the freshman in the paint! The Spartans have some real issues right now. Cassius Winston is the country's best player, but he can only do so much. It was nice to see Xavier Tillman and Markus Bingham get going yesterday, but this team has no consistent second option at this point in the season. The regression of Aaron Henry last night was very concerning, and it was dissapointing to see an MSU team get out physicaled on their own floor from the opening tip. While I do trust Tom Izzo will solve this whole thing and the young guys will come along as the season goes, the way this team is playing right now makes it feel like they will be struggling for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament if something doesn't change.

Zach Opinion

The State of Michigan- 

The Michigan Wolverines lost at top ranked Louisville last night, in what was truly an ugly game. Is Louisville the best team in the country? Not sure. Is Jordan Nwora the best player in the country? Not sure about that either. Nevertheless, Michigan has truly an letdown game, and the reason for this- shooting. During their run in Atlantis, they Wolverines didn’t shoot below 42% from deep, and last night, they shot a measly 16%. Don’t get me wrong, Michigan is a really good basketball team, but they are gonna lose some games they should win because they can’t hit shots and are too reliant on the deep ball. Now, if they can shoot like they can, there is not a team in the country that can beat them.

Michigan State, on the other hand, got absolutely worked at home last night against Duke. I know the final score was only 12, but if you watched this one, it wasn’t a 12 point game. It was made real clear that Michigan state is gonna struggle all year long with teams that run through their bigs. While there is no other like Vernon Carey, outside of Xavier Tillman, Michigan State’s inside defense is basically a siv. The Spartans also need to find consistent scoring outside of Winston and Tillman. Good for them that Bingham stepped up, otherwise it probably would’ve been a 30 point game. Rutgers on Sunday is a huge game for Michigan State.

It is still very early in the season so fans should not worry, but if these issues continue, expectations will not be met for both schools.

Yesterday's Pick Results (Season Pick Standings can be found here)
Zach 7-3
Nick 6-4
Sam 4-6
Our Picks for Wednesday's Action

Game 1: Virginia at Purdue (7:15, ESPN2)

Nick: Virginia--The Cavaliers are playing defense at a historic pace right now. This team continues this against a Purdue team that is coming into their own offensively, still trying to find that go-to guy after losing Carsen Edwards. In an electric Mackey Arena, the Hoos get a low-scoring victory.

Sam: Virginia-- I would be surprised if the winner scores more than 55.

Zach: Purdue- Definitely a revenge game for the Boilers, and getting them at Mackey won’t hurt. UVA allows 40.3 ppg but they also struggle to score at times, and Diakite has a hard time getting going in this one, hurting the Hoos.

Game 2: Notre Dame at Maryland (7:30, ESPN)

Nick: Maryland--The Terps are clearly one of the best teams in the country, led by Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith. Notre Dame just is not on the same level talent wise as Maryland, and with this game in College Park, I don't see how they could possibly win.

Sam: Maryland-- Echoing what Zach said, I also really like this Maryland team. They've played so well early on and a couple of key guys haven’t even really gotten going yet.

Zach: Maryland- I really like this Maryland team and they continue to prove that they are one of, if not the best team in the country 

Game 3: UNC vs Ohio State (9:30, ESPN)

Nick: Ohio State-- Like Zach mentioned below, I think UNC is not playing their best basketball yet. This game will not be where they figure it out, as Ohio State is playing phenomenal in the early portion of the season. Kaleb Wesson is a sleeper candidate for National Player of the Year, and Grand Rapids Christan's Duane Washington Jr has also been solid (10.1 PPG).

Sam: Ohio State-- I just think the Buckeyes are the better team. Kaleb Wesson may be able to assert his will on the young Bacot.

Zach: UNC- The Tar Heels are not playing to their ability quite yet but I think they turn it around in this Top 10 matchup. Armando Bacot vs Kaleb Wesson down low will be fun to watch, and may be the deciding matchup in the game

Game 4: Nebraska at Georgia Tech (7:15, ESPNU)

Nick: #Nebrasketball--As much as winning at Georgia Tech is a "statement" win, this will be Fred Hoiberg's big win so far this season. Nebraska is coming together as a team in the recent weeks.

Sam:  Georgia Tech

Zach: Georgia Tech

Game 5: Wisconsin at NC State (9:15, ESPN2)

Nick: Wisconsin

Sam: NC State

Zach: NC State

Game 6: Wake Forest at Penn State (9:15, ESPNU)

Nick: Penn State

Sam: Penn State

Zach: Penn State

Game 7: South Carolina at UMASS (7:00, CBSSN)

Nick: UMASS--Props to the Gamecocks for playing a road game against an A10 team.

Sam: South Carolina

Zach: UMASS

Game 8: BYU at Utah (8:00, PAC12)

Nick: BYU

Sam: BYU-- Yoeli Child’s is free! After a controversial suspension that I do not agree with at all, the Cougar’s best player makes his season debut and dominates.

Zach: BYU

Game 9: Georgetown at Oklahoma State (8:00, ESPN+)

Nick: Oklahoma State--On Sunday, I would have picked the Hoyas. Then their disaster of a roster turmoil ensued. This could be an ugly game.

Sam: Oklahoma State

Zach: Oklahoma State

Game 10: Texas Tech at DePaul (8:30, FS1)

Nick: Texas Tech--I am still not a believer in the Blue Demons.

Sam: Texas Tech

Zach: DePaul- #RankDePaul

Upsets:

Nick: Drexel over Princeton (+2.5)

Sam: Penn over Villanova (+13)

Zach: Eastern Illinois over Purdue FW (+3.5)