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virginia (+16.5) over georgia tech
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georgia tech has come down to earth a little bit. i think they were starting to buy into their own hype a little bit. theyre vastly improved, but i still think the georgia tech and st.joes are still two of the most overrated teams in the top 25. (them aint fightin words meant to stir up loyal joes or tech backers, its just my opinion). i know tech has been lights out at home this year and perhaps the common perception is that theyll bury virginia since theyre coming off 2 losses in a row. but i dont see it. i think its awfully tough to lay a ton of pts with a team thats coming off two poor defensive performances in a row. gotta make a commitment to defense if they want to be an elite acc team. i know 'acc defense' is an oxymoron, but still think tech lacks the defense to cover these high #s now that conference play is here. techs opponents have outshot them at the line 80-47 the L2 gms. certainly not making virginia out to be a gem, but they do have enough talent to hang in this one. they score enough points where i think tech will have trouble pulling away. i think were looking at a 10 or 11 pt tech win. jackets with maryland and wake on deck.
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pepperdine (+3.5) over santa clara
pepperdine (+150) over santa clara
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pepperdine has owned this series (winning 8 of the last 10 straight up). not trying to talk outta both sides of my mouth (cracking on tech for their recent defense and then playing a "whats-defense?- never-heard-of-it" waves team). but i think pepperdine is just the superior team and i dont think santa clara has anyone to stop mcgowan. broncos have been a nemesis for me this season. maybe theyll screw me again, but ill take my chances. waves have a real chance to play themselves back into the wcc race before their rematch with gonzaga. after this one, they go to san diego (winnable) and then have a 3 gm homestand before their zags rematch. santa clara loves to play games down to the final minute. pepperdine actually better fundamentally than one would think. good FT shooting team and they turn the ball over very infrequently - a bit surprising given the fact they play at a breakneck pace. only 24 turnovers their L3 gms. waves might be turning the corner a little bit.
not playing these as of yet, but lean to:
washington (im a sucker for this team as a dog. i like that conroy kid. huskies turn the ball over too much though- and oregon is a team that can go on sustained runs to knock tms out)
southern cal (i dont think usc is as bad as some make em out to be. but trojans could get hurt on the glass here. thats my hesitation. not particularly worried about "zona off a loss will be out for blood". trojans talented enough to hang, but hate the way they rebound)
butler (if i played these clowns, it would be strictly a line play. lost 5 in a row and 7 of 8 and laying 8.5? siena covered a big number in a similar spot 2 nights ago). fundamentally, butler has failed in a handful of situations this year. worth noting that these are two extremely contrasting styles. loyola wants to play in the 90s, butler in the 50s. if bulldogs didnt suck so bad right now, id say their discipline would pick loyola apart all night long)
detroit (detroit simply a tougher team. uic the class of the conference but detroit at essentially a pick 'em at callahan is tough to pass up. only hesitation is titans have been inexplicably shaky at home lately, which is unheard of considering their home court edge is as good as any team in the entire country)
virginia (+16.5) over georgia tech
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georgia tech has come down to earth a little bit. i think they were starting to buy into their own hype a little bit. theyre vastly improved, but i still think the georgia tech and st.joes are still two of the most overrated teams in the top 25. (them aint fightin words meant to stir up loyal joes or tech backers, its just my opinion). i know tech has been lights out at home this year and perhaps the common perception is that theyll bury virginia since theyre coming off 2 losses in a row. but i dont see it. i think its awfully tough to lay a ton of pts with a team thats coming off two poor defensive performances in a row. gotta make a commitment to defense if they want to be an elite acc team. i know 'acc defense' is an oxymoron, but still think tech lacks the defense to cover these high #s now that conference play is here. techs opponents have outshot them at the line 80-47 the L2 gms. certainly not making virginia out to be a gem, but they do have enough talent to hang in this one. they score enough points where i think tech will have trouble pulling away. i think were looking at a 10 or 11 pt tech win. jackets with maryland and wake on deck.
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pepperdine (+3.5) over santa clara
pepperdine (+150) over santa clara
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pepperdine has owned this series (winning 8 of the last 10 straight up). not trying to talk outta both sides of my mouth (cracking on tech for their recent defense and then playing a "whats-defense?- never-heard-of-it" waves team). but i think pepperdine is just the superior team and i dont think santa clara has anyone to stop mcgowan. broncos have been a nemesis for me this season. maybe theyll screw me again, but ill take my chances. waves have a real chance to play themselves back into the wcc race before their rematch with gonzaga. after this one, they go to san diego (winnable) and then have a 3 gm homestand before their zags rematch. santa clara loves to play games down to the final minute. pepperdine actually better fundamentally than one would think. good FT shooting team and they turn the ball over very infrequently - a bit surprising given the fact they play at a breakneck pace. only 24 turnovers their L3 gms. waves might be turning the corner a little bit.
not playing these as of yet, but lean to:
washington (im a sucker for this team as a dog. i like that conroy kid. huskies turn the ball over too much though- and oregon is a team that can go on sustained runs to knock tms out)
southern cal (i dont think usc is as bad as some make em out to be. but trojans could get hurt on the glass here. thats my hesitation. not particularly worried about "zona off a loss will be out for blood". trojans talented enough to hang, but hate the way they rebound)
butler (if i played these clowns, it would be strictly a line play. lost 5 in a row and 7 of 8 and laying 8.5? siena covered a big number in a similar spot 2 nights ago). fundamentally, butler has failed in a handful of situations this year. worth noting that these are two extremely contrasting styles. loyola wants to play in the 90s, butler in the 50s. if bulldogs didnt suck so bad right now, id say their discipline would pick loyola apart all night long)
detroit (detroit simply a tougher team. uic the class of the conference but detroit at essentially a pick 'em at callahan is tough to pass up. only hesitation is titans have been inexplicably shaky at home lately, which is unheard of considering their home court edge is as good as any team in the entire country)
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loyola has been on the wrong end of some ass-whooping at finkle, albeit vs better butler teams.
