As tournaments and challenges begin to settle and conference play starts up, we are beginning to figure out what teams could be busts this season and others that are destined to be in the bracket. Last week, the ACC reestablished their dominance over the Big Ten when they won the annual challenge 11-2 despite Duke going to the wire with unranked Indiana, and Michigan State annihilating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Later in the week, Xavier embarrassed Cincinnati and at home, Seton Hall came back firing after a loss to Rhode Island. Kansas remained unbeaten with a win over Syracuse in the Hoophall invitational. After all of last weeks drama, new teams were welcomed to the top 25 while others departed. This week’s slate of games presents a lot of Big Ten head-to-head match-ups along with some blockbuster top 25 showdowns as usual. The new season is now in full-swing and teams are beginning to make their run to March.
Monday Games:
Three Big Ten games and one in-state rivalry game headline Monday’s slate of games. Florida State and Florida tip off to open the week in what many expect to be a Gator blowout, but the Seminoles–who are unbeaten, mind you–look to upset one of the best teams in the country. Florida State has not played anyone with talent this year. In fact, their toughest opponent has been Rutgers who is the laughing stock of the Big Ten. Unless something goes horribly wrong, Florida should be blowing out the Seminoles by the end of the 1st half. Jalen Hudson and KeVaughn Allen will be too much too handle for this inexperienced FSU team. I like Florida big.
One of the biggest matchups in the Big Ten this week will be between two teams that aren’t even ranked, which means it has to be Michigan vs. Ohio State. Yes, this rivalry used to be much more exciting when these two teams were actually solid, but hey, they are both coming off huge wins this weekend. The Buckeyes destroyed Wisconsin on the road, while Michigan handled the Indiana Hoosiers. After all, this game should be pretty exciting. C.J Jackson of the Ohio State University will be the X-factor tonight for the Buckeyes. If he has a big night, OSU will win on their home court against their biggest rivals.
Wisconsin vs. Penn State doesn’t need to be a game you have to watch, but you should at least try to follow it. The Nittany Lions have been rebuilding for what seems like forever and this year it seems like their team is getting better. Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s offense has been terrible and only has a chance at winning when their defense is playing well. This would be much more interesting if it was a football matchup, but its not. Wisconsin (3-5) is looking to save their season, while 7-2 Penn State is looking to make a tourney run. Who wins? The Badgers shouldn’t be in a rebuilding year. They gotta start winning at some point. I like Wisconsin to pull the upset on the road.
Games to Watch:
Michigan at Ohio State
Iowa at Indiana
Florida State at Florida
Wisconsin at Penn State
Picks:
Ohio State beats Michigan
Florida Beats Florida State
Wisconsin Beats Penn State
Tuesday Games:
If you’re gonna watch college basketball only one time this week, please have it be Tuesday night. There is not one, not two, but three mammoth games. Leading things off is the Blockbuster of the Week, Villanova vs Gonzaga inside Madison Square Garden. Every year I have complained that Gonzaga doesn’t play enough talent. That still may be true because of the conference they are in, but so far they may have damn well played one of the toughest schedules out of the entire top 25. They participated in the PK80, played Creighton last week, and now have to play undefeated Villanova. At first, this game looks like a coin flip, but when you look a little deeper into this matchup, it looks like the the Gonzaga Bulldogs have the edge. Listen, I hate going against Villanova because when you do, stuff like this happens.
Nonetheless, Gonzaga has the experience and the potential to shut down players like Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson. This game will be a close one throughout. I doubt that any team will ever have a lead by more than ten. This is the Blockbuster of the Week, and I and picking the Gonzaga Bulldogs to also make this the upset of the week.
Whoever manages the college basketball schedules failed by putting West Virginia vs Virginia at the same time as Gonzaga vs Villanova. So, I don’t have an answer for what you should do. I guess just flip to the channel to the other game when one of these showdowns is on commercial break, or if you have one of those fancy T.V’s that does split screen, I’d strongly recommend that. Virginia, who is still currently undefeated, has been headlined by Kyle Guy and Devon Hall, who have both put up big numbers this season for the Cavaliers. Meanwhile, West Virginia, led by Jevon Carter, has been notoriously dominant at home and their press defense has been the best in college basketball. Virginia also hasn’t played any great teams this year. This one should stay close for a while, but look for the Mountaineers to pull away at the end.
And the Tuesday Madness continues. To cap off what should be a thrilling night in college hoops, Texas A&M will play now unranked Arizona. A&M is off to a great start this year with wins over both USC and West Virginia. D.J Hogg and Tyler Davis have been the best on the court for the Aggies, leading them in their undefeated start. Arizona, on the other hand, has been a joke. They opened the season against three mid-major schools, then went on to lose back-to-back in games against power six conference teams. Now, in order to get their season back on track they need to beat Texas A&M. I really want to pick the Wildcats to win this one, but I am going with my gut. Aggies get it done in Arizona.
Games To Watch:
Villanova vs Gonzaga
Virginia at West Virginia
Texas A&M at Arizona
Utah at Butler
Picks:
Gonzaga beats Villanova
West Virginia beats Virginia
Texas A&M beats Arizona.
Wednesday Games:
Wednesday is just one of those days that doesn’t really have any good games. The best one is between Washington and Kansas. Now, if this was in Seattle, then we may have a game, but this one is at Allen Fieldhouse. Let’s be real, a team like Washington has no chance on the road in Kansas. The Jayhawks haven’t played a power 6 conference team at home yet this year, so you know it will be rocking in Lawrence. This game will be close for the first minute or two, then Kansas will break away and win big.
Games To Watch:
Rhode Island at Alabama
Washington at Kansas
Wisconsin at Temple
Picks:
Alabama beats Rhode Island
Kansas beats Washington
Temple beats Wisconsin
Mid-Major Spotlight:
Princeton vs. George Washington
Thursday Games:
Iowa takes a quick break from their Big Ten matchups to travel to Ames to take on their in-state rival, Iowa State. Both teams have gotten off to rough starts thus far. The Cyclones lost to UW-Milwaukee and Missouri to begin the season, while the Hawkeyes lost their two most recent games to Penn State and Virginia Tech in addition to their embarrassing losses to South Dakota State and UL-Lafayette. Let’s just say if you want to watch either team in March, you won’t find them in the tournament. Donovan Jackson has played like the team’s only hope for Iowa State and should lead the way for the Cyclones in a blowout victory over a team they despise.
Games To Watch:
Valparaiso at Purdue
Iowa at Iowa State
Ohio at Maryland
Picks:
Valparaiso beats Purdue
Iowa beats Iowa State
Ohio beats Maryland
Friday Games:
USC has hit a bump in the road that needs to be fixed in order to stay in the top 25. Last week, the lost to Texas A&M, then compounded that problem in a loss to SMU, a team they should have beat. This week, they play Oklahoma in the Staples Center. The Sooners have the potential to be lethal with players such as Trae Young and Khadeem Lattin. Young has scored a total of 173 points year, which is nearly 100 more than any of his other teammates. Trae Young is something special and in order for the Trojans to win, they will need to stop him. This will be closer than a lot of people would expect it to be, but I like USC, led by Jordan McLaughlin, to beat the Oklahoma Sooners.
Games to Watch
Oklahoma Vs. USC
St. John’s Vs. Arizona State
Nevada at TCU
Picks:
USC beats Oklahoma
Arizona State beats St. John’s
TCU beats Nevada
Saturday Games:
Saturdays are flat out the best days for college sports. As usual, there are plenty of exciting match-ups, including the second biggest matchup of the week. Cincinnati’s schedule won’t be getting any easier. The Bearcats will battle against the Florida Gators at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, which will be a huge game for both teams. This will be Cincinnati’s first game since losing to Xavier, which was actually good for them. Before that match-up, they had not been tested at all and now will have some experience against the better teams in the country. Gary Clark has been the Bearcats’ best weapon so far and he, along with Jacob Evans III, Jarron Cumberland, and Cane Broome will need to be strong on defense, especially in order to prevent the Gators from blowing the game open. As for Florida, they will have a chance to pull away from Cincinnati as long as Jalen Hudson and Egor Koulechov are smart with their shot selection and can score a combined total of 40 or more points. This game will help the Bearcats get better, but in the end I like the Florida Gators to get the job done.
Gallagher-Iba Arena is one of the tougher environments to play in among all of college basketball’s historic gyms, which is why the Wichita State Shockers are on upset alert. Oklahoma State’s only loss this year comes at the hands of Texas A&M. In order to be ranked the following week, they will need Jeffrey Carroll and Kendall Smith to have strong showings beyond the arc, and for Carroll, in the paint as well. Wichita State, however, is coming off a victory over Baylor. Shaquille Morris and Landry Shamet are playing their best basketball as Shockers and will end up being no match for the Cowboys. I’m taking WSU.
Who doesn’t love a good in-state rivalry? Our neighbors to the north will be hosting an epic college basketball game in Madison, Wisconsin. The Marquette Golden Eagles will take on a struggling Badgers team at the Kohl Center as they look to make a push for the bracket at the end of the year. If Marquette wants to walk away victorious, they will need someone other than Marcus Howard and Same Hauser to step up. Andrew Rowsey is going to be the X-factor in this game. When he’s hot, he can kill you from the perimeter. This is a Marquette team that likes to score a lot. Wisconsin’s offense on the other hand has been horrendous as of late. If the Golden Eagles can at least play decently on defense, they should be able to beat the Badgers.
Games To Watch:
Duke at Boston College
UCLA at. Michigan
Marquette at Wisconsin
Indiana at Louisville
Nebraska at Creighton
Wichita State at Oklahoma State
Colorado at Xavier
Florida at Cincinnati
Picks:
Florida beats Cincinnati
Wichita State beats Oklahoma State
Marquette beats Wisconsin
Sunday Games:
As of now, Arizona State and Kansas are still both undefeated. Shouldn’t this then be a blockbuster? No. You already know why it isn’t. I’ll reiterate what I said earlier. Allen Fieldhouse is nearly impossible to play in unless you are wearing the words Kansas across your chest. Tra Holder and Shannon Evans II are both great players and should make a decent impact for the Sun Devils, but let me remind you, we are talking about the Kansas Jayhawks. Devonte Graham, Lagerald Vick, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Malik Newman and Udoka Azubuike are all too good for this ASU team to have a chance. If the Sun Devils are still undefeated come Sunday, then they will have one loss the following Monday.
Games To Watch:
Arizona State at Kansas
Gonzaga at Washington
La Salle at Villanova
Picks:
Kansas beats Arizona State
Gonzaga beats Washington
Villanova beats La Salle
We are in for another exciting week in college basketball. Last week I went 11-4 in my picks. There are definitely more toss up games than usual this week making for some exciting T.V. There will surely be some upsets and as always, some thrilling finishes. Tune in next week to The Forest Scout to read the weekly college basketball watchlist.
Last week’s record: (11-4)
Winners of The Week:
Seton Hall
Xavier
