Boston College, Washington, Florida State, Nebraska, Loyola (Chicago), Ball State and Arizona State. What do all six of those teams have in common? Nothing other than pulling off some immense upsets that completely shook up the top 25 this past week. Kansas, Duke, Notre Dame and Florida all lost in the same week. That should never happen this early in the season, but then again, this is college basketball and you’re supposed to expect the unexpected.
Well, I hope you enjoyed last week’s action because it looks like college basketball is taking a week off. Top ranked teams either don’t play at all, or if they do, it is against a mid-major school. There are only eight power six match-ups in this week’s watchlist, which accounts for only one ranked vs ranked matchup. There will definitely be some games that won’t be interesting at all, but based on what we all saw last week, a massive upset is definitely lurking somewhere. Therefore, in this week’s picks, I will certainly be picking some shockers. Sure, this week won’t be phenomenal, but come Sunday, if there was not one upset that left fans jaw dropped, I would be stunned.
Monday Games:
The Minnesota Golden Gophers, to say the absolute least, have underwhelmed their fans after loft early season expectations. It seems like it is impossible for them to win on the road and they are struggling against ranked opponents at home. Mind you, this is a team that nearly lost to Alabama when they only had three players on the court. Do I see an upset here? Probably not. Jordan Murphy is the only reason why this team is still within the top 25. If the Gophers want to earn back their respect before they go into Big Ten play, players such as Nate Mason, Amir Coffey and Reggie Lynch all need to perform better. Drake has had plenty of struggles this year, but did upset Wake Forest and nearly defeated Colorado. Therefore, this game will be close and I wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see the Bulldogs pull this thing off. Consider this game to be a wakeup call for Minnesota.
Games To Watch:
Texas Southern at Oregon
Drake at Minnesota
Bryant at Louisville
Picks:
Oregon beats Texas Southern
Minnesota beats Drake
Louisville beats Bryant
Tuesday Games:
Michigan at Texas may present one of the best matchups of the week. Both teams have flown under the radar this year and look to be talented enough to potentially make a tournament run. If you haven’t already heard, the Longhorns have one massive 6’ 11’’ Freshman by the name of Mohamed Bamba, who is an absolute monster on the glass. While he has been receiving a lot of attention, Texas has three other players who are averaging more points than him. This team, however, is notorious for their defense. It is rare to see other teams get second chances on the glass, and besides their games against Gonzaga and Duke, the Horns have not allowed their opposition to score over 70 points. It is important not to sleep on the Michigan Wolverines. Moritz Wagner and Charles Matthews are two names to watch for Tuesday night. Matthew’s can be lethal from beyond the arch, while Wagner has played well in the paint. But remember: he will have to go up against Bamba down low. If the Longhorns can shut down the 6’11’’ junior from Chicago, and can be productive offensively, I see no reason why Texas doesn’t win this game.
Mississippi State remains one of the unbeaten teams in college basketball, but hasn’t played any team with significant talent. In fact, their toughest opponent so far has been Dayton, which isn’t saying much. Tuesday night they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats who have lost their two most recent games to ranked opponents. The Bulldogs haven’t had a true road test yet this season, which is another huge concern. No players on Mississippi State have really turned the heads of analysts and fans. Tyson Carter will be one player to watch, but the Bulldogs are very good at moving the ball around on offense allowing everyone to get a touch. As for Cincinnati, they are desperate for a win to keep their season moving in the right direction. They lost to their biggest rival in the Xavier Musketeers a little over a week ago and are coming off a loss to a struggling Florida team. This will be their first home game against a power six conference team and it will be a big one considering that they will have to travel to Los Angeles to take on UCLA over the weekend. I have a strong feeling that Gary Clark and Jarron Cumberland will be able to get the job done for the Bearcats against a very inexperienced Bulldogs team.
Games To Watch For
Mississippi State at Cincinnati
Michigan at Texas
Saint Peters at Seton Hall
Picks
Cincinnati beats Mississippi State
Texas beats Michigan
Seton Hall beats Saint Peters
Wednesday Games:
Upset alert! Wednesday night features a lousy slate of games, except for the battle for Philadelphia between Villanova and Temple. Villanova is one of the very few undefeated teams left in college basketball and has had some close calls, especially yesterday afternoon against LaSalle. Meanwhile, the Temple Owls will be coming in confident on their home court after recently defeating the Wisconsin Badgers. The Owls did lose to both LaSalle and George Washington, but are undefeated against power six schools this year. Shizz Aiston Jr. and Quinton Rose lead the Temple offense as they are averaging 17.3 points a game while 6’ 10’’ senior Obi Enechionyia has been a dominant figure on defense. On the other side, Villanova is the #1 team for good reason, but they still have a lot to prove. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, as advertised, have been stellar so far in the 2017-18 season and are a big reason why Villanova is still one of the remaining unbeatens. Both can shoot and drive if need be, and also have great poise on defense. If the Owls want to have a chance, they will need to shut down both of those players. This will be a very hard fought game between two very talented teams. However, in the end, I am taking the Temple Owls. This will be the Wildcats’ first true road test of the season and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Owls got off to a quick start and remained in the lead for the duration of the game.
Games To Watch:
Villanova at Temple
Houston at LSU
Western Kentucky at Wisconsin
Picks:
Temple beats Villanova
Houston beats LSU
Wisconsin beats Western Kentucky
Thursday Games:
USC came out of the gates looking like one of the best teams in the nation. Now, the Trojans are looking to recover from a three game losing streak with two of those losses being against an unranked opponent. Thursday night, they will take on Santa Clara back at home looking to get their season back on track after falling outside of the top 25. Although he hasn’t had an egregious year, the Trojans need Jordan McLaughlin to perform at a higher level. When USC was ranked #10 at the start of the season, everyone thought he was going to have a much better year. However, that has not been the case. Players such as Chimezie Metu and Bennie Boatwright have stepped up for the Trojans, but it has not been enough. I don’t think they will have any trouble beating Santa Clara, but McLaughlin’s struggles and USC’s three game skid make this contest a bit more interesting.
Games To Watch For:
Valparaiso at Northwestern
Texas Southern at Baylor
Santa Clara at USC
Picks:
Northwestern beats Valparaiso
Baylor beats Texas Southern
USC beats Santa Clara
Friday Games:
The Creighton Blue Jays have been one of the more interesting teams in college basketball this year. They are 2-2 against ranked opponents and are coming off a nice win over their in-state rivals, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Now they look ahead to a matchup against Maryland Eastern-Shore. The Blue Jays so far seem like a team that will be on the edge of the top 25 the whole season and maybe appear as a six or seven seed in the tournament at the end of the year. Marcus Foster has been dominant for Creighton followed by Khyri Thomas who is averaging 16.1 points per game. On the other side, Maryland Eastern-Shore was recently embarrassed by the Virginia Tech Hokies, who only allowed 40 points. There are plenty of mid-major teams that have the potential to pull off a huge upset, but MES is not one of them. I like Creighton by 50 in this one, and that is not a typo.
Games To Watch:
Maryland Eastern-Shore at Creighton
Denver at Stanford
South Dakota State at Colorado
Picks:
Creighton beats Maryland Eastern-Shore
Stanford beats Denver
South Dakota State beats Colorado
Saturday Games:
Indianapolis is the place to be on Saturday if you are a college basketball fan. There will not just be one, but two potential blockbuster games that will both be in-state rivalries. The first game at Bakers Life Fieldhouse will be between the Butler Bulldogs and the Purdue Boilermakers. Both two loss teams will be looking to add another big victory to their resume. Led by their new head coach Lavall Jordan, the Bulldogs have decent wins over Utah and an overtime thriller against Ohio State. Otherwise, they are yet to play a ranked opponent. Kelan Martin, who was ranked in ESPN’s top 50 preseason players has been a huge reason why Butler has only two losses. Tyler Wideman has served as the big man in the paint for the Bulldogs, but he may be limited when Purdue’s 7’ 3’’ Center is guarding him. Therefore, Butler will have to live and die outside the three point arch, which isn’t a good thing. They have attempted 214 three’s this year and only 31.3% of them have gone in. Inexperience will also be an issue for Butler. I like Purdue in this one.
Immediately following the first matchup at Bakers Life Fieldhouse will be the Indiana Hoosiers against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. As you may have realized already, the Hoosiers are in a rebuilding year. They now sit at .500 and their chances of making the tournament at the end of the year aren’t very high. Nonetheless, a win against a top 25 team could turn their season around. Notre Dame was one of the many teams last week that got completely shocked by a team nobody thought would win. Luckily, the Irish were able to gather themselves and get a win at Delaware a few days later. Indiana has been in most of their games against top 25 teams (they nearly beat Duke a little under two weeks ago). For the Hoosiers to pull the stunner, they will need De’Ron Davis and Juwan Morgan to have huge performances along with a big day from Devonte Green who will serve as their X-factor. As talented as the Irish are with stud-players such as Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson, the Hoosiers will finally get that statement win they were searching for. I like Indiana to pull the upset.
Trae Young is finally starting to receive the attention he deserves. The Oklahoma Sooners, who recently defeated USC, are hot with only one loss. Young deserves a lot of that credit. He is averaging 28.8 points a game and is proving to be one of the best, if not the best shooter at the collegiate level. Oklahoma will get one of their toughest tests of the year when they go on the road to Wichita to take on the Shockers. Although Wichita State doesn’t have a shooter like Trae Young, they are a much better all around team. Shaquille Morris has been phenomenal in the paint and Landry Shamet has always been a lethal threat from inside and outside the arch. For the Sooners to have any chance Saturday, they will need to get Kareem Lattin going, otherwise I like the Shockers to avoid and upset, while OU will continue searching for that signature victory.
Games To Watch:
Butler at Purdue
Indiana at Notre Dame
Cincinnati at UCLA
Oklahoma at Wichita State
Mid-Major Showdown:
Bucknell at VCU
Picks:
Purdue beats Butler
Indiana beats Notre Dame
Wichita State beats Oklahoma
Sunday Games:
Oddly enough, our blockbuster of the week comes on a Sunday. The Tennessee Volunteers are finally a ranked team for the first time since 2010. Now, they will also have the chance to prove their worth against last year’s champions, the North Carolina Tar Heels. How have the Vols done it? Well, a lot of credit goes to Grant Williams who has been phenomenal on offense. As a team, they are averaging around 80 points a night and are shooting 41.2% from beyond the arch. They have been smart with every possession and definitely deserve to remain in the top 25. On the other hand, North Carolina has gotten plenty of help from Junior Luke May. On the nights where Joel Berry hasn’t been at his best, May has stepped up and has led this team to nine victories. This is going to be a shooter’s game. If you love defense, then this isn’t the game for you. Honestly, this is a coin flip game, but North Carolina is the hotter team right now. I like them to avoid the upset and keep inching toward the top three.
Games To Watch:
Vanderbilt at Arizona State
Savannah State at Baylor
North Carolina at Tennessee (blockbuster of the week)
Picks:
Arizona State beats Vanderbilt
Baylor beats Savannah State
North Carolina beats Tennessee
Although this week may not have you on the edge of your seat as much as last week’s slate did, I can almost guarantee you that there will be some huge upsets. With only weeks to go before all teams enter conference play, there will definitely be some more shake-ups that will make the top 25 look nothing like it did at the beginning of the season.
Winner Of The Week:
Arizona State Sun Devils
Last Weeks Record:
(12-9)
Total Record:
(23-13)
