Basketball Picks, 1/23 (Update: Night Games, Final Update)

(Programming note: Final Update for the day. Night Games! Cheers!)

But first: Come on Gophers! Come on Bamer! Close Strong!   Damn you Gophers!!!!  On edge. All these games right now are going down to the wire. The Buckeyes are stealing some of the anger I have for Minnesota right now. We’ll see how it goes. Anyway, here are 4:00 tips. Fading powers? What fading powers?

Alright, here we are, final update of the night. As it stands right now, we’re in the barn with a less-than-inspiring 3-4-1 record. We’re down 0.7 units, or 70 bucks if a Benny is your unit play. Two plays are currently active and in the first half of play. Single Units on South Carolina +7 over Florida and NC State +10 over Maryland. Both are covering now, but as we learned in the Minnesota, Ohio State and Michigan ganes in doesnt matter what the first half score is as far as the final point spread decision is concerned. Anyway, lets finalize the card with these three night games

Northwestern -1  over Illinois…..the fourth and final pick from the Big 10 Picks post. 1-1-1 so far, so this is the deciding play.

Clemson +2 over Duke……might as keep fading Duke on the road until they prove it. Clemson is more than equipped to win this one. And, I think they will.

USC -1 over Washington……the bubble team’s best friend will be USC. They might be the best team in the league. But, they cant play in the tournament due to sanctions. But, they can cut a swath through Pac 10 contenders and help limit the amount of bids. The better USC does in league play, the more likely this indeed locks in as 2-bid and even has a chance to be a 1-bid league. But, thats a season long storyline. Tonight the Huskies get swept out of LA, putting them in a bad position the rest of the way.

All of these are 1 Unit plays! Good Luck!

At 6:00, I am taking two road underdogs. A pair of feisty clubs that I kinda sorta like. Maybe not NCAA tournament like. But certainly cashing a winning ticket or two during winter like. Tonight they’re playing chalkChalk is another name for the favorite team to win. that I’ve grown to not trust in recent years. Cheers

NC State +10 over Maryland, 1 Unit

South Carolina +7 over Florida, 1 Unit

4:00 Tips:

UCLA -1 vs Wassau…Half Unit…they snuck by Washington the other night. I think they have it in them to pull a home sweep of the Washington schools. Bruins are going to end up in the league’s top-4 when its all said and done. They’ll still be a .500 team, but I cant shake the fact Howland will get them to emerge as one of the better teams in the league by the end of the year.

UConn +2 over Texas..Half Unit…..Gut feel the Huskies get a big home win. Sometimes, you have to play your gut.

Michigan +13 over Purdue…..the third of three picks from the Big 10 Picks post today. Since then, we’ve learned that Manny Harris has been suspended. By all means, I should back off. But, my rule is never be intimidated by injuries or personnel issues that suddenly impact the lineup. Of course, I also get my nose bloodied a lot in the process. So, a compromise. It’s the only Big 10 pick thats not a full unit.

As you can, see I am not going that strong on any of these 4:00 tips.

Good morning, good morning, good morning. The good news is I am beginning to be convinced on the college basketball season. It always takes me awhile to get over the end of the college football season. I have to talk myself into hoops sometimes, as much as I love it. For awhile, if it wasnt a team I had a real rooting interest in, like Michigan or Indiana, I couldnt sit through a game. That is beginning to change as we roll deep into conference seasons. Soon, we’ll have an actual bubble. Its obviously still cold and wintery up here in the north. It’s a shut in day. Bring on the college hoops. Whether or not this is good for me or the Book, we’ll find out. So far the JCB hoop record is 16-12-1. A modest record, yet a nice profit of +6.8 units. This is mostly because of  cashing at 4/1 odds Gonzaga to win the Maui Invitaional back in Feast Week. And, a nice run in this thread that started a week ago today and lasted through Tuesday when real life took over and I didnt have to post on the blog, let alone cap game effectively. So, break is over today. We have a Big 10 picks post, and these picks are in addition to that. Here goes:

2:00 tips

LaSalle -2 over Charlotte…1 Unit……..When the season started, I thought the Explorers would be an A10 darkhorse. They’ve disappointed a bit. I think they are still a good team, but their timing is way off. They have their best A10 team in years in the league is peaking with the possibilitiy of 5 NCAA tournament bids. I think LaSalle is the best of the middle of the A10. They still will finish with their best A10 placement in years. I can see myself writing a March Madness post calling them the sleeper in the A10 tourney in Atlantic City. In fact, maybe I just did. They beat Charlotte like a drum today.

George Washington -1 Richmond…..Half  Unit…sticking in the A10, this is one of more important bubble games of the day, if such a thing truly exists in January. The Spiders are bucking for an at large bid and in the recent Bracket Matrix are a 12th seed, getting the A10 a fifth mock bid. They cement their place a little bit with a road win against the 11-6 Colonials. GW isnt out of it, but at 1-3 in the league, they’re going to have to rally to catch the crowded, well-regarded front pack. They had Xavier on the ropes on this court two weeks, but could not hold on. Xavier burst past them during the fial five minutes. I dont think Richmond brings as much to the table as the Musketeers do. GW holds on this time and gets the win. And in doing so, keeps me from shredding the legitmacy of the A10 in a Bubble News post next week in the vain hopes of clearing a spot for a team I like more. Nobody wants to see that, so get to work GW.

Detroit +2 over Wright State..Half  Unit…I dont get this line. I’m not surprised the spread is a short one. Its the Horizon League. Every game seems close when the better teams or rivalries play one another. But, the Titans should at least be favored by a full possession of -3, IMHE. I feel like they are the second most talented team in the league behind Butler. At 5-3, they are tied for seonc in the loss column, so there. They droppped a heartbreaker two weeks ago to Butler and lost another close one this week on the road to UWGB, the only team between the Titans and the Bulldogs in the standings. WSU, meanwhile, is just 2-6 in true road games this year, 1-3 in Horizon play. A lot of those games were close, but I still dont think they have enough in their bag to get by Detroit. Back at home, the Titans win by at least a touchdown.

Ohio State +6 over WVA…1 Unit……of course, dont forget the Bucks from todays’s Big Ten Picks post.

Nooners:

Minny -2 over Michigan State, 1 Unit

Alabama -1 over Mississippi State, 1 Unit

At noon, we have two unranked teams favored over ranked teams. I like those.  I’ll take a stab at each. In the meantime, i’m breaking down the rest of the day’s slate and will have a few more updates as I find plays for later. Cheers.

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