HD, I know you work extremely hard at this and I wanted you to know it's appreciated. I live in big 12 country and may chime in every now and then to help out. Hang in there and stay the course. I am looking at Alabama tomorrow as A&M is not as strong as in the past. Good luck!
BBB
thank you BBBILLY. I really do appreciate that:toast:
Gl...opposite on a bunch...not surprised. Should be fun.
i just don't see how you can't back Butler? obvioulsy Ohio St has the size, and atheletes, but Butler plain ans simple just knows how to play basketball. Stevens is an excellent coach and gets the absolute most of his talent. they are going to play tough defense, and for a game that is going to be playing in the upper 50's, lower 60's 8 is may be too many points. i'm kind of scared to back them, because it almost seems they have to come down to earth.
Not to mention Ohio St is very overrated. Should have lost to the Canes. Beat ND without Harangody. Just don't see them as a ranked team this year. Butler knows how to win and to be getting 8.5 points is ridiculous. I had this line at Butler +3.5. This team went 30-3 last year. I know it wasn't in a power conference like the Big 10 but it says something to the attitude and toughness of a team. Butler is a good team IMO and they expect to win everygame they play whether it be Ohio St or anyone else.
Oregon -7
I will be the first to admit i am far from impressed by Oregon, but this is a fade of SD. I really believe they are cashing it in. As i said I have respect for Grier as a coach, but he simply does not have enough bodies to work with. Besides Gyno, and Rob Jones the talent drop off in ridiculous. In fact Gyno is the only Torrero's averaging double figures, followed BY Jones with 9ppg, and the next is at 6.4ppg. They simply won't have enough fire power to have a prayer of winning any games on the road. Even though this game is being played at the Rose Garden it is essentially a home game for the Ducks. Oregon is coming off a solid over Kansas St the other night even though they were short handed missing Joevan Catron, and Michael Dunigan. I was pretty impressed that they put it together and gutted out the win. It showed me a lot about this team. I also think they will be getting a boost as both Catrone, and Dunigan may play. Both are listed as questionable, but Dunigan attempted to play vs KST, but was told by officials his elbow brace could cause injuries. Both were worked into a few drills during practice, and have been working on conditioning. If they can get either one back it would be a huge lift for the Ducks. Personally I have a feeling we will see Dunigan.
Despite Oregon's 4-4 record you can't say they haven't been tested. They already have faced UNC, Texas, Alabama, St Joes, and Kansas St. Not exactly cupcakes. The fact that they have a 4-4 record while short handed should speak volumes for the job Ernie Kent is doing with this team. Porter, although he drives me nuts with his ill advised shots, can undoubtedly score the ball. He will give the Ducks a decided edge in the back court, while if all of 6'10 255lbs of Dunigan plays it will give them a slight advantage down low. I feel the psyche of SD is very fragile and when Oregon jumps out to a lead they will fold. I don't see SD winning many games on the road, if any, and it shouldn't change Saturday
I will be the first to admit i am far from impressed by Oregon, but this is a fade of SD. I really believe they are cashing it in. As i said I have respect for Grier as a coach, but he simply does not have enough bodies to work with. Besides Gyno, and Rob Jones the talent drop off in ridiculous. In fact Gyno is the only Torrero's averaging double figures, followed BY Jones with 9ppg, and the next is at 6.4ppg. They simply won't have enough fire power to have a prayer of winning any games on the road. Even though this game is being played at the Rose Garden it is essentially a home game for the Ducks. Oregon is coming off a solid over Kansas St the other night even though they were short handed missing Joevan Catron, and Michael Dunigan. I was pretty impressed that they put it together and gutted out the win. It showed me a lot about this team. I also think they will be getting a boost as both Catrone, and Dunigan may play. Both are listed as questionable, but Dunigan attempted to play vs KST, but was told by officials his elbow brace could cause injuries. Both were worked into a few drills during practice, and have been working on conditioning. If they can get either one back it would be a huge lift for the Ducks. Personally I have a feeling we will see Dunigan.
Despite Oregon's 4-4 record you can't say they haven't been tested. They already have faced UNC, Texas, Alabama, St Joes, and Kansas St. Not exactly cupcakes. The fact that they have a 4-4 record while short handed should speak volumes for the job Ernie Kent is doing with this team. Porter, although he drives me nuts with his ill advised shots, can undoubtedly score the ball. He will give the Ducks a decided edge in the back court, while if all of 6'10 255lbs of Dunigan plays it will give them a slight advantage down low. I feel the psyche of SD is very fragile and when Oregon jumps out to a lead they will fold. I don't see SD winning many games on the road, if any, and it shouldn't change Saturday
Evansville -1
The Aces are another team I have backed a few times this season and it has paid off. I predicted Evansville to be a sleeper in the Valley, and for now it looks like they have a chance to make some noise. They do so because they have a solid, experienced back court. Guard play is what wins in college basketball, and the Aces have the best back court in the Valley imo. Shy Ely, and Jason holsinger are an extremely good duo, who have played together for some time now. They are especially dangerous at home where they shoot at a high %. While Evansville is a team I would be weary of backing on the road, playing at home is a different story. The Aces shoot very well from outside, knocking down 35.1% of their 3's. WKU is particulary well at guarding the 3 giving up 33.8%. If the Hilltoppers are not able to guard the perimeter Evansville may have a field day, especially Holsinger who went for 31 the other night connecting on 6-12 three pointers. He is shooting 36.7% from deep this season, surprisingly down from 40% and higher the past 2 seasons. Not that 37% is bad, but he does seem to be heating up as he has hit 11 of his last 21 from 3, in his last 3 games. Now where Holsinger is the shooter, Ely is the slasher. He rarely shoots from outside. He prefers to drive it to the basket and get to the foul line, where he shoots 73%. They compliment each other very well. Having 2 strong guards such as Holsinger, and Ely will give the Aces ability to compete with anybody. However what they have this season that they haven't had in years past is depth. They play a solid 8 guys, and the addition of 6'7 freshman James Haarsma. He has been a pleasant surprise giving Evansville another scoring option, at 9.7ppg, and more importantly a solid rebounder with 5.7 rpg. Rebounding was a weakness of past Evansville teams, but with the addition of Haarsma, senior Nate Garner 5.0rpg, and 9.7 rpg , and Ely's6.7rpg the Aces are no longer getting beat up on the glass. In fact they are + 4 in that category. Evansville's increased depth, and ability to battle on the glass could be the difference in this game. WKU only goes 7 deep, and also has a +3 rebounding advantage. I feel the battle on the glass will be the key to the game. if Evansville is able to hold their own on the glass they should be able to win this game no problem. WKU doesn't have a dominant big man, something that Evansville would have problems with. So far Jeremy Evans has been a disaapointment this season. He isn't putting up the production I assume WKU was expecting from him, on what was expected to be his break out year. So without a solid big man Evansville should win this game, a game in the past they wouldn't be expected to win. WKU has solid play in the back court, and on the wings, but I would favor the Ely, Holsinger combination over them. This team is playing with confidence. Simmons is an excellent coach, and has began to restore pride to a program rich in tradition. I think they will protect their home court once again, and take another step towards being the "Drake" of 2008-2009
The Aces are another team I have backed a few times this season and it has paid off. I predicted Evansville to be a sleeper in the Valley, and for now it looks like they have a chance to make some noise. They do so because they have a solid, experienced back court. Guard play is what wins in college basketball, and the Aces have the best back court in the Valley imo. Shy Ely, and Jason holsinger are an extremely good duo, who have played together for some time now. They are especially dangerous at home where they shoot at a high %. While Evansville is a team I would be weary of backing on the road, playing at home is a different story. The Aces shoot very well from outside, knocking down 35.1% of their 3's. WKU is particulary well at guarding the 3 giving up 33.8%. If the Hilltoppers are not able to guard the perimeter Evansville may have a field day, especially Holsinger who went for 31 the other night connecting on 6-12 three pointers. He is shooting 36.7% from deep this season, surprisingly down from 40% and higher the past 2 seasons. Not that 37% is bad, but he does seem to be heating up as he has hit 11 of his last 21 from 3, in his last 3 games. Now where Holsinger is the shooter, Ely is the slasher. He rarely shoots from outside. He prefers to drive it to the basket and get to the foul line, where he shoots 73%. They compliment each other very well. Having 2 strong guards such as Holsinger, and Ely will give the Aces ability to compete with anybody. However what they have this season that they haven't had in years past is depth. They play a solid 8 guys, and the addition of 6'7 freshman James Haarsma. He has been a pleasant surprise giving Evansville another scoring option, at 9.7ppg, and more importantly a solid rebounder with 5.7 rpg. Rebounding was a weakness of past Evansville teams, but with the addition of Haarsma, senior Nate Garner 5.0rpg, and 9.7 rpg , and Ely's6.7rpg the Aces are no longer getting beat up on the glass. In fact they are + 4 in that category. Evansville's increased depth, and ability to battle on the glass could be the difference in this game. WKU only goes 7 deep, and also has a +3 rebounding advantage. I feel the battle on the glass will be the key to the game. if Evansville is able to hold their own on the glass they should be able to win this game no problem. WKU doesn't have a dominant big man, something that Evansville would have problems with. So far Jeremy Evans has been a disaapointment this season. He isn't putting up the production I assume WKU was expecting from him, on what was expected to be his break out year. So without a solid big man Evansville should win this game, a game in the past they wouldn't be expected to win. WKU has solid play in the back court, and on the wings, but I would favor the Ely, Holsinger combination over them. This team is playing with confidence. Simmons is an excellent coach, and has began to restore pride to a program rich in tradition. I think they will protect their home court once again, and take another step towards being the "Drake" of 2008-2009
Cincinatti +2
One of the biggest non talked about rivalries in the country is Xavier/Cincinatti. With this game you literally throw out the records, and ranking, because it doesn't matter. I remember watching this game back when Huggins was at Cincinatti when they were #1 in the country, and Xavier, who was unranked would take them down at home. Well not much has changed. This is still an intense rivalry that is an exciting game to watch. Both teams have shown the ability to protect their home courts. Xavier won last year at home by 5, as a 19 point favorite. The year before Cincinatti won by 10, as 5 point dogs. In both games Cincinatti won the rebounding battle, something that will be the key Saturday. This does show that the dogs have been the play in this rivalry game. The more I watch Cincinatti play this season, the more I think they will surprise some people in the Big East. When highly recruited freshman Cashmere Wright tore his ACL before the season many though it was going to be a long year. However that's the furthest from the truth. Led by Deonta Vaughn the Bearcats has a balanced attack. They also may be one of the deepest teams in the country as 10 players usually play on a consistent basis. Now I don't think 10 will play a lot of minutes Saturday. I think Cronin will trim it down to 8, but they will still be much deeper than Xavier, who has only been going 7 deep since Holloway's injury (more on that later). Cincinatti has got some solid production from Yancy Gates (9.7ppg), Alvin Mitchell (9.5ppg), and Mike Williams (9ppg), turning one of Cincinatti's projected weakness into a strength. Scoring was thought to be hard to come by, but Cincy is scoring 73.7 ppg. However the key to the game may be the ability of Cincinatti to win the battle on the glass. With such a deep line up, loaded with size, and athleticism Cincinatti has been dominant on the glass, out rebounding opponents by +12. They have impressive wins over UAB, and UNLV at their place where the key to the game was their domination of the glass (+7, +10 respectively). Rebounding is effort. I strongly believe Cincinatti's depth allows Cronin to always have fresh legs on the court, which in turn increases their rebounding output. Cronin is also Pitino disciple, and has coach under Huggins. He has taken with him their philosophies of strong defense and rebounding. Those are showing off as they hold opponents to an amazing 35.9% fg % defense, and an even better 26.4% from 3. Throw in the fact that they are 5-0, and always extremely tough to beat at the Shoe, and Xavier may be in some trouble. Luckily for them they got poing guard Terrence Holloway back early from a stress fracture, but it will still be interesting to see how many minutes he is going to get. It is no secret they need him back desparately, and could play a huge role in the outcome of the game. Without Hollway, Xavier doesn't have a true point guard. Dante Jackson was forced to run the point in his absence where he struggled a bit, first having trouble stopping Kenny Hayes of Miami Oh, and then having 8 turnovers against Auburn. Holloway returned last game against Ohio to come off the bench, but he was held to 15 minutes. Miller said he doesn't think it's fair to Holloway where he hasn't practiced in 2 whole weeks since he has been resting his stress fracture, but they need him to have a chance against Cincy. Miller said he doesn't plan on him playing the whole time so I assume he isn't going to get much more than the 15 minutes he got last game. He just won't have the stamina he needs after being out for so long with no conditioning what so ever. Cincinatti catches a break getting X at less then full strength, and I expect their depth, and rebounding to take a toll on Xavier. The keys to the game will be rebounding, and how Jackson handles the pg duties when Holloway is out of the game. Both those keys I think Cincinatti should be able to win, in turn giving them the advantage in the game
One of the biggest non talked about rivalries in the country is Xavier/Cincinatti. With this game you literally throw out the records, and ranking, because it doesn't matter. I remember watching this game back when Huggins was at Cincinatti when they were #1 in the country, and Xavier, who was unranked would take them down at home. Well not much has changed. This is still an intense rivalry that is an exciting game to watch. Both teams have shown the ability to protect their home courts. Xavier won last year at home by 5, as a 19 point favorite. The year before Cincinatti won by 10, as 5 point dogs. In both games Cincinatti won the rebounding battle, something that will be the key Saturday. This does show that the dogs have been the play in this rivalry game. The more I watch Cincinatti play this season, the more I think they will surprise some people in the Big East. When highly recruited freshman Cashmere Wright tore his ACL before the season many though it was going to be a long year. However that's the furthest from the truth. Led by Deonta Vaughn the Bearcats has a balanced attack. They also may be one of the deepest teams in the country as 10 players usually play on a consistent basis. Now I don't think 10 will play a lot of minutes Saturday. I think Cronin will trim it down to 8, but they will still be much deeper than Xavier, who has only been going 7 deep since Holloway's injury (more on that later). Cincinatti has got some solid production from Yancy Gates (9.7ppg), Alvin Mitchell (9.5ppg), and Mike Williams (9ppg), turning one of Cincinatti's projected weakness into a strength. Scoring was thought to be hard to come by, but Cincy is scoring 73.7 ppg. However the key to the game may be the ability of Cincinatti to win the battle on the glass. With such a deep line up, loaded with size, and athleticism Cincinatti has been dominant on the glass, out rebounding opponents by +12. They have impressive wins over UAB, and UNLV at their place where the key to the game was their domination of the glass (+7, +10 respectively). Rebounding is effort. I strongly believe Cincinatti's depth allows Cronin to always have fresh legs on the court, which in turn increases their rebounding output. Cronin is also Pitino disciple, and has coach under Huggins. He has taken with him their philosophies of strong defense and rebounding. Those are showing off as they hold opponents to an amazing 35.9% fg % defense, and an even better 26.4% from 3. Throw in the fact that they are 5-0, and always extremely tough to beat at the Shoe, and Xavier may be in some trouble. Luckily for them they got poing guard Terrence Holloway back early from a stress fracture, but it will still be interesting to see how many minutes he is going to get. It is no secret they need him back desparately, and could play a huge role in the outcome of the game. Without Hollway, Xavier doesn't have a true point guard. Dante Jackson was forced to run the point in his absence where he struggled a bit, first having trouble stopping Kenny Hayes of Miami Oh, and then having 8 turnovers against Auburn. Holloway returned last game against Ohio to come off the bench, but he was held to 15 minutes. Miller said he doesn't think it's fair to Holloway where he hasn't practiced in 2 whole weeks since he has been resting his stress fracture, but they need him to have a chance against Cincy. Miller said he doesn't plan on him playing the whole time so I assume he isn't going to get much more than the 15 minutes he got last game. He just won't have the stamina he needs after being out for so long with no conditioning what so ever. Cincinatti catches a break getting X at less then full strength, and I expect their depth, and rebounding to take a toll on Xavier. The keys to the game will be rebounding, and how Jackson handles the pg duties when Holloway is out of the game. Both those keys I think Cincinatti should be able to win, in turn giving them the advantage in the game
Oregon St +7.5
Not much to say here other than it is a feeling Oregon St competes here. They got a big win against Fresno 2 games ago, and the competed at Iowa St. Nebraska always struggles on the road, and aren't exactly over flowing with talent. I don't see a lot of points being scored in this game so +7.5 is almost like +15. One thing you can say about Robinson before he gets some of his recruits in their is that he has this team playing hard. The Beavers may not have the most talent in the world, but their going to go out there and compete. If they do that i think they can keep this one close with a chance at an upset.
Not much to say here other than it is a feeling Oregon St competes here. They got a big win against Fresno 2 games ago, and the competed at Iowa St. Nebraska always struggles on the road, and aren't exactly over flowing with talent. I don't see a lot of points being scored in this game so +7.5 is almost like +15. One thing you can say about Robinson before he gets some of his recruits in their is that he has this team playing hard. The Beavers may not have the most talent in the world, but their going to go out there and compete. If they do that i think they can keep this one close with a chance at an upset.
