Drew Gordon
Today's Games...
1. 400,000♦ Bradley
2. 50,000♦ Cleveland State
3. 50,000♦ Akron
1. Bradley- Once again we're calling on Bradley, who was my last 400K college hoops winner when they beat down Missouri State 83-71 at home February 6th. Coming off of 2 straight losses, and now back at home, I'm calling for them to get a resounding victory against a Creighton team that has looked very average on the road of late.
Its hard to ignore the Blue Jays road play of late, as losses at Southern Illinois, at Drake, and at Evansville have shaken this team's confidence to the core. The Evansville loss was an especially disappointing, as clearly Creighton was the better team, but they sure as hell didn't play like it, losing outright 60-56 as 9-point favorites! Creighton committed 20 turnovers in that contest, led by their backcourt (Witter had 6, Watts & Stinnet had 3 apiece)... Not a good sign facing a rock-solid Braves backcourt, where all 4 starting guards have 33 steals or more!
Speaking of the Braves backcourt, clearly this team has benefited greatly from the return of Daneil Ruffin. The talented guard and floor leader for this Braves squad has helped his team go 5-2 SU & 6-1 ATS since getting back. He's struggled a bit with his shooting in those consecutive losses, look for a much more efficient effort now back at home (his last home game he dropped 25 points on 5 of 11 shooting).
Finally, on top of Creighton's road troubles, and the improved play of the Braves behind Ruffin, there's little payback in order this afternoon. The Braves haven't forgotten that the Blue Jays beat them in both meetings last season, including an embarassing 82-71 loss in Peoria January 31st of last year. Not only is Bradley usually an excellent bet at home, going 35-16-3 in their last 54 there, but also the favorite usually delivers in this series, going 12-5-1 over their last 18 meetings. In the end, Ruffin and company take advantage of a Blue Jays team that sputters on the road (60 ppg on 42% shooting), protecting their house, snapping their own two-game losing streak, and grabbing the cash in the process!
Take Bradley comfortably over Creighton as your top-rated play of the day.