Everyone Needs To Start Paying Attention To Arizona Basketball, Because This Program Is Finally Good Again
Finally back on the winning side yesterday going 4-2 with, 3 dogs winning outright. That's what we want. Quick turnaround thanks to the glory of day time basketball. I'll say this before we get into it. What a fucking week for Big East basketball. Marquette over Illinois and then Ole Miss, they get a chance for another quality win with WVU today. Xavier over Ohio State, Providence over Wisconsin, DePaul over Rutgers and Seton Hall over Michigan. There might not be a better conference at November basketball than the Big East. Every year they rack up these quality wins and that lets them send 6 teams or so to the NCAA Tournament. Don't tell me these games matter. Let's get into today.
As always - all the lines come from the Barstool Sportsbook. Download the app here.
2021-22 Record: 27-27-1
We're taking an early game! Utah State is coming off a double OT game against Penn in which they should have lost. I still have no idea how the refs overturned a 3pt call for Penn, which would have won the game. But refs are stupid. Now we look at this game. New Mexico State is a damn good team. They have a high major transfer in Teddy Allen who spent time with Wichita State and Nebraska. I just don't trust Utah State's depth there. They really only go 6 deep. New Mexico State has a bunch of different looks to throw on Justin Bean. Using this as a bit of a spot play.
Pick: New Mexico State -2
A bit of a weird game here. St. Bonaventure is undefeated but have struggled in some of their games. They get down, battle back and then win the last 5 minutes. That's what they did to Boise State yesterday. But they have a ton of experience and Kyle Lofton is one of the best point guards in the country. Shout out Union Catholic. Clemson is shooting lights out too. Part of that is due to the fact of defenses they played vs St. Bonaventure. But the total on KenPom is 130. I'll ride with it.
Pick: Over 124.5
Let's go Ivy League. We saw Brown push UNC a week ago. Creighton is coming off a win over rival Nebraska where they looked good, but remember that Trey McGowens broke his foot during the game. It's worth noting that Brown is actually athletic. This isn't a standard Ivy League team where they just slow it all down, run the Princeton offense and play that way. Brown doesn't turn the ball over. They shoot decent enough from three. Feels like a little let down spot too for a Creighton team that's super young after beating Nebraska.
Pick: Brown +11.5
One hell of a mid-major game today. George Mason coming off the win at Maryland. D'Shawn Schwartz is one of the best transfers in the country and fitting into what Kim English wants to do perfectly. On the flip side James Madison came back at EKU and runs a fun style. They are the best transition team in the country. They want to get out and run. They don't shoot a ton of threes though. They run to get to the rim. Neither team will really get to the line. The question will be can George Mason get back in transition enough to force JMU to run the PnR offense they love?
PIck: James Madison +2.5
Wichita State is undefeated but do they really look good? Sure, they get Tyson Etiene back after missing the last game. But they haven't really looked impressive. Arizona on the other hand is blowing everyone out. Sure, they are mid-majors, but that's who Wichita is playing too. The difference? Arizona is flying around. They are also number 1 currently in 2pt defense. They have a ton of size to throw at Wichita State and I really don't trust Wichita's defense to slow down Arizona and prevent them from running.
Pick: Arizona -9
How can I put this politely? Bradley stinks. They lost to Howard. They lost to South Dakota State. Both were by double digits. They are letting teams just easily shoot over them. Sure there will be some shooting regression, but Colorado State is actually good. They might be the best team in the MWC. Just on early data points alone we have Colorado State ranking top-10 in the country in 3pt percentage, 2pt percentage and effective field goal percentage. Bradley is almost dead last in 3pt percentage and outside the top-200 in effective field goal percentage.
Pick: Colorado State -13