College Hoops Tidbits, College & Pro Football Picks

College basketball is going to be fantastic this year. There is a higher level of talent because of the rule prohibiting high school players from going straight to the NBA (Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Brandon Wright, etc.) as well as some players that could have been picked highly last year but stayed in school (Joakim Noah, Brandon Rush, Tyler Hansbrough, Josh McRoberts). While it is still November, we have already seen a ton of upsets (Missouri State over Wisconsin, Oral Roberts over Kansas, Butler over about half of the ranked teams) and some epic games (Florida/Kansas, North Carolina/Ohio State). After just a few weeks, here are some of my key insights:

There are five great teams at this point in the season: Kansas, Ohio State, Florida, UCLA, and North Carolina. For the National Champion to be a team other than one of these five, it would take a program making a leap between now and March, and even then it would take a big upset. Wisconsin, LSU, and Marquette are the group behind the group.

Speaking of Marquette, they are a really good team that nobody is talking about, except me, who told you in this space before the match-up was even cemented that they would be too athletic and quick for Duke to handle. Dominic James (the next Nique?) is the best guard in the country. He can shoot, he can defend, he has the desire to win, he has the ability to carry his team on his back, and he potentially the quickest player in the country. This team with their hustle, great coaching staff, and ability to work well as a unit, will be a lot of fun to watch in March.

It is kind of ironic that the guy that put Gonzaga on the map, Dan Monson, is out as coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It just goes to show that despite the grass looking greener on the other side, sometimes there is pee in that field. Are you listening to me, Greg Schiano?

Look for the following teams to return to their rightful place in the NCAAs after multiple year absences: Maryland and Purdue. The Terps are a mortal lock at this point. In fact, this may be the second best team in the ACC (behind Carolina) heading into the ACC conference slate. They are playing with heart, getting great point play from their two freshmen, and Ikene Ibekwe is a new player this year. It is great to have Maryland back at a high level, although hopefully their fans can behave themselves this year. As for Purdue, you can see Matt Painter rebuilding this program before your eyes. He has Landry back playing at a great level, and the win over Virginia was important. He has already secured the best recruiting class in the Big 10 for next year, so this will not be a one year flash.

The NCAA tournament will see a record number of upsets this year. The gap between mid major teams and power conference squad is diminishing each year, as evidenced by the slew of upsets early this season. It will create an amazing level of excitement around this year's madness. (I guess it is too bad we do not have the football system, where we could pick two teams instead of 65 and just play one game for the title....)

As for Duke….this season will be a process. They are playing the best defensive basketball that they have played in years, but the offense is struggling mightily. It comes down to two main factors. First, Greg Paulus is playing like crap. I do not care if he was injured in the pre-season or not. His play, offensively and defensively, has been unacceptable. He needs to improve or this team will be a 5th place or so ACC team and lose in first round of NCAAs. I think he will improve however. Second, Josh McRoberts has not properly embraced his role as the go to guy. He needs to demand the ball in big spots and put the team on his back when need be. He needs to get more aggressive offensively. He can not have games where he only takes three shots. The good news is that if Paulus gets back to playing good ball and McRoberts becomes more assertive, this team will stay under the radar and then have a chance to surprise some people come March. DeMarcus Nelson needs to keep doing what he is doing, but try to play an entire game more consistently, as he plays too much is bursts. It will be interesting to se how this Duke team plays against a Georgetown team that has played poorly early in the year but is a tough match up for Duke, as they proved when they beat the Devils last year.

That is all for now on college hoops. More next week. Let’s get back to football. We have games to win this week.

NCAA (Last week: No Picks made; Overall: 36-33, 52%)

First of all, let me say that I would normally hop on Army getting 19.5 points against Navy in a game that represents one of the great rivalries in college sports. It is one of those rivalries where you throw the record books out the windows. That being said, I just do not trust Bobby Ross’ crew enough to make a recommendation.

And before I get to my picks, I should, at risk of sounding like a broken record, reiterate that college football desperately needs a playoff. Why should we debate between Michigan, Southern Cal, Florida, etc. Let them decide it on the field. Based on the way the stupid rules are set up in college football, I favor letting USC get their shot at the Buckeyes in the National Championship game, if they are victorious against UCLA this weekend.

Friday Night game: Houston (-4) vs. Southern Miss. Kevin Kolb means too much offense for Southern Miss to handle. Look for Phi Slamma Jamma to win the Conference USA title.

UCLA (+13.5) vs. USC. Don’t get too excited, I think USC will win the game. But I think UCLA has a good enough defense and enough pride in this rivalry that they can keep the loss to about 10.

Wake Forest (+2.5) vs. Georgia Tech. Wake is just too good a story for me to pick against. Tech has been up and down all year. Jim Grobe is my National Coach of the Year.

Arkansas (+3) vs. Florida. McFadden is the best player in college football. You heard me. The Hogs pull the upset here.

Oklahoma (-3.5) vs. Nebraska. Paul Thompson has been better than Rhett Bomar would have been this year. The back up running back for OU is looking like Adrian Peterson. Bob Stoops against Bill Callahan in a big game.

NFL (Last week: No Picks Made; Overall: 35-28, 56%)

Indianapolis (-7.5) at Tennessee. No way Tennessee surprises Indy twice this year. After scaring the Colts in the Dome, the horseshow heads will be ready. And Peyton is rarin to throw after running the ball 80 straight times last week against the Eagles.

Miami (-1) vs. Jacksonville. Is it Groundhog’s Day? Didn’t Miami do this exact same winning streak thing last year?

Washington (-1.5) vs. Atlanta. The Skins are playing hard. The Falcons are a mess with their owner sticking his nose where it does not belong. And Michael Vick is no Jason Campbell.

Green Bay (+1) vs. New York Jets. I do not think I have ever picked against the Jets in this space before. Sorry Stitz. They just seem to play well about every other week. And they were good last week.

New York Giants (+3.5) vs. Dallas. They are better. They are getting points at home cause of over-publicized incidents. They have their backs against the wall. They are getting some people back in their lineup. G-Men.

Seattle (+4) at Denver. Seattle has Hasselback and Alexander back. They will at least keep it close against a reeling team with a guy making his first start.

Carolina (-3) at EAGLES. This is depressing, picking against the Eagles in a home game in which they are getting points, but....The Eagles are done. They have quit. They can’t stop the run. They cannot generate a pass rush. And they cannot throw the ball more than about 5 yards down the field. Note: It is OK if you are an Eagles fan to wager against your club at this point since, at this point, losing means a better draft choice (to screw up)….