Ahh… it’s Tuesday which means it’s time to chat some more
college hoops because let’s face it, now that football has left us for another
year, and we are all the better for it—especially if you rode Swingin Johnson’s
hot hand in the postseason.
It’s time to turn our attention to the next best thing and—with apologies to my NHL fans, which we will touch upon in the
upcoming weeks—March Madness in College Hoops will be upon us before you know
it. Also, thanks to the strike, the season has been concentrated and every NBA game
seems to matter a whole lot more. Of
course, given the way most of the NBA stars waltzed through college, concentrate
is a word none of them are familiar with.
Now, if you’ve never focused on College Hoops, you just don’t know what
you are missing as every game is pure excitement and the desire these kids play
with is inspiring. Just about any game has the potential to be the most
exciting you’ve ever seen so let’s walk you through some basics that will make you look like you are not only knowledgeable on the current big
thing is sports, but also have a little wit so when they chat up hoops at the
office, even you ladies can respond like Michelle Beadle rather than Giselle
Bundchen.
Kentucky Wildcats are
the top ranked team
When chatting about them be sure to call them Kentucky, as the name Wildcats
is more popular among basketball teams than the Kardashian sisters. What you need to know is that they have won
their last fifteen games and have a freshman by the name of Anthony Davis, who
is so good he has blocked 116 shots already and broke the SEC freshman record
held by Shaquille O’Neal. With 116 blocks he’s swatted away more balls in
college than Chaz Bono ever did.
Oh
yeah and they face the #8 Florida Gators tonight in Lexington at Rupp Arena and
the forum is already chatting about it as—at 7-1 in the SEC, Florida would
pull to within half a game of the 9-0 Cats with a win. Wow, now do you see what
I mean by every game being pure excitement? The game is on ESPN at 7 EST, and the pick for the game is at the bottom
because, face it you’re gonna watch now. Oh as if a #7 versus #1 isn’t exciting
enough at 7, #3
Ohio State hosts Purdue at 9, and our boy Joe Freda has a pick on that game.
Notre Dame is not
ranked… yet
Before the aforementioned Wildcats were ranked number one,
Syracuse owned the top spot. Now the
23-1 Orangemen are ranked #2 overall because on Jan 21st they ran
into Mike Brey’s Fighting Irish who, despite being nine point underdogs, squashed
‘Cuse 67-58 in South Bend as they capitalized on the absence of Syracuse’s
seven-foot sophomore Fab Melo. Yes that is his actual name as well as a popular
soft drink in France.
Why am I telling
you this? Because the Irish were at it again this past Saturday as they took down
#15 Marquette in convincing fashion 76-59, this time taking advantage of the
fact that Marquette was without the services of 6’8” sophomore Devante
Gardner.
The Irish somehow missed out on
the AP top 25, but they don’t need a number in front of their name for you to
know two things. One; they are a good team that wins the games they are
supposed to, and two; facing them is like a stripper going to a private party. You better make sure you have your big man with you or you are not leaving that
place without getting screwed.
Geno’s NCAA picks (2-0
ATS)
Florida +9 at
Kentucky
Sure Kentucky has a 15 game wining streak and have won a
nation-best 48 in a row at home. Sure they have five players averaging double
digits and have allowed only three opponents to top 65 points all season, but here’s what I can’t get past. When Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators walk into
Rupp Arena tonight it will be the first time in all of 2012 that a team with a
winning conference record has set foot in Lexington.
Kentucky is a solid team, but of for the past
six weeks they have been beating up on teams like South Carolina (1-7),
Tennessee (3-5), and LSU (3-5) who combined have as many conference wins as the
7-1 Gators and, if we learned anything in college, wasn’t it that after you get
used to scoring on the weak ones, you forget how to handle the hot, confident
ones?
The Gators are just that, and when
you couple that with the fact that all of the pressure is on Kentucky to win
and that the Gators have nothing to lose, I don’t see Kentucky going for a
blowout in this one as much as just surviving. Look for Florida to not only run
with the ‘Cats in getting out to an early until the UK eventually rights the
ship late and squeaks out their tenth SEC win. I am adding the Gators +9 to my NCAA Basketball picks for the evening.
Gators +9
Wildcard Wednesday
tomorrow