You Guessed It! More Sports Picks

Am I starting to bore you non-sports fans with all these weekend blogs about basketball? I know that many of my predictions are about teams/games that the vast majority of you have no interest in, but I figure I need to keep you all informed and well rounded. We can’t have a bunch of homers that only think about the Badgers. Nothing worse than a sports fan who doesn’t see the big picture and thinks the sporting world begins and ends with his/her favorite team. Plus, I am giving you great bits of information that can be used as conversation starters over the weekend. I am sure your friends and/or dates would be very impressed if you told them that the Ivy League title and the 1st NCAA tourney team will likely be determined tonight in Ithaca, New York. If that doesn’t work try explaining to them how Pitino and Calhoun will be facing off to keep their team’s tournament dreams alive. How about the fact that Syracuse and Villanova will be battling in front of a record crowd at the Carrier Dome? Come on, something has to get you as excited as I am about the college basketball season approaching March Madness!

Princeton at Cornell: As mentioned this game has NCAA tournament implications. A Cornell Big Red home victory will pretty much seal the deal for a regular season conference title. For those of you that do not know, the Ivy League is the only Division 1 league that does not have a conference tournament. In my opinion this is a great thing for a league that is unlikely to receive any at large bids. With this format every game during the regular season matters and the team that has played the best over the course of the conference season is rewarded with a ticket to the dance. I may be biased, as I was fortunate enough to be a part of 2 championship and NCAA tournament teams, woot woot Big Green. Cornell 71 vs. Princeton 64

Texas at Texas A&M: Texas is starting to regain its form as a top tier team just in time for the conference and NCAA tournament. Despite the Longhorns experience up front their guards are young and the pressure of being the “hunted” got to them. There fall from grace was well documented and now they must do everything they can to right the ship before the tournaments begin. The Aggies are talented and are tough team to play in College Station but I expect Damion James and Dexter Pittman to own the paint. Sorry TAMU (shout out to Sydney Scott, who used to call out our TAMU defense with such grit and determination that it even inspired me to play defense…well maybe not).
Texas 74 vs. Texas A&M 68

Kansas at Oklahoma State: This is my big upset of the weekend. The Cowboys have a great guard/forward in James Anderson—he will be out to prove he can play with the big boys of Kansas. KU’s bid for an undefeated conference season will come to a screeching halt at Gallagher Iba Arena. Oklahoma St 75 vs. Kansas 71

Villanova at Syracuse: The Carrier Dome will be rocking Saturday evening as the College Game Day crew makes its way to Syracuse. I expect Villanova’s guards to struggle with penetrating the ‘Cuse’s 2-3 zone. The Orange also have Wesley Johnson, who is perhaps the best guard/forward in college basketball. He will be a tough match up for ‘Nova’s undersized guards. Syracuse 76 vs. Villanova 68

Michigan State at Purdue: Purdue will not have much time to sulk about the recent loss of Robbie Hummel. You hate to see anybody get injured but Hummel was the heart and soul of the Boilermakers. He will be missed big time. I expect Matt Painter to rally his troops and get them up to play this game. However, in the long run I do not see them making a deep run without their glue guy. Michigan State has been shaky all year and I do not see that changing on Sunday. Boiler Up! Purdue 63 vs. Michigan State 58

Quick Hits:

Kentucky over Tennessee
UConn over Louisville
Marquette over Seton Hall
Illinois over Minnesota
USA over Canada in Men’s Hockey
Badger Women over Iowa

That is it for this weekend. Give my conversation starters a try and let me know how it goes.

Remember Basketball is Life,

The Bean Spiller

PS just kidding on that but does anyone else remember those t-shirts we wore growing up that said Basketball is Life or Baseball is Life??? Anybody???