Weekend Picks

Only a week remains in the college basketball regular season and many teams are hanging on to hope to make the NCAA tournament. There are plenty of games this weekend that could help teams seal their tournament faith, affect tournament seeding, or burst the proverbial bubble. Either way it should make for an exciting couple of days of basketball.

Cincinnati @ Georgetown: Georgetown has been struggling of late and recently found out that they may be without their leading score and 2nd best player. The Hoyas are 9-8 in the Big East and 19-9 overall. Marquee wins have been few and far between lately. Georgetown needs a strong performance this weekend to give them some momentum going into the Big East tournament. Georgetown 68 vs. Cincinnati 59

Syracuse @ Louisville: Louisville should be in the NCAAs, but a win here would seal its fate. Unfortunately, I do not see this happening so the Cardinals will have to wait until their Conference tournament to strengthen their resume. I am sure Syracuse would like to seek revenge for the upset Rick Pitino’s club pulled off on Valentine’s Day in the Carrier Dome. This will be the last game played in historic Freedom Hall so the atmosphere will be great and emotions will be running high. Expect Louisville to keep it close but fade as the second half progresses. Syracuse 79 vs. Louisville 66

Kansas @ Missouri: Like Louisville, Missouri should be dancing this March but an upset of the 2nd ranked Jayhawks would be huge. Missouri is a different team when playing in Columbia so I could see them pulling off a shocker. In order to do this, they will need to force Kansas to play helter skelter basketball for 40 minutes. In addition, the Tigers will need to contain Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry. Kansas 74 vs. Missouri 69

Texas @ Baylor: Baylor is currently in a three-way tie for 3rd place in the Big 12, while Texas is in 6th place. However, an upset over Baylor would put them in a tie with the Bears for 4th place. Again, I think both these teams will get into the tournament but if the tournament committee limits the number of Big 12 teams, a head to head win/loss this late in the season will play a large role in the decision making process. Texas is the biggest mystery in college basketball this season so no one ever knows what to expect from game to game. My guess is today they will be ready to play and take down the Bears in Waco. Texas 72 vs. Baylor 66

Wisconsin @ Illinois: I have heard multiple times that an Illinois win over the Badgers will put the Illini into the tournament. Illinois has had some bad losses in the last few weeks and is need of a marquee win. The Badgers will be playing for a higher seed and have an opportunity for redemption. It was not too long ago that Tisdale and McCamey tore up the Badger defense and cause a lot of Badger fans to leave the Kohl Center unhappy. Illinois always makes me nervous because you never know what you are going to get from Mike Davis. He could go off for 20 or be held scoreless. Davis will be forced to play defense Sunday, which he was able to avoid in the teams’ last match up since Leuer was injured. The Badgers played great against a really bad Iowa team so this will be a good challenge going into post-season play. Wisconsin 68 vs. Illinois 59

Quick Hits:

Tennessee @ Mississippi State: Mississippi State
Florida @ Kentucky: Florida
West Virginia @ Villanova: Villanova
Texas A&M @ Oklahoma: Oklahoma

Enjoy the picks and your weekend,

The Bean Spiller