February 24, 2021 Results:

What we got right:

College Basketball:

NC State at #15 Virginia - NC State beat Virginia 68-61, handing the Cavaliers their third consecutive loss. The problem was once again offense for Virginia, as they have now failed to score more than 65 points in their last five games. Virginia has won games with defense under Tony Bennett, but they still need to be scoring over 65 points. a game. They need to figure it out soon.

#11 Florida State at Miami - This game wasn’t close from the beginning. Florida State jumped out to a 27-8 lead halfway thru the first half and never looked back. In the 88-71 win the Seminoles shot 54% from the field and held the Hurricanes to 34% shooting. When their is a 20% difference in shooting percentages, the games aren’t usually close.

#25 Tennessee at Vanderbilt - Tennessee didn’t win by 20 like it did earlier this season against Vanderbilt, but the Volunteers did enough to cover the spread, winning 70-58 to earn the season sweep over the Commodores. Tennessee won this game on the defensive end, as they held Vanderbilt to 15 points below their scoring average.

NBA:

Houston at Cleveland - Cleveland won its second consecutive game, and handed the Rockets their ninth straight loss. Victor Oladipo did play for the Rockets in the 112-96 loss, scoring 17 points in 32 minutes. Houston has one of its main players back, now they are just waiting on Christian Wood to return.

Toronto at Miami - Miami has now won four straight games, and it is coinciding with getting their full compliment of players back healthy. Jimmy Butler scored 27 points in the 116-108 over Miami, while Kyle Lowery scored 24 in the loss for Toronto. We weren’t expecting Lowery to play, but he did and played well. The rest of the Raptors did not.

Minnesota at Chicago - The Bulls covered the four points spread, but it took overtime against the Timberwolves to get it done. Zach LaVine, recently named an all-star for the first time, scored 35 points in the 133-126 win, while Malik Beasley led the way with 25 points for Minnesota. The Timberwolves dropped to 7-26 this season, and have the inside track at the #1 pick in the draft for the second consecutive year.

Charlotte at Phoenix - We expected the Hornets to cover the ten point spread. We didn’t expect them to win outright, but that is what they did in the 124-121 win over the Suns. Malik Monk scored 29 points for the Hornets, while LaMelo Ball added 20 points and eight assists in the win. Devin Booker scored 33 points in the loss, but he didn’t have enough help from the rest of his team.

Los Angeles Lakers at Utah - The Jazz won their 15th straight game at home, beating the Lakers 114-89. That is now four straight losses for the Lakers, who are limping into the all-star break literally and figuratively. With Anthony Davis not returning anytime soon, the pressure is on LeBron James to get it done for the Lakers. So far he hasn’t been able too. We think he will, but he needs the other players to step up on Davis’ absence.

What we got wrong:

College Basketball:

#6 Alabama at #20 Arkansas - One team got the memo that this was a big game. Alabama came out flat, and Arkansas took advantage in the 81-66 win. Arkansas moved into second place in the SEC by virtue of the win, and sits 2.5 games back of the Crimson Tide. Alabama is still going to win the SEC, but the Razorbacks put everyone on notice with this win.

DePaul at #13 Creighton - Creighton played its first game in eleven days and did not look rusty at all in beating DePaul 77-53 on Wednesday night. The Blue Jays took the lead early, and slowly pulled away. The biggest takeaway this game is that DePaul needs to attack the basket more. You can’t shoot 24 three point shots and only 3 free throws. That is not how you win games.

NBA:

Golden State at Indiana - Stephen Curry shot just 1-11 from three point range, but the Warriors still had enough in the tank to down the Pacers 111-107. Other players stepped up with Curry struggling, as six players scored in double figures for Golden State. Golden State improved to 18-15 with the win, while Indiana dropped to 15-15 with the loss.

Boston at Atlanta - This game did not go how we expected at all. Danilo Gallinari set a franchise record with 10 three pointers as the Hawks bludgeoned the Celtics 127-112. It was an offensive onslaught for the Hawks, who needed this after falling at the buzzer the previous night. Trae Young added 33 points for the Hawks, who improved to 14-18 on the season with the win.

Detroit at New Orleans - First thing we did was check the fast break points. The Pelicans outscored the Pistons 26-13 in that category. We have said it for awhile now, but when the Pelicans are running they are a tough team to beat. That was the case today. New Orleans needs to utilize its personal, and run as much as possible.

San Antonio at Oklahoma City - It looks like ten days is too much of a layoff, as the Spurs looked rusty in the first quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took advantage, scoring a career high 42 points as the Thunder got the 102-99 win over the Spurs. The game wasn’t decided until the final seconds, when Lu Dort hit a game winning three pointer to give the Thunder the win.