February 9, 2021 Results:

What we got right:

College Basketball:

#14 West Virginia at #7 Texas Tech - West Virginia definitely covered the spread. The Mountaineers swept the season series with the Red Raiders by virtue of their 82-71 victory on Tuesday night. West Virginia shot 39 free throws in this game as the Texas Tech defense had no answers for the driving guards or the post play down low. West Virginia’s next game is a ranked matchup against Oklahoma. That will be a fun one.

NBA:

New York at Miami - A low scoring physical affair played out on Tuesday night, with the Heat getting the 98-96 win over the Knicks. While we predicted a New York win, they covered the six point spread so this is a win for us. New York was done in by the foul shooting of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Those two went a combined 26-31 from the charity stripe.

Houston at New Orleans - Houston had no answer defensively in the 130-101 loss to the Pelicans. DeMarcus Cousins had another terrible game, with seven points on 1-8 shooting, and Brandon Ingram led seven Pelicans players in double figures. Reserve Josh Hart added 20 points and a career high 17 rebounds in the win for New Orleans.

Orlando at Portland - Damian Lillard scored 36 points, Carmelo Anthony added 23 off the bench, and the Blazers won 106-97 for their eighth straight win over the Orlando Magic. The Magic were without four of their five players who started on opening day, so they were facing an uphill climb from the start, and every time it looked like they were coming back Lillard made a big basket. That is what all-stars do.

Philadelphia at Sacramento - Philadelphia trailed by four points going into the fourth quarter, but outscored Sacramento 32-20 in the final frame to earn the 119-111 win. Joel Embiid had 25 points and 17 rebounds for Philadelphia, as the 76ers out rebounded the Kings 65-50 in this one. That is a lot of missed shots, as these teams were running up and down the court all game long.

What we got wrong:

College Basketball:

#11 Alabama at South Carolina - We should have heeded our own advice about a Frank Martin coached team. Alabama won this game but didn’t cover the 6 points spread. In the 81-78 victory the Crimson Tide shot just 38% from the field and had 22 turnovers. Tat is usually not a recipe for a victory, but somehow Alabama got it done. That is the sign of a good team.

#13 Texas at Kansas State - So much for a “get right” game. The Longhorns had a much tougher time than anticipated in beating Kansas State 80-77, not covering the 14 point spread. Texas did have a 16 point lead with about ten minutes left in the game, but took their foot off the gas to allow Kansas State to come back. While the Wildcats fell short and lost their eleventh game in a row, you have to admire the fight in this team.

#19 Creighton at Georgetown - Georgetown came into this game with a lot of confidence after beating Creighton six days earlier, but the Blue Jays shut that down in a hurry. The Hoyas shot 27% from the field and had 24 turnovers in the 63-48 loss to the Blue Jays. Creighton scored the first six points of this game and never looked back.

NBA:

Brooklyn at Detroit - We nailed the 122-111 score. We just got the teams mixed up. Jerami Grant tied his career high with 32 points as the Pistons took advantage of the absence of Kevin Durant. Brooklyn still had two of its big three, as Kyrie Irving and James Harden had 27 and 24 points respectively, but no one else on the team scored more than ten points in the loss.

Golden State at San Antonio - Stephen Curry dropped 32 points for the Warriors as they salvaged a split in the two games they played in San Antonio. The 114-91 victory for the Warriors snapped the Spurs three game winning streak. Rudy Gay led the way for the Spurs with 17 points, but San Antonio was done in by poor shooting in this one, as they shot just 37% from the field.

Boston at Utah - The Utah train just keeps on humming, as they have now won five in a row and 16 out of 17 with the 122-108 win over Boston. Donovan Mitchell had 36 points and nine assists in the win, while Jaylen Brown had 33 points for the Celtics in his first action in almost a week. The Jazz now sit at 20-5, which is tied for their best start ever.