January 5, 2021:

What we got right:

College Basketball:

Kansas State at #18 Texas Tech - Texas Tech won but didn’t cover the spread. The line was 16 and they won 82-71. The Red Raiders won this game at the free throw line, outscoring the Wildcats 30-9 from the charity stripe. Texas Tech’s next game is against Iowa State, before they play #2 Baylor and #4 Kansas. One more tune up game boys!

#15 Rutgers at #23 Michigan State - That is more like the Spartans team we expected at the beginning of the season. The key to Michigan State is how well they rebound. They out rebounded the Scarlet Knights 45-25 in this one. You won’t lose many games when you when the rebounding margin by 20. That was just one key in the 68-45 win.

#6 Kansas at TCU - That is what we expected from the Jayhawks. Kansas bounced back nicely from their loss to Texas in beating the Horned Frogs 93-64. Kansas shot 57% percent from the field and had only eight turnovers in this game. When you are shooting that high of a percentage and not turning the ball over good things happen.

NBA:

San Antonio at Los Angeles Clippers - The Clippers seem to be the one team in the NBA we are getting a hang of. If its a prime time game or a prime time opponent they will cover. If it isn’t, this will happen. The Clippers were an eight point favorite but lost to the Spurs 116-113. Patty Mills hit eight three pointers in leading the Spurs to victory.

What we got wrong:

College basketball:

North Carolina State at #19 Clemson - Clemson got the win, but didn’t cover the spread and needed overtime to do it. They dug themselves a hole with a seven point halftime deficit, then came back in the second half to force overtime. Clemson is in rarified air as they are ranked above Duke and North Carolina, and will try to keep that going in their next game against the Tar Heels.

Iowa State at Texas - After the first half this game was looking like an easy win for us. Texas led 37-27 and had probably played their best three halves of basketball in the last few days. Then they let their foot off the gas in the second half, and Iowa State came back to cover the 10 point spread. The Longhorns still won 78-72, but a coach like Shaka Smart will use that second half as motivation that you can never stop playing hard.

Missouri at Mississippi State - Missouri hat a 12 point lead at the break on the Bulldogs, then were outscored 51-24 in the second half to lose by 15. If you want the nation to take you seriously, you should never be outscored by 27 points in one half. Back to the drawing board for the Tigers, losing their second game out of three after a 6-0 start.

NBA:

Utah at Brooklyn - Looks like we were wrong and Kyrie can do it all by himself. Irving scored 29 points for the Nets in a 130-96 rout over the Jazz. Even though Kevin Durant was out, Kyrie picked up the slack for Brooklyn and led them to victory. Caris Levert also chipped in 24 points off the bench. Donovan Mitchell scored 31 in the loss for Utah.

Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis - This was a tight affair throughout the game, which made for entertaining basketball but not good for our pick. Anthony Davis and Lebron James both had double-doubles for the Lakers, who took home the 94-92 win. The Grizzlies had a very balanced attack, with three players leading the way with 13 points each.

Minnesota at Denver - The Nuggets needed to rally in the fourth quarter to knock off the Timberwolves, after trailing by three at the end of the third quarter. Nikola Jokic continues to show why he is one of the top big men in the game, with 35 points and 15 rebounds in the Nuggets 123-116 win. D’angelo Russell led the way with 33 points in the loss for Minnesota.

Chicago at Portland - Did not expect that. Seven of the nine Bulls players scored in double figures as a short handed Bulls team got the win in Portland. Lillard and McCollum combined for 52, but that wasn’t enough as the Bulls scored a 111-108 victory.