January 6, 2021 Results:

What we got right:

College Basketball:

Seton Hall at #7 Creighton - Creighton is no longer a mystery. This team is good. Outscoring Seton Hall 52-27 in the second half, dominating the Pirates for a 89-53 win. With the win the Blue Jays proved that they belong on the big stage. They are no longer on thin ice with us.

NBA:

Houston at Indiana - Malcom Brogdon scored a career high 35 points to lead the Pacers to a 114-107 win. The Rockets were without probably their second best player in Christian Wood, and James Harden only wen 5-14 from the field. What is surprising about this game is that they kept it this close.

Cleveland at Orlando - We got this game right, but it took a heavy toll for the Magic. Starting point guard and #1 overall pick Markelle Fultz tore his ACL in the first quarter of this game. He will miss the rest of the season. Expect rookie Cole Anthony to get the majority of the minutes that Fultz was getting. The Magic were led by Terrance Ross, who scored 20 points off the bench in just 22 minutes in the team’s 105-94 win.

Boston at Miami - Payton Pritchard hit a game winning shot with two-tenths of a second left to secure a 107-105 win for the Celtics. This wildly entertaining game was a rematch of last years Eastern Conference Finals, won by the Heat. Boston was once again led by Jayson Tatum, who scored 27 points in the victory.

Utah at New York - Well we picked the underdog to cover and they won outright. The Knicks continued their hot start in upending the Jazz 112-100. Julius Randle led the way for New York, scoring 30 points and picking up 16 rebounds. Randle is looking like an all star for the Knicks, averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds so far this season.

Detroit at Milwaukee - The Bucks covered the 13.5 points spread, beating the Pistons 130-115 behind another great shooting day from behind the arc. Milwaukee made 19 three pointers in the big win over Detroit. Giannis only made one of those, but Khris Middleton went 5-6 and scored 23 points. The Bucks are off to a historic start from three, and it has helped them to a 5-3 record. Detroit dropped to 1-7 this season.

Toronto at Phoenix - It is officially time to start panicking if you are a Raptors fan. Phoenix beat Toronto 123-115, dropping the Raptors to 1-6 this season. The Raptors miss Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka more than they realize, as their defense has been non existent so far. They allowed the Suns to make 21 three pointers, with Jae Crowder going 6-9 from behind the arc. The Raptors need to figure this out quickly as they continue their four game road trip with a game against the Kings on Friday.

Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State - Of all the teams in the NBA, we have the best record in picking Clippers games. Los Angeles got 21 points from Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the 108-101 win. Steph Curry had an awful shooting day, going 5-17 and only scoring 13 points. He has had a wild week, from looking masterful in a 60 point effort against the Blazers to this dud. We predict he will bounce back in the rematch on Friday.

What we got wrong:

College Basketball:

#19 Virginia Tech at Louisville - We were right in the fact that the Cardinals won. It just wasn’t by enough. Louisville got the win over Virginia Tech 73-71, handing the Hokies just their second loss of the season. The ACC doesn’t have a team ranked in the top 15. When was the last time that happened?

Arkansas at #9 Tennessee - If we were picking straight up instead of against the spread we would be doing a lot better. Another game where we got the team right but the spread wrong was Tennessee Arkansas. We figured the Volunteers would cover the eight point spread, but they won 79-74. Tennessee still looks to be the best team in the SEC, and they don’t play a ranked team until their January 23rd matchup with Missouri.

Wichita State at #11 Houston - The Cougars beat the Shockers for the sixth straight time, but this one was closer than any of the previous five matchups. Houston won 70-63, handing Wichita State their first conference loss of the season. Houston still only has one loss, a one point defeat to Tulsa, and are looking like the cream of the AAC once again.

#16 Minnesota at #10 Michigan - Michigan is looking like the best team in the Big Ten after a 82-57 demolishing of the 16th ranked Golden Gophers. The Big Ten is a gauntlet this year, and they won’t go thru the season unscathed, but the Wolverines put the rest of the conference on notice with this game.

Boston College at #21 Duke - The Blue Devils sure looked like they haven’t played a game in three weeks, falling behind 43-35 at halftime. Coach K wasn’t on the sideline for this one because of COVID protocols, and for 20 minutes it sure looked like the sky was falling in Durham. They came out of the locker room in the second half playing much more inspired basketball, and took home the 83-82 win over the now 2-8 Eagles.

Oklahoma at Baylor - That is the Baylor team that everyone expected this season. After a lackluster conference opener against Iowa State, Baylor came out and punished Oklahoma from the opening tip. The Sooners never led in this game and shot just 36% from the field against the suffocating Bears defense.

Wake Forest at #22 Virginia - Looks like 14 points was too much for the Cavaliers to cover. The second half looked like the Virginia teams of old, holding Wake Forest to only 22 points in the 70-61 win. The first half showed that they still have a lot of work to do, allowing 39 points to a team that had only played four games so far this season.

NBA:

Washington at Philadelphia - Defense was an afterthought in this game as the 76ers beat the Wizards 141-136. Bradley Beal scored 60 points in the loss for Washington, going 20-35 from the field and 7-10 from deep. Philadelphia will take the win, but also must be a bit worried about their wing defense. They go from facing Bradley Beal yesterday to Kyrie Irving today and after watching that game, Kyrie must be excited to play today and see what he can do against Philadelphia.

Charlotte at Atlanta - We had to get Charlotte wrong at some point this season. Gordon Hayward scored 44 points for the Hornets in the 102-94 win over Atlanta. The Hawks have now lost three in a row since that 4-1 start, resembling the team that most pundits thought they would be. Trae Young only had seven points in this game, crushing his previous low this season of 16. If he isn’t doing anything neither are the Hawks.

Oklahoma City at New Orleans - The Pelicans made a game of it after being down by ten points at the start of the fourth quarter, but two George Hill free throws was the difference in this one as the Thunder won 111-110. The Thunder really don’t have anyone that scares you other than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but they play hard and are coached well. This team won’t make the playoffs, but will give some good teams a run all season long.

Chicago at Sacramento - Buddy Hield converted a four point play with 38 seconds left in this one as the Kings held on for a 128-124 win. The Bulls got 36 points from Coby White and 32 points from Zach Lavine, and not much else. Those are the two players that will take the majority of shots for Chicago this season. In fact they took 50% of the shots in this one. Sacramento had a much more balanced game, with seven players scoring in double figures.