You Can Call Me a Homer ...

For those of you who don't know me outside of the posts you've been reading, I would classify myself as a die hard Indiana Hoosier fan.  For those of you that do know me, what you probably don't know is that when it comes to making picks on games that involve the Hoosiers, I actually am pretty unbiased.  "TheRealLINsanity" and "Kramer" can tell you that I use my knowledge of my favorite team and the Big Ten conference as a whole to analyze a given match-up while leaving all emotion aside.

If I could give one piece of advice to any sports better or want to be sports better out there, it would be this:  Don't bet on emotion.  If you have a favorite team, unless you're positive you can make a pick without factoring in your desired outcome of the game, don't bet any of their games.  Sure you may get lucky here in there, but I promise in the long run you're going to get burned.

One of the reasons I haven't picked a Hoosier game to date on the blog is because of my perceived bias towards them as most of the follower's know where my fandom lies.  At some point, I was going to give in, so here we go.

The Assembly Hall has proven it's worth this season as the Hoosiers have upset #1 Kentucky (their only loss this season), #2 Ohio State and #13 Michigan within a three week period earlier this season.  The Hoosiers are 11-3 this season at home against the spread; 4-3 in conference play.  Michigan State is 4-4 in conference play on the road this season; their straight up record in the four games they didn't cover is 1-3.  Yes, Michigan State is hot, yes they're on a seven game winning streak, but they haven't experienced an atmosphere like Assembly Hall this season.  There isn't another conference in the country where the home court advantage plays a bigger role than in the Big Ten.   Oh and it doesn't hurt that the Hoosiers are hitting 49% of their field goals and 42% of their three point field goals this season at home.

It's going to be close from start to finish and has all the makings to be a classic.  It's hard not to take the home team when they're getting points, with one of the best home court advantages in the country as an ace up their sleeve.  I think you all know where I'm going with this, so go ahead and call me a homer if you want...

Spread:  Michigan St. -2
Pick:  Indiana +2


Extra Pick


Let's keep this in state.  With a three seed in the Horizon League still up for grabs against a team Butler has already beaten twice, this is the perfect opportunity for the Bulldogs to regain momentum heading into the post season.  It is in games like these that Butler's coach Brad Stevens has made a living off of making statements in.  Before the loss at Valparaiso, Butler was on a five game winning streak which included a road win against a good Cleveland State team and home blow out against an even better Missouri Valley Conference team in Indiana State.  Time for Butler to get back on track in what I expect to be a convincing win in Hinkle Fieldhouse that reminds the Horizon League that the road to the Big Dance still goes through them.

Spread:   Butler -11
Pick:   Butler -11


Blogger's Note:  We're in the process of figuring out the logistics of creating a podcast for this blog.  If we can make it happen, we're hoping to have our first episode up sometime during the Big Ten tournament at the earliest and right before March Madness at the latest.  We have no idea what we want to title the podcast at this point so if you have any suggestions leave a comment on this post or send me a tweet @HoosierSully16.  If there is more than one option we like, we'll add a poll to the site and let the reader's decide.  Help us out!