Well it's a few games into the conference season and I think it's time to actually start making some picks. I've gotten to watch most of the Big Ten teams several times and hopefully have calibrated my pick-making skill... yeah, let's call it skill. Unlike when I first started the blog, I'm going to keep the reasoning short in sweet. Who cares much about the reasoning behind picks if you're getting them right, right? Right.
So here we go, my first college basketball picks of the 2012-13 season:
Game: Michigan @ Minnesota, 7:00PM
Pick: Michigan ML (+125)
Ah, I've missed this. First pick right out of the gate is a road dog in a clash of top 10 teams in the Big Ten where road wins are a luxury. Let's revisit Michigan's first loss against rival Ohio State. Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. shot a combined 9 for 28 from the field and Nick Stauskas didn't register a single point (averages 12.7ppg). It's quite simple, I don't expect that the Wolverines top two offensive threats and one of the best three point shooters in the country to have off nights in the same game tonight. They lost by three, on the road, against their heated rival with those performances. The Barn is an extremely tough place to play, but I'm predicting Michigan to win out right by four to seven points. If you want to play it safe, I obviously am not opposed to Michigan +2.5 either.
Game: Florida @ Texas A&M, 7:00PM
Pick: Texas A&M +10.5
Let me preface this pick with the fact that I don't follow the SEC all that much. Color me crazy, but giving a home team 10.5 points during conference play, a team that is coming off a big road win at Kentucky (I know Kentucky isn't as good as people thought, but any win at Rupp Arena is legit), doesn't sit right with me. I'm purely taking Texas A&M out of principle. Also, the total on this game is 122. Friendly advice from a friend of mine suggested coupling your home dog with the over. All you need is Texas A&M to get to 56 points (they're averaging 67 points) and you're at least going to push on the game.
Game: Northwestern @ Illinois, 8:15 PM
Pick: Illinois -10.0
If Northwestern had Drew Crawford, well not only would I not pick Illinois here they would probably only be six or seven point favorites. The Wildcats just don't have the athletes to effectively and consistently defend the Illini. They are known for their Princeton style offense which can give teams fits at times, but they won't be able to score enough points. I expect this to be a night where Brandon Paul gets 25+ points and has a legit shot to add another 40 point game to his resume. Illinois is the team that lives and dies by the three. This may be one of the few games in conference they won't have to be reliant on the deep ball, but if they're hitting, it could get ugly quick.
No comments:
Post a Comment