(photo: New York Post)
I will do my best to provide *at least* a daily three ball of picks for all of you snipers out there. The goal is a 2-1 night, with some 3-0’s sprinkled occasionally. I recommend you play them individually .. however, never be scared of a little three ball parlay! 20/21 Season: 58%
Season Record: 69-65-1
12/3 Starting Five:
St John’s +7
CofC +7
Monmouth -2
Illinois -4.5 1H
Iowa +12.5
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St John’s +7 : Too many points. I smell an upset brewing here. Even if not, this game will be decided inside of two possessions. The Red Storm pose a big threat for the Jayhawks. They can match them athletically, and have Soriano to bang with McCormack. I think Jalen Wilson could pose a defensive threat for Julian Champagnie, however I believe that Remy Martin & Christian Braun will really struggle defending the likes of Posh Alexander, Montez Mathis and Stef Smith in this one. Both are elite on the offensive end, but St John’s has the edge on defense. The Red Storm rank 50th nationally in defensive efficiency, and the Jayhawks come in at 138. The Red Storm pull off the upset behind the home crowd.
Score Prediction: St John’s 76 – Kansas 73
CofC +7 : The Cougars are playing as the fastest team in the country under Pat Kelsey. This could pose a threat for the Paladins, because I believe they will get out and run and match their pace. CofC is 5-2 ATS coming into this game, and the Paladins just have not looked like themselves in their last three. Bothwell has really been struggling from the field. Also, I love Kelsey’s freshman point guard, Reyne Smith. He is an Australian that has played at the FIBA national level for the Aussies. He has proven to be a lethal weapon from three, and can always hit a big shot to thwart a run. I like the Cougs to keep this close.
Score Prediction: Furman 82 – CofC 78
Monmouth -2 : I am still the lead conductor on the George Papas train. I cannot believe that the transfer portal didn’t gobble him up, but luckily for the Hawks he came back for his senior year. It is not just the Papas show, however. The Hawks are shooting 85% from the line, and 40% from distance. Love, love, love. Also, they have added a secret weapon to the mix from former UNC walk-on, Walker Miller. Miller is a 6’10 stretch forward that is producing a 14.8ppg/7.5rpg stat line. He is also shooting an out of this world 96% from the stripe, and is getting there a ton. Hawks win.
Score Prediction: Monmouth 71 – Niagara 65
Illinois 1H -4.5 : We backed Rutgers in what was a “must win” at home the other night. However, they will be sent back to reality today by the Illini. No Geo Baker will prove to be too big of a loss in this one. Trent Frazier quickly came back from injury, and the Illini seem to be back on track with their sparkplug. There is no offensive threat for Rutgers outside of Ron Harper Jr., and Illinois has the defensive weapons to shut him down. I like the full game spread as well, but 1H makes more sense to me. Illinois will get out hot and by up by 10 at the break.
Score Prediction: 1H Illinois 38 – Rutgers 28
Iowa +12.5 : I don’t know why I am getting in front of the Boilermaker train, but here we are. It is simply just too many points though. I think this is a great time to sell high on Purdue. They are a top 3 team in the country, no doubt .. but they are not a -12.5 spread favorite over an undefeated Iowa team. I had this at 8.5, so I will take the four points of variance and hope that we don’t get steamrolled. Iowa showed early in the season that they were an elite offense against inferior opponents, but they showed that they were for real on that end of the court the other night in Charlottesville. Not many teams will score 75 points on the Cavs this year. Even if this gets stretched at times, we have the offensive arsenal to bring us back in the number.
Score Prediction: Purdue 82 – Iowa 73
Best of luck! Let’s snipe this one y’all!!
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