CBB Stock Market: January 25-26th

Looking for something else on Sports News on Tap, I found a gem called 'CBB Stock Market' which highlighted what happened on the weekend of college hoops. Sometimes I will use this space for a longer form recap, but mostly, it will be a subheading. 

BUY BUY BUY 

Michigan Wolverines - All hail to the victors. What can you say about Michigan right now? They are easily the hottest team in the country with winning ten of their last eleven games with their only lost coming to Arizona by a single point in mid-December. I think I have said it at least 20 times but John Beilein is by far my Coach of the Year thus far. He's done yeoman's work with this team. It also has a great deal to do with Nik Stauskas developing into more than just a guy with a silky 3-point jumper. While I enjoy him, I have a feeling he might become very unlikable by March. Another underrated part of this run is Derrick Walton Jr. coming into his own as a point guard.

Florida Gators - Like many forgot about Dre, people have completely forgot Florida. The Gators are on fire as of late including a 26 point win against Tennessee at home on Saturday. They are currently undefeated in the SEC including giving up 50 points or less in the last four SEC games. Additionally, Florida has not lost since December 2nd against UConn where Shabazz Napier hit a game-winner. They have five double-digit scorers meaning any night Florida could have a big performance from the likes of Michael Frazier II or Casey Prather. This also means not every player needs to be on every game night. Florida might be undefeated before heading to Tennessee and Kentucky in the week of February 9th.

Cincinnati Bearcats - Another team that has not lost since mid-December is Cincinnati. People did not really expect from the Cats this season as they lost some tools from a tournament team although Sean Kilpatrick did return for his senior year. Kilpatrick is having a great season shooting 42 percent from the field which is an improvement from last year's clip of 39 percent. Additionally, he is shooting 34 percent from three as well as getting to the free-throw line more often than he did in his first three years.  Justin Jackson also came into his own as a senior with scoring eleven points a game, seven rebounds and three blocks a game. All up from his first three years with the Bearcats. Mick Cronin has done a great job with this program.

HOLD HOLD HOLD

Marcus Smart -  I do not think we should make much of Smart's recent struggles. He did not play really well against Kansas including getting dunked on by Joel Embiid then struggled against West Virginia leading him to do this on the bench. Smart apologized after the game and if we have learned anything from the young players in the nation right now, everyone struggles for a bit during the season. Smart is just taking some hard knocks, he will be fine in the coming weeks.

Providence Friars - Many people are looking towards Providence's hot streak recently because the Friars have not been relevant in the last couple of years. People believed this was the same old Providence squad as they lost three straight in late December and early January yet since then they have reeled off five straight wins with some major victories against Creighton and Xavier, two of the Big East bests. My one knock on Providence which could come back to bite me in the ass is the fact they have yet to win one on the road. In this streak, their only road win is against St. John's and it took double-overtime to do it. They have four of the next five games on the road so we will see if the Friars can keep this up.

Nebraska Cornhuskers - I realize they are 2-5 in the Big Ten, but they had big wins against Ohio State and Minnesota this week. This is an encouraging sign for not only Nebraska's future with Tim Miles but also with the Big Ten as they added Nebraska a couple years ago for 'football' purposes only (Honestly). If Nebraska becomes a threat to beat some teams at home in the next couple of years, that's a really good thing for the conference.

SELL SELL SELL 

Baylor Bears - What in the hell happened to Baylor? I ask this question a lot with teams, but Baylor fell completely from the wagon in the last couple of weeks. Bears have now lost four of the last five games although the only bad loss in those games were to Texas Tech. The only problem is Baylor needs a big win quickly with games against Oklahoma State and Kansas on the horizon with West Virginia before them. They need to find a way to win two of the next three or Baylor is on the bubble without question.  

GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK 
Monday: 17. Duke at 18. Pittsburgh 6:00 pm ESPN, 9. Villanova at Georgetown 8:00 pm FOX Sports 1
                8. Oklahoma State at 23. Oklahoma 8:00 pm ESPN

Tuesday: 7. Michigan State at 15. Iowa 6:00 pm ESPN

Wednesday: 16. Iowa State at 6. Kansas 8:00 pm ESPNU, 1. Arizona at Stanford 8:00 pm ESPN2,
                      2. Syracuse at Wake Forest 8:00 pm ESPN3

Thursday: 13. Cincinnati at 12. Louisville 6:00 pm ESPN

CBB Picks: B1G Showdown, Ghost of Michael Snaer

Since college football and basically National Football League is done, we have been making picks for college basketball. Let's have some fun with it and see what happens. I should probably record my record, but I will say this is the hardest sport to pick without question.

First Tier Games 
21. Michigan at 3. Michigan State 6:00 pm ESPN - Crazy to think the first time ever, two teams are 6-0 facing off each other in the Big Ten against each other. John Beilein deserves to be Coach of the Year thus far, and Nik Stauskas is red hot right now. Michigan seems to be getting a team effort versus two guys like Mitch McGary and Trey Burke carrying the team like they did last night. They faced rival Michigan State, and they are hurting right now. Sparty will be without Branden Dawson as he broke his hand in frustration and Adreian Payne will also be missing in this one. Gary Harris needs to put himself on the map in this one, and I am not sure he is ready for the moment. I am riding the Wolverines' hot streak. MICH 74-68

4. Villanova at Marquette 1:00 pm FOX Sports 1 - Hmm. The homer in me wants to believe Marquette will play like they did at the end of the second half led by unsung heroes John Dawson and Steve Taylor Jr. The realist in me says this team has not proven they made the turn just yet, and need to be a team like Villanova, who is probably a little overrated given their ranking. Marquette needs to be better at guarding the perimeter as Villanova has four players shooting over 35 percent from 3-point land. My worry about Marquette in this one is James Bell and Darrun Hillard will go off against Marquette's guards, but I do think they can contain JayVaughn Pinkston. I am taking the Wildcats. I don't want to, but until Marquette can beat a high quality opponent, I cannot pick them. NOVA 69-64

Florida State at 15. Duke 11:00 am ESPN - In recent years, Seminoles have been a throne in Duke's side whether it be at home or in Cameron Indoor. Leonard Hamilton does a great job with this team getting them prepared to deal with the Duke environment. This Florida State team nearly beat Michigan and Florida in the non-conference meaning they can compete with this Duke team. I do think Blue Devils figured it out a bit in the last couple of games especially Jabari Parker as he went for 17 and 15 against Miami. He will need to be a factor in this one. I think Florida State's size keeps them in this game, and Duke escapes with a last-second three. DUKE 73-71

Second Tier Games 
Texas at 24. Baylor 12:30 pm ESPN3 - Texas deserves all the credit in the world this season. Rick Barnes' job is saved because Longhorns' head honchos have to see what he is doing without having any seniors, and no matter the result in this one, Texas deserves to be ranked. I do think Texas is running into a buzzsaw. Baylor lost their last three games plus another one to boot in the Big 12. This is a must-win for them, and I fail to see how Baylor does not capitalize at home in this one. BAY 73-64

9. Wisconsin at Purdue 4:00 pm Big Ten Network - You could look at this game two ways if you are Purdue... One, you are playing a Wisconsin team that cannot play defense, and maybe Purdue's offensive woes can be fixed playing them. Two, you are playing a pissed off Wisconsin team that is ready to break their losing streak. Purdue is not a bad team, but they are not a good team either. I would be shocked if they beat Wisconsin. Badgers score enough points, and the defensive holds strong. UW 74-61

20. Pittsburgh at Maryland 5:00 pm ESPN2 - What's up lookahead game?  This has all the makings of Pittsburgh laying an egg. Terrapins are not a good team, but at the same point, they have talented players like Dez Wells who can win them basketball games. Pittsburgh knows they are welcoming Duke on Monday night in a much anticipated game meaning their head might not be there for this one. I would put some chips on Maryland winning this one at the always tough College Park. MARY 64-57

Third Tier Games 
2. Syracuse at Miami 12:00 pm CBS - An old Big East matchup that is now an ACC matchup. Whenever a team is undefeated this late in the season, a bulls-eye developed on the team. Miami would love nothing more than to end the Orange's unbeaten streak. But at the same time, this Hurricane team likely cannot handle a full 40 minutes of the suffocating 2-3 zone, they need to play a perfect game. It is not happening. CUSE 65-53

Utah at 1. Arizona (Played on Sunday) 7:00 pm FOX Sports 1- Improved year for Utah as they are playing well and beating some good teams in the process yet they have not seen a great team like Arizona. Wildcats will have no issues in this game. ARIZ 77-63

Tennessee at 6. Florida 3:00 pm ESPN - This used to be a high-profile SEC game, and now it is just sort of there. I think people have forgotten about Florida due to the SEC being a mediocre conference besides the Gators and Kentucky. Tennessee does have the size to compete with Florida as Jarnell Stokes and Jerrone Maymon can both be factors if they stay out of foul trouble. It is the guard play I am unsure about, and what probably gets the Gators the win. FLA 72-68

Charlie.

Quick New Year's Day Bowl Thoughts

This has become an annual tradition where I forget to post my bowl picks for New Year's Day. I was too lazy on New Year's Eve not to post something ready for Wednesday morning. I watched most of three of the games and a little bit of the other ones. My bowl record will be what I had in the confidence picks for Sportandfashion-news and I will give a couple quick thoughts about the games because I know you want to know I care about these bowl games along with a prediction for tonight's game.

North Texas 36 UNLV 14
- The beginning of my usual New Year's Day collapse. I have no idea why I thought UNLV was the better  team in this one.

- North Texas defense looked really good in this one. Their offense did not have a very impressive game, but they shut down the Runnin' Rebels.

- Thank goodness for Utah State or the Mountain West would have been shutout of bowl wins including them getting their asses kicked in three of them.

LSU 21 Iowa 14
-NO DREW TATE MOMENT :(

- Pretty boring game, but Iowa definitely had a chance to tie this one up multiple times in the second half, they could not get put points on the board.

- Jeremy Hill is a beast going for over 200 yards including a 27 yard touchdown run with about two minutes left to go in the game.

Nebraska 24 Georgia 19
- Ameer Abdullah with another big game for the Cornhuskers and if he stays next year, there could be some rumblings for Heisman next year.

- 99 yard touchdowns are always cool and proved to be the difference in this one scoring a win for the Big Ten against the SEC.

- WE NEED A GRUDGE MATCH NEXT YEAR.

South Carolina 34 Wisconsin 24 
- I wrote about this here. 

Michigan State 24 Stanford 20 
- There are three games this season where my confidence pick was different than how I felt before the game started... Utah State, Ole Miss and Michigan State. I switched my pick after Max Bullough's suspension.

- I would put this right up there with the best games I watched all season. It had everything you wanted from a football game. Sparty really has something going here with their football team and think they can be a threat for years.

- I would love to see Michigan State against Auburn or Florida State. I think they would give both teams a game without question. Their offense has came together to help out their terrifying defense.

- Not a good look at all for David Shaw and his playcalling. He really needs to start thinking about an offensive coordinator.

UCF 52 Baylor 42 
- It really stunned me Baylor played like absolute shit. Their defense had improved from years past, and it seemed like they were over getting completely boat raced by competent offenses.

- People really disrespected Central Florida and Blake Bortles all season including me. UCF is the real deal, and George O'Leary has done a wonderful job building this program.

- I had no idea why Sean McDonough kept being up the resume scandal that was about 10 years stale. Build a bridge, get over it.

Sugar Bowl 
Oklahoma vs. Alabama 7:30 pm ESPN - The narrative has begun about Alabama not really wanting to be there tonight but let's be honest, does Oklahoma really deserve to be there?  Sooners finished strong, but given what we saw from the Big 12 last night, I think it is fair to say we could see a game over by halftime. A.J. McCarron already came out and denied a Senior Bowl request meaning he will want to have a big game plus I expect Nick Saban to showcase him as much as possible plus Saban's defense can force some turnovers on this Oklahoma offense. I would be shocked if the Crimson Tide do not win by more than double-digits. BAMA 38-17

Bowl Record: 18-11

Charlie.