[hdvoc5813693]

Does anyone have the picks yet?

[julio_cat]

They are posted in a separate thread

[Jack Rebney]

ROBERT FERRINGO/HOOPS 11/23

3-Unit Play. Take #729 Colorado (+11) over Gonzaga (3 p.m.)
We hit once with Gonzaga as a double-digit dog at Michigan State. And one of the things I said then was that I liked it that Gonzaga was back in the role that they made famous – huge underdog. Well, now they are back to the role in which they have struggled with – big favorite. Colorado is a Princeton Offense team and they will try to slow this one down. Since it is being played in the a.m. local time I think that works to their advantage. Colorado is on an 11-4 ATS run dating back to last year and they are 5-2 on a neutral site. Gonzaga is 2-8 ATS in nonconference games, 2-5 ATS on neutral sites, and 2-6 ATS against the Big 12.

2-Unit Play. Take #758 Indiana State (-5.5) over Coastal Carolina (5:30 p.m.)
Coastal Carolina looked decent against Duke, but the Blue Devils had been kind of going through the motions in that game. And that game was played close to CC's home. Now the simple fact is that a weak, middle-of-the-pack Big South team is heading to the Midwest to face off with a decent Missouri Valley foe that has been pretty spry. Indiana State scored Iowa transfer Jake Kelly, and Kelly has stepped in and instantly become the team's best player and go-to guy. He is the best player on the floor and this is a short line for a team that I think will be feisty in the MVC this season.

2-Unit Play. Take #751 Texas (-15) over Iowa (10 p.m.)
Iowa sucks. I just don't know how to sugarcoat it. They can't hit shots, they can be scrappy and rebound and defend a bit, but they really, really suck. Texas is the real deal. And I think that their athleticism is going to be able to cause some of the same problems for the Hawkeyes that UT-San Antonio was able to cause for Iowa when they beat them by 12. So if Iowa can lose, at home, to a Southland team by 12 points I think that they can lose by more than 15 points to one of the two or three best teams in the country on a neutral court. This one will be decided in the first 10 minutes. If Texas gets up 8 or 10 points I think it's off to the races. If Iowa can hang around and only be down three or four points at that period than they might suck this one out in typical scummy Big 10 fashion. I am going with the former.

2-Unit Play. TEASER: Take #731 Cincinnati (+9) over Vanderbilt (5:30 p.m.) AND Take #727 Tennessee (+7) over Purdue (8:30 p.m.)
Backing two teams that I like this year against two other teams that I like this year. And juicing up the spreads on what I think are going to be the two most interesting and two best games of the day. Cincinnati has the size to matchup with Vandy and cause some problems and I think that their guard play is going to be good enough to hang around with a very tough Vanderbilt team. I am always a fan of Big East underdogs in nonconference play. I think that Cincy loses by six or seven. The other leg of this play is on Tennessee. All of the money is coming in on Purdue in this matchup of Top 10 teams. But I'm a little hesitant to jump on the Boilers, even though I have been driving their bandwagon for months. As we saw with Ohio State in MSG this week, even the top tier Big 10 teams are just so unathletic that they have problems against teams that can, you know, run and jump. Purdue is more fundamentally sound and should handle UT in the halfcourt. But Tennessee has a lot of depth, a lot of size, and a lot of athleticism. I think that they could win this game outright and it wouldn't be a stunner to me, so having seven points in my pocket is a nice place to be.

1.5-Unit Play. Take #747 UT-San Antonio (-3) over UC-Irvine (8:30 p.m.)
Speaking of UT-SA, here is a rare nonconference opportunity to wager on them. And we'll be betting against a conference that has really struggled ATS this year, the Big West. Irvine is the typical Big West team that is trying to work in transfers and freshmen early in the year. As a result, those teams are usually terrible ATS because there is no cohesion. I am a big fan of the Southland and I think that they produce some very athletic, very well coached teams. This UTSA team already beat Iowa. And even though Iowa is pathetic, they are still a Big 10 team with a great coach and some middle-tier talent. I don't like laying the points in this one, but the spread was going to be a bucket either way. I'll go with the oddsmakers here and put my money on the team that I, and they, think is the better club.

1-Unit Play. Take #765 Appalachian State (+19.5) over Louisville (7 p.m.)
0.5-Unit Play. FIRST HALF: Take #765 Appalachian State (+11) over Louisville (7 p.m.)
This is Louisville's third game in three days and I think that fatigue could, possibly, catch up with them just a bit. Appalachian State grades out equally to Morgan State, Arkansas, and ETSU, three teams that Louisville has played and been unimpressive in victories against. UL beat Morgan State by just nine and ETS by just 13. Also, that Arkansas game was just a four-point game in the second half before fatigue set in on the Razorbacks and UL hit the jets. In their third straight game I don't know if UL will find that gear. Appalachian State lost in OT at Arkansas and lost by just four late at ETSU. So, again, they are equivalent. And I think that they can come out and lose by 15 or 16 points and give us the score. I actually like this play much more than it is graded, but Rick Pitinio is the type of scumbag that leaves in his starters and keeps the press on even if he's up 20 points with five minutes to play, so we have to be a little careful.

1-Unit Play. Take #742 Duquesne (-22) over Binghamton (5 p.m.)


1-Unit Play. TEASER: Take #749 Wichita State (+11) over Pittsburgh (7:30 p.m.) AND #742 Duquesne (-17) over Binghamton (5 p.m.)


1-Unit Play. TEASER: Take #715 San Francisco (+12.5) over UC-Santa Barbara (10 p.m.) AND Take #751 Texas (-10) over Iowa (10 p.m.)


1-Unit Play. TEASER: Take #758 Indiana State (-0.5) over Coastal Carolina (5:30 p.m.) AND Take #729 Colorado (+15) over Gonzaga (3 p.m.)

[badweiser]

Thanks

[PhatBaztard]

Made for a good night, thanks. Please keep Ferringo's CBB coming if you got it.