Super Bowl Hangover? Here’s Some College Hoops to Help

Super Bowl Hangover? Here’s Some College Hoops to Help

By college basketball analyst Gabriel Rauch for Wannamakeabet.com

Selection Sunday is less than a month away, and like always, it will sneak up on you. If you don’t want to have to do your March Madness research on the Monday before the tournament starts, this is the article for you! Teenagers missing free throws, overworked refs and overall chaos create awesome games and shocking results every day. Here are a couple games this Saturday to get you started!

Blue Bloods

(5) Baylor +5 at (9) Kansas –

The big event this weekend, the two best teams of a stacked conference facing off for the second time this year. Kansas is looking for revenge from the previous matchup, which was a close game until Baylor’s veteran backcourt of Flagler and Cryer cooked the whole game and finished things off at the end. Everyone’s favorite college name, Gradey Dick has been lighting it up with Jalen Wilson, but the other Kansas starters will need to show up. This game is probably a coin flip and I hate that I am going with the square pick, but the bottom line is that Kansas rarely gets swept in conference. Kansas has one of the best home field advantages in sports and they want revenge. 

Pick: Kansas – 5

Duke -1 at Syracuse

A new era as this is the first game these two teams have played without Coach K in quite some time. Boeheim without a doubt misses his long term friend and will have some fun coaching against Jon Scheyer in his first year. As far as the teams, a typical lengthy Syracuse team will face an atypical Duke team, led by veterans. Star freshman Filipowski has been on fire, but Syracuse pull this one out with Boeheim’s experience as the Cuse frustrate Duke. 

Pick: Syracuse ML

Lock Of The Week

Miss St -3.5  at Ole Miss

Unless you’re a fan of either team or a degenerate gambler (no judgment) you most likely will not be watching this game on the SEC Network. But remember, just because less people watch it, doesn’t mean it will count any less! There are two things to know about this game: both teams shoot the lowest % from downtown in the SEC, and this is a rivalry game where the horrendous Ole Miss is somehow only two point underdogs. The under seems like a lay up, but the home team evening up the series seems like a much more predictable bet to make. 

Pick: Ole Miss +3.5

Potentially Chaotic Games

Oklahoma +10.5 at (6) Texas –

Oklahoma is one of the wildest teams in college basketball, with crazy blowout wins and extreme blowout losses against all different types of teams. Porter Moser has struggled as head coach in his second year at Oklahoma after a decade coaching Loyola Chicago and taking them to two magical NCAA Tournament runs. On the other side, this is a must win for Texas who has a very tough to finish out the season if they want to keep pace with Baylor and Kansas for the top of the Big 12. This game could absolutely be a blowout in favor of Texas, but I am taking scrappy Oklahoma who just snapped their win streak to be annoying and make a run here. 

Pick: Oklahoma +10.5

(18) Creighton – 7.5 at St. Johns 

To start, ranked teams on the road at unranked opponents in conference play is always a good bet for a trap. Big East is an underrated conference that has potential Sweet Sixteen teams from top to bottom. This league is chaotic and I expect this game to showcase that. St. John’s wants revenge from the ass-kicking they got last time, and I expect this to be a much closer game. Creighton has not lost two games in a row in conference play and they are a well coached team, so I doubt they lose this game, but 7.5 is too many points. 

Pick: St. Johns +7.5