With the college football regular season over it's time to shift The Big 5 over to college hoops.
Xavier Musketeers at #17 Butler Bulldogs (Sat 2)
The battle between Butler and Xavier will put a nice quality win in the resume. Butler has been about .500 this season in their big OOC games with this being their last tester. Xavier had lost all of their big games thus far until their win last weekend over crosstown rival Cincy. The loser of this game just might need a tremendous run in conference to make the tournament. The Pick: Xavier by 2
Florida State Seminoles at #15 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (FSN, Sun 5:30)
The ACC schedule started already? This seems a bit early, but regardless the matchup of Florida State and Georgia Tech will set a good starter for two teams looking to get into the tournament and slide into the 3rd or 4th spot in the conference. The Pick: FSU by 2
#20 Texas Tech Red Raiders at Wichita State Shockers (Sat 8:30)
Bobby Knight must be so proud of his son. The Red Raiders are back in over achievement mode. This weekend they face perennially solid mid-major power Wichita State. The travel up to Wichita will be a good tester for the Red Raiders but I think they pull out a close one. The Pick: TT by 4
Michigan Wolverines at #1 Kansas Jayhawks (ESPN, Sat 12)
The Wolverines were ranked 15th in the preseason and wow that was inaccurate. Michigan now sits barely above .500 having lost every meaningful OOC game thus far. They can't make any threes (or any shots actually) yet they shoot more threes than basically any team in the country. If they want to make the tournament without having to have a ridiculously good conference record than they need to beat the Jayhawks. The problem? The Jayhawks are essentially 100 times more talented than Michigan and are playing at home. The Pick: Jayhawks by 22
#15 Gonzaga Bulldogs at #7 Duke Blue Devils (CBS, Sat 4)
The Zags are quickly becoming an annoying team. They get hyped up every year. They play a difficult OOC schedule and win some and lose some. Then they play in their conference and never lose. Then they go to the tournament and lose quickly. Then the next year they rinse wash and repeat. Meanwhile everyone hates Duke so its a battle between the already hated and the getting progressively more hated. The fully hated will probably win easily. The Pick: Duke by 12
Xavier Musketeers at #17 Butler Bulldogs (Sat 2)The battle between Butler and Xavier will put a nice quality win in the resume. Butler has been about .500 this season in their big OOC games with this being their last tester. Xavier had lost all of their big games thus far until their win last weekend over crosstown rival Cincy. The loser of this game just might need a tremendous run in conference to make the tournament. The Pick: Xavier by 2
Florida State Seminoles at #15 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (FSN, Sun 5:30)
The ACC schedule started already? This seems a bit early, but regardless the matchup of Florida State and Georgia Tech will set a good starter for two teams looking to get into the tournament and slide into the 3rd or 4th spot in the conference. The Pick: FSU by 2
#20 Texas Tech Red Raiders at Wichita State Shockers (Sat 8:30)
Bobby Knight must be so proud of his son. The Red Raiders are back in over achievement mode. This weekend they face perennially solid mid-major power Wichita State. The travel up to Wichita will be a good tester for the Red Raiders but I think they pull out a close one. The Pick: TT by 4
Michigan Wolverines at #1 Kansas Jayhawks (ESPN, Sat 12)
The Wolverines were ranked 15th in the preseason and wow that was inaccurate. Michigan now sits barely above .500 having lost every meaningful OOC game thus far. They can't make any threes (or any shots actually) yet they shoot more threes than basically any team in the country. If they want to make the tournament without having to have a ridiculously good conference record than they need to beat the Jayhawks. The problem? The Jayhawks are essentially 100 times more talented than Michigan and are playing at home. The Pick: Jayhawks by 22
#15 Gonzaga Bulldogs at #7 Duke Blue Devils (CBS, Sat 4)
The Zags are quickly becoming an annoying team. They get hyped up every year. They play a difficult OOC schedule and win some and lose some. Then they play in their conference and never lose. Then they go to the tournament and lose quickly. Then the next year they rinse wash and repeat. Meanwhile everyone hates Duke so its a battle between the already hated and the getting progressively more hated. The fully hated will probably win easily. The Pick: Duke by 12
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