NBA Rankings - 21 Dec

The San Antonio Spurs nearly lost their hold on the top spot this week after losing big to the LA Clippers, but wins in Phoenix and Golden State helped them hold off the Thunder for at least another day. The two top teams face off tonight in San Antonio, and the winner will almost definitely end up at #1 tomorrow. Here are my full rankings, with each team's projected final record and playoff seeding included:

Rank	LW	Team	Record	Rating	Predic	Ch	Seed
1	1	San Antonio	21-5	-9.78217	63-18		1W
2	3	Oklahoma City	21-4	-8.93032	63-19	+2	2W
3	2	Indiana	21-5	-8.61787	64-18	-1	1E
4	4	Portland	22-5	-7.27719	59-23		3W
5	8	LA Clippers	18-9	-6.88402	55-27	+3	4W
6	6	Miami	20-6	-6.75278	58-24	+2	2E
7	7	Minnesota	13-14	-5.34739	48-33	-1	6W
8	5	Houston	17-10	-5.00795	50-32	-3	5W
9	9	Golden State	14-13	-4.75454	48-34	-2	7W
10	11	Phoenix	15-10	-3.70134	48-34	+1	8W
11	10	Denver	14-11	-2.69454	44-38	-5
12	12	Dallas	15-11	-2.33804	44-38	-1
13	15	Atlanta	15-12	-1.89459	45-37	+3	3E
14	16	Toronto	10-14	-0.66974	41-41	+2	4E
15	14	New Orleans	11-13	-0.17033	37-45	-1
16	13	Memphis	10-15	0.076051	35-47	-4
17	18	LA Lakers	13-13	0.561175	37-45	+2
18	19	Detroit	13-15	0.744743	38-44	+1	5E
19	20	Boston	12-15	0.914161	37-45		6E
20	21	Washington	11-13	1.166964	37-45	+1	7E
21	17	Chicago	9-16	1.595803	34-48	-5
22	24	Charlotte	13-14	1.89445	36-46	+4	8E
23	22	Sacramento	7-18	2.338037	28-54	+1
24	25	New York	8-17	2.754838	31-51	+1
25	23	Orlando	8-18	3.242538	30-52	-1
26	27	Brooklyn	9-17	4.178946	28-54	+1
27	28	Cleveland	10-15	4.763091	29-53	+2
28	26	Utah	7-22	5.716525	23-59	+1
29	30	Milwaukee	5-21	8.537944	18-64	-1
30	29	Philadelphia	8-19	8.751033	21-61	-3

Naughty

Headlining the naughty list this week is Denver, which had 4 home games this week, including 3 in which they were favored, but ended the week with just one win, over New Orleans. The loss to Phoenix is understandable, but losing by 10 at home to the Jazz is never a good thing, and the bad week has put the Nuggets on the outside of the playoff picture.

The Chicago Bulls are here for another week, after winning just once in 5 tries this week, a one-point win over Milwaukee, the team with the worst record in the league. The Bulls are on a 3-13 skid, and with Derrick Rose out for the season, it's not going to improve, although they are still projected to finish #9 in the East at 14 games under .500.

Nice

The Charlotte Bobcats have won 3 straight games for the first time since April, and in the East, that's good enough to put the Cats in 8th place in the projected playoff picture. The last two wins came on the road against other Eastern Conference playoff teams, and although they have no chance of meeting in the playoffs, it's good for them to show that they belong in the club.

The Clippers finished off last week with an embarrassing loss to Brooklyn, but this week they were very nice, especially in a 23-point win over the #1 Spurs on Monday. They are being rewarded tonight with a game against the frozen Nuggets, but they'll have to prove themselves on Christmas with a game at Golden State against one of their toughest division foes.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

College Football

Washington State vs. Colorado State - Cougars by 10
(20) Fresno State vs. (25) USC - Trojans by 9
Buffalo vs. San Diego State - Bulls by 9
Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette - Ragin Cajuns by 2

NBA

Memphis at New York - Knicks by 1
Washington at Boston - Celtics by 4
Sacramento at Orlando - Magic by 4
Utah at Charlotte - Bobcats by 3
Houston at Detroit - Rockets by 2
Cleveland at Chicago - Bulls by 8
Philadelphia at Milwaukee - Bucks by 4
Oklahoma City at San Antonio - Spurs by 4
Dallas at Phoenix - Suns by 5
New Orleans at Portland - Trail Blazers by 10
LA Lakers at Golden State - Warriors by 11
Denver at LA Clippers - Clippers by 9

College Basketball

Georgetown at (18) Kansas - Jayhawks by 12
Belmont at (19) Kentucky - Wildcats by 18
Tulsa at TCU - Horned Frogs by 5
Navy at Northern Kentucky - Norse by 1
East Carolina at North Carolina State - Wolfpack by 12
Hiwassee at Gardner-Webb - Runnin Bulldogs by 32
Coastal Carolina at Central Connecticut State - Chanticleers by 1
Charleston Southern at Central Arkansas - Buccaneers by 17
Boston at Maryland - Terrapins by 12
Eastern Michigan at Oakland - Golden Grizzlies by 2
(22) Massachusetts vs. Florida State - Minutemen by 2
Middle Tennessee at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 11
Johnson & Wales at Campbell - Camels by 21
Wofford at Winthrop - Eagles by 8
Old Dominion at North Carolina-Wilmington - Seahawks by 7
Holy Cross at NJIT - Crusaders by 3
Cal State Bakersfield at Texas-Arlington - Mavericks by 4
Eastern Illinois at IPFW - Mastodons by 21
Murray State at Western Kentucky - Hilltoppers by 12
Fordham at Monmouth - Hawks by 4
UNC Greensboro at Wake Forest - Demon Deacons by 21
Dallas Baptist at Oral Roberts - Golden Eagles by 34
Youngstown State at St. John's - Red Storm by 13
Maine at Providence - Friars by 28
Duquesne at Massachusetts Lowell - Dukes by 4
Western Carolina at Georgia - Bulldogs by 11
Cleveland State at Toledo - Rockets by 13
Fairfield at Green Bay - Phoenix by 19
Wilmington at Maryland-Eastern Shore - Hawks by 22
Milligan at Appalachian State - Mountaineers by 21
Prairie View A&M at Western Michigan - Broncos by 19
UMBC at George Washington - Colonials by 28
Alabama State at Tulane - Green Wave by 1
Saint Joseph's at Loyola (MD) - Hawks by 9
Buffalo vs. Manhattan - Jaspers by 15
Montana State-Billings at Long Beach State - 49ers by 27
Kent State at Charleston - Cougars by 1
James Madison vs. Hampton - Dukes by 1
Westminster (UT) at San Jose State - Spartans by 32
Ball State at Southern Illinois - Salukis by 8
Butler at Evansville - Bulldogs by 9
(21) Gonzaga vs. Kansas State - Bulldogs by 14
IUPUI at Indiana State - Sycamores by 13
(5) Michigan State at Texas - Longhorns by 1
Rider at (8) Villanova - Wildcats by 25
Rio Grande at UCF - Knights by 33
Longwood at Dartmouth - Big Green by 22
Fairleigh Dickinson at Columbia - Lions by 25
Austin Peay at East Tennessee State - Buccaneers by 10
Wayland at North Texas - Mean Green by 25
Northern Iowa at Virginia - Cavaliers by 14
UC Irvine at Denver - Pioneers by 2
Cal Poly at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 18
Georgia Tech at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 4
Houston Baptist at Pepperdine - Waves by 17
Vermont at Harvard - Crimson by 23
North Carolina A&T at Saint Louis - Billikens by 24
Lyon at Grambling State - Tigers by 8
Lamar at Canisius - Golden Griffins by 13
Fresno State vs. (16) Florida - Gators by 11
Rice vs. Houston - Cougars by 6
Davidson at (14) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 22
South Dakota State at North Dakota - No Nicknames by 14
Southern Utah at San Diego - Toreros by 31
UAB at LSU - Tigers by 18
St. Bonaventure at Niagara - Bonnies by 8
Miami (OH) at Tennessee State - Tigers by 10
Southeastern Louisiana at Tennessee-Martin - Lions by 1
Milwaukee vs. Northeastern - Panthers by 1
Illinois vs. (23) Missouri - Tigers by 2
Temple at LIU Brooklyn - Owls by 4
Texas-Tyler at Texas State - Bobcats by 27
Virginia Commonwealth vs. Virginia Tech - Rams by 5
Air Force at UC Davis - Aggies by 2
(6) Louisville at Florida International - Cardinals by 18
Sacramento State at Cal State Fullerton - Titans by 13
Coppin State vs. Jacksonville State - Eagles by 5
Texas Tech at Arizona State - Sun Devils by 15
Southeastern vs. Valparaiso - Crusaders by 33
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M - Sooners by 4
Bethune-Cookman at North Florida - Ospreys by 14
USC Upstate at Charlotte - 49ers by 9
Arkansas State at Marshall - Thundering Herd by 9
Quinnipiac at Lehigh - Bobcats by 1
UMKC at Wright State - Raiders by 17
Elmhurst at Stephen F Austin - Lumberjacks by 39
Xavier at Alabama - Crimson Tide by 4
Notre Dame vs. (3) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 12
Western Illinois vs. UC Santa Barbara - Gauchos by 11
Southeast Missouri State at (15) Memphis - Tigers by 18
Towson at North Dakota State - Bison by 13
South Alabama vs. Arkansas - Razorbacks by 15
Southern Miss vs. Arkansas-Little Rock - Golden Eagles by 12
Alabama A&M at Missouri State - Bears by 18
UTEP at Washington State - Cougars by 9
Bradley vs. Pacific - Tigers by 7
Stanford vs. Michigan - Wolverines by 9
Citadel at Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 25
Northern New Mexico at New Mexico State - Aggies by 41
Marquette vs. New Mexico - Golden Eagles by 3
La Sierra at Loyola Marymount - Lions by 34
Bryant vs. Delaware - Fightin Blue Hens by 7
McNeese State at (24) San Diego State - Aztecs by 35
Troy at Utah State - Aggies by 20
BYU at (13) Oregon - Ducks by 6
Princeton vs. Portland - Tigers by 6
(7) Oklahoma State vs. (20) Colorado - Cowboys by 13

Pick of the Day #44

San Diego

The Toreros haven't won a Division I game since Thanksgiving, but tonight they are hosting the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, who are currently the second-worst team in the nation, so they should finally be able to pick up another win.

Prediction Results

NBA: 4-5 (.444) 248-142 overall (.636)
College Basketball: 19-4 (.826) 1602-417 overall (.793)
Upsets: 3-1 (.750) 179-110 overall (.619)