College Basketball Overrated and Underrated - 13 Jan

Three overrated teams left my overrated rankings this week, along with one from my underrated rankings. Memphis lost twice last week, to Tennessee and SMU, and were dropped from the national rankings and thereby the overrated rankings. Texas A&M steadied themselves by beating up on Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and are no longer overrated enough to make the top 5. UConn dropped a spot in the poll, which was just enough for them to come in 7th in my overrated list, so Huskies fans get a reprieve for at least this week. North Carolina likewise dropped to #7 in the underrated rankings after an unimpressive win over Virginia cast a little doubt over how good they really are. Here are the new rankings, with last week's rankings in parentheses.

Overrated

1. Georgia

2. Kansas State

3. Notre Dame (4)

4. Villanova (5)

5. UCF

Georgia made the AP top 25 this week for one reason, and that is their win over Kentucky last week. If you look closely at their schedule, that is their only quality win of the season, because they lost to the other 3 quality opponents they have faced. They should lose at Ole Miss on Saturday, and they may also lose to Tennessee on Tuesday, so their stay here may be short.

Kansas State has lost two straight Big 12 games to unranked teams, and chances are they will lose again at Missouri on Monday. As is the case with Georgia, they will probably be removed from the AP rankings on Monday and lose the overrated tag that goes with it.

Notre Dame earned this spot with their blowout loss at Marquette on Monday night, and there a very good chance that we will see a repeat performance on Sunday when they face Saint John's on the road. They probably won't drop completely out of the AP poll, but it may be enough to make them less overrated.

Villanova will face a very tough test this Saturday from a severely underrated Maryland team before traveling to Connecticut on Monday to face the Huskies in a game that should end their winning streak if it somehow survives the weekend.

It hurts me to put UCF on this list, especially since they were the ones that pulled off the first college basketball upset I predicted this year when they beat the Florida Gators, but I've said before that because of their weak conference schedule they have no room for error, and error showed up in the form of a 5-point loss at Houston. I'm now predicting that they will lose their second straight game when they face Southern Miss on the road this Saturday, and Conference USA will lose its only ranked team.

Underrated

1. Belmont (3)

2. Maryland (5)

3. Saint Mary's (1)

4. Marquette

5. Arizona (2)

Belmont continues to receive a total of 0 votes in either poll, just as it has been all season long. With only 3 losses to SEC teams on the road and an average victory margin of 27 in conference games, it's plain to see that the lack of respect is a case of small-conference bias.

Maryland is easy to ignore because they still lack a quality win. All 5 of their losses have come against good opponents, the worst being Boston College, currently #55, but every one of those losses was by single digits, including losses to Duke and Pitt, both top 5 mainstays.

Saint Mary's continues to gain support slowly in the polls, but has yet to break through and enter the top 25. Their best win is over Saint John's, and both of their losses are to teams in the top 11 (San Diego State and BYU) with just one loss between them.

I'm not sure how a team as talented as the Marquette Golden Eagles has flown under the radar all season long. They do not have a single vote in either poll this week, but that should change with their huge upset win over Notre Dame. An upset over Louisville, although less likely, would definitely get the voters' attention if the first upset wasn't enough.

Arizona has struggled somewhat in the early going of conference play, but they are still not getting the respect they have earned thus far. Up until last year, anyone with a 14-3 record in the Pac 10 would be a shoo-in for the top 25, but after a horrible year for the conference last year, the votes have been hard to come by.

NBA Player of the Day

Zach Randolph - MEM - 34 pts, 17 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 10-17 FG, 14-17 FT

Randolph really turned it up in the second half of Memphis' win over Detroit, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds after halftime to pull the Grizzlies a little bit closer to .500. Randolph and Gay have each won this award multiple times, but the Grizz are still in 9th place in the West.

Predictions - 13 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Wizards at Timberwolves - Wolves by 4

Magic at Thunder - Thunder by 1

Heat at Nuggets - Heat by 2

College Basketball

(8) Purdue at (25) Minnesota - Purdue by 5

(18) Washington at Stanford - Washington by 11

Providence at West Virginia - West Virginia by 15

Lipscomb at Belmont - Belmont by 22

Virginia Tech at North Carolina - North Carolina by 9

San Francisco at Saint Mary's - Saint Mary's by 24

Prediction Results - 12 Jan

NBA: 8/12 (.667) 278/388 overall (.716)

College Basketball: 9/13 (.692) 256/305 overall (.839)

Upsets: 2/5 (.400) 58/101 overall (.574)

Note: I forgot to mark one of my upsets last night, Vanderbilt's win over Georgia, but the pick was made, just not italicized.

College Basketball Rankings - 12 Jan

Conference play is in full swing, and the upsets are starting to pile up. Only five undefeated teams remain after Cincinnati and UCF, the two most overrated of the seven, fell to conference rivals in their first real tests. The remaining 5 are ranked at 1, 2, 3, 12, and 20, so there's obviously a gap between the top 3 and the others. Here are the updated rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Duke (2-0) (15-0) -24.13 (1)
2. Ohio State (1-0) (16-0) -22.52 (2)
3. Kansas (2-0) (15-0) -22.33 (4)
4. Washington (2-0) (12-3) -20.69 (3)
5. Purdue (2-0) (15-1) -19.93 (7)
6. BYU (3-0) (17-1) -19.09 (8)
7. Kentucky (1-1) (13-3) -18.58 (5)
8. Saint Mary's (2-0) (14-2) -18.48 (10)
9. Texas (1-1) (13-3) -17.88 (11)
10. Pittsburgh (1-0) (15-1) -17.83 (9)
11. Belmont (3-0) (14-3) -16.66 (15)
12. San Diego State (2-0) (17-0) -16.43 (21)
13. Louisville (2-0) (13-2) -15.87 (20)
14. UNLV (1-1) (13-3) -15.78 (17)
15. Maryland (0-1) (10-5) -15.56 (19)
16. Vanderbilt (0-1) (11-3) -15.52 (6)
17. Arizona (2-0) (14-3) -15.35 (12)
18. Wisconsin (1-1) (12-4) -15.32 (18)
19. Illinois (1-1) (13-4) -14.93 (16)
20. Syracuse (1-0) (16-0) -14.84 (22)
21. Georgetown (0-1) (12-4) -14.76 (14)
22. North Carolina (1-0) (11-4) -14.74 (13)
23. West Virginia (1-0) (10-4) -14.36 (NR)
24. Villanova (2-0) (14-1) -14.25 (25)
25. Marquette (2-1) (12-5) -13.30 (NR)

Dropped out:
Michigan State (1-1) (11-5) -12.89 (24)
Missouri (1-1) (14-2) -11.51 (23)

Ranked teams by conference:
Big East: 7
Big 10: 4
ACC: 3
MWC: 3
Big 12: 2
Pac 10: 2
SEC: 2
WCC: 1
Atl Sun: 1

The Big 12 and Big 10 each lost a ranked team this week, and the Big East took advantage by snagging both spots to pack the rankings. The total number of ranked teams in the Big East is somewhat deceiving, though, because they only have one representative in the top 10, Pittsburgh. 5 of the final 6 teams to make the rankings are from the Big East, as well as 3 of the first 7 out, so the Big East appears to have at least 10 teams (maybe 11 if you count Saint John's) that can win the conference championship. The mid-major picture hasn't changed much this week, except that Gonzaga is starting to make their move and could give the WCC two ranked teams before long.

BYU is the top-ranked mid-major team after they dismantled Utah on the road last night behind Jimmer Fredette's 47 points. That total made him the new national scoring leader, surpassing Kemba Walker of UConn, and it looks like he's just getting started. The loss to UCLA was certainly a surprise, but wins over Arizona, Saint Mary's, and UNLV, all of whom are very underrated, more than make up for their only loss.

Kentucky became the best team to lose this week when they were surprised by the Georgia Bulldogs on the road, but they made up for it by beating up on Auburn, by far the worst team in the SEC, 78-54. Kentucky can't afford to lose many more conference games, since the national polls have them as the only ranked member of the conference.

Belmont continues to fly under the radar, failing to receive even one vote in either of the polls, but it only requires a quick glance at their conference games so far, which they've won by an average of 27 points, to notice that they are the cream of the Atlantic Sun crop and the team to watch as a potential first-round upset pick.

San Diego State has beaten both Saint Mary's and Gonzaga this year, but no other notable teams have graced their resume yet. They should add another tonight when they beat UNLV, but the real test comes in two weeks when they travel to Utah to face BYU.

Louisville has separated themselves from the mass of Big East teams at the bottom of the rankings, but will likely return to the group after losing to Villanova tonight. The Big East is to basketball what the SEC is to football, and vice versa.

Maryland moved up 4 spots this week despite losing its only game, but when you consider that the loss was to #1 Duke on the road by only 7 points, the loss actually proved that the Terrapins belong among the ranked teams, and that Duke may have a real test on their hands when they visit Maryland on Groundhog Day.

Vanderbilt was dropped from the national rankings and out of the top 10 of my rankings after losing to South Carolina in overtime instead of winning by double digits, as they were expected to do. The loss is the only real blemish on their resume thus far, and they still own victories over Belmont, North Carolina, and Marquette, three teams that deserve to be ranked.

Arizona has underperformed so far in Pac 10 play, losing to Oregon State and allowing Cal and Stanford to stay close to them until the end. The Wildcats had only lost to ranked teams previous to the loss in Corvallis, but they still have yet to beat a ranked team this season, and the only ranked opponent they have remaining is the Washington Huskies.

Georgetown fell to West Virginia at home this week, their 3rd loss in 4 games, but this one was unexpected, while the other two went right along with my expectations. The Hoyas should get their revenge tonight against the Pitt Panthers, but a loss could drop them out of the rankings altogether.

The North Carolina Tar Heels were looking very strong until they nearly fell to the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday. Now I'm not sure that they have what it takes to upset their biggest rival, Duke, but a convincing victory over Virginia Tech could change my mind.

West Virginia rejoined the top 25 this week after a one-week hiatus by upsetting heavily-favored Georgetown on the road this past Saturday. The Mountaineers have beaten Vanderbilt and Georgetown from the top 25, along with other solid victories over Cleveland State, Duquesne, and Oakland.

I picked Marquette to upset Notre Dame on Monday, but I didn't expect to see them blow away the Irish by 22 points. That win, coupled with their earlier victory over West Virginia, pushed Marquette into the spotlight of the top 25 for the first time this season.

Michigan State and Missouri, both of which were in my overrated rankings just two weeks ago, fell this week, the Spartans to Penn State and the Tigers to Colorado. Their demise came a week later than I expected, but it did eventually happen, and both could be rejoining my overrated rankings if the national polls don't recognize their error.

NBA Player of the Day

Nick Young - WAS - 43 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 14-22 FG, 7-10 3P, 8-9 FT
The Washington Wizards set a season high in points last night, and Nick Young set a new career high in scoring, including 18 straight at one point, as the Wizards held on to defeat the Sacramento Kings in overtime. While Young's victory ended the MVP candidates' streak in winning this award, Young is in the running for Most Improved Player this year, and more performances like this could send the award his way.

Predictions - 12 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Mavericks at Pacers - Mavs by 2
Hawks at Raptors - Hawks by 4
Bulls at Bobcats - Bulls by 6
Kings at Celtics - Celtics by 16
Grizzlies at Pistons - Grizzlies by 2
Magic at Hornets - Hornets by 1
Spurs at Bucks - Spurs by 4
Thunder at Rockets - Rockets by 2
Knicks at Jazz - Jazz by 3
Nets at Suns - Suns by 6
Lakers at Warriors - Lakers by 8
Heat at Clippers - Heat by 9

College Basketball

(1) Duke at Florida State - Duke by 9
(2) Ohio State at Michigan - Ohio State by 9
(3) Kansas at Iowa State - Kansas by 6
(4) Syracuse at Saint John's - Saint John's by 1
(5) Pittsburgh at (19) Georgetown - Georgetown by 3
UNLV at (6) San Diego State - San Diego State by 6
(17) Louisville at (7) Villanova - Villanova by 4
Nebraska at (12) Missouri - Missouri by 8
Oklahoma State at (13) Texas A&M - Texas A&M by 11
Colorado at (20) Kansas State - Kansas State by 8
Saint Bonaventure at (23) Temple - Temple by 15
Maryland at Wake Forest - Maryland at 16
Georgia at Vanderbilt - Vanderbilt by 14

Prediction Results - 11 Jan

NBA: 4/6 (.667) 270/376 overall (.718)
College Basketball: 5/6 (.833) 247/292 overall (.846)
Upsets: 1/3 (.333) 56/96 overall (.583)

College Football Rankings - Final

Before I get to the rankings, let me first note that these rankings are not based solely on wins and losses. Beating a team does not automatically move you ahead of that team in the rankings. These rankings are a measure of overall performance over the course of the entire season, and movement in the rankings is not based on winning or losing, but how the team played in comparison to how they were expected to perform. For example, in TCU's final regular season game, they beat New Mexico by 49 points, but didn't see any jump in the rankings. That is because they were expected to win that game by 51 points, so they played just as well as expected. If they had instead won the game by a single point, they would have dropped significantly, even with a perfect record. With that said, here are the final college football rankings of the season, with each team's name followed by its overall record, its rating, and its previous ranking.

1. Oregon (12-1) -37.98 (1)

2. Stanford (12-1) -37.30 (2)

3. Boise State (12-1) -34.58 (3)

4. Alabama (10-3) -32.46 (6)

5. Auburn (14-0) -30.95 (5)

6. Ohio State (12-1) -26.38 (7)

7. Oklahoma (12-2) -24.31 (9)

8. TCU (13-0) -22.96 (4)

9. Arkansas (10-3) -22.78 (12)

10. Oklahoma State (11-2) -22.67 (18)

11. Florida State (10-4) -22.51 (15)

12. LSU (11-2) -22.39 (21)

13. Wisconsin (11-2) -22.13 (8)

14. Arizona State (6-6) -21.67 (10)

15. Virginia Tech (11-3) -20.23 (11)

16. South Carolina (9-5) -20.03 (24)

17. USC (8-5) -19.46 (14)

18. Florida (8-5) -19.06 (NR)

19. North Carolina State (9-4) -18.45 (NR)

20. Mississippi State (9-4) -18.36 (NR)

21. Nevada (13-1) -18.24 (13)

22. Missouri (10-3) -17.61 (20)

23. Arizona (7-6) -16.75 (16)

24. Nebraska (10-4) -16.71 (17)

25. Notre Dame (8-5) -16.06 (NR)

Dropped out:

Oregon State (5-7) -15.86 (22)

Utah (10-3) -15.78 (23)

Texas A&M (9-4) -15.34 (19)

Hawaii (10-4) -9.60 (25)

Ranked teams by conference:

SEC: 7

Pac 10: 5

Big 12: 4

ACC: 3

WAC: 2

Big 10: 2

MWC: 1

Ind: 1

As I stated above, Oregon remains the best team in the country despite losing the so-called "national championship" game. If you were expecting a drop, it's there, but you may not see it. Going into the bowl season, Oregon had a lead of 3.23 points over #2 Stanford, but after their loss to Auburn, who is obviously a very quality opponent, the lead over Stanford dropped to 0.68.

Alabama jumped Auburn in the final rankings despite losing to them this season, but if you look at their final games, it's easy to see why. Based on the rankings, Alabama was expected to beat Michigan State by 14 points in the Capital One Bowl, but won by 42, a difference of 28. Auburn was expected to lose by 8, and ended up winning by 3, a difference of only 11. As Auburn's one-point win in November showed, these two teams were very evenly matched overall.

Another big surprise in the final rankings is the 4-spot drop of undefeated TCU, who beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl in a game that supposedly showed that they belong on the national stage. The Horned Frogs became a victim of the Big 10's failure in bowl games, as each of the conferences losses weakened every team, along with those who had played them, especially recently. The four teams that passed them all had big wins over quality opponents in bowl games, while TCU's 2-point win over Wisconsin, who appears to have been overrated, doesn't look as good by comparison.

Oklahoma State finally reached the top 10 after they finally earned a win over an opponent who finished the season in the top 25. Along with in-state rival Oklahoma, the Cowboys look to be among the favorites to win the new, smaller Big 12 next season.

LSU's big bowl win over Texas A&M in Texas was enough to finally prove to me that they are a good team. Their only real quality win previous to this was their upset victory over Alabama, which ended the Crimson Tide's championship repeat hopes.

Arizona State was one of three teams in the final regular season rankings, all from the Pac 10, that did not get to participate in a bowl game. All 3 dropped behind teams that had stellar performances in the big games, but even though ASU only won 6 games next year, they should be the favorite to win the new Pac 12 South and play against either Oregon or Stanford for the initial Pac 12 title.

Despite losing its bowl matchup with Florida State, the South Carolina Gamecocks were able to ride the strength of the SEC to an 8-notch rise in the final rankings. As one of the 3 teams to beat Alabama, and one of the closest opponents to Auburn this year, South Carolina's 5 losses are not as bad as they sound.

Florida finished as a ranked team after winning the Outback Bowl in Urban Meyer's final game as coach of the Gators. They finished the season 8-0 against teams outside my top 25, but 0-5 against the top 25, which puts them right on the line between the two.

NC State finished the year with a 23-7 upset of previously-ranked West Virginia in the Champs Sports Bowl, which allowed the ACC to finish the year with 3 ranked teams, while leaving the Big East with none, further proof that the BCS system needs a little revision.

Mississippi State vaulted into the rankings with the 38-point victory over Michigan in the Gator Bowl, giving the SEC 7 ranked teams, more than 25% of the teams ranked overall. The huge win proved again that the SEC is a stronger conference than the Big 10.

Even with an impressive win over Boise State in the regular season, Nevada's 7-point win over a weak Boston College team was not very impressive, and almost cost them a spot in the top 25 for the first time all year. Nevada may not be as strong next year, with Colin Kaepernick leaving the Wolf Pack and Boise State, their strongest opponent, leaving the WAC.

After losing in the Big 12 Championship game and failing to earn the accompanying BCS berth, Nebraska decided not to show up in its Holiday Bowl matchup with Washington, a rematch of a game that Nebraska won 56-21 in the regular season.

Notre Dame inched close to the rankings with wins over Utah and USC near the end of the regular season, then beat Miami by 16 in the Sun Bowl to sneak into the top 25 for the first time this season. Next year may be the best year for Fighting Irish football in many years.

NBA Player of the Day

Derrick Rose - CHI - 29 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 10-20 FG, 9-9 FT

Rose scored 11 points in the decisive 3rd quarter as Chicago came back from a halftime deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons, who were playing under a cloud amid rumors that many members of the team may be traded within the next few days. Rose's performance marks the third straight day that a top 6 MVP candidate won the Player of the Day award.

Predictions - 11 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Bucks at Hawks - Hawks by 5

Pacers at 76ers - 76ers by 4

Kings at Wizards - Wizards by 4

Spurs at Timberwolves - Spurs by 9

Suns at Nuggets - Nuggets by 5

Knicks at Trail Blazers - Trail Blazers by 4

Cavaliers at Lakers - Lakers by 17

College Basketball

Rutgers at (9) Connecticut - UConn by 16

(10) BYU at Utah - BYU by 11

(14) Texas at Texas Tech - Texas by 10

Auburn at (15) Kentucky - Kentucky by 35

(16) Illinois at Penn State - Illinois by 6

(21) Wisconsin at (24) Michigan State - Michigan State by 3

Prediction Results - 10 Jan

College Football: 0/1 (.000) 57/86 overall (.663)

NBA: 1/3 (.333) 266/370 overall (.719)

College Basketball: 2/2 (1.000) 242/286 overall (.846)

Upsets: 1/2 (.500) 55/93 overall (.591)

NBA Rankings - 10 Jan

The Spurs may have started the new year as the #1 team in the league, but after struggling a little this week, they have given up the top spot to a team that is as hot as any team in the past decade. As the season nears the midway point, let's take a look at where all 30 teams stack up. The team's name is followed by its record this week, its overall record, its rating, and its previous ranking.

1. Miami (4-0) (30-9) -9.01 (2)

2. San Antonio (2-2) (31-6) -7.02 (1)

3. Boston (3-1) (28-8) -6.98 (3)

4. LA Lakers (4-0) (27-11) -5.88 (7)

5. Orlando (4-0) (25-12) -5.47 (6)

6. Chicago (2-2) (24-12) -5.02 (5)

7. Dallas (1-2) (26-10) -4.14 (4)

8. Atlanta (3-0) (25-14) -2.78 (11)

9. New Orleans (2-2) (22-16) -2.62 (10)

10. Utah (2-2) (25-13) -2.40 (8)

11. Oklahoma City (2-1) (25-13) -2.14 (13)

12. Portland (2-2) (20-18) -1.52 (12)

13. Denver (1-3) (20-16) -1.20 (9)

14. Memphis (2-1) (17-20) -0.78 (14)

15. New York (2-1) (21-15) -0.67 (16)

16. Milwaukee (1-3) (14-21) -0.58 (18)

17. Houston (0-4) (16-21) -0.18 (15)

18. Philadelphia (2-2) (15-22) -0.10 (17)

19. Indiana (0-2) (14-20) 1.12 (19)

20. Phoenix (1-2) (15-20) 1.15 (20)

21. LA Clippers (2-0) (12-24) 2.84 (22)

22. Golden State (2-2) (15-22) 3.14 (21)

23. Toronto (2-2) (13-24) 3.89 (23)

24. Detroit (1-2) (12-24) 4.14 (24)

25. Charlotte (2-1) (13-21) 4.54 (26)

26. Minnesota (0-4) (9-29) 4.63 (25)

27. Washington (1-2) (9-26) 5.82 (28)

28. New Jersey (1-2) (10-27) 6.24 (27)

29. Sacramento (1-2) (8-26) 6.97 (29)

30. Cleveland (0-3) (8-29) 8.61 (30)

Power teams

The Miami Heat have won 21 of their past 22 games, have the two best players in the NBA on their roster, and have lost to only two teams with losing records. Their last two road wins have required overtime, and their next opponent, the Los Angeles Clippers, would love to keep that streak alive.

The Los Angeles Lakers have put together a 4-game winning streak after losing 4 of their previous 6, which had dropped them to a season-low ranking at #7. They have returned to their regular spot in the top 4, and if they can keep beating quality teams like they have the past two games, they should be able to maintain that position.

The Atlanta Hawks have yet to lose in 2011, including a very big 23-point win at Utah this week. Their next real test comes when they travel to Miami to face the scorching Heat on the 18th, and they may be riding an eight-game winning streak of their own by that point.

The Clippers are on the biggest role they have seen in 4 years, winning 7 of their past ten games. Blake Griffin is still a triple-double machine and may be the first Clipper All-Star in years, and a trip to the playoffs isn't even out of the question. Of course, after facing the Heat and Lakers this week, the optimism may fade a little.

Non-AQ's

The Dallas Mavericks desperately need Dirk Nowitzki to return from his injury. Since he went down, the Mavericks have lost 5 of 7, after losing only 5 of their first 29 games. They are still only 4.5 games out of first place, so a healthy Dirk could allow them to eventually pass the Spurs and take over the top spot in the West.

The Denver Nuggets were blown out by both the Clippers and the Kings this week, then lost a home game to the Hornets, and one of the big reasons behind the latest slump may be the trade rumors circling around their two star players, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. It appears that the trade will happen sooner or later, but either way the Nuggets appear to be out of the running this year.

The San Antonio Spurs lost the top spot after falling to New York and Boston out East, then narrowly beating the Pacers and Timberwolves, two teams that are not currently in the playoff picture. A rematch with Minnesota is coming tomorrow, and if the current pattern holds up, they may be the latest top team that the Wolves upset.

NBA Player of the Day - 8 Jan

Kevin Durant - OKC - 40 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 13-24 FG, 13-14 FT

Kevin Durant put up his second 40-point game in just over 2 weeks, including 28 points in the second half, as the Thunder were able to avenge last week's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies with a 9-point victory on Saturday. The 40 points allowed him to extend his lead in the scoring race over Amare Stoudemire as he tries to repeat as league leader.

NBA Player of the Day - 9 Jan

LeBron James - MIA - 44 pts, 13 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 17-26 FG, 3-5 3P, 7-10 FT

LeBron's 44 points, including 8 in the overtime period alone (which was more than Portland's total), helped lead the Heat to their 9th straight victory and 21st in their past 22 games overall. The win was also their 13th straight on the road, just 3 away from tying the all-time record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Predictions - 10 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

College Football

(2) Oregon vs. (1) Auburn - Oregon by 8

NBA

Grizzlies at Bobcats - Grizzlies by 2

Rockets at Celtics - Celtics by 10

Pistons at Bulls - Bulls by 12

College Basketball

(15) Notre Dame at Marquette - Marquette by 3

Jacksonville at Belmont - Belmont by 17

Prediction Results - 9 Jan

NFL: 2/2 (1.000) 72/116 overall (.621)

College Football: 1/1 (1.000) 57/85 overall (.671)

NBA: 6/7 (.857) 265/367 overall (.722)

College Basketball: 7/7 (1.000) 240/284 overall (.845)

Upsets: 2/2 (1.000) 54/91 overall (.593)

Predictions - 9 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NFL

Ravens at Chiefs - Ravens by 5
Packers at Eagles - Packers by 5

College Football

(15) Nevada vs. Boston College - Nevada by 13

NBA

Kings at Raptors - Raptors by 5
Warriors at Clippers - Clippers by 2
Timberwolves at Spurs - Spurs by 16
Cavaliers at Suns - Suns by 10
Hornets at Nuggets - Nuggets by 2
Heat at Trail Blazers - Heat by 4
Knicks at Lakers - Lakers by 6

College Basketball

Maryland at (1) Duke - Duke by 15
(3) Kansas at Michigan - Kansas by 11
(21) Minnesota at (2) Ohio State - Ohio State by 23
(25) Cincinnati at (7) Villanova - Villanova by 7
Iowa at (10) Purdue - Purdue by 19
(23) Louisville at South Florida - Louisville by 10
Stanford at Arizona - Arizona by 16

Prediction Results - 8 Jan

NFL: 1/2 (.500) 70/114 overall (.614)
College Football: 1/1 (1.000) 56/84 overall (.667)
NBA: 4/8 (.500) 259/360 overall (.719)
College Basketball: 13/21 (.619) 233/277 overall (.841)
Upsets: 1/3 (.333) 52/89 overall (.584)

Double Standards

There has been a lot of talk lately that the NCAA is not completely fair and equal when handing out punishments to schools and student athletes, and I am inclined to agree. In just one season, we can see the double standard appear twice in favor of a school headed to a BCS bowl game.

Right before Christmas, the news broke that several Ohio State Buckeye football players had been receiving discounted or free tattoos in exchange for autographs and memorabilia. Immediately after the story broke, Buckeye star quarterback Terrelle Pryor tweeted, "I paid for my tattoos. Go Bucks." That statement was proven to be an outright lie the next day, when Pryor and four teammates were found guilty of receiving illegal benefits and suspended for the first five games of next season, but not for this year's Sugar Bowl. The NCAA's explanation for not holding the players out of the Sugar Bowl was that they "did not receive adequate rules education during the time period the violations occurred."

Now let's change that scenario just slightly. Let's say that the team in question does not look like they are headed to a BCS bowl game. Make it one star player instead of five. Keep the details about the sale of memorabilia and a school from a power conference. You may recognize this as the situation surrounding Georgia's star wide receiver A.J. Green, who was suspended for the first 4 games of this season for selling his Independence Bowl jersey for cash. The only real difference between these two situations? Ohio State was appearing in a BCS bowl, and Georgia most likely wasn't. The fact that this incident was well-publicized and occurred less than four months ago blows some major holes in the NCAA's statement about the Buckeyes' players being ignorant of the rule, especially since Green also claimed to be unaware of the same rule. While I don't necessarily agree with the rule itself, the important point here is that the NCAA gave favorable treatment to the better team and allowed them to win a BCS bowl game and the huge payout that accompanies it.

Also this year, Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Auburn, was accused of soliciting money from colleges hoping to gain his services this season, a clear violation of NCAA rules if true. It has since been proven that his father received an offer of $180,000 from a booster representing Mississippi State University, but that Newton turned down that offer, telling the booster he was going to attend Auburn instead, because "the money is too much." That statement could be read a couple different ways. It could mean that Newton didn't accept the money because someone would surely notice if he suddenly had a lot more money or more expensive things. It could also mean that he was offered more money by somebody representing Auburn, a real possibility that I believe was not fully investigated due to Auburn's #1 ranking at the time the scandal broke. How likely is it that anyone would turn down $180,000 for any reason, especially somebody who has proven dishonesty in his recent past. While Newton was at the University of Florida a couple years ago, he was caught with a stolen laptop computer, which he proceeded to throw out the window when the police arrived. He was also on the verge of academic suspension for repeated attempts at cheating when he left the University. Does that sound like the kind of person who would decide to follow the rules this time?

Once again, let's shift the scenario a little bit. Let's make the situation included multiple starters from a power conference team rather than one Heisman-quality player. Decrease the amount of money received substantially. What we get is the case of North Carolina football players Greg Little and Robert Quinn, who were among several Tar Heel players suspended for multiple games at the beginning of the season on suspicion of receiving illegal benefits. When the investigation was complete, Little and Quinn were declared permanently ineligible for receiving about $5000 each in benefits. Once again, these two events occurred in the same season. North Carolina, who was not a favorite to earn a BCS berth, lost a huge portion of their starting lineup for a huge chunk of the season based solely on suspicion. Even when the evidence against Newton was proven to be accurate, the NCAA avoided suspending him, once again playing the ignorance card, claiming that Newton did not know what his father was doing. Even if he didn't know that his father was trying to make money off him, which is highly unlikely, the rules state that no player or person claiming to represent a player, including a family member, can attempt to solicit money in exchange for a player's services, with our without the player's knowledge. So why wasn't Newton suspended? The only explanation is that he was the clear Heisman favorite, and Auburn was headed toward the BCS national championship game.

The whole situation seems eerily similar to that of Reggie Bush and USC 5 years ago. While he was still in school, rumors started to surface that he may have received illegal payments in exchange for attending school at USC. The investigation started soon after Bush left school a year early, much as Newton is likely to do, and resulted in him forfeiting his Heisman Trophy and USC giving up a national championship and over 20 wins over the time Bush was on the team. Sadly, since it didn't happen until much later, USC was allowed to play in two national championship games, which left other deserving teams (ironically, one of them was Auburn) out of the national championship game, so the national title is awarded to the runner-up rather than the two best rule-following teams from that year actually deciding the winner on the field. This season may be headed to that same result. Whether Auburn wins or loses doesn't really matter. The fact that they are in the national championship game, with the great possibility that the result will be changed in the future, means that a very deserving undefeated TCU team was not given the chance to play Oregon for the national championship, and the title will eventually belong to the Oregon Ducks, win or lose, without having to play the Horned Frogs on the field.

So does the NCAA give preferential treatment to school that are BCS caliber? According to the evidence that I have seen in this season alone, the answer is a resounding YES. The lack of fairness by the NCAA in handing out punishments is just as much of a threat to the integrity of the college football system as the lack of a playoff system.

NBA Player of the Day

Rudy Gay - MEM - 28 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 8-14 FG, 3-3 3P, 9-10 FT
Gay scored 28 points on just 14 field goal attempts as the Memphis Grizzlies upset the favored Utah Jazz for their third straight upset win over a playoff team. The Jazz were able to get as close as 6 points late in the game, but Gay scored 6 points in the final 3 minutes to put the game away.

Predictions - 8 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Pacers at Hawks - Hawks by 6
Bucks at Nets - Bucks by 2
Wizards at Bobcats - Bobcats by 3
76ers at Pistons - 76ers by 2
Celtics at Bulls - Celtics by 1
Grizzlies at Thunder - Thunder by 6
Magic at Mavericks - Mavericks by 2
Jazz at Rockets - Rockets by 1

College Football

Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky - Pittsburgh by 8

NFL

Saints at Seahawks - Saints by 8
Jets at Colts - Jets by 2

College Basketball

(4) Syracuse at Seton Hall - Syracuse by 4
Marquette at (5) Pittsburgh - Pitt by 12
(6) San Diego State at Utah - San Diego State by 12
(8) Missouri at Colorado - Missouri by 2
(9) Connecticut at (12) Texas - Texas by 10
(11) Kentucky at Georgia - Kentucky by 10
West Virginia at (13) Georgetown - Georgetown by 10
Air Force at (14) BYU - BYU by 25
Saint John's at (15) Notre Dame - Notre Dame by 8
(16) Texas A&M at Oklahoma - Texas A&M by 5
(17) Kansas State at Oklahoma State - Kansas State by 1
(18) UCF at Houston - UCF by 11
(19) Michigan State at Penn State - Michigan State by 4
East Carolina at (22) Memphis - Memphis by 10
(24) Vanderbilt at South Carolina - Vanderbilt by 12
North Carolina at Virginia - North Carolina by 13
Florida State at Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech by 10
North Florida at Belmont - Belmont by 25
Stanford at Arizona - Arizona by 17
Oregon State at Washington - Washington by 26
Saint Mary's at Pepperdine - Saint Mary's by 18
TCU at UNLV - UNLV by 20

Prediction Results - 7 Jan

College Football: 0/1 (.000) 55/83 overall (.663)
NBA: 9/11 (.818) 255/352 overall (.724)
Upsets: 2/4 (.500) 51/86 overall (.593)