Predictions - 11 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Clippers at Nets - Clippers by 1

Celtics at 76ers - Celtics by 2

Pacers at Raptors - Pacers by 1

Trail Blazers at Bobcats - Blazers by 2

Hawks at Bulls - Bulls by 9

Jazz at Timberwolves - Jazz by 1

Pistons at Thunder - Thunder by 10

Kings at Spurs - Spurs by 15

Magic at Warriors - Magic by 5

College Basketball

Northwestern vs. (1) Ohio State - Ohio State by 15

Colorado vs. (2) Kansas - Kansas by 17

(14) Louisville vs. (4) Notre Dame - Notre Dame by 1

Maryland vs. (5) Duke - Duke by 14

(6) San Diego State at UNLV - UNLV by 2

Miami vs. (7) North Carolina - North Carolina by 14

New Mexico vs. (8) BYU - BYU by 7

Michigan State vs. (9) Purdue - Purdue by 13

(21) Texas A&M vs. (10) Texas - Texas by 7

(19) Connecticut vs. (11) Syracuse - Syracuse by 2

Tennessee vs. (12) Florida - Florida by 4

Penn State vs. (13) Wisconsin - Wisconsin by 8

(15) Arizona at USC - USC by 2

Mississippi vs. (16) Kentucky - Kentucky by 11

San Jose State vs. (17) Utah State - Utah State by 15

Dayton vs. (20) Xavier - Xavier by 6

(24) Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi State - Vandy by 12

LaSalle vs. (25) Temple - Temple by 12

Illinois vs. Michigan - Illinois by 5

Oregon vs. Washington - Washington by 13

Prediction Results - 10 Mar

NBA: 2-1 (.667) 551-231 overall (.705)

College Basketball: 11-3 (.786) 554-139 overall (.799)

Upsets: 1-2 (.333) 146-98 overall (.598)

Predictions - 10 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Lakers at Heat - Heat by 2
Knicks at Mavericks - Mavs by 6
Nuggets at Suns - Suns by 1

College Basketball

Oklahoma State vs. (2) Kansas - Kansas by 22
(19) Connecticut vs. (3) Pittsburgh - Pitt by 4
Cincinnati vs. (4) Notre Dame - Notre Dame by 1
Utah vs. (6) San Diego State - San Diego State by 16
TCU vs. (8) BYU - BYU by 19
Oklahoma vs. (10) Texas - Texas by 16
(11) Syracuse at (18) Saint John's - Syracuse by 1
Marquette vs. (14) Louisville - Louisville by 2
Oregon State vs. (15) Arizona - Arizona by 11
(21) Texas A&M vs. Missouri - Missouri by 8
Colorado vs. (23) Kansas State - Kansas State by 9
LSU vs. (24) Vanderbilt - Vandy by 18
Washington State vs. Washington - Washington by 7
Air Force at UNLV - UNLV by 16

NBA Player of the Day

Al Jefferson - UTA - 34 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 17-24 FG
Jefferson was able to score 34 points for Utah last night despite not taking a single free throw, and was able to make a tip-in off a Devin Harris miss to beat the buzzer and beat the Toronto Raptors by 2. He may not have filled up the stat sheet, but he missed very few shots and grabbed enough rebounds to get the win.

Prediction Results - 9 Mar

NBA: 7-4 (.636) 549-230 overall (.705)
College Basketball: 2-2 (.500) 543-136 overall (.800)
Upsets: 2-2 (.500) 145-96 overall (.602)

College Basketball Rankings - 9 Mar

The regular season has ended, and most conferences are in the middle of their conference tournaments. In four days we will know exactly which teams will be competing for the championship this year. Only one team in my top 25 has finished the season (Belmont) and earned their tournament bid, but the rest should follow this week. Here are the final rankings of the regular season, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Ohio State (1-0) (29-2) -22.62 (1)
2. Kansas (2-0) (29-2) -21.12 (2)
3. Duke (1-1) (27-4) -20.48 (3)
4. Texas (1-0) (25-6) -17.35 (7)
5. Purdue (0-1) (25-6) -17.31 (5)
6. BYU (1-1) (28-3) -17.24 (4)
7. Pittsburgh (2-0) (27-4) -17.15 (6)
8. Kentucky (1-0) (22-8) -16.45 (10)
9. San Diego State (1-0) (29-2) -16.08 (8)
10. North Carolina (2-0) (24-6) -15.94 (13)
11. Washington (1-1) (20-10) -15.91 (9)
12. Syracuse (1-0) (25-6) -15.55 (14)
13. Wisconsin (1-1) (23-7) -15.38 (11)
14. Belmont (3-0) (30-4) -15.16 (12)
15. Louisville (1-1) (23-8) -14.32 (16)
16. Notre Dame (1-0) (25-5) -14.21 (15)
17. Illinois (1-0) (19-12) -13.91 (19)
18. Cincinnati (2-0) (24-7) -13.12 (NR)
19. Georgetown (0-1) (21-9) -12.75 (18)
20. UNLV (1-0) (23-7) -12.62 (NR)
21. Florida (1-0) (24-6) -12.61 (25)
22. Arizona (2-0) (25-6) -12.54 (21)
23. Connecticut (1-2) (22-9) -12.38 (23)
24. Utah State (2-0) (28-3) -12.26 (NR)
25. West Virginia (2-0) (20-10) -12.17 (22)

Dropping out:
Vanderbilt (0-1) (21-9) -12.10 (17)
Marquette (1-2) (19-13) -12.03 (24)
Maryland (0-2) (18-13) -10.82 (20)

Ranked teams by conference:
Big East: 8
Big 10: 4
MWC: 3
Big 12: 2
ACC: 2
SEC: 2
Pac 10: 2
Atl Sun: 1
WAC: 1

Bubbling Up

Cincinnati ended the regular season in style, winning by 7 at Marquette before whipping Georgetown by 22 at home to close it out. For a team that opened the season with low expectations, this season couldn't have gone much better, with all 7 of their losses coming to Big East opponents that will be playing in March.

Utah State made a statement in their final regular season game, beating Louisiana Tech 72-30 on the road and allowing just 15 points in each half of the game. They are the runaway favorites to win the WAC title and earn a return trip to the NCAA's.

UNLV closed out their season with a 20-point road win at Utah, wrapping up a season that included just two losses to unranked teams. They may not have beaten BYU or San Diego State in the regular season, but they are the hottest of the three teams right now, and the conference tournament is on their home court, so I am picking them to take the automatic bid.

Syracuse took out a lot of frustration on DePaul in their final game of the season, winning the contest 107-59 after maintaining a 20-point lead for the final 32 minutes of the game. The win earned the Orange a double bye in the Big East tournament, which could come in very handy in this very deep conference.

Drifting Down

I've been a big proponent of Maryland all season long, but after losing to Miami and Virginia to close out the season in two games that weren't even close, the Terrapins have dropped from my rankings and from tournament contention. It was the first time all season they had lost back-to-back games that they should have won.

Being swept by a New Mexico team that probably won't make the tournament wasn't a good way to celebrate a huge victory over San Diego State, but that's what happened to BYU this week. The loss came on the heels of the suspension of their leading rebounder, and they'll have to use the Mountain West tournament as practice on how to play without Davies.

Vanderbilt moved up a little after nearly beating Kentucky on the road last week, but then they didn't take that momentum and turn it into an upset of Florida like I would have liked to see. The game caused the two teams to switch positions in my rankings and left Vandy cold heading into the conference tourney.

George Mason lost for the first time in nearly two months this week, dropping a game to VCU in the conference semifinals, but their spot in March Madness is still safe. They haven't beaten any ranked teams this year, but they've been good enough to present a challenge in the first couple rounds.

Saint Mary's lost to Gonzaga for the second time in as many weeks and lost 4 of their last 6 games overall, but they did reach the conference championship game, and Gonzaga is one of the hottest teams in the nation currently, but it still doesn't mean anything if they don't pick up a win in the NCAA Tournament.

NBA Player of the Day

Vince Carter - PHX - 32 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 13-17 FG, 5-7 3P, 1-2 FT
Vince Carter made up for his missed free throws that cost Phoenix their previous game with a huge fourth quarter that included 15 points and 2 3-pointers as Phoenix was able to take a late lead, then held on to beat the Rockets and remain in 9th place in the West.

Predictions - 9 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Warriors at Nets - Nets by 1
Thunder at 76ers - 76ers by 2
Jazz at Raptors - Jazz by 2
Bulls at Bobcats - Bulls by 7
Clippers at Celtics - Celtics by 11
Mavericks at Hornets - Hornets by 1
Cavaliers at Bucks - Bucks by 11
Pacers at Timberwolves - Pacers by 1
Knicks at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 4
Pistons at Spurs - Spurs by 13
Magic at Kings - Magic by 8

College Basketball

Rutgers at (18) Saint John's - Saint John's by 11
(19) Connecticut vs. (22) Georgetown - Georgetown by 1
South Florida vs. Cincinnati - Cincinnati by 12
Marquette vs. West Virginia - West Virginia by 1

Prediction Results - 8 Mar

NBA: 4-2 (.667) 542-226 overall (.706)
College Basketball: 1-0 (1.000) 541-134 overall (.801)
Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 143-94 overall (.603)

College Basketball Overrated and Underrated - 8 Mar

This week 3 of my overrated teams lost, which allowed some new teams to enter the overrated rankings, although most of them are familiar faces. Florida failed to lose at Vanderbilt, which helped them earn their way out of the top 5 overrated teams, while Villanova and Texas A&M left due to losses. Here are the final overrated and underrated rankings of the season, with previous ranking in parentheses.

Overrated

1. Xavier (2)
2. Saint John's (4)
3. Temple
4. Notre Dame
5. Kansas State

Xavier finished the regular season with 16 wins in 17 games, but the best win in that run was against Temple, who is also overrated. They are currently waiting for the winner of Massachusetts and Dayton to determine their next opponent, but they'll beat either one. They are currently the best team in the conference, but any of the top 4 seeds could easily win, and a loss to Duquesne in the semifinals could drop them from the top 25.

Saint John's lost at Seton Hall this week like I predicted, but remained highly ranked. They are hosting the Big East Tournament, which gives them a huge advantage, and I see them easily making the semis, where they would face Pitt, and if they can pull that upset, they should win the whole thing, which would probably remove them from these rankings.

Temple played a couple of close conference games this week and were able to move back in to the top 25 as a result, but I still have them on the outside by quite a distance. They do have a chance to win their conference tournament, but I see them losing to Xavier in the finals.

Notre Dame's road win over UConn was impressive, but still wasn't enough to merit the #4 ranking in my opinion. If they get a #1 seed in the NCAA's, they will probably be the first top seed to go down. I'm predicting that they will lose to either Cincinnati or Louisville in the Big East tournament, which could prevent them from getting a top seed.

Kansas State has definitely earned a spot back in the top 25 after their impressive 6-game winning streak that included wins over 3 highly-ranked opponents. I see them losing to Kansas in the semis of the Big 12 Tourney, but we all remember what happened last time these two teams played.

Underrated

1. Washington (1)
2. Illinois (4)
3. Belmont (2)
4. UNLV
5. Kentucky

Washington finished off the regular season with another loss, this time to USC, and now they have to face Washington State again in the Pac 10 Tournament, a team that has already beaten them twice. The Huskies are the best team in the conference, but they'll need to win it to guarantee an NCAA berth.

Illinois should be able to upset Michigan in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament, but I just don't see them beating Ohio State in the semifinals, no matter how important the game is to the Illini. They lost a close one at Purdue before blowing out Indiana this week, which shows that they are a quality team but not a real championship threat.

Belmont tore through the Atlantic Sun tournament, destroying North Florida 87-46 in the championship game to earn an automatic bid to March Madness. Whichever team is matched up with the Bruins in the first round better watch out, because they won't know what hit them.

UNLV finished the regular season in very strong fashion, winning their last 5 games, including a 20-point road win against Utah to end the season, and as hosts of the Mountain West tournament, I predict that they will be the upset conference champions.

Kentucky finished the season with 3 straight wins, including home victories over two ranked teams, Florida and Vanderbilt, and I don't foresee any trouble for them reaching the championship game, where they'll face either Vanderbilt or Florida again, and if they win as I'm predicting, they should be able to get a top 4 seed in March.

NBA Player of the Day

Carmelo Anthony - NYK - 34 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 12-16 FG, 4-5 3P, 6-6 FT
Carmelo was on fire last night, scoring 34 points out of a possible 43 on the shots he took, and the Knicks blew out the struggling Jazz as they struggle themselves to get used to new personnel. New York has been playing better when Carmelo is their best player, although last night both he and Amare had nice games, which makes them tough to beat.

Predictions - 8 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Lakers at Hawks - Lakers by 4
Warriors at Cavaliers - Warriors by 4
76ers at Pacers - Pacers by 1
Bucks at Wizards - Bucks by 2
Trail Blazers at Heat - Heat by 8
Rockets at Suns - Suns by 1

College Basketball

DePaul vs. (19) Connecticut - UConn by 18

Prediction Results - 7 Mar

NBA: 5-2 (.714) 538-224 overall (.706)
Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 143-93 (.606)

NBA Rankings - 7 Mar

Two very big blowouts took place in San Antonio this week, both of which had a major impact on the top of the rankings. First, the Spurs destroyed the Heat and pulled themselves solidly into first place, but then the Lakers came to down and did the same to San Antonio, making a claim of their own for the top spot. It turns out that they did just enough to claim the top spot for the first time since early November. Here are this week's rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

The Contenders

1. LA Lakers (3-0) (45-19) -6.59 (4)
2. San Antonio (2-2) (51-12) -6.58 (1)
3. Miami (0-3) (43-20) -6.33 (2)
4. Boston (4-0) (46-15) -6.07 (3)
5. Chicago (3-1) (43-18) -5.92 (6)
6. Orlando (2-1) (40-23) -5.28 (5)

Average Teams

7. Dallas (2-1) (45-17) -4.02 (7)
8. Denver (3-1) (37-27) -3.30 (8)
9. Oklahoma City (3-0) (39-22) -3.00 (9)
10. New Orleans (2-2) (37-28) -2.42 (10)
11. Memphis (2-1) (35-29) -2.37 (11)
12. Houston (2-1) (32-32) -1.82 (13)
13. Philadelphia (2-1) (32-30) -1.59 (12)
14. Portland (2-1) (35-27) -1.08 (16)
15. New York (2-2) (32-29) -0.94 (15)
16. Phoenix (2-2) (32-29) -0.54 (17)
17. Atlanta (1-3) (37-26) -0.25 (14)
18. Utah (1-2) (33-30) 0.38 (19)
19. Indiana (1-3) (27-35) 1.00 (18)
20. Milwaukee (1-2) (23-38) 1.45 (20)

Occasional Competitors

21. LA Clippers (2-1) (23-40) 2.61 (23)
22. Golden State (1-3) (27-35) 2.67 (22)
23. Charlotte (0-3) (26-36) 3.46 (21)
24. Detroit (1-2) (23-41) 3.77 (24)

Crappy Teams

25. Sacramento (1-2) (15-45) 5.29 (26)
26. Minnesota (1-3) (15-49) 5.45 (25)
27. New Jersey (2-1) (19-43) 5.46 (27)
28. Toronto (1-2) (17-46) 5.72 (28)
29. Washington (1-3) (16-46) 6.55 (29)

Cleveland

30. Cleveland (1-2) (12-50) 9.10 (30)

It's Hot out West

The Lakers last couple wins weren't that impressive, so what happened in San Antonio yesterday came as a bit of a surprise. The Lakers dominated the team with the league's best record from the starting tip, and maintained a double-digit lead for the entire game. That win, coupled with San Antonio's blowout of Miami in the previous game, established a very clear pecking order among the top teams.

The Houston Rockets reached .500 this week for the first time since December 31, and they did it with large victories over two playoff contenders, Portland and Indiana. The Portland win was especially impressive since it was on the road, and the Rockets have a chance to get above .500 for the first time all season when they face Sacramento tonight.

Portland may have lost to the Rockets at home on Tuesday, but they followed up that disappointment by beating Sacramento on the road then blowing out the Charlotte Bobcats 93-69. If Portland can remain hot, they may have a chance to pull off some big upsets with week as they visit Miami and Orlando.

It's Cold Out East

The Charlotte Bobcats went 0-4 on their latest road trip, and the only game of those 4 that could even be considered close was their 8-point loss to the Lakers on Friday. This week alone they lost by 24 to Portland and 40 to Denver, and it looks like they have given up on grabbing that final playoff spot.

Atlanta started out their 4-game homestand well, beating Chicago by 3 points, but then they lost to the Thunder by 7 on Friday and New York by 13 yesterday, and the games aren't getting any easier, with the top-ranked Lakers in town tomorrow, followed by a trip to Chicago, where the Bulls will be looking for revenge after last week's upset.

The Pacers struggled this week in their trip to the Midwest, losing all three games against Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Houston. They were still able to hold onto the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, however, thanks to the Bobcats struggling even more than Indiana.

NBA Player of the Day

Andre Iguodala - PHI - 15 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl, 5-13 FG, 5-6 FT
It definitely wasn't as impressive as his previous triple-double, but his great performance was critical in the 76ers' overtime win over Golden State. Iguodala was the first Sixer in 10 years to record 2 straight triple-doubles, and he has Philly two games above .500 and looking like a lock for the playoffs.

Predictions - 7 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Trail Blazers at Magic - Magic by 7
Clippers at Bobcats - Bobcats by 2
Jazz at Knicks - Knicks by 4
Hornets at Bulls - Bulls by 7
Mavericks at Timberwolves - Mavs by 7
Thunder at Grizzlies - Grizz by 2
Rockets at Kings - Rockets by 4

Prediction Results - 6 Mar

NBA: 5-4 (.556) 533-222 overall (.706)
College Basketball: 2-1 (.667) 540-134 overall (.801)
Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 142-93 overall (.604)

Predictions - 6 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Bulls at Heat - Heat by 3
Lakers at Spurs - Spurs by 5
Wizards at Pistons - Pistons by 5
Warriors at 76ers - 76ers by 7
Knicks at Hawks - Hawks by 3
Hornets at Cavaliers - Hornets by 8
Suns at Thunder - Thunder by 5
Grizzlies at Mavericks - Mavs by 5
Celtics at Bucks - Celtics by 5

College Basketball

(10) Wisconsin at (1) Ohio State - Ohio State by 11
(23) Kentucky at Tennessee - Kentucky by 2
VCU vs. (25) George Mason - George Mason by 8

NBA Player of the Day

Brook Lopez - NJN - 34 pts, 14 reb, 3 ast, 8 blk, 14-24 FG, 6-8 FT
Lopez may have fouled out in the second overtime, but his contributions up to that point can't be ignored. He was the fourth player this season to record 8 blocked shots in one game, but his scoring output was nearly double the total of any of the others who accomplished that feat. Add in 14 rebounds and a good shooting percentage, and the NBA fans in London saw a great performance.

Prediction Results - 5 Mar

NBA: 5-1 (.833) 528-218 overall (.708)
College Basketball: 16-6 (.727) 538-133 overall (.802)
Upsets: 2-2 (.500) 142-92 overall (.607)

Predictions - 5 Mar

Upsets picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Raptors vs. Nets - Nets by 1

Timberwolves at Wizards - Wizards by 2

Pacers at Rockets - Rockets by 5

Kings at Jazz - Jazz by 8

Bobcats at Trail Blazers - Blazers by 6

Nuggets at Clippers - Nuggets by 4

College Basketball

(2) Kansas at (24) Missouri - Kansas by 4

Wyoming at (3) BYU - BYU by 27

(4) Duke at (13) North Carolina - Duke by 1

(19) Villanova at (5) Pittsburgh - Pitt by 12

(6) Purdue at Iowa - Purdue by 9

(7) Notre Dame at (16) Connecticut - UConn by 3

(8) Texas at Baylor - Texas by 5

Colorado State at (9) San Diego State - San Diego State by 16

(11) Louisville at West Virginia - West Virginia by 4

DePaul at (12) Syracuse - Syracuse by 25

(14) Florida at (20) Vanderbilt - Vandy by 7

South Florida at (15) Saint John's - Saint John's by 15

(17) Georgetown at Cincinnati - Cincinnati by 5

Oregon at (18) Arizona - Arizona by 18

(21) Utah State at Louisiana Tech - Utah State by 10

Texas Tech at (22) Texas A&M - Texas A&M by 15

Georgia State vs. (25) George Mason - George Mason by 16

Iowa State at Kansas State - Kansas State by 12

North Florida vs. Belmont - Belmont by 24

Virginia at Maryland - Maryland by 17

USC at Washington - Washington by 14

Indiana at Illinois - Illinois by 13

NBA Player of the Day

Andre Iguodala - PHI - 22 pts, 10 reb, 13 ast, 7-13 FG, 2-4 3P, 6-6 FT

Iguodala recorded his second triple-double of the season and the 6th of his career as he helped the 76ers get back above .500 with a win over Minnesota. Philadelphia was able to overcome Kevin Love's 3rd 20-20 game in the past week to grab the important win that kept them in 7th place in the Eastern Conference.

Prediction Results - 4 Mar

NBA: 6-5 (.545) 523-217 overall (.707)

Upsets: 0-4 (.000) 140-90 overall (.609)