The college basketball season got started last week, but it feels like things are tipping off for real Tuesday night. Unlike the first seven days, we’ve got plenty of compelling matchups on tap, highlighted by the Champions Classic doubleheader in Indianapolis. So this is a fitting day to renew my pick-o-rama with my bubble-watching colleague Eamonn Brennan. I forget who won the picks battle last season, but it was definitely me.
Once again, for each picks column Eamonn I will have 100 “tokens” to place on our picks as we see fit. The minimum bet is 10 tokens per game.
Before we get started on another glorious four-plus months of action, I would like to offer one piece of advice to all you commenters out there: Don’t be that guy. You know who I’m talking about, the guy (or gal, because women can make dumb comments too) who doesn’t understand that THESE PICKS ARE AGAINST THE SPREAD!!! So he goes into the comments section and writes, “Yo, Duke Boy, you say you can’t see Purdue losing at home, yet you picked Marquette. Does The Athletic not have any editors these days???”
Let me repeat these two very important points: The picks are against the spread, and I beat Eamonn last year.
Let the fun begin!
All lines are via BetMGM:
Michigan State vs. Kentucky (-6.5) in Indianapolis, 7 p.m., ESPN. The big question is whether Kentucky’s returning national player of the year, 6-foot-9 senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe, will be able to play — and if so, how effective he will be. Tshiebwe had a surgical procedure on his knee last month. Needless to say, he is hoping to play, but he and John Calipari sounded pretty confident that Tshiebwe would be ready for the season opener, and he has yet to step into a game. Tshiebwe practiced for the first time since his surgery on Monday, so it appears he will try to give it a go. However, this is a tough assignment for the first game coming off knee surgery. Michigan State is an experienced, physical team. The Spartans didn’t quite pull off the upset over Gonzaga on Friday at the Armed Forces Classic, but the Spartans led the game for 30 minutes, and they should get more quality production from 6-4 sophomore guard Jaden Akins, who had surgery in September to repair a stress reaction in his left foot. Akins averaged 16.5 minutes in the first two games, but a few more days to practice should have him ready to make an impact against Kentucky. The pick: 30 tokens on Michigan State
David Joplin with a career-high 20 points!
MU 92 | CMU 65 | 2:05 2nd half #MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/xK24rxAW2M
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) November 11, 2022
Marquette at Purdue (-9.5), 8:30 p.m., FS1. It looks like Marquette’s David Joplin is ready to make one of those vintage freshman-to-sophomore leaps. The 6-7 forward averaged 2.8 points in 6.9 minutes last season, but he poured in a career-high 23 points (with six made 3-pointers) in the Golden Eagles’ 97-73 win over Central Michigan on Thursday. Junior point guard Tyler Kolek had a career-high 11 assists in the win as well. The whole team will be defended at a much higher level in this one, but this is a younger Purdue team than we’re used to seeing, and the team’s 2-0 start has offered a mixed bag. Junior center Zach Edey shot 12 of 13 and scored a career-high 30 points in the Boilermakers’ 63-44 win over Austin Peay on Friday, but his teammates missed 17 of their 19 3-point attempts. It’s hard to see Purdue losing at home, but I think this could be one of those ugly early-season games, and I like Marquette’s chances to keep things interesting. The pick: 10 tokens on Marquette
GO DEEPER
Vecenie’s Prospect Film Room: Zach Edey an elite post player due to size and fundamentals
Memphis at Saint Louis (-2.5), 9 p.m., CBS Sports Network. As I noted in Hoop Thoughts, Memphis has gone from being one of the youngest teams in the country to perhaps the oldest. The Tigers have six fifth-year seniors, including Kendric Davis, a 5-11 transfer from SMU who averaged 19.2 points per game the last two years. Saint Louis also has an older team, and the Billikens looked the part in dominating Murray State and Evansville last week. It’s only a matter of time before 6-foot junior point guard Yuri Collins becomes well-known across the country. He averaged 7.9 assists last season and already has 27 dimes to just five turnovers in the first two games. The pick: 20 tokens on Saint Louis
San Diego State (-4.5) at Stanford, 9 p.m., Pac-12 Network. Steve Fisher brought transfers to San Diego State long before it was cool, and now his successor Brian Dutcher has two more good ones in Darrion Trammell, a 5-10 senior guard from Seattle, and Jaedon LeDee, a 6-9 senior forward from TCU. LeDee transferred two years ago but had to sit out last season as a redshirt. He and Trammell combined to average 36.5 points per game in wins over Cal State Fullerton and BYU, and if that keeps up it will lighten the load on yet another transfer, 6-4 senior guard Matt Bradley, who came to SDSU last year from Cal. This is a big year for Jerod Haase, who has never taken the Cardinal to the NCAA Tournament. Stanford shot 1 of 16 from 3 during Friday’s 60-50 loss to Wisconsin, but that game was played outdoors in a baseball stadium, so the shooting conditions were atypical to say the least. Maples Pavilion isn’t much of a homecourt advantage, but if Stanford is going to make the NCAA Tournament this season, this is as close to a must-win as you can get in mid-November. I spy a desperate home team. The pick: 10 tokens on Stanford
Kansas (-1.5) vs. Duke in Indianapolis, 9:30 p.m., ESPN. Duke’s 7-1 freshman forward Dereck Lively II made his much-anticipated collegiate debut on Friday after missing the Blue Devils’ season opener because of a calf injury. He only had four points and two rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench, but a few more days in practice should have him ready to be a much bigger factor tonight. Even so, Duke’s best freshman — and maybe its best player — could turn out to be 7-0 forward Kyle Filipowski, who averaged 12.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks the first two games and shot 2 of 6 from 3-point range. The Blue Devils’ size and depth up front is going to be tough for a lot of teams to handle, but it presents an especially acute challenge for a Kansas squad that doesn’t have any starter taller than 6-8. I’d feel more confident about KU’s chances if Bill Self were on the sidelines, but he is still serving his self-imposed four-game suspension to start the season. The pick: 30 tokens on Duke
(Top photo of Duke’s Kyle Filipowski: Rob Kinnan / USA Today)
