Maniac Picks - Nov 18th

A New feature to March Maniacs - our fearless spread-friendly picks for some of the most intriguing games in the country. Of course we would NEVER endorse gambling - our picks are merely utilizing the spread to...um... make things more challenging! Yeah - that's it!

MANIAC PICKS!

Richmond @ Syracuse -15.5: The 'Cuse exorcise the demons of their historic tourney loss 17 years ago. Only in a lot less exciting fashion. Donte' Green has taken his first step towards D-League greatness, but the Orange have plenty in the fold. Johnny Flynn is NBA-good and Devendorf keeps defenses honest from long range. Plus that match-up zone is nightmares for non-conference opponents (perhaps because Boeheim hasn't scheduled a legit one in 20 years...)

PICK: Syracuse -15.5


Kentucky @ UNC -16.5: UNC begins their quest to capture the title many felt they should have grabbed last season. Hansbrough will sit, but the Heels have plenty of talent to make up for the POY's absence. Indiana's Luke Zeller shined in Hansbrough's absence in game one. (I guess Kelvin Sampson ran out of texts... how did this kid get away?) Kentucky looked abysmal losing to VMI, but the Cats will regroup. Patterson will enjoy the lack of Psycho-T inside and will score often. Can the Cat's guard handle the ball well enough to withstand Carolina's pressure? My guess is not enough to win, but just well enough to cover.

PICK: BIG BLEW +16.5



Davidson @ Oklahoma-4: I love college hoops. I really do. You get games like this once or twice in the first few months of football season. In hoops, you get them all November long. Davidson looks to build on the most spectacular tourney run since George Mason (more interesting because of the emergence of Steph Curry) by notching a big scalp in Oklahoma.

Take a look at the Wildcats early schedule this year: Oklahoma, Winthrop (always tough), West Virginia, NC St., Purdue (best team in Big 10 - write it down), and DUKE. Gotta love the aggressive scheduling and you can bet it will pay dividends come March.

But not tonight. Davidson has no answer for the strength, size and quickness of Blake Griffin, a Top-3 pick in next year's draft. Curry may go for 30, but I'd be surprised if Griffin doesn't nearly match him. And Blake has a little more help around him. Davidson is a good ballclub, and Steph Curry is absolutely dynamic. His 4-game tourney run last March was honestly transcendent. Everyone is a Steph Curry fan now...including Vegas. 4 points is not enough, Oklahoma is just a better team overall. (But I'm rooting for Davidson - like everyone else...)

PICK: Oklahoma-4