Take the Money and Run

After a 3-1 Wednesday; the only blemish being a last second-break away-spread covering layup by Cincinnati, the Maniac is back with more early season tidings.

First we give you Buutler with the easy cover, then Texas by 32 (oops, I said 34) and finally Cornell easily handling UMass. I feel a nice trust building between us... let me give you a few more.

OK, call me a coward but there is no way I am touching the Ohio State v. Carolina game tonight. But I will DVR it. In what is easily the best game of the day the nation gets an early glimpse at the Maniac's POY favorite, Evan Turner. The Ohio State swingman can stuff a stat sheet like no one else in the country and will be a big reason the Buckeyes hang right with Sparty and Purdue in the Big Ten. Carolina's deep frontcourt will be a tough matchup for Lauderdale and the Bucks, with no real answer for Ed Davis AND Deon Thompson (and Zeller and Hensen and Ginyard and...)

I have no idea which side prevails, but my sneaking suspicion is that Carolina is a little overvalued while Ohio State remains a tad under the radar.

Thursday Picks:

Cal -1.5 over Syracuse - Cal boasts one of the nation's premier backcourts, while the 'Cuse are still looking to patch the holes left by Flynn and Devendorf's early departures. To ask them to have that figured out by 7pm tonight might be a little much. Cal fancies themselves as not just Pac 10 contenders but legit threats to dance in Indy come April. Tonight is a good early glimpse at a team that will not get many more national litmus tests before March.
Maniac's Pick: Cal -1.5 and they cover easily.

South Florida -1 @ Davidson - Um, will someone please tell Vegas that Steph Curry is no longer attending school at Davidson? Did anyone watch this team last year? They were awful. I mean, they were third in the SoCon with Steph. USF is by no means ready to compete in the BEast, but they are certainly athletic enough to easily handle the Wildcats, even on the road.
Maniac's Pick: USF -1

Long Beach St. @ Notre Dame -15 - Luke Hanangody's mission and outgoing gift to Irish fans is a return to the NCAA tourney. The early loss of Purdue transfer Scott Martin hurts the Irish's depth, but Harangody alone is enough to put the Irish back into the top half of a less-than-stellar Big East. Of course, their cream puff loaded schedule won't prepare them for it, but for now, enjoy the gaudy record and comfy wins Irish fans.

(Maniac note: unless UCLA gets rolling, the Irish will not face a ranked foe until a Jan 2nd tilt with UConn - EARLY PREDICTION, Notre Dame goes 9-9 or 8-10 in conference, but has 20+ wins because of the fluff they played early and experts rage over IF and WHERE the Irish belong in the tourney field. They better beat at least two of the following: you know what forget it, this deserves it's own column...)

Maniac's Pick: Notre Dame -15

Luke plans on clapping well into the Big Dance in his senior season

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