Friday, December 19, 2014

PW's College Basketball Predictions for December 19

By Peyton Wesner

Although, the College Bowl Season starts tomorrow there are many must-watch games coming up tonight to tune into in the college basketball world before College Football takesover your life.

7:00 PM EST-FOX SPORTS 1
6-2 Saint Mary's
8-1 20. St. John's

St. John's basketball is back on the map! With a win tonight against Saint Mary's the Red Storm would match their best start since the season before Coach Steve Lavin arrived. So far Lavin's team is 8-1 on the season and led by four-year Senior, D'Angelo Harrison. Harrison is having yet another great individual season for the Red Storm as he is averaging 19.7 PPG and 7.2 RPG (both career highs). One accomplishment the star guard from Texas has yet to accomplish, is leading his school to the NCAA Tournament. This year could be the year for him though, as his team already has an impressive win against pernnial tournament team, Syracuse at the Carrier Dome by a double figures margin. Since their only loss against now eighth ranked Gonzaga in the NIT Season Tip-Off, St. John's has rolled off four straight wins by an average victory margin of 17 points. Their opponent tonight, the Gaels of Saint Mary's hope to stop the strength of the storm's heading into Madison Squre Garden. The Gaels are definitely not as good as their team from a few years ago that featured now point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Matthew Dellavedova, but nevertheless they have another solid group of guys. The graduation of Stephen Holt has taken a toll for this year's team, which can be shown in the team's previous game against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Against Northern Arizona the Gaels had a 71-69 lead with eighteen seconds left in the game but then NAU's Kris Yanku (SO) nailed a jumper to tie the game with eight seconds remaining. Saint Mary's had a chance to win the game but squandered it with a turnover from former Stanford point guard Aaron Bright (SR). Off the turnover the Lumberjacks' Quinton Upshur (SR) hit a layup at the buzzer to win the game and give Northern Arizona their first road win of the season. So can I really give the Gaels a legitimate chance to get a win on the road at MSG against a hot team with four double digit scorers? Well for Saint Mary's to get the win tonight they will need a huge game against from 6-9 Center Brad Waldow (SR). Waldow, like Harrison, started and became a key contributor for his team as soon as he stepped on campus. This season he has really stepped up his game and is averaging career highs in points (21.6 PPG) and rebounds (10.8 RPG). Despite the load Waldow can be down low, I feel that St. John's big man, Chris Obekpa (JR) will use his athleticism to take the production away from the Saint Mary's big man. In addition, Harrison will tear apart the Gaels's front court and lead his team to a very convincing victory in the "Battle of the Saints."
NOTE: St. John's has as many wins as the New York Knicks do at Madison Square Garden.
St. John's: 3-1
Knicks: 3-11
---St. John's 75, Saint Mary's 62

9:00 PM EST
10-0 Colorado State
5-5 Denver

What do the Colorado State Rams need to do to, to finally get some love and be ranked in the AP Poll? The Colorado State Rams come into tonight's game with a perfect 10-0 record and are one of nine undefeated teams left in college basketball. I understand the Rams have only played one opponent from a "Power 6" conference, but they have beat a number of good mid-major teams. Some of the mid-majors defeated include R.J. Hunter's (JR) Georgia State Panthers, the Missouri State Bears, the UTEP Miners and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the Championship of the Great Alaska Shootout. UCSB nearly defeated Colorado State in Anchorage as the game was tied up after a three pointer from UCSB's John Green (JR) with fourteen seconds left in the game. All UCSB had to do was stop the Rams and they would have a chance in overtime. The Gauchos did not allow the Rams to shoot a shot on CSU's last possession...because UC Santa Barbara's Michael Bryson (JR) fouled Colorado State's Gian Clavell (JR) while trying to steal the ball with six seconds left. The free throw for the lead by Clavell...made. The free throrw to give Colorado State a two-point lead...swish. Still, UC Santa Barbara had a chance to tie or win the game after the free throws. The ball went to double-double machine, Alan Williams, not for a post move nor a short jumper but for a three-pointer. The shot was the first three-pointer attempt of Williams collegiate career. He is still shooting 0% from beyond the arc for his career. Colorado State 65, UC Santa Barbara 63. Another impressive win that I vaguly mentioned earlier was the Rams win over a Power 6 team. This win impressed me since it was on Colorado's home court and gave me the feeling that something could special could be brewing in Fort Collins and it is not  Coors beer. In Denver, the same "brew" is not been made as the Denver Pioneers are still trying to beat a quality opponent this year. They have lost to Saint Mary's, Stanford, number twenty three ranked Northern Iowa, Belmont, and Wyoming. Do I need say more? Do not get me wrong I did not expect the Pioneers to win any of those games, so they have taken care of business but have not excelled past any expectations I set in November. I feel tonight will be a very close game. Denver has impressed me in their last two losses against Stanford and Northern Iowa by keeping the game close against superior competition. Will they finally get a win though? For the Pioneers to get the victory tonight and shock the college basketball world, it is essential to play a solid defensive game becuase the Rams have a pack of experienced scorers (Avila, Kidd, Clavell, Blejarano) that will not be shaken in a road environment. For Colorado State to move to 11-0, they need to protect the three point arc and keep the Pioneers from shooting a high percentage from downtown.
---Colorado State 74, Denver 66

11:00 PM EST-FOX SPORTS 1
11-0 3. Arizona
6-3 UTEP

The undefeated Arizona Wildcats are headed to El Paso for their first true road test of the season against the UTEP Miners. Arizona has somehow managed to look better than last year, which featured two 2014 NBA Draft picks in Houston's Nick Johnson (#42) and Orlando's Aaron Gordon (#4). The boys from Tuscon do not have one great player but many good players as they have one of the most balanced teams in the nation. It surprises me that a team with that much experience is led by one of the youngest guys on the team. The young guy, Stanley Johnson, has came up big this season and has the talent to perform at the next level in the NBA. The Forward from Fullerton, California, is not only Arizona's leading scorer but also a great rebounder that is a team leader with Sophomore Stud, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Even when Johnson and Hollis-Jefferson are not leading the way and having bad performances, other players such as Brandon Ashley (JR), Kaleb Tarczewski (JR), Gabe York (JR), and T.J. McConnell (SR) pick up the scoring. Isn't that a great group of players? I would take those guys over Duke any day of the week, anytime of the day! Statistics do not lie. Leading scorer in Arizona's Semi-Final Maui Invitational win against Kansas State: Kaleb Tarczewski 18 points. Leading scorer against then ranked fifteen San Diego State in the Championship game of the Maui Invitational: Stanley Johnson 18 points in addition to 9 rebounds. Leading scorer against number nine Gonzaga: Brandon Ashley 14 points to go along with 5 rebounds. And we must not forget T.J. McConnell's scoring takeover in that game during overtime to lead the Wildcats to a top-ten win over "Zaga". My point is that the Wildcats have so much depth that they can beat any team on a neutral side, which is all that matters when March comes around. Arizona's next victim, I mean opponent, is UTEP. The Miners got off to a fantastic 4-0 start with victories against mid-major New Mexico State and Xavier in the Semi-Final of the Wooden Legacy. With the win over Xavier, the Miners were set up for the Wooden Legacy Final against the Washington Huskies. The game was like any early season tournament championship, close and competitive. The Miners had a four point lead with 3:47 in the second half and the momentum, but then the UW guard duo of Andrew Andrews (JR) and Nigel William-Goss (SO) took over and gave the Huskies a 68-65 lead with six seconds left...Miners ball. The ball was Omega Harris's (FR) to score. He rose above the other players and fired a potential game tying shot. The attempt was on line...but a little long. The rebound bounced high into the air and fell into the paws of a Husky. UTEP 65, Washington 68. The loss with against Washington started a three game skid for UTEP that contained losses to Colorado State (who is now 10-0), and New Mexico State (a team they defeated in their opener). After the skid the Miners turned it around with victories at home against Incarnate Word and Southeastern Louisiana. So Arizona should run away with it tonight right? I assume so. We have not seen how the Wildcats play on the road but it is most likely only a little worse than at home. My key of the game for Arizona is to play a "Wildcat game" and let the offense flow. In my opinion it is harder to predict who Arizona's leading scorer will be, not if they will win the game. For UTEP to win, their other scorers besides Vince Hunter (SO) will have to all show up. Hunter is a very good player as the 6-6 Forward is averaging a double-double with 16.2 PPG and 10.1 RPG. Who knows Hunter may be the best player on the court tonight but personally I feel the Wildcat defense will shut him down. So if Arizona does take the Miners' leading scorer out of the game, they must have big time scoring from Julian Washburn (SR) and Cedrick Lang (SR), I am sure Washburn and Lang know the importance of this game since it will most likely be the only high-ranked team they play all year baring a long NCAA Tournament run. If these two men with Hunter "splash the ball into the ocean", then sure, UTEP has a chance but for my prediction purposes, the three players will need to score 50 points or outscore the six contributors on Arizona. Whichever is easier, oh wait, both aren't.
---Arizona 72, UTEP 62
---Arizona's Leading Scorer: Stanley Johnson 20 pts

College Basketball's Prediction Record: 17-9

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