Friday, January 23, 2015

PW's College Basketball Predictions for January 23

By Peyton Wesner

7:00 PM EST-ESPNU
8-9 (5-3) Manhattan
at 10-8 (4-5) Quinnipiac

8-9 (5-3) Manhattan
Conference Wins:
-Marist 60-38 (Home)
-Canisius 63-60 (Road)
-St. Peter's 68-63 (Home)
-Niagara 84-75 (Home)
-St. Peter's 72-65 (Road)
Conference Losses:
-Fairfield 67-54 (Road)
-Niagara 73-61 (Road)
Last Game:
-Loss To Rider 82-79 in Overtime (Home)
Key Players:
---#13 Emmy Andujar (SR)
-14.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, & 1.8 SPG.
---#0 Shane Richards (JR)
-13.5 PPG & 2.8 RPG.
---#1 Ashton Pankey (JR)
-11.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, & 1.2 BPG.

10-8 (4-5) Quinnipiac
Solid Wins:
-Yale 88-85 in Double Overtime (Home)
-Albany 76-73 in Overtime (Road)
-Oregon State 60-52 (Home)
-Monmouth 68-64 (Road)
Conference Losses:
-Siena 88-67 (Road)
-Fairfield 56-52 in Overtime (Home)
-Saint Peter's 66-60 (Home)
-Iona 81-73 (Road)
-Rider 56-53 (Home)
Last Game:
-Win Against St. Peter's 63-55 (Road)
Key Players:
---#1 Zaid Hearst (SR)
-19.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG & 2.6 APG.
---#23 Ousmane Drame (SR)
-14.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG, & 3.0 BPG.
---#21 Evan Conti (SR)
-7.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, & 2.6 APG.

Prediction:
It has been a tale of two years for the Manhattan Jaspers so far in their 2014-2015 basketball season. Manhattan had a terrible non-conference season as they finished with a record of 4-7. Conference play would be a different story. The Jaspers re-opened conference play with a four game winning streak against the opponents of Canisius, Saint Peter's twice, and Niagara. All four matches were close as Manhattan won each game by  single-digit margins. The run came to a halt though Monday against Rider as the Broncos edged the Jaspers in overtime to hand them their first loss in 2015. 2015 started less than ideally for Quinnipiac's as their three-game winning streak was snapped by St. Peter's to begin the new year. The following game was against one of the best in Iona. As expected that did not go so well either and next thing anyone knew the Bobcats were 0-4 in conference play with their next game coming against the 4-0 Monmouth Hawks. Monmouth was on a role coming into the game but on that night, the Hawks shot 40.3% from the field while the Bobcats' dynamic duo scored 44 of the team's 68 points (27 points from Zaid Hearst and 17 points Oumane Drame) to outscore Monmouth by four. The losing streak was finally erased and, in fact, the Monmouth win helped spur momentum for the Bobcats as they won three of their next four games setting up tonight's bout. A key for Manhattan this evening is to not allow Quinnipiac on the boards since they are the best rebounding team in the nation with 44.9 rebounds per game. I just do not think with Manhattan's players that it will be possible to lessen the Bobcats' rebound production significantly especially Drame's.
---Quinnipiac 68, Manhattan 67

7:00 PM EST-ESPN2
15-3 (5-0) 16. VCU
at 9-9 (1-4) Saint Louis

15-3 (5-0) 16. VCU
Solid Wins:
-Tennessee 85-69 (in Annapolis)
-Toledo 87-78 (Home)
-Oregon 77-63 in Third Place Game of Legends Classic.
-#23 Northern Iowa 93-87 in Double Overtime (Home)
-Belmont 78-51 (Home)
-Cincinnati 68-47 (Road)
-Davidson 71-65 (Home)
-Rhode Island 65-60 (Road)
Losses to Unranked Opponents:
-Old Dominion 73-67 (Road)
Last Game:
-Win Against Duquesne 70-64 (Home)
Key Players:
---#21 Treveon Graham (SR)
-17.1 PPG & 6.9 RPG.
---#32 Melvin Johnson (JR)
-13.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, & 1.0 SPG.
---#2 Briante Weber (SR)
-7.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, & 4.0 SPG.

9-9 (1-4) Saint Louis
Solid Wins:
-Southern Illinois 62-59 (Home)
-Indiana State 69-56 (Road)
-Bradley 60-57 in Third Place Game of Corpus Christi Challenge.
-Duquesne 78-69 (Home)
"Never Should Have Happened" Losses:
-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-56 (Home)
-South Dakota State 62-55 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss To Dayton 61-45 (Road)
Key Players:
---#4 Milik Yarbrough (FR)
-10.3 PPG & 4.9 RPG.
---#3 Achraf Yacoubou (JR)
-10.0 PPG & 5.2 RPG.
---#2 Austin McBroom (JR)
-8.9 PPG & 1.8 RPG.

Prediction:
What a difference one year can make. Last year the Billikens knocked off VCU at Chaifetz Arena 64-62 but this season it looks like the Rams will easily win. Why is that? It is a simple really, SLU's top four scorers graduated including the team's most valuable player Jordair Jett. The Jett has departed and will never return, which means a new player has to take the reigns as leader. Currently, it looks like Billiken Freshman Milik Yarbrough is the man to follow in Jett's footsteps but that does not mean wins have came in conference play. Saint Louis is currently 1-4 against conference opposition this year, which is one more loss than last year's team had the whole Atlantic 10 season. So it should be an easy win for VCU right? Well not so fast my friend, VCU's best player, Treveon Graham missed the Rams' last game Saturday at Duquesne and is questionable with an ankle injury tonight. If Graham cannot go, the game will be totally different as Melvin Johnson will have to be the goto guy. Not that I do not think Johnson is capable, but without Graham the game will be very competitive. Nevertheless, I have a gut feeling that Graham will play and will ultimately make the game a huge double-figures victory. 
---16# VCU 74, Saint Louis 55

9:00 PM EST-ESPNU
18-3 (5-1) Valparaiso
at 16-4 (5-1) Green Bay
PW's Game of the Night

18-3 (5-1) Valparaiso
Solid Wins:
-East Tennessee State 90-75 (Home)
-Murray State 93-58 (Home)
-Portland 70-55 in Championship of the Challenge in Music City.
-Eastern Kentucky 72-66 (Road)
-James Madison 79-52 (Road)
-Cleveland State 58-56 (Home)
Losses:
-Missouri 56-41 (Road)
-New Mexico 63-46 (Home)
-Oakland 89-75 in Overtime (Road)
Last Game:
-Win Against Youngstown State 77-62 (Home)
Key Players:
---#25 Alec Peters (SO)
-17.8 PPG & 6.3 RPG.
---#2 Tevonn Walker (FR)
-10.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.0 APG, & 1.1 SPG.
---#5 Darien Walker (JR)
-10.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG & 2.0 APG.
---#0 Keith Carter (JR)
-9.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.8 RPG, & 1.5 SPG.

16-4 (5-1) Green Bay
Solid Wins:
-Evansville 64-62 in Semi-Final of Gulf Coast Showcase.
-Florida Gulf Coast 59-45 in Championship of Gulf Coast Showcase.
-#15 Miami (FL) 68-55 (Road)
-Morehead State 66-50 (Home)
-Georgia State 78-61 (Home)
-Detroit 70-64 (Road)
Losses to Unranked Opposition:
-Georgia State 72-48 (Road)
-UC Irvine 73-70 in Championship of Holiday Hoops Classic.
-Oakland 69-66 (Road)
Last Game:
-Win Against Illinois-Chicago 78-55 (Home)
Key Players:
---#24 Keifer Sykes (SR)
-19.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, & 1.7 SPG.
---#15 Greg Mays (SR)
-11.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, & 1.2 BPG.
---#12 Carrington Love (JR)
-11.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, & 1.6 SPG.
---#4 Jordan Fouse (JR)
-7.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, & 2.9 APG.

Prediction:
Keifer Sykes for THRREEEEEEE! One of the best players in the Midwest is taking the court tonight in a crucial game against Valparaiso. The Valparaiso Crusaders are led by the Horizon League's third leading scorer, Alec Peters. Peters has stepped up his game this season as a "Stud Sophomore" and has became his team's go-to scorer down the stretch in close games. As a team Valparaiso has had a great season with victories over two Ohio Valley Conference contenders, Murray State and Eastern Kentucky, and a team tied with them and Green Bay for the conference lead (Cleveland State Vikings.) I am really looking forward to see how Peters will play this evening against a talented veteran star in Keifer Sykes. Sykes is already a thousand point scorer and is only 122 points shy of reaching 2,000 points for his career. Amazing right? Sykes has been a big time player since stepping on campus and I expect him to have another great performance in front of the home faithful. I mean the Phoenix defeated the fifteenth ranked Miami Hurricanes on the road this season, how can I go against them when facing Valparaiso. Don't get me wrong it is extrememly possible for Green Bay to be beaten but just like Tyler Haws and BYU, I refuse to go against Keifer Sykes and his team in his senior season unless they are facing a top ten ranked team. It should be a great matchup and I encourage all of you to watch on ESPNU.
---Green Bay 68, Valparaiso 60

PW's Prediction Record Coming into Today: 94-41 (25-10 in the MVC)


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