Predictions Recap (from 1/13)

Some miscues, but overall a good week.  The PM correctly predicted the close games or upsets of Wisconsin@Indiana, tOSU@Minnesota, UCLA@Utah, Baylor@TTU and OK State@Kansas.

#15 Kansas @ #8 ISU:  ISU by 7

Did I say ISU would win by 7?  I meant lose by 7.

#3 Wisconsin @ Indiana:  Wisconsin by 3

I'm surprised to see this close a prediction. 

Apparently the PM's continued faith in Indiana was justified -- they won by 3, stormed the court and annoyed Dan Dakich.  Wisconsin went on to lose a home game to Michigan (?) and Indiana turned around and lost badly at home to Northwestern.  So go figure.

#13 Kentucky @ Arkansas:  Arkansas by 5

The PM thinks more of Arkansas than most observers; this will be a good test for them.

Arkansas won by 2 in OT.  The teams traded 3 pointers in the last 10 seconds of regulation, and looked to be headed to a second OT when the Wildcats failed to block out and allowed a put-back slam at the buzzer to win.

 

#11 tOSU @ Minnesota:  tOSU by 1.5

The Gophers get another shot at a big win.  They played MSU to OT before losing -- can they pull off something against Ohio State?

The answer to that would be "Yes".  Gophers by 10 (!).  Richard Pitino CotY candidate? 
 

#25 UCLA @ #21 Colorado:  Colorado by 4

The PM can't factor in the Dinwiddie injury, so this might be closer than predicted. 

UCLA won handily (+13).  Whether Colorado can adjust for the loss of Dinwiddie in the longer term remains to be seen.

 

Or UCLA might end up losing twice this week -- Utah is better than most people know.  4 losses by a total of 9 points, including an OT loss to then #10 Oregon.

Utah won this game by 5 points.  Sigh.  (I'm a UCLA alumnus.)

 

#22 Pittsburgh @ #2 Syracuse:  Syracuse by 4

Another game where I'd expect a bigger margin.

Syracuse by 5.  The PM apologizes for its inaccuracy.

 

#25 Oklahoma @ #12 Baylor: Baylor by 7

I'm not sure why either of these teams are ranked, although the PM has Baylor just outside the top 25.  That will change after Baylor loses to Texas Tech earlier in the week.

Baylor did indeed lose to Texas Tech and then followed up by losing to Oklahoma.  Certainly won't be ranked #12 next week!

 

#16 UMASS!!!1! @ The Elon Gators:  UMass by 4

Gods' favorite Elon will be overmatched.

I couldn't pass up an Elon game, but I almost used local favorites GMU against UMASS, a game that UMASS won on a last-second shot.  And Elon came into this game off an OT victory over Davidson...  Unfortunately Elon had no magic, and lost by 10.

 

TOSS-UP OF THE WEEK

#9 Oklahoma St @ #15 Kansas:  <1 point

It's going to be tough for Oklahoma State to win at Kansas.

As close as a Toss-Up can be:  Kansas strips OK State at the buzzer to prevent the OT.  And Embiid continues his application for PotY.

 

BLOWOUT OF THE WEEK

TCU @ #9 Oklahoma St: Oklahoma St by 28

TCU somehow managed to lose by 32.