Two weeks ago, you laughed. We cried.
0-4. Missed every pick. Or ... just four picks from a perfect weekend. It’s all about perspective.
But look at that wacky weekend again. Malik Monk scored 47 in a win over North Carolina. A late run nearly helped Texas A&M overcome Arizona. Notre Dame had a 14-point lead at halftime but lost to Purdue. And we knew Indiana and Butler would battle in a tight game. We just flipped the teams.
Here’s the thing about these picks: We’re not going to select easy games to inflate our record. So we’ll take the 0-4 tally.
This week? Perfection ... maybe. OK, you’re right. Probably not.
Last week (Dec. 17): 0-4
Overall: 5-7
No. 1 Villanova at No. 10 Creighton, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1: In a thriller against ... DePaul on Wednesday night, Nova needed Josh Hart’s 3-pointer and a pair of Jalen Brunson free throws in the final seconds to preserve its unblemished record. Creighton, Nova’s opponent in a pivotal Big East clash Saturday, stumbled to a one-point win over ... Oral Roberts a few weeks back. Let’s call it a wash. And let’s also assume we’ll see the best Nova and the best Creighton this weekend. The Bluejays (44.6 percent) boast the best 3-point shooting clip in America and an offense led by an underrated trio of Marcus Foster, Maurice Watson and Khyri Thomas. Hart may lead the Wooden Award race and a Nova squad capable of a repeat in April – a crew Notre Dame and Purdue couldn’t solve in earlier matchups. But Creighton has waited for an opportunity to prove the hype in Omaha is real. Time for the Bluejays to toss their names into the national title conversation.
Prediction: Creighton 83, Villanova 80
No. 11 West Virginia at Oklahoma State, 4 p.m. ET Friday, ESPN2: So here’s the scene in the Big 12: Kansas is great again, Baylor is better than most imagined and West Virginia has forced turnovers on a whopping 35 percent of their opponents’ possessions, per KenPom.com. Oklahoma State is an intriguing second-tier squad in the league with the traits of a spoiler. Phil Forte III, Jeffrey Carroll and Jawun Evans have combined to average 49.5 points a game. The Cowboys have a top-100 defense, an offense ranked fourth in efficiency in the Big 12 and a group that collects offensive boards with ease. Add that trio to a sold-out Gallagher-Iba Arena, and Bob Huggins probably will run to the plane after this game. On the flight, he’ll wonder how the Mountaineers escaped.
Prediction: West Virginia 94, Oklahoma State 90 (OT)
No. 22 USC at No. 21 Oregon, 10 p.m. ET Friday, FS1: Andy Enfield may have his best team at USC. But Dillon Brooks has lost just one league game at home in three years with the program (to Arizona in 2014-15). The Ducks team that KO’d Lonzo Ball and UCLA on Wednesday night ain’t dropping another to a talented Trojans squad ranked 54th in ESPN.com’s BPI after facing an opening slate that featured four sub-100 opponents and seven sub-200 opponents (KenPom.com) in its 14-0 start.
Prediction: Oregon 80, USC 72
No. 18 Arizona at Cal, 11 p.m. ET Friday, ESPN2: If Sean Miller guides this squad to a top-three finish in league play without Allonzo Trier and Ray Smith – he’s relying on a seven-man rotation – he’ll win Pac-12 coach of the year. He should. That feat will demand the peak services of a shorthanded roster in a league that tosses teams to brutal, tandem road trips against imposing opponents. Cuonzo Martin has his best defense – and one of his weakest offenses – in his third season with the Bears. But we’re still waiting for Ivan Rabb, who cracked a multitude of reputable preseason All-America squads, to play like a Pac-12 Player of the Year contender. The flaws of both teams will prevent a blowout. So in a tight game, whom do you trust more?
Prediction: Arizona 72, Cal 68
No. 5 Duke at Virginia Tech, noon ET Saturday, ESPN2: In 1968, David Ruffin left the Temptations after a series of mishaps. Soon after, the Temptations won a Grammy for their “Cloud Nine” album without him. Duke, college basketball’s version of the Temptations, is in a similar situation without Grayson Allen, who is suspended indefinitely after his third tripping incident. The talent pool in Durham is too vast to allow one absence to disrupt an offensive jewel still favored to win the ACC championship. Zach LeDay is one of five players averaging double figures for a Hokies team capable of making noise in the conference. But it’s difficult to stop any team that makes 55.6 percent of its shots inside the arc and attacks with NBA-level athletes at every position.
Prediction: Duke 83, Virginia Tech 75
No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 16 Indiana (Indianapolis), 12:30 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS: Virginia was a bad matchup for Louisville on Wednesday. But the Cardinals’ smothering defensive pressure will create problems for an Indiana team coming off a loss to Nebraska, a program that commits turnovers on more than one-fifth of its possessions.
Prediction: Louisville 79, Indiana 76
No. 20 Florida State at No. 12 Virginia, 2 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPNU: Florida State looked good late in the second half of its win over Wake Forest earlier this week. But Leonard Hamilton’s squad also settled for the deep 3-pointers and sloppy drives that allowed Wake Forest to maintain a lead before a late FSU rally. You can’t play careless basketball against Virginia for 10 minutes and expect to win.
Prediction: Virginia 69, Florida State 57