First, let's look at how I did last week.
Record: 8-2
Louisville over Minnesota - As expected, Harrell had a big game.
Wichita St. over New Mexico St. - I overestimated the Aggies
Gonzaga over SMU - I was right. It wasn't close.
Duke over Michigan St. - It was closer than I expected.
Kentucky over Kansas - Wow, just, wow.
Wichita St. over Memphis - Maybe Wichita is better than I thought.
SDSU over Utah - What a trudge of a game.
Texas over Iowa - It was an obvious pick.
Definites
Maui Invitational: Purdue v. Kansas St. (Monday)Maui doesn't really get good until the 2nd round. This should be fun though. Purdue is a year away from being competative unless A.J. Hammons finally steps up. Kansas St. should be in the top 25 and Marcus Foster will be the best player on the court.
Winner: Kansas St. (easily)
Legends Classic: Villanova v. VCU (Monday)
It's strange that this isn't the championship matchup for the Legends Classic given that it's a match between two top 15 teams. Both are guard heavy teams. VCU has Smart's HAVOC system and a bunch of guys who are well-trained in it. Villanova has experience too and depth.
Winner: Villanova (in a close one)
Maui Invitational: BYU v. San Diego St. (Monday)
Offense vs. Defense. BYU wants to score a lot. SDSU can't score and will use its stiffling defense to prevent BYU from doing so. As much fun as it would be for Tyler Haws to do his best Jimmer impression, SDSU is to talent and experienced for it to matter.
Winner: SDSU (first to 50 wins)
Houston @ Harvard (Tuesday)
Harvard's early loss to Holy Cross took some of the luster away from this. It should still be good. The Crimson's duo of Siyani Chambers and Wesley Saunders are still a handful. As much as I don't like Kelvin Sampson, he has built an interesting team. Stocked full of transfers to go along with some solid returnees, they are a dark horse on the season. Still, I hate Sampson.
Winner: Harvard (spitefully)
Arkansas @ SMU (Tuesday)
Here's a nice little middle-tier game. Arkansas with Bobby Portis are one of the half a dozen "when you look at the personel, they should be better" SEC teams. SMU already lost to Gonzaga, but that's going to happen to a lot of teams this year. They are still my pick to win the AAC.
Winner: SMU
Battle 4 Atlantis: UNC v. Butler (Wednesday)
UNC has no business losing this. People do forget that Butler was a solid program before Brad Stevens and it can be again. They are loaded with returning talent, maybe not at the Tar Heels level, but talent nonetheless. All I'm saying is, don't expect a blowout.
Winner: UNC (by a healthy margin)
Battle 4 Atlantis: Oklahoma v. UCLA (Wednesday)
I'm not as high on Oklahoma as a lot of people are. I'll use that loss to Creighton (who I'm not expecting to be a world beater) to back that stance. UCLA needs more than Norman Powell and Tony Parker though.
Winner: Oklahoma (not a pretty game)
St. Johns v. Minnesota (Wednesday)
The Red Storm should've been quite good for several years now. The have high-talent upperclassman like D'Angelo Harrison running the team now. Minnesota played well (albeit futilely) against Louisville and are only going to get better). I'll go for team over talent.
Winner: Minnesota
Battle 4 Atlantis: Florida v. Georgetown (Wednesday)
After losing to an on the rise Miami team, a hobbled Florida is looking very vulnerable. It's annoyingly reminiscent to last year's team in that way. It's hard to see D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera being enough to take advantage of the situation.
Winner: Florida
Baylor v. Memphis (Thursday)
This is really here because I'm thinking of Baylor and Memphis from one or two seasons ago. This is going to go to whoever has more leftover talent, and he goes by the name Austin Nichols.
Winner: Memphis
Maybes I'd Really Like to See
Maui Invitational: Kansas St. v. Arizona (Tuesday)I want to see Arizona play and I want to see them play a good team. Kansas St. won't win this. They are pesky though and I want to see how Arizona handles that. UC-Irvine kept up with them for a while. KSU is a better team. Can they last until, maybe, the last five minutes before giving in.
Winner: Arizona (unquestionably)
Maui Invitational: Pittsburgh v. San Diego St. (Tuesday)
I'm ready for another good Pitt team. Last year, they were good but couldn't finish. Here's a good chance to set the tone this year as a team that finishes. Then again, that Aztec defense is tough.
Winner: SDSU
Legends Classic Championship: Villanova/VCU v. Michigan (Tuesday)
I think Villanova is one of the more under-ranked teams in the preseason top 25 and they could have a lot of fun picking apart a woefully overhyped Michigan team. The guard-heavy (understatement) Wolverines match up better against the not-that-big VCU. Derrick Walton is not Trey Burke though and you need a good Point Guard to deal with the HAVOC. Either way, it's not looking good for Michigan.
Winner: Not Michigan
Maui Invitational Championship: Arizona v. San Diego St. (Wednesday)
A rematch of last year's Sweet 16 match up. Both teams are arguably better although SDSU is still looking for an identity. I don't see a match up on Arizona's schedule where I'll pick against them. I'll leave the bold picking for someone else.
Winner: Arizona
Battle 4 Atlantis: Wisconsin v. Florida (Thursday)
I'm not the biggest fan of the Badgers. I think they peaked last year and they will be the victim of more dynamic teams more than a couple times this season. That said, I'm not sure if I see Florida as a top 25 team even before the injuries. I don't expect this to even be close.
Winner: Wisconsin
Battle 4 Atlantis: UCLA/Oka v. Butler/UNC (Thursday)
I love when there's no wrong pick. UNC should come out of this easily. If they don't, then that means Butler, UCLA, or Oklahoma are a lot better than I thought, making all of them more interesting. Butler is experienced. Oklahoma is balanced. UCLA is talented. UNC is all three.
Winner: UNC
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