Weekly Basketball Picks: 12/12-12/18

It looks like my weakness this season is judging the west coast teams. That's doesn't mean I'll stop trying. There's not as many big games this week (My guess is Finals are to blame). Still not hard to find ten though.

Record: 8-2 (32-13)
Kentucky over Texas - It wasn't pretty, but it was a win. Kentucky proved that it's bigs were bigged than Texas' bigs.
Kansas over Florida - This says more about Florida than it does Kansas.
Arizona over Gonzaga - I hoped Gonzaga could pull through. They kind of choked at the end though. Such a shame.
Virginia over VCU - And it wasn't close.
St. Johns over Syracuse - It's going to be a long year for Cuse.
SDSU over Washington - The Aztecs badly need to find some offense.
Louiville over Indiana - The Hoosiers kept up longer than I expected.
Villanova over Illinois - Villanova is really good.
Kansas over Georgetown - Cliff Alexander is slowly becoming a huge factor for the Jayhawks.
BYU over Utah - Well, I guess Utah's legit.

Iowa St. at Iowa (Friday)
Iowa on paper, should be pretty good. That win against UNC isn't looking as respectable these days, nor is that loss to Syracuse. Meanwhile, Iowa St. has looked great (and that loss to Maryland isn't so bad after all). This arrest and suspension of Bryce Dejean-Jones is rather abrupt though and could really mess with the Cyclones. I still see them pulling through with a big game from Georges Niang.
Winner: Iowa St.

North Carolina at Kentucky (Saturday)
Losing Alex Poythress for the season hurts, especially if Tyler Ulis and Devon Booker are still out with whatever's wrong with them. That would leave Kentucky only nine deep...Ok, maybe there's no need to panic. UNC has not been inspired in their play so far and the game is at Rupp Arena. I think Kentucky will be just fine.
Winner: Kentucky

Gonzaga at UCLA (Saturday)
UCLA is no Arizona. Freshman Kevon Looney and Isaac Hamilton are developing nicely and Norman Powell is as advertised thus far. However, it's hard for me to see this Gonzaga team letting this be close enough to choke at the end.
Winner: Gonzaga

Utah v Kansas (Saturday)
This is tough. I was high on Utah before the season began, so it's no surprise that they are doing this well. Kansas is still figuring itself out too, working its talented freshmen into the rotation. If Utah manages to win this, then they are a very legit threat to Arizona.
Winner: Kansas

Northern Iowa at VCU (Saturday)
Ok, last chance VCU. You've disappointed so far, despite having more talent than any Shaka Smart team before. Northern Iowa is ranked thanks to being undefeated on an easy schedule.  It's time to give me a reason to believe in you, Rams.
Winner: VCU

Temple at Villanova (Sunday)
I just love a good Philly 5 rivalry game. This shouldn't be close though. Villanova is top 10 good. Temple is top 10 in the A-10 good.
Winner: Villanova

Eastern Washington at Washington (Sunday)
Indiana has taken crap for losing to the now 8-1 Eagles. Washington has played their way into the top 25 after downing SDSU. It's time for one of these teams to get knocked down a peg and it'll probably be the one you expect.
Winner: Washington
Alabama at Wichita St. (Tuesday)
I'm done looking for when Wichita St. will lose. It also helps that Alabama is an SEC team and they tend to disappoint me this season (if they aren't Kentucky).
Winner: Wichita St.

San Diego St. at Cincinnati (Wednesday)
SDSU has no offense. Luckily, neither does Cincinnati. In that case, I'll pick based on talent.
Winner: SDSU

Connecticut v. Duke (Thursday)
If this is anything but a complete rout, then Duke is not the team I thought they were this season. Connecticut does have a way of staying in these kinds of games though (See: 2011 and 2014).
Winner: Duke