Weekly Basketball Picks: 1/17-1/23

One thing is becoming abundantly clear to me: Conference rivalries change everything. I sucked this week, mostly thanks to the Big 12 being so damn competitive. Even with a sub .500 record this week, I didn't account for some of the other upsets of the week (Wisconsin, Arizona). At this point, I'm just hoping to keep my record above .666 for the season.

Record 3-7 (Overall 64-31)
Virginia over Notre Dame - Still undefeated and at times, looking better than Kentucky.
Louisville over North Carolina - Looks like UNC decided to show up.
West Virginia over Iowa St. - It looks like it's easier to win on the road than I thought.
Oklahoma over Kansas St. - Has the Kansas St. I predicted in the preseason finally shown up?
Indiana over Ohio St. - Neither team wanted to win.
Old Dominion over WKU - I should've stuck with my gut on this one.
Oklahoma over West Virginia - Looks like Oklahoma is starting to crumble.
Duke over Miami - Wow. I want to say this way Miami looking good, but this was really Duke looking bad.
Villanova over Xavier - Like there was ever a doubt?
Wyoming over San Diego St. - Is this the beginning of a turnaround for the Aztecs?


Kentucky at Alabama (Saturday)
After three overtimes in two games to open SEC play, everyone is looking for when that first Kentucky loss will come. I am too, but the Wildcats are still the overwhelming favorites of any game they go into for conference play.
WINNER: Kentucky

Duke at Louisville (Saturday)
I'll be rooting for the Cardinals. While I don't think we live in a vacuum, I don't think that Duke's current 2-game skid will be much of a factor going in. Jahil Okafor is going to have a big game, but that hasn't mattered as the guards have fallen apart under pressure. The Louisville guards can disrupt them in the same way.
WINNER: Louisville

Kansas at Iowa St. (Saturday)
I give up on the Big 12. Kansas' size should be a problem for Iowa St., the Cyclones coming off a loss to Baylor. The Jayhawks haven't dominated teams with their size, so I think I'll go with the home team.
WINNER: Iowa St.

Utah at Arizona (Saturday)
As disjointed as they look at time Arizona wins at home. Utah might be too dependent on Delon Wright in this case.
WINNER: Arizona

Miami at Notre Dame (Saturday)
The Hurricanes just embarrassed Duke at home, but it's hard to tell how much of that is Duke being awful. I simply can't see them doing it again, this time against a better equipped Notre Dame team.
WINNER: Notre Dame

West Virginia at Texas (Saturday)
Yep, I'm going to remain stubborn about Texas. I don't care if Rick Barnes has a history of teams falling apart on him (See 2009-10 or that season when he had Kevin Durant and did nothing). They should be better.
WINNER: Texas

Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma (Saturday)
This is more interesting than I thought it would be at the beginning of the season. State lost some with the departure of Marcus Smart but they have a varied and talented team capable of making some noise in the Big 12. Oklahoma on the other hand, hasn't looked that great. They are the home team though.
WINNER: Oklahoma

Baylor at Kansas St. (Saturday)
I'm still not sold on Baylor being good, not am I ready to give up on Kansas St.
WINNER: Kansas St.

St. Mary's at Gonzaga (Thrusday)
A battle of the last two undefeated teams in the WCC. Then again, not all undefeateds are built the same. And Gonzaga being at home. Even as a rivalry it won't be very close.
WINNER: Gonzaga

Maryland at Indiana (Thursday)
The Hoosiers are tough to beat at home and I don't buy Maryland being top 15 good.
WINNER: Indiana