College Hoops Picks - Black Friday 2022

I'm not sure why Black Friday is a thing. Without doing any research, I'd assume it's an invention of capitalism. Shoutout America. More on them later. Regardless of its origin, I'm here to help you line your pockets so you can buy some cool shit. Unfortunately, these games don't happen until later in the afternoon though, so you're gonna have to just trust that you can make all the money you spent back. I am a sharp after all. 2022 CBB Record: 10-2

I love unders. They're the first thing I look for in a given slate. That probably makes me miserable to watch a game with, but I love bad basketball. The one that jumped out at me was Kansas/Tennessee under 132. Each of these teams is playing their third game in three days at the Battle 4 Atlantis. They also both played an extra five minutes yesterday as their respective games each went to overtime. I did some investigating and wasn't able to confirm that the teams had Thanksgiving dinners but I think it's a safe assumption that there was some kind of celebration. Personally, all the food has me feeling sluggish this morning.

There's bound to be some tired legs involved. Tennessee already doesn't shoot the ball well, the fatigue shouldn't help. Kansas has some shooters, namely Gradey Dick, but they're not the most explosive offense in the country. It's a championship game, but it'll likely be a good old-fashioned college basketball rock fight. Give me the under.

The Phil Knight Invitational is pretty cool. You've got the best programs in the country playing tournament-style basketball in November. Phil Knight is kind of a jerk though. Nike as a company is no stranger to human rights violations. That's not what I'm mad about though. Well, I am, but that's not the complaint. The problem is Phil Knight is from Oregon, so these games are played in Oregon. I don't want to be up at midnight to watch Oregon play Michigan State.

I won't, although I do kinda like MSU -2.5 there. I'll go to a slightly earlier game between UConn and Alabama. Ranked 11 and 12 on KenPom, it should be a tight game. Alabama has always been a run-and-gun type team and will get up and down the floor. UConn can shoot the lights out, shooting almost 40% from three as a team. Nobody takes more shots from behind the arc than Jordan Hawkins, the sophomore guard. Alabama defends the three-point line as well as anyone, but the Huskies should still live and die with the long ball.

Hawkins took 14 threes yesterday against Oregon. He hit five of them. That's 15 points for those of you who can't do the math. I think Bama's three-point defense is driving the line down here, but with the pace we should see in this one, he could easily get another ten attempts. I'll take the over on the points. Jordan Hawkins over 10.5 Points.

Speaking of human rights violations, how about that World Cup? Give me the US of A. England Schmengland. It's called soccer.