College Hoops Picks - January 5, 2022

1-1 yesterday, and 3-3 in my last six. Yuck. Should've gone with my gut and taken Northwestern plus the points. They shot 40 free throws and made 32 of them. How was I supposed to know the clock would be stopped every ten seconds for NU to shoot free throws? That's alright. Get 'em next time. 2022 CBB Record: 20-7

Every time I write one of these, I comment about how hard it is to win on the road. It's different when you're getting a point though, at least that's what I'll tell myself. First on the card, Indiana is visiting Iowa. I'm basically betting on the fact that Trayce Jackson-Davis will suit up for the Hoosiers. Maybe Kris Murray is athletic enough to contain him, but there is a pretty significant size advantage in favor of TJD. I think Wisconsin's Tyler Wahl is a decent comparison, he went into Iowa and had his way with the Hawkeye defense.

Normally, I'd be concerned with Indiana's ability to initiate offense with Xavier Johnson. From watching Iowa, they seem fairly disinterested in playing on-ball defense. They're frequently beat on the dribble and allow easy looks, Indiana shouldn't have too much of a problem offensively.

Past that, Patrick McCaffery is stepping away from Iowa while he deals with anxiety issues. Truth be told, I've always thought he's too slow with the ball and doesn't add much to a team but he was playing over 60% of the minutes. His father being the coach may have something to do with all the minutes, but there's not much on the bench to replace that many minutes. I like the Hoosiers to go into Indiana and take the win. Indiana +1.0. Now that I look at it, I guess that makes this a certified Dog of the Day™ (3-1).

Complaint: Yesterday, I complained about Jeff Passan taunting me with a Devers tweet and today the Red Sox extended Rafael Devers. Today, I'm upset that the convenience store down the road sold me multiple losing lottery tickets. Stay tuned.

Bryant vs. UVM tomorrow will likely become a three-point shooting contest. Bryant hucks shots as fast as possible on every possession. UVM bleeds the clock and then shoots a three on every possession. I'm staying far, far away from this game. Go Books. Go Bulldogs.

Movie Review: I'm running out of movies that I've watched recently. In Bruges is a 2008 movie featuring the same two actors as The Banshees of Inisherin. I think I'm just a sucker for a movie with snappy dialogue in a British or Irish accent. 4/5 Stars.

Yesterday, I went with the under with Illinois/Northwestern. Today, I'm going with the same exact pick. Yeah, it didn't win, but I blame the referees. I won't bury the lede, it's Maryland/Rutgers under 130.0. Rutgers is third in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom, and they're playing at home. Jersey Mike's Arena, commonly known as the RAC, would be a lot cooler if Rutgers had a key contributor named Mike. Still, it's one of the best home-court advantages in college basketball and is where teams go to get upset.

I like what I've seen from Maryland this season, they just don't have the guards to really impress me offensively. Donta Scott consistently creates havoc and scores on pure hustle alone, but that isn't enough against a scrappy Rutgers team. Both teams defend the three very well, and neither of them shoots it very well. Easy under in Piscataway.