Because I’ve proven myself with the WNBA and the NBA*, my editor has handed me the ACC and Ivy League beats for college basketball as well. Spreading me too thin? You wonder. Maybe - as thin as crisp currency all spread out before you, dead presidents looking up at you in awe, I say. And as always, money won on Dartmouth spends just as well as money won on the New York Knicks. So follow me, and by March I’ll have you bragging, “I went sixty percent against the spread in my Ivy League picks this season,” across the two-top table in intimate restaurants while on first dates…
*I'm projecting here, but confident.
Seattle O’Sullivan 2021-2022 ACC season so far: 0-0, +$0
Seattle O’Sullivan 2021-2022 Ivy League season so far: 0-0, +$0
Yale Bulldogs at Siena Saints, 7 pm Eastern
The Pick: Yale -4.5 (-110), bet $11 to win $10
Yale got absolutely smoked by Seton Hall on Sunday, 80-44. That’s why I think they’ll cover tonight. If you lose by 36 and then fail to take care of business as a favorite in the next game, I would argue you might as well pack it in before your school’s Thanksgiving break. The Bulldogs are scoring more than 19 points per game than Siena (74.3 to 55.0), with the Saints shooting under 40%. Shooting under 40% overall is, uh, unimpressive. Per the Pomeroy rankings, Yale is 154 while Siena is 291, with a differential over 10. Siena has started the season 0-2, losing both games by over 20 points. So again, I’m working off what I assume will be Yale’s pride, here.
Virginia Cavaliers at Houston Cougars, 8 pm Eastern
The Pick: Virginia +8.5 (-110)
Virginia plays defense. Virginia plays rock fights. Virginia drags you down to its level and makes you walk in molasses. All that’s to say, 8.5 points is a lot here. Houston is ranked fifteenth in the AP Top 25 and the Cavaliers aren’t, but the Cougars needed overtime to beat Hofstra last week, and without being rude, that’s, uh, unimpressive to me. I think Virginia coach Tony Bennett is one of the game’s best and is patient enough to slow the game down so at the very least it’s manageable.
North Carolina Tar Heels at College of Charleston Cougars, 8:30 pm Eastern
The Pick: North Carolina -12.5 (-110), bet $11 to win $10
Here’s another example where I think the team coming off a poor performance means they’ll cover in their next game. North Carolina struggled to beat a Brown team without its best player on Friday, actually trailing 47-50 at halftime before pulling out a 94-87 win. That scare is why I think they’ll be focused and not messing around tonight. The College of Charleston has started 3-0 but are only shooting 41.4%. Tar Heels Armando Bascot and R.J. Davis have experience, even if their new head coach, Hubert Davis, doesn’t, and while these two teams have a common opponent in Loyola (MD), College of Charleston only beat them by seven while Carolina won by 16. Carolina should correct themselves and cruise, here.