Rock Chalk Terriers: Anyone But IRVING!

Yeah I'm fully aware that I have been majorly lacking in giving info on your basketball Terriers this season, but as the new year arrives and AE play approaches I fully intend to rectify that and allow us to once again be a distant second (or third) in quality of coverage to the DFP in yet another sport besides hockey. 

Yesterday the Terriers stayed home at Case Gym to take on another defending conference champ, the Bucknell Bison.  Unfortunately this would not turn out to be the biggest story of the night for the Terriers, as it was reveled prior to the game that standout G D.J. Irving would miss the game with a concussion and that his status going forward is day-to-day.  Apparently he was hit in the head during the Villanova game and began to show concussion symptoms starting Thursday.  According to Coach Jones he might be back for Thursday's game against La Salle in Philly but it's not a sure thing yet.  Best wishes to him on his recovery! 

Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon because the remaining Terriers got pretty badly abused on Thursday night, dropping a 14-point game to a Bucknell squad that's ranked a respectable 114th in the KenPom standings as of Friday morning.  They made a valiant effort to play it close in the early stages of the game, leading by one about halfway through the first, but Bucknell pulled away after that, taking a 46-29 lead into the locker room and never really looking back.  The Terriers got decent games from Darryl Partin (17 pts.) and Travis Robinson (15) and a good spark off the bench from Malik Thomas (8 pts, 2-2 FG and 2-2 FT), but defensive problems partly stemming from Pat Hazel only being on the floor for 17 mins. and a lack of depth without DJ really sunk the team.  It's tough to win a game when you get out-rebounded by a 2-1 margin.

The hopefully Irving-ful Terriers will get back in action on 12/29 at La Salle. 

Early week edition of Quack Quack's Money in the bank locks of the week

So I am going two days early this week with the holiday and BSRS HQ being closed due to our favorite holiday Turkey Day. So here is a special Thanksgiving edition of my gambling expertise. After my impressive 4-0 record last weekend, I improved to 11-4 overall since starting this. So I know what I am talking about and you would all be up big money if you threw down a couple dimes on each one of my picks like i told you. So here is a special set of picks for this week. I slaved over these for hours in my office while all my friends are having fun on this Thanksgiving Eve so enjoy.




NCAA Football:
Indiana@Purdue(-3) Sat 12:00
To stick with the Big Ten theme here, I am going with Indiana and Purdue this weekend. This is a battle of the two worst teams in the Big Ten but Purdue has been showing some life in recent weeks after almost beating Michigan St in Sparta last weekend and has an impressive 2-1 record vs. the Top 25 this season. Indiana on the contrary, has given up 124 points the last two weeks and now go into the last game of the season @Purdue so this three point spread is nothing for the Boilmakers. They win by at least 14 and pad my betting stats. Purdue full steam ahead!
The pick- Purdue

Texas A&M @ Texas(+3) Thursday 8:00
- This three point spread is ridiculous like beyond ridiculous. It is ludicrous. Texas has played one quality game all year. One. They beat Nebraska in Nebraska in mid October but also has had a series of bad losses including UCLA, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Kansas State all of which were by seven or more points with most being more. Texas A&M are coming off a big 9-6 win over #8 Nebraska at home last week and should be geared up for this Thanksgiving night game at Texas which is already a rivalry game for both sides. This is why the spread is so low as Texas will be ready to play at home for a rivalry game but Texas A&M should win this game by 10 to 14 points pulling away in the fourth q.




The pick- Texas A&M

Philly@ Chicago(+3) Sunday 4:15
- Philly is hot right now. Lead by the former dog killer Mike Vick. The offense is not what make this such an easy pick though. It is the defense against Chicago QB Jay Cutler. The guy throws every pass backing up and just chucks it up for grabs. The Philly defense has 19 ints in 10 games this season. That is almost two picks a game. Jay Cutler has 10 ints this season in only 7 games played. Doing the calculus, this leads to some turnovers this weekend and if Chicago is turning the ball over to the Vick-led offense, they are in trouble no matter how good the defense plays. They may be able to bail them out against lesser teams such as Minnesota and Carolina but Philly will capitalize on Cutler's mistakes.



NCAA Basketball:
Wyoming vs. Providence(-9) Wed. 7:00
-Providence which is 4-1 on the season take on Wyoming in the Cancun Challenge. Wyoming is only 2-3 and has some bad losses already including Northern Florida(hick city) and Northern Colorado. Providence has won by double digits in 3 of the 4 wins and look for this trend to continue unless the undisciplined holligans partied too much in Cancun last night and don't show up. So i am assuming the coach Keno Davis held them in the hotel and that Providence wins big tonight.

The pick-Providence