College Basketball Picks

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NCAA Basketball Pick – November 9th

The 2012 college basketball betting season starts on Friday night with the Barclays Center Classic, pitting the Kentucky Wildcats against the Maryland Terrapins at the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Head Coach Mark Turgeon has a team that might be worth getting excited about this year in College Park. The key might be the fact that Dez Wells was ruled eligible for the Terrapins, and that’s crucial for a man that was one of the best players on the Xavier Musketeers last year in spite of all of his off the court issues. Freshmen like Charles Mitchell and Seth Allen highlight a very talented recruiting class. There is a buzz about Shaquille Cleare, a huge center that should step in and contribute immediately. It’s going to be a de facto home game for James Padgett, a Brooklyn boy that is going to be playing in front of his friends and family. Padgett averaged 8.8 points per game last year to go with 5.8 rebounds per game, and he is going to be expected to be a double-double type of player on a regular basis. The team is going to have to figure out how to replace Terrell Stoglin, who averaged 21.6 points per game a campaign ago.

Every single year, the story is the same for the Wildcats. They bring in a tremendously talented group of freshman, but they have to retool for losing so many other players. Anthony Davis, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, and Darius Miller are all gone, and that leaves just a handful of men that are going to be returning. The man of the hour this year is going to be Nerlens Noel, who was the top recruit in the nation, is built just like Davis, and he is probably going to end up being one of the Top 5 picks in next year’s NBA Draft. Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress are going to be amongst the household names for this team. The only returner from last year’s team that is clearly going to be a major focus for this year’s club is Kyle Wiltjer, who is a force from the outside and is 6’10″. Ryan Harrow will be the starting point guard, transferring in from the NC State Wolfpack.

Prediction:

The talent is here for the Wildcats for sure, but we’re just not all that sure that it is going to translate into greatness right away. We say that every single year, and we know that we end up biting our lip every year as well, but matters might be tough in this one for Coach Cal and the Cats. We think they’re figure out how to win, but this is a far too points to be giving a team that is young and hungry. Kentucky 75 – Maryland 71