WHAT HAPPENS UPSTATE, STAYS UPSTATE.
The Super Bowl is behind us, spring training is on the horizon, and the NHL playoffs don't kick in until the end of April. What's a sports fan to do? RIVALRY WEEK! College hoops is heating up as the stretch to March Madness is officially under way! You can be in the thick of the action by taking part in our weekly "What's Your College Knowledge?" Basketball contest. It's free, easy, fun, and you can win a $50 Original Retro Brand Gift Card just like Ted Turich of Denver, Colorado did!
Yes, Ted picked 4 of 5 games correctly last week and found himself in a 3-way tie for 1st place with Bob Jaye of Florida, and Jesse Robinson of Idaho, both of whom also went 4 of 5, setting up the drawing to determine the winner of the Gift Card (for the record, I came in at 3-2 bringing my season tally to a less than thrilling 9-6). Ted was the lucky winner. Don't feel too bad for Bob and Jesse as they have participated and won previous contests of ours before. I will give Bob a heartfelt WAY TO GO BOB!, as he was the only person out of 30+ entries to pick Wyoming to knock off UNLV. WAY TO GO BOB!
Before we get into the 5 games for Rivalry Week, here are the rules for those entering the contest for the first time:
1) Every Monday or Tuesday, I will post my 5 top college basketball games of the week and give you my predicted winners and why.
2) You will enter your picks for the same games (no point spreads; straight up wins & losses) in the “leave a reply/Comment” section at the end of this post no later than tip-off time for the first scheduled game. ****ONE ENTRY PER PERSON ONLY!!****
3) Each following Monday or Tuesday I will announce which person picked the most winners, and that person will win a $50 Original Retro Brand Gift Card! In the event of a tie, all of the entries will be entered into a drawing to determine a winner. If I beat everybody, nobody wins – this HAS never happened! It’s FREE, FUN, and that simple!
We’ll run this contest right up until the opening round for March Madness. At that time we’ll step up our game with our 2nd annual “Bracket Ballers Challenge,” in which you’ll get the opportunity to test your picking prowess for the full bracket of 68 – $700 worth of Original Retro Brand gear will be up for grabs! NOW TO THE GAMES FOR RIVALRY WEEK # 4!
GAME 1: 2/8 - # 12 Georgetown (18-4) @ # 2 Syracuse (23-1): Customer Bobby By requested I feature the upcoming UCONN - SU matchup, but I just couldn't resist this one (heck, the Huskies have lost 8 games this year), as it could be the last time they play if SU goes to the ACC. The Hoyas come into the Carrier Dome with a shot at pulling within one game of the Cuse in the Big East with an upset victory. The Beast in the East (and beyond) remains in upstate New York. ORANGE - 68, HOYAS - 63.
GAME 2: 2/8 - # 10 DUKE (19-4) @ # 5 North Carolina (20-3): Duke will win this mammoth hoops rivalry by 1 point. I say this based solely on info pulled from ESPN that points out this point about points: DUKE has outscored UNC 5,858 - 5,857 over their last 75 meetings and that's good enough for me. Get the point? BLUE DEVILS - 78, TAR HEELS - 77.
GAME 3: 2/8 - # 7 Kansas (18-5) @ # 6 Baylor (21-2): I really like what the Bears have accomplished this year. Unfortunately I'm thinking they will have to Bear the brunt of a very pissed off and fired up Kansas team coming off a brutal (as in choke) loss at Mizzou. JAYHAWKS - 80, BEARS - 72.
GAME 4: 2/9 - # 16 St. Mary's (22-2) @ Gonzaga (18-4): The Gaels go for the season sweep of their bitterest WCC Rival on the road. They'll put their 11-0 conference record on the line behind standout junior Matthew Dellavedova. Not the same intensity you'll find at a DUKE-UNC matchup, but close. Zags play spoiler. BULLDOGS - 77, GAELS - 72.
ZAGS SAY NO TO GAELS 11-0
GAME 5: 2/9 - Ole Miss (14-8) @ # 20 Mississippi State (18-5): It's highly unlikely that the Bulldogs will go down a second time to the Rebs on their homecourt as they look to avenge an early season defeat. A win here, with 3 sub .500 SEC games in a row they should win before they face # 1 Kentucky, will have the Mighty Maroon in the thick of the SEC title hunt. BULLDOGS - 75, REBELS - 68.
OLE MESS FOR OLE MISS.
Those are my picks for Rivalry Week, and just for fun I'm going to pick Florida to upset the Wildcats tonight @ Rupp Arena. It's easy to pick an upset when the game isn't officially part of the picks! NOW LET'S SEE YOURS, AND GOOD LUCK!
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