Picks 1/22/09

Here are the games I have locked in:

Play of the Day – UCLA -4.5: Washington St plays good defense but so does UCLA. Washington St has struggled with athletic teams (except Oregon but they have no discipline which is needed due to the methodical nature of Washington St on both ends of the court) and UCLA has some athletes. This game could be ugly to watch but Washington St is so bad on offense that I would e shocked if they hit 55 pts in this game (45 to 50 would be my bet). Had UCLA won its last game against Arizona St I might be a bit concerned of a let-down but I love them in this spot coming off a loss and expect them to be focused and really take it to Washington St (especially in the 2nd half).

Next 2 favorite plays:

Georgetown -5: I think the UCONN game is a pretty good comp for how this game should play out. Both teams will struggle to score (but more so West Virginia) and Georgetown will pull away late for an 8 -10 pt win. I expect Georgetown to win the battle of the boards and Monroe should have his way in this affair.

Dayton -4.5: GW is just a bad team and they have struggled to score at times against good defensive teams which Dayton is. Dayton has struggled on the road this year, thus the line, but GW will not be able to put up the points needed to keep this close.

The rest:

Utah St -4
Georgetown - West Virginia Under 133.5
Washington – USC Over 135

I am looking at the Wright St – Illinois Loyola Under 114.5 and Portland -10. Also a small lean on St. Johns