Upset picks

[ihatepants]

Seth Davis is picking an upset vs UConn as well.

No. 5 UConn (-6.5) vs. No. 12 New Mexico State, 6:50 p.m., TNT.

The Aggies have a legit high-major caliber player in Teddy Allen, a 6-6 junior guard who previously played for West Virginia and Nebraska and was voted WAC player of the year after averaging 19.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists. They just won their fourth WAC title in the last five years, and they’re ranked 16th in the country in 3-point defense (39.1). The Aggies aren’t particularly big, but they are a good rebounding team, which could minimize one of UConn’s biggest advantages as the nation’s leader in offensive rebound percentage. The Huskies rely on their beefy frontcourt tandem of 6-9 senior forward Isaiah Whaley and 6-9 sophomore forward Adama Sanogo to overpower opponents in the paint. That advantage won’t be so pronounced in this one.

The pick: New Mexico State

 

[ColchVEGAS]

I like most of the 7/10 matchups in favor of the 10 seeds. Really disappointed to see Murray St and San Fran matched up, but it should be a good game.

 

[storrsroars]

Storrsroars DISliked both of the above posts.

Here's where things get interesting-er...

Picking up some speed...

And some fine-tuning...

There's geology, natural resources, American history, commerce, and transportation all in play. Maybe more.

Buffalo is a Great Lakes city, and thereby part of both the NYC-Hudson River-Erie Canal-Great Lakes AND St Lawrence-Great Lakes channels.

Pittsburgh was an outpost in westward expansion prior to the Erie Canal, and is the origination point of the Ohio River, which flows down through Cincinnati and Louisville, and meets up with the Mississippi in Cairo, IL.

Much that is bounded by those two rivers encompasses and defines the Great Lakes, Rust Belt, and Midwest regions. Navigable waterways, rail beds, roadways, and airline hubs for passengers & freight delivery of raw materials and finished goods are all in the mix.

Lewis & Clark set off from the western bank of the Ohio River where natural falls at Louisville brought that city to prominence and westward expansion ran through St. Louis (along the Mississippi) and into the great northwest and throughout the Louisiana Purchase.

There's a lot of opportunity for 'difference-splitting' within this thread, especially where it shines a light on parochialism and lack of greater awareness.

As an interesting side note, some time in the past couple decades, there was an inquiry into whether Lake Champlain shared a certain geological DNA enough to be considered a 'lost' 6th Great Lake, and it came up negative, but there lies the best case to link UVM and its Round 1 game location in Buffalo.

Finally, my musings come from the heart of Kentuckiana, where I can confidently proclaim that no American city draws in a more balanced fashion from the East, the North, the South, and the Midwest than Louisville, Kentucky. In the same way that Omaha got some props as an underrated city in the McDermott/Creighton thread, the Falls/River/Derby city gets misinterpreted when simply seen though the quick-take of a Northeasterner's mindset.

And with that, GO HUSKIES!

Here's the most important thing: there are about 711 pizza shops in Allegheny County. Only 5 serve "Ohio Valley" style pizza - a very popular style in Steubenville and No.WV parts of the Pittsburgh DMA and west.. More than 50 within city limits alone claim to serve "NY style" pizza (although in reality only a half dozen or so actually come close).

Detroit style pizza only came here 5 years ago. There are now as many Detroit places as Ohio Valley. There are about 20 Neopolitan places with wood ovens. There is one Chicago style place. The only pizza-related thing that remotely suggests not Northeast is that there are more chain stores here than likely any urban center in Northeast.

I'm confident that's a language anyone on the BY will understand.

 

[HooperScooper]

Seth Davis is picking an upset vs UConn as well.

Has Seth Davis ever picked UConn to win after they beat his Dookies in 1999?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Seth Davis is picking an upset vs UConn as well.

He’s picking NMSU to cover. Read his take on Baylor, for example.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Another upset: I picked the winner of Rutgers/ND to beat Alabama.

Alabama’s performance has such high variability that they make for an easy upset pick but they are also a team that could go far…they just play such crappy D.

 

[uconngb]

Seth Davis is picking an upset vs UConn as well.

All you need to know about Seth Davis is that he called Whaley “beefy”

 

[BleedHuskyBlu]

Iowa is the trendy final four pick that will lose in the first round to Richmond

+410 Richmond ML was too easy. Iowa and McCaffrey are perennial choke artist.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

+410 Richmond ML was too easy. Iowa and McCaffrey are perennial choke artist.

yep i was all over that too

 

[auror]

Iowa is 9-2 in its last 11 Q1+2 games (5 Q1 vs, 4 Q2). 8 of the wins are by double digits. They are for real. The only loss in the last 10 is by 2 at Illinois on senior night when Illinois had a chance to clinch the conference (and Iowa was up by 15 at one point).

Keegan Murray should be 1st team All American.

They never turn it over and they have 3 awesome offensive rebounders, so they actually lead the country in shot volume. So even if they miss shots, they still score.

Well friarshit.

 

[UCSLP]

There is always a 12/5 upset. Have to have something to write about.

so that was just Iowa-Richmond so we are good!

 

[bigknight3]

Iowa is the trendy final four pick that will lose in the first round to Richmond

 

[CONN78SEJ]

In the abstract, but this UConn squad has had a much higher floor than last season. It's also so solid defensively. Lastly the matchup is favorable, this is the kind of team UConn handles.

UAB over Houston is more likely.
Indiana can absolutely beat St. Mary's. No idea about Wyoming.
Iowa vs Richmond looks least likely. Iowa should steamroll them. PC got screwed, SDST is tougher than Richmond.

Of the 5 seeds, UConn is less likely than Houston or St. Mary's to be the one that goes down.

Good CALL!!!

 

[J187Money]

so that was just Iowa-Richmond so we are good!

Oops