Gameday Selections

Posted on October 17, 2015 by just1mike

This is arguably the biggest Saturday in college football this season. The amount of top games is unbelievable. That is why I am here to break it all down.

7 Michigan State vs 12 Michigan:

Ever since Mike Hart called Michigan State the “Little Brother” Sparty has dominated this

in state rivalry. Now Jim Harbaugh is in town and all of the buzz is around his remerging Michigan squad. This just feels like an old fashion Big Ten game. Michigan’s defense has been the most dominating defense in the country. No team has scored on this Michigan defense in over a month. They have shutout three straight opponents. Michigan State’s offense is not BYU or Northwestern, they are a well oiled machine. Connor Cook is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, but he does not have a lot of help. The Spartans have been riddled with injury all season, and they have not looked very impressive in the last couple weeks. This game will be one for the ages, but I believe Harbaugh has Michigan back and the Wolverines make a couple more plays

Prediction: Michigan 31 Michigan State 21

Other Predictions:

Northwestern 24 Iowa 21; For my brother in Iowa City

Baylor 61 West Virginia 42; Old Western Shootout

LSU 28 Florida 24; Fournette out runs the Gators in Death Valley

Texas A&M 34 Alabama 28; One can only hope

Memphis 51 Ole Miss 50; Paxton Lynch shocks the world

USC 31 Notre Dame 28; Not enough echoes

Arizona State 20 Utah 17; Clock strikes midnight for Utes

Florida State 28 Louisville 14; The ghost of the original Johnny football can’t help.

Oregon 52 Washington 20; In Vernon Adams we trust, if he plays

Ohio State 38 Penn State 28; Ohio wins ugly AGAIN.

Saint Xavier University 32 St. Ambrose 30; Cougars come through in the clutch

GO CUBS GO!!

Match Up of the Day

Posted on March 28, 2014 by just1mike

Todays Match Up of the Day is number seven seeded Connecticut vs number 3 seeded Iowa State. The story of this game is the match up at the point guard position. Napier vs Kane will be the match up everybody will be waiting to see.

7 Uconn’s keys:

The Connecticut Huskies have had an up and down season, but they are making up for every game by their great performance in the NCAA Tournament. Shabazz Napier is in my opinion the best point guard in the country and he one of the best team leaders in the country. The Huskies have peaked at the right time and a lot of their uprise is thanks to Napier. Napier leads his team in points, assists, and rebounds. This is just astonishing. Napier hasn’t done it all for the Huskies. Napier’s “Robin” Ryan Boatright is a dead-eye from the 3-point line and he has some of the fastest moving feet on defense. Uconn has the best backcourt duo and they are going to be a lot to handle for the Iowa State defense.

3 Iowa State’s keys:

The Iowa State Cyclones are back to playing classic Iowa State basketball. DeAndre Kane is a beast. He single handily won the game vs North Carolina. I admire his game so much and I think that he will be a steal in this year’s NBA draft. Kane and Melvin Ejim have to takeover this game because of the loss of stretch center Georges Niang. Niang is impossible to guard. He is a 7-footer and has a good power post game but he can also drain 3-pointers. Niang breaking his foot is an enormous loss for the for this Cyclones game and he will be missed in this game Prediction: I believe that Napier is going to have a Kemba Walker moment for the huskies and take over this game. Uconn 71 Iowa State 68.

Other Predictions: Michigan 82 Tennessee 74, Michigan State 61 Virginia 58,

Louisville 78 Kentucky 75

NFL Draft Steals

Posted on April 25, 2013 by just1mike

The NFL Draft is hours away and I can’t wait. Here’s a list of the top three steals of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Dion Jordan, DE, Oregon:

Jordan is the top rated pass rusher coming into the draft and I don’t think he is going to upset. Jordan is quick, tall, strong, and has one of the hardest hits I have ever seen. Dion Jordan reminds me of Mario Williams, former number one draft pick to the Texans and current defensive stud for the Buffalo Bills. Both of these guys are freaks of nature, they are as tall as the Empire State building and there is not an ounce of fat on either defensive end. I think Dion Jordan is the best player in the draft.

Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia:

Smith is the top rated quarterback. He has many doubters that say he is over rated but I think he will prove them wrong. Smith has a gun for an arm and if he is in trouble he is a good scrambler. I think Geno will add a high gun slinging mentality to whichever team he will be drafted by, probably the Buffalo Bills and make their offense unstoppable.

Denard Robinson, QB/WR/HB, Michigan:

Most of you probably think I am crazy right now but Robinson will not play quarterback in the league. He has top speed and at any moment can use his explosiveness to break away and run down field for six. I think he will be a dangerous kick returner and he could be a wildcat QB like Brad Smith. Robinson is no Lottery pick but he is one dangerous player.

See happens tonight when the NFL draft starts at 8:00 pm eastern time!

Match Up of the Day

Posted on March 30, 2013 by just1mike

Before the Match Up of the Day I have to comment on Trey Burke’s shot. What a game, what a shot, and what a player. In my opinion, Burke just clinched the player of the year, but for the Michigan Wolverines there is still more ahead.

Today’s Match Up of the Day is the Syracuse Orange vs the Marquette Golden Eagles. This game is on CBS at 4:30 ET. I choose this game because both of these teams are Big East rivals and the winner punches the first ticket to the Final Four. This is going to be a very close game but one team has to come out in the win column. If you want to watch a incredible game tune into Syracuse vs Marquette, the championship of East segment of the bracket.

Syracuse’s Keys: The key for Syracuse is their zone defense. Their defense has been demolishing teams in the tournament. Marquette has their hands full. Also James Southerland has to have a big game. He is a lethal three point shooter, and when he gets hot he is almost impossible to stop. When Southerland is playing well the Cuse rolls. Marquette plays very physical and are very aggressive so the Orange big men have to step up. If Syracuse wants to advance to Atlanta Southerland is the key.

Marquette’s Keys: The keys for Marquette is the play of their guards, Vander Blue and Junior Cadougan. Can they handle Syracuse’s zone defense? They have to take care of the ball and establish their tempo. They are going to have to draw fouls and get Carter-Williams and Southerland in foul trouble. I think Marquette has the talent to win this game but if they make the Final Four I don’t think that they can handle Burke and Michigan or Florida.

Prediction: I think this is going to be an even matched game, but I don’t think Marquette can handle Syracuse ‘s defense. I have the Orange in the Final Four.

Sweet Sixteen Breakdown

Posted on March 26, 2013 by just1mike

The first weekend of March Madness was great but I have a feeling that the Sweet Sixteen is going to be so much sweeter. The round of 64 and 32 is over and the contenders have been separated from the pretenders. There are sixteen great teams left and when the weekend comes they will be narrowed down to eight. I am going to give my predictions for some of the marquee games this weekend.

Midwest: The first game in the Midwest bracket is Oregon vs Louisville. Both teams got to the Sweet Sixteen by blowing out each two of their opponents. You might think Louisville a number one seed facing up against Oregon a number twelve seed, Louisville has a cake walk, but this Oregon team is no regular twelve seed. They won the Pac-12 tournament and led the regular season title for most of the year. The committee made a big mistake making these guys a twelve seed they should have been a six seed. It was just unfair to Oklahoma State and Saint Louis because they earned a high seed and earned to play a bad team but instead they played a team that should have been another high seed. This is going to be a hard fought game but I think Louisville’s defense is going to take advantage against Oregon’s inexperienced guards. I think Louisville is going to squeak by the FIghting Ducks.

The other game in the Midwest bracket is Michigan State vs Duke. This, I think is going to be one of the best games in the Tournament so far. Both of these teams are power houses that are coached by legends. Both of these teams are used to winning so it wouldn’t be surprising if either one of them advances to the Elite Eight. I think the Spartans will easily be able to work the ball inside with Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix, but the x-factor for ole Sparty and Izzo is the play of point guard Keith Appling. He has been inconsistent through out the year and when he struggles it appears that MSU also struggles and they end up in the loosing column. This is why I think Duke is going to come out with the victory. In Tournament play Izzo and his Spartans are 1-7 against Coach K and Duke in the Tournament. Duke advances.

West: The West bracket has been a complete mess this year. There have been upsets after upsets. And the first Sweet Sixteen game in the West has surprised everyone. The ninth seed Wichita State Shockers take on the thirteenth seed La Salle Crusaders. The Shockers and Crusaders have shocked everybody. Both of these teams have shocked the world, lived up to their names and reeked havoc on peoples brackets. I think that La Salle is going to win this game and advance. Who knows maybe they could do what VCU did two years ago and go to the First Four to the Final Four. Wouldn’t that be incredible but first they have to get past the Shockers and the winner of the Arizona, Ohio State game.

That brings us to our next match up in the West region, Arizona vs Ohio State. This game is like having both teams look in a mirror. They are such similar teams it is scary. Both of these teams are very talented and have the potential to win it all. This game is also a match up of the point guards, Mark Lyons vs Aaron Craft. This game is going to be neck and neck the whole time but I think Aaron Craft’s defense is too much for the Wildcats to handle. I have the Buckeyes moving on.

South: In the South region the two games are very intriguing. The first game is Kansas vs Michigan. This game is like a heavy weight championship. It is two power houses who know how to fight. This game is going to be back and fourth, back and fourth. After this game both teams are going to be battle tested. Michigan’s bigs are going to have a hard time with Jeff Withey. He is just too good for Mitch McGary. Also Kansas’ guards have a gargantuan task ahead of them, they have to contain Trey Burke. I think this game is going to be a nail biter and both teams are championship contenders. My prediction is that Trey Burke is going to deliver the knock out punch and nail a step back three for the win. I have Michigan winning in dramatic fashion to advance to the Elite Eight. Hail to the Victors over Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.

The second game in the South Region is the Florida Gators vs the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. This game is a power house against the Cinderella team. Both of these teams are well coached and they have great chemistry together. In this game all of the pressure is going to be on the Gators. They do not want to loose to a CInderella team. I think they are going to be nervous and tense and that might be trouble. On the other hand Florida Gulf Coast plays relaxed and just has fun out on the court. They are enjoying the moment and taking it all in. This is whyI am taking the upset and having the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles advance to the Elite Eight.

East: The first match up in the East bracket is Indiana vs Syracuse. Both of these teams are very talented, but most importantly both of these teams are hot right now. I think that this game is going to be close until the last couple minutes. I believe Indiana is going to pull away from Syracuse. The Orange are a very good team but the Hoosiers are too powerful for them to handle.

The Second game in the East region is Miami vs Marquette. I think this game is going to be the most lop sided game in the Sweet Sixteen. Miami is way too talented and experienced for this Golden Eagles team to keep up with. Marquette is lucky to even be in this round, they should have been bounced in the round of 64 by Davidson. They are going to get destroyed by the Hurricanes. I have Miami moving on and in my bracket I have the Hurricanes winning it all. Stay tuned, I’ll have the Match Up of the Day on Thursday.