Search on Twitter with the hashtag #SuspectSpreadsSaturday to see five picks per week and a time-stamp of past performance.  Click here to follow Matty D’s College Basketball Eye Test on Twitter.

Each year I welcome football-first fans back to the wonderful world of college basketball once their season is over.  If you qualify, I joke that you haven’t watched college basketball since the 1990s.  Last year, I compared NCAA players to the 1992 NBA Roster.  This year I see similarities between the 2002 NBA Finals and some current NCAA players.  See below and enjoy!
Nets Spurs

Matty D’s, aka my, record against the spread so far this year is 17-7-1.  That one tie was Texas Tech recently losing to Texas by nine points to mimic the odds.  As a self-proclaimed master of the “eye test,” I like to test myself with an actual opponent.  What better measuring stick than the all-knowing Las Vegas sports books?

I use the website Vegas Insider as my source for the current odds.

I also tweet my predictions hours before the first Saturday morning tip, using the hashtag #SuspectSpreadsSaturday.  It means that I am exposing the odds that I think are “suspect” or questionable.

Tweeting my picks each week also allows me to time stamp proof that I’ve made the predictions before the games.

For the week of Saturday, January 10, I suggest taking the following teams:
Louisville +5 @ North Carolina
Purdue +5 vs. Maryland
Iowa St. +5 @ West Virginia
Butler – 3.5 vs. Xavier
LSU -3 vs. Georgia

*Please note that I am dipping my feet in the water with five different major conferences:  ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East and SEC.

Here is a history of my selections so far this season:
(Starting with the most recent)

Don’t be like this me…

…don’t produce no-budget-promos for your blog!

Allow me to give some love to the West Coast for a moment.  I’m from New York, grew up a Big East fan, live in Lawrence now as a KU season ticket holder, but constantly keep my East Coast bias in check.

I am focusing on what appears to be a first weekend matchup.  The Eye Test tells me that Stanford and Washington could very well be 3 and 6 seed showdown in the NCAA Tournament.  They played Sunday night.  (You were likely reacting to the NFL’s Elite 8).  Other West Coast teams like UCLA, UNLV and San Diego State are struggling.  I have already profiled how legit Gonzaga and Utah are.

Stanford is a very aggressive bunch.   They forced nineteen turnovers against Washington, including 11 steals.  The high IQ level of Standford need not be explained.  The result could be another upstart run in the NCAA tournament.  Chasson Randle just became The Cardinals all-time leader in three-pointers made.  I think he is an underrated point guard in the national scene.  Stanford turned the ball only nine times as they defeated Washington in an overtime game.  Shooting guard Anthony Brown has arrived in his senior season.  He is completing that one-two punch in the scoring column.  (Brown’s offensive production was also vital in its win against Texas).  I also love Stefan Nastic, a center who takes a lot of pride on the defensive end.  Nastic was instrumental when Stanford beat Andrew Wiggins and the Kansas Jaywaks in last year’s first weekend.  The guy reminds me of a college basketball version of Marcin Gortat of the NBA.  He will never wow you with his post-move arsenal or above-the-rim athleticism.  Nastic will battle with your big man and do the cliche “little things” it takes to win.

Washington, meanwhile, also has a lot of players peculating at the right time.  Robert Upshaw is the nation’s best shot-blocker.  Shawn Kemp Jr. has a role as a second, third, or fourth scorer that he seems comfortable with (he led the Huskies in scoring this game–an anomaly when considering the season trend).  Andrew Andrews and Nigel Williams-Goss are a great backcourt because they can clearly create their own shots when its necessary.  Coach Lorenzo Romar always has his teams well-prepared if and when they make the big dance.  Washington had this game won against Stanford before letting Chasson Randle get to the rim for a layup on the final possession.  The Huskies won 68-60 in overtime.

How is Frank Mason III not on the list of the nation’s most valuable point guards?  The Bob Cousy Award watch list includes thirty-six guards.  I would argue no other player is more important to a top 25 ranked team’s success, let alone a point guard, than Mason is to Kansas basketball.

Since Kansas freshman Devonte Graham went out a couple weeks ago with injury, coach Bill Self has relied on Mason even more.  Since Devonte Graham’s injury, Mason has played all but 28 minutes in six games.  That includes resting for 12 minutes against a far inferior Lafayette team.

Mason Jr., a sophmore, averages 11.9 points and 4 assists per game.  Compare that to Kasey Hill of Florida’s 7.7 points and 4.4 assists per game or Tyler Ulis’s 5.8 points and 3.7 assists per.

Today Frank Mason III led his Jayhawks in scoring against a feisty UNLV club in a Kansas win.  He scored 18 points, dished 7 assists, grabbed 4 rebounds and helped himself to 4 steals.  This very rare photo below showcases the two minute period in which Wayne Selden Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. alternated a possession running point guard.  It was the only sequence in which Mason Jr. did not control his offense.

Marcus Foster looked emotionless during his benching for a majority of the Oklahoma State rout of K-State.  Veteran clubs George Washington and Virginia dominated early before furious, late, and, ultimately, unsuccessful runs by Saint Joseph’s and Miami respectively.  Purdue pushes Michigan towards the NIT conversation as its bigs A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas push the Wolverines around.  Haas continues spelling Hammons for small portions as the two centers hardly ever play together. Seton Hall validated its legitimacy by beating Villanova. This is not a stunner, folks.  The Pirates previously lost to only Wichita State and Georgia.  Seton Hall’s twelve wins also include George Washington, Mercer and St. John’s.  The Red Storm lost its second straight against Xavier in its first game without Ryshawn Jordan.  Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russel had a coming out party at home, playing 40 minutes in an impressive win against Illinois. Houston transfer TaShawn Thomas had his own coming out party as Oklahoma handled Baylor.  Isaiah Taylor looked energized in his return as Texas beat Texas Tech.  West Virginia platooned without Juwan Staton to give TCU its first loss.  Jarian Grant provided the poster of the year as Notre Dame “hangs on” in OT against Georgia Tech.

Insane shot of Jerian Grant's dunk by Matt Cashore/@USATsportsImage http://t.co/cNdyet77f0—
Meredith Frost (@MeredithFrost) January 03, 2015

Where there is smoke, there is normally fire.  Let me say first, I wish the best for St. John’s guard Rysheed Jordan.  His coach declared that Jordan was taking an indefinite leave as of the new year begins to tend to family and personal issues.  The fire that I suspect is ablaze… that Jordan is somehow disgruntled with his role at St. John’s.

I think Butler will cover 5 points against St. John’s for this adjustment period.  For the same reason, I feel Texas Tech will cover a 9 point spread against Texas.   The “adjustment period” for Texas is quite the opposite scenario.  The Longhorns are regaining their point guard leader in Isaiah Taylor.  However, it is still an adjustment to re-insert someone into a lineup and Tubby Smith’s Texas Tech Red Raiders are more athletic than to lay 9 points at home.

Here are the five games I highlighted for Saturday, Dec. 3rd action.
If you’re a gambling man (or lady), I suggest taking the teams on the left:

Also see #SuspectSpreadsSaturday on Twitter
Texas Tech +9 vs. Texas
Illinois +8.5 @ Ohio State
George Washington -2 @ St. Joes’s
UCONN  +8 @ Florida
Butler +5 @St. John’s

Let’s get back to the Rysheed Jordan situation.  Do you think that it is coincidental that he averaged more than 30 minutes per game before sitting out with a “stomach bug” Monday Dec. 22nd before playing only 22 and 23 minutes respectively in his most recent two games?  I don’t.  Jordan recently lost a family member.  Only Jordan knows what that means to him.  Follow people like Jeff Borzello for more attribution on how Jordan is dealing with that loss:

I am just a St. John’s fan who is concerned his absence is a sign of less Red Storm commitment to come.  The sophomore has NBA aspirations and this is the mid-year turning point in which he would either set up a transfer to a higher profile school or freeze his batting average (i.e. points per game) at the current mark to win a crown.  Again, all wild speculation on my behalf, but that’s pretty much what I designed this blog for.  Enjoy my picks, this Saturday’s basketball, and you better retweet this article if I go 3-2 or better on my picks.

Two days after Christmas, there was a bubble-wrapped gift remaining for two teams.  In their first 10 games, the Indiana Hoosiers have a horrible loss coupled with some quality wins.  Those facts put them squarely on college basketball’s bubble before conference play begins.  The Georgetown Hoyas are likely in the NCAA Basketball Tournament if the season were to end today, but their conference schedule will offer less opportunities for résumé building than the Hoosiers.

Georgetown didn’t want to flip the script at Madison Square Garden.  The Hoyas wanted to hold serve in college basketball’s highly subjective and analytic landscape.  These two historic collegiate programs matched up at MSG in a great game that went to overtime just hours after Santa Claus stopped time nationwide.    Indiana proved that it has a true triple threat in this game.  Yogi Ferrell (pictured), Troy Williams and James Blackmon Jr. scored a combined 72 of the Hoosiers 87 points.  What concerned me about the Hoosiers was the lack of production offensively in the paint.  Former Oak Hill Academy star and 6’7″ forward Troy Williams even played point guard at times.  Hanner Mosquera-Perea, Indiana’s center, scored just two points.  This told my eye test that the Hoosiers struggle to match inside scoring threats.

Cue Joshua Smith.  As a New York Knicks fan, this guy reminds me of Eddy Curry.  Yes, he has size, but basketball fans wait for him to truly dominate.  His 14 points were good enough to get Georgetown a win in this contest.  Not to pick on Mosquera-Perea, but he had trouble getting assistance defending the rim.  Not only did Smith score 14, but forward Aaron Bowen scored 22 off the bench (many at the rim).
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had an amazingly-efficient 29 points.  He shot 50% from the field (9-18).   But that’s not what’s most impressive.  He went 5 of 7 from the 3 point line as part of that high efficiency.  Honestly, being at the game, I still didn’t realize how many points Smith-Rivera dropped because he didn’t hog the ball.  His shots came in the rhythm of the offense.

This was a magical holiday showcase at the World’s Most Famous Arena.  I will forever remember how I watched a future NBA lottery pick in Troy Williams.  This kid looked like Tracey McGrady around the rim and played point guard late in the game when good possessions mattered most.  This photo (above) was taken right after his running floater tied the game up late.  Ferrell, Williams, and Blackmon Jr. (pictured left, center, right respectively) would be a top 10 college basketball team next year if they would all return to school.  However, the lack of production and defense in the middle makes me hesitant to think they’ll make a Sweet 16 run.  I hate to say it, but I feel the same about the Georgetown Hoyas.  I think that this team is not Sweet 16-worthy.  Any team with a valid post scorer can find a way to get Josh Smith into foul trouble.  Without his 14 points, and magnetic size down low, this is a different game.

*Forgive me for not writing more about James Blackmon Jr.  This freshman is so smooth, he calls for his own article some time in the near future.

Leaving Lawrence, Kansas for my holiday vacation to go home to New York, I thought I’d escape the college basketball discussion being all about the Jayhawks. Alas, as soon as I turn my back, KU’s loss to the Temple Owls becomes the topic of discussion nationwide. However, when you look at it, the Owls “upset” isn’t as shocking as you’d think. Temple has some skilled upperclassmen and showed the balance of eight players contributing. The Owls only losses this year are all respectable: Saint Joseph’s, Villanova, Duke, and UNLV. Kansas, meanwhile, continues its identity crisis of who will become the lead scorer. Wayne Selden, Jr. and Perry Ellis went a combined 3-18 from the field. Point guard Frank Mason, Jr. played all 40 minutes as the loss of Devonte Graham continues to pose a challenge.

The game I really look forward to seeing in-person is Georgetown and Indiana on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. I’ll post another vlog of my observations. Going in, I’m interested to witness Georgetown’s supporting cast. I know all about Smith-Rivera, Josh Smith, and Jabril Trawick. I’m interested to see who can matchup defensively against Troy Williams and Yogi Ferrell. Smith-Rivera scored 29 in the Hoyas toughest matchup to date against the Wisconsin Badgers. I think the Princeton-style offense calls for more balance and I’d like to see what the fourth, fifth and sixth scoring options look like.

#HADHC14 Semis Showdown vs. @CUBuffsMBB! #RaiseHigh with us at 4:30pm ET on @ESPNU & WatchESPN es.pn/1zV0szR http://t.co/4Kaqg5Mba2—
GW Men's Basketball (@GW_MBB) December 23, 2014

Tuesday night is another bubblicious matchup. Colorado versus George Washington is the type of game that could separate a tournament team from an NIT team. When you watch this game, check out George Washington’s junior swingman Patricio Garino.  The Argentinian not only leads the Colonials in scoring, but leads a very aggressive unit on the defensive end.  George Washington fluctuates between a tough man defense and a one-three-one zone.  For Colorado, I am encouraged to see Askia Booker scoring 21.2 on average in the month of December.  The senior from Los Angeles started the season scoring 9.4 in November.  As much as Josh Scott has improved on the offensive end over his career, Booker has one of the nation’s smoothest strokes and should get at least 14 shots per game.  After this game, both teams soon begin conference play.  For Colorado, that means immediate contests against UCLA, Arizona and Utah.  Therefore, the Buffaloes could benefit by a strong out-of-conference win before possibly dropping some in conference.  Both Colorado and George Washington stand at a 7-3 record now.  A win Tuesday would also be huge for George Washington.  The Colonials have less brownie points to earn in conference.  Some of the best teams at this point include Dayton, VCU, and Davidson right now.  Scope out this game and tweet me what you think.  Follow @CBBEyeTest.