January 7, 2021 Results:

What we got right:

College Basketball:

#6 Iowa at Maryland - Maryland did not show up to play in this one. Preseason Player of the Year Luka Garza scored 24 points as the Hawkeyes continue to look strong. The only two losses for Iowa this year are against #1 Gonzaga and an overtime game to Minnesota. The rematch with the Golden Gophers awaits on Sunday.

NBA:

Dallas at Denver - It took overtime for the Mavericks to beat the Nuggets, but they got it done in a 124-117 win. Luka Doncic was one rebound short of a triple double, finishing with 38 points and 13 assists. Nikola Jokic also had 38 points, including the shot to send the game into overtime, but his supporting cast wasn’t enough to topple Dallas.

San Antonio at Los Angeles Lakers - Both Anthony Davis and Lebron James were effective for the Lakers, but it wasn’t enough to corral the Spurs in a 118-109 loss. LaMarcus Aldridge led six San Anotio players in double figures, scoring 28 points. The Spurs exacted a bit of revenge for the two losses to the Lakers on their home floor last week.

What we got wrong:

College Basketball

#17 Oregon at Colorado - We should have known to pick against Colorado in this one. Oregon is now 0-10 all time in Boulder. McKinley Wright IV scored 21 points in leading the Buffalos to the victory and handing the Ducks their first conference loss. Chris Duarte scored 27 points in the loss as the Ducks look to rebound against Utah this weekend.

Indiana at #8 Wisconsin - The Badgers got the win and almost covered the spread, but needed two overtimes to do it. Wisconsin outscored Indiana 11-4 in the second extra frame to down an Indiana squad looking to pull the upset. Even the middling teams in the Big Ten, like Indiana, are solid so we need to do a better job here.

#12 Illinois at Northwestern - This game had the craziest second half line we have ever seen. Northwestern was ahead by 15 points at halftime and we were feeling confident. Then Illinois came out and outscored the Wildcats 53-13 in the second half. You are reading that correctly. Illinois outscored Northwestern by 40 points in the second half. Wow.

NBA:

Philadelphia at Brooklyn - Even without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets pummeled the 76ers 122-109. Joe Harris scored 28 points off the bench in leading Brooklyn to the victory. This game has to sting for Philadelphia. You are the best team in the league right now and you lose to a team without its two best players.

Minnesota at Portland - So much for this being a close win for the Blazers. Minnesota outscored Portland by 13 in the fourth quarter and still lost 135-117. Damian Lillard dropped 39 points for the Blazers, who get back to .500 with the win. The Timberwolves are counting down the days until Karl Anthony-Towns gets back. Can’t be quick enough.

What we pushed on:

College Basketball:

BYU at #1 Gonzaga - That is right we have our first two pushes of the year! The first one was the Gonzaga Bulldogs beating BYU 86-69. Gonzaga got out to a 23-2 lead and this game felt like a loss. BYU never got closer than 13 the rest of the game. With just under five minutes left Gonzaga had a 28 point lead. Then they put in their second unit and BYU came back to get us to a push.

NBA:

Cleveland at Memphis - Cleveland beat Memphis 94-90 in earning us our first NBA push of the season. We picked Memphis to win, but the Cavaliers played tough down the stretch to win the game. Memphis drops to 2-6 with the loss, while Cleveland improves to 5-4.