Saturday Predictions: BracketBusters Edition
By Blake Lovell
The 2012 edition of BracketBusters rules the college basketball landscape today, as there are plenty of big games between teams looking to add to their NCAA tournament resume by picking up a quality win.
There are several games of note on the slate, so let’s get to our quick picks for today’s BracketBusters matchups:
Drexel at Cleveland State – 11 AM ET, ESPNU
Jamal Murphy – Drexel has won 14 straight. Cleveland State has lost their last 3. I’ll go with the hot team.
Prediction: Drexel 71, Cleveland State 67
Blake Lovell – What Jamal said. This is a game between two teams going in opposite directions right now. Tough atmosphere, but Drexel wins.
Prediction: Drexel 75, Cleveland State 69
Wichita State at Davidson – Noon ET, ESPN2
Jamal Murphy – This could be a good one, but the Shockers are the better team.
Prediction: Wichita State 84, Davidson 73
Blake Lovell – Wichita State is better, but Davidson is good enough to take them to the wire at home.
Prediction: Wichita State 77, Davidson 76
Buffalo at South Dakota State – 1 PM ET, ESPNU
Jamal Murphy – Buffalo has wins at Dayton and vs. Akron. SDSU won at Washington and recently vs. Oral Roberts.
Prediction: South Dakota State 79, Buffalo 74
Blake Lovell – Look for Nate Wolters to light it up for the Jackrabbits in this one.
Prediction: South Dakota State 80, Buffalo 70
Akron at Oral Roberts – 2 PM ET, ESPN2
Jamal Murphy – Both of these squads are good teams on serious rolls.
Prediction: Akron 70, Oral Roberts 68
Blake Lovell – Probably won’t get a lot of recognition from the casual fan, but this is gonna be a fantastic game. Oral Roberts pulls it out at home in a thriller.
Prediction: Oral Roberts 72, Akron 70
Drake at New Mexico State – 3 PM ET, ESPNU
Jamal Murphy – The Aggies should be too much for the Bulldogs at home.
Prediction: New Mexico State 83, Drake 66
Blake Lovell – I agree with Jamal here. New Mexico State is simply the better team and should take care of business in this one.
Prediction: New Mexico State 78, Drake 69
Nevada at Iona – 4 PM ET, ESPN2
Jamal Murphy – Nevada’s a formidable team, but they travel across the country to face a team that will be up for this game.
Prediction: Iona 77, Nevada 70
Blake Lovell – Should be a fun game and a quality win for an Iona team that’s looking for them right now.
Prediction: Iona 83, Nevada 76
Old Dominion at Missouri State – 5 PM ET, ESPNU
Jamal Murphy – Two uneven, somewhat underachieving teams face-off in this one. I’ll go with the home team.
Prediction: Missouri State 66, ODU 58
Blake Lovell – Not as much spice to this one as there could have been. Still think Old Dominion finds a way to win here.
Prediction: ODU 64, Missouri State 61
Saint Mary’s at Murray State – 6 PM ET, ESPN
Jamal Murphy – The marquee match-up, if only to see whether the Racers can beat a quality team for the first time in over two months.
Prediction: Murray State 85, St. Mary’s 76
Blake Lovell – This has lost a little luster given the recent slide of Saint Mary’s. The Racers will be fired up and ready to prove themselves in this contest. Plus, Matthew Dellavedova won’t be at full strength with an ankle injury.
Prediction: Murray State 79, Saint Mary’s 68
UNC Asheville at Ohio – 7 PM ET, ESPN3
Jamal Murphy – The MAC tested Bobcats should be too much for the Bulldogs from Asheville.
Prediction: Ohio 73, UNC Asheville 60
Blake Lovell – I think this will be closer than most expect, but Ohio will be able to hit free throws down the stretch and get the win.
Prediction: Ohio 69, UNC Asheville 62
UT Arlington at Weber State – 8 PM ET, ESPN3
Jamal Murphy – This is a sneaky good one. WSU has won 14 of 15, while UTA has run off a ridiculous 16 straight.
Prediction: Weber State 80, UT Arlington 79
Blake Lovell – This will be the Damien Lillard show, and even though UTA is on quite the roll, Lillard will carry Weber State to victory.
Prediction: Weber State 86, UT Arlington 78
Long Beach State at Creighton – 10 PM ET, ESPN2
Jamal Murphy – We know Casper Ware and LBSU will show up. But, so will Doug McDermott for the home team.
Prediction: Creighton 77, Long Beach State 71
Blake Lovell – Creighton has slid a little bit here recently, and Long Beach State is going to show just how good they are. This will be a scary team come March.
Prediction: Long Beach State 78, Creighton 74
Who are you picking in today’s BracketBuster matchups?