College Basketball Picks - Tuesday, January 6

Welcome to conference play finally, SEC!  Let the rumble to finish 2nd place begin.

Mississippi +23 @ Kentucky.  This is just a guess that the Wildcats come out lethargic/uninspired/whatever with the first conference game being at home against an overmatched opponent.  I mean they could still cover this anyway even if they are but the Rebs have played better away from C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum so I'll take a flyer on them losing by 15 or 20.
1-0.

Connecticut -8 @ South Florida.  That was nice of the American to give UConn its trip to USF right after going to Gainesville.  That Florida win should be the one that gets the Husky season up and running and USF isn't gonna do anything to stop that because it's USF.
2-0.

UCF +7 @ Houston.  This is a lot more fun in football than hoops.  Taking the points I guess.
3-0.

Cincinnati -14.5 v. East Carolina.  This too is a lot more fun in football than hoops!
4-0.

Marquette +8.5 @ Georgetown.  Just got the feeling Georgetown's gonna play a lot of close games in Big East play.  They may not be the only one.
5-0.

Florida State -9.5 v. Virginia Tech.  Obvious VT road no show after the near home shocker over Syracuse.
6-0.

Michigan +1 @ Penn State.  I straight up refuse to quit Michigan, especially not for a team that just lost to Rutgers.
7-0.

Georgia -4 v. Arkansas.  Actually quite looking forward to this since it's very possible these two are 2 and 3 or 3 and 4 in the league.  But it's still Arkansas on the road.
7-1.

Akron -5 v. Western Michigan.  Interesting early season MAC positioning game.  I initially took WMU then realized I was confusing them with Central Michigan #ohwell.
8-1.

Central Michigan +7.5 @ Toledo.  THERE'S the Chippewas!
9-1.

George Washington -15.5 v. Saint Louis.  Whenever these two hook up in D.C. that means it's time to link to this game.  I actually remember watching that game in amazement.  The bad news for the Billikens is they aren't a whole lot better than that team, which finished a game above .500 whereas the Colonials are much improved from the 9-18 team of that year.
9-2.

Butler -6 v. Providence.  Bigtime road win for the Bulldogs in Queens on Saturday and the Friars have yet to put in a good performance on the road.
9-3.

Vanderbilt -8 v. Auburn.  If Vandy's been improving like I think they have ever since the inexplicable loss to Rutgers, they need to handle this.
10-3.

Ohio State +1 @ Minnesota.  Time for them to get their stuff together.
11-3.

Pittsburgh -2 @ Boston College.  I'm falling in to the trap and I don't care.  BC lost at home to USC for god's sake.  They're not giving enough, goddammit.
11-4.

St. John's +4.5 v. Villanova.  Rysheed Jordan is back and this is an early must win for the Johnnies, having fallen in to an 0-2 hole.
11-5.

Alabama -5 v. Texas A&M.  Gonna roll with the Tide for now.  We could end up looking back at this one as a big bubble battle.
12-5.

Iowa State -8 v. Oklahoma State.  Should be straightforward for the Clones.
12-6.

San Diego State -8.5 v. New Mexico.  Lobos have improved - other than the loss to GRAND CANYON - but they'll be facing a pissed off Aztec team that really needs a good performance.
13-6.

Iona -9.5 v. Quinnipiac.  With Rider breathing down their necks, the Gaels know they can't be too careful.
13-7.