Big wins yesterday from Cornell and Butler. San Antonio Spurs kept me from having a perfect 3-0 day. Let's keep the ball rolling today.
Dayton Flyers (ML, +118)
Love this spot for the Flyers. They return most key pieces from last years NCAA appearance. Most notably, they return Junior big man Chris Wright and Senior guard Marcus Johnson. Battle tested team known for their smothering defense, already had an impressive early season 10 point win over Creighton.
I think Georgia Tech is going to be much, much improved in the ACC this year (preseason rankings agree). But at the same point, there may be a little too much preseason hype. Until they actually start winning some big games, I don't think this team should be nationally ranked. With that said, they did lose 2 of their top 3 scorers in Lewis Clinch and Alade Aminu. In fact, last year no single Yellow Jacket averaged more then 1.0 three per game then Clinch, who averaged 3.0. Sure they scored 100 on the Rattlers, but there not playing Florida A&M today. G Tech is relying on two freshman to start, including point guard Mfon Udofia.
I see this as a game where the talent levels of both teams are very similar at this point, but Dayton has a strong edge in the experience department. And in a tournament like this in Puerto Rico, I think experience pulls through. I think if Dayton were an ACC team, and G Tech were an A-10 team, Dayton would be favorite by about 5 points.
I will be back later in the day with a few more picks.
Dayton Flyers (ML, +118)
Love this spot for the Flyers. They return most key pieces from last years NCAA appearance. Most notably, they return Junior big man Chris Wright and Senior guard Marcus Johnson. Battle tested team known for their smothering defense, already had an impressive early season 10 point win over Creighton.
I think Georgia Tech is going to be much, much improved in the ACC this year (preseason rankings agree). But at the same point, there may be a little too much preseason hype. Until they actually start winning some big games, I don't think this team should be nationally ranked. With that said, they did lose 2 of their top 3 scorers in Lewis Clinch and Alade Aminu. In fact, last year no single Yellow Jacket averaged more then 1.0 three per game then Clinch, who averaged 3.0. Sure they scored 100 on the Rattlers, but there not playing Florida A&M today. G Tech is relying on two freshman to start, including point guard Mfon Udofia.
I see this as a game where the talent levels of both teams are very similar at this point, but Dayton has a strong edge in the experience department. And in a tournament like this in Puerto Rico, I think experience pulls through. I think if Dayton were an ACC team, and G Tech were an A-10 team, Dayton would be favorite by about 5 points.
I will be back later in the day with a few more picks.
