We made it to the first ever post on college basketball. Since Covid robbed us of March Madness and many conference championships, life turned miserable. It is great to finally have basketball back. There is nothing better than competitive college basketball. Over 80% of these guys know they have no shot at making it to the NBA, but they play for the love of the game. That is the difference between college and pros. The NBA seems rigged and no one plays defense because the more points scored, the more money the NBA makes. That is why people who love the game of basketball will pick college over the NBA majority of the time. Also for those who have never gambled on college basketball, you need to buckle in and keep your arms in the ride at all times. College basketball to a gambler feels like that moment right as you start to drop on a roller coaster. Your stomach drops and your fight or flight impulses start to react. Are you the type of person that puts their hands up in excitement or the person who cringes in fear?

I am going to give my predictions for conference champions. I am not giving every conference and I do not have the time to explain each one, but you are just going to have to take my word for it. Hopefully this season doesn’t get cancelled and futures can actually be paid out.

American East: Vermont

But don’t sleep on my UNH wildcats though. Most improved team last year going from worst to top 3 in the conference.

American: Houston -110

Atlantic 10: Rhode Island +2500

Fatts Russell can ball. He will help lead these Rams to win this very competitive conference.

ACC: Virginia +200

ASUN: Liberty

Big 12: Baylor +125 or Texas Tech+500.

If McClung’s transfer is approved for him to play this year, Texas Tech has a serious chance. Baylor’s defense is just too good to not have them win the conference.

Big East: Villinova -200

Big South: Winthrop

Big 10: Illinois +300 or Wisconsin +300.

I could write for days trying to decide on the big ten. They had 10 teams eligible last year for the big dance. Both Illinois and Wisconsin are returning majority of their starters. Wisconsin’s only issue is that they do not have the big name point guard they need to push them to be front runners. If they can figure out the PG position watch out for the badgers. Iowa is a serious contender with Luka Garza coming back, but they simply do not have much defense. A sleeper pick if you really want to throw a Hail Mary on the Big Ten is Rutgers.

MAC: Akron

Mountain West: San Diego State +125

PAC 12: Arizona State +250

SEC: Kentucky (Even), but keep an eye on Tennessee +350.

West Coast: Gonzaga

They will win this conference relatively easy. I do think BYU could make a late push with the addition 7,3 transfer from Purdue Matt Harms.

Obviously I am no John Rothstein with all the insider scoops, but to the best of my knowledge those are my predictions for conference winners.

If I have to give a final four prediction at this time, I am going with Gonzaga, Villinova, Baylor for sure. The 4th team is a toss up. If Wisconsin can figure out their issues, I like them. If not I can see San Diego State, Virginia, or Arizona State taking the last spot.

Now transitioning back to this week. We have 94 games across the board on Wednesday alone. From 11 am to 1 am (Eastern Time) there will be non-stop basketball. I am looking at this as a holiday. I even took the day off from work to watch as much as possible. If I get hot early, I will be tweeting out my picks for the rest of the day, so be on the lookout for those. I will not give a pick for all 94 games. To be honest I don’t think I will be giving more than 10. It is so early in the season and many teams had practice restrictions, so there will be a lot of rust to shake off. Like some of you guys that haven’t been laid in over a year. You talk a big game, yet you blow your load before you even make it to the layup lines. The first week of basketball is tough to bet on. That is what makes it exhilarating to watch. Nothing is better than watching a championship contender go down in the first week to a school most of the country never knew existed. For example when Evansville shocked the world by upsetting Kentucky.

Towson @ Virginia (-19.5)

Virginia keeps all games lows scoring. They have not yet put an Over/Under there. If it is 110 or more, I am taking this under. As for this spread I am taking Towson -19.5. Virginia only had two wins last year by more than 19 points. Towson was a very good team with only 6 losses. I like Towson with the points.

Northwestern State @ Texas Tech (-4)

This line seems extremely low. Even with McClung not playing Texas Tech should win by double digits. Take Tech.

UT Rio Grande @ Texas (-20)

SHAKA SMART. Texas by more than 20

UCLA (-3) @ Sand Diego State

Both teams choked at the end of the season last year. San Diego State finished the season at 30-2 last year with both losses coming in the last minute. UCLA finished the season at 19-12. I do like San Diego State to get the win outright. SDSU +125

Old Dominion @ Maryland (-7.5)

Maryland went 24-7 last year. They did lose a few seniors, but not enough for this spread to only be 7.5. Take Maryland.

North Dakota State @ Nevada (-3)

Nevada did lose a big chunk of their team, but again no reason this spread should be so low. Take Nevada -3.

Saint Peter’s @ Saint John’s (-10)

Saint John’s had a very up and down season last year. They also lost their best player due to a transfer to Oregon. However today is the first time I have ever heard of the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. With a quick google I noticed that Saint Peter’s actually only lost to Saint John’s and UConn last year by 10. So buy a point and take the Peacocks. GO COCKS!

The Henny Lock

The Henny Lock is still back one unit due to Florida not being able to score enough points to cover the teaser on Saturday. They had a terrible 1st half and couldn’t control the game against a win less Vanderbilt team. So here I am again chasing the magic dragon to break even on the Henny Lock. Their is one coach that significantly stands out to me when it comes to trust. They tell you how it is and do not care what you think. Big Ole Bobby Huggins and his court-side stool will not let this be a single digit game against South Dakota State. Bobby is going to go in there and making sure he beheads the Jack Rabbits in brutal fashion. Take WVU -9.5.

Henny Lock: WVU -9.5

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I will be putting out another post tomorrow with both Football and Basketball for Thursday and Friday’s Slate.

Twitter: Matt_Hennigan22