BDs Weekend College 3 Pack!

Good evening world, welcome in to another edition of my weekend 3 pack of college games! College hoops has been absolutely heating up over the last few weeks and we have need something to keep us busy throughout the week honestly. College football has felt stale as shit this year for whatever reason, so this is a breath of fresh air for me! This weekend though, one of college football's greatest games is back again and the 2020 edition should be special!

This weekend we get Army vs. Navy again and while we are without a full stadium in Philly, we do get the game in West Point for the first time since before WWII which is amazing. Navy has owned the series but this year could be different. Army comes in as a 7.5 point favorite with a point total of 37.5 points. My favorite thing about this game is how these teams, and all military academies for that matter, run a similar offense to each other and just pound the rock. Army averages 30.56 ppg and only 50.22 passing yards per game! But on the ground, they rack up an amazing 296.33 rushing yards per game this year. Defensively, they've been outstanding as well giving up only 16.33 ppg and under 300 yards per game. Navy, while similar on offense with their 203.17 rushing yards per games, does end up throwing a bit more. They average 116.5 passing yards per game and I bet they miss Perry at QB from last year who was fantastic for them throwing. The issue this year has been defense as they started the year without contact practices. Giving up 36.5 ppg and 6.73 yards per play is horrendous for a normally strong Navy squad.

Trends for this one are fascinating every year. Army is 7-0 SU in their last 7 games and they are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games. The under has hit in 15 of their last 19 December games and also in 14 STRAIGHT VS. NAVY! Just incredible honestly. Navy on the other hand is 14-6 ATS in their last 20 but only 3-6 ATS in their last 9 vs. Army. The over has hit in 5 of their last 6 and 7 of their last 8 on the road. My prediction here is an Army win, 31-16. Go Army, beat Navy!

Next up for you all I have some Sunday round ball action! First on the board is a game between the Richmond Spiders and the West Fu%#&@! Virginia Mountaineers! I love the potential of this game because of Richmond being solid as hell, beating Kentucky already, and WVU looking fantastic against some damn good competition as well. WVU is ranked 5th overall in KenPom while also being 13th in Adjusted Offense, 11th in defense, and 151st in tempo. They really rely on Culver and Tshiebwe inside to dominate opponents while McBride and Sherman carry the load on the outside. Richmond on the other hand is ranked 58th in KenPom with their Adjust offense ranked 44th, defense ranked 58th and tempo ranked 66th. First thing that stands out is how much quicker they will tend to play and how perimeter oriented they are. They have Golden who is a big guy but is shooting 60% from 3 so far this season and Gilyard is a really good guard who is a great piece for them at 12 ppg.

The keys for WVU here are the defend Richmond shooting the 3, keep Culver and Tshiebwe out of foul trouble down low vs. Golden, and to knock down 3s on their offensive end as they only shoot 31.9%. Richmond will need to rebound the hell out of the ball as WVU gets 13 Oreb per game, make 3s on their end, get to the line and knock down free throws and force their tempo on WVU. I think this will be a close and competitive game with WVU narrowly escaping. WVU wins this one 69-60.

Last game in my 3 pack is a monster Sunday game. 3 pm Sunday gifts us Baylor vs. Texas in a monster Big 12 game! Baylor has overtaken 1st in KenPom while also ranking 3rd in Adjusted offense, 5th in defense and 245th in tempo. They really thrive by turning defense into offense and crashing the glass. They bring back almost all of their team from last season which makes them more experienced in a covid year where that is essential. They have 5 players averaging double figures this year with the trio of guards Butler, Flager, and Teague leading the way. Texas on the other hand is ranked 4th in KenPom while being 20th in Adjusted offense 20th, 2nd in defense, and 280th in tempo. Their guards, Ramey and Coleman, have been electric this year and especially in Maui where Coleman hit the tournament winning shot. They have also solid bigs in Brown and Jones, the former who excites scouts, NBA coaches, and NBA executives alike with his athletic ability and potential.

Baylor's keys to winning this one are to keep crashing the offensive glass as they rank 11th in Oreb per game and pressure the ball and force Texas into turnovers as they force 20 per game. Another thing for me is to shoot 40% from 3 against this Texas length. For Texas, they will need to take care of the ball as they average 13.2 turnovers per game. They will also need to defend against the 3 since they shoot almost 40% and Texas ranks 19th in opponent 3P% in the nation. Lastly, Texas needs to play their game at their pace because both of these teams play fairly slow and they can not rush against the experienced Baylor players. Maintain composure and take care of the basketball. I still like Baylor to win this game 72-64.