YTD: 1-0
Today's pick:
Minnesota +6.5
Neither of these teams really impressed anyone with their performances in their first games, but each had an outstanding performance by a freshman in his first real game.
For the Utes, it was much-heralded freshman Andrew Bogut, who scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his debut. Very impressive, to say the least, but nobody else on his team scored more than 8 points or grabbed more than 3 rebounds. I would expect Senior guard Nick Jacobsen to do better than the 4 points he scored against Georgia State, but he is not off to a good start at all, especially considering the competition and the fact that he averaged over 13 points per game last year. Senior center Tim Frost (12.8 ppg, 4.9 reb in '02-'03) will apparently sit this game out as well with a bad back, which really hurts the Utes in the leadership department, as every other potential starter or contributor, other than Jacobsen, is either a freshman or sophomore. Utah's starting lineup tonight will be Jacobsen, plus either 3 sophomores and freshman Bogut, or 2 sophomores and 2 freshman. The sophomores got a lot of playing time last year, but I think their youth will hurt them at the beginning of the year, as evidenced by their close win by only 8 points vs. Georgia State the other night.
As for the Gophers, their freshman phenom Kris Humphries racked up a whopping 26 points and 15 rebounds in their opener against UMKC. I don't like the kid, after he backed out of his commitment to Duke at the last minute this summer to stay closer to his mommy, but he made a heck of a statement in the opener. Unlike Bogut, however, Humphries didn't have to do it all by himself. Junior swingman Maurice Hargrow scored 18 points in the opener, and senior forward Michael Bauer scored 9 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. UNC transfer, and former Minnesota Mr. Basketball in high school, Adam Boone, didn't score any points but handed out an impressive 8 assists in that contest. Minnesota, unlike Utah, has a lot of experience on the roster which should help in the early games. Along with Humphries, the Gophers will start 2 seniors and 2 juniors. Hargrow, in addition to the big point production, is also a tenacious defender - if Jacobsen had trouble getting off a shot against Georgia State, he will really have his hands full tonight. Minnesota's first two players off the bench will be junior 6-11 center Jeff Hagen (4 pts, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks v. UMKC) and sophomore 6-7 forward Stan Gaines (8 pts, 4 rebounds in the opener).
Bottom line, in my opinion, Minnesota has a deeper team with more experience and a freshman stud to match Bogut. If Frost were playing, I would be a little hesitant, but I think 6 points is a heck of a lot to expect Utah to cover, especially if they can only score 46 points like they did the other night. Good luck.
Today's pick:
Minnesota +6.5
Neither of these teams really impressed anyone with their performances in their first games, but each had an outstanding performance by a freshman in his first real game.
For the Utes, it was much-heralded freshman Andrew Bogut, who scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his debut. Very impressive, to say the least, but nobody else on his team scored more than 8 points or grabbed more than 3 rebounds. I would expect Senior guard Nick Jacobsen to do better than the 4 points he scored against Georgia State, but he is not off to a good start at all, especially considering the competition and the fact that he averaged over 13 points per game last year. Senior center Tim Frost (12.8 ppg, 4.9 reb in '02-'03) will apparently sit this game out as well with a bad back, which really hurts the Utes in the leadership department, as every other potential starter or contributor, other than Jacobsen, is either a freshman or sophomore. Utah's starting lineup tonight will be Jacobsen, plus either 3 sophomores and freshman Bogut, or 2 sophomores and 2 freshman. The sophomores got a lot of playing time last year, but I think their youth will hurt them at the beginning of the year, as evidenced by their close win by only 8 points vs. Georgia State the other night.
As for the Gophers, their freshman phenom Kris Humphries racked up a whopping 26 points and 15 rebounds in their opener against UMKC. I don't like the kid, after he backed out of his commitment to Duke at the last minute this summer to stay closer to his mommy, but he made a heck of a statement in the opener. Unlike Bogut, however, Humphries didn't have to do it all by himself. Junior swingman Maurice Hargrow scored 18 points in the opener, and senior forward Michael Bauer scored 9 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. UNC transfer, and former Minnesota Mr. Basketball in high school, Adam Boone, didn't score any points but handed out an impressive 8 assists in that contest. Minnesota, unlike Utah, has a lot of experience on the roster which should help in the early games. Along with Humphries, the Gophers will start 2 seniors and 2 juniors. Hargrow, in addition to the big point production, is also a tenacious defender - if Jacobsen had trouble getting off a shot against Georgia State, he will really have his hands full tonight. Minnesota's first two players off the bench will be junior 6-11 center Jeff Hagen (4 pts, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks v. UMKC) and sophomore 6-7 forward Stan Gaines (8 pts, 4 rebounds in the opener).
Bottom line, in my opinion, Minnesota has a deeper team with more experience and a freshman stud to match Bogut. If Frost were playing, I would be a little hesitant, but I think 6 points is a heck of a lot to expect Utah to cover, especially if they can only score 46 points like they did the other night. Good luck.
