Tuesday, Nov. 15 Pick of the Day

Friends, family, significant others, gather around. You’re about to witness one of the biggest locks of the College Basketball season. But Reece, the season’s so young, how are you so confident in a play? Sit back and read.

Karen Puffer Focht/AP Photo

The two teams: the Memphis Tigers and the Saint Louis Billikens. Both are outside the top 25 but are also expected to be major players come March. Let’s look at the two teams and then make a pick.

Memphis is off to a 1-0 start beating Vanderbilt in a cross-state showdown to start the season. Penny Hardaway, heading into his 5th season at the helm has his most experienced team yet. Led by Deandre Williams and SMU transfer, Kendric Davis. Both seniors and 2 of the 11 on the roster. A nice change for a Tigers roster that has consistently been made up of high-profile freshman during Hardaway’s tenure.

Saint Louis is also off to an unbeaten start, sitting at 2-0. Travis Ford is entering his 7th season in charge of the Billikens. Many expected Saint Louis to be a tournament team last season, though they fell short in always tough A10. Saint Louis is led by a strong veteran backcourt featuring Yuri Collins, Javonte Perkins, and Missouri transfer, Javon Pickett. The Billikens were projected to finish 2nd in the A10, in a league that could see up to four teams in March.

Let’s get into the three reasons, I’m leaning strongly in this one. The sample sizes are small with the teams playing a combined three games, but nonetheless these stats seem to be important.

Through two games, Saint Louis is shooting the 3-ball at nearly a 40% clip. Memphis, in their first game struggled to shoot the ball, converting barely over a fourth of their attempts at 26%. Saint Louis guard, Gibson Jimerson is expected to be one of the best 3-point shooters in all of college basketball this season and could very well be the difference. Kendric Davis always has the green light but could be scared off the line if SLU sends a double team.

This close battle could very well be won on the boards, a place Saint Louis has a massive advantage. Not only do the Billikens have one of the best rebounding big men in the country in Francis Okoro, but Javon Pickett may also be one of the best rebounding guards in the country. Saint Louis has grabbed an average of 11.5 offensive rebounds and 34.5 defensive rebounds a game, while Memphis only pulled down 9 on the offensive side and 26 on the defensive side, in their lone affair this season.

And finally, what should be the matchup of the game, Kendric Davis vs. Yuri Collins, two of the top lead guards in the country. Davis is a score-first point guard, who isn’t afraid to get his teammates involved when the shots aren’t falling. Collins on the other hand, is a pass-first point guard who is averaging over 13 assists through two games. Pick whoever you want in this matchup of two great guards. Even if you do lean Kendric Davis, I don’t believe it’s enough to offset the other advantages Saint Louis has in this game.

Everything points to this being one of the best under the radar tilts of the nonconference season. The two teams squared off last year, with Memphis winning 90-74 on their homecourt. I see homecourt playing an important part this year, with it being just enough to propel Saint Louis to a 5-8 point win.

Pick: Saint Louis (-3)