NCAA Basketball (Jan. 1 - Jan 10)

While football spreads come out earlier, the hard part about basketball spread is that they don't run in our paper until the day of the game. I try very hard to post the spread from the paper on the day of the game. When in doubt, local people can check the Lafayette Journal and Courier for a spread on game day or try http://www.vegasinsider.com/ if there isn't one in the paper.

When I post basketball, I will post a weeks worth of games on either Saturday or Sunday. Some people will pick all of the games regardless of the spread right away, others wait until closer to tip-off so that they can take the spread into account in their predictions.

The games that I choose to post are the ones that match 2 ranked teams in the previous weeks ESPN rankings. Sometimes the rankings change after I post the games. I also reserve the right to post other games if they seem interesting enough to me.

Scoring is the same as football. Deadline is tip-off of each game.


Friday, January 1

(6) West Virginia (+4.5) @ (4) Purdue

Actual Score: Purdue 77-62
Predictions:
Brownie: Purdue 76-70 (3pts)
Butters: Purdue 73-72 (1pt)
Carmen: Purdue 78-75 (1pt)
Dave: Purdue 84-69 (5pts)
Jeff: Purdue 72-68 (1pt)
Kubatski: Purdue 68-64 (1pt)
Kubatski III: Purdue 68-65 (1pt)
Kubatski Sr: Purdue 88-80 (3pts)
Marty: Purdue 73-67 (3pts)
Murray: Purdue 72-68 (1pt)
Oliver: Purdue 76-69 (3pts)
Paulie: Purdue 94-89 (3pts)
Princess G: West Virginia 72-70 (0pts)
Scott S: Purdue 78-61 (3pts)
Scott T: Purdue 85-81 (1pt)
Waders: West Virginia 71-67 (0pts)


Saturday, January 2

(1) Kansas (-8.5) @ (19) Temple

Actual Score: Kansas 84-52
Predictions:
Brownie: NONE (0pts)
Butters: Kansas 67-64 (1pt)
Carmen: Kansas 73-66 (1pt)
Dave: Kansas 83-65 (3pts)
Jeff: Kansas 88-74 (3pts)
Kubatski: Kansas 85-68 (3pts)
Kubatski III: Kansas 101-94 (1pt)
Kubatski Sr: Kansas 89-75 (3pts)
Marty: Kansas 84-73 (3pts)
Murray: Kansas 82-72 (3pts)
Oliver: Kansas 82-76 (1pt)
Paulie: Kansas 91-78 (3pts)
Princess G: Kansas 74-65 (3pts)
Scott S: Kansas 87-65 (3pts)
Scott T: Kansas 85-76 (3pts)
Waders: Kansas 81-65 (3pts)


Sunday, January 3

(18) Clemson (+12.5) @ (7) Duke

Actual Score: Duke 74-53
Predictions:
Brownie: NONE (0pts)
Butters: Duke 82-72 (1pt)
Carmen: Duke 96-78 (3pts)
Dave: Clemson 76-75 (0pts)
Jeff: Clemson 76-70 (0pts)
Kubatski: Duke 89-72 (3pts)
Kubatski III: Duke 89-86 (1pt)
Kubatski Sr: Duke 87-74 (3pts)
Marty: Duke 84-77 (1pt)
Murray: Duke 84-70 (3pts)
Oliver: NONE (0pts)
Paulie: Duke 101-87 (3pts)
Princess G: Duke 72-65 (1pt)
Scott S: Duke 67-66 (1pt)
Scott T: Duke 85-80 (1pt)
Waders: Duke 86-69 (3pts)


Saturday, January 9

(7) Duke (-7.5) @ (20) Georgia Tech

Actual Score: Georgia Tech 71-67
Predictions:
Brownie: NONE (0pts)
Butters: Duke 83-78 (2pts)
Carmen: Duke 92-81 (0pts)
Dave: Duke 80-74 (2pts)
Jeff: Duke 82-68 (2pts)
Kubatski: Duke 83-71 (0pts)
Kubatski III: Georgia Tech 91-81 (3pts)
Kubatski Sr: Duke 88-77 (0pts)
Marty: Duke 77-70 (2pts)
McClain: NONE (0pts)
Murray: Duke 77-65 (0pts)
Oliver: Georgia Tech 78-76 (3pts)
Paulie: Duke 88-77 (0pts)
Princess G: Duke 69-65 (2pts)
Scott S: Duke 78-70 (0pts)
Scott T: Duke 81-73 (0pts)
Waders: Duke 76-70 (2pts)

(10) Connecticut (+4.5) @ (13) Georgetown

Actual Score: Georgetown 72-69
Predictions:
Brownie: NONE (0pts)
Butters: Georgetown 70-64 (1pts)
Carmen: Georgetown 71-69 (3pts)
Dave: Connecticut 69-65 (2pts)
Jeff: Georgetown 75-74 (3pts)
Kubatski: Georgetown 83-80 (5pts)
Kubatski III: Connecticut 78-75 (2pts)
Kubatski Sr: Connecticut 83-76 (2pts)
Marty: Connecticut 63-61 (2pts)
McClain: NONE (0pts)
Murray: Connecticut 73-69 (2pts)
Oliver: Georgetown 71-67 (3pts)
Paulie: Georgetown 71-66 (1pts)
Princess G: Georgetown 62-60 (3pts)
Scott S: Connecticut 85-80 (2pts)
Scott T: Connecticut 71-69 (2pts)
Waders: Georgetown 73-72 (3pts)


Sunday, January 10

(1) Kansas (-3.5) @ (14) Tennessee

Actual Score: Tennessee 76-68
Predictions:
Brownie: NONE (0pts)
Butters: Kansas 92-77 (0pts)
Carmen: Kansas 83-76 (0pts)
Dave: Kansas 77-70 (0pts)
Jeff: Kansas 89-81 (0pts)
Kubatski: Kansas 84-66 (0pts)
Kubatski III: Kansas 99-90 (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Kansas 90-81 (0pts)
Marty: Kansas 84-69 (0pts)
McClain: Kansas 82-70 (0pts)
Murray: Kansas 83-76 (0pts)
Oliver: Kansas 84-74 (0pts)
Paulie: Kansas 88-76 (0pts)
Princess G: Kansas 82-64 (0pts)
Scott S: Tennessee 84-71 (3pts)
Scott T: Kansas 84-72 (0pts)
Waders: Kansas 84-65 (0pts)

NCAA Football (BCS Bowl Games)

For the newbies, and the old farts that need a reminder, this is how it works: You leave a comment (I enabled the ability to leave anonymous comments, I think) and give me the final score of the game. Make sure you look at the spreads in the parenthesis and pay close attention to the +/- that applies to the first team listed (usually the visiting team). I take your final score and give points based on your answer. Scoring looks like this.

1 point for the winner and 2 points for the spread with bonuses for exact predictions:

0pts - You predict the wrong team to win outright and your score does not cover the spread.
1pt - You predict the correct team to win outright, but your score does not cover the spread.
2pts - You predict the wrong team to win outright, but your score does cover the spread.
3pts - You predict the correct team to win outright and your score does cover the spread.
5pts - You predict which team will win and your final score reflects the exact winning margin for that team.
10pts - You predict the exact final score of the game.

Deadlines are the kickoffs of each game so you can make predictions 1 at a time or all at once. Have fun.


Friday, January 1

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
Ohio State (+4.5) vs. Oregon

Actual Score: Ohio State 26-17
Predictions:
Brownie: Oregon 35-30 (0pts)
Butters: Oregon 27-24 (2pts)
Carmen: Oregon 30-21 (0pts)
Dave: Oregon 27-13 (0pts)
Jeff: Oregon 35-17 (0pts)
Kubatski: Oregon 27-24 (2pts)
Kubatski III: Oregon 38-26 (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Oregon 31-24 (0pts)
Marty: Oregon 34-21 (0pts)
McClain: NONE (0pts)
Murray: Oregon 31-21 (0pts)
Oliver: Oregon 28-24 (2pts)
Paulie: Oregon 28-21 (0pts)
Princess G: Ohio State 42-32 (3pts)
Scott S: Oregon 31-17 (0pts)
Scott T: Oregon 31-27 (2pts)
Waders: Ohio State 28-24 (3pts)

Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)
Cincinnati (+13.5) vs. Florida

Actual Score: Florida 51-24
Predictions:
Brownie: Florida 42-24 (3pts)
Butters: Florida 34-24 (1pt)
Carmen: Florida 37-27 (1pt)
Dave: Florida 31-12 (3pts)
Jeff: Florida 42-10 (3pts)
Kubatski: Florida 34-13 (3pts)
Kubatski III: Florida 35-24 (1pt)
Kubatski Sr: Florida 34-24 (1pt)
Marty: Florida 31-17 (3pts)
McClain: NONE (0pts)
Murray: Florida 31-21 (1pt)
Oliver: Florida 34-14 (3pts)
Paulie: Florida 41-21 (3pts)
Princess G: Florida 42-34 (1pt)
Scott S: Florida 27-24 (1pt)
Scott T: Florida 42-31 (1pt)
Waders: Florida 35-21 (3pts)


Monday, January 4

Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)
Boise State (+7.5) vs. TCU

Actual Score: Boise State 17-10
Predictions:
Brownie: Boise State 38-24 (3pts)
Butters: TCU 45-35 (0pts)
Carmen: Boise State 21-17 (3pts)
Dave: Boise State 28-24 (3pts)
Jeff: Boise State 31-30 (3pts)
Kubatski: TCU 31-17 (0pts)
Kubatski III: Boise State 28-21 (5pts)
Kubatski Sr: TCU 38-28 (0pts)
Marty: TCU 44-38 (2pts)
McClain TCU 35-24 (0pts)
Murray: TCU 28-21 (2pts)
Oliver: NONE (0pts)
Paulie: TCU 27-24 (2pts)
Princess G: TCU 38-32 (2pts)
Scott S: TCU 45-41 (2pts)
Scott T: TCU 31-27 (2pts)
Waders: Boise State 35-28 (5pts)


Tuesday, January 5

Orange Bowl (Miami, FL)
Georgia Tech (-4.5) vs. Iowa

Actual Score: Iowa 24-14
Predictions:
Brownie: Georgia Tech 27-24 (2pts)
Butters: Georgia Tech 24-17 (0pts)
Carmen: Georgia Tech 24-21 (2pts)
Dave: Georgia Tech 27-21 (0pts)
Jeff: Georgia Tech 42-28 (0pts)
Kubatski: Iowa 23-21 (3pts)
Kubatski III: Iowa 24-17 (3pts)
Kubatski Sr: Iowa 27-24 (3pts)
Marty: Georgia Tech 24-17 (0pts)
McClain: Georgia Tech 20-10 (0pts)
Murray: Georgia Tech 24-17 (0pts)
Oliver: Iowa 30-27 (3pts)
Paulie: Iowa 31-24 (3pts)
Princess G: Georgia Tech 42-30 (0pts)
Scott S: Georgia Tech 23-21 (2pts)
Scott T: Georgia Tech 28-17 (0pts)
Waders: Iowa 28-24 (3pts)


Thursday, January 7

BCS Championship (Pasadena, CA)
Alabama (-4.5) vs. Texas

Actual Score: Alabama 37-21
Predictions:
Brownie: Alabama 30-21 (3pts)
Butters: Alabama 27-17 (3pts)
Carmen: Alabama 27-21 (3pts)
Dave: Alabama 31-30 (1pt)
Jeff: Alabama 24-20 (1pt)
Kubatski: Alabama 14-13 (1pt)
Kubatski III: Texas 16-14 (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Texas 33-27 (0pts)
Marty: Alabama 24-20 (1pt)
McClain: Alabama 27-21 (3pts)
Murray: Alabama 28-21 (3pts)
Oliver: Alabama 31-21 (3pts)
Paulie: Alabama 31-21 (3pts)
Princess G: Alabama 38-32 (3pts)
Scott S: Alabama 34-14 (3pts)
Scott T: Alabama 21-17 (1pt)
Waders: NONE (0pts)

How this crazy thing will work this year

For anyone who is new (and returning players read on for the changes) this is how it works.

I will post games and events that I think we should make predictions for. You make your predictions by making a reader comment. You can register with blogger.com or you can leave it as annonymous. If you leave an annonymous comment, make sure you sign your name. If I set it up correctly (which with my Polish upbringing is a big IF) the comments won't be visible on the page until I make them visible. You have until game time (or a previously established deadline) to do this.

When I post a question, I will also post the scoring for that question. Some games or events will be worth more points or have built in bonuses for things like exact spread predictions and so on. Please make suggestions for games and questions when you leave predictions.

Points will not be lost for wrong predictions or missed deadlines this year, however players not predicting will be losing ground on their opponents. Because of this I will try to guarantee that all postings will allow for at least 48 hours of response time. I also send out an e-mail whenever I leave a new post.

Standings will be posted whenever I get a chance, and predictions will be posted every few days.

I will send out an e-mail to your preferred e-mail address whenever I make a new post so that you will know to check the site. I also send out text messages when I can to those who haven’t left predictions if they are getting close to missing a deadline. For that reason I am asking everyone who wants to play to leave an e-mail that they check regularly and a cell phone number as a comment to this post. They will not be seen by anyone but me.

I will post the first big question (BCS Bowl Games) very soon.

Good luck and happy prognosticating.

Kubatski