After the surprise early exits of both Warhawks teams, III.7 is left with 14 representatives in the national tournament. While the majority of matchups this week are cakewalks, there are a few intriguing matchups. Let's take a look:
Walnut Streets (d3. 412) vs Columbus Warriors (d4. 1177)
Walnut is off to a great start in league, and looks to have a fairly straight forward cup opponent. Touting a pair of skilled perimeter players, the Warriors will look to take the game away from the potent Walnut interior, no doubt. Beyond that, Columbus finds themselves extremely thin. My guess is Columbus will pack it in against our Big 8 leaders, but even if they don't, their star point guard is in terrible game shape, and shouldn't pose much of a threat. I figure the line should be set around the ballpark of Walnut -45.
West Side Tigers (d3. 132) vs #winners (d4. 982)
The only interesting matchup this week in the Great 8 isn't all that interesting. West side leads the Great 8, and is a capable d3 squad, while #winners are lucky to make the playoffs in a weak d4 league. They have a lot of 5k+ players, so spnkix can't completely sleep on the game, but this should be in the bag. West Side -49.
Mitsubishi Eclipse (d3. 301) vs The Wild Dogs (d4. 925)
Mitsubishi has made some splashy moves as of late, but their new transfer arrival is knicked up for a long time. That shouldn't matter too much though, as The Dogs are a young team with a pair of towers in the middle of their front-court. They'll surely look to the inside to generate offense. Alas, they will likely not be able to stand up to the Eclipse, being the far more rounded and talented team. Mitsubishi -39.
Baker Street Irregulars (d3. 127) vs Trinidad and Tobago Iguanas (d4. 744)
The Iguanas are a slightly below average d4 team. Baker has championship aspirations (assuming he doesn't break up his team, as he has publicly threatened. Not that I'd complain) in d3, and has the deepest bench in the league. Trinidad has their team in outstanding game shape, so it's not a complete pushover, but there's no way Baker doesn't steamroll them here. Baker -47.5.
Crosstown United (d3. 281) vs Flash Mashers (d3. 415)
By far the most interesting matchup this week. Flash Mashers are built from the inside-out. They carry a Tremol-like player in center Pier Francesco Tini. The dude is probably going to put up a 14.0 and a double double, if not a 20-10 performance. That's assuming he plays. Their team is in pretty good game shape, but they're really just 7 deep. Conversely, Crosstown is comprised largely of perimeter play, but they are far more balanced, yet only 6 deep. Mashers do seem to be saving a few starter minutes, but it'll be interesting to see how many minutes either of these teams are willing to expend, in possible expense of future game shape. That's particularly true with Crosstown, who is in a hotly contested conference and league, and are fighting to stay away from relegation, and into the playoffs. How much emphasis will they place on the tournament? Are they willing to sacrafice? Are Flash Mashers? That will really be the deciding factor IMO. Whoever wants to win this game, will. I'm going to assume they both do in making my line, and say Crosstown -4.5. Should be a good game.
homeboyz (d3. 309) vs EDH Wolves (d1. 20)
Homeboyz, I hate to say it, but y'all are screwed. Wolves are 9 deep. Unless Wolves try to lose, y'all are gonna get beat. ON THE OTHER HAND... Let's assume Wolves play their 2nd best 5. That would be a competitive d3 lineup, but not overwhelming, and probably wouldn't make the playoffs in this league. Might get relegated, in fact. That's a lineup homeboyz can beat. That is, if they weren't selling Xuanfa, and Rauw was still healthy. Still, HCA, who knows? A lot of things would need to happen in order for homeboyz to pull this one off. Wolves -42.5.
Last edited by FrostyMc at 2/9/2015 5:09:20 PM