Arizona at California
With the Pac-10 looking so tough, wins will be hard to come by in any road venue, unless you’re UCLA or playing in Corvallis, Ore. California forward Ryan Anderson could be the best player you’ve never heard of with a sweet inside-outside game, leading the conference in scoring (20.7 points per game) and ranking fourth in rebounding (9.6 per game) entering yesterday. But the Wildcats are good enough, and more importantly tough enough, to score a big road win.
Arizona 75, California 67
Michael Schwartz, sports writer
Everything I learned about sports this year can be summed up by Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable. So get comfortable, we are going to do something we’ve never done before, which kind of defeats the purpose of staff picks. Oh well. For the first time in Staff Picks history, I’m going to admit that I don’t know what’s going to happen. Arizona looks good some times and bad at others.
California 75, Arizona 67
Ari Wasserman, assistant sports editor
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: It’s still football season so we shouldn’t be worrying about basketball at the moment. I mean, come on, the Super Bowl is right around the corner. Anyway, with Jerryd Bayless back, Arizona will be a different team so it should be able to handle the Bears that resemble a golden color. Look for the offense to get back to its high-flying ways in a Wildcat victory.
Arizona 70, California 60
Brian Kimball, sports writer
No. 22 ASU at Stanford
Just because the Devils are ranked for the first time since Mario Bennett led the 1994-95 team to the Sweet 16 and the Cardinal are not, does that mean ASU should be the favorite? Not if the Lopez twins and Co. have anything to say about it. I hope the Devils have enjoyed being ranked this week, because they won’t be next week after their trip to Stanford ends. The only question is if it will take them another 13 years to be ranked again.
Stanford 64, ASU 55
Michael Schwartz, sports writer
I am not going to pretend like I’m smarter than the kids at Stanford. I bet you aren’t either, but there is nothing wrong with that. They are too smart for their own good. But I guess that is an advantage because we all know how smart ASU is. Half of the time I’m surprised that ASU remembers where the hoop is. Yeah, yeah – they are ranked 22nd. Well, Rosie O’Donnell is a celebrity – weird stuff happens.
Stanford 65, ASU 64
Ari Wasserman, assistant sports editor
Again, we shouldn’t care. I do watch
SportsCenter, however, and saw on the bottom line that ASU has strung together nine straight wins going into yesterday. I also know that Stanford is a smarty-pants school and it seems weird to me that they would promote athletics. So, adding those factors together should equate to a sum of an ASU victory because the Stanford kids are probably already preparing
for midterms.
ASU 70, Stanford 62
Brian Kimball, sports writer
Who’s going to the Super Bowl?
Logic says pick the favorites, with both teams enjoying extreme home-field advantages. The Pats destroyed a healthy Chargers team in Week 2, so who’s to think a battered San Diego squad would fare any better this time around? Oh yeah, and in case you haven’t heard, New England’s undefeated. The Packers may have beaten the Giants just as convincingly in Week 2, but that game was played in New York and this one’s on the road, where the G-Men have won their last nine games. Get ready for a rematch of Week 17.
Patriots vs. Giants
Michael Schwartz, sports writer
All I ever hear about is the New England Patriots. Well, I am getting kind of sick of it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to pick them. They have been ridiculous this year. The Giants have been knocking on the door for a few years, and I simply just don’t think the Packers are as good as everyone thinks.
Patriots vs. Giants
Ari Wasserman, assistant sports editor
I don’t like the Patriots. They beat my team (the Bills) by a combined score of 94-17 in two games. I don’t really want them to win, but I can’t pick against an undefeated team. The Packers should face the Pats in the Super Bowl because Eli can’t win in cold weather and Favre rarely loses. Look for a Super Bowl quarterback battle of epic proportions on Feb. 3.
Patriots vs. Packers
Brian Kimball, sports writer
