The playoffs are always the most interesting part of the season; and, not because they will crown a winner from the 15-week journey. Some players are going to hit a massive slump, some players who have sucked are going to emerge. Recently acquired players are going to make or not make a huge impact as the case may be. It happens every year and if I could figure out which players were likely to do either, well…the deal is, while we may be playing FANTASY college basketball, we are still doing so with real people and that’s what makes the whole dang thing fascinating…to me.
“Hold On To Your Butts!” (apologies to Stephen L. Jackson’s character in Jurassic Park)
Deep Valley Grouchos 135.0-Saluki YRD’s 126.5
Hardwood Heroes 145.0-Virginia Gentlemen 126.5
#1 Deep Valley Grouchos vs. #9 Hardwood Heroes
DVG’s: Led the league in scoring…well, that’s ancient history now. Have the two top scorers. Still relevant. Have…ZERO guard play. Well, that’s an issue. Only positive is that recent frosh guard addition Gavin Doty performed well because Ivisic, who recently recovered from mono now has a sensitive ankle and Doty will have to step in again. Of course, not having Ivisic & his 20+fppg average in the frosh slot means that Doty can’t fill a guard slot because he has to be the freshman-and while that is different to calculate, I figure that having to do these costs the DVG’s around 10 fantasy point. Only reason the DVG’s advanced was because they were the #1 seed and got lucky in drawing the YRD’s.
HH: Lots of positives to look at. 1-5-25 added f/c Taje Kelly. Kelly may have some issues at the ft line, and can make a few to’s, but, he’s also capable of going big. 1-10-25 added f Denijay Harris. Consistent and occasionally explosive defines Harris. 1-27-25 edged me out by roughly two hours in acquiring g Jalen Jackson. What I call an “active” guard who’s going to get his fga’s and has been tearing up conference play. And, g/f Keyshawn Hall. Hall has often been disappointing but can still get 20-24. That’s 4 starters added since the beginning of the new year.
DID YOU KNOW: Not counting the freshman spot, did you know that in the last 19 games that a guard has been in the lineup for the DVG’s, that they only managed to score 20 or more fantasy points on 5 occasions. That’s right…5-19. The DVG’s are only getting 20 fantasy points from a guard on roughly 20% of their games.
X-FACTOR: Cluff only has one game. After fouling out and playing just 20 minutes plus all the extra rest, the odds are that he will have a strong outing-and, it will be locked in. Either way, his norm, better, or sub-par, that is it and along with the DVG guard play will be the two most important factors in this matchup. HH is starting two freshmen.
FAVORITE: Hardwood Heroes
Psychos 161.2-Vindaloos 129.5
House of Sparky 187.5-KC Warthogs 129.0
#4 Psychos vs. #5 House of Sparky
A great second round matchup. Psychos rested their stud, Clifford, who will be back in the lineup at one guard slot. If they can get decent production from the other guard position this one will be a barn-burner. HOS has decent guard play but has an edge in frontcourt firepower. Nice edge at the frosh slot to the Psychos. While I don’t see HOS going for 180+ again, they can certainly be in the 160’s with those frontcourt bully boys running like the bulls in Pamplona. Their only weakness is at the frosh position but their other 6 starters are good enough to cover him.
X-FACTOR: I think the Psychos are making a mistake not including Kaufman-Renn in the lineup. He’s always been able to score but his cavalier attitude towards rebounding often held his scoring total down. Well, he’s suddenly discovered that he loves to rebound and he’s still getting his touches and as always, making a high percentage of them. He’s definitely peaking and I always believe that if I am going down I’m going down with my best and/or hottest.
FAVORITE: House of Sparky
Maize and Blue Bloods 189.0-Sam Jacobson Went To Class 120.5
Gator Bait 179.5-Hillbilly Maulers 150.8
#2 Maize And Blue Bloods vs. #7 Gator Bait
I mentioned consistency in my playoff preview, with regards to MBB. Well, Omier was slightly “off” at 24.5 for the week & Brooks was “down” at 22.5. Kalkbrenner, who’s been on a tear of late averaged 38. New add g Threat averaged 27. Smith 40, Haggerty 27.5 This is a juggernaut that Gator Bait, is running into. Or, should I say that MBB is the gator and GB simply the bait. GB has a good lineup and had a tremendous week, but realistically, it’s not sustainable. GB only had one player under 20 and was their freshman, who had 18. Murray-Boyles & Joseph were outstanding and GB got a surprisingly good performance from Noah Williamson (32.5-because he got 24 rebounds in two games when it normally takes him about four games). So, an upset, while not very likely without a lot of help from MBB is possible but not likely. MBB won’t be putting down 199.5 again but it’s actually not out of the realm of possibility. Their lowest average was 20.0 by their freshman…wowza!
X-FACTOR: GB is hoping that Williamson’s newfound love of rebounding is still ongoing & is also gambling on Kadary Richmond. The only thing that can affect this outcome is if at least 4 of the MBB boys were at least 6 points lower than their season averages while GB has a week very similar to their first one.
FAVORITE: Maize And Blue Bloods
Hoosiers 131.7-North Pole Fightin’ Reindeer 126.0
The Hoop Guru 148.0-Prozac Pups 124.0
#11 Hoosiers vs. #14 The Hoop Guru
THG just pulled the upset of the first round as they stunned the Prozac Pups in a close, low scoring contest. PP had a week much like the DVG’s but was not lucky enough to come through. Two of their best killed them as Dixon, a season-long stud averaged just 11 & Toppin 9.5. Raynaud was a little down and they didn’t get enough from their guards who were outscored by Felton & Small, plus Ashworth came through with a probable season high 24.5 average for the week. Meanwhile, Hoosiers also pulled a big upset in squeezing past NPF in a low-scoring affair.
X-FACTOR: THG’s you never know what you are going to get Felton, and, if he makes a lot of treys and shoots a high percentage he’s good Ashworth. I think it’s better than 50% that Felton has a good week while it’s less than 50% that Ashworth can do what he did last week-but he’s usually not horrible, either. For the Hoosiers Ballo has 3 games. I don’t like playing guys in the playoffs who have 3 games but he should be strong after a stunningly poor single game performance last week. And, there’s Shulga-who has just one game. Shulga is reliable but I’ve always wanted him to be more aggressive-and now, he has and is putting up more shots. The Hoosiers are really gambling though with Mack (also one game) in the lineup. I couldn’t play a guy like Mack unless I was desperate and he had two games. I’d rather gamble on Tyson Dunn.
FAVORITE: Edge to THG as they have more players currently performing at a higher level while the Hoosiers will be counting on more players who I have question marks about, but it could be a close match as the Hoosiers have been an excellent positive spread team all year.