Are we good? All signs point to… we have absolutely no clue. Vegas fleeced us for 3.25u as we went 3-5 on the surprisingly promising showing from the Hoyas. Undefeated Jake has caught fire while winless John remains ice cold. Hopefully Georgetown will win this game convincingly, and the only thing you’ll have to worry about is your bets.  

 C The Team 7-6 (-1.07u)

1. Jake 2-0 (+1.82u) 🔥
2. Bobby 3-2 (+0.29u)
3. Armen 2-1 (-0.18u)
4. John 0-3 (-3u) 🤡

THE BOARD

Georgetown -17.5

Coppin State +17.5

Georgetown -5000

Coppin State +1400

O/U 148.5

First Half O/U 71.5

Georgetown O/U 88.5

Coppin State O/U 66.5

BEST BETS 

Bobby

Georgetown -17.5 0.5u

I hate this board so much. Unbelievably, Coppin State and Georgetown are the 13th and 43rd fastest tempo teams in the country, so I was hoping to be able to take an over of around 145 because both Coppin State and Georgetown love to run the floor. However, 148.5 just doesn’t seem to have enough value. In other news, our Hoyas have yet to prove that they can dominate a team to the point of submission so the spread of 17.5 seems fairly on par as well. My gut says to sit this game out, but there are two reasons to lean Hoyas here. First, Coppin State does not have a superstar player like West Virginia’s Derek Culver or Navy’s Cam Davis. Georgetown seems to get killed by teams with one of these stud players. Second, I feel confident that our freshmen who have not gotten a ton of minutes are very capable and eager to show their talent. Dante Harris, Kobe Clark, Collin Holloway, and (hopefully) Jamari Sibley should turn up the heat and secure the cover late in the game. The 60% free throw shooting from the Hoyas thus far has me wary, but I would be surprised if we don’t start catching up to last year’s rate of 77% from the stripe. Vegas may also be banking on the public to remember that Coppin State only lost to Duke by 10 points. This seems to have been a serious mirage after subsequent losses to Drexel and George Washington by solid margins.  Worth the bet as long until the line creeps towards 20.

Jake

Coppin State +19.5, 0.5u

Did someone say 2-0? Please, strictly refer to me as Dr. Locks from this point forward. To start, I was very pleased with my Hoyas on Sunday. They finally showed me some heart, effort, and hustle, and battled against an experienced and talented West Virginia team. Jahvon Blair even showed out for his faithful backers, draining a three with 4 seconds remaining for the sneakiest of backdoor covers. That being said, the amount of missed free throws and turnovers will be the death of me. I believe the turnover issue will be fixed in due time as the team continues to gel, but in my eyes, there’s no excuse for their struggles at the stripe. Today’s game is honestly a conundrum. I have absolutely no angle on this Coppin State squad. After remaining competitive with Duke in their season opener, they suffered 15+ point losses against two average to subpar teams in George Washington and Drexel. The game total seems high as neither team has a surplus of offensive talent, but a lack of defense could equally get the job done. In wake of my uncertainty I’ll stick with the light plays but opt to fade the Hoyas. Until I am proved wrong, I just do not see this team maintaining such a large lead for the duration of the game. Could Georgetown cover today? Absolutely. They have the talent to do so. Will they? That remains to be seen. With the sloppy play we’ve seen this season, a 19-point spread is simply too many points.  Let’s keep this momentum rolling; don’t let me get hot!!

Armen 

Over 148.5 0.5u

Georgetown +17.5 0.5u

Friends, I just want to make this one thing extremely clear: last game was rough. Whether it was the sloppy play in a winnable game or the fact that Jahvon Blair hit a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to ruin my -10.5 bet, we can always count on our Hoyas to leave us in sheer disappointment after every game. Let’s just say I did not have fun on Sunday. But guess what? It’s a new day, and I am back with your daily dose of locks (and your friendly reminder to fade John Kurkjian). Honestly, today’s lines are atrocious. Somebody in Vegas is giving the Hoyas way too much respect, and I don’t like it. On one hand, I don’t think this Georgetown team can beat anybody by more than 17 points, but on the other, just like in the West Virginia game, I think these bookmakers know something we don’t. I definitely think Georgetown is going to come out and play a solid game, it’s just a matter of which Coppin State team we get. So for that reason, I’m throwing everything I know about betting out the window and actually having faith in my team. And when all else fails, just fade the person who hasn’t hit a bet all year (🤡). Ladies and gentlemen, maybe don’t put your houses on it, but book it. Georgetown by a million.

John

Coppin State +17.5 1u

Georgetown -5000 1u

As I sigh in pain realizing I’m still the apparent clown of the group (thanks Armen), I am reminded of my New York Football Giants. While they started the year 0-5 destined for another wasted top 5 pick, they’ve stunned the world and recovered to a 5-7 record and NFC (L)East division lead. I’m taking one out of Big Blue’s playbook here: while the Hoyas looked like a completely different team against #11 West Virginia and in fact had a backdoor cover, much to the chagrin of everyone here, they still lost. However, Coppin State is not #11 West Virginia. The Eagles are 0-3 with a respectable ten point loss to Duke and losses to GW and Drexel, but they are abysmal from three point range. Coppin State is ranked 266th nationally in three point percentage, shooting a dreadful 25% from deep. While Georgetown doesn’t have much of a lead in that category (178th, 31.8%), I think it’ll help the Hoyas force Coppin State inside, where the Eagles of course come at odds with Chudier Bile, Timmy Ighoefe, and Qudus Wahab. I like the Hoyas to get back on track, but this is Georgetown after all. Expect them to play down to Coppin State’s level, as they did against Navy, and somehow walk out of McDonough Arena and John Thompson Jr. Court victorious for the second time this season. Hoyas, 78-66. 

P.S. You probably shouldn’t read a word I write after my first bets this season, so take these picks with a cup, not a grain, of salt. 

*** All bets are completely theoretical and based on delusion.  This column is for entertainment purposes only.