We Aren't Always Right

But we strive to be right all of the time. The beauty of this college basketball game is that anything can happen, and the outcome is always based on talent and dedication and the will of the athlete.

So, enough pontificating--let's see what we got right and what we didn't:

2. UCLA: at California. The Golden Bears are not a bad team, and the Bruins are not exactly great, but UCLA will win by single-digits. Did not win by single-digits, but UCLA did win. While California was within 4 at the half, we like the way UCLA came out and took control the rest of the game.

7. Oregon: plays at Washington. Yes, the Huskies are not anywhere close to being good, and the Ducks are very good. Oregon wins. Yawn. We old people on the other side of the U.S. cannot stay up for these late games. At this writing, the Ducks are down by 9 at halftime, but Washington is still not capable of winning. We stick with our original prediction. Oregon will win.

10. Duke: play #17 Clemson at home. Watch this game on ESPN. Duke should not be #10 (just ask Len Elmore). Clemson wins. Well, they had their chance to win, didn't they? Let's face it, Clemson lost this game in the final 4 seconds. Defense wins games, and the Tigers let their guard down when it mattered the most. Depth had a lot to do with this game, as neither team has a talented go-to bench. Anyway, Duke wins this great ACC game.

11. Butler: at Loyola(IL). no need to even evaluate this one. Butler will win. Butler did win, but had to do it in OT. Butler needs to be a better rebounding team, which was the factor tonight. Sure, anyone can hold a team to a low shooting percentage, but you also have to fight hard on the boards. The Bulldogs did not do that tonight, and it almost cost them a loss. The Horizon League is not exactly what one would consider a strong conference, so Butler is going to have to prove it should be ranked high by blowing out the Loyolas of the world.

15. Nevada: play Louisiana Tech at home. Nevada wins. Yawn. And we yawned for a reason as Nevada wins by 17.

18. Washington State: they get Oregon State at home. No upset here. 16-3 Washington State wins big. The Cougars chalk up another one. They are the Cinderella team this year.

No top-25 games scheduled for Friday. We will break down the Saturday games for you in our Friday post.