Well, Dave pulled the rabbit out of his (expletive) last weekend perfectly picking the Vermont-Mass series. Thus, I’m going to have to correctly pick a couple of upsets this week or else the old man will be the champion, despite having trailed the entire season.
Jim last week: 3-4-0
Dave last week: 5-2-0
Jim to date: 134-85-26
Dave to date: 136-83-26
#10 Merrimack at #1 Boston College
Jim’s pick: This is where I think the lower seed will win a game. Of course, picking it on the correct night is pretty much what will allow me to make up ground.
BC 3, MC 1; MC 3, BC 2; BC 4, MC 2
Dave’s pick: I just can’t see Merrimack winning a game. Perhaps game one with BC a bit rusty from the week off, but not game 2. So I’m picking BC across the board (so if I’m wrong, there’s a pick for game three), pretty confident I’m widening my lead.
BC 4, MC 2; BC 3, MC 1; BC 4, MC 1
#8 Massachusetts at #2 Northeastern
Jim’s pick: I’m confident that UMass will be a tough out, but I still think Northeastern can take care of this series in two.
NU 4, UMass 2; NU 3, UMass 2; NU 5, UMass 3
Dave’s pick: If I weren’t so confident in Northeastern, I’d be expecting this to go to a third game, and maybe the Minutemen could even fashion an upset and advance to the Garden. But the Huskies might be my pick next week to win it all.
NU 4, UMass 2; NU 4, UMass 3; NU 5, UMass 2
#6 Maine at #3 Providence
Jim’s pick: Providence should be able to take care of this series, though Maine’s defense did impress me last weekend. Granted the Black Bears weren’t facing the Friars.
PC 4, Maine 2; PC 3, Maine 2; PC 5, Maine 2
Dave’s pick: It does seem that as soon as I hop on the Friars bandwagon, it hits a pothole. But I do believe Maine’s stunningly good season will come to an end.
PC 3, Maine 2; PC 4, Maine 2; PC 4, Maine 1
#5 Connecticut at #4 Boston University
Jim’s pick: I honestly think that UConn could win this series, but I’ll still go with the Terriers in three at home.
UConn 3, BU 2; BU 4, UConn 1; BU 4, UConn 3
Dave’s pick: I’m pretty confident the favorites in the other series will not only prevail, but finish matters off in two. This series? Who knows? UConn could sweep and no one should be surprised. After all, it had a seven-game winning streak going into the final game of the regular season. That said, I’m going to give the Terriers one more chance to drive me crazy, fully expecting that they won’t disappoint.
BU 4, UConn 3 (OT); BU 3, UConn 2 (OT); BU 2, UConn 1 (OT)
