Prelude: Well, here we are. The regular season is behind us and now the games actually start to mean something. Team Morin cruises into the playoffs as the clear favorite but it seems that there is an agreement throughout the league that everyone really, really, really wants them to lose and while they have smoked some good teams they are far from perfect. Any team can get hot and no one is safe. Should be a hell of a ride.

Game 1- Ruhl v. Kelley: This is probably one of the tightest games in the first round of the playoffs. Polich and Marty both came into this league with huge championship expectations and neither wants to be eliminated. Marty is going to need Aaron, Mo, and Flahive to play well in order to out score Kelley. The same thing applies to team Kelley, Polich is going to need a ton of help. I see Aaron being a big factor in this game and him and the other role players, hopefully mixed with some Kevin Ruhl coaching will lead this team to a first round win in a close game.

My Pick: Ruhl

Game 2- Barry v. Riela: I think that everyone is happy to see this matchup just so that team Riela’s disappointing season can end. There is just no way that Vondy and Ben can score enough to take down Barry. Fitz, Nagi, and Barry will all have good games against this weak team. The Richmans and Logan should also be able to contribute a large amount of points. The only way that Riela can pull this off is if they somehow manage to keep Barry below 40 points and I just don’t see this happening.

My Pick: Barry

Game 3- Van Heest v. Khoury: I don’t really have anything against team Van Heest but I think I speak for everyone when I say that I’m praying that Khoury wins this game. Gonzo and Jalen are going to need to carry their team through this game and will need Komari to put up solid numbers to win. Saying all that, the Amador brothers are just too much. Their athleticism mixed with other players like Tommy should easily carry this team to victory but maybe, just maybe team Khoury will be able to pull themselves together.

My Pick: Van Heest

Game 4- Hillier v. Mac: This is the only upset I’m picking and it’s not really even an upset since this is the 7 v. 10 game but I think Mac has a slight edge here. Hillier is going to be missing Eugene which is huge. He has been a big threat penetrating defenses and without him, Ryan Liu will need to put up an absolutely spectacular performance. Liu has not been quite as good as he was last year but he will need to be perfect tomorrow. With Mac, Walthal is a big time player and if he can just do his job they should win. Mac will need Rushab, Sid, and Horsefall to have decent games as well in order to win.

My Pick: Mac

Game 5- Smith v. Philbrook: A lot of people are saying that this game could be close because Philbrook only lost by three to them on Sunday and may have one of their stars, Jrod, back. As an unbiased third party, I give team Philbrook a very a slim chance at winning this game. Smith fell asleep halfway through the game on Sunday and the refs gave Philbrook a boost that really made this game close. Cord, CJ, Decco, McGrath, and Shuff should all be able to get a decent number of buckets against this team with a shallow bench. The benches will be the big difference in this game and Smith clearly has the better bench.

My Pick: Smith

Game 6- Bersani v. Guilbeau: This a game where Sam should be able to dominate. While Guilbeau has a few great athletes, they do not have anyone with enough size to hang with Correnti. The Ryans will need to make some threes and give team Bersani an outside threat in order to get Sam more looks. As I said, Guilbeau has a lot of talent with Bongi, Tmac, and Lis and each of these guys will need to put up 10+ to win the game. They will also need other role players like Bartlett to step up in order to pull of this upset. Their biggest problem will always be guarding Sam.

My Pick: Bersani