Mike Greenberg Idiotically Thinks UConn Could Make The NBA Playoffs
ESPN is addicted to saying stupid s*** about basketball during its 2024 NCAA Tournament coverage. First, "Risk-Free" Rece Davis violated a cardinal rule of sports betting when previewing the UConn-Northwestern game Sunday with ESPN gambling analyst Erin Kate Dolan.
Davis insanely called Dolan's pick for Northwestern to go Under its 60.5 team total "risk-free investing." Listen to me: You NEVER call another person's bet a lock. It's the ultimate mush move.
Apparently, ESPN Get Up host Mike Greenberg wants to join the numb-skull basketball conversations.
Greenberg, who's one of the least hot take-y commentators on ESPN, gave an uninformed opinion we hear every couple of years. The take is "Could this superb college team beat professional teams"? Greeny suggested the reigning national champion UConn Huskies could compete for a playoff spot in the NBA.
I'll shoot some bail to Greenberg and the rest of ESPN's talking heads. It's tough filling hours of TV time, and sometimes you just have to say stuff for entertainment. But, this routine sports talk show topic is so dumb and disrespectful of professionalism. UConn would get smacked by every NBA team, especially the ones vying for the postseason play-in tournament.
Currently, the four NBA teams that would compete in the Eastern Conference's play-in tourney are the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Hawks. This leads me to the question: How many points would these NBA teams be favored over Connecticut?
If Miami and UConn played tonight, the Heat would be at least -38.5 favorites. Both played Sunday. Miami beat the Cleveland Cavaliers by 37 points. Connecticut whooped Northwestern by 17 points. See, Cleveland has NBA players and Northwestern doesn't. More importantly, Miami lost to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.
Connecticut Huskies PG Tristen Newton takes a layup vs. the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the Barclays Center. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
I'd make this Sixers team -33.5 favorites vs. the Huskies. Granted, Philadelphia is missing 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid. But, 76ers All-Star Tyrese Maxey is the favorite to win the NBA's Most Improved Players and SF Tobias Harris would drop 30 vs. any UConn defender.
Since the Bulls are healthier than the 76ers, Chicago would be -35.5 favorites against Connecticut. Bulls C Andre Drummond was one of the most highly touted recruits in UConn history and he's a backup in Chicago. Drummond would destroy the Huskies on the glass and bully Connecticut big Donovan Clingan.
Former UConn Huskies C Andre Drummond runs over former West Virginia Mountaineers PF Dominique Rutledge during the 2012 Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. (Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports)
Despite being without All-Star PG Trae Young, Atlanta is still in the mix for the playoffs out East. Yet, I'd gladly lay up to -31.5 with the Hawks vs. UConn. Atlanta trampled the Charlotte Hornets by 41 points in their previous outing, Saturday. Charlotte has Brandon Miller, the first college basketball player picked in the 2023 NBA Draft.
I understand Greeny wants to keep people watching and sometimes has to "hot take" it. But, anytime you hear someone say "This college team could hang with the pros", just change the channel. You'll only get dumber listening to their reasoning and none of them would put their money where their mouth is.
_____________________________
Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants.