“If you’re going through Hell, keep going”
-Winston Churchill
My 55 Percenters have been tough lately. I can’t buy a win. Some would say the answer is to give up, my 55% task is too tough of one to complete, especially given that I am clearly incompetent at picking games. But as the Churchill quote above indicates, I’m not about to stop when the fires of hell are burning around me. I may be in Gambling Hell, but on the other end, there is a pile of brackets, 100’s and a Badger National Championship beckoning me. March Madness is the time for me to finish my drive through hell, and much like Andy Dufresne, I intend on coming out of this stretch of shit smelling foulness clean on the other side. So I dedicate this edition of the 55 Percenters to Shawshank Redemption. Today, we get that shit smelling foulness that is some terrible teams playing basketball that moderately resembles March Madness out of the way. A winning record and a day later, the real March Madness will begin, with the second round of the Big East tourney. Let’s get to it, with a Shawshank quote for every game of course.
“I don’t know; every man has his breaking point”
- Red
South Florida/DePaul Over 124.5
This is my breaking point. I made Jake write this one down earlier because it started at 11 AM and I wanted to make sure it counted. Naturally it ended at 107, not even in the ballpark of a win for this guy. I feel like Andy after the Sisters got through with him. Let’s move on.
“Get busy living, or get busy dying”
- Red
Seton Hall -6 over Providence
It may be pure stupidity, but I won’t let that USF/DePaul game end my fight. An 0-1 start to a day is not the end. I think Seton Hall is a solid team and can beat the piss poor talent that the Friars toss out on the court. Seton Hall just beat the Friars by 12 on the road recently, so I love them -6 on a neutral court. Like Red said, I’ve only got two choices, and I’m not about to watch my gambling career die in front of my eyes. I may well end up broke, alone and with a sub 40% picking record, but at least I can enjoy watching a random game between Seton Hall and Providence at MSG.
“One day, when I have a long gray beard and two or three marbles rollin’ around upstairs, they’ll let me out”
- Red
ST BONAVENTURE -1.5 over Duquesne
I feel like they may let me out of Gambling Hell because in picking this game I am clearly down to a few marbles. I mean sure, I haven’t actually watched either of these teams this year and I haven’t actually heard anything about them either, but have you seen the Bonnies home record?!??! Their 10-4 record at home compared to Duquesne’s 3-10 road mark sounds like -1.5 should hit to me. Give me the Bonnies baby!
“You’re gonna look real funny sucking my dick with no teeth”
- Captain Hadley
North Texas/Troy Under 139
I’m going to look really silly myself if I bother with the North Texas / Troy Sun Belt Championship Game only to end up with the loss. I like the under here, so needless to say, you should probably hit the over pretty hard. Also needless to say, I have nothing else to say about this game.
“The man’s been in here fifty years, Heywood. Fifty years! This is all he knows. In here, he’s an important man. An educated man. Outside, he’s nothin’!”
- Red
BUTLER -7 over Wright St & Butler/Wright St OVER 121.5
Red’s quote about Brooks is dedicated to Butler, who in the Horizon League, is an important team. Outside? They will once again tumble in the tournament when they play real teams with legitimate talent. Please spare me any arguments stating that Butler is ranked highly and an actual contender. They’ll dominate the Horizon Finals tonight, go into the NCAA’s with analysts raving about the “fantastic” Matt Howard before everyone once again realizes that unathletic, semi-tall white guys don’t equal tournament wins.
“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”
- Andy Dufresne
IUPUI +1.5 over Oakland
Andy’s iconic quote goes to my final pick of the evening, which doesn’t need any explanation as you clearly do not care about this game. I will continue to hope that I can achieve my goal of hitting 55% of my picks long term but I wouldn’t blame any of you for actively betting against me at this point. Just remember that I believe and when I finally achieve my goal, I’ll be happier than Andy Dufresne in Zihuatanejo.
All Time on ADPTP: 47-49-2 (.490)
Last Post: 0-2 (.000) <—- that’s bad
