Your Pigskins and Ponies Picks for Jan. 23-24

Welcome to ABR’s Pigskins and Ponies column, where winners play!
Horse racing is my means to an end, and I love the sport like no other, but I admit it, like most of you, on a Sunday afternoon in the fall, it’s hard to pull me away from my couch … and NFL RedZone.
I have a wanted sign in Las Vegas and am feared by fantasy football mavens nationwide, but when it comes to the college game, I choose to punt.
That’s where Derek Cooley comes in. The dude is a loaded gun of university knowledge, and since the college football season has ended, this week he moves on to college hoops.
Let’s kick off the football, spring the horses from the gate and pad our bankrolls!
College Hoops – by Derek Cooley
With an amazing college football season in our rearview mirror, it’s time to take a look ahead to March Madness. 
In trying to describe the college basketball season so far, I didn't have to look much further than Wednesday night. 
An unranked Nebraska team got a stellar performance from Shavon Shields and went to the Breslin Center in East Lansing and beat the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans.  Later in the evening, an unranked Texas squad with Shaka Smart at the helm went into Morgantown and stole one from the No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers.
That very same West Virginia team JUST beat Kansas in Morgantown.  The Jayhawks happened to be No. 1 at the time of the game, coming off a stellar triple overtime win over Oklahoma ... the current No. 1.  
The first loss of the season for Kansas came against Michigan State, a former No. 1 team in their own right that is currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak, two of which were at home (Iowa, Nebraska) and two of which were to unranked opponents (Nebraska, Wisconsin).  
And take a look at the rankings and see where you find the likes of Kentucky and Duke.  All the above is a clear representation of what college basketball has been so far.  
By the looks of it, the madness has arrived early!
Let's take a quick look at my surprises, disappointments and some must-watches.
Surprises 
The Big East
There has been stellar play by the teams at the top of this conference, with Villanova and Xavier holding down the No. 4 and 5 spots in the AP Poll respectively. You also have Providence at No. 16 and Butler at No. 18. A very good and surprising start for the basketball-only conference, which only had one preseason AP Top 25 team in Villanova. 
Iowa               
The 14-3 Hawkeyes acquired a total of six AP votes in the preseason, not even garnering a mere sniff at the Top 25. Early-season losses to Dayton and Notre Dame and an absolute heart breaker at Hilton against Iowa State never derailed the Hawkeyes. They have impressive wins against Michigan State, two of them, both very impressive. They went to Purdue and outscored the ranked Boilermakers by 24 points in a second-half comeback, and also have a blow-out win against Wichita State. Iowa is here to stay folks, watch them. 
SMU
Larry Brown has done an amazing job with this team*. Yes, they aren't playing for anything this year with program sanctions, and that ultimately falls on Brown's shoulders, but this team is undefeated! They are playing for no postseason and playing like this IS their tourney run! It's incredible. Unranked to top 10 and this magical regular season continues. 
Disappointments 
"Blue Bloods" Duke and Kentucky               
I'm sure at least one of these teams will be fine and make a run, but they've both been pretty disappointing so far this season. Kentucky's best win? Duke. Duke's best win ... Indiana? Duke's currently enduring a three game losing streak, with two straight losses to unranked conference opponents, Notre Dame and Syracuse, at Cameron Indoor. Meanwhile, Kentucky just lost at Auburn. That's all that needs to be said there. 
"Those Other Really Good Basketball Schools" Wichita State and Gonzaga
Wichita State is currently on the rebound, no question about that, but they had an awful, dreadful start to the season. And what has happened with Gonzaga?? I'm used to them absolutely blowing out inferior competition on its way to a No. 1 seed. The Shockers have been playing better as of late, but with that senior-laden lineup, they need to beat the Tulsas of the world. And Gonzaga is looking to get back into the top 25 after its loss to BYU. 
What to Watch 
Ben Simmons 
This kid is a freak, and is the first "without a doubt" No. 1 pick in the next NBA draft we've seen in a few seasons. He leads his LSU ball club in points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, minutes and field goal percentage. He's an outstanding watch, and NBA teams should be tanking for him. 
BEN SIMMONS

By TonyTheTiger (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Seniors Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) 
Because seniors can be fun to watch, too! 
Pro Pigskins – by Joe Kristufek
Tough sledding last week. 
A late Pittsburgh field goal back-doored us into a push in the Denver game. 
Carolina over Seattle was our only “winner”, but the game was much higher scoring than expected.
New England covered and the total went over and Arizona needed overtime to take down Green Bay.
Last week: 1-4-1
Playoffs: 3-7-1 (.30)
Season team win total over/under: 5-6
Season Total: 52-51-4 (.505) 
Divisional Playoffs 
Sunday, Jan. 24 
New England Patriots -3 at Denver Broncos and UNDER 44 
The Patriots defense vs. a shell of Peyton Manning or the Denver defense vs. a highly motivated Tom Brady and an increasingly healthy offense?
TOM BRADY

By Jack Newton (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
To me, this is an easy choice. 
The Broncos were all out to defeat a Steelers team compromised with a dinged up QB, one of the best WR in the league and a far from representative running game. 
If the Pats sprint out to an early advantage, this game might get ugly. 
Carolina Panthers -3 vs. Arizona Cardinals 
The Panthers’ first half performance against the Seahawks was scary good, but does their lack of production the rest of the way fuel cause for concern? 
Not really. Their computer was in safe mode the rest of the way. 
I have all the respect in the world for Arizona. If they win, they’ll likely be my Super Bowl pick, but home field should play as a major advantage and this is Cam Newton’s time. 
CAM NEWTON

By Keith Allison (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Ponies – by Joe Kristufek
With three of our five picks scratching last week, we only had action in the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Our longshot Z Royal set the pace before fading late, but the top pick Mo Tom stamped himself as a legitimate Kentucky Derby hopeful with a convincing win. 
Last week (doubled up): 4-2-0-0 ($4 WPS * $24 wagered * $24.80 returned)
Season Total: 78-18-12-10 ($2 WPS * $468 wagered * $352.20 returned = $4.52) 
Saturday, Jan. 23 
Tampa Bay Downs – Tampa, Fla.
Race 6 – Gasparilla  Stakes
#6 R Girls a Charmer (5-2) 
Purchased privately by a high-power team off a recent romp at Gulfstream, this speedy and talented overachiever takes the next logical step and meets a field she should handle. 
Race 7 – Pasco  Stakes
#6 Hand of Power (7-2) 
Very average on grass in his first two starts, this Ian Wilkes-trained son of Candy Ride responded with an authoritative win when switched over to dirt at Churchill. He’s trained strongly between runs and looks tough to beat here. 
Race 9 – Wayward Lass  Stakes
#8 Tiger Moth (4-1) 
Second-best in four consecutive races leading up to her last start, this Todd Pletcher-trained 4-year-old daughter of Street Sense finally returned to the winner’s circle with a confidence-boosting, professional score. She appears to have a bright future and is very well placed in this minor stakes event.
Oaklawn Park – Hot Springs, Ark. 
Race 8 – American Beauty 
#3 Super Saks (3-1) 
This speedy filly has finally figured it out. The winner of her last two starts, she has the speed to break their hearts again. With Grade 2 winner Sarah Sis likely to go favored, we should be able to steal a fair price on this gal.
RACING AT OAKLAWN PARK

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire