FRIDLEY REC+:  Week 3 Predictions

By Jake Gave | Fridley League Coordinator

7 p.m. - No. 1 The Originals (2-0) vs. No. 4 Bulls (1-1)

Our first game of the night should be an exciting one!   The undefeated Originals will take on a very talented Bulls squad to kick things off.  The Originals smacked Team FOE last week and have looked great to start the season.  The Bulls bounced back after a Week 1 loss to take down a talented Bakke’s Bombers team last week.  The Bulls will need to be on their A-game if they want to slow down the league’s top offensive team. 

Josh Hoyle has been off to an insane start for The Originals, shooting 71 percent from the field and averaging 35.5 points.  Chris Maher has impressed as well, averaging 26 points on 76 percent shooting.  The Bulls will have to key in on those two and force someone else to beat them.  On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulls will want to keep working through Billy Elwell, who did a great job of facilitating the offense in his first game back.  I think the Bulls will give The Originals a run for their money but The OG’s will pull away late.

PREDICTION:  The Originals -8.5

7 p.m. - No. 7 Uncle D.A. and the Killers (1-1) vs. No. 6 Bakke’s Bombers (1-1)

In our other 7 p.m. game on the far court, the 1-1 Bakke’s Bombers will take on the 1-1 Uncle D.A. and the Killers squad.  Both of these teams started 1-0 on the season and took a loss last week.  They are both looking to rebound but only one team will prevail.  These two teams share a similar makeup with rosters full of long, athletic forwards and it will be interesting to see who will get the edge.  Both teams are in the top 5 defensively and the bottom five offensively, so I expect to see a low-scoring battle.

Leading the way for the Killers is Kali Terry, a guy who the Bombers will need to keep an eye on.  Kali leads his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks so it’s safe to say he’s a key part of their squad.  The Bombers have gotten some very solid play from Zach Debeltz to start the season and he is currently averaging 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5 assists.  Dashawn Nichols is another guy who has been solid to start the season and will play a big role in this one.  I got to stick with my team here to pull of the victory and move to 2-1.

PREDICTION:  Bakke’s Bombers -5.5

8 p.m. - No. 3 Bigsmash (2-0) vs. No. 2 FOB Five (2-0)

In what looks to be the game of the night on paper, the No. 3 ranked Bigsmash squad will take on the No. 2 ranked FOB Five team.  Both of these teams have been off to strong starts, winning both of their first two games.  Only one team can remain undefeated and this one is going to be a battle.  What makes this game extra exciting is the fact that Brock Zins and Joe Suek used to be the two college guys on FOB’s roster but broke away to start up the Bigsmash franchise again.  This could be the first game in an intense rivalry between the two squads.

The main guy to watch for FOB in this one will be Adam Hoven.  He leads the team in points, rebounds and assists, and is key to getting this offense going.  I have heard that FOB will only be with five players, so their execution will have to be on point.  For Bigsmash, it has been all Joe Suek so far through two games, as he is averaging 28.5 points and 12 rebounds.  FOB will have to force someone else to beat them, but make sure that other guy isn’t Zhao who went off for five 3’s in the last game.  I think Zhao will keep the hot shooting rolling so I will take Bigsmash in the minor upset. 

PREDICTION:  Bigsmash -3.5

8 p.m. - No. 5 Wolves (1-1) vs. No. 8 Jumpshot Hustlers (0-2)

In our second 8 p.m. matchup, two 1-1 teams will face off to see who can get above .500.  The Wolves picked up their first victory last week by knocking off Uncle D.A. and the Killers.  The Jumpshot Hustlers on the other hand lost their second-straight game, coming up just short against FOB Five.  While they did lose the game, a one possession loss to one of the best teams in the leagues will likely give them some momentum and confidence heading into this one.  They will face a pretty similar Wolves team who likes to push the pace and get up a lot of outside shots.  I expect this one to be a high-scoring affair.

For the Wolves to have success, they will want to key in on Jake Ruhland who is off to a terrific start for the Hustlers.  Jake is fourth in the league in scoring at 26.5 points per game and has done so on a solid 67 percent from the field.  They will also need to contend with big man David Stommes who impressed in his first game back.  The Jumpshot Hustlers will need to watch out for all of the shooters on the Wolves.  Neal Anderson and Hans Albrecht are both shooting above 40 percent from deep and will be ready to keep pulling.  I think the face that the Wolves have been together for so long will help them pull out the victory over the Hustlers who are still figuring a few things out.

PREDICTION:  Wolves -8.5

9 p.m. - No. 10 Team FOE (0-2) vs. No. 9 Triple Double (0-2)

In our final game of the night, two teams who are searching for their first win on the season will take aim at one another.  Team FOE lost in devastating fashion to The Originals last week and hope to put that game wayyy behind them.  Triple Double also lost last week, and even though it was a close one, it had to hurt because they gave the game away.  I expect both of these teams to come out hungry and play with a lot of intensity.

For Triple Double, if they can shut down Andre Thomas they will be in good shape.  Andre is their leading scorer at 28 points per game which is more than double than the next guy.  He has been on fire from deep, shooting 63 percent on 9.5 attempts.  For Team FOE, they will have to slow down the three point duo of Sonny Young-Graves and Justin Fenster.  These two are shooting an insane amount of three’s, a combined 29.5 per game and both are hitting at over a 40 percent clip.  I expect these two to keep getting quality looks and for Triple Double to take care of business.

PREDICTION:  Triple Double -12.5