Sunday Selections – Super Bowl Sunday Edition

NFL fans, we’ve made it. This is for either back-to-back championships for the Kansas City Chiefs or SEVEN Super Bowl rings for Tom Brady, the greatest to ever do it. Even though today is going to be all about Bucs/Chiefs, it’s hard to forget that there are great college basketball and NBA games to pick. So here are my picks for today:

NCAA Basketball:

#8 Iowa (13-5) (-3) at Indiana (9-8)

Indiana has won the last two games against the Hawkeyes, but when Iowa has Luka Garza and is ranked the #1 offense by KenPom, it’ll be hard to contain them. I do like Trayce Jackson-Davis, but I don’t think the Hoosiers have it in them to beat this talented Iowa team.

Tune into Iowa at Indiana at 12 PM ET on FOX.

Boise State (14-3) (-4) at Nevada (13-7)

Nevada has dominated the Broncos in past years, but I think this Boise State team will win the Mountain West. Boise State beat the Wolfpack in their meeting on February 1, and I can see them winning again today.

Tune into Boise State at Nevada at 4 PM ET on Fox Sports 1.

NBA:

Wizards (5-14) (-2) at Hornets (10-13)

LaMelo Ball is the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year and with forward Gordon Hayward out there with him, I don’t see them losing. Watch out for Bradley Beal, who has been scoring high this season. I would say Russell Westbrook, but he’s having a down year.

Tune into Wizards at Hornets at 1 PM ET on NBA League Pass (Local TV: Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte, NBC Sports Washington)

Jazz (18-5) (-4) at Pacers (12-11)
This Jazz team is the best I’ve seen in a long time. At least, so far it is. With Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, this team is scary for any team. The Jazz will need to look out for Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon, who run this team and do have cases at being All-Stars this season.

Tune into Jazz at Pacers at 1 PM ET on NBA League Pass (Local TV: Fox Sports Indiana, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain)

Heat (8-14) (-5.5) at Knicks (11-13)

The Knicks are a better team currently, according to Dunks and Threes. I disagree, but the Heat are a very disappointing team compared to the team we saw in the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals last year. Their injury report is pretty full, so I’ll take Julius Randle and the New York Knicks in an upset.

Tune into Heat at Knicks at 1 PM ET on NBA League Pass (Local TV: MSG, Fox Sports Sun)

Celtics (12-9) at Suns (12-9) (-3)

The Celtics were struggling when Kemba Walker first came back. The other night, he hit the game-winner and sunk the game-sealing free throws against the Clippers and had 24 points and 4 assists. That shut the “trade Kemba” fans up. Assuming Jaylen Brown is back, the Celtics should win, but I would not count the Suns out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they won instead.

Tune into Celtics at Suns at 2 PM ET on NBA TV (Local TV: Fox Sports Arizona, NBC Sports Boston)

Kings (11-11) at Clippers (17-7) (-8.5)

The Clippers are coming off a loss to the Celtics (who the Kings beat) and are hungry to get another game in the win column. If Paul George is active, lock in a Clippers win. They are without key player Patrick Beverly, however.

Tune into Kings at Clippers at 3 PM ET on NBA League Pass (Local TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket, NBC Sports California)

NFL:

Super Bowl LV: #1 Kansas City Chiefs (14-2) (-3) at #5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5)

Tom Brady, the greatest player of all time, versus Patrick Mahomes, someone who people say is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The Buccaneers are in the Super Bowl for the first time since they won Super Bowl XXXVII back in the 2002 season (the game played in January 2003). Tom Brady is making his tenth Super Bowl appearance, which is already the most all-time (Stephen Gostkowski and Mike Lodish are tied for second with six). He is looking to extend his record of most Super Bowl Championships to seven. Brady left New England last year and went to Tampa Bay, a team with great potential but no success, brought Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown with him and led the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Their defense is considered one of the best in the NFL, and the Buccaneers would not be in this position without their incredible defense. The Kansas City Chiefs did not show a hangover after winning their first Super Bowl in 50 years (1969) last year. Patrick Mahomes was an MVP candidate, Travis Kelce could have been Offensive Player of the Year, and Tyreek Hill is still one of the best wide receivers in the league. They improved their running backs, adding rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire from LSU and veteran Le’Veon Bell. The Chiefs’ defense looks better than last year with Tyrann Mathieu leading that group. People consider the matchup between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes the greatest Super Bowl quarterback matchup in history. I think people forgot Peyton Manning played Drew Brees in a Super Bowl. This matchup is up there, for sure.

So who’s my pick? Drum roll, please…

I’m taking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win Super Bowl LV!

I’ve always known defense wins championships and never bet against Tom Brady. This is the matchup I dreamed of happening. I think Tampa Bay’s defense and the fact that they’re playing at Raymond James Stadium, the first time a team has ever hosted a Super Bowl, will get them the win. Tom Brady is by far the greatest playoff quarterback to ever play the game, and it’s hard for a team to go back-to-back. I’d change my mind if it was Eli Manning playing for the Chiefs, of course. Anyways, good luck to both teams tonight, and whoever wins 100% deserves to win. For me, go Tom Brady, go Gronk, and go Buccaneers.

Tune into Chiefs at Buccaneers at 6:30 PM ET on CBS (All listings here)