Welcome to the CatsIllustrated Stupid Underdog Pick Contest. Each week the odds are gathered from the Oddstrader web page (usually on Sunday night) and posted in a thread on CatsIllustrated (which we will hopefully get pinned for convenience). This contest runs for the entire football season (the bowls are treated as one really long week).

There are several ways to win: there are weekly winners, the person with the highest cumulative point total after the season is over is the overall winner but we recognize the contestants that have the most correct picks also.

How do you get points? Select the underdog (second team listed in each game) and have that team pull the upset. The bigger the dog, the bigger the reward but the longer the odds.

Some rules that we need to keep things running smoothly:

1) You should make your pick before the first game of the week has kicked off. Your pick may be invalidated otherwise. I can't know with the new Rivals format that you didn't delete a pick that didn't win and then post a pick from a later game in hopes of getting a winner. You can change your pick before the first game of the week has started by editing your pick or deleting the old pick and making a new post. To change your pick after the first kick off of the week, leave the original post alone, make a new post and indicate that you want to change your pick in that new post. I'll verify that you can change it manually.

2) If you make your pick after the first game of the week kicks off, it may be invalidated. Make your pick before the first kickoff of the day or pick a game that is played on a later date. I might post that you can make picks a bit later in that day in the "Don't forget to..." thread, but don't count on it.

3) If you pick the favored team instead of the underdog, we all laugh at you. Ok, we don't but you can't expect to get points in SUP for that.

4) You can appeal an invalidation by posting in that week's thread, include what you think is wrong.

5) Don't edit your picks after the first game of the week has kicked off.

Understand that a perl script is scoring this, if you make the spelling of the teams intentionally obtuse or you are just really bad at spelling, your pick might be missed. If you want to tell us all about the underdogs you thought you might choose and then tell us about the one you finally did pick, you might be surprised which one the script finds.

So your post should look something like:
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Purdue

*** Everyone hates the Irish right?
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Don't put any other team name in your post with your SUP pick without putting an '***' in front of it. Everything after the '***' will be ignored. My program may find the wrong name if you don't. Once you post your pick, you can post in the thread any comment you like. Your first post is your pick (if I can find your pick).

Because the scoring is done by a script and not by hand, if you feel a mistake was made in scoring your SUP, post that on that Week's thread. We'll try to get it resolved quickly. The scripts are far from perfect and VegasOdds also changes the HTML for the odds page quite often so report any errors you see there as soon as you see them.

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Stupid Underdog Picks - Week 12:

Tuesday, Nov. 14

EASTERN MICHIGAN 5 Akron
Toledo 10½ BOWLING GREEN
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3 Western Michigan

Wednesday, Nov. 15

MIAMI (OH) 9 Buffalo
OHIO 8½ Central Michigan

Thursday, Nov. 16

PITTSBURGH 1½ Boston College

Friday, Nov. 17

UTSA 16½ South Florida
WASHINGTON STATE 5 Colorado

Saturday, Nov. 18

Coastal Carolina 5 ARMY
INDIANA 4½ Michigan State
Michigan 21 MARYLAND
Louisville 1½ MIAMI (FL)
PENN STATE 18½ Rutgers
Tulane 9 FLORIDA ATLANTIC
NAVY 3 East Carolina
NORTHWESTERN 2 Purdue
MISSISSIPPI STATE 13½ Southern Miss
Oklahoma 24 BRIGHAM YOUNG
OLE MISS 36 Louisiana-Monroe
SMU 7½ MEMPHIS
LIBERTY 27½ Massachusetts
JAMES MADISON 12 Appalachian State
BALL STATE 11½ Kent State
Rice 1½ CHARLOTTE
WYOMING 14 Hawaii
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 7½ UTEP
JACKSONVILLE STATE 8½ Louisiana Tech
WEST VIRGINIA 6½ Cincinnati
Duke 4 VIRGINIA
COLORADO STATE 11 Nevada
North Texas 2½ TULSA
UAB 8 Temple
Texas State 3½ ARKANSAS STATE
Georgia 10 TENNESSEE
VIRGINIA TECH 3 North Carolina State
CLEMSON 7½ North Carolina
IOWA 4 Illinois
USC 6 UCLA
TROY 15½ Louisiana-Lafayette
TCU 12½ Baylor
WESTERN KENTUCKY 13 Sam Houston State
NOTRE DAME 24½ Wake Forest
AIR FORCE 3½ UNLV
OHIO STATE 28½ Minnesota
Oregon 22 ARIZONA STATE
Oklahoma State 7½ HOUSTON
AUBURN 22½ New Mexico State
TEXAS TECH 3 UCF
SOUTH ALABAMA 8½ Marshall
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 7½ Old Dominion
California 4½ STANFORD
Kansas State 6½ KANSAS
Boise State 3½ UTAH STATE
Kentucky 2 SOUTH CAROLINA
ARKANSAS 31 Florida International
MISSOURI 11 Florida
WISCONSIN 5 Nebraska
GEORGIA TECH 5½ Syracuse
LSU 31½ Georgia State
Texas 8 IOWA STATE
FRESNO STATE 24½ New Mexico
SAN JOSE STATE 14½ San Diego State
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Underdog Winners - Week #11:

HAWAII : 18.5 points
Arizona State : 17.5 points
Southern Miss : 12.5 points
Northwestern : 12.5 points
Ball State : 10.5 points
East Carolina : 10.0 points
Sam Houston State : 8.5 points
New Mexico State : 5.5 points
NAVY : 4.5 points
Texas Tech : 4.0 points
Auburn : 3.0 points
Cincinnati : 2.5 points
Virginia Tech : 2.5 points
Appalachian State : 2.5 points
UCF : 2.0 points
SYRACUSE : 1.0 points
MARSHALL : 1.0 points
SAN JOSE STATE : 1.0 points

Correct Underdog Picks - Week #11:

NAVY: howercat

Texas Tech: ArtLaibsGhost

Auburn: Short-Dawg-69, mgp913



Nobody picked: HAWAII, Arizona State, Southern Miss, Northwestern, Ball State, East Carolina, Sam Houston State, New Mexico State, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, UCF, SYRACUSE, MARSHALL, SAN JOSE STATE



Stupid Underdog Picks Leader Board - Week #11:

53.0 : RedLotMudcat
50.0 : WalterTheHippo
45.0 : Hang_Time_2
44.5 : gblue5744
37.0 : BeardedKatFan
37.0 : secrules3
35.5 : catben
33.5 : kybloo92
33.0 : TOMCATS1990
32.5 : Chad Rock
31.5 : MAYHOO22
29.0 : jwcat30
28.5 : Short-Dawg-69
28.0 : stinger11723
25.0 : jsyeag
25.0 : Serenity Now!!!
24.5 : ILiveBlue-GoCats
23.5 : jameslee32
23.0 : RonRajon
22.0 : Nuke99m
22.0 : pumpedupcats
21.0 : UKfirst
20.5 : Cat4life_
20.5 : TuckyFB
20.0 : H-D cat
20.0 : warrior-cat
19.5 : bluecoon1
19.5 : ThreeHogNight
19.0 : M4CAT
18.5 : rockycard
18.5 : Roe07
18.0 : rivercatinfl
17.5 : Old_Red
16.5 : JSgorocks
15.5 : Littlefeller
15.0 : CGblue
14.5 : Big_Blue_1018
14.5 : docholiday51
14.0 : ArtLaibsGhost
14.0 : Caveman Catfan
14.0 : GrandePdre
14.0 : jimmy cowboy
13.5 : AVCat
13.5 : blue cincy
13.5 : Ken Cat
13.5 : LordEggForgotHisPassword
13.0 : pappy52
12.5 : PickSixKing
11.5 : Blueworld_3.0
10.5 : kywildcatsfannumber1
10.5 : LordEgg
10.5 : wildcatbd21
10.0 : Blueisbest
10.0 : howercat
9.5 : BigBlueBall
9.5 : RocknRollCats
9.0 : Bryguy
8.0 : Burgcatfan
8.0 : Uk##1
7.5 : blubud
7.5 : BlueInTheBoro
7.5 : maysvilleky
6.5 : *CatinIL*
6.5 : BurgLife
6.5 : Larry00
6.5 : mgp913
6.0 : btodd0224
6.0 : cat tat2
5.5 : BlueBallz
5.5 : lazydave841
4.0 : gamecockcat
3.5 : Catapult
2.5 : SWVA WildcatFan
1.5 : KyThunder55



Stupid Underdog Picks Multiple Winners - Week #11:

6 : MAYHOO22
5 : BeardedKatFan
5 : jwcat30
5 : RedLotMudcat
5 : WalterTheHippo
4 : gblue5744
4 : Hang_Time_2
4 : ILiveBlue-GoCats
4 : jameslee32
4 : JSgorocks
4 : kybloo92
4 : Nuke99m
3 : ArtLaibsGhost
3 : Big_Blue_1018
3 : bluecoon1
3 : Cat4life_
3 : catben
3 : Chad Rock
3 : jsyeag
3 : Littlefeller
3 : M4CAT
3 : Old_Red
3 : pumpedupcats
3 : rivercatinfl
3 : rockycard
3 : secrules3
3 : Short-Dawg-69
3 : ThreeHogNight
3 : TOMCATS1990
2 : Blueisbest
2 : Bryguy
2 : Caveman Catfan
2 : CGblue
2 : docholiday51
2 : GrandePdre
2 : H-D cat
2 : howercat
2 : jimmy cowboy
2 : Ken Cat
2 : mgp913
2 : pappy52
2 : PickSixKing
2 : Roe07
2 : RonRajon
2 : Serenity Now!!!
2 : stinger11723
2 : TuckyFB
2 : warrior-cat


Underdog Winners:

Week 1: 10
Week 2: 10
Week 3: 13
Week 4: 11
Week 5: 10
Week 6: 14
Week 7: 17
Week 8: 17
Week 9: 15
Week 10: 21
Week 11: 18

Season Average for Underdog Winners: 14.2


Correct Underdog Picks:

Week 1: 27
Week 2: 17
Week 3: 17
Week 4: 6
Week 5: 5
Week 6: 23
Week 7: 31
Week 8: 6
Week 9: 16
Week 10: 17
Week 11: 4

Season Average for Correct Picks: 15.4

Total Picks Made:

Week 1: 93
Week 2: 81
Week 3: 78
Week 4: 79
Week 5: 72
Week 6: 73
Week 7: 64
Week 8: 61
Week 9: 60
Week 10: 55
Week 11: 53

Season Average for Total Picks: 69.9


@Deeeefense

3 players were ejected and a lot more could have been kicked out. It was ugly.

I want to throw this out there now. A lot of “rumors” will be floating about what possible guys we might get in the portal. Some have already started that will have Cats fans all in a tizzy! I personally think this stuff is being leaked by the staff or those close to the program in an attempt to save some of the fans and retain interest. With a loss tomorrow (I still think UK wins btw), this program will be headed toward a nothing bowl and fan turnout will be The worst in Stoops tenure. Fans already are questioning if this thing has maxed out, and there will need to be something to spur excitement. The staff will need to do something to keep people engaged until signing day and Spring ball. “Rumors” are the best way to build false hope.

We may very well land some talented dudes in the portal, and I hope we do! Just be careful with building back those big expectations. This staff is now at ground zero with me and needs to prove UK isn’t mostly mediocre and every once in a while pretty good. It’s time for this staff to show we can do more than just beat middling and lower level SEC teams. It’s time to start being competitive with the big boys and not embarrass ourselves repeatedly. It’s time to not have back to back horribly disappointing seasons. A win tomorrow won’t completely erase the disappointment of this season but a loss will only make it even worse.

This whole “rumor” stuff might be just an attempt to keep the masses locked in… just be cautious.

This staff needs to earn trust back from this fanbase!

Mitchell's A/T ratio is incredible !!

Reports are he's entering after last night.

Marshall tried and UK dropped 118 on them; the most points scored by Kentucky in 22 yrs circa 2001.

This team may be better served with just 1 of the 3 bigs playing this season.

With the 4 guards, Edwards and Mitchell this team is built for race horse basketball.

We will run Edey in the ground if we face Purdue in the dance.

1989 was the only other time UK had 4 straight games with 12 plus made threes and that team was known as Pitinos Bombinos a team that went 14-14 and was on probation. This is a top 15 team and will ultimately be a title contender.

Think about it.

My goodness. People talk about out receivers not running good routes/ getting open. These guys are covered like Nebraska guys have super glue all over them. Not one inch of separation.

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JOHN CALIPARI Q&A (Presser and Radio Show Notes):

* Offensively, Marshall was a handful for us. They're really good on that end with what coach D'Antonio is doing. Gotta get better defensively. Still aren't staying in front of people. Gotta have guys sub themselves out if they can't do that.

* Didn't know they had 69 points until the very end of the first half. Was just enjoying watching them ball.

* Never worried about DJ Wagner. Knew he was going to be fine and have his breakout game. Knows how hard he works, how good he is. Justin Edwards is starting to get in a rhythm, too.

* Still need one of the bigs back. Tuesday? Don't know. Not pushing them.

* "It's fun to play the way we're playing."

* Cal said neither he nor the team really knew they had 69 at the half until they looked up and saw it. They just played.

* Rob Dillingham just went out and played tonight. Best player on the floor. Just great basketball. Easy basketball. Made plays. Made guys around him better. It might be time to let him have more rope and just let him work. Kid is good. Says he's had more people watch him play and say "I knew he was good, but I had no idea he was this good."

* Still working on some late-game situations that they will need as games get tougher.

* Cal loves it when an opponent zones this UK team. "Please." Makes a great passing team pass it.

* These guys are going so hard in practice that the games are easy. He says it's the Kobe Bryant mentality. Says these guys are really coachable.

* Bradshaw has been practicing. Just hasn't gone "live" yet for 5-on-5 stuff. Getting close, but still unsure about when he'll be full-go. Ugo is starting to run and jump and do more stuff. Worries that Big Z may not be ready, even if he's cleared soon, due to the illness setbacks. He had a fever of 104 today and wasn't with the team. He doubts that any of the three 7-footers will play in the Miami game.

* Cal plays coy when asked will they know if Bradshaw is going to play in advance or will he just be seen checking in at the scorer's table.

* This game Tuesday vs. Miami could be crazy, like 100-100, Cal says. It might exhaust you just watching it. "It should be fun." Calling for a great crowd at Rupp.

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Watching Iowa and Nebraska, if CMS was coaching in the Big 10 West he would be considered an offensive savant.

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First of all, I love Reeves and think he's key to the season. He had a great all around game last night, as seen in the highlight reel I've posted. But one play in particular had me out of my seat the first time I watched. Then grabbing my remote to rewind and watch it several more times. It happens at just under the 6:00 mark in the second half. Marshall misses a 3, Tre rebounds and sends the ball forward to start the break. The rest of the play is the best sequences of passing I've seen in a very long time. The drive, the kick out, the one handed pass by Dilly, and perfect shot by AR. I'm still impressed, and I've watched it like a dozen times. Enjoy!

Has a Calipari team scored that many in 1 half? And last time a Kentucky team scored that many in a half?

2017?

I saw where some people posted some quotes from Cal but I listened to the pregame and he was more detailed. Ugo, he just simply said he’s running and jumping. Z, he said he keeps getting randomly sick every week and hasn’t had one full week of practice yet. He talked about the food poisoning incident and now said he’s ran a fever multiple times. He said Z has the worst luck he’s ever seen. Bradshaw, said he’s practicing but with no contact. Cal said he’s still got multiple obstacles to overcome before he plays but is hopeful. Just passing this along.

There are some pretty damning pictures and videos going around incriminating him of sleeping with an underage girl.

OKC was playing really well(2nd in the West) and SGA is a legit mvp candidate. This could really derail their season.

The ball movement is really something to watch with this team. The way they share it on the break, push it up ahead to get going fast, have guys like Mitchell and Thiero who can get to the free throw line and read the defense, and then the guards never letting the ball stop ... it's all impressive. They're going to be taking high quality shots all year because of that and because it's not just one guy, it's pretty much everyone. They scored 69 points in the first half, one of their largest totals in program history. Shooting 8/11 from 3-point range and moving the ball like that will do it. Marshall offered very little resistance on defense. This is a great UK offensive team and that may have been the best they'll play offensively all season.

DJ Wagner had his second consecutive big game. He was very aggressive tonight and started feeling it. This was another big game for him. Two in a row since Jay Williams suggested he might transfer to Louisville because Kentucky has several really good guards. Looks like a changed player. Reed Sheppard was excellent when he was in the game once again, just making everybody around him better, passing, anticipating passes, etc.

Marshall even came out of the gate hitting long shots. They weren't able to capitalize on UK missing the bigs and offered very little resistance at all for Kentucky's offense.

At this point the only two things to really even watch for or the two remaining uncertainties for me are whether Edwards has something he hasn't shown yet and the impact of the bigs.

Dillingham is a special talent. I think it may well be the best backcourt in the country. That was some of the best ball movement we've ever seen from a UK basketball team.

Had a little holiday downtime so I did some testing this morning and updated my NCAA Tournament predictive model for 23-24.

Haven’t published yet and may not for a while. Kentucky slides in at 11th going into tonight’s game.

We are in a virtual tie with Duke. Duke is 10th at 2.169. We are at 2.160.

For those who don’t remember, the model predicts number of tournament wins. So this is roughly saying we look like a solid Sweet 16 team so far.

Someone mentioned he also removed everything associated with UK from his Instagram. Guess I’m reading this different than others thinking it means he won’t transfer but not sure why he’d remove his IG stuff.

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KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY.
NOV. 24, 2023
ATTENDANCE: 20,246

Final Score: No. 16 Kentucky 118, Marshall 82

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 5-1 on the season, Marshall is 2-4.
• Kentucky leads the series, 13-0, including 9-0 in Lexington.
• UK continues the five-game homestand Tuesday against No. 10/11-ranked Miami (Fla.). Game time is 7:30 p.m. and it will be televised on ESPN.

Team Notes

• UK tallied 118 points, the most of the John Calipari era, topping the 115 scored against Arizona State on Nov. 28, 2016.
  • It is UK’s second 100-point game of the season and 21st century score of the Calipari era.
  • The 45 field goals and 16 3-pointers are the second-most of the Calipari era.
• UK has scored at least 81 points in all six games this season, the first time that has happened to open a season since 1970-71.
• Kentucky had six players score in double figures, the first time that has happened since Nov. 12, 2021 against Robert Morris.
  • It is the fourth game this season that at least five players tallied double figures.
• Kentucky shot 60.8% from the field (45 of 74). It is UK’s third straight game over 50% and second this season of at least 60%.
• Kentucky made 16 of 27 from 3-point land, the Wildcats’ fourth straight game of double-figure threes.
  • The last time UK made at least 10 threes in four straight games was February 2016, when the Wildcats had a five-game streak of 10+ threes.
• UK has made at least 12 3-pointers in four straight games, the first time that has happened since December 1989.
• Kentucky had only nine turnovers tonight. UK has had single-digit miscues in five of six games this season and now are averaging just 8.2 TOs per contest.
  • UK entered the game fourth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.31), fourth nationally in turnover percentage (10.7%) and fifth in the nation in turnovers per game.
• Kentucky had 27 assists, the third straight game of at least 24.
• Kentucky led by as many as 41 points. UK is 333-15 (95.7%) under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points at some juncture of the game.
• Kentucky is 652-81 (88.9%) in the 48th season in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Player Notes

• D.J. Wagner had a season-high 28 points, most by a Wildcat this season and his second straight 20-point game. He added five assists and three steals.
• Antonio Reeves had 23 points, including five 3-pointers, and has scored double figures in every game this season. It is his fourth 20-point game of the campaign.
  • Has made a 3-pointer in 17 consecutive games.
  • He has 101 3-pointers as a Wildcat, the 29th player in school history with at least 100 threes.
• Tre MItchell collected 18 points and four rebounds. He has had at least four boards in every game this season.
• Rob Dillingham had 16 points, making 7 of 8 field goals, including both 3-point attempts. He also had a season-high eight assists.
  • He has scored double figures and had at least three assists in every game this season.
• Reed Sheppard totaled 12 points, a season-high seven rebounds, a game-high six assists and two steals.
  • He has had at least two steals in every game this season.
• Justin Edwards had 10 points, his fourth double-digit game of the season.
• Freshman Joey Hart had his first points as a Wildcat, sinking a 3-pointer.

Coach John Calipari

• Calipari has an 837-254 (76.7%) all-time on-court record, including 392-114 (77.5%) at Kentucky.
• Calipari is 322-64 (83.4%) at UK against unranked competition.
• Calipari is 7-0 vs. Marshall.
• Calipari is 225-21 (91.5%) in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Adou Thiero and Tre Mitchell for the fifth time. UK has a 4-1 record with that lineup.
• Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard were UK’s first substitutions with 16:32 remaining.
• Kentucky scored on the first possession when Reeves made a 3-pointer.
• Marshall got ahead 5-3 but UK responded with a 10-0 run and the Wildcats never trailed again.
• UK led by as many as 30 points en route to a 69-41 halftime lead.
  • UK shot 65% and four Wildcats hit double-figure scoring, led by Reeves’ 15 points.
  • 69 points is a Rupp Arena record for one half.
  • UK has led at halftime in all six games this season.
• It’s the most points UK has scored in any half since the Wildcats tallied 70 in the first half of a 118-99 win over Marshall on Dec. 19, 1995. The game was played in Louisville’s Freedom Hall.
  • It is the fourth-most points in a first half in UK history.

In the Second Half

• Kentucky began the second half with the starting lineup.
• The Wildcats led by as many as 41 points en route to the 118-82 victory.

I know there are a lot of big games in Kentucky this weekend. I'm blessed to enjoy the day after Thanksgiving by sitting in the Alamodome watching Texas 6A Playoffs with my 81 year old dad who is visiting from Kentucky.

Our Local Team (11-1) Cibolo Steele is leading (12-0) San Antonio Harlan 26-13 at the Half. Great way to spend the day. Hope some others have a chance to catch a game this weekend wherever you are!


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before the apologists say we need to move on? Joker bad? Back to that... or just 2 or 3 more years of mediocrity at a higher lever?

Signed an NIL deal with Adidas. Not ideal

@Travis Graf thoughts on how this could affect possibility of him ending up at UK?

Game Stats