Five things we learned from the last two nights in high school boys hoops

FROM KEITH GROLLER

First, my NFL picks.

I have been better in the postseason than the regular season, going 5-3 outright, 5-3 against the spread and 5-3 on the over/under totals.

That wouldn't be good enough to make a lot of money in Vegas, but it's better than being 30 games under .500 like I was against the spread during the regular season.

The hot hands -- and in this brutal winter they are very hard to find -- are obviously the Jets and Packers with what they've done in the last two weeks on the road. They're the attractive picks, the obvious picks. I think that's the Super Bowl everybody but Bears and Steelers fans want to see -- me included.

But my man Rico has taught me over the years that what the publics thinks is generally wrong. That means the Steelers and Bears have a great shot today.

The picks:

CHICAGO (+3.5) 20, Green Bay 17 -- under the 42.5.

PITTSBURGH (-4) 21, New York Jets 14 -- under the 38.

Now, here are the five things we've learned from the few boys basketball games that were played the last two nights.

1. Jake Hungarter is one of the best pure shooters we've had around here in years. The 40-point display he had against Whitehall was as good as I've seen. Now, it didn't exactly come in big spot because Becahi is out of contention for both the league and district playoffs. But in some regard that made it even more amazing because Hungarter doesn't have a lot of great players around him at Becahi the way Jay Greene had at Whitehall and Terrence Roderick had at Allen a few years ago. Tajmire Flood transferring from Allen will help Becahi, but Whitehall knew Hungarter was basically Becahi's only scoring option and still couldn't stop him. Hungarter and Bangor's Andy Mulitsch would make for an appealing 3-point shooting contest at the Via All-Star Classic.

2. Bangor is going to run the table and complete the Colonial League schedule unbeaten. Wilson must have given the Slaters fits on Friday night with its defense and slower tempo, but Bangor has a real tough mental edge and plays with great determination. The Slaters are physical, too. I believe they are good enough to win a lot of games in the LVC as well this season. I don't know if they could beat Allen or Liberty, but they could compete against any team. Remember, they reached the final four of the Allentown Summer League tourney which featured almost all of the LVC teams.

3. Notre Dame coach Pat Boyle has some work to do to keep everything together with his team. Boyle wasn't happy with the Crusaders attitude and harmony on Saturday. It's true Bangor wears you down and is so physical that it could spoil any chemistry you may have. Freshman Tyler Kohl was very unhappy with how things went on offense and that led to poor defense by him and a lot of agitation all the way around. Boyle said this is one of the best teams -- in terms of attitude and togetherness -- that he's ever had. But that was not a very happy or unified basketball team on Saturday and if Notre Dame is going to make the league tournament it has to change and change ASAP.

4. Central Catholic still is the favorite in District 11 3A. I know the Vikings have work to do to get everything in sync, and they are hardly the first team that was slow to come together because of getting football players back halfway through the season. It's quite common for it to take a long time. Liberty was the same way a few years ago. But this is a talented team. CCHS won't crack the big four to get into the LVC tourney -- Allen, Liberty, Nazareth and Easton are locks -- but the Vikes are big favorites to win districts.

5. Allen-Dieruff boys basketball games used to be can't-miss attractions. That's not the case anymore. Right now, there's a huge disparity in talent level and there has been for many years. Maybe once this group of talented Allen seniors graduates, the playing field will level off, but right now Dieruff is definitely a wrestling school in the winter. Kudos to that staff and program.