THE ICEMAN
2*UMASS
2*TBlazers
2*Bulls
Chris James Sports
2* Atlanta Braves
1* Ohio State
BEN BURNS
NBA
BULLS
Game: Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Prediction: Chicago Bulls Reason: I'm taking the point with CHICAGO. Barring an absolute miracle, the Bulls won't be making the playoffs. That being said, they're a more talented team than their record indicates and they're still 'mathematically' alive for the eighth spot. They've played the Cavs tough, have the schedule in their favor, and I expect them to give a huge effort in this 'must win' game. Looking at this season's two meetings and we find that the Bulls won by 11 in the game at Chicago. While they lost by nine at Cleveland, that game was much closer than the final score indicated as the Bulls played tough for 46 minutes before collapsing in the final two. Note that the Bulls did win their previous trip to Cleveland before that though. Including those results, they've won three of five series meetings with the other loss coming by just four points. The lines for all five of those games ranged from -3 to -5. We're getting another basket or two to work with tonight, which I feel offers us terrific value. That's particularly true given that the Bulls had last night off while the Cavs played a hard-fought game at Charlotte. Although Lebron fouled out of that game, it didn't happen until late. Perhaps due to their reliance on James and perhaps partly due to the fact that they have a fairly firm grip on the fourth seed and can't improve beyond that, the Cavs haven't played well when playing the second of back to back games recently. In fact, they're just 1-5 SU the last six times they played the second of back to back games and the only win came by just three points. I expect them to have their hands full once again and look for the Bulls to improve to 21-6-1 ATS in April since the start of the 2005 season. *TNT GOM
PASS COLLEGE
Michael Cannon
10 Dime
OHIO STATE
Take Ohio State as the small chalk tonight in the NIT Championship over Massachusetts.
The Buckeyes have been playing great, winning all four of their games by double-digits. They are 4-0 SUATS during that span.
Ohio State is on a 7-0 ATS run in non-conference play and are also on positive ATS runs of 5-0 as a chalk, 5-1 against winning teams, 4-1 after a SU win, 7-2 as a chalk on neutral courts and 10-4 in postseason play.
Massachusetts is just 2-5 ATS in its last seven as a neutral-site underdog and 1-5 ATS in its last six Thursday games.
Ohio State showed great balance in its win over Ole Miss in the semifinals, with four players scoring in double figures. They will have to shore up their defense tonight, as they took the second half off against Mississippi after rolling out to a 44-20 halftime lead.
To be honest with you Massachusetts shouldn’t even be playing in this game. They haven’t shot well from the perimeter and they were pounded on the boards by Florida in the semifinal win. But the Gators only shot 8 of 21 from the charity stripe, which was the difference in the game.
Ohio State will control the boards in this game as well, but don’t expect the Buckeyes to choke from the free-throw line like Florida did. The Minutemen have been playing with fire throughout this tournament and tonight they get burned.
Take Ohio State minus the small number as they win the NIT and cover the number tonight.
Alatex:
15* UMASS
BILLY COLEMAN
3* Sac Kings
2* Rockets
2* Yanks Over
SCOTT LANDAU
2* Houston Rockets
JEFFERSONSPORTS
MLB
CUBS-125 (2 units) posted earlier
NBA EARLY RELEASE
APR 4 UTAH/SAN ANTONIO UNDER 198
I think the line will fall and I think it will be a playoff type atmosphere and a lot of half court play. Don't think these teams will be able to score 25 points a quarter for the whole game. I would be surprised if either team reached a hundred. I see around 190 total points or so. Take care and have a good day. This is the time of year where Pops and the spurs start to lock down
Rocketman
4* NL GOW - Atlanta Braves
3* Arizona Diamondbacks
PPP/ GAVAZZI
3* Ohio St
Gameday:
2* Ohio State
SPORTS BANK
400* TNT GAME OF WEEK
Cleveland Cavs
EZ WINNERS
NBA
1 STAR: (501) CHICAGO (+7) over Cleveland
(Risking $110 to win $100)
NCAA
1 STAR: (508) OHIO STATE (-3) over Massachusetts
(Risking $110 to win $100)