Larry Ness
California vs. Stanford
Play: Stanford +3½
The Cal Bears are 18-7 (9-4 in Pac 12 play) after having their five-game winning streak snapped in 62-57 loss at Arizona on Saturday (Wildcats are currently ranked 5th in the nation). California is 4th in the Pac 12 and can ill afford a loss to rival Stanford if it wants to keep its at-large NCAA tourney hopes alive. Stanford is 12-13 overall and is mired near the bottom of the Pac 12 standings at 4-9. Any postseason hopes for the Cardinal are currently on life-support.
The 6-11 Ivan Rabb was a preseason All-American and will likely be a high NBA draft pick but he hasn't quite measured up to expectations. He's averaging 14.7 & 10.6 but if the Bears are to make a deep Pac 12 tourney run (they may need that for an at-large bid), Rabb needs to be more consistent. Swingman Bird has stayed healthy for most of the year and while never reaching the lofty expectations since entering Cal, the senior is averaging 14.5 & 4.9. Freshman PG Moore (13.5 & 3.7 APG) has been solid and giving Cal even more size up front are the 7-0 Okoroh (5.1 & 5.9) and the 7-1 Rooks (5.1 & 4.7). Cal allows 62.2 PPG (13th), best in the Pac 12.
Stanford let Johnny Dawkins (Mr, NIT) go but Jerrod Haase's first season in Palo Alto has not gone all that well. The 6-8 Reid (17.2 & 8.6) is a keeper but his surrounding talent is middle-of-the-road, at best. The perimeter players are Pickens (12.0), Sheffield (7.2), Cartwright (7.2 & 3.5 APG) and Marcus Allen (7.0), with the 6-9 Humphrey (9.5 & 6.5) helping Reid out up front.
Stanford is no bargain and Cal is the better team but this is a bitter rivalry and I want the home dog, considering Stanford has won 20 of the last 23 meetings with Cal in Palo Alto.
Will Rogers
Fairfield vs. Quinnipiac
Pick: Quinnipiac
The set-up: It's MAAC action Friday night as the 13-11 Fairfield Stags visit the 10-16 Quinnipiac Bobcats. The Stags are 8-7 in league play and the Bobcats just 7-9.
Fairfield: The Stags have won five of six and are hoping to keep that positive mojo going against a beatable opponent. A trio of guards in Nelson (19.2), Cobb (13.9 & 4.2) and Johnson (11.6) are joined by the 6-8 Sidibe (8.3 & 10.1), up front.
Quinnipiac: The Bobcats enter off back-to-back losses to Saint Peter’s and Rider, losing 112-107 in their most recent game. Guards Dixon (16.2) and Kiss (13.7 & 5.5) make for a quality backcourt duo with the 6-9 Daniels (12.5 & 6.0) being the team's best frontcourt player.
The pick: The Bobcats can score but defense has been the team's Achilles heel all season, allowing 81.7 PPG (338th). However, the Bobcats just recently won 73-71 at Fairfield and while that gives the Stags the revenge motive, I'm not willing to 'bite!' Quinnipiac is 9-3-2 ATS in their last 14 games overall and 10-3-2 ATS in their last 15 conference matchups. Take the home team.
David Banks
VCU Rams @ Richmond Spiders
Pick: Richmond Spiders +3.5
It’s an Atlantic 10 showdown as VCU (20-5, 10-2) travels to Richmond (15-9, 9-3) to take on the Spiders on Friday night. The Rams are coming off a week in which they beat St. Bonaventure and George Washington in miraculous fashion, winning both games on last-second heroics. A weekend win over Davidson made it six in a row for the Rams, which tied for the regular season conference title a year ago. VCU beat the Spiders 81-74 just 16 days ago on Feb. 1.
JeQuan Lewis averages 14.9 points per game to lead the Rams. Second-leading scorer Justin Tillman (12.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg) scored 18 points to lead VCU in the first win over Richmond. The Rams, which give up just over 65 points a game (41st in the nation), forced 13 Richmond turnovers. VCU faces St. Joes before taking on the Spiders and then will have just four remaining regular season games. The Rams are a virtual lock for the NCAA tournament but can improve their seeding with a strong finish to their regular season.
Richmond could really use a win over the Rams to help their NCAA tournament resume. The Spiders have six games remaining and face George Mason (17-8, 7-5) before they play VCU on Friday. Richmond lacks a big nonconference win and, if the Spiders do not win out, they may have to win the A-10 tournament to qualify for the Big Dance. If it is going to happen, it will be up to Richmond’s super seniors, 6-9 T.J. Cline, the team’s leading scorer (19.2 ppg) and rebounder (8.4), and 6-0 guard ShawnDre’ Jones (17.2 ppg).
Mike Rose
Valparaiso at Oakland
Play: Valparaiso +1.5
The Valparaiso Crusaders swept the Oakland Golden Grizzlies last season en route to claiming the Horizon League’s regular season title. If Greg Kampe’s kids find a way to pull off the same feat this season, they will have set themselves up nicely for a shot at winning the conference with four games remaining on the regular season docket. The Crusaders have struggled away from their Rec Center, so it must bring its “A” game if it expects to even the series up and more or less wrap up the league title. Though the Golden Grizzlies return home winners of three straight, they just don’t come off as being the same team that went into Valpo and scored the huge outright victory. It barely got by second to last place Cleveland State on the road, and needed overtime to get past Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a game it went off the board as 12.5 point favorites. Valparaiso recently destroyed both of those teams and enters this tilt seeking same-season revenge. Look for Peters and his amped up Crusader teammates to acquire just that.
Marc Lawrence
Richmond +3.5
Edges - Spiders: 17-4 SUATS as conference home dog, including 7-0 SUATS off a loss of less than 20 points. Rams: 1-3 ATS as a road favorite in this series. With the Spiders off a 17-point loss as a favorite, and VCU off a double-digit LTKO win over St. Joseph’s, we recommend a strong 3* play on Richmond.
Scott Rickenbach
Valparaiso vs. Oakland
Play: Valparaiso +2
Big battle in the Horizon League taking place Friday night. With Valparaiso sitting at 11-2 in conference action and Oakland sitting at 9-4, there is no doubt the Golden Grizzlies need this game. However, needing a game and being able to execute on the floor are certainly two different things and Oakland is going to have their hands full with the revenge-minded Crusaders in this one. The Golden Grizzlies won at Valparaiso early last month and the Crusaders are a perfect 5-0 SU the L3 seasons combined when playing with home loss revenge. Also, Valparaiso is a perfect 6-0 SU the L3 seasons combined when they are on the road and their line ranges anywhere from +3 to -3. The Crusaders also are well rested coming into this one and they have gone 10-1 SU the L3 seasons combined when they enter a game playing with 5 or 6 days of rest between games. As for Oakland, they are 1-5 ATS this season in games with a posted total in the 140s. Also, the Golden Grizzlies are 0-3 ATS this season when off of game where they allowed 80 points or more. The road team is also a perfect 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings between these teams. Oakland already has home losses to Green Bay, Cleveland State and Detroit in Horizon League action this season. Those teams have a combined record of 29-49 on the season. By comparison, Valpo is 21-5 this season! The Crusaders can (and absolutely should) win this one!
Black Widow
Marist +10½
Bets on underdogs of 10 to 19.5 points after a loss by 15 points or more against an opponent that scored 40 points or more in the first half of two straight games are 191-108 ATS since 1997. This situation's record is 11-3 this season alone.
Dave Price
Oakland -1
Oakland trails Valparaiso by two games for first place in the Horizon League. Its only chance of winning the league would be to beat the Crusaders tonight at home. And the Grizzlies have already beaten them once, pulling off the 78-66 road victory as 3-point dogs in their first meeting this season. Now I think we're getting a discount on the Grizzlies at home as only 1-point favorites tonight in the rematch. Valpo is 0-6 ATS in road games when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games over the last 2 seasons. The Grizzlies are 24-7-1 ATS in their last 32 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. The Grizzlies are 8-1 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
Mike Anthony
Iona vs. Marist
Play: Iona -9.5
Iona has still been trending up over the past month improving to 17-10 overall and 10-6 in conference. Iona is trying to make a push for the second seed in the MAAC currently standing a half game back of Saint Peter’s. Iona has had their fair share of success on the road lately winning at places like Manhattan, Siena, Rider, and Niagara. Iona has one of the top offenses in the MAAC ranking 45th in the nation in scoring average putting up over 80 points per game. Marist finds themselves in the basement of the MAAC standing just 6-21 overall and 3-13 in conference. Marist’s basketball program has been consistently terrible over recent years. Iona has been playing some really solid ball over the past month and we like for the Gaels to take advantage of the Marist defense as they go on to cover the spread.
Eric Schroeder
After hitting Arizona in college hoops last night, I've got my skates laced up and blades sharpened nice! So let's hit the ice with tonight's free play, as I like the Columbus Blue Jackets laying the cheap price to the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in a key division battle.
I've watched Pittsburgh dominate lately, but yesterday was an emotional high for Sidney Crosby, who reached his 1,000-point milestone, and then made it to 1,001. But after the Pens went up 2-0, they let the Winnipeg Jets back in the game and then had to go to overtime.
I think Pittsburgh has exhaused so much energy this week, that it's time for a letdown.
Columbus (36-15-5) and Pittsburgh (36-13-7) have split their two games this season, but overall it's been the Blue Jackets who have outscored the Penguins 10-5. And make note, The Penguins are 1-2-2 in their last five games at Nationwide Arena, including a 7-1 shellacking on Dec. 22.
Take the home team here, laying the cheap price.
3* BLUE JACKETS
Brad Wilton
Friday night comp play release is to lay the small wood with the ramming Rams as they play against Richmond tonight.
VCU looks to be the class of the Atlantic 10 - along with Dayton - and they do bring a 7-game straight up winning streak into this clash tonight. Included is a home win by 7 as the -10 point favorites over tonight's foe, Richmond.
Price is a lot smaller tonight for a play on the superior Rams, and I am going to lay it.
Richmond was just blasted at George Mason to fall to 15-10, and unless the Spiders run the table, they will be playing in one of the lesser postseason tourneys this March.
By all accounts, this is not one of the Spiders better editions, so go ahead and lay the small wood with with Rams.
2* VCU
Chris Jordan
My free play for tonight is on the VCU Rams, against crosstown rival Richmond. The Rams, who bring a seven-game win streak into this one, are looking to match their longest win streak of the season, set Dec. 10-Jan. 11.
The Rams just secured their 15th win in 17 games with a 91-81 victory over Saint Joseph's on Tuesday, when senior guard JeQuan Lewis dropped a career-high 34 points behind nine 3-pointers versus the Hawks.
VCU (21-5, 11-2 Atlantic 10) is tied atop the conference standings, with Dayton, while Richmond (15-10, 9-4) is two games back, alone in second place.
The Rams have won four straight in this series, including the first meeting on Feb. 1, when they won 81-74. And while they're just 9-13 at the window this season, they seem to like playing on Fridays, as they've covered eight of their last nine TGIF games.
4* VCU
Jack Brayman
My free play is on Cornell, which is at the bottom of the Ivy League standings, along with three others at 2-6 in conference play.
One of those teams is Dartmouth, which is just 5-16 on the year, and has lost seven of 10 overall.
Neither team has shown any signs of life, but the reason I like the Big Red is because they'll be looking to snap a four-game losing skid while also hoping to complete a series sweep of Dartmouth tonight.
With one win over Dartmouth already, the confidence will be there for tonight.
1* CORNELL