RAY MONOHAN
Gonzaga vs. Pepperdine
Play: Gonzaga -21
The Bulldogs lay a lot of points on the road, but this team just simply covers games.
Gonzaga is a solid 14-4 ATS this season and that mark is extremely impressive given how they lay such massive amounts of points on a daily basis.
This is one of the most, if not the most, talented teams in the country. The Zags shoot the ball at an unreal rate and have one of the best inside out games in the country. This is just too tall of a task for Pepperdine to keep up. Pepperdine allows 80 points per game, which certainly doesn't bode well for them here against this high flying attack from Gonzaga.
Some trends to note. Bulldogs are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 Saturday games. Bulldogs are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games.
It doesn't matter the amount of points here. Lay them as Gonzaga is just too quick to keep up with.
David Banks
Gonzaga @ Pepperdine
Pick: Gonzaga -21
The last remaining unbeaten in college basketball will travel to Malibu to take on West Coast Conference basement dweller Pepperdine on Saturday night. The third-ranked Zags have won 19 in a row to start the 2016-17 season. They will face Portland again on Monday – the Zags just defeated Pilots 73-52 on Saturday night – and then entertain San Diego (10-10, 5-5) on Thursday before taking on the Waves, a team Gonzaga beat earlier this season by 30 points.
The Waves (5-15, 1-7) have won just once in their last 15 games. Overcoming one of the best teams in the country might be too much of a stretch. Pepperdine’s best player is leading scorer Lamond Murray, a 6-5 senior. Murray averages 20.7 points and 5.5 assists per game. Chris Reyes adds 14.7 points and leads the team with 7.8 rebounds a game. Defensively, the Waves are one of the worst in the nation (329th) giving up just over 80 points a game.
Gonzaga can fill it up too. They are 17th nationally in points scored per game, 85.1. Nigel Williams-Goss leads the Zags in scoring averaging 15.0 points a game. Gonzaga is huge up front with Polish transplant Przemek Karnowski, a 7-1 senior who averages 12.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He is spelled by 7-foot freshman Zach Collins who averages 10.6 points and 5.6 rebounds. Gonzaga has won its last four games by 20 points or more, including a 79-56 win over then No. 21 St. Mary’s.
Bryan Leonard
Brooklyn Nets at Minnesota T'wolves
Play: Brooklyn Nets +11.5
The Nets haven't been bad in this price range, posting a 12-8 spread mark when facing a team in this price range. Brooklyn didn't have a physical game last night at Cleveland as the game was free flowing.
Minnesota is 7-15 ATS this year when playing a lesser team. This is not a squad we trust laying points as the offense has been very inconsistent.
Mike Rose
Kansas at Kentucky
Play: Over 169.5
Kentucky has been an entirely different team on the road than at home. As a visitor, it’s gone 3-2 straight up and looked very beatable in going 1-4 against the spread. At home, the Wildcats have been in beast mode winning 10 of their 11 games by an average of 27.5 points per game. Not surprisingly, they cashed ATS in eight of those contests. Total players cashed over tickets in seven of those games. In their four matchups against teams ranked in the top 25, the over cashed three times with two of those overs occurring in the comforts of their own gym.
These storied programs took part in an instant classic last season with Kansas outlasting Kentucky 90-84 in overtime. The game total of 150 was surpassed in regulation with both sides running their offenses effectively. The Wildcats shot 53.2 percent from the floor, while the Jayhawks countered with a 46.4 percent showing. Forty 3 point attempts were taken with KU knocking down 8 of its 17.
If you’re a fan of heavyweight slugfests, then this is no doubt the game to take in. The star power for both sides is simply fantastic with KU set to unleash Devonte’ Graham, Frank Mason and Josh Jackson. Kentucky will counter with Monk, Fox, Briscoe and big man Edrice Adebayo. This game is going to filled with numerous runs for both sides making it extremely tough to settle on a side. I expect a plethora of points to hit the Rupp scoreboard, and with this game likely go down to the wire, take a position on the over and root for both teams.
Harry Bondi
WAKE FOREST +5 over Duke
The whole world is on Duke here after Coach K called the team to his house and demanded they take off their uniforms! Despite Coach K’s pleas the bottom line is this team is just not that talented. They are 0-3 on the road in the ACC while Wake continues to be one of the ACC’s best bets at home going 7-2 both straight up and ATS. In addition, the home team has covered 22 of the last 30 meetings in this series. Deamon Deacons are money again at home!