Dave Price
Rutgers +2
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are starting to play much better here of late. They beat Nebraska 65-64 at home for their first conference win. Then they were competitive at Maryland in a 12-point road loss before nearly beating Wisconsin at home last time out, eventually falling 54-61 in overtime as 16.5-point dogs. I expect them to pick up their second conference victory this season at home against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa has been atrocious on the road this season. The Hawkeyes are 0-5 SU & 0-5 ATS in true road games this year. They lost by 22 at Purdue, by 3 at Nebraska, by 35 at Northwestern and by 12 at Illinois in their 4 Big Ten road games. The Hawkeyes are 1-11 ATS in their last 12 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Jack Jones
Pelicans vs. Raptors
Play: Raptors -7½
The Toronto Raptors are going to be highly motivated for a victory tonight at home against the New Orleans Pelicans. They are going through their worst stretch of the season, going 1-6 SU & 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall. Now I believe there is value in backing them after this poor stretch.
A big reason for the Raptors' recent struggles was an injury to leading scorer DeMar DeRozan (27.8 ppg), who missed three games before returning against Orlando last time out. With DeRozan back healthy, the Raptors should return to their dominant ways very soon.
The Raptors dominated the Pelicans in both meetings last season. They won 115-91 on the road and 100-81 at home. Toronto is 10-2-1 ATS in its last 13 meetings with New Orleans overall. The Pelicans are just 6-15 on the road this season, and 1-4-1 ATS in their last six meetings in Toronto.
The Raptors are 22-9-1 ATS in their last 32 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. The Pelicans are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. Toronto is 13-2 ATS after a home games where both teams scored 100 points or more this season.
Brad Wilton
Tuesday night comp play will be home dog Boston College to get the job done against visiting Wake Forest.
Second meeting of the season between the teams, and while the Demon Deacons did comfortably win their home meeting against the Eagles by 13 points, they were unable to cover as the -15 point home chalk.
Boston College has held their own in this series with 3 outright wins in the past 5 meetings, and BC has also covered in 3 of the last 4 series showdowns.
The Eagles may not have the straight up wins the Deacons have, but they have been very tough against the spread, as Boston College enters with 3 straight covers, and they have covered in 8 of their last 10 games overall (the first series meeting included).
Wake Forest may be able to garner the regular season series straight up sweep, but very reluctant to lay the wood with this road chalk tonight, especially with Boston College being as tough of an out as they have been lately.
2* BOSTON COLLEGE
Jack Brayman
After winning last night with the Over in the Grizzlies-Suns game, I switch gears and roll with a complimentary college winner. I like Denver over Oral Roberts.
The Pioneers are a well-oiled machine that can bang from long range, and knows how to play defense. Denver, which averages 76 points per game, hits 7.6 3-pointers per contest.
Sophomore Joe Rosga is tied for eighth in the Summit League in scoring at 16.1 points per contest, while he also ranks third in the Summit League in 3-point percentage at 42.2 percent and 27th in the nation.
He will be the big culprit for us on the road, as the Pioneers aim for the outright win.
4* DENVER
Eric Schroeder
My free play for Tuesday night is in the NBA, as I'm playing the Portland Trail Blazers laying a cheap number to the visiting Charlotte Hornets, who have lost four straight games.
This won't be an easy chore, despite the Blazers stepping to the floor with a 21-28 mark. Knowing Charlotte still has two more stops on this trip - at Golden State (41-7) and Utah (30-19) - the Blazers will look to take advantage of a team that might be looking past this game.
Charlotte starting center Cody Zeller is doubtful with a thigh injury that has kept him out of the last three games, and the Hornets are 1-9 without him this season.
The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, are looking to start a new winning streak after their three-game spree was snapped with a tough-luck 113-111 home loss to Golden State on Sunday. The Blazers had a shot to win at the end, but Evan Turner's 3-point attempt bounced off the front rim as time expired.
Look for Portland to bounce back and take advantage of a Charlotte team far from home, and possibly looking ahead.
3* TRAIL BLAZERS
ASA
Pelicans vs. Raptors
Play: Pelicans +8
Even though they have one of the best home court advantages in the NBA, Toronto has been up and down of late and we don't trust them to cover this inflated number at this time. The Raptors have lost 6 of their last seven games and are just 2-5 ATS in that same time frame. Toronto his shooting just 43.4% their last five games and allowing foes to hit nearly 47% of their field goal attempts. New Orleans is 6-15 SU on the road this season but their average loss margin of -5.3PPG is clearly less than tonight's point spread. The Pelicans 2-3 SU their last five road games but only one of those three losses came by more than tonight's spread. The Pelicans have covered 5 straight when off a loss and catch a Raptors team looking ahead to tomorrow night's showdown against the Boston Celtics.
Dave Cokin
Boise St. at Colorado St.
Play: Colorado St -1.5
Consistency has been an issue for just about every team in the MWC this season. But the hot team in the league right now is Colorado State, The Rams have won three straight, including impressive road wins at Utah State and San Diego State. I don't see them flattening out here thanks to the first meeting between these teams. CSU was up six with four minutes remaining and went cold down the stretch, eventually losing a one-point decision. I think the big reason the Rams have warmed up is the patience they're now showing on offense. They're working for good shots and finding a way to get the ball in the hands of Gian Clavell or Emmanuel Omogbo, and those two are let
Otto Sports
Akron at Northern Illinois
Play: Over 140
Northern Illinois has played an ultra-light schedule this season that featured only one power conference team (Minnesota). It's helped the Huskies look very capable on the defensive end as they rank 64th nationally in defensive efficiency and second inside the MAC. Tonight they face without question their toughest offensive opponent as Akron has had its way with the MAC thus far. The Zips have scored 83 or more in five of eight league games including back-to-back 90+ point efforts. It also looks as if Akron's love affair with scoring has hindered its defense. The Zips are a perfect 8-0 in league play but are allowing 1.07 ppp and in a number of those games, they held big leads but allowed the competition to stick around (hence their 4-4 ATS record). From a talent perspective, Akron is probably the most capable team in the MAC defensively. But it's hard to tighten the screws when the ball is routinely going through the basket and you're winning games. Northern Illinois features one of the weakest offenses in the MAC but at home it's reasonable to think they'll net a point per possession. Also note that both teams are very adept at getting to the free throw line. In league play, they combine for 50 attempts per game. The total is a little juiced due to Akron's recent offense and the MAC as a whole being an "over" conference (8 of 12 teams currently trend over the total). Still think there is enough wiggle room to play it that way tonight in DeKalb.
Dave Price - Jimmy Boyd and Sports Wager couldn't pick the winner of a one horse race. How are they able to call themselves handicappers.