Power Play Wins
Orlando Magic -12
Don Wallace
5* Toronto +12.5
RAS
Evansville/Boise State Over 141.5
Rhode Island/Central Florida Over 131.5
LPW Sports Forecast
3 Units Cleveland/Orlando Over 193.5
Jimmy Boyd
4* Denver Nuggets -12.5
3* Utah Jazz +8
4* Washington State -5
Helmut
Northern Iowa Over 119
Keith Glantz
25* Creighton
25* Missouri St
Steven Budin
25 Dime Boston Celtics
Kelso
50 Miami Fla
10 Spurs
5 Oregon
3 New Mexico
Bob Balfe
Boston Celtics -2
Alabama -6
LPW Sports Forecast
3 Units Cleveland/Orlando Over 193.5
100 Unit TOY Oregon Under 149
Big Al
N. Iowa
Washington St.
Craig Davis
20 Dime Memphis
20 Dime Alabama
20 Dime Oklahoma St
Jeff Benton
30 Dime Washington St
I was wrong when I went against Oklahoma State six days ago and the Cowboys manhandled Harvard 71-54 as a five-point favorite. But what’s important to remember here is Oklahoma State played that game at home, where it is 14-2 this year. Take the Cowboys out of Stillwater and make them play in a hostile environment and they’re an entirely different team, going 2-9 while getting outscored by nearly 10 points per game (they average 63.6 ppg in true road games and allow 73.2 ppg). Then again, Oklahoma State is just a product of its overrated conference, as teams from the Big 12 are 179-33 at home but just 41-80 on the road. And if you take away Texas (7-3) and Kansas (9-1), that Big 12 road record drops to 25-76!
In other words, I don’t trust the Cowboys to make a long trip to Pullman, Washington, and compete in a game that starts at 10:30 p.m. Stillwater time, not against a Washington State squad that’s 12-4 SU and 9-5 ATS on its home court (winning by an average of 12.4 ppg and shooting 48.6 percent vs. 38 percent for its opponents).
Speaking of the Cougars, they’re eight points (and one overtime) session away from a six-game winning streak – they lost by two at Arizona State, but four at home in overtime to UCLA and by two to Washington in the Pac-10 tournament – and if you take away the 58-54 loss to UCLA, Wazu has scored 85, 87, 85 and 80 points in its last four games (cashing in all four). Also, with their 85-74 opening-round NIT win over Long Beach State (cashing as a 9½-point favorite), the Cougars are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 as a home favorite and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 non-conference games.
Meanwhile, check out these pointspread slumps for Oklahoma State: 2-6 on the road, 7-15-1 as an underdog, 15-47-2 as a road underdog, and 19-39-1 as an underdog of 6½ points or less. Throw in the fact that the Cowboys have averaged just 59.3 ppg in their last 11 games away from home (road and neutral sites) – including a 73-52 loss in a trip to Washington to face Gonzaga on New Year’s Eve – and I just don’t see Okie State scoring enough to keep this one close and get inside the number.
EZWinners
Missouri St