YOUNG GUN SPORTS
5* GOY Syracuse plus 2
3* Gonzaga -11.5
3* LA Lakers -4.5
2* Denver Over 206
Trace Adams
2000* - Pittsburgh Panthers
500* - Gonzaga Bulldogs
All over the Panthers plus any points in this one, as I believe a closer look at Marquette's current 5 game winning streak is in order. The Golden Eagles have taken advantage of a "soft" part of their schedule, as their 5 wins come against Rutgers, slumping Connecticut, DePaul, Providence, and South Florida.
ALL of those schools are having their problems right now.
Pittsburgh has bounced-back to win their last 3 games, including avenging an earlier road loss at West Virginia their last time out with the home win over the Mountaineers in three-overtimes.
Jamie Dixon's team has dropped their last 3 on the conference road, so a big road "step up" is in order in this game.
The Panthers have won and covered 3 of the last 4 series meetings, and Pittsburgh is also on an 8-3-1 Big East spread run, and an overall 10-3-1 against the spread run their last 14 lined games.
Have to grab the points as I expect this one to go right down to the wire for sure.
2000♦ - Pittsburgh Panthers
Out west, go with Gonzaga to continue their winning ways.
The Bulldogs have won 4 in a row, and 13 of their last 14, and more importantly, the 'Zags have gone 9-4-1 against the spread in those 14 games.
True, one of those spread losses was when they were laying over 20 points in the 1st meeting with Loyola, as they won that game by 16 points.
Still, the Spokane Crew has won the last 5, and 9 of the last 10 against the Lions, and they have been able to cover the big impost in 4 of the previous 5 meetings.
Loyola Marymount is just 4-5 against the spread at home, soon to be 4-6.
Take Gonzaga.
500♦ - Gonzaga Bulldogs
Wayne Root
Vegas Legend - Washington St -5
Millionaire - Georgetown -2
Perfect Play - Marquette -6½
Billionaire - Ole Miss Rebels
Rex Rodgers
3* Russian Federation -2.5 +110
Clayton Rice
3* Florida
3* Mississippi
2* Syracuse
2* Wisconsin
2* Washington
Tony Taylor
4* Cavs/Nuggets Over 206
3* Ul-Lafayette -6
3* Denver U -11
3* Marquette -5.5
3* Washington U -8
ATS LOCK CLUB
4 Units Wisconsin +1
3 Units St Mary's -7
3 Units Wash -8.5
Craig Davis
75 Dime – MARQUETTE
15 Dime – WASHINGTON
MARQUETTE - You might have thought I was going to jump on Georgetown tonight, as I've backed them in two HUGE home games (vs. Villanova and vs. Duke) and was easily victorious. The only thing that scared me away from them was the fact that Syracuse just suffered an inexcusable loss to Louisville and they own several important trends. Instead, my Big East marquee play of the day is on Marquette as a home favorite against a ranked Pittsburgh team that simply isn't as good as their ranking. Trust me, Vegas knows it... but they had to list the line in a position to draw some equal attention on both sides. Well done Vegas, but you aren't fooling me. I know how dangerous this Marquette team is and there's no way I'm passing up this opportunity.
The Eagles are a lot better than their record would indicate and they've played a very brutal Big East schedule thus far. It's honestly amazing that they've been able to hold on as long as they have, but when they get past Pittsburgh tonight, the rest of their season sets up very nicely. In fact, I believe the Eagles could finish in the top 5 in the Big East standings, and that's nearly a guarantee of a Big Dance tournament bid. Lazar Hayward is starting to really play like the leader Marquette thought he would be, not only scoring in double figures but also grabbing double digit rebounds in the process. Jimmy Butler and Maurice Acker are also starting to heat it up at the right time, and I have no doubts they'll be motivated to play after last year's beatdown Pitt put on them. Revenge is sweet, and Marquette will more than get theirs tonight.
As for Pitt, let's just say I don't believe they are as good as their ranking... shoot, if they were, would they be getting five or six points? The Panthers are coming down off an incredible high from Friday night's triple overtime thriller (98-95 win) at home, and there's nowhere they can go but down. In fact, this is a horrible sandwich game for the Panthers, as not only are they coming down off this incredible emotional high after beating WVU, but their next game (after tonight) is back at home against a very angry Villanova team. But who's going to be angrier... Villanova, who was just beaten at home by UConn or Pitt, who lost to 'Nova to end their run through last year's tournament. Pitt has had that Villanova game circled since last March and it could cause them to lose some focus for tonight.
The Eagles have covered six of the last nine in this series, and they've won five straight games in conference while Pittsburgh has won their last three at home, but failed to win or cover their last three on the road. Marquette's last home loss (and they have only two on the season) came on January 2nd against Villanova (74-72)... since then they have beaten Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, DePaul and South Florida by an average of 18 PPG. Too much on the line tonight for Marquette... I see them rolling easily by double digits tonight.
WASHINGTON - In most cases, I usually tend to side with the better defensive team, especially when getting points, but the more I look at this game, the more I think it has blowout written all over it. We have a few, really strong trends in our favor tonight and I'll be shocked if the Huskies don't win this game by double digits. The first thing that stood out to me is the fact Washington just destroys opponents at home, winning by an average margin of 18 PPG at home. For whatever reason, the Huskies feed off their home crowd and they really seem to turn up the pressure in the second half. If they have a small lead at halftime, they simply increase the defensive pressure in the second half while running a faster paced offense. If they have a big halftime advantage, they simply maintain it in the second half and don't allow their opponents back in the game.
The other factor they have in their favor is MAJOR revenge. When Washington traveled to Southern Cal back in late January, they were completely out-classed. It was very apparent they weren't ready to play that game, but it was also apparent that USC was playing out of their minds. The Trojans shot 58% from the field for the game (32-55) and 60% from three-point land and converted 74% of their free throws. Now, if you compare those numbers to their seasonal average numbers you can easily see the stars were aligned perfectly for the Trojans that night. On the year, USC shoots 43% from the field as a team, 32% from the three-point arc, and 64% from the line... so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize they played a near-flawless game in their first meeting. Don't expect the same tonight.
On the other side of the coin, Washington was well below its seasonal averages of 44% from the field and 32% from distance as they shot just 37% and 23%, respectively. USC held Quincy Pondexter to just 1-10 shooting and the Huskies leading scorer was held to a season-low 2 points. I will absolutely guarantee you that unless he gets injured tonight, Pondexter will score more than 2 points and better than 10% from the field. The final score that night was 87-61... one of Washington's worst defeats of the year. Revenge is sweet, my friends, and it's even more sweet when our side was humiliated in the last meeting.
Washington is 7-5 ATS at home this year while the Trojans have covered just twice in 10 games away from Southern California. The favorite in this series is 9-2 ATS while the Huskies have covered four of their last five ATS as a home favorite. USC, on the other hand, is just 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last four following a SU win. It's all Huskies tonight.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
Denver / Cleveland Over 206
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the "over":
Two days after coach George Karl announced he is suffering from throat and neck cancer, the Nuggets visit the Cavaliers who could have new acquisition Antawn Jamison in the lineup for the first time as they try to win their franchise-record 14th straight Thursday night.
Denver (35-18) comes out of the All-Star break trying to fend off Utah in the Northwest Division as it looks to win a second consecutive division title. However, the Nuggets recently learned they may have to do so without their coach for periods of time; I expect a concerted effort from this team as they rally around this news.
Keep in mind that the total has gone "over" the posted number in four of Denver's last six overall.
On the other side of the court: Cleveland (43-11) has tied a franchise record with 13 consecutive wins and has the best record in the NBA. The Cavaliers could have a better shot at extending the run if Jamison can make his debut with the team. Cleveland acquired the two-time All-Star forward from Washington in a three-team trade Wednesday night, and it’s unclear if the 33-year-old will be available to face the Nuggets.
James, who scored 25 points in the All-Star game, will be looking to pick up where he left off before the break. He averaged 33.5 points and 11.0 assists in the final six games.
It's important to note that the total has gone "over" the posted number in four of Cleveland's last six overall.
Bottom line: It should also be pointed out that that in eight of the last twelve games these teams have played in Cleveland, the total has gone "over" the number.
When taking into account all of these strong "over" trends that these teams exhibit in this situation, and these other factors, the sharp money is indeed on the OVER in this one!
8* OVER
Bob Balfe
Syracuse +1.5
Tonight is a matchup between two of the top offensive teams in the league. Earlier in the season, I did not give enough credit to the Orangemen and thought they were a tad bit overrated. However, after reviewing some film and running offensive comparisons between the teams that they play on the road, I definitely think they belong with Villanova and Kentucky as teams that thrive being on the road and coming into your house and making you go home sad. Freeman should have another big game tonight but it will not be enough. The line is absolutely too low tonight and Syracuse will win a convincing game tonight. Take the Orangemen +1.5
Marc Lawrence
Pittsburgh +6
When the Panthers take on the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee this evening they will take the floor knowing they are a premier dog in conference play, going 27-13-1 ATS since 2004 - including 18-7 ATS when playing off back-to-back wins. Inside those numbers, Pitt is 11-1 SU and ATS in its last 12 games as a conference dog off a win, including 8-0 SU and ATS if they covered the number in the win. With Marquette off a revenge win over South Florida and 0-7 ATS in games after facing the Bulls, we'll grab the points with the Panthers as they pull another upset win here tonight. We recommend a 3-unit play on Pittsburgh.
Lenny Del Genio
Boston +4
Ko-be or not Ko-be? That is the question. Reports are that Bryant will not play here, but considering the Lakers' recent success without him, maybe they don't need him? Wrong. The Lakers are due to fall without their superstar sooner than later and with the Celtics playing with triple revenge, the time is now. Boston is 8-2-1 ATS the last 11 meetings with LA, including a 'push' for us on a tough 90-89 home loss back on January 31st as the team blew a double-digit second half lead to continue a rough stretch that has seen them go 2-11-1 ATS their last 14 games overall. They are actually 6-8 SU in those 14 games. With so many things overwhelmingly going against the Celtics here, this is a classic case of "buy low, sell high." To be blunt, there's not a lot of justification available to ride the Celts here except for the fact that they're due for a cover and the Lakers are due to lose without Kobe. Also, we would like to be clear that even if Kobe plays, we are going to still play the visitor. Boston is our 15* TV Game of the Week.
Rocketman
Minnesota -1
Wisconsin has a very good team this year but is only 5-5 SU on the road this season. Minnesota is now 11-2 SU at home this year. Wisconsin is scoring only 62.8 points per game on the road this year. Minnesota is scoring 80.6 points per game at home this season while allowing only 59.6 points per game at home this year. Golden Gophers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. We also have a system play here where we play on an unranked team giving points to a ranked team which has been kind over the years. We'll play Minnesota for 3 units tonight!
Tony George
Denver / Cleveland Over 206
The Cavs have scored a 100+ points in EVERY game in February. Denver has allowed over 100 ppg on defense in all but 1 of their last 5 games. Both teams average 216 ppg combined their last 5 games. Denver is 5-2 ATS on Overs their last 7 times as an underdog. Both have deep benches, and Denvers gets ton of scoring from their bench. This should be a good, high scoring game, and James should be good for 30+ here. Jamison, a new player added yesterday is unlikely to play. Lots of scoring from the forward position in this game tonight. Play 1 Unit on the OVER.
Eric Degarde
1* Georgetown -1
1* Troy -2.5
1* Arkansas Little RK +13