Tony Taylor
3* Baylor Bears -2.5
Rex Rodgers
3* Detroit/Phoenix Over 5 -135
BRANDON LANG
20 DIME - UAB BLAZERS - This is going to be a fun game.
Both teams are a perfect 5-0 in conference play and while Tulsa is 16-3 overall opposed to UAB's 17-2 mark, Bartow Arena is a place they have struggled big time.
Tulsa has never won here going 0-4 losing by an average margin of 19 points.
Yes, Tulsa is one of the biggest teams in college basketball but not the quickest of teams and when you are getting full court pressed the entire game in kind of negates your height advantage.
UAB has been one of the toughest places to win for any team the last few years as evidenced by their 36-2 SU record since the 07-08 season and the only two losses were to Memphis, who was ranked in the top 5 both times.
The Golden Hurricane are off a sluggish effort at home against Rice while UAB was doing the same in a win over Marshall so I expect both teams to be focused for this great battle.
With Tulsa having never won here and just how tough a place this is to play with what is on the line, I will side with UAB and some good line value right along with it.
At the end of the day I'm more impressed with UAB and their home wins over Cincinnati by 17 and Butler by 10 than anything Tulsa has done on the road this year.
FREE SELECTION - KENTUCKY-SOUTH CAROLINA OVER
MTi Sports
4* Lakers/Wizards Under 199
4* Timberwolves +6.5
Frank Patron
10K Clemson
Special K
5* Northwestern +12.5
5* Bobcats/Suns Over 209
Dwayne Bryant
Kansas State at Baylor
Bet: Baylor -2.5
I like Baylor a lot in this matchup. Baylor will have a nice height advantage with their +6.1 effective height rating ranking 2nd in the nation. That should lead to the Bears owning the glass, which is always huge. The Bears are 10-0 SU and 3-0 ATS at home, and they alllowed their three lined opponents to shoot just 33% from the floor. That defense will be huge here.
On the flip side, Kansas State upset then #1 Texas, and then suffered a letdown loss to Okie State in their last game. The Wildcats could very well lack the necessary focus tonight with a huge home game against their state rival, #2 Kansas, up next. K-State allows 78.3 points per game and 48.3% shooting on the road, which is a far cry from Baylor's 59.2 points per game and 34% shooting allowed at home. Take Baylor.
Sportsbetsnow
1 Unit Minnesota +6.5
1 Unit Kansas St. +2.5
David Malinsky
4* MILWAUKEE over DALLAS
November 10th was a long time ago. The NFL was in mid-season, the
World Series had barely ended, and College Football was entering the
home stretch. Yet that is how far back we have to go to find the last
time that the Dallas Mavericks won at home by more than tonight?s
pointspread, a span of 16 games. But if you are 29-15, and just won a
road game by 50, the markets force you into a high line range again,
despite the awkward setting of only having one day for turnaround
time after five straight on the road, and this being the 7th straight
court change in an unusual scheduling stretch that will 11 straight
changes before it ends.
Once again we have one of those mathematical conundrums that can make
power ratings a false prophet. Because of that veteran cast the
Mavericks play with a lot of poises down the stretch in close games,
and it brings some major edges in close games. That, in turn, helps
to get them to 29-15 ? they are 8-2 SU in games that were decided by
two points or less at the end of regulation. But when it comes to
getting margins they are ?old? instead of ?experienced?, and that
lack of depth comes into play. They are tied for fourth in the league
in wins despite not being all that special in any category (#10 on
our offensive charts, #7 defense and #18 in rebounding), which tells
us that it is all about gutting out wins, and not that they are
dominating anyone. Now they face the distraction of heading to
Phoenix for a nationally televised showdown on Thursday night, and
while the savvy may be there to gut out another win, a la the 115-113
O.T. escape at Milwaukee earlier, the spark to get a margin will not
be there.
The Bucks bring a much different focus tonight. They have been off
since whipping Minnesota by 33 on Saturday, the first time in nearly
three weeks that they had back-to-back days off. That matters for a
team that had to adjust on the fly when Michael Redd was injured in
the midst of a long West Coast swing that forced them into six games
in nine nights. Now there has been an opportunity to tweak what has
been a decent chemistry since their return home (3-0 ATS with a pair
of outright wins), and with Carlos Delfino relishing his newly found
minutes in the rotation (22 points or more three times in the last
five games), they bring some matchup issues for a favorite that has
had little time to put together a scouting report for their new look.
4* KENTUCKY/SOUTH CAROLINA Under
It has been a long time since we have ever charted a team as reliant
on a single player offensively as South Carolina is with Devan Downey
this season. Having lost Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie before
conference play started the Gamecocks simply do not have any other
answers, and it shows in a remarkable imbalance ? Downey is averaging
31.6 ppg through five league games, with no one else in double
figures. And it is creating problems for the markets to make the
proper adjustments ? in a 4-1 run to the Under through those games,
South Carolina has finished 66.5 points below the projections, or
13.3 per game.
It is not just a case of not having anywhere else to look for points,
but the fact that having such a limited supporting cast means that
there are very few quick offensive trips. Combined with a lack of
depth, it has Darrin Horn trying to keep the pace as slow as
possible, which we saw in those road losses of 66-58 at Mississippi
and 58-56 at Florida last week, when Downey scored 61 of the 113
points. And that is absolutely what he does here, taking each
possession late into the shot clock before setting up Downey to go
one-on-one to either find a shot or create one for someone else. That
sets this up for a much slower tempo than is being projected, and
with Sam Muldrow (63 blocked shots) becoming a legit defensive
presence, the Gamecocks are also capable of getting some stops
against a Kentucky offense that loves the open court, but often loses
patience when forced to run sets.
John Calipari has had his team practicing some zone defenses the last
two days in order to slow Downey?s penetration, and to force him to
shoot over much taller players. And when he does find a lane to get
to the basket, he runs into 6-11 DeMarcus Cousins and 6-9 Patrick
Patterson, which means few easy finishes. The Wildcats are allowing
38.7 percent through four SEC games, and in their last non-conference
outing held Louisville to 32.2.
Kentucky is not going to be able to force the tempo here ? it is not
easy to do in front of a hostile crowd, and Downey is too strong with
the ball. That settles this into a slower affair than is being called
for, and with both teams faring poorly at the FT line (Kentucky 68.4
percent and SC 63.8), the offensive efficiency to reach this plateau
will not be there.
ANTHONY REDD
20-Dime - Air Force
10-Dime - Timberwolves
Teddy Covers
Bobcats
Maryland
Kansas St
Air Force
Marc Lawrence
3 Units LAL -8
3 Units Dayton -5
ALATEX
15* Marquette Over 138.5
Kansas St +2
UAB Under 131.5
Bullseye
Miami at Maryland
Pick: Maryland -7
We knew going into the season that the Miami Hurricanes would struggle from time to time as they are a young team. However, one of their goals this year was to improve and focus when they play on the road in the tough ACC. So far, they are up to their old ways. They are 15-4 overall, but all four losses have come in ACC play with three of them on the road. The Canes have dropped three straight and it's about to be four straight as they must face the Maryland Terrapins who are flying high after a blowout win at home over NC State. The terps are 3-1 in ACC play and look improve that to league lead to 4-1.
ADAM MEYER
4 Units Dayton -4.5
4 Units Kentucky -6.5
5 Units Marquette -17