SEABASS
All 50*
South Fla
Seton Hall
Jax St
Ga Wash
Fairfield
Under NY Rangers
Under Lakers
Steam Ark Pine Bluff
Helmut
UConn Over 125.5
Miss. St. Over 129
Street Rosenthal
*200 Denver Nuggets -14
*200 Atlanta Hawks -6.5
*200 Phoenix Suns -12
*200 Detroit Pistons +10
Trey Scott
*200 George Washington +3
*200 Seton Hall -9
*300 UAB -11
Kiki-Sports
1* Charlotte
1* Atlanta
1* LA Lakers
Larry Ness
8* South Florida -3.5
How much do the Wolfpack have left after their excellent run in the ACC tourney? NC St upset NCAA-bound Clemson (Thu) and Florida State (Fri) before "running out of gas" against Ga Tech on Saturday (lost 57-54), which was playing for its NCAA 'life!' NC State was just 5-11 in the ACC regular season but Greensboro (site of ACC tourney), has always been 'good medicine' for the Wolfpack. This was year was no different, as they went 3-0 ATS. Traveling to South Florida for this game will be no 'picnic.' USF went 20-12 this year, going 19-10-2 ATS. The Bulls are 11-4 SU at home (8-4-2 ATS) and easily own the best player on the floor in 6-4 junior Jones (21.3-6.2-3.7). He's joined in the backcourt by seniors Howard (10.4-3.8-3.9) and Mercer (9.4-4.6). USF has plenty of height up front now that the 6-10 Gilchrist (13.8-6.1) is back after missing 15 games with a foot injury. The 6-11 Famous (10.5-7.5) is the fifth starter with 6-8 freshman Fitzpatrick (4.3-4.6) coming off the bench. NC State's 6-8 Smith (16.9-7.5) is an excellent player but I'm not sure his frontcourt partners Horner (11.2-4.8) and Wood (8.1-3.3) are up to the challenge. I'm SURE the Wolpack's guard duo of of Gonzalez (9.8-3.8 APG) and Degand (5.8-2.6 APG) will be overmatched by Jones and Co. away from the friendly confines of Greensboro. Lay it with the Bulls.
Tony George
Cleveland -10
This line may shoot up, as Prince for Detroit is out, who by the way the Pistons got hammered last night in Boston giving up 199 points, and have injury issues all over the place and doubt they score over 85 here and their defense was like a funnel last night. Cavs red hot again and ready to win big after being rested for this one, should be a 20 point blowout in my opinion. Play 2 Units on Cleveland
Texas Tech +8.5
WOW. Disrespect for a team who played the 13th toughest schedule in the nation, and Tech was a bubble team who WANTS this game according my sources. Tech was a beast at home but stunk it up on the road, but I watched this play in the Big 12 Tourney in person and they have some chops, and should do a great job against an inconsistent Seton Hall team, especially in the paint. Seton Hall in the Big East Tourney was deplorable at the free throw line as well, and Tech is no stranger to tough places to play on the road, coming from the Big 12. Play 1 Unit on Texas Tech
Bob Balfe
Arkansas-Pine Bluff +4
Despite starting the season 0-11, the Golden Knights have found their groove and went 17-4 to sneak their way into the tournament. The key to this game derives from the senior leadership of AR-Pine Bluff (all 5 starters are seniors). It is very comforting knowing that a team that has already faced enormous diversity ended up overcoming every obstacle to eventually end up in the NCAA tournament, which can all be attributed to vocal leaders on the team stepping up and lighting a fire underneath the entire squad. Neither team has that one guy that can take over a game individually, so expect to see over a dozen lead changes and a very close game throughout. Winthrop has not played in 10 days and could very well come out cold which could be the deciding factor. The Golden Knights did not play a home game until January 6th, so they are very familiar and experienced on the road and gave many quality teams a run for their money. Winthrop has a horrendous shooting percentage (ranked 338 out of 347 Div. 1 teams) and should work very hard to get their points tonight. The line is +4 when I expected AR-Pine Bluff to be a pickem or a 1-1.5 point favorite. This is due in large part to the public activity all over Winthrop and it is simply because bettors are wagering on the names here. Who has ever heard of AR-Pine Bluff? Look for the Golden Knights to lose horribly-to the Duke Blue Devils. Take AR-Pine Bluff +4.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
7* Ottawa -180
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the home side.
Toronto is coming off a listless 4-1 road loss to the Islanders and now faces a desperate, hungry and motivated Senators team.
Toronto has been one of the NHL's worst teams away from home this season, bringing a poor 9-20-7 mark as the visitor into tonight's tilt.
On the other side of the rink: The Sens were on fire prior to the break, ripping off 14 victories out of 16 before the Olympics, but have gone just 1-4-1 since returning to play.
They were shutout in Calgary and are coming off a 5-1 defeat to Vancouver on Saturday's finale of its most recent road trip.
"Not a whole lot to say about that effort," a frustrated Ottawa head coach Cory Clouston said afterward. "We weren't ready to go. The Canucks played like it was a playoff game and we weren't ready to step our game up."
Bottom line: The pressure is on the Sens to catch the Sabres now; they'll also be playing with the "triple-revenge-factor" as the Leafs have somehow managed to beat Ottawa in three straight matchups.
Not tonight though as Ottawa looks to "right the ship" with a big effort in front of the home town faithful; play on OTTAWA!
Mike Lineback
Lakers -3 First Half
Los Angeles won first quarter, but lost first half vs. the Warriors last night. In addition, Lakers lost first Q by 5 & first H by 15 points in last meeting vs. Sacramento (1/1). Hence, believe Lakers will be focused from the start this evening. LA got O healthy vs. Golden State, and think they carry this momentum into Sacramento. Like Lakers (-) for game as well, but like first H scenario better.
Lenny Del Genio
George Mason -1.5
Like the NIT and CBI, all opening round games in the CBI are played at campus sites. In fact, there are no neutral court games in this entire tournament. And just like we tend to see in those other events, the home teams dominated in the opening round of the initial CBI with hosts taking seven of the eight games straight up. Six of those games were decided by a margin of six points or greater. Therefore, we have to exploit this line which has host George Mason barely favored over a Fairfield team with little seasoning. This probably has a lot to do with the way both teams finished their respective years. Fairfield comes in having won six of its last eight and even more impressively has covered nine of its last ten. Meanwhile, GMU, the darling of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, lost seven of its final nine and was just 2-8-1 ATS its last 11 games overall following a season-high seven-game win streak. However, let's remember that the quality of competition in the CAA far outweighs the MAAC. The Patriots beat league champ Old Dominion by 16 in this building earlier in the year. In fact, George Mason was 11-4 SU in home games this season. Four of their most recent defeats came by four points or less, so they easily could have had a better fate. Let's not forget that a CAA team (Old Dominion) won this event last year. Fairfield, meanwhile, only plays Siena twice a year and lost both times. The Stags only other games vs. NCAA Tourney competition resulted in a 10-point loss to Vermonth and a 29-point loss to Maryland. Both games were on the road. George Mason is our 20* CIT Opening Rd Winner.
Rocketman
Quinnipiac +14.5
In my opinion, Virginia Tech should have made the Big Dance and I'm sure they thought the same thing and are upset about it. A lot of times teams like this will pretty much pack it in for the season and not play at the intensity level in the NIT as they would have in the Big Dance. Hokies are 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. Hokies are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite. Hokies are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games. Hokies are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Hokies are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite. Hokies are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite of 13.0 or greater. Hokies are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 13.0 or greater. We'll play Quinnipiac for 3 units tonight!
Tim Trushel
Northeastern
William & Mary
Jimmy Boyd
3* NBA "Total" Dominator on Lakers/Kings UNDER 206
Plays Under on all teams where the total is greater than or equal to 200 (LA), tired team playing its 3rd road game in 5 days, good team, winning 60-75% or more of their games on the season, are 130-82 since 1996, including 63-33 the last 3 seasons. The Lakers just played a fast-paced game in Golden State last night so they aren't going to have the energy to run and gun again here. Expect the Lakers to slow the pace as much as possible, operating in the half court offensively. The Lakers are also 24-11 Under when playing their 3rd road game in 5 days over the last 3 seasons, and we are only seeing 199.8 points scored in the games on average. The Under is also 5-0 in the Lakers' last 5 games following an ATS loss and 4-0 in their last 4 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. We'll bet the Under.
3* NIT Opening Round SMASH (ESPN) on UNC -8.5
William & Mary has had some very good wins this season, but I don't like its chances tonight. The Tar Heels are way more athletic with a lot more size. They should dominate the boards and really hurt the Tribe in the paint as well as in transition. It's been an embarrassing season for UNC, and the last thing they want is to take an embarrassing loss to school like W&M on national TV. It's been a struggle for Roy Williams this season, but he should have his boys ready to play tonight. The fact that W&M has some quality wins will only make it easier for Williams to get his boys to take this one seriously. W&M is a team that really depends on the 3-point shot, but I don't anticipate the Tribe shooting a high percentage. UNC's quickness in closeouts and their length won't allow W&M to get as many clean looks as they will need. The Tar Heels are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a road winning percentage of greater than .600, 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite of 7.0-12.5 points and 21-5 ATS in their last 26 games as a home favorite of 7.0-12.5 points. Lay the number.
3* Opening Round SMASH (ESPN) on Ark Pine Bluff +4.5
I really can't justify laying the points here when you consider how awful Winthrop is offensively. The Eagles only shoot 38.3% from the floor, and just 25.5% from beyond the arc. Ark Pine Bluff started the season 0-11 as it played 11 straight road games against schools such as UTEP, Arizona State, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Missouri and Kansas State. These early season losses paid dividends down the stretch when Golden Lions won their conference tournament, and I expect them to pay off in this play-in game as well. Plays against neutral court teams as a favorite or pick (Winthrop), poor offensive team scoring 64 or fewer points per game on the season, after allowing 60 points or less 2 straight games, are 40-17 ATS since 1997, 24-9 ATS the last 5 seasons and 17-6 ATS the last 3 seasons. The favorite has been favored by 5.3 points on average in these games but is only winning by an average of 0.7 points. Also, plays on underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points (APB), after playing a game where both it and its opponents scored 65 points or less, with all five starters returning from last season, are 73-33 ATS the last 3 seasons. We'll take the points with the Golden Lions here.
Trent Citron
10 Units VCU
8 Units North Carolina
8 Units Texas Tech
6 Units NC State
6 Units UConn
EXECUTIVE
250% S Hall-9
250% SH/TTU Under 161.5
250% Minnesota +12.5