Al DeMarco
10 Dime St. Bonaventure
Chris Jordan
200♦ Northern Arizona -12
Jorge Gonzalez
Indiana Pacers -1.5
RAS
St Peter/Siena Over 127.5
RAS
Chatt/ GTech Over 146.5
Ben Burns
10* Kings/Mavs Under
RAS
Murray State/SE Missouri State Under 136.5
RAS
Auburn/Mississippi Over 137.5
RAS
Colorado State/Texas Christian Under 140
MR EAST
5 UNITS - CHARLOTTE +2
The Dayton Flyers have really been struggling of late as they have dropped 4 of their last 6 games, and the 2 wins were by a combined 6 points, while the 4 losses were by 53 points, for a net scoring deficit of 8ppg. Not a very good outlook for a 17-9 team. Charlotte has done a nice job at home where they are 7-4 on the season. They have lost 3 of their last 9 games in overtime, so have suffered some bad luck. Dayton applies to a very negative momentum situation based in part on their 2 most recent losses which is 48-88-4 ATS. Charlotte stands at 8-2 ATS in their last 10 vs a team with a winning percentage of over .600. Dayton also just 2-6 ATS vs the 49ers in the last 8 meetings. I'll go with NC Charlotte here.
4 UNITS - SOUTH FLORIDA +18.5
The Pittsburgh Panthers have never been an explosive offensive team, they work hard as a team and take good shots. What they do as good as anyone in the country is keep teams from getting easy looks, or runouts for fastbreak points. South Florida will have to work for everything they get. The Panthers are very good, and have been, but as good as they are, their style often prohibits them from taking down big numbers and they are just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 laying 17 or more. The Bulls don't win much on the road, and haven't broken through this year either, but they are more competitive than the record indicates and are 14-6 ATS the last 20 times they have been a dog of 10+. I like South Florida in this one.
4 UNITS - MARIST +20.5
The Marist Red Foxes have not won many games over the past few years, in fact they are 5-53 in their last 58 games. They luckily aren't measured that way for the purposes at hand here. They are plkaying right in the middle of their "overlay" zone for this one, as the Red Foxes are 9-0-2 ATS in their last 11 getting 15.5-22 points. The Stags have had a brilliant year, but in addition to the 9-0-2 ATS situation favoring Marist here the Stags find themselves in a letdown spot that has been 149-254-10 ATS, and Marist is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 at Fairfield. I'll go with Marist here
Ben Burns
Detroit -10.5
I'm playing on DETROIT. The Titans won by four when these teams met at Youngstown State. Playing on their home floor, I expect a far more convincing victory here.
The Titans are off back to back losses. Those both came on the road though and they came against a pair of quality teams, Valparaiso and Butler. In their last home game, the Titans knocked off a good Cleveland State team. I successfully played on them in that game and with them returning home and taking a major step down in class, I feel this will be another good spot to do so.
The Titans have been playing a lot of road games of late. Six of their last nine games have come away from home. They're a perfect 3-0 SU/ATS in the three home games though. They're 2-1 ATS on the season, when favored in the -9.5 to -12 range.
The Penguins lost by double-digits last time out and now they'll be playing their third straight road game. With three straight home games to follow, it could be easy for them to get caught looking ahead to the return trip home.
Whether or not that proves to be the case, I expect them to be in tough here. The Titans beat them by 11 here last season and I believe that there's an even bigger talent gap between the teams this season. Expect another double-digit win.
The Duke's Sports
Southern Miss (-4) for 2.5 Units
SM doesn't take lightly that they haven't beaten the Miners since March 2008. The Golden Eagles are fired up to get a convincing victory tonight after coming off a disappointing loss at Memphis, where they couldn't close after dominating the first half. SM is 8-3 ATS off a SU loss and 4-1 ATS as a home favorite in this spread range. SM is 4-1 ATS at home in this series and should deliver.
Kevin Rogers
Kings at Mavs
Pick: Kings +11
The Kings have played the Mavs tough this season by dropping a pair of close contests at home. Now, Sacramento wraps up the first half at Dallas tonight, even though point guard Tyreke Evans is doubtful with a foot injury. The Mavs are rolling with wins in 11 of their last 12 games, but return home off a three-game road trip, while heading to Phoenix tomorrow night. Fading double-digit home favorites off a long road trip is normally a solid play, as the Mavs fell into this trap against the woeful Cavs as 14-point favorites in a three-point win. I'll take the points with Sacramento.
Dr Bob
College Opinions
WRIGHT STATE (-1) over Cleveland State
Wright State is 12-1 straight up at home this season and 35-4 at home going back to December of 2008. Tonight the Blue Raiders get a chance to defend their home court and get revenge for a 46-65 loss at Cleveland State. Wright State applies to a solid 58-17-1 ATS home revenge situation tonight as long as they are not favored by more than 1 point. My ratings favor Cleveland State by a point and the line opened at +1, so there is now negative line value. However, I’ll still lean with Wright State at -1 or pick and I’d take Wright State in a 2-Star Best Bet at +1 or more.
Dayton (-2) over CHARLOTTE
Dayton enters this game off consecutive losses to Rhode Island and Temple, but the Flyers apply to a solid 127-55-2 ATS bounce-back situation tonight. My ratings favor Dayton by 2 points, so the line is fair, and I’ll lean with the Flyers are -2 or better.
SAN DIEGO STATE (-9½) over New Mexico
New Mexico is not nearly as good away from home (28-29-2 ATS, 4-7-1 ATS this season) as they are at home (40-19-2 ATS) under coach Steve Alford and the Aztecs are very good at home. San Diego State is 25-5 ATS as a home favorite of less than 10 points the last 6 seasons, including 21-1 ATS if the Aztecs are coming off a win. San Diego State already beat the Lobos by 10 points in New Mexico, which is tough to do, and my ratings favor the Aztecs by 11 points in this game. I’ll lean with San Diego State at -10 or less.
SAM CLAYTON
2* Illinois -9
And so continues the tumultuous ups and downs of Illinois basketball. One thrilling road upset against Minnesota followed by an absolute clunker vs. Purdue this past Sunday. It pains me to say that this has been the story of the season the past three years with this class (McCamey, Tisdale, Davis, Cole), a group of guys that when clicking on all cylinders are dangerous. Unfortunately, for the Illini, that just hasn't been the case. Bruce Weber can spin things all he wants about outside sources and agents and all of that, but McCamey just hasn't had the competitive fire. And they go simply as he goes.
I'm doing it again . . . I'm supposed to be selling you on Illinois. Right. Well, quite frankly, we backed a very similar team last week in the EXACT same situation. Remember? It was last Thursday and I was big on Michigan State at home with their backs against the wall hosting Penn State --- a sneaky, scrappy team that had played good basketball at home. Michigan is apparently "peaking," winning 5 of 6 games but in all reality, they've been at the right place at the right time. The Wolverines caught Michigan State three days after Izzo dismissed Korie Lucious (and had no idea what the hell to do) and then went into Ohio State and faced a Buckeye team that could have given two shits about the first 30 minutes of the game.
Tonight, you're asking this young Michigan team clad with mostly underclassmen to go into a HOSTILE environment in Champaign and spoil their season. That alone should draw you away from the Wolverines' side. Then, there's the fact that we know just how good Illinois can be. We've seen the Illini at the Assembly Hall beat Wisconsin by 8, Northwestern by 25, UNC by 12, MSU by 9 and Penn State by 17. Granted, it's easy to look at the past, so we'll focus on the present. The Illini are playing their second straight home game and are hungry to come out right out of the gate and pummel Michigan. Seriously, every single time peopled underestimated the Illini, they've come through in the strongest way. Start telling them how good they are; they fall flat. After Sunday's debacle, Illinois needs to make a STATEMENT tonight --- and if they don't, they will not be dancing in March.
Two weeks ago, the Illini are laying 13 in this spot, which goes to show you how the public perceives things. Illinois was laying 3.5 against Purdue three days ago and now they're only laying two more possessions against Michigan?! That doesn't even begin to make sense, yet the public is eating it up because of how "hot" Michigan is. 84 percent on Michigan and the line hasn't moved a tick. Hmmm, still liking it?
Illinois is better at every single position than the Wolverines, it's not even close. And the Wolverines don't have a JaJuan Johnson, Jared Sullinger or Jarryd Cole to count on down in the paint. Hardaway, Novak and Douglass are good shooters AT HOME but when Michigan has to rely on the long ball on the road, they are cooked. If they don't jump ahead early, they are headed for a downward spiral. Look no further than their 16 point loss at Wisconsin, 19 point loss at Indiana and 14 point loss at Northwestern. And somehow, someway, the Wolverines are only catching nine points against Illinois. I'm befuddled. In case you've forgotten, Illinois leads the Big Ten in three-point percentage and Michigan is the second worst perimeter defense team. At the end of the day, the Hall is going to be sold out, Weber will probably bench McCamey again for the first four minutes and they'll win this game by 15 . . . then they'll probably lose their next two games. Still, with a season at stake, a strong forthcoming defensive effort and McCamey and Co. pitching a tent for one last stand at home, you have to love the situation in front of you with the orange and blue.