Helmut
Central Florida Over 140
TCU Under 135
Elon Over 147.5
MTi Sports
4* Mavericks
RAS
James Madison/Drexel Under 130
Louisville/Notre Dame Under 140.5
Memphis/Central Florida Over 140
RAS
Marquette Over 135
Indiana St Under 125.5
Young Guns
GOY Syracuse -4.5
New Orleans -2.5
Charlotte +4
Matt Fargo
Central Florida -2
TCU +9
Bucks/Wizards Over 187
Cavaliers -1
Bulls +1
Will Cover
Colorado
Richmond
Northern Illinois
PPP
4% BYU
David Malinsky
4* CENTRAL FLORIDA / MEMPHIS OVER 139.5
Revenge is not just a team vs. team phenomenon, and not always an issue of emotion and focus on the court. Many times the best settings are those in which performances were pushed to an extreme, and the pendulums of the sport of basketball call for a major swing from the first result. We have a classic exhibit of that in this setting.
The first meeting between these teams played to a 138, slightly below the 141.5 closing Total, and as such we see the markets making a minor adjustment, with this projection set a basket lower. But the earlier route to that 138 was a fascinating one – the shooting was absolutely horrific, with the two teams combining to go just 6-36 from 3-point range, and 22-40 at the FT line. With Memphis up by 19 at halftime it was also an unusual pacing in the second half, when a 75 at halftime was dragged down to a 63 the rest of the way, with absolutely no scrambling going on in the latter stages.
Now all sorts of things change tonight. First, it is almost a given that the shooting will be better, since it would be difficult to be any worse. Second, we expect the game to be much closer, with creates an entirely different flow in the second half than we saw the first time around, when no starter went more than 31 minutes for either team. Third, we have the return of AJ Rompza for the Golden Knights, and while he is unlikely to get the starting nod at PG, his energy off the bench will serve as a catalyst for a team that badly missed him in their last two losses. This is going to be a high energy game in front of a big crowd in Orlando, and we would not be surprised at all if the losing team reached 70 points.
Joseph D'Amico
Georgetown vs. Syracuse
PLay: Georgetown +4½
Syracuse got two much-needed wins over U Conn and South Florida after dropping 4 in a row both SU and ATS. Forwards Kris Joseph and Rick Jackson are leading the Orangemen with a combined 28.5 PPG, despite erratic play recently. Everyone knows that the Big East is the most physical conference in the nation. It seems that when Syracuse faces a bigger “bully’ they have problems. Georgetown has now switched lineups to include 240 lb. Nate Lubick. The Power Forward has given the Hoyas a stronger defense and a lot more muscle under the boards. John Thompson III has his team playing with confidence in their current 6 game win streak. Guard Austin Freeman is lighting up scoreboards for 18.7 PPG. Fellow Guards, Chris Wright and Jason Clark make it tough for any defense to key on any one or two players. Georgetown matches up well with Syracuse here. Take the Hoyas.
Matt Fargo
Pistons at Cavs
Pick: Cavs -1
Who is going to bet on the Cavaliers right now? They have lost an NBA record 25 straight games so without a chance to win the game, the action on them is going to be minimal. That is just fine however as that is where the value lies. No one wants to win more than the Cleveland players and they have been playing very competitive basketball of late, going 6-3-1 ATS over their last 10 games. Now that the streak is theirs, it is time to player more loose and what better opponent to come into town than the Pistons. Detroit comes into Cleveland with a 6-21 road record and is actually coming off a road win at Milwaukee on Saturday in its most recent road game. The Pistons are coming off a home loss last night against the Spurs as they lost by 11 points and that marked the fourth straight game they have tallied 92 or fewer points on offense. The Cleveland defense is certainly not a strong unit but Detroit is averaging just 90 ppg on the road. With all of the problems going on in Detroit, it seems fitting that it be the team to end the streak. Let’s go back to the Cavaliers losing streak. This is not defending it but 15 of those 25 games have been on the road including 12 of the last 17 games so it has been a rough slate. Speaking of rough, while the majority of the games have been on the road, the majority of the overall games have come against playoff contending teams as of those 25 losses, 21 have come against squads either qualified for postseason or within three games. Overall, Cleveland has played the NBA’s toughest schedule so far. It may be hard for some to fathom that a team riding a 25-game losing streak is the favorite but that is the case. The Cavaliers opened as the underdog but it was quickly bet up which is the right move to back. The Pistons are 2-7 ATS in the last nine meetings and they are 12-29 in their last 41 games within the division. Detroit as mentioned is struggling on offense but playing a bad defense will not help as it is 11-24 ATS in its last 35 games against teams allowing 103 ppg or more. 9* Cleveland Cavaliers
The Duke's Sports
Nebraska (+6') for 2 Units
We realize that the 'Husker offense can be downright painful to watch at times however, good spot for Nebraska to catch the consistently inconsistent Bears off-guard. Baylor, which hasn't won two straight since January 11th, is coming off a huge win at TX A&M Saturday. And Drew's talented but young group hasn't learned how to handle prosperity well. Nebraska, which lost 5 of its last 7 games, desperately needs a win here to have any shot whatsoever at an at-large bid with some Big 12 heavyweights coming up on their home schedule. And we do realize that Nebraska has lost 12 straight Big 12 road games; at the same time, we do know that the last Big 12 road win came at this very location in Waco in 2009. Doc Sadler's bunch can create turnovers, play great defense, and make the best use of finding an open shot offensively. The 'Huskers are 4-1 ATS off a SU loss and 4-1-1 ATS on Wednesdays. With the dog in this series at 4-0 ATS and Baylor a sluggish 1-5 ATS in their last 6 at home, we'll look for Nebraska to be competitive here.
Crown City Sports
3* Duke -10
3* Syracuse -4.5
Dr Bob
3* Drexel
2* Oklahoma
College Opinions
Old Dominion (-9) over WILLIAM & MARY
Old Dominion is coming off a 45-62 loss at George Mason, but the Monarchs are 26-3 ATS in regular season games after a conference loss the last 7 seasons (2-0 ATS this season), including 22-0 ATS laying 20 points or less against teams with a win percentage of .720 or less. Unfortunately, my ratings favor the Monarchs by only 8 points so I’ll just lean with Old Dominion in this game.
Wisconsin (-6½) over IOWA
Wisconsin is a fundamentally sound team that has a history of taking care of business against mediocre and bad teams under coach Bo Ryan. The Badgers are 90-55-4 ATS in regular season games against teams with a win percentage of .700 or lower under Ryan, including 75-39-4 ATS when not favored by 18 points or more. My ratings favor the Badgers by 7 points tonight, so the line is fair, and I’ll lean with Wisconsin based on their profitable team trend.
Executive
400 Miss St
300 N Dame
300 Texas A&M