Tony Taylor
4* Oklahoma City Thunder -5.5
Rex Rodgers
2* Tampa Bay Lightning -130
2* Dallas Stars -120
2* New York Rangers -155
RAS
Colo State -5
Frank Patron
10K New Mexico
Sportsbetsnow
2 Units Penn St. -1
Mark Franco
Jazz at Blazers
Pick: Jazz -2
The Jazz are playing their best ball of the season winning 7 of 8 and now head to Portland who is a little banged up and isn't expected to have Brandon Roy, the team's leader with 23.1 points per game for a fourth consecutive contest. Utah has been bringing it on offense averaging 111.9 points over the last eight games. I am on the road team here with Utah minus a small spread.
BRANDON LANG
25 Dime - Bradley Braves
10 Dime - Alabama Crimson Tide
10 Dime - Oklahoma City Thunder
25 DIME - BRADLEY BRAVES - Some rumblings going on in Creighton.
When you start suspending players mid-season, all can't be well for Dana Altman's squad.
And such is the case with 2nd leading scorer P'Allen Stinnett who was has been suspended for tonight's game for undisclosed reasons.
My people out of vegas tell me he is not happy about being taken out of the starting lineup, and made his case known to everyone except the head coach creating some dissension among this Creighton.
Not exactly what you want going on when you are heading on the road facing a surging Bradley team playing arguably their best ball of the entire year.
Off a 2-point road loss to to league leader and current 17-2 Northern Iowa 52-50 as a 14 point underdog, the Braves have finally taken off.
They have reeled off 3 in a row SU and 2 out of 3 ATS although the non cover was last game out against Evansville winning by 10 laying 11 blowing a 17 point lead with 7 minutes to go.
You are getting fantastic value tonight with a very short number and with all that is going on with Creighton, love Bradley in this spot here.
The Blue Jays were already struggling on the road this year going 1-7 SU just 2-6 ATS including 1-3 SU and ATS on Missouri Valley road.
They lost by 6 at Indiana State as a 1 point favorite, lost by 12 at Wichita State as an 8 1/2 point dog and by 9 at Illinois State as a 6 point dog.
Altman may be losing this team and facing an all of a sudden together Bradley squad on the road short one of your guards and 2nd leading scorer isn't going to build moral either.
Bradley is getting contributions from everywhere as 5 guys have scored in double figures in 3 of their last 4 games led by the guard duo of last years leading scorer Sam Maniscalco and Andrew Warren.
One of the big strengths of this Bradley is their guard play and at home versus Creighton who is down one of their key guards, solid play on the home team.
10 DIME - ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE - Won't be any different this time around.
When they met on January 9th at LSU the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 15 point halftime lead and never looked back in winning 66-49 leading by as many as 26.
Now at home and off a momentum building win against Mississippi State 62-57 as a 1-point favorite, Alabama will be full of confidence to hammer this team again.
This is an LSU team that has covered just 4 games all year long with only 1 of those covers coming on the road versus Washington State.
They have been beaten and beaten badly by the likes of Uconn and Arizona State at Madison Square Garden by 26 and 19 points respectively.
At Florida they lost by 14, at South Carolina they lost by 9 in a game they led by 8 at the half before getting outscored by 17 in the 2nd half.
Down by 11 with 29 seconds to go they got a layup for the cover as the Gamecocks ran out the clock.
Folks, the weakness of this LSU squad is their guard play and against Anthony Grant's full court pressure, especially on the road is a blowout waiting to happen.
I'm confident this is a double digit win and cover for the Tide at home.
10 DIME - OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER - You shut down Derrick Rose and you beat Chicago.
Enter Russell Westbrook.
The last time these two faced each other was January 4th in Chicago with Westbrook outscoring Rose 29-19 which led the Thunder to a 13 point road win.
Now catching the Bulls at home, I look for the Thunder to lay down the hammer against a Chicago team playing their 4th road game in 6 nights and 6th road game in the last 10.
Bottom line is the Bulls don't match up with the Thunder and considering Oklahoma City has the 2nd best ATS mark in the NBA, this is a blowout waiting to happen.
Against sub .500 opponents, Oklahoma City is 10-3 ATS last 13 and let's go ahead and make that 11-3 ATS after tonight.
FREE SELECTION - TORONTO RAPTORS
Adam Meyer
6 Units 76'ers/Bucks Over 199
Will someone explain to me "buy the hook". my book does not offer this option. what does it usually cost at a vegas or on line venue?
Erin Rynning
Playmaker: Oklahoma City Under 195
Will someone explain to me "buy the hook". my book does not offer this option. what does it usually cost at a vegas or on line venue?
Buy the hook is when you buy a half point which costs you -120 instead of the usual -110, I am sure your book offers it but it is a losing proposition in the long run trust me.
ATS LOCK CLUB
5 Units Bradley. -2
5 Units Drake. +14
4 Units Georgia. +9
3 Units N Illinois. +1
Stephen Nover
50-Dime Oklahoma City Thunder
Improved defense and the continued emergence of Kevin Durant into superstar status has helped transform Oklahoma City into a legitimate playoff contender in the super competitive Western Conference.
The Bulls are a mediocre team from the inferior Eastern Conference.
The Thunder has the second-best pointspread mark in the NBA at 27-17. Oklahoma City has taken care of business against inferior competition covering 10 of the past 13 times versus teams with a below .500 record.
Durant has been unstoppable scoring 25 or more points in 18 consecutive games. The spread, though, isn't that high because the Bulls are playing their best ball having won their last three games, upset road wins against the Spurs, Suns and Rockets.
Kudos to the Bulls for that achievement. But the combination of Oklahoma City being the better team, Chicago having a cluster injury problem and the scheduling dynamics make the Thunder a very attractive favorite in this pointspread range.
This is Chicago's sixth consecutive road game in 10 days and fourth road outing in six days. Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are battling plantar fasciitis, backup center Brad Miller has a sore knee and point guard Derrick Rose is fighting through a severe illness.
The Thunder, by contrast, is healthy and well-rested having last played on Saturday. The Thunder rank fifth in scoring defense and second in defensive field goal percentage. The Bulls are going to have problems scoring in their depleted, worn-out condition especially after posting three improbable road wins in a row.
25-Dime New Mexico Lobos
Few if any teams have the kind of home-court edge New Mexico has when playing in "The Pit."
BYU found this out first-hand last year when it lost 81-61 at New Mexico. The Lobos have won 21 of their past 22 home contests. They have covered 70 percent of their past 51 home contests, including going 8-3-1 ATS this season in "The Pit."
The Lobos' bench has been playing well lately. This allows them to constantly keep full pressure on the Cougars, who are due for a letdown.
BYU has played a weak schedule. New Mexico is 3-0 straight and ATS versus ranked opponents this season.
15-Dime Utah Jazz
I can't see the Trail Blazers beating a hot Utah squad without star guard Brandon Roy.
The Trail Blazers have been able to hang in despite losing their two centers, Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla. But Roy is their best player and key.
The Jazz have won eight of its last 10, going 8-0-2 ATS during this time frame. Utah is 6-0-1 ATS in its last seven away matchups versus a team with a winning home mark.
Because of Portland's multiple injuries, Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan has had to juggle his lineup. He's gone with Steve Blake and unheralded rookie Jeff Pendergraph as starters the past two games.
But for this matchup, McMillan is returning Jerryd Bayless and Juwan Howard to the starting lineup. The Trail Blazers are tough at the Rose Garden, but their personnel minus Roy doesn't match up to the Jazz. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozers are the two best players on the floor.
This is Utah's lone road contest during a seven-game stretch. Portland is playing for the fourth time in six days.
NHL Pro Picks
New Jersey +120
Minnesota -101
Calgary +105
St. Louis +180
Fantasy Sports Gametime
100* Play Alabama (-8.5) over LSU (TOP NCAA PLAY)
LSU has lost 8 of the last 9 games and they have also lost 7 of the last 8 games when playing only their 2nd game in a week. LSU has lost 10 of the last 12 games vs. Alabama on the road and they are only averaging 59 points a game on the road this season.
50* Play Florida (-8) over Georgia
Florida has won 27 of the last 33 games as a home favorite and they have also won 22 of the last 28 home games when the total posted is between 130 and 139.5 points. Florida has won 15 of the last 17 games coming off a conference win by 3 points or less and they have also won 10 of the last 12 games vs. Georgia at home.
50* Play Oklahoma State (-5) over Texas A&M
Oklahoma State has covered the spread in 23 of the last 29 games as a favorite and they have also covered the spread in 8 of the last 10 games coming off two straight wins. Oklahoma State has won 10 of the last 12 games vs. Texas A&M at home and they are averaging over 79 points a game at home this season.
50* Play Cleveland (-13) over Minnesota
Minnesota has lost 13 of the last 15 games and they have also lost 20 of the last 23 games as a road underdog. Minnesota has lost 15 of the last 18 games when the total posted is between 200 and 209.5 points and they are allowing an average of 112 points a game on the road this season.