Bob Balfe
VCU -11.5
Boston U probably should not have advanced this far in the CBI Tournament and things will not get easier with the departure of their best player, Corey Lowe. Lowe decided he had enough college basketball right in the middle of a big tournament for this school's program. He is moving overseas to play professional basketball and has abandoned his teammates so close to the end of the season. VA Commonwealth is a good and fundamental team but, at home, I would take them against almost anybody in the tournament with a double digit spread. With a 16-1 record on the year, they are hard to beat because they are better on both sides of the basketball and, on their home court-forget about it. BU had a nice run but they are extremely outmatched tonight and will end their season with a lopsided loss. This spread is high for a reason, and rightfully so. Take VA Commonwealth.
BIG AL
3* Illinois
ATS Lock Club
4 Units Orlando +1.5
4 Units LA Lakers +2
4 Units VCU -11.5
Teddy Covers
Jazz
Alatex
15* Virginia Tech Over
Jeff Benton
15 Dime Denver Nuggets
Not surprised Denver suffered that upset loss to the Knicks last night at the Garden. For one thing, the Knicks have actually been giving an honest effort down the stretch of another lost season (plus, a home game against an NBA Finals contender like the Nuggets is like a playoff game for New York). Beyond that, Denver – which was kicking off a five-game road trip – was in a huge look-ahead spot with this match against Boston looming.
Plus, when the Nuggets jumped on New York by scoring the first 12 points last night, you could sense by their body language that the players thought they had the game won.
Expect a much more focused, 48-minute effort tonight against the Celtics, who are in a bit of a tough scheduling spot themselves. Boston is coming off a three-game Western Conference road trip that started great – wins at Houston and Dallas, followed by a five-point halftime lead at Utah – and ended with a thud (getting outscored 63-43 by Utah and losing 110-97). Beyond that, the Celtics have been a pointspread mess on their home court this season. Despite winning 21 of 33 at the TD Garden, Boston has covered the number at home exactly 10 times!
Denver has won and covered three of the last four meetings against the Celtics, including a 114-105 home victory as a 4 ½-point chalk on Feb. 21, plus last year’s 94-85 rout in Boston as a 10-point underdog. Yes, all of Boston’s key players (Garnett, Allen, Pierce and Rondo) played in last year’s meeting in Boston. And get this: The night prior to posting that nine-point win in Boston, Denver was in Cleveland getting drubbed by the Cavaliers 110-99.
The Nuggets have been a moneymaker as an underdog (18-7-3 ATS last 28, including 10-4-1 last 15 when catching less than five points), and they’ve been solid against upper-echelon competition (7-1-2 ATS last 10 against opponents with a winning percentage better than .600). Meanwhile, going back to last year, Boston is 18-38-1 ATS at home, and after Monday’s ugly loss in Utah, the Celtics have now cashed just four times in their last 16 games against teams from the superior Western Conference.
Psychic
3 Units Rhode Island +6.5
2 Units Toronto +3.5
Helmut
VCU Over 149.5
BEN BURNS
10* PERSONAL FAVORITE - ATLANTA HAWKS
9* Non-Conference GOW - TORONTO RAPTORS
9* ANNIHILATOR - PACERS/WIZARDS OVER
7* BIG GAME ALERT - NEW YORK RANGERS
7* Blue Chip O/U BLOWOUT - RED WINGS/BLUES UNDER
7* Western Conference W-I-P-E-O-U-T - AVALANCHE
Jeff Alexander
5* Wizards/Pacers Under 199.5
4* Timberwolves +9.5
4* Creighton +7
Charlie
500* Utah / Toronto Over 214
500* Denver +4
500* Dayton / Illinois Over 131
500* Princeton +4
30* Charlotte -10
20* Washington +7
20* Va Tech -6
20* Boston +11.5
Atlanta -1 Free Play
C-Star Sports
5000 Units Utah minus the points over Toronto
5000 units Illinois minus the points over Dayton
5000 Units Princeton/Saint Louis over the total
Sports Unlimited
7* Oklahoma City -8