Free Picks: Service Plays for Friday March, 9

DUNKEL INDEX

LaSalle vs. St. Louis
The Billikens look to take advantage of a LaSalle team that is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games as a neutral site underdog. St. Louis is the pick (-6) according to Dunkel, which has the Billikens favored by 8 1/2. Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-6)

Game 821-822: Maryland vs. North Carolina (12:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Maryland 59.969; North Carolina 76.754
Dunkel Line: North Carolina by 17; 146
Vegas Line: North Carolina by 14 1/2; 151
Dunkel Pick: North Carolina (-14 1/2); Under

Game 823-824: NC State vs. Virginia (2:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NC State 65.171; Virginia 64.722
Dunkel Line: Even; 138
Vegas Line: Virginia by 3; 120 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NC State (+3); Over

Game 825-826: Virginia Tech vs. Duke (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Virginia Tech 59.741; Duke 70.426
Dunkel Line: Duke by 10 1/2; 133
Vegas Line: Duke by 8 1/2; 136
Dunkel Pick Duke (-8 1/2); Under

Game 827-828: Miami (FL) vs. Florida State (9:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Miami (FL) 65.562; Florida State 69.324
Dunkel Line: Florida State by 3 1/2; 130
Vegas Line: Florida State by 2; 128
Dunkel Pick Florida State (-2); Over

Game 829-830: Massachusetts vs. Temple (12:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Massachusetts 57.222; Temple 66.578
Dunkel Line: Temple by 9 1/2; 147
Vegas Line: Temple by 7; 151 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Temple (-7); Under

Game 831-832: St. Joseph's vs. St. Bonaventure (2:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: St. Joseph's 64.201; St. Bonaventure 64.232
Dunkel Line: Even; 137
Vegas Line: St. Joseph's by 2; 134
Dunkel Pick: St. Bonaventure (+2); Over

Game 833-834: LaSalle vs. St. Louis (6:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LaSalle 60.471; St. Louis 69.045
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 8 1/2; 129
Vegas Line: St. Louis by 6; 126

Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-6); Over
Game 835-836: Dayton vs. Xavier (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Dayton 61.726; Xavier 65.096
Dunkel Line: Xavier by 3 1/2; 137
Vegas Line: Xavier by 2 1/2; 141
Dunkel Pick: Xavier (-2 1/2); Under

Game 837-838: Iowa vs. Michigan State (12:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Iowa 62.492; Michigan State 74.523
Dunkel Line: Michigan State by 12; 124
Vegas Line: Michigan State by 10 1/2; 135
Dunkel Pick Michigan State (-10 1/2); Under

Game 839-940: Indiana vs. Wisconsin (2:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Indiana 72.605; Wisconsin 71.609
Dunkel Line: Indiana by 1; 129
Vegas Line: Indiana by 2; 122 1/2
Dunkel Pick Wisconsin (+2); Over

Game 841-842: Minnesota vs. Michigan (6:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota 64.459; Michigan 67.939
Dunkel Line: Michigan by 3 1/2; 127
Vegas Line: Michigan by 5 1/2; 123
Dunkel Pick Minnesota (+5 1/2); Over

Game 843-844: Purdue vs. Ohio State (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Purdue 67.921; Ohio State 77.601
Dunkel Line: Ohio State by 9 1/2; 136
Vegas Line: Ohio State by 7 1/2; 139
Dunkel Pick Ohio State (-7 1/2); Under

Game 845-846: LSU vs. Kentucky (1:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LSU 58.787; Kentucky 79.824
Dunkel Line: Kentucky by 21; 135
Vegas Line: Kentucky by 16 1/2; 128 1/2
Dunkel Pick Kentucky (-16 1/2); Over

Game 847-848: Alabama vs. Florida (3:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Alabama 64.550; Florida 66.037
Dunkel Line: Florida by 1 1/2; 111
Vegas Line: Florida by 4; 127
Dunkel Pick Alabama (+4); Under

Game 849-850: Mississippi vs. Tennessee (8:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Mississippi 65.169; Tennessee 66.942
Dunkel Line: Tennessee by 2; 129
Vegas Line: Tennessee by 3; 125 1/2
Dunkel Pick Mississippi (+3); Over

Game 851-852: Georgia vs. Vanderbilt (10:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Georgia 60.134; Vanderbilt 69.006
Dunkel Line: Vanderbilt by 9; 122
Vegas Line: Vanderbilt by 7; 126
Dunkel Pick Vanderbilt (-7); Under

Game 853-854: Marshall vs. Southern Mississippi (4:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Marshall 59.440; Southern Mississippi 62.649
Dunkel Line: Southern Mississippi by 3; 130
Vegas Line: Southern Mississippi by 1 1/2; 126 1/2
Dunkel Pick Southern Mississippi (-1 1/2); Over

Game 855-856: Central Florida at Memphis (6:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Central Florida 62.356; Memphis 70.990
Dunkel Line: Memphis by 8 1/2; 127
Vegas Line: Memphis by 11; 132
Dunkel Pick Central Florida (+11); Under

Game 857-858: Cincinnati vs. Syracuse (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati 66.279; Syracuse 75.324
Dunkel Line: Syracuse by 9; 122
Vegas Line: Syracuse by 7; 126 1/2
Dunkel Pick Syracuse (-7); Under

Game 859-860: Louisville vs. Notre Dame (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Louisville 67.130; Notre Dame 67.251
Dunkel Line: Even; 121
Vegas Line: Louisville by 2; 117 1/2
Dunkel Pick Notre Dame (+2); Over

Game 861-862: Kent State vs. Akron (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Kent State 55.953; Akron 57.134
Dunkel Line: Akron by 1; 142
Vegas Line: Akron by 2; 138 1/2
Dunkel Pick Kent State (+2); Over

Game 863-864: Ohio vs. Buffalo (9:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Ohio 62.719; Buffalo 58.245
Dunkel Line: Ohio by 4 1/2; 133
Vegas Line: Ohio by 3; 138 1/2
Dunkel Pick Ohio (-3); Under

Game 865-866: Baylor vs. Kansas (7:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Baylor 68.731; Kansas 77.166
Dunkel Line: Kansas by 8 1/2; 135
Vegas Line: Kansas by 6; 140
Dunkel Pick Kansas (-6); Under

Game 867-868: Texas vs. Missouri (10:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Texas 68.063; Missouri 71.476
Dunkel Line: Missouri by 3 1/2; 149
Vegas Line: Missouri by 5; 145 1/2
Dunkel Pick Texas (+5); Over

Game 869-870: Oregon State vs. Arizona (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oregon State 62.062; Arizona 63.749
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1 1/2; 144
Vegas Line: Arizona by 3; 147
Dunkel Pick Oregon State (+3); Under

Game 871-872: Colorado vs. California (11:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado 60.493; California 68.461
Dunkel Line: California by 8; 137
Vegas Line: California by 6; 132
Dunkel Pick California (-6); Over

Game 873-874: Colorado State vs. San Diego State (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado State 61.762; San Diego State 65.230
Dunkel Line: San Diego State by 4 1/2; 137
Vegas Line: San Diego State by 2 1/2; 134
Dunkel Pick San Diego State (-2 1/2); Over

Game 875-876: New Mexico at UNLV (11:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: New Mexico 68.649; UNLV 69.649
Dunkel Line: UNLV by 1; 132
Vegas Line: UNLV by 3; 135 1/2
Dunkel Pick New Mexico (+3); Under

Game 877-878: Hawaii vs. New Mexico State (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Hawaii 50.032; New Mexico State 63.726
Dunkel Line: New Mexico State by 13 1/2; 146
Vegas Line: New Mexico State by 11; 151 1/2
Dunkel Pick New Mexico State (-11); Under

Game 879-880: Louisiana Tech vs. Nevada (11:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Louisiana Tech 56.413; Nevada 60.747
Dunkel Line: Nevada by 4 1/2; 137
Vegas Line: Nevada by 6; 134 1/2
Dunkel Pick Louisiana Tech (+6); Over

Game 881-882: UC-Irvine vs. Long Beach State (9:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: UC-Irvine 49.572; Long Beach State 64.838
Dunkel Line: Long Beach State by 15 1/2; 136
Vegas Line: Long Beach State by 13; 139
Dunkel Pick Long Beach State (-13); Under

Game 883-884: Cal Poly vs. UC-Santa Barbara (12:00 a.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cal Poly 55.987; UC-Santa Barbara 58.199
Dunkel Line: UC-Santa Barbara by 2; 129
Vegas Line: UC-Santa Barbara by 4 1/2; 126 1/2
Dunkel Pick Cal Poly (+4 1/2); Over

Game 885-886: Alcorn State vs. Texas Southern (3:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Alcorn State 37.309; Texas Southern 46.512
Dunkel Line: Texas Southern by 9; 121
Vegas Line: Texas Southern by 7 1/2; 125 1/2
Dunkel Pick Texas Southern (-7 1/2); Under

Game 887-888: Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Mississippi Valley State (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Arkansas-Pine Bluff 40.685; Mississippi Valley State 43.485
Dunkel Line: Mississippi Valley State by 3;139
Vegas Line: Mississippi Valley State by 8; 135
Dunkel Pick Arkansas-Pine Bluff (+8); Over

Game 889-890: Hampton vs. Bethune-Cookman (6:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Hampton 46.174; Bethune-Cookman 43.305
Dunkel Line: Hampton by 3; 122
Vegas Line: Hampton by 1; 125
Dunkel Pick Hampton (-1); Under

Game 891-892: Florida A&M vs. Nofolk State (8:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Florida A&M 32.987; Norfolk State 46.438
Dunkel Line: Norfolk State by 13 1/2; 144
Vegas Line: Norfolk State by 10; 140 1/2
Dunkel Pick Norfolk State (-10); Over

Marc Lawrence

Utah Jazz at Philadelphia 76ers
Prediction: Utah Jazz

What happened to the Sixers? A fast 16-5 SU start saw Philly get a death grip on the Atlantic Division lead. Then, while fans clamored for Doug Collins to be anointed Coach of the Year, the wheels suddenly came off and Doctor J's old team, going 2-6 SU and ATS before Wednesday's battering of Boston. The Jazz have padded many a bankroll when matched up with the brotherly love boys, going 33-8 SU and 12-4 SU and ATS as an underdog. And with Philly playing the cheesesteak in a Celtics/Knicks sandwich tonight, Utah's 18-10-1 ATS record on the road versus greater than .500 Atlantic Division foes looks even more tasty. No need to name that tune we're back on the Jazz. We recommend a 1-unit play on Utah.

Frank Jordan

Maryland vs. North Carolina
Play: North Carolina -15.5

Maryland and North Carolina have had some great match ups over the years, but this year it was all UNC as they won by 9 at Maryland and just 10 days ago at home by 24. Look for North Carolina to kick off their ACC Tournament run with a big blow out win over Maryland who is at best on the bubble with a 17-14 record. Play North Carolina

Rob Vinciletti

Dallas Mavericks vs. Sacramento Kings
Play: Dallas Mavericks -2

Road favorites of less than 5 with no rest off a road favored loss and prior home favored win have covered the last 5 times the last 3+ years. Dallas is 8-0 straight up as a road favorite off a road game with no rest covering in 7 of those games. All teams traveling into Sacramento as a road favorite with no rest off a road game are 9-1 with 8 spread wins. The Kings have lost the last 8 in the series, including the last 4 here at home. Look for Dallas to take another.

Ben Burns

Winnipeg @ Calgary Flames
PICK: Calgary Flames

After a tough stretch, the Flames got back on track last time out. They beat Montreal by a score of 5-4. Tonight offers an excellent chance to follow it up with another victory.

The Jets are off a hard fought loss at Vancouver last night. The Flames have had the past two days off, as the win over Montreal came on Tuesday.

The Flames are expected to have their star prospect Sven Baertschi in the lineup for the first time, which should have the crowd buzzing.

Coach Brent Sutter had this to say of the Swiss winger: "He's got a gift that is phenomenal. He can skate, he can shoot, he can handle the puck, he's fast."

The Flames are in 11th in the West but only three points out of the final playoff spot. That makes every game critical and it becomes particularly important to take advantage of home games against mediocre teams, when the schedule is in their favor.

With last night's loss, the Jets are only 11-22 (11-18-4) on the road. Meanwhile, the Flames are 17-15 (17-10-5) at home.

Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec said this of the team's struggles on the road: "That's the big elephant in the room. At home we're flying around, the crowd's roaring, we're scoring goals. On the road we don’t do the same things."

The Flames haven't faced the Jets since the team moved from Atlanta. However, they were a perfect 5-0 all-time as a host against the Thrashers. Given the scheduling setup, I feel the price is fair. Consider Calgary.

Guillermo Sanchez Perez

New Orleans @ Denver
PICK: Denver

New Orleans is 9-30 (5-14 on the road). Denver is 22-18 (11-9 at home). The Hornets are coming off a 99-98 loss at Sacramento on Wednesday. The Nuggets are coming off a 100-99 setback at home to the Cavaliers on Wednesday. The last time these teams played, New Orleans upset the Nuggets in Denver 94-81 as a 14-point underdog on January 9th, 2012.

Each team is coming off an emotional 1-point defeat.

So which team rises up here, and which has another letdown?

Clearly the Nuggets are the "hungrier" team, and have a number of motivating factors working in their favor today.

They've played themselves back into the post-season picture, sitting in second place behind Oklahoma City in the Northwest division. They're coming off a game which they clearly feel they should have won handily, and are looking to make immediate amends after that poor overall effort. And of course they are also playing with "revenge" from the January shocker.

And finally, when we take into account that the Hornets will be in Minnesota tomorrow night, I believe you'll agree with me that the prudent wager in this particular contest is on the home side!

Dave Cokin

Dayton vs Xavier
Pick: Dayton

This season started off with great promise for Xavier and they looked every bit the part of a Top 10 team at one point. They've never been the same since the Cincinnati brawl, however, and they've been consistently overrated. I see that still being the case here, and I like Dayton to advance in the A-10 with the outright win. Take the available points with the Flyers.

Jim Feist

Dayton vs Xavier
Pick: Under

Defense often rears its head in tourney play and here we have two outstanding defensive teams. Dayton is on a 4-1 run under the total, allowing 50, 59 and 43 points in three of those contests. Xavier is fourth in the Atlantic 10 in points allowed and tops in field goal shooting defense, allowing just 39.5% shooting. Meanwhile Dayton is 5th in the conference in points allowed. The regular season meetings were uptempo, but there is more at stake here so look for fewer points than oddsmakers expect. Play Dayton/Xavier under the total.

Nelly

Iowa + over Michigan State

Michigan State failed to wrap up the outright Big Ten title with losses in the final two regular season games; falling at Indiana by 15 and surrendering a late lead at home against Ohio State in the finale. A lot of people feel the Spartans are the team from the Big Ten that could make the most noise in the NCAA tournament but there really aren’t many wins of high quality. They did beat Wisconsin twice but split with the two other co-champions in the conference. They failed in both marquee non-conference games, losing soundly against North Carolina and Duke early in the year. Tom Izzo is one of the legendary coaches in the game but he has only one this tournament once since his 2000 national championship season and is 8-11 ATS since then, losing the first game outright four times. Iowa and Michigan State only met once this season with the Spartans winning 95-61 in East Lansing. The game was in early January before Iowa really started to get things together and the Michigan State shot 62 percent in the game. Iowa has played well down the stretch with wins in six of the last ten games and before narrow losses against Illinois and Northwestern this team might have crept onto the NCAA tournament bubble. Iowa avenged the loss to Illinois yesterday with a 64-61 win and having a game under its belt may be an advantage in an unfamiliar arena. Iowa has sufficient depth to handle playing on back-to-back games as only two players played more than 28 minutes yesterday. Iowa has wins over Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin since these teams last played and Michigan State has been a shaky performer away from home this season, going just 7-6. Michigan State could get caught looking past this game and Iowa is a difficult team to match-up with given the pace they like to play.

JR O'Donnell

Kansas -6

Today's game goes back to the Big 12 Conference, as the Baylor Bears ( 26-6 11-13-1 ATS & 6-6-1 ATS away) play the Kansas Jayhawks (27-5 16-14-1 ATS & 6-5-1 ATS away). This is a Jayhawk team that won the Big 12 regular season title, and a Baylor squad that started like a rocket, and finished much slower. We like the Jayhawks who have won both contests, at home by "14" and at Baylor by "18"! They are 8-2 SU on the road, with their only losses to Missouri and Iowa State, and they outrebound, and out shoot the Bears by a decided advantage. KU's defense has been better, and their big players, Robinson and Taylor have always stepped up when needed. Power Rated @ - 7.22 points.

Matt Rivers

Florida -4

Reasoning: Florida is a team that I think can make a nice little run right about now. The Gators upside is Final Four high and after being a little sketchy and inconsistent at times they are nicely undervalued here against a good Alabama team but not an Alabama team that really scares me all that much.

Anthony Grant has done a very respectable job with this Alabama program and I love how he took the bull by the horns and suspended some players including Tony Mitchell. But Grant is still no Donovan and I never trust the Tide away from home. In the end the Florida guard play with Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton should be able to more than hold their own today as UF wins this thing by about eight.

Vegas Experts

NC State at Virginia
Play: NC State

The Wolfpack have more depth and revenge here for a one-point loss suffered in Raleigh back in the end of January. Take the points. Yesterday's 78-57 win over Boston College (NC State jumped out to a 14-0 lead) improved the Wolfpack's mark in ACC Tournament play to 21-8 ATS + they are 25-12 ATS as a neutral court dog. Virginia does not need this game nearly as badly as does NC State.

Jack Jones

Cleveland Cavaliers +12.5

Off a huge 100-99 win at Denver as a 10-point underdog, the Cleveland Cavaliers are showing tremendous value once again tonight as a double-digit underdog to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is a team that I'm willing to back almost every time they are catching double-digits.

Oklahoma City is going to be a bit disinterested in this game. They will have a hard time getting up to face the Cavaliers, who are 14-23 on the season. Cleveland has proven to be a great road bet all year as they are 10-7 ATS away from home while only getting outscored by 5.0 points/game.

The Cavaliers are an impressive 9-1 ATS after scoring 100 points or more 2 straight games over the last 2 seasons. Cleveland is 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog of 11.0 or greater. Bet the Cavaliers Friday.

Steve Janus

Mavericks/Kings OVER 196

I expect a very up-tempo pace in this game. The Kings are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, allowing 102.6 ppg. Dallas is one of the better defensive teams, giving up just 92 ppg, but this is a tired Mavericks team. This will be their fourth game in five nights. Dallas will need to conserve energy on the defensive end to make sure they can keep up on the offensive side. I understand those tired legs could lead to a lot of missed jump shots, but the Kings defense doesn't really force you to shoot from the outside.

Another reason I really like the OVER in this spot is the fact that these two teams combined for just 159 points in their meeting back in Dallas on Jan. 14. I think that game has the total 4-5 points lower than what it should be. In the previous 5 meetings between these two teams they scored at least 202 points.

It's also worth noting that the OVER is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Golden State, 18-8 in Mavericks last 26 vs. a team with a losing S.U. record, and 4-0 in Warriors last 4 vs. Western Conference.