Accuscore
Syracuse -12 at St. John’s
I like Syracuse to win big in this game because Syracuse is BIG. Fab Melo is back for the Orange, and will help provide a significant size advantage inside. The Cuse struggled some defensively without Melo in the middle, but his presence should make a nice difference.
Virginia +5 at Florida State
The computer point spread for this game is Florida State -3. Both computer ATS records are positive for games involving either team. Tony Bennett has long played one of the slowest, most controlled tempos in college basketball. The Seminoles offense varies wildly from game to game allowing them to blow out the likes of North Carolina and then struggle to reach 20 points in a half just days apart.
Ohio State -2 at Wisconsin
The Badgers are terrific in their own right, and will be at home but Ohio State is slightly underappreciated as an elite team. Wisconsin also appears to struggle a bit against elite level competition while really blowing out teams that are not up its level. The Buckeyes are definitely a threat for the national title, and a win would go a long way in securing a Big 10 title and a potential number one seed in the NCAA tournament.
Oregon State -13 at Utah
The Beavers did get blown out at Colorado, but this is the easier end of this Pac-12 swing. Oregon State is great at forcing turnovers with their pressure and trapping defenses. Utah conversely is one of the worst teams in the country in taking care of the basketball with not much talent on the roster particularly in the backcourt. The athletic Beavers should force plenty of turnovers and get out in transition. Look for Jared Cunningham to have a big, big game.
Manhattan +2.5 vs. Iona
Manhattan is favored by a point by the computer, but Iona is giving 2.5 points. That’s a nice value for a game that appears to be a toss-up especially with the Jaspers at home. Manhattan is 17-5 against the spread this season.
Troy vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Under 146.5 Points
The difference between the sim line and betting total is 5.5 points, the highest of any game on Saturday. The under occurs in 57.3 percent of simulations.
Vegas Experts
LA Lakers at Utah Jazz
It's a double dip at high altitude in back to back night for the Lakers on Saturday as the visit Utah after beating Denver Friday night on ESPN. Even with last night's victory, LA remains just 3-7 SU on the road and this is a double revenge spot for Utah, who was off last night & will be hungry for a win of back to back losses. Look for the Jazz to win big here.
Play on: Utah
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit Oklahoma -2.5
Iowa State used Hilton Magic to rattle off a pair of impressive wins over Kansas and Kansas State, but I expect the magic to run out outside of Hilton Coliseum Saturday. The Sooners have won 5 in a row against the Cyclones and 7 straight at home in the series. Oklahoma is 9-2 at home this season and 6-0 ATS at home when the line is +3 to -3 over the last 3 seasons. We'll take the Sooners.
JR O'Donnell
Duquesne -5.5
Dbl Down Members Move here Saturday Night as the Richmond Spiders visit the Duquesne Dukes with a record of 12-11 (9-9 ATS & 4-6 ATS on the road), while the Dukes are 13-9 (10-8-1 ATS & 5-4-1 ATs at home). Dukes are just a far better team at home, and these Richmond Spiders are a far inferior team on the road. Dukes are 8-2 SU at home, and Richmond is 3-7 SU away! Dukes are kind of under achieving, as they were picked to finish in the upper "4" in A10, and Richmond picked 11th. They only returned one starter from last year's strong "29" win Spider team, and the Dukes have "3" starters from a "19" win club. Power Rated @ Dukes - 11 points ....
JEFF SCOTT SPORTS
3 UNIT PLAY
POWER ANGLE PLAY
Florida State/ Virginia Over 115.5: Both of these teams have played great defense this year, but I believe the offenses can put up enough to go Over this low OU line. Virginia comes in allowing just 51.1 ppg overall, while allowing just 57 ppg on the road. FSU has played really good defense at home as they have allowed just 58.8 ppg on 36.1% shooting ion their home floor this year. Now over to the offense where we we see that these groups should be able to score on these teams. Virginia has averaged just 64.3 ppg on the year, but they have done so on a solid 46% shooting, while on the road they have averaged 66 ppg on that same 46% shooting. FSU has been a strong offense club at home this year, where they have averaged 78.2 ppg on 48.8% shooting in those games, while in their last 5 games overall they have put up 78.6 ppg on 49.8% shooting. Virginia's games have been low scoring, but their road games have averaged 123 ppg, while their conference road games have averaged 116 ppg, which is just above this total. Ok that's not much leeway, but FSU is the home team and they should have this game more at their pace than Virginia's. FSU's Home games have averaged 137 ppg, while their conference games overall have averaged the same. Their conference home games have been slightly better at 141 ppg. I look for this one to be played in the 120's at least, as FSU should be the game up enough for this one to go Over the total. POWER ANGLE FOR THIS PLAY--- Play Over if the home is an average 3PT shooting team (32-36.5%) but have made 47% or better of their overall shots in 3 straight games if they are playing against a good 3PT defense (<=32%) after 15+ games. This play is 41-13 since 1997.
2 UNIT PLAY
NOTRE DAME +1 over Marquette: My Irish are just getting no respect. Sure Marquette has won 7 in na row, but Notre Dame has been playing very well of late this year and they are at home. The "Burn" will be in full effect as the Irish pull another Big East upset. NOTRE DAME is 14-5 ATS in home games versus good teams - outscoring their opponents by 4+ points/game over the last 3 seasons and 15-5 ATS off 2 straight wins against conference rivals over the last 3 seasons.
More Later
Free NBA Pick for 2/4: Philadelphia 76ers +4 over the Atlanta Hawks. We like the Sixers to TCB (take care of business) in Atlanta tonight after that humiliating defeat to the the Miami All-Stars. Atlanta is 3-2 in their last five games. The three wins came vs soft teams, but they were man-handled by Memphis and San Antonio. After a seven game homestand, the Sixers will be looking to improve their road record of 4-4. They've beat the Hawks in the last three meetings by an average of 13.33 points/game including a 117-83 thrashing the last time they played in Atlanta. Like we said, Philly played last night but they are 5-2 ATS on the back end of back-to-back nights. They are also 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games following a SU loss, and 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings with Atlanta. Meanwhile the Hawks are just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite of 0.5-4.5. And Atlanta has not performed well after a night off, going 5-11-1 ATS in their last 17 games playing on 1 day of rest. We'll take Philadelphia plus the points. Our Free Plays are now 158-82-1 overall, and 14-2 L16. Sign up today at iseewinners.com to receive all of our free releases with in-depth analysis via email. Thank you and best of luck.
SPORTS WAGERS
OKLAHOMA ST +6½ over Baylor
1:45 PM EST. On this Saturday before the Super Bowl, beware of ranked teams favored on the road over unranked opposition. Vegas is jam packed this Super Bowl weekend and football bettors will be seeking teams to parlay onto their Super Bowl choice. The 20-2, 6th ranked Baylor Bears will certainly draw some attention. Not only are the Bears right there with Kansas and Mizzou in the Big-12 but they destroyed these Cowboys on Jan. 14, at Baylor, by 41 points (106-65). Now they're being asked to win by 34 less points in order to cover. Sticks out, doesn't it? If only it were that easy. Baylor will play the second of back-to-back road games after narrowly slipping by A&M on Wednesday. The real kicker though is that its only two losses of the year came in back-to-back games against Kansas and Mizzou and they have those two upcoming again, in back-to-back games this week. This contest is more of an inconvenience than anything else, as they prepare to avenge the losses to the other two Big-12 powers. Oklahoma State is not in the same class as Baylor, Missouri or Kansas. What they are however, is a tough home side that that does have a recent home win over Missouri and one that is motivated after being humiliated by these Bears just over two weeks ago. Play: #553 Oklahoma State +6½ (Risking 2.02 units to win 2).
NORTHERN IOWA +2 over Creighton
5:00 PM EST. Speaking of 20-2 teams, the Creighton Bluejays come in as the 13th ranked team in the nation and like Baylor, they're a ranked favorite on the road against an unranked opponent. Additionally, the Bluejays are the #1 ranked shooting team in the country, hitting at an eye-opening .516 from the floor. Creighton has reeled off 11 wins in a row. Laying a single bucket seems too easy, thus the masses will bite. Not us. Northern Iowa is 10-3 at home. They had a nine-game winning streak earlier in the year and that includes a win at Iowa State and 17 and 20 point home wins over Providence and Iowa respectively. On January 10, the Panthers played at Creighton and lost by just three, suggesting that this is a tough match up for the Bluejays. NIU does not have a dominant player like the Bluejays Doug McDermott. They have several good players with total balance in their scoring, plus, they play outstanding defense. Since that nine-game winning streak, the Panthers have lost 8 of 13 games and their stock has dropped off significantly while the Bluejays stock is soaring. This is a classic case of buy low and sell high, as the odds makers have made Creighton way too enticing to trust. Line says upset. Play: #600 Northern Iowa (Risking 2.1 units to win 2).
Adding the following games:
WYOMING +4 over UNLV
Play: Wyoming +4 (Risking 2.2 units to win 2).
Jack Jones
Denver Nuggets +6
The Denver Nuggets are a team built for handling the tough situation they are in tonight. The only reason Denver is a 6-point dog in this game against the Portland Trail Blazers is because this will be their 3rd game in three days. After beating the Clippers on the road, the Nuggets lost to the Lakers 89-93 at home.
Denver is as deep as any team in the league. The Nuggets have been a great road bet all season as they are 8-4 SU & 9-3 ATS away from home. Denver is actually outscoring opponents 107.5 to 100.5 for an average win of 7.0 points/game on the road.
The Nuggets are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5. Denver is 38-14-2 ATS in their last 54 games overall. The Nuggets are 23-6 ATS in their last 29 road games. The Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Portland is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Saturday games. Bet Denver Saturday.
Sam Martin
USC at Washington
Play: Washington
We nearly released Washington tonight as a premium selection, but this game graded just short of our requirements. Still, there is very good line value with the home side here, and fading a USC team that just 2-8 on the road this season and even worse just 1-9 in Pac 12 play. The Trojans offense is a wreck, scoring just 52 points on 38% shooting in conference games (including home games), and there's no way that they can keep up with a decent Washington offense tonight. Washington runs past USC in a blowout!
MTi Sports
Philadelphia 76ers at Atlanta Hawks
Prediction: Atlanta Hawks
Philadelphia's trend number ten from the 2011 NBA Handicapping Bible reveals: "PHI010: The Seventysixers are 0-10 ATS (-10.3 ppg) since March 10, 2008 as a dog with no rest after a game in which they had an assist to turnover ratio of at least two." The 76ers are 0-2 ATS in this spot this season, moving this trend to 0-12 ATS. Atlanta's trend number 4 from the 2011 NBA Handicapping Bible reveals: "ATL004: The Hawks are 13-0 ATS (9.9 ppg) since November 14, 2000 at home after a loss in which they had six or fewer offensive rebounds." Atlanta is 1-0 ATS in this spot this season, moving this trend to 14-0 ATS. Consider the Hawks.
SPORTS WAGERS
Toronto +114 over OTTAWA
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you really have to like the way the Maple Leafs are playing these days. After badly outplaying Pittsburgh and blowing a 4-1 lead with 10 minutes to go in the game, the Leafs rebounded confidently and beat the Pens the very next night. They've won three of four but in reality that should be a four-game streak. Toronto has really cut down on scoring chances allowed and with Colby Armstrong back in the lineup, they figure to improve in that department even more. All of a sudden the Senators are on a six-game losing streak and they'll play the tail end of back-to-backs after losing to the Islanders last night. Winning becomes more difficult with each passing loss, as confidence drops and the fear of making a mistake increases. The Maple Leafs are simply the more confident, rested and in better form squad right now. Play: Toronto +114 (Risking 2 units).
CAROLINA -102 over Los Angeles
The Kings were supposed to be contenders but with the least amount of goals scored in the league, just making the playoffs is going to be a challenge. In the first game of a crucial six-game trip last night, the Kings went into St. Louis and lost 1-0. They've scored one goal or less in four of their past seven games and the frustration continues. The Kings will now play their third game in four days and tail end of back-to-back road games. Carolina is last in the East but they're 9-9 over its past 18 games and they're coming off a 3-0 win in Boston. They also have a recent 3-0 win over the Capitals and with Cam Ward in net against this offensively challenged and frustrated group, expect the Kings scoring drought to continue. Play: Carolina -102 (Risking 2.04 units to win 2).
Minnesota +138 over DALLAS
Much prefer the Wild taking back a decent tag than the Stars laying one. Dallas is much too erratic to be laying anything with. It's not uncommon to see them allow four or five goals, as they have in four of its last 10 games. They don't win enough either. The Stars have just two wins over their past eight games and both wins came against the Ducks. The Wild are warming up again. It wasn't long ago that they sat first in the conference before enduring a prolonged slump. They've seem to snap out of it with three wins in four games with only loss over that span occuring against the then red-hot Predators. Incidentally, Minnesota had a 4-1 lead in the thid period of that game in the third. Offensively, not much seperates these two but in terms of defense, goaltending, special teams and form, give a nice edge to the Wild in a game they surely have a great chance to succeed in. Play: Minnesota +138 (Risking 2 units).
Red Dog Sports
Virginia vs. Florida St
Play: Over 117½
Sene is Virginia's center who was injured two weeks ago. He doesn't score much for the Cavs but plays great defense inside. He has been missed as the home game with Clemson went over and both scored 60+. FSU scored 90 at home vs. UNC as they are more efficient on offense at home. Mike Scott should provide points for the Cavs too and maybe Sammy Zeglinski can make a 3-pointer on the road to add to our total. I expect FSU to lead late and for UVA to shoot some 3's and foul to help this go over the total.
Bryan Leonard
Butler -4
The Titans beat the Bulldogs in the first match-up this year which was a rare victory in this series. The Bulldogs had won 10 straight games before that Detroit victory. The Titans are a strong team at home but they haven't had that type of success on the road. This team has now lost all 11 visits to Butler and you know the Bulldogs have some revenge on their minds. Butler's RPI is close to 100 spots better than that of Detroit and this young team is starting to come together. They can't afford to fall any further in the conference standings as they prepare themselves for the Horizon League Tournament. This looks to us to be a cheap number in a revenge spot for the Bulldogs.
Freddy Wills
Georgia State vs. Hofstra
Play: Hofstra +3½
Hofstra takes on Georgia state who is 6-14-1 ATS in their last 21 road games. To me these are two even teams looking at the last 5 that really does show it. both teams play close games and good defense and good offense. Hofstra however has a considerable advantage at the FT line. Georgia State in my opinion benefited from an early easy schedule they are 280th in SOS RPI while Hofstra is 132. Hofstra has the conference's leading scorer in Mike Moore and this is a team that beat Iona earlier this year as +10.5 dogs so they are capable of an upset or two.
Larry Ness
Colorado -6
Colorado and Utah joined the Pac-12 this season and unlike the Utes, the Buffs are making more than a little 'noise' in the BKB standings. Tad Boyle had a great first season in Boulder (while in the Big 12), winning a school-record 24 games and taking Colorado all the way to the NIT semis in New York. However, the dynamic scoring duo of Burks (20.5) and Higgins (16.1) is gone, as is fellow guard Knutson (11.7). Throw in the loss of the 6-7 Relphorde (11.2-4.3) and the Buffs have lost a lot from LY. However, steady senior guard Tomlinson (5.5-3.3 APG) is back, as are the 6-7 Roberson (11.3-11.2) and the 6-9 Dufault (11.5-4.6). Roberson is quite a player and is only getting better. Colorado has also added 6-5 Utah transfer Brown, who is leading the team in scoring at 13.0 PPG. Throw in freshman guards Dinwiddie (10.5-3.9) and Booker (9.0) and the Buffs are still a 'tough out,' especially in Boulder. Colorado scored much more last year, going 18-2 at home. This year's team averages a more modest 69.7 PPG at home but the team's defense has been outstanding (Colorado allows 62.2 PPG on the season and leads the Pac-12 in FG defense at 39.6 percent), allowing just 59.2 PPG in 13 home games (team is 12-1, losing only to Wyoming). The Buffs (15-7 / 7-3) find themselves in a three-way tie for second in the Pac-12, just one game behind Washington. Tied with the Buffs for second-place in the Pac-12 is 16-6 (7-3) Oregon. Dana Altman took over for the fired Ernie Kent at Oregon last year (a MAJOR upgrade) and the Ducks went 16-17, including 7-11 in conference play. However, the CBI came calling and the Ducks "won it all," as Altman beat his former school Creighton in the best-of-three championship round to finish 21-18. The losses from that team are not small, as the 6-6 Canton (15.9-6.7) was a tough inside player plus the guard trio of Armstead, Stowbridge and Williams combined for 22.5 PPG. The good news is that EJ Singler (13.0-5.1) is back and so too is senior guard Sim (12.0-3.0 APG). Eight players are averaging between 4.9 and 15.7 PPG with each playing in all 22 games save Minnesota transfer Devoe Joseph (a 6-4 guard), who became eligible in mid December and leads the team in scoring (15.7-3.8-2.8) in 16 games. His addition was HUGE, as freshman guard Jabari Brown (who one preseason magazine touted as potentially the team's best player), left the team early on. Up front with Singler are the 6-7 Ashaolu (8.0-47) and former Wake Forest player, the 6-11 Woods (6.7-3.9). The Ducks won at Utah 79-68 on Thursday but just getting to Denver may be an issue. A major snowstorm shut down the airport and left the Ducks stranded in Salt Lake City on Friday. The plan was to fly to Denver on Saturday. The Buffs are 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS (lone non-cover came by a half-point!) at home in Pac-12 play and I don't see anything changing here. Lay it.