Dominic Fazzini
Wyoming at COLORADO STATE -5'
Not only have I been winning big with my main plays, but my complimentary selections have been coming through, as well. And Friday was another example of that as the Hawks shut down Chicago and improved my record to 68-46-4 over the past 118 days!
And now I'm turning back to college hoops to keep the momentum going forward, taking Colorado State to win big at home against Wyoming.
The Rams are coming off an impressive 15-point win at Utah, and now they get to face a Wyoming team that is now struggling to put the ball in the basket with leading scorer Afam Muojeke (16.8 ppg) on the shelf for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Colorado State has already defeated the Cowboys 83-73 at Wyoming on Jan. 6, and the Cowboys are coming off of a 78-50 home loss to UNLV on Wednesday.
The Rams are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall and should have no problem rolling over punchless Wyoming today. Go with Colorado State in this one.
4♦ COLORADO STATE
Brett Atkins
Delivered an NBA free winner for you on Friday night as Milwaukee went into Madison Square Garden and pulled off the outright upset over the Knicks. Today I'm going to the college hardwood for a comp winner on Arizona as the Wildcats travel to Washington State for Pac-10 action.
Washington State has had trouble stopping teams lately, either at home or on the road. And now they get a red-hot Arizona team that has won four of five overall and cashed in five straight contests, including Thursday night in Seattle, falling 81-75 to a very good Washington team as 10-point underdogs.
The Wildcats have cashed in three straight road games and five of six Pac-10 roadies this season. It comes back to some leadership from Nic Wise who has been there before and leads this team. He played like crap on Thursday night and this team still stayed right with Washington. If he has a decent game tonight, this one should be an easy Arizona win.
Arizona is on ATS runs of 11-1 on Saturdays, 5-0 overall, 6-0 against teams with winning records and 19-7 after a straight-up loss. Meanwhile, Washington State is on ATS slides of 0-6 at home, 1-6 in Pac-10 action, 7-18-1 on Saturdays and 0-6 at home against teams with losing road records.
Look for the Wildcats to dominate this one from the first half on. Play Arizona.
3♦ ARIZONA
Jay McNeil
Another easy winner with my free play Friday as the Suns slammed Sacramento, giving me an 8-1 record over the past nine days! And if you think that record is good, well, it's going to have another victory added to it today!
Kansas State has covered the spread in three straight games, six of its last seven and 12 of its last 14 lined games. And it is coming off its most lopsided Big 12 road win since the Big 12 opened play in 1996-97, beating Nebraska 76-57 on Tuesday.
Iowa State has lost seven straight games to the Wildcats, who held the Cyclones to 31.5 percent shooting in their two victories over their conference rival last season.
Kansas State is 5-1 on the road this season, with impressive wins at UNLV and Baylor, and Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente lead a dangerous offensive attack that averages 81 ppg.
The Wildcats are on ATS runs of 11-2-1 overall, 8-1-1 as a favorite and 5-1-1 on the road. And K-State is also 4-1-1 in its last six meetings with Iowa State. Definitely go with the Wildcats in this one.
5♦ KANSAS STATE
Joel Tyson
While I was high on La Salle earlier this year, injuries and inconsistent play have made them a go-against, and I will go-against them at home against the Billikins.
St. Louis has gone 5-2-1 against the spread their last 8 tries on the conference road in the underdog role, and the road team in this series has won outright the last pair of meetings - 3 in a row if you count the Billikins win as the "visitor" in the A-10 Tournament last March.
The Explorers are 0-5 this season in their lined home games, expect that mark to drop to 0-6 after this affair.
2♦ ST. LOUIS
Pete Angelo
Temple at Richmond
The 19th-ranked Owls are going to win their third in a row today, turning back the feisty Spiders.
I am well aware of how the Owls' backcourt is struggling offensively, but I cannot ignore how tenacious this defense has been.
Both, in fact, are very good defenses, as the Spiders are holding teams to 57.5 points and 37.7 percent shooting while winning 10 of 11 at home.
But it is the Owls' physical nature in the paint I want on my side in this Atlantic 10 showdown. And Temple has won four of five versus Richmond, so let's take the road pup.
1♦ TEMPLE
Jeff Benton
Hit my fourth free selection in the last five days last night, as the Nets covered the big spread in Boston! For Saturday’s freebie in college basketball, I’ll back Kentucky minus the big points at LSU in SEC play.
The only thing that will keep the third-ranked Wildcats from winning this game by at least 20 points is if they get disinterested. The reason I don’t think that’ll happen: The last time John Calipari took his team on the road, it suffered its first loss of the season, 68-62 at South Carolina as a seven-point road favorite. The major difference between South Carolina and LSU? The Tigers don’t have a player with mad skills like South Carolina’s Devan Downey, who torched Kentucky for 30 points. Heck, LSU will be lucky to have TWO players combine for 30 points against the Wildcats today!
LSU gets some credit for mounting a late rally on Thursday against Tennessee, falling short 59-54 at home. Though the late surge helped the Tigers get inside the 6½-point spread (and cost me a free-play winner), they still lost for the eighth time in eight tries since the SEC season tipped off. Take out an 80-point outburst in a four-point loss to Auburn, and here are LSU’s point totals in SEC play: 49, 58, 58, 63, 38, 51, 54. And while the Tigers held down Tennessee’s offense, they’ve still given up 66 or more in six of eight conference games.
Given all this, how is LSU going to stay close to a team as explosive as Kentucky, which rebounded from the South Carolina loss to score 85 points in consecutive wins over Vanderbilt (85-72) and Ole Miss (85-75) … and Vandy and Ole Miss are ranked teams. Kentucky has now scored more than 70 points in all but two contests this season, tallying more than 80 points nine times in the last 13 games.
The Wildcats failed to cover by a point in Tuesday’s 10-point win over Ole Miss, but they haven’t had consecutive non-covers in 14 games (including every SEC contest). In fact, Kentucky has alternated ATS wins and losses in its last eight, and it is 6-0 ATS in its last six after a non-cover. Conversely, LSU is 5-13 ATS on the season, including 1-7 ATS in its last eight home games. And it hasn’t covered in consecutive games all year!
One more point: Kentucky has cashed in four of its last five games at LSU. Lay the wood, as the freshman phenom John Wall and Wildcats come with a focused effort and blow the Tigers out of the gym.
8♦ KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Tom Freese
Old Dominion at Virginia Commonwealth
Old Dominion is 18-6 overall and and 10-2 in Conference Play. The Monarchs have just one player scoring double digit points and they score just 66 points a game. Forward Gerald Lee scores 14 points and grabs 5.3 rebounds a game. The Monarchs have four players scoring between 9.1 and 7.3 points a game. Old Dominion is 4-10 ATS off a straight up win and they are 5-15 ATS their last 20 games vs. the Rams. Virginia Commonwealth is 16-5 overall and they are 8-4 in Conference Play. Forward Larry Sanders scores 15 points and 8.8 rebounds a game. Joey Rodriguez scores 11.6 points a game and 6 assists a game. Guard Bradford Burgess scores 10.5 points a game. Four other players score between 8.0 and 6.0 points a game. The Rams are 5-1-1 ATS their last 7 Conference games and they are 10-3 ATS their last 13 games vs. a team with a winning record. PLAY ON VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH -
Tony Weston
The Pacers absolutely cruise in a laugher and delivering easily with a solid Comp Play winner.
Today, I’m taking Baylor on the road at Texas A&M in some Big XII action.
The Bears come into this game on a roll, having cashed in 5 of their last 6 games overall, including 4 of their last 5 against the Big XII. Going back a little further, Baylor has covered in 11 of its last 13 games overall .
Keep in mind, too, Baylor has covered in 6 of its last 7 games on the road.
Consider, also, in this series Baylor has gone 5-1 ATS their last 6 games in College Station and the road team has covered in 5 of their last 6 meetings.
Today, the Bears will cash in again against the Aggies.
3♦ BAYLOR
Craig Davis
Tonight's free play is on the Houston Rockets. It might be easy to back the Sixers in this one because of their impressive win at New Orleans last night. But a deeper look inside the numbers saw the reserves score almost as much as the starters... 51-50, and to expect that type of production every night is simply not going to happen. Houston, on the other hand, got Kyle Lowery back and, although he didn't play much last night, he's ready to start contributing more and more as he gets healthier. Houston had four players in double figures last night in their 18-point win over a suddenly-surging Memphis team... and that didn't include Lowery, who is slowly being worked back into the lineup. In their last four games the Rockets have scored over 100 points in each game and are averaging 104 PPG over their last five while the Sixers broke the century mark last night for the second straight time (though they needed overtime for the last one) but hadn't reached triple digits in their previous six. The Sixers are not a high-scoring team by nature and Houston is... and both play fairly similar defense. Houston simply has too much talent and will wear down the Sixers in the second half. I expect nothing less than a 10-point win tonight.
2♦ ROCKETS
Michael Cannon
Villanova +2 at GEORGETOWN
Take Villanova as the small road dog over Georgetown.
Maybe the marquee matchup of the entire day in college hoops.
I’ll take my chances with one of the best pointspread teams in the nation getting a basket. Villanova is not going to be intimidated playing in the Verizon Center. They are an experienced team with a great backcourt.
Perhaps Georgetown got caught looking ahead to this matchup, as they are coming off an upset loss at home to South Florida. The Hoyas are tough to play at home, but they are obviously not invincible.
Villanova knocked off Georgetown, 82-77 at home three weeks ago. The Wildcats are 6-2 ATS in their last eight trips to D.C.
In addition to that, Villanova is on ATS runs of 18-6 overall, 5-0 on the road, 5-1 after a SU win, 4-1 after a spread-cover, 5-1 against winning teams and 5-1 in the Big East.
Georgetown is on pointspread slides of 5-11 at home, 7-21 in conference play and 4-9-1 on Saturday.
Take Villanova on the road as they get it done over Georgetown.
3♦ VILLANOVA
North Texas -4 at FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
Take North Texas as the road chalk over Florida International.
The Mean Green should be able to get past this mark with no problem. They have a well-balanced offensive attack that features four starters averaging double-digits in scoring.
Isiah Thomas is still looking to get his Golden Panthers to play with some consistency. They haven’t been good defensively, and that’s the kiss of death against a team like North Texas.
The Mean Green are on an 11-3 ATS run in their last 14 overall, including four straight covers.
Florida International comes in off consecutive blowout losses on the road to Florida Atlantic and Louisiana Lafayette. The Golden Panthers are just 1-4 ATS in their last five overall and 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine home games.
North Texas is 19-7-1 ATS in its last 27 road games.
Take North Texas minus the points as they grab the road win and cover.
3♦ NORTH TEXAS
Chris Jordan
Wisconsin (pk) at MICHIGAN
I'm going to take the Badgers tonight, as I believe they're much more sound than the Wolverines and are much more deserving of a pick'em point spread.
The Badgers looked outstanding in a 67-49 win over No. 5 Michigan State on Tuesday, improving to 13-0 at the Kohl Center. And even though that was at home, it doesn't make any difference, as the motivation factor takes over.
There's enough confidence in this team, at this point, to take its A-Game on the road. It takes a win like that to overcome a 2-4 road slide. Wisconsin is scoring 60.3 points per game on the road while averaging 71.7 at home, but when you play defense like the Badgers do, you tend to depend on it when you're away from home.
That shouldn't be a problematic scheme against 11-11 Michigan, which has lost four of five, during which it has averaged 55.0 points and shot 36.6 percent.
Wisconsin has won seven straight in this series and this is as good as any other Badgers team that has taken the floor during that run.
Play the road team.
1♦ WISCONSIN
EZWINNERS
Louisville Cardinals -19.5
This is a great match up for Louisville to roll. Rutgers turns the ball over at an extremely high rate and they give up way too many offensive rebounds. The Cardinals should be able to run this struggling Scarlet Knight team right out of the arena with the full court pressure. Lay the points.
Vernon Croy
1* Take Florida State
This pick falls into one of my top NCAAB systems and the Hurricanes are just 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog. Miami is just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 conference games and they are just 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games when playing a team with a winning record. Take Florida State to run away with this one tonight.
John Martin
1 Unit on Milwaukee Bucks -5.5
The Milwaukee Bucks are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall, winning six of them. Now is a great time to ride their bandwagon as they host the Indiana Pacers Saturday. The Bucks are 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) after having won 2 of their last 3 games this season. The Bucks 17-4 ATS (+12.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season. Cash in with Milwaukee as the favorite.
Black Widow
1* on Cleveland Cavaliers -12
Cleveland is on an absolute tear right now, playing their best ball of the season. We'll continue backing them tonight as they host the New York Knicks, a tired team who just lost 107-114 at home to the Bucks last night. The Cavaliers will be giving better effort here after having last night off. Cleveland is 10-0 S.U. & 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Cavs are 26-8 ATS (+17.2 Units) after 2 consecutive covers as a favorite over the last 2 seasons. Cleveland is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) after 3 straight covers as a favorite of 7 or more over the last 2 seasons. Take Cleveland and lay the points.