Black Widow
1* on Bobcats/Spurs UNDER 191.5
This total has been jacked up way too high tonight in the Charlotte vs. San Antonio NBA showdown. Both teams will be playing the second of a back-to-back, with the Bobcats losing 82-99 at Oklahoma City and the Spurs winning 97-91 at Dallas last night. That means both squads will be a bit tired which certainly favors the 'under'. 13 straight meetings between Charlotte & San Antonio have seen 189 or less combined points. That's a perfect 13-0 UNDER angle pertaining to the total set listed tonight. Take the UNDER 191.5 points here.
Dennis Macklin
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs
Play: Under 5½
Playing this game on the matchup rather than techs or current form. Bruins have top goaltending and were on 6-0-1 run before this current five game roadie. Beantown fits 7-1 under tech off of 3+ roadies. Leafs of two excellent defensive efforts and kicking and scratching to work there way into the Eastern Conference 7-8 hole. Key here is playoff intensity and original six rivalry. Over in last snapped run of five straight unders. Goals will be tough to come by here.
Tony George
Kansas State +3.5
Wow. Better team a dog, I will take it. K State played like dog crap in their first game and still beat a team with 3 losses and 30 wins. The free throw line saved them at 83% but look for the guard play to be key here as both have stud guards but I like the experience of K State in this game and for Kelly to be a huge key on the wing and on the boards. Wisconsin shot over 50% from the floor against Belmont but K State defends the ball well. If K State plays defense (they will), you will see in fact the horrific offense Wisconsin truely has and K State will pull away here late, they are a bunch of athletes well coached and flat out can get it done when on their game. BAD matchup for the Badgers.
Lenny Del Genio
Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Clippers
Prediction: Los Angeles Clippers
You could always do worse than playing against the Cavaliers, who come off a pitiful performance in Portland Thursday night. They fell behind 21-2 and 55-19 and needless to say, it was over from there. The Clippers have revenge here as they were the team that finally snapped Cleveland's 26-game losing skid. This is a rare chance for them to win big in front of the home crowd. Take LA Clippers.
Michael Alexander
Kansas State vs. Wisconsin
Play: Wisconsin -3
WISCONSIN is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) after allowing 60 points or less this season.
KANSAS ST is 16-30 ATS (-17.0 Units) in road games versus teams who are called for 17 or less fouls/game since 1997
WISCONSIN is 12-5 ATS (+6.5 Units) versus good teams - outscoring their opponents by 4+ points/game this season
Hollywood Sports
Butler at Pittsburgh
Prediction: Butler
Butler (24-9) once again proved that they specialize in pushing back against teams that dominate the offensive glass as they outrebounding an Old Dominion that led the nation in cleaning up the offensive glass in their 60-58 win on Thursday. The Bulldogs limit their opponents to rebound just 27.9% of their missed shots (18th in the nation) and they will tested once again by a Pittsburgh team (28-5) that is the 2nd best offensive rebounding team in the NCAA.This team returned four starters from last year's team that made it to the national championship. While Butler struggled earlier, they have gotten together on the defensive end where they held their last seven Horizon League opponents to just a 0.94 Points-Per-Possession rate. Brad Stevens team is a dominant 20-5-2 ATS in their last 27 games against teams with a winning percentage over 60%. They have covered 5 straight games in the tournament while also covering 11 of their last 12 games on a neutral court. And they have covered 7 straight games as an underdog of 7-12.5 point range. The Panthers struggled against UNC-Asheville before pulling away by a 74-51 score but they have failed to cover the spread in 4 of their last 5 games coming off a win. However, what scares me about this play (and why it was not one of our "official" releases) is that I suspect that this talented Pittsburgh team may be due for a breakout game after losing in the first round of the Big East Tournament (which helped ensure they are rested and ready for the moment now). But Pitt has also failed to cover 6 of their last 8 games in the tournament. At the very least, Butler as a 7.5-point underdog is a solid value play.
Steve Merril
Morehead St. vs. Richmond
Play: Richmond -4½
Morehead State pulled off the biggest upset in the NCAA Tournament so far this season with a last-second 62-61 win over Louisville on Thursday as a #13 seed and as a 9½-point underdog. Richmond also pulled an upset win as a #12 seed, but the Spiders were only a 3-point underdog in that game.
Morehead State qualifies in a letdown situation today and my power ratings favor Richmond by 5½ points, so there is also line value. The matchup is favorable for the Spiders as they rely heavily on the three-point shot with 34.1% of their total offensive points coming from three-point range this season (37th most in the nation among all 345 Division-1 teams). Morehead State has a weak three-point defense that allows an awful 37.0% this season (299th in the nation) and the Eagles allow their opponents to get 33.7% of their total points from beyond the arc (20th most in the nation).
Morehead State relies on rebounding and a pressure defense that forces turnovers, but Richmond is a big team down low with height and the Spiders also take excellent care of the basketball, so they match up well in this game today.
Brent Brooks
San Diego St. -5.5
Temple's LaVoy Allen was held to a 1 for 5 afternoon by Penn State in the Owl's last game. Fernandez and Moore bailed him out as the Owls skated by the Lions for a single possession win.
That won't be enough here. With Michael Eric lost for the season, the Owls are smaller up front and lack depth. SDSU is simply too diverse and talented to allow the Owls guards to beat them. On the other end, who will effectively guard Billy White when SDSU is at the offensive end? Kawhi Leonard will be another nightmare for Temple.
SDSU has bigger fish to fry in this tournament but Fisher won't allow them to look past the Owls.