Dave Price
1 Unit on UCLA -2
Dating back to 1998, UCLA is a perfect 13-0 at Washington State, winning these contests by an average score of 70-60. The Bruins are 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings in this series and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning record. The Cougars are just 13-29-2 ATS in their last 44 games as an underdog and 8-22-1 ATS in their last 31 games as an underdog of 6.5 points or less. Lay the points.
Larry Ness
Delaware @ Old Dominion
PICK: Old Dominion -11.5
Delaware returned all five starters from last year’s 7-24 (3-15 in the CAA) team, as Joe Flacco’s alma mater made some strides this year, finishing 8-10 in the conference and. Friday’s 60-58 win over Northeastern gives them an overall 14-16 record on the season. It should be noted however, that the Blue Hens were actually underdogs to the Huskies, who had gone just 6-12 in league paly this season. Guards Carter (15.7) and Dawson (7.6) are again starting, although Boney (a third guard from LY) is contributing little. Returning up front are the the 6-7 McNeil (5.2-5.1) and the 6-8 Hagins (8.3-7.3). Helping out this season inside was the 6-6 Brinkley (7.5-5.2) but he broke his foot in late January and is out. Newcomer Saddler (13.4-4.3) has been a nice addition in the backcourt but Delaware's “tourney run” ends here. ODU lost the 6-10 Lee (14.4-5.1) from LY’s 27-win team but the Monarchs enter this game “hardly missing a beat,” at 24-6 (14-4 in CAA play). They may have already locked up an at-large bid but CAA teams NEVER take such things for granted. The fact that Delaware upset them, way back on December 4, will actually help get ODU’s attention, if one wondered about a lack of focus. The 6-8 Hassell (14.2-9.8) leads in scoring and rebounding while a pair of 6-5 players, Bazemore (12.5-5.1) and Finney (9.4-6.4), make the Monarchs an NCAA-worthy team and one which won't get tripped up here by the Blue Hens. Lay the points.
Matt Rivers
North Carolina
I’m not calling the Tar Heels at around a pick a great value of sorts because all in all Coach K’s Blue Devils are still the superior team that should go further in the tournament but in this revenge spot at home I’ll take my chances with Carolina blue.
I’m just not fully sold on Duke as a legitimate number one type team. Sure they’re really good with Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and a bunch of quality players but after losing Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas from last season the big men are not all that right now as the Plumlee Brothers are nothing more than good and without Jon Scheyer and Kyrie Irving running the show the Dookies are not a great team, they’re just not.
North Carolina is not all the way back after the disaster of last season but Roy Williams’ squad has made great strides and is a confident squad that continues to improve. Today is the game where they are going to go full steam ahead. The ACC title is on the line along with a matter of revenge and the Heels are playing at the Dean Dome. It’s just tough for me to see Duke coming into hostile territory in this rivalry and being able to sweep this series. If you watched the first game between the teams about a month ago it was apparent in that thing how UNC was the definite better team. The Devils made a great comeback in the victory as they nailed everything in that eight or so minute stretch but they did not cover in the end and certainly did not deserve to grab the cash.
Harrison Barnes may be a one and done superstar, John Henson is a really tough inside presence and all in all the Heels are once again a team that is going to cause anybody fits and especially on their home court.
It’s very possible for these teams to meet another time or two before the season is out and for Duke to flex its muscles but on this night I’m just fine with the Tar Heels getting some payback in their friendly confines.
Info Plays
3* Wyoming +20.5
Reasons why Wyoming will cover:
1) The loss of Davies has really hurt BYU, and we think they are getting way to much credit against Wyoming. We know the Cowboys are winless on the road this season, but we really like their chances of keeping this game close. BYU is not the same team defensively without Davies on the floor.
2) Wyoming matched up well with BYU at home in the last matchup, losing by just 7 points, and are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 13.0 or greater.
3) Play on underdogs of 20 or more points - revenging a loss vs opponent, off 2 consecutive losses of 10 or more to conference rivals. It's 66-31 since 1997.
Telly
1 of 6 free plays today
Wyoming +20