Hollywood Sports
Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls
Prediction: Chicago Bulls
The Bulls (33-37) finally are close to full strength with the return of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to their lineup. With their 98-88 win over Houston on Monday, the Bulls have also covered five straight games. They find themselves 3.5 games behind Miami for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Heat (37-34) earned their first road win in over a month with their narrow 90-89 win in New Jersey on Monday. But Miami has only covered once in their last seven road games as an underdog of under 5 points. The Bulls have covered their last four games against teams with a winning record. And Chicago should build off their recent momentum as they have covered ten of their last fourteen games coming off a win. Look for the young and hungry Bulls team to prove themselves now that they have two of their key players back in tow. Lay the points with Chicago.
Vic Duke
Butler vs. Syracuse
Play: Under 138
The last time these teams met was back in March of 2002 in a 66-65 Syracuse win in OT. The relevance to today's matchup is that Boheim and his system are still there and the Butler's current head coach - Stevens - has adopted the same system of that time frame. Both teams are defensively fundamentally sound and that's what we'll see tonight. We do realize that Butler is a difficult team to zone - with a productive offense - but Hayward is struggling from the perimeter and I don't think the Bulldogs have the 3 point accuracy with this year's contingent to torch the Orangemen from the perimeter. On the other hand, the Orangemen offense continues to cook; however, Butler's game, just like it was in 2002, is predicated on defensive stops. I don't see Syracuse transitioning easily on the Bulldogs or delivering easy dunks with consistency - something 'Cuse did easily in their first two NCAA Tournament games. And without Onuaku, Syracuse's Wesley Johnson will surely be a Butler focal point on defense. "Under" the call.
Jack Jones
West Virginia -4
West Virginia is one of the best defensive teams in the country, and Washington has yet to face a team nearly as good on the Mountaineers on the defensive end in this tournament. WVU allows just 63.3 PPG on 41.7% shooting for the season. They are a tremendous rebounding team, out-rebounding their opponents by 7 RPG. WVU averages an outstanding 14 offensive RPG as well. WVU has really clamped it down at the end of the season when these games matter most. The Mountaineers are allowing just 53.8 PPG on 34.1% shooting over their last 5 contests, all tournament games. WVU hasn't allowed more than 59 points in any of their past 5 games.
WVU is 12-2 ATS after allowing 60 points or less 3 straight games since 1997. The Mountaineers are 20-4 ATS in a post-season tournament game since 1997. Better yet, WVU is 14-2 ATS in all NCAA Tournament games since 1997. Bob Huggins has the Mountaineers playing the best basketball in the country right now and as just a small favorite to beat Washington tonight, we'll lay the points with WVU.
Info Plays
3* on Mavericks/Blazers UNDER 193
Reasons why this game goes UNDER:
1.) System Play. We'll Play Under - All teams where the total is between 190 and 199.5 points (PORTLAND) - extremely well rested team - playing 3 or less games in 10 days, with a winning record on the season playing another winning team. This is a 43-14 UNDER System hitting 75.4% over the last 5 seasons.
2.) Portland is really getting after it defensively right now. The Blazers are allowing just 90.8 PPG over their past 6 games and they've even faced some great offensive teams in the likes of the Suns, Raptors, Warriors and Kings. So it's not like they are shutting down poor offenses. For the season, the Blazers give up just 93.3 PPG at home. This is a key Western Conference match-up where defense will be a priority. Dallas is 12-3 UNDER in road games revenging a home loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons. Bet the UNDER.
Stan Lisowski
CORNELL
Favorable state site is an advantage for Big Red as they should have plenty of fan support with the locale. Cornell goes 6-1 ATS as an underdog this year. They have weapons offensively to keep this close.
Richard Witt
Cornell +8 over Kentucky
Calipari let the 'Cats run loose in opening-week troucings against East Tennessee and Wake Forest in other words, Kentucky won big, against virtually nothing. From John Wall on down, the players think they're the cat's meow as if they needed the confidence boost! Not so fast. Kentucky's been singed all year by teams which can shoot the three, and we've seen against Temple and Wisconsin that the Big Red can do that, in spades. Experience, team play, and shooting accuracy a potent combo. A lot to ask of a non-scholarship outfit to beat Kentucky outright, but don't be surprised if this is close.
Red Dog Sports
Cornell vs. Kentucky
Play: Over 146.5
Both teams have played 2 overs in the NCAA tournament this year. Cornell had totals in the 120's vs. Temple and Wisconsin and those games went over easily.
The Big Red have played overs 5-2-1 in their last 8 neutral court games and Kentucky has 7 overs and an under in their last 8 non-conference games.
I thinkm we see a game tonight that ends up in the 150's and goes over.