DB Consensus
Chicago vs Nashville
Pick: Over
The over is 7-1 in CHI last 8 vs. Central. The over is also 20-7 in CHI last 27 overall. The defending champs take on backup goaltender Carter Hutton.
Chris Jordan
On the heels of nailing Cleveland State last night, I'm back on the college hardwood for my complimentary winner, as I like Southern Illinois plus the points at Murray State, as I look to nail my third straight freebie and #6 of 9.
Neither team is burning up the nets and doing anything impressive early on, but this is a rivalry the Salukis will be up for tonight. SIU, which is off to its worst start in more than 20 years, leads the all-time series, 16-14, and has won 11 of the last 14 meetings. Though the teams have not met since 2006, this might be the right spot for the Salukis.
The Salukis' biggest challenge appears to be themselves, and if they can put together two solid halves and get out of their own way, they should have no trouble getting on a winning run. When a team is 2-7 there isn't always a lot of confidence.
But the the return of Bronson Verhines to the floor will help. It'll add depth. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward has missed the last five games with a sprained right ankle. He likely won't start, but will give the Salukis a solid inside presence on the boards and the scoreboard.
I'm taking a shot we're going to see the Salukis win this outright.
2♦ SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Jeff Benton
Tuesday freebie is the Cincinnati Bearcats plus the points as they play against their former Big East conference rivals the Pittsburgh Panthers tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Pitt is off to a 10-0 start, and they are starting life in their new conference the ACC. Cincinnati meanwhile, is 7-2 in the newly-formed AAC conference.
These schools are no strangers to one another, and series numbers show the Bearcats with straight up wins in 2 of the last 3 meetings. The series numbers also show the underdog in the series has covered the last 3 meetings, and 7 of the last 9 series meetings overall.
This game is being contested at Madison Square Garden where the now defunct Big East tournament used to be played, so expect some waxing nostalgia from the ESPN announcers in this one.
Stick with the decided underdog trends, and back the Bearcats to keep it close against the undefeated Panthers.
2♦ CINCINNATI
Craig Davis
Today's free play of the day is on the Wichita State Shockers over the Alabama Crimson Tide as a small two-point favorite.
The Shockers have picked up right where they left off last year in their Final Four appearance... by winning games. Their most recent win was against a game Tennessee squad, 70-61, despite the fact they didn't really play that well. They're still unbeaten coming into tonight's game which promises to be one of the toughest they've played all season.
My only concern would be the fact that they haven't really been battle-tested yet, with their best win of the season so far against either Tennessee or at St. Louis. This will only be their third true road game of the year, but I just like the way they finished the Tennessee game after playing poorly in the first 30 minutes.
As for Alabama, well, let's just say they still have a great football program!!
In all seriousness, the Tide will probably have another "bubble-type" year, finishing somewhere around 19-12 and begging the committee to let them in the Big Dance. The committee will look back at non-conference games like this to decide whether or not they're worthy.
Win this game and it shows up well on the resume. The problem is, they've already lost to teams like Oklahoma, Drexel, and South Florida (I won't count the loss to Duke against them)... and if that's the type of competition they're losing to, how in the world can they get past a hungry Wichita State team?
Take the Shockers to win rather handily in SEC country tonight.
2♦ WICHITA STATE
Scott Delaney
For Tuesday night's complimentary winner, take Central Michigan plus the points against Jacksonville State.
The Chippewas are wrapping up their longest road stretch of the season tonight against the Gamecocks, and with a 2-2 mark on the road this season, they'll be looking to steal this one on the road against a familiar foe. These two have already met once this year, as Central Michigan defeated the Gamecocks, 66-61, back on Nov. 30.
Actually, CMU is 3-0 versus Ohio Valley Conference teams this season, also knocking off Austin Peay (90-75) on Nov. 21 and SIU Edwardsville (65-64) on Dec. 7.
This is a team that has shown offensive prowess - lighting up the scoreboard by posting 90 or more points in its first three wins - and resilience like in its last three victories - earning close wins while scoring in the 60s.
This is a disciplined basketball team that has shown it knows how to win basketball games, and will most certainly be looking to take this outright win.
2♦ CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Brad Wilton
Tonight's comp play comes in the NBA, as I side with the Thunder as the small road favorite in Denver against the Nuggets.
No doubt the Nuggets have been tough on the Thunder of late, as OKC was stretched to the limit in November in their two-point home win (non-cover) over a Denver team that had won the three previous meetings, and was on a 4-1 straight up run overall versus Oklahoma City, but it is the Thunder that bring a six game winning streak into tonight's game with covers in five of those six wins.
Denver is just 3-3 straight up their last six games, and only 2-4 against the spread in those tilts, so not sure the Nuggets recent play suggests they can cool down a Thunder team that knows they cannot take Denver lightly.
I am willing to lay a few points on the road tonight, as Oklahoma City extends things to seven wins in a row, and 6-1 against the spread.
3♦ OKLAHOMA CITY
Brett Atkins
My complimentary play for tonight is on Belmont plus the points at Denver.
The Bruins, who are 8-3 on the young season, rank 33rd in the nation with their offensive field goal percentage (48.4 percent). They certainly have performed better than the Pioneers to this point in the campaign, and should be able to get their momentum going tonight against an offensively starved team.
The Pioneers (4-5), who have failed to cover eight of their last nine non-conference games, have won four of their last five games, but their offense is atrocious. They're near the bottom of the rankings in most major statistical categories.
Denver is also in on ATS slides of 0-6 at home, 1-7 against winning teams and 2-8 overall.
Look for Belmont to open things up and roll to the road win.
1♦ BELMONT
Harry Bondi
OREGON -13 over Cal-Irvine
Not afraid to lay the lumber here tonight with the Ducks, who are not only a perfect 9-0, but a profitable 8-0 against the spread, and 3-0 as a double-digit chalk. They rank second in the country with a scoring average of 89.1 ppg, have six players averaging double digits and tonight they'll have even more depth as they get back the services of Dominic Artis and Ben Carter, who were suspended for the first nine games. Add it all up and it will be too much for a very average UC Irvine team to hang for very long tonight. Oregon rolls.
Rob Veno
Manhattan at South Carolina
Play: South Carolina -2.5
Pair of potential problems exists here for home-standing Gamecocks who have shown a mixed bag of results in their 2-3 start to this season. The first concern is the 11-day layoff South Carolina has had since playing its last game which was a disastrous 75-52 road loss to no. 7 Oklahoma State. That game magnified the second concern for head coach Frank Martin’s team which is turnovers. South Carolina committed 24 of them against the up-tempo Cowboys which dropped them to 296th in the nation at 14.6 per game. Relentless pressure defense is what Manhattan is predicated on under 4th year head coach Steve Masiello and thus far they’ve forced 14.7 turnovers per game while averaging 7.4 steals. This would appear to be a hand in glove matchup for the Jaspers defense but the return of South Carolina guard Bruce Ellington tonight could help shore up some of the ball handling woes. Ellington (starting WR on SC’s football team) makes his first start and is a backcourt veteran.
These teams have similarities as both have been poor shooting the basketball (42.3% Manhattan, 41.7% South Carolina) but very solid defensively allowing just 41.4% and 39.2% respectively. Despite the lengthy absence from game competition, South Carolina appears capable of handling this number. The comparative strength of schedule thus far should be a real advantage for the Gamecocks as should Ellington who Martin said looks as if he’s been practicing for two months rather than two weeks. Manhattan’s narrow escape at UNC Wilmington a couple days ago adds to the notion that their 7-2 SU record looks better than it really is. I have great respect for their experienced core trio of SG George Beamon, PG Michael Alvarado and PF Rhamel Brown, but if South Carolina can handle the pressure, then they match up real well. Figure South Carolina to treat this as a very important non-conference game against top-tier mid-major contingent and get the resume building win by six or more.
River City Sharps
Tennessee Tech +14.5
While Green Bay has been a really good home play the past several years, we need to examine this one a little closer at Tennessee Tech comes to town. The Phoenix have started off strong again this season and have a nice win over Virginia to their credit, while Tech has not played as challenging a schedule. Even with that said, these two teams played a tight game a year ago as Tech defeated Green Bay 74-68 as a 2.5 point dog. Tech has actually been a better shooting team this season than Green Bay, although the Phoenix are shooting 48.2% from the field at home. The glass looks to be an even matchup as does the FT shooting, where neither team does a great job and both are under 65% for the year. We think the Phoenix will take care of business tonight, but Tech is an athletic team and their quickness may be a problem for Green Bay. With that said, our numbers all indicate a single-digit victory for Green Bay, so we are backing the doggie tonight in chilly Wisconsin.
OC Dooley
Cincinnati +5.5
This is the opening game of a Jimmy V Classic doubleheader played inside New York’s famed Madison Square Garden. The favorite tonight is Pittsburgh due to an unscathed “10-0” record but they are UNRANKED due to what has been a very “soft” schedule which has skewed the statistics of an offense that is averaging more than 82 points per game. The last time Cincinnati took the floor was Saturday evening in a “Crosstown Rivalry” situation on a neutral-court where substantial underdog Xavier (+5’) pulled off an upset with relative ease in a 64-47 final verdict. With the Bearcats off consecutive losses and appearing to be in a rebuilding mode, one has to wonder why “10-0” Pittsburgh is a relatively small favorite. In this Cincinnati/Pittsburgh series the UNDERDOG has successfully covered the spread at a recent 4-1 ATS clip. In the past three years after putting together 6 consecutive “straight up” victories, Pittsburgh (0-7 ATS) has actually been a disaster for investors