Scott Delaney
The line on the UT Martin-Evansville game makes no sense to me, and is a bit disrespectful to the Skyhawks, who are in the midst of an incredible turnaround under head coach Heath Schroyer. After finishing with eight wins last season, when it finished in last place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference, UT Martin is just one win shy of tying the program record for single-season victories as it arrives at Evansville with a 21-12 record.
The biggest reason I like this team is resiliency, as it's advanced to the semifinals behind the team's first three Division-I postseason wins in school history, having beaten Northwestern State (104-79), USC Upstate (60-49) and Eastern Kentucky (70-69) all on the road over a span of seven days.
The Purple Aces are good, and I'm not taking anything for granted with them, but they shouldn't be laying this many points to UT Martin in what could be a game that comes down the last team holding the rock.
Take the road dog here.
5* UT MARTIN
Brad Wilton
Things have changed since last June when the Spurs wiped up the floor with the Heat in 5 games to claim the NBA Title, but I don't think there is any chance in the world San Antonio doesn't get up for this game against Miami here on Tuesday.
The Spurs have won and covered 6 of their last 7 games, and only have a date with lowly Orlando up next, so look for them to take care of business against a Miami team that has actually won 5 of their last 8 as they look to secure a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference in these waning days of the regular season.
San Antonio would like nothing better than to deal Miami a crippling loss down the stretch, and I expect that to happen.
Spurs getting themselves ready for the long playoff grind, and they notch another win and cover here.
Lay it.
3* SAN ANTONIO
Craig Davis
Your free play of the day is the San Antonio Spurs over the Miami Heat. At the time of this writing the Spurs are laying around 8 points in Vegas and offshore.
It's nearly impossible to go against the Spurs the way they are playing right now. Other than the Clippers and Warriors, there isn't another team in the NBA playing quite as well as the San Antonio Spurs right now.
While the Spurs currently hold the #6 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, they'd like to stay there as the Miami Heat are trying to get from #7 to #6 in the Eastern Conference. The difference is, San Antonio is the defending champion while Miami, without LeBron James and Chris Bosh, is the runner up and aren't even a shell of what they've been in the past.
Oh sure, Dwyane Wade will have a huge game from time to time, but it's too "few and far between" to be considered consistent and he simply doesn't have enough help against a squad that is all about "team first".
The Spurs are led by Kawhi Leonard, who seems to be back to 100% after missing much of the first half of the season with injury. Leonard scored the team's first 15 points of the fourth quarter against the Grizzlies en route to 25 points, 10 boards and 5 assists in the double-digit win.
Right now they're winning with offense, winning with defense, winning at home and winning on the road. There's simply too much talent and determination for the Spurs to lose in Miami tonight.
Take the Spurs as your free play of the day.
2* SAN ANTONIO
Larry Ness
Florida at Boston
Play: Under
Boston has rebounded from a six-game losing streak by winning two games in a row after its 2-1 win in Carolina on Sunday. The Bruins return home where the Bruins are holding their opponents to only 2.3 goals per game which is a bit better than their 2.6 goals per game that they are giving up overall this season. Much of this improved play keeping the puck out of the net needs to be credited to goaltender Tuukka Rask who has been outstanding in front of his home fans this season. Rask owns a strong 2.04 goals against average along with a sizzling .930 save percentage when at home. The Bruins are clinging to the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt three points ahead of Ottawa and four points ahead of this Panthers team so the stakes remain very high for this veteran team. Rask may very well be playing his better goaltending at this point of the season as well. In his previous 12 starts this month, Rask has a 2.15 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage.
Florida has won four of its last six games as the Panthers make a late push to make the playoffs with their 4-2 win in Ottawa on Sunday. The Panthers stay on the road for this contest where they have seen the under go 7-3-3 in their last 13 contests away from home. The under is also 9-2-1 in their last 12 trips to Boston to face their Atlantic Division rivals. Florida's improved play as of late has much to do with the team?s improved play on defense as Florida is allowing only 2.2 goals per game over the last five games which is a significant improvement over its 2.7 goals per game seasonal average. Goaltender Roberto Luongo shook off a slow start this season to be the goalie the Panthers were hoping he would be when acquiring him in the offseason. Luongo has a 2.33 goals against average along with a .921 save percentage this year. Luongo has also heated up for Florida's playoff chase late this season as he owns a red hot 1.79 goals against average along with a .932 save percentage in his six starts this month. With playoff implications on the line, expect tight, low-scoring game between these two teams with hot goaltenders. Take the under.
Dr. Bob
Opinion – Golden State (+3½) over L.A. CLIPPERS
The Warriors and Clippers are both playing well with Golden State having won 9 straight games (and covered 7 straight) while the Clips have won 7 in a row and covered the spread in 5 of their last 6. Draymond Green is out for Golden State but the rest of the Warriors are expected to play (as of 1:30 pm Pacific) and the line on this game has been over-adjusted for Green’s absence. Green is important, as I value him at 3 ½ points, but I’d favor the Clippers by just 2 points with Green out. I’ll lean with the Warriors based on the line value.
Harry Bondi
INDIANA (+2) over Brooklyn
The Pacers have been a solid bet this year both as an underdog (21-15 ATS) and on the road (20-14) and that's the situation we have here tonight. Indiana is also playing with revenge after a 123-111 loss to the Nets back on March 21 in which Brooklyn shot a blistering 61% from the floor. Don't expect a similar percentage tonight. The Nets are playing good basketball, but have tried to extend a three-game winning streak into a four-game streak three times this season and have gone 0-3 ATS and straight up. Pacers get the outright win!
OC Dooley
Miami-Florida +1.5
The opener of tonight's NIT semifinals in an outstanding percentage wager as I will present angles a combined 25-2 against the spread long term momentarily. The key to this wager actually surrounds the "inconsistancy" surrounding both sides which is why I am gladly "taking" the points with Miami-Florida who actually opened at most offshore locations as a slight neutral court favorite. Miami playing in the nation's toughest conference (ACC) took Virginia into overtime while crushing Duke, but they Hurricanes were also outclassed at home by lowly Eastern Kentucky. As for Temple they pummeled the Kansas Jayahwks at home but then seemed non-competitive against several of the lower-echelon schools from the Atlantic 10 conference draw. In the past two years after a game where they forced the opposition to committ "eight or less" turnovers Temple has gone a diaastrous 0-6 ATS/ROAD. On the flipside after consecutive games where they had "five or less" steals Miami has COVERED SIX IN A ROW on the "road". Dating all the way nback to the 1997 campaign after a tilt where they made "33 or less" percent from the field Miami has gone a staggering 13-2 ATS/ROAD. In the quarterfinals the Hurricanes recovered from an EIGHTEEN point deficit to win on the highway