Dave Price
1 Unit on Golden State Warriors +4.5
The Warriors have been a rock solid play in the home underdog role, going 50-21-2 ATS in their last 73 games as a home underdog. In addition, they are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog of 4.5 or fewer points. The Spurs are just 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 games as a road favorite of 4.5 or fewer points. Lastly, the home team is 17-7-1 ATS in the last 25 meetings. Take the Warriors and the points.
Larry Ness
Michigan @ Clemson
PICK: Michigan +9.5
Gone from LY's disappointing 15-17 team are Harris (18.1-6.0) and Sims 916.8-7.6). That may not be all bad news for the Wolverines, as expectations are low this year. Michigan opened 3-0 but has then lost 53-50 to a ranked Syracuse team and 65-56 to a pretty good UTEP squad. Sophomore guard Morris averaged just 4.4 PPG last season but is TY's leading scorer at 14.0 (7.0 APG). Freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr (11.4) is off to a nice start and those two freshman of a few years back, Douglass and Novack, are now juniors averaging 8.0 and 5.2-6.2, respectively (they're NOT stars but solid players!). Up front, the best player is 6-8 freshman Morgan (10.6-7.0). Clemson has excellent frontcourt depth with the 6-9 Jennings (10.2-4.7), the 6-8 Booker (9.5-4.3) and the 6-8 Grant (9.2-5.2). Stitt (13.7) is now a senior and leads a veteran backcourt. I was never much on Oliver Purnell (now at DePaul) but most everyone has nothing but accolades for new head coach Brad Browell (formerly of UNC-Wilmington and Wright St). I don't question his ability but I've never been much on laying points with these Tigers. Is it different now? We'll see. However, I'm taking the points here.
SPORTS WAGERS
Iowa –2 over WAKE FOREST
The Hawkeyes are by no means an elite team and chances are they’re in for a rather long year in the very tough Big-10, however, the Deacs could be in for a much longer year because this is a bad team with a capital B. Wake comes in with a 3-3 record with losses to Stetson, VCU and Winthrop. All three of those teams put up 83 or more against the Deacs and that’s some serious damage. Wakes three wins have come against winless Marist, Elon and Hampton. After playing six games against a bunch of nobodies the Deacs offensive and defensive numbers should be skewed but they’re not. Again, this is a lousy group that will get badly outrebounded and while the Hawkeyes schedule has seen them play some cupcakes too, at least they play some solid defense. In addition, the Hawkeyes have played Xavier and they hung around for a while before losing by 13. They also have games against the Crimson Tide and Long Beach St. Wake has absolutely no bench and if any of its starters get into foul trouble or are cold they virtually have very little shot at beating anybody. The Hawkeyes will struggle to score points, as they’re an offensively challenged group to be sure. However, they’re definitely deeper and they play defense and that’s more than enough to get by a Wake team that is in serious trouble. Play: Iowa –2 (Risking 2.1 units to win 2).
Black Widow
1* on Boston Celtics -6.5
The Boston Celtics catch the Cleveland Cavaliers in a big look-ahead spot tonight. The Cavs will host the Miami Heat on Thursday in the long-awaited return to Cleveland for Lebron James. Their focus will clearly be elsewhere tonight when the Celtics come into town, as that game will also be nationally televised on TNT. Focused or not, the Cavs stand no chance of even keeping this game close against Boston tonight. The Celtics are 12-4 this season, outscoring opponents by 7.3 points/game. Boston wants serious revenge tonight after the Cavs gave them their first loss of the season, but they clearly caught the Celtics in a letdown spot. Boston had just won their season-opener over the Miami Heat on opening night, and had to play the Cavs the following night. The Celtics are a perfect 10-0 ATS (+10.0 Units) in road games revenging a road loss vs opponent over the last 3 seasons. Enough said. Take the Celtics and lay the points.
Sam Martin
Georgia Tech at Northwestern
Prediction: Georgia Tech
Wrong team is favored here, as Northwestern is a sizable 6-point home favorite tonight against Georgia Tech in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. While we admit this is a down year for the Yellow Jackets, they can still compete with a team the caliber of Northwestern, who comes into this contest having played just four games, and have yet to be challenged this season. Northwestern's slow-paced style of play won't allow them to win this game in a blowout, and we think GA Tech has an excellent shot of winning this game outright anyway. We'll take the generous points to be safe!