Black Widow
1* on Los Angeles Lakers -6
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off 3 straight losses, so motivation will certainly be on their side tonight as they take on the lowly Houston Rockets. The Lakers have not suffered a 4-game losing streak since 2006-07, so certainly history is on their side as this has been a very resilient team when faced with adversity. The Lakers are 21-6 ATS in their last 27 road games vs. a team with a losing home record. The Rockets are 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Houston is playing without Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks, two starters that they desperately need to be healthy. With each missing the majority of the season, the Rockets are off to a 5-12 start. The Lakers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 0 days rest. L.A. will be anxious to get back on the floor tonight after a 2-point loss in Memphis yesterday. Take the Lakers and lay the points.
Info Plays
Purdue Boilermakers +1.5
Reason the Boilermakers cover:
1)Purdue is coming off an embarrassing loss to Richmond last Saturday, and I expect them to come out and really play hard. The Boilermakers shot just 30.2% from the field in the loss. Every other game this season Purdue has shot at least 43%, and I look for the shots to fall early and often tonight!
2)The Hokies are just 3-13 ATS in home games versus very good defensive teams - shooting pct defense of <=39% since 1997.
3)Boilermakers are 15-7-1 ATS in their last 23 games as an underdog.
O.C. Dooley
Duke -10
In the ACC/Big 10 challenge from a year ago, the Big 10 walked away with the edge which is very unusual since the Atlantic Coast conference has always been the premier league for superb college basketball talent. A Michigan State upset tonight would give the Big 10 draw another “challenge” title which is something #1 Duke will attempt to avoid. Odds are that Duke will prevail since in the past decade this school with their intimidating “cameron crazies” fans right near the floor have WON EIGHTY IN A ROW at home against “non” league opposition. Despite that winning streak one has to wonder why Duke is being asked to lay so many points even though they are the top-ranked team in the country. Not only was Michigan State a “final four” team from a year ago, the Spartans have a current national ranking (#6) that is also extremely high. The problem with Michigan State has been mistakes as they have actually committed more TURNOVERS (102) than assists (99) which to me is a “read flag” especially since the Blue Devils thrive on “creating” mistakes. One can argue that Duke is even stronger than last year’s national championship squad with speedy freshman Kyrie Irving now operating out of the point guard slot. You will see tonight that Duke has the ability to spread the floor, penetrate the lane and also hit open “three point” opportunities from long range. Getting back to Michigan State the team is averaging a disturbing 17 turnovers per contest even though armed with veteran guards plus big men who have passing skills. The Spartans basically are trying to figure out player rotation amidst various nagging injuries that date back to last season when star Kalin Lucas (ruptured knee tendon) was forced to miss the NCAA Final Four round. Just like with the Miami Heat in the NBA, these Michigan State Spartans are struggling to develop on-court chemistry, especially with Korie Lucious (ankle) not 100% healthy. Duke is13-5 ATS/HOME the past two years and also have COVERED the spread at a recent 10-2 ATS clip immediately following a game where the defense held an opponent to “25 or less” points in the opening half. Tonight marks the first time since the “Sweet Sixteen” round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament that these two proud programs have faced each other and it just happened to be Duke prevailing on the scoreboard against the Spartans five years ago