Larry Ness
South Florida at George Mason
Prediction: George Mason
South Florida heads to George Mason off consecutive home losses to then-No. 8 Oklahoma State and then followed that 26-point 'spanking' with a 65-60 defeat at the hands of Detroit. After blowing an eight-point halftime lead and wasting away down the stretch against the Titans, coach Stan Heath called out his bigger names, telling the Tampa Bay Times, "My leaders need to step up (and) make sure (that) doesn't happen."
The Patriots snapped a two-game losing skid last time out, knocking off Rhode Island at home 61-54 behind 16 points and seven rebounds from Sherrod Wright. Freshman Jalen Jenkins made his biggest impact to date for George Mason, notching nine points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Both schools started the season 4-0 and meet here with USF at 4-2 and George Mason at 5-2. Relinquishing what appeared to be a solid lead against Detroit had the Bulls cognizant of what a loss like that could mean down the road. "Yeah, it's going to come back to haunt us," guard Martino Brock said. "I think down the stretch, we made bad decisions. I put a lot on me." Brock totaled 16 points for South Florida but missed a 3-point attempt with the Bulls trailing by three with 35 seconds remaining.
Brock (10.3-3.7-2.3) starts in the backcourt with Allen (13.7-6.0) and PG Collins (7.5-5.0 APG), while the 6-9 Rudd (14.24.8) leads the team in scoring, joined up front by 6-10 freshman center Egbuno (8.3-7.0). Wright, a 6-4 guard, leads GMU in scoring (16.9 & 5.3) and a trio of frontcourt players will go up against Rudd and Egbuno, the 6-8 Gujanicic (12.0-7.1), the 6-8 Williams (6.1-3.1) and the 6-7 Jenkins (4.1-5.0). Joining Wright in the backcourt is PG Allen (10.8-5.0 APG).
The Bulls topped the Patriots in Tampa last season 61-57 in the first-ever meeting between the schools but turnabout is fair play.
Ray Monohan
Harvard vs. Northeastern
Play: Harvard -4.5
The Crimson are good. Other than a loss at Colorado they are perfect on the season and the closest anyone else has gotten is 8 points. These Boston teams used to meet regularly but the series was put on hold for a few years and in that time Harvard has really advanced the program. This is not the Harvard team you are thinking about. They have some really great athletes and in SG Wesley Saunders, maybe even a future pro. Even though this one is on the road go with the Crimson as the small favorite.
Dave Price
Utah Jazz +8.5
The Jazz have quietly covered the spread in eight of their last 11 games, and they have a good chance to cover this number as well. Indiana is 7-2 on the road, but only two of these wins came by more than 8.5 points. Plus, this will be Indiana's third road game in four days so fatigue could be an issue. It may also be difficult for the Pacers to get up for this one with games against the Spurs, Thunder and Heat on deck. The Jazz have been playing much better since getting rookie Trey Burke back from injury. They have won two straight and three of four and will be looking to make a statement tonight. The Jazz are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games versus a team with a winning percentage above .600. Utah is also 18-7 ATS the last 3 seasons when hosting Eastern Conference foes. The Pacers are 0-6 SU and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 meetings in Utah. Take the points.
Rickie Robbins
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Atlanta Hawks
Play: Los Angeles Clippers -3½
The Los Angeles Clippers kick off their seven-game road trip with a meeting with the Atlanta Hawks tonight.
The Clippers were riding a four-game win streak into Sunday before they were stopped in their tracks by Paul George and the Pacers. Chris Paul led the team with 17 points and 10 assists while Jamal Crawford added a team-high 20 points off the bench, but the Clippers really missed the production from JJ Redick who missed his first game after fracturing his shooting hand last Friday. The coaching move to insert Willie Green into the starting lineup instead of Jamal Crawford didn't work against the Pacers, but I suspect that coach Rivers will elect to stick with the plan so that he always has instant scoring off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Hawks have lost five of their last six and their last two straight after falling to the Spurs by 102-100 on Monday. Jeff Teague led the team with 19 points and seven assists, while Al Horford added 18 points, but while the Hawks battled the Spurs tightly for the entire game, it all came down to the last second where Tim Duncan stole the game with a game-winning jumper to cap a historic night of 23 points and 21 rebounds. With the win, Atlanta fall to 9-10 on the season and 4-7 on the road where they've lost their last three straight.
In ATS trends, the Clippers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a loss and 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games against a team with a losing record, while the Hawks are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games following a loss and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record.
I don't know what's happening with all these hand injuries in the NBA all of a sudden, but the Clippers were hit hard when they learned they lost Redick for 6-8 weeks. The Hawks have also had to play without their sharpshooter in Kyle Korver, but wins were few and far in between when he was there anyway, so there's no excuse for them to be under .500 after 19 games. It's tough to pick a winner between these two sides, but I with CP3 back on the court, I have to lean with the Clippers in what should be a close game.
Jeff Alexander
Ball State +3.5
Valpo is 0-3 on the road, and I expect its road struggles to continue as it plays on a foreign court for the first time since Nov. 20. The Crusaders are soft 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games following three or more consecutive home games. The Cardinals are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games versus a team with a winning record and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 non-conference games. Bet Ball State.
Steve Rich
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trailblazers
Play: Portland Trailblazers -2½
Hard to buck red hot Portland at home, especially off a win against Indiana. Now they face another elite team in OK City in the Rose Garden tonight in the marquee game of the day. Along with Denver, the Thunder are also hot winning 8 in a row, but really struggled with Sacramento last night as well. Portland is gaining confidence that their best start since 1998 is not a fluke. They have beaten some of the NBA’s best and look to get over on a red hot Oklahoma City team.
I always look for motivation in the NBA, and the Blazers should have it here, as they have lost 7 in a row to the Thunder. OK City is always valued high and they are only 8-8 ATS this year, while Portland remains one of the best cover teams in the NBA at 13-5 ATS. Portland has 1 loss at home, and the Thunder while undefeated at home this year are not a great road bet. The stats are even more or less in this one but like the 7-time revenge angle and I always look for a team on a West Coast Swing as a go against play after their first win on back to back nights. Portland exacts revenge tonight in a big game. Should be a shootout and the OVER 205 might be worth a sniff as well.
Steve Janus
Los Angeles Clippers -3½
I look for the Clippers to bounce back from their loss at home against the Pacers with a convincing win on the road over the Hawks tonight. Los Angeles has only lost back-to-back games once all season and are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 following a SU loss. The Clippers are also a dominant 27-11 ATS in their last 38 road games when listed as a favorite of 3.5 to 6 points.
Atlanta is clearly not playing their best basketball right now. They come in having lost two straight an five of their last six overall. Home underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points off a road game where they covered the spread but lost the game outright are just 32-74 (30.2%) ATS over the last 5 seasons.
The Clippers certainly appear motivated to start their road trip strong. Blake Griffin came out and said, "It's our job - C.P., myself and DeAndre (Jordan) - to keep reassuring everybody that we can't look ahead," Griffin told the team's official website. "Something that we always say about a road trip, 'You can't win them all without winning the first one,' so that's kind of the mindset that we have to have." Adding to this is the fact that head coach Doc Rivers is 35-19 ATS in the last 54 road games he's coached where his team comes in on a full 2 days of rest.
Jack Jones
Milwaukee Bucks +4½
The Detroit Pistons are coming off their most impressive performance of the season. They just went into Miami and knocked off the defending champs last night. It's only human nature for them to come back tonight and suffer a huge letdown because of it.
Milwaukee will be motivated following a loss to Boston last night. It also just recently lost at Detroit on November 25 in the first meeting of the season between these teams. There's no question that the Bucks will be the more motivated team tonight given the situation.
Plays on underdogs (MILWAUKEE) - cold team - failing to cover the spread in 12 or more of the last 15 against opponent after having covered 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread are 69-35 (66.3%) ATS since 1996.
Detroit is 8-19 ATS after covering the spread in two of their last three games overall over the past two seasons. The Pistons are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games when their starting five players combine for more than 160 minutes of the previous day. Bet the Bucks Wednesday.
LT Profits
South Florida vs George Mason
Pick: George Mason -3.5
The George Mason Patriots are 4-0 at home this season, and their expected big edge in second chance points should make the difference vs. the South Florida Bulls. Both of these teams can be offensively challenged, with George Mason ranking 197th in the country in offensive efficiency and South Florida just ahead of the Patriots at 196th, and both play very good defense with George Mason ranking 58th in defensive efficiency as South Florida ranking 97th, but 30th in effective field goal percentage allowed at just 43.8 percent. The reason the Bulls do not rank higher in defensive efficiency is the key to this contest as they have surrendered far too many second chance opportunities ranking a terrible 312th in defensive rebounding percentage. Conversely George Mason yields very few second chances ranking 18th in that category! South Florida is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games vs. teams with winning records.
San Antonio vs Minnesota
Pick: San Antonio -4
The San Antonio Spurs figure to have much of the crowd support when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Mexico City Wednesday, not that the Spurs need much help as their offense should have its way with what has recently been a terrible Minnesota defense. San Antonio is ranked second in the NBA in field goal percentage at 49.1 percent and seventh in three-point shooting at 39.0 percent, and it is going up against a Timberwolves’ team that is ranked 23rd in points against on the year but he been even worse that that lately, allowing a distressing 109.2 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting including 46.7 percent from three-point land in the last five games! As if that is not enough, the Spurs are improved defensively this season ranking third in points against at 92.1 per game. The Spurs are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games vs. teams with losing straight up records.
River City Sharps
Bradley -10.5
This looks to be a good spot to back the Braves as a struggling IUPUI team comes in, posting just a 1-7 mark early in the season. Bradley is 5-2 on the young season and one of the stories of this game is the ability to hit open shots. Bradley really shoots the ball well, especially at home, where they are shooting 51.6%. IUPUI has really struggled from the field, shooting only 42% on the season. Missed shots have to get rebounded and Bradley also boasts a big advantage in that category, so we really think this is a bad matchup for IUPUI. Geno Ford has Bradley moving in the right direction and they can't afford to let up on games they "should" win easily, so we expect a full effort from the Braves.
Teddy Covers
Oklahoma City vs. Portland
Pick: Oklahoma City
Here’s the quote from Pacers head coach Frank Vogel, following Portland’s four point win over Indiana on Monday: “They made big shots all game long. Hopefully that's what it's going to take to beat this team -- making impossible shot after impossible shot."
Portland isn’t the best team in the Western Conference, and their 15-3 start to the season might well be their high point of the campaign. I’m not saying the Blazers are bad, but I am saying that this team isn’t going to hit “impossible shot after impossible shot” to the tune of a 105 points per game average for the entirety of the season. The Blazers have only one way to go from here, from a SU and ATS perspective, and that’s down!
Oklahoma City has come on like a freight train since their sluggish start to the season, reeling off eight straight wins (6-2 ATS) coming into tonight. That stretch includes victories over the likes of the Clippers, Spurs, Warriors, Nuggets and T-wolves – quality foes. They’ve absolutely dominated this series in recent years , winning each of the last seven meetings between these two squads (6-0-1 ATS in those games). Wrong team favored here!
Bryan Power
Phoenix vs. Calgary
Pick: Calgary
Calgary is coming off a win also, and it was more impressive as they beat the Kings in LA 2-1 as big +245 ML underdogs. You can be excused if you forgot about that result as it occurred back on Saturday, meaning the home team has a ton of rest coming into this one. On the other hand, you have Phoenix, who played last night. This is the Coyotes' 1st time playing back to back nights on the road since very early in the season and they have lost each of their last three games at the Saddledome.
The Flames may have won B2B games only one other time all season, but situationally this game is to their advantage. Karri Ramo gets his second straight start in net after stopping 21 shots against the Kings. This is a good value on the home team.
NHL Predictions
Detroit Red Wings -125
The Flyers enter this game after being shut out on Monday night in Minnesota 2-0. Philadelphia is 12-13-2 on the year and just 5-6-2 on the road. Detroit comes into this game hot, winning 4 straight games including 3 road games. During their winning streak they've out scored opponents 18-4. They are now 14-7-7 on the year and 5-4-6 at home. Tonight's match up will feature Steve Mason in net for Philadelphia and Jimmy Howard for Detroit. While Mason has the edge numbers wise in goal, the Red Wings are scoring 2.79 goals per game as a team (9th) comapred to the Flyers at just 2.07 gpg (29th). The Flyers are just 1-4 in their last 5 road games. Detroit is 4-1 in their last 5 vs a team with a losing record, 8-3 in their last 11 games following a win, and 10-1 in their last 11 home meetings vs Philadelphia. Detroit has been playing well lately giving up just 4 goals against in their last 4 games, and I think we're getting a generous price on them at home tonight vs the Flyers despite missing a some key offensive pieces.
Big Kat Sports
Boston College +2.5
Boston College is just the better of the two teams coming into the second to last game of the BIG10/ACC Challenge tonight. Purdue has already had scares at home to the likes of Rider, Siena and Northern Kentucky while the Eagles have played a much tougher schedule and are a much more formidable opponent compared to the teams mentioned above. BC has a balanced scoring attack with F Ryan Anderson (19PPG) and G Oliver Hanlan (21 PPG) leading the way while the Boilermakers still haven't found that scoring presence on the front line that they will need to win games in the Big 10. We'll take the bucket tonight on BC since we have them rated higher in our numbers and use the Eagles to break this small losing streak we have going here.
Andrew Lange
Boston College at Purdue
Play: Boston College +4
Purdue hasn't done much of anything this year to be deserving of this price range for tonight's game against Boston College. The Boilermakers struggled against the likes of Northern Kentucky, Rider, Siena (twice), and also lost outright by 15 points to a bottom-tier Washington State squad. Head coach Matt Painter on his team's struggles: “I’ve never, as an assistant or a head coach, been with a team that can show such promise in one half and the other half lose their focus or not make winning basketball plays, not tough it out on a certain possession,” to this extent, Painter said. “It’s a hard thing, and it’s a positive that you show that you can be successful, but it’s also a negative in terms of when things don’t go your way, you’re not able to right the ship. You have to show more consistency.”
The reason for the inconsistency as well as last year's sub .500 finish is easy to pinpoint – Painter just doesn't have the talent he's accustoming to working with in West Lafayette.
Boston College meanwhile is probably disappointed to be 3-4 but the Eagles have shown far more ability than Purdue. BC lost its season opener at Providence in overtime. On one day rest wore down against a UMass squad that is playing as well as any team in the country. They then lost to a quality Toledo squad by three and fell by two to UConn who already has wins over Maryland, Indiana and Florida (albeit by very slim margins). Boston College was a very young team last year but still had three quality road wins (Penn State, Virginia Tech, and Clemson) and also tight losses by 4, 3, 5, and 3. They have a tendency to be outclassed at times by bigger, more athletic teams but I don't see Purdue being able to overwhelm them in that department. Also note that Boston College is currently the nation's top free throw shooting team at 84% while Purdue shoots only 65% – a huge edge given the current climate of college hoops.
There isn't a huge gap between these two squads but Boston College is the better of the two teams and has been far more challenged schedule-wise. I see them as a very live dog.