Marc Lawrence
Denver vs. Cleveland
Pick: Cleveland
When the Nuggets meet the Cavaliers in Cleveland Wednesday evening both team will take the floor of underdog, upset wins. That sets the table for tonight's battles as the Cavs are 5-1 ATS in this series in games in which Denver arrives off an upset win while the Nuggets are 3-10 ATS in this series when playing off back-to-back wins. Stay at home the Cavaliers in this upset special tonight. We recommend a 1-unit play on Cleveland.
Joe Gavazzi
Dallas Mavericks +1.5
Mavs had to rally from 12 down in the 4th to survive Charlotte last night. The last two times on the road, they lost by a single point at Atlanta and by 2 at Denver. Look for them to reverse those results as under current HC Carlisle, they have been an excellent road dog. Any issues the Mavs had, pale in comparison, to those of New Orleans. The Pelicans’ dominant inside force, Anthony Davis (18/10) will be out at least a month with an injured hand. New Orleans rallied for an OT victory at Chicago in his absence and also defeated New York and Philly for a 3 game road sweep. So what! None of those teams are anywhere near as good as the Mavs.
Northeastern +3.5
Harvard returns from a lengthy peregrination which took them through Colorado and into Alaska where they won the Tourney by beating TCU, Green Bay and Denver. So what! It's a short turnaround before traveling across town to face the Huskies. Though Northeastern enters on a 0-3 SU run, they showed well in the previous two weeks, going 1-3 SU but 3-1 ATS against Georgetown, a victory, and quality teams like Charlotte, Florida St. and VCU. They have quickly reloaded replacing veteran guards Lee and Smith with a balanced, scrappy lineup. Harvard is clearly the class of the Ivy. But tonight against a hungry city rival, they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Doug Upstone
Denver Nuggets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Play: Denver Nuggets -4
On Wednesday, Play On road favorites like Denver off two or more consecutive road wins, if they have a win percentage between 60 to 75 percent, playing a team with a losing record. The thinking here is we have a good team who is playing well on the road and in the past has continued to so so against an inferior opponent. This NBA system is a sweet 28-8 ATS, 78.8% and these teams have won by 10.5 points per game.
Jeff Scott Sports
3 UNIT PLAY
NEBRASKA -5 over Miami: Canes could be in for a long night here. This us their 4th straight road game, while the Huskers are playing their 2nd straight at home and have haven't played since Saturday, while Miami last played on Sunday. The Huskers are a solid team at home, going 4-0 this year and they have gone 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 home games. Miami is 2-0 in true road games this year, but after taking on CS Fullerton and College Of Charleston in those road games, they take a step up in competition and the Canes are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games vs the Big 10. The ACC/ Big 10 challenge has gone mostly the way of the ACC so far, but tonight the Huskers will win one for the Big 10. Nebraska by at least 8 here.
2 UNIT PLAY
SMU -9.5 over Ill-Chicago: Should have had this as a top play, but lost some value from the opening number of 7. Still this is a very good SMU team that is 7-2 on the year, with a win over Texas A&M and a 3 points road loss to a very good Virginia team on their resume. The Flames are 0-4 ATS their last 4 t home, while SMU is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs a team with a winning record. Mustangs should roll here.
The Duke's Sports
Wisconsin +4
Badgers have great chemistry among their team on and off the court; moreover, they're playing great basketball now with wins over Fla, ND, St. Louis and West Virginia. Virginia, on the other hand, has taken on a much schedule and should have trouble in this spot. Cavaliers are just 1-6 ATS against teams above .600. I do realize that the Cavaliers' defense is strong; however, Wisconsin is showing great offensive balance this year with multiple members shooting above 50%. The Badgers are 12-2 vs the ACC and looking to avenge last year's 60-54 home loss. We'll roll with Wisconsin.
Nelly
New Orleans Pelicans - over Dallas Mavericks
Dallas needed a great late rally to beat a shorthanded Charlotte squad last night after Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left with injury. The Mavericks out-scored the Bobcats 29-15 in the fourth quarter last night in what was deemed a must-win game for the slumping team. Given the age of the Mavericks playing on back-to-back nights with travel is less than ideal and while Dallas is 4-2 ATS in that role this season the numbers should get worse as the wear and tear of the season grows. Dallas is just 2-6 S/U on the road this season while the Pelicans hold a solid home court at 5-3 this season. New Orleans is back at home after a three-game road trip in which the Pelicans swept all three games, including a big win in Chicago on Monday. New Orleans is 6-2 in the last eight games after a shaky start to the season the lone losses came in close games with the Spurs and Warriors. With Anthony Davis and Greg Stiemsma injured, the defense has suffered for the Pelicans but this is a team with great offensive talent and after an adjustment period Jrue Holiday is looking like the player that New Orleans hoped they would get in the off-season trade. In terms of efficiency ratings New Orleans and Dallas are nearly identical on both sides of the ball with New Orleans actually holding slight edges despite this line suggesting that Dallas is the better team. In just about every measure the Pelicans look slightly stronger in this near-even matchup and this is a tough situation for the Mavericks on the road and knowing a huge game with Portland is up next on the schedule.
Dave Essler
Temple -2
Temple lost to St. Joe's last year by one, at St. Joe's, in their last year in the A-10. So, some measure of revenge. This is the Owls' first home game in almost a month, and beat both UGA and UAB in Florida, and have also had ten days to rest. Temple does have Texas next, but it's at home, so this is not looking ahead here, especially given it's a familiar foe and the rest. On the other hand, St. Joe's has a game this weekend with 'Nova, which to me has the bit of look-ahead potential. St. Joe's two losses were ot LSU and Creighton. Although I'm not super-high on the Jays, the thing those two have in common is they both play up-tempo, so does Temple (not quite as much) and St. Joe's has a very thin bench. St. Joe's relies super-heavily on the three-ball, and on the road we like those teams less, and of course Temple does defend the perimeter. St. Joe's, when they do get to the line, hit about 62%. Not good enough, while Temple has not been turning the ball over and shoots nearly 74% from the line, which is what we need to back favorites. I actually put this out at -2.5 last night.
Harry Bondi
NORTHEASTERN (+3.5) over Harvard
Both teams are off to strong starts but lets take the rested home underdog Huskies over their cross town rivals who are just back from winning the Alaska shootout. That trip was a long and exhausting won for the Crimson but proved they could play with some of the big boys. But the Huskies, who play Harvard annually will not be impressed. Northeastern is the better shooting team and win outright tonight. Take Northeastern over Harvard.