Matt Rivers
For Wednesday night, go with the Bobcats plus the points at home against the Knicks.
New York is 12-4 on the season, but ALL four of their losses have come on the road, and while they should have enough to hold off the Bobcats, let's keep in mind that the Knicks have a rather big game scheduled for tomorrow night in Miami against the Heat.
You saw Miami take their eye of the ball last night as they were stunned by the Wizards in Washington. Perhaps New York will also be off focus tonight and allow the Bobcats to slip inside of this roomy impost?
Charlotte has seven wins this season, and that already matches as many wins as they had all season long last year! The Bobcats have also covered in three of the last five series meetings versus New York.
With Jason Kidd trying to get back to full strength after dealing with a bad back, look for the Knicks to be just a little "sluggish" when it comes to the cover tonight.
Big look-ahead game at Miami tomorrow, and Jason Kidd not at 100% = Charlotte cover!
Take the points.
4♦ CHARLOTTE
Anthony Redd
For tonight's free play, I'll go with Alabama in revenge at home against Dayton. The Tide were -10 last night, but are now -8 1/2 here in Vegas this morning. They're seeking payback after getting hammered 74-62 in Ohio in last year's meeting in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated.
This is the first true road game for the Flyers this season. They're coming off a 17-point blowout of Northern Illinois as a 20-point home chalk. But in their previous outing, also at home, they were stunned by Weber State 62-61 as a 12 1/2-point favorite.
Bama got off to a 6-0 start before dropping its first game of the season on Saturday at Cincinnati when it fell 58-56 on a last second shot as a 7 1/2-point road dog.
Although the Tide will be without center Carl Engstrom, who got hurt in the opening minutes of the Cincy game, and guard Andrew Steele, who is sidelined for a third straight game, they remain the play here at the reduced price at home in revenge.
2♦ ALABAMA
Joe Gavazzi
Dallas +8½
The hard-trying Mavs come into LA playing just one game in the last week, at home on Saturday. A 92-77 win vs Detroit. As such, it is an excellent situation to take advantage of a Clipper team who as they emerge to excellence are being defined by a clear pattern. The Clippers have characterized their 11-6 SU start to the season by beating the quality teams on their schedule. But when asked to cover at home against inferior opposition, they are just 1-4 ATS as HF of more than six points.This includes outright losses to Golden, Cleve, and NO. In short, LAC is playing to the level of their competition. This is a great spot to take advantage of that emerging profile.
Jeff Scott Sports
3 UNIT PLAYS
Colorado State +4.5 over COLORADO: Both teams come in playing very well, but I feel that the better team tonight will be the Rams. CSU comes in at 6-0 on the year and they have been doing it at both ends of the floor. The Rams come in scoring 73.8 ppg on a very solid 44.8% shooting, while on defense they have allowed just 62.8 ppg on 42% shooting. The Rams have had 2 road games on the year and beat Washington and Denver, holding both teams to 55 & 53 points respectively. Colorado had a nice start to their year and they were ranked in the top 25 at one point, but they are coming off their 1st loss of the year and could come out a bit flat for this one. The Buffaloes have scored well this year but are a little vulnerable on defense, where they have allowed 68.3 ppg overall and 71 ppg at home. CSU also has the rebounding edge in this one (10th to 42nd) and they shoot 75+% from the FT line, while the Buffs are under 70%. Too many edges here for Colorado to overcome. Look for Colorado to suffer their 2nd loss in row.
Florida -6 over FLORIDA STATE: Florida is playing very well right now, especially defensively, where they allow just 48.5 ppg (2nd in nation) on just 35% shooting (8th). Not a good matchup for an FSU team that has averaged just 62 ppg in their last 2 games and that are coming off a horrible shooting performance vs a weak Mercer squad. The FSU defense did play well vs Mercer, but they still come in allowing 69.3 ppg, which is 236th in the country. Last year FSU went 15-2 at home, but they are not playing well this year and all 3 losses this year have been on this floor. I see the 4th one here as a better Florida squad will walk away with at least a 10 point win.
St Mary's -2.5 Over DRAKE: The Gaels are one of the best teams in a very underrated West Coast conference and they are off to a solid 5-2 start on the year. Offensively these teams score about the same, but the gaels hit 48.9% of their shots, while Drake hits just 44.9%. St Mary's also has the edge at the defensive end, where they allow just 66.2 ppg, while the Bulldogs have allowed 72.8 ppg. The Gaels are the better shooting team and the better defensive squad and should take this one by at least a TD.
South Florida/ Oklahoma State Under 124.5: Oklahoma State does play a bit of a faster paced game than the Bulls do, but they do not mind playing at a slower pace and you can bet that that's the way the Bulls want to go. The Bulls come in as an excellent defensive squad as they have allowed just 58.7 ppg on just 38.8% shooting for the year. The Bulls aren't the only ones that play good defense in this one as the Cowboys have allowed just 61.7 ppg on 35.9% shooting, which is 17th in the country. Both teams will not look to push tempo and with two good defenses on the floor I will look for this one to stay below 120 points.