Michael Alexander
Detroit Pistons vs. Charlotte Bobcats
Play: Detroit Pistons +3
The Detroit Pistons will attempt to slow down center Al Jefferson when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats in the second half of a back-to-back games tonight. The efforts of Jefferson are a must against the interior might of the Pistons, who received 22 rebounds from Andre Drummond and held a 52-43 advantage on the boards. However, Detroit was hurt by hitting only five 3-pointers and going 13-for-23 from the line. These two teams are separated by 1 1/2 games in their pursuit of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Sean Higgs
UCLA vs. California
PLay:California -1½
Like this Bear bunch to maul the Bruins here. Easy to look at UCLA and think, hey let's back the ranked team getting points! But things aren't as easy as they seem sometimes. Cal has revenge from January loss. The Bears are also an experienced team which should help them here. Cal a perfect 4-0 ATS vs UCLA last 4 at home and 7-2 ATS last 9 in the series.
Bill Biles
Wichita State vs. Loyola-Chicago
Play: Wichita State -11½
Looking to stay undefeated, the visiting No. 3 Shockers can secure a share of the MVC regular-season title and the top seed in the upcoming league tournament by handing Loyola of Chicago its third consecutive defeat Wednesday night. The Shockers beat the Ramblers by 12 in late January. Look for another big win for Wichita State.
Joe Duffy
Cincinnati vs. Central Florida
Play: Central Florida +7
UC is built on defense and often the scoreboard does not reflect the amount of how much they outplay teams as points are tough to come by. They are a dichotomous spread and straight up team. This means if a team is consistently winning outright but failing to cover or losing outright and covering, we ride the spread streak. This has proven to be a way to isolate over and undervalued teams.
Though 23-3 straight up, they have dropped four straight where it counts and 7-of-9. With Louisville on the horizon in three days, this is a huge look ahead situation.
On the other hand, this is the highest ranked team to play at Central Florida this season. In fact, will be the first time in UCF history that it has hosted an opponent ranked in the top 10. They will have a March Madness type intensity.
UCF is finally trending the right way off a very competitive road game at Memphis followed up with a road win at South Florida. Finally playing with some confidence and there is little doubt is much more important for UCF to look respectable than for a Cincinnati team with bigger fish to fry.
Andre Ramirez
Duqensne/St. Bonaventure Under 149.5
St. Bonaventure has been solid at home limiting opponents to just 62 points per game. They are currently averaging 75 points at home, and 5-1 ATS on the under after scoring 80 points or more. St. Bonaventure is a 10 point favorite, and is 7-2 ATS at home. St. Bonaventure odds of covering the spread is in our favor. The Moving average calculated from the last game, to the current average is 78. According to my calculations, St. Bonaventure 78 Duquense 69.
Alex Smart
Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors
Play: Toronto Raptors -3
The Raptors enter this tilt with a 7-1-1 ATS mark in their L/9 home games vs a side with losing road record like the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors are also 9-2-1 ATS L/12 home games and have been a money making machine for their betting backers ,cashing 21 of their L/27 contests overall. The Dinos have won 23 of their L/35 games SU, since trading Rudy Gay away. Since then the team just seemed to jell over night, and must be respected. I know the Bulls are on a three game win streak of their own, but have failed to cash in 6 of the 7 meetings in this series, and look to be at a disadvantage vs a side playing at an extremely high level.
Eddie J
UCLA at California
Pick: UCLA
With March madness around the corner teams are positioning themselves for a spot in the big dance and every game can build your resume or send you to the NIT. This is when the cream of the crop rises and you can bank on a solid team showing up. On Wednesday night California hosts UCLA in a Pac 12 matchup. UCLA currently is 9-3 in the conference while Cal is 8-4. Cal has a nice resume with a win over Arizona and solid road wins at Oregon and Stanford but are still growing and can be inconsistent. Cal is led by G Justin Cobbs scoring and facilitating to solid bigs in Richard Soloman and David Kravish. Cal doesn't have much depth and is middle of the pack in defense and shooting percentage. Cal has also been weak ATS going 2-5 L7. Ucla dominated the Bears in LA 76-64 a couple weeks ago and UCLA has looks like a team ready to make some noise under first year head coach Steve Alford. UCLA is 9th in the country at 83.1 PPG and is dangerous behind the arc and shoot 49.4 % as a team wow. Ucla has 8 guys who can score double digits and bring a lot of firepower into this game. UCLA is 6-1 ATS L7 winning by a margin 12 PPG. Factor in Cals win over Zona and being at home this line will be short and we will just need to win the game. The better team will prevail in Berkely and it may not be close. Let's take the Bruins and cash this ticket.
Larry Ness
Western Michigan at Ohio University
Prediction: Ohio University
Akron and Ohio U were each 14-2 in the MAC East last year and are again battling it out for the top spot, with the Zips checking in at 9-3 and the Bobcats at 8-4 (tied with Buffalo). Over in the West, Western Michigan and Toledo each went 10-6 last year to lead the West and once again are in a life-and-death battle, each team at 9-3. Western Michigan has won FIVE straight as it visits Athens to take on the Bobcats, who have won SIX of their last seven.
These teams met at Kalamazoo back on Feb 5, with the Broncos (plus-1) routing the 'Cats 90-74. However, history says the home team is 14-5 ATS the last 19 meetings in this series with Western Michigan going just 2-7 ATS in its last nine trips to Athens.
Western Michigan is led by senior guard Brown (18.4) and 6-11 senior center Whittington (15.0-8.6), also getting solid contributions from the 6-6 Tava (12.0-5.8) and guard Richie (8.1), while 6-6 freshman Haymond (6.0-4.0) continues to impress off the bench.
Ohio will match WMU's inside-outside duo of Brown and Whittington with one of its own, Senior guard Kellogg, who averaged 7.8, 9.0 and 8.0 PPG his first three seasons, has emerged in his final year, averaging 15.3 PPG (21.7 over his last three). Then there is the 6-9 Ndour (from Senegal), who in his first season with Ohio has averaged 15.3 and 7.5!
Ohio is far from a two-man team though, as junior guard Taylor has more than doubled his point production from his first two seasons by averaging 8.8 PPG this year, while senior guard Johnson has done the same, averaging 7.8 & 4.4, after two years of averaging only three PPG and two RPG. Then Ohio has the 6-6 Hall (7.8) and the 6-6 Smith, up from about 4 & 4 the last two seasons to 6.9 & 6.3 TY!
Ohio U is 11-3 SU at home TY, after going 32-3 SU in Athens the previous two years. That's 43-6 the last two-plus years and I'll lay the points here in this "payback" situation.
Sam Martin
Creighton at Marquette
Prediction: Creighton
Marquette isn't really anything special this year, and while they have a solid 11-2 record here at home we're still not all that impressed with them. Golden Eagles win those home games with defense, but they won't shut down a Creighton team that is scoring 81 ppg on the season and 79 ppg in conference play.
Blue Jays had no problems winning the first matchup this season, beating Marquette 67-49 and covering the eight-point spot by a full ten points on their home court. Now they only need to cover a three-point number and there's no way Marquette is suddenly 15 or more points better than they were a few weeks ago. Creighton is 11-2 ATS after a home win by 20 points (Villanova) and they win easily on the road tonight.
SPORTS WAGERS
Boston +7 over PHOENIX
Many teams look rejuvenated last night after the All-Star break and we expect to see something similar out of the Celtics. Remember, Boston is a young and enthusiastic bunch that came out of the gate very hot and needed that break as much as anyone. Rajon Rondo has notched double-digit assists in each of his last three games, including 12 in a season-high 37 minutes in a recent loss to Dallas. Since the return of Rondo, the C’s have won five of seven with only losses occurring against Dallas and San Antonio. The Celtics are a well-coached team that is not going to be an easy out in the second half.
Phoenix played last night in Denver and won in OT by five. For whatever reason that game last night was as intense as any we’ve seen this year. Every shot was contested, every rebound was fought for and every possession mattered. Both clubs played their hearts out and it ended up being a back and forth game with big runs from both teams. The Suns have San Antonio on deck on Friday night, making this an extremely vulnerable spot. Eric Bledsoe is still out for the Suns and when he doesn’t play, Phoenix is a .500 team. Whether Phoenix can hang on to its playoff spot will be intriguing because this team was supposed to lose 50 games this season according to the experts. Give the Suns a ton of credit but in terms of situational betting, this looks like an extremely vulnerable spot for the host. Upset possibility.
NEW ORLEANS -3½ over New York
The Knicks played hard last night in a five-point loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis but they are just 3-7 this season in the second game of back-to-backs. Furthermore, the Knicks often follow up a good effort, win or lose, with a poor one and that could certainly come into play here. New York has one win in its last seven games and that lone victory came against a depleted Nuggets squad. From a psychological standpoint one has to question how the Knicks will rebound tonight after rallying from 18 down last night to take a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. In true Knicks’ fashion, they were outscored 21-9 in the final 5½ minutes. For the Knicks, it was another loss that sucks the life out of a team. The Knicks are now 8-15 on the road.
New Orleans has played well over the last four weeks, winning eight of 13 while holding opponents to 95 points per game. Anthony Davis is playing at an elite level on both ends of the floor. This guy is a true All-Star that brings it every night and his determination and his refuse to lose attitude is contagious. The Pelicans hold a significant edge on the boards, they’re above .500 at home, they defeated the Knicks back in New York in December and there’s nothing suggesting they won’t repeat that here. On paper, this is a very evenly matched contest but the intangibles heavily favor the Pelicans and games are not played on paper.
UTAH +144 over Brooklyn
An effective small-ball lineup isn't the only silver lining from Brook Lopez's season-ending foot injury. Rookie Mason Plumlee has been a pleasant surprise for Brooklyn, providing a spark off the bench all season and a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds in a recent win over New Orleans. However, after that big run in January, the Nets have gone back to playing like the ordinary team that they are with just four wins in their past nine games. Brooklyn has just seven wins in 24 road games but remain one of the Associations most overvalued teams.
The Jazz won three straight before the break, improving to 16-9 when starting Trey Burke, Gordon Hayward, Richard Jefferson, Marvin Williams and Derrick Favors. That will be Utah’s starting lineup again tonight. The Jazz have not only won three straight but one of those victories occurred against Miami in which the Jazz held LeBron James to a season-low-tying 13 points. Utah’s defense has stepped it up tremendously and is playing at a high level right now. In a game in which the Jazz have at least a 50% chance of winning and probably more, they offer up all the value here.
SPORTS WAGES
GEORGE MASON +7½ over Saint Louis
Perfect situational spot for the Patriots of George Mason. First, we have the A-10’s first place team playing the A-10’s last place team and that creates an inflated price. Saint Louis is 10-0 in the conference and they are 23-2 overall. The Billikens are coming off an impressive win over second place VCU and they have a game on deck against the 8-4 George Washington Colonials on Saturday. These two played on February 1 back in Saint Louis and as a 15½-point favorite, the Billikens needed OT to win it.
George Mason is 2-9 in the conference and they’re 9-16 overall. However, they are playing much better of late with victories over UMass and Duquesne in two of its last three games. In that OT loss to Saint Louis, the Patriots got to the line a mere seven times while the Billikens were awarded 25 free throws. The Patriots also out-rebounded the Billikens 38-27. Of course one could argue that the Billikens took the Patriots lightly and that is a valid argument indeed but the Billikens were not in a letdown spot then like they are here. That game on Saturday against VCU was a high profile game in which the Billikens won by two points and this one has a fraction of the interest that their previous game had. For George Mason, this is like their Championship game and we expect them to stay well within this margin.
Tom Barton
Indiana vs Minnesota
Pick: Indiana -3.5
After the all star break is when the very good teams usually turn up their games and the Pacers fit that model. I know they have been uneven on the road lately going just .500 but facing a depleted T-Wolves team should not be a big obstacle here. The Pacers certainly found their offense after the break winning by 10 over Atlanta and scoring 108 last game and now take on a Minnesota team they have beaten the last two games by 14 and 16 points. Minnesota will be without Pekovic and Martin so playing with a short bench against one of the best teams in the NBA certainly factors in here but it's the T-Wolves recent stretch of dropping 4 of the last 5 games that has me feeling better. Minnesota doesn't beat good team as they have shown winning just 2 games since December 20th against a team with a winning record.
Bryan Power
Orlando vs. Cleveland
Pick: Cleveland
Perhaps I was wrong about the Cavaliers? I made the mistake of playing against them last night as they went into Philadelphia and came away w/ a dominant 114-85 win and cover. It improved the team to a perfect 5-0 SU/ATS since GM Chris Grant was fired and they can continue to take advantage of an easy schedule tonight....
Orlando is a team I had success going against last night. They lost outright in Milwaukee, an ominous sign, which was their 13th consecutive loss on the road, dropping them to 3-24 SU away from home for the season. Therefore, I have no problem laying this many points with a hot opponent at home, even if I don't believe in Cleveland long-term. The Magic have a per game point differential of -10.4 on the road this year.
Even when they were struggling earlier in the year, the Magic are a team Cleveland had little trouble with. The Cavs have won both meetings this season, by nine in Orlando and six here at home. Overall, they have beaten Orlando five straight times. This is the franchise's longest win streak since LeBron James left town and they are getting contributions from a variety of players as seven Cavs scored in double figures last night. Stick with the hot team here as the Magic can't win on the road.
Will Rogers
Houston vs. L.A. Lakers
Pick: Houston
Here are my keys to the game:
1. Lakers' Struggles - This team is just beyond reproach at this point. They have lost 10 of 12 games and even worse is the fact they have dropped seven in a row at home (franchise record) and 13 of their last 15 at Staples Center. A majority of their top scorers, most notably, Kobe Bryant, are still injured and I envision a horrible second half to the season.
2. Opposite Directions - Meanwhile, the Rockets entered the All-Star Break as the hottest team in the league. They've won seven in a row overall and are 6-1 SU the past seven road games thanks in large part to 36.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
3. X-Factor - You know that Dwight Howard is going to want to "stick it" to his former team. He has averaged 24.7 pts/game and 12.1 boards/game during the team's win streak. He is also shooting 60 percent from the field during that time and averaging more than two blocks/game. The Lakers will have no answer.
Wunderdog
NC Greensboro at Elon
Pick: Elon -4
Elon is riding high on a five-game win streak and ranked #64 in the nation in scoring with 76 points per game. Elon claimed an 86-69 win over Samford on Feb. 15 in Alumni Gym, putting five players in double figures. Lucas Troutman recorded his eighth career double-double with 16 points and 10 boards to pace the Phoenix. UNC Greensboro is just 1-4 ATS in their last five home games and are not playing well, losing six of the last eight games. Elon leads the all-time series 23-13 and has won nine straight against the Spartans. Elon won the first meeting despite shooting just 2-of-20 from long range. That won't happen tonight, and Elon is 15-6 against UNCG inside Alumni Gym, plus they're 7-2 ATS in the last nine meetings overall. Lay the short number on Elon.