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(22) Pittsburgh (16-5, 10-7-2 ATS) at (6) West Virginia (17-3, 7-12 ATS)
West Virginia goes after its sixth straight victory when it takes on slumping Panthers in a Big East contest at the WVU Coliseum.
After ripping off eight consecutive victories, Pittsburgh has gone 1-3 SU (2-2 ATS) in its last four starts, all in the Big East, including Sunday’s 70-61 road loss to South Florida as a 2½-point chalk. Over their last five games (including two roadies), the Panthers are getting outscored by a point per game (67.6-66.6) and shooting just 27 percent from three-point range.
West Virginia rallied past Louisville 77-74 Saturday, but fell short as a 6½-point home favorite for its fourth ATS setback in the last five games. For the year, the Mountaineers have averaged 73.7 ppg, while giving up 62.1, and at home, they’ve outscored foes by an average of 15 points (78.3-58.3). However, in their last five outings – including three at home – the margin has tightened to just over six ppg (69.8-63.4).
These teams met three times last season, with Pitt winning and cashing in both regular-season clashes, including a 79-67 road win catching one point. However, in the Big East tournament, West Virginia rolled 74-60 as a 4½-point underdog. Still, the Panthers are on ATS rolls of 13-6-1 overall in this rivalry and 8-3 at WVU Coliseum. The SU winner is 8-1 ATS in the last nine meetings, and the chalk is 11-5-1 ATS in the last 16 contests.
The Mountaineers are on ATS slides of 4-9 overall, 2-5 at home, 1-4 in the Big East and 1-6 following a SU win. On the flip side, the Panthers are on pointspread tears of 8-2-1 overall, 4-1 on the highway, 6-2-1 in the Big East, 20-8-2 after a SU loss, 3-0-1 after a non-cover and 9-2-2 against winning teams.
The under for Pitt is on a 7-3 run against winning teams, and the under for West Virginia is on streaks of 5-2 overall, 5-1 in Wednesday starts, 4-1 in the Big East and 7-3 against winning teams. The total has also stayed low in seven of the last 10 overall meetings in this rivalry. However, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 contests between these two in West Virginia.
ATS ADVANTAGE: PITTSBURGH
Mississippi State (16-5, 9-7 ATS) at (18) Vanderbilt (16-4, 11-7 ATS)
The Commodores, who have played four of their last five on the highway, return home to Memorial Gym for an SEC battle with Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs went on a 12-1 SU tear (8-3 ATS in lined action) from late November through mid-January to get its season rolling. But since then, they’ve dropped two of three SU and ATS, with both losses coming on the highway in the SEC (at Alabama and Arkansas). On Saturday, Mississippi State bounced back with a 67-51 home win over LSU, covering as a hefty 12-point chalk. For the season, the team puts up 73.4 ppg while allowing 61.0, holding foes to just 36.5 percent from the floor, a figure that ranks third in the nation.
Vanderbilt had its 10-game winning streak (7-2 ATS) snapped Saturday at then-No. 1 Kentucky, falling 85-72 as an 8½-point underdog. The loss followed an 85-76 road upset of No. 14 Tennessee as a 6½-point pup. The Commodores are averaging 79.1 ppg on a stout 49.6 percent shooting from the floor (eighth in the nation), while allowing 67.8 ppg, and on their home floor this season, they’ve outscored opponents by an average of more than 20 ppg (85.2-64.8).
Mississippi State has cashed in the last three meetings in this rivalry (2-1 SU), including a 73-66 home win last year as a four-point favorite, and the Bulldogs are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 clashes. The host has covered in three of the last four contests.
The Commodores are on a 5-12-1 ATS nosedive following a SU loss, but they are otherwise on ATS upswings of 7-2 overall, 4-1 at home, 7-2 within the SEC, 6-0 on Wednesday and 7-2 against winning teams. The Bulldogs are on ATS runs of 9-4 on the highway 4-0 on Wednesday, 10-3 after a SU win and 11-5 against winning teams, but they also shoulder negative pointspread streaks of 2-5 overall, 1-4 in the SEC and 0-4 coming off a SU win.
Vandy is on “over” rolls of 5-1 overall, 4-0 in the SEC, 5-0 after a non-cover and 7-1 after a SU loss, while Mississippi State is on a 5-2 “over” stretch against winning teams and has seen eight of its last nine Wednesday games top the posted total. In addition, the total has gone high in five of the last seven meetings in this rivalry. However, the under is 8-2-1 in the Bulldogs’ last 11 roadies.
ATS ADVANTAGE: VANDERBILT and OVER
Texas A&M (15-6, 9-8 ATS) at Missouri (16-5, 9-6 ATS)
The streaking Tigers put their 33-game home winning streak on the line when they play host to the Aggies in a Big 12 matchup at Mizzou Arena.
Texas A&M rolled Texas Tech 85-70 giving nine points at home Saturday to stem a 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS hiccup, all within the Big 12. For the year, the Aggies have outscored opponents by an average of about eight ppg (72.6-64.8). But on the highway, where they’ve lost five in a row (including four true roadies), they’re averaging 69.0 ppg while allowing 75.4. Also, A&M is shooting just 25 percent from long distance in its last five outings, while allowing 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Missouri bounced back from an 84-65 beatdown at Kansas as a 12-point pup Jan. 25 to rip Oklahoma State 95-80 Saturday, easily cashing as a 7½-point home favorite. The Tigers sport one of the top offenses in the nation, averaging 81.5 ppg (13th) while giving up just 64.9 ppg, and they’ve been even more prolific on their home floor, piling up 87.9 ppg and allowing 61 en route to a 14-0 SU mark (7-2 ATS in lined action). Going back to March 2008, the Tigers have won 33 in a row at Mizzou Arena, going 12-0 SU and 9-3 ATS when hosting Big 12 rivals
Texas A&M is on a 5-0 SU and 8-0 ATS tear in this rivalry, with Missouri last covering in a 74-50 rout in 2002 as an 18½-point home chalk. Last March, A&M won 96-86 getting two points at home, and it has prevailed in two of its last three trips to Missouri (3-0 ATS), including a 77-69 win as a 1½-point road favorite two seasons ago. The chalk is also 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.
The Tigers are on a bundle of positive ATS streaks, including 5-2 overall, 22-6 at home, 7-2 in the Big 12, 5-1 on Wednesday, 11-5 after a SU win and 15-3 at home versus teams with a losing road record. The Aggies, meanwhile, are on a 35-17 ATS run on the road against teams with a winning home mark, but they are also in ATS ruts of 1-7 after a SU win and 1-4 on the highway.
The under is 7-2 in Mizzou’s last nine Big 12 outings and 5-1 in A&M’s last six following a pointspread victory. Other than that, though, the Tigers are on “over” surges of 5-2 at home, 9-2 on Wednesday and 4-1 against winning teams, and the over has hit in the Aggies’ last seven Wednesday outings. Finally, the total has gone high in four of the past five meetings in this rivalry.
ATS ADVANTAGE: MISSOURI and OVER
NBA
Oklahoma City (27-21, 29-19 ATS) at New Orleans (26-22, 23-25 ATS)
The Thunder begin a three-game road trip when they make the short trek to New Orleans Arena looking to end a 10-game series losing streak to the Hornets.
Oklahoma City is coming off Tuesday’s 106-99 win over Atlanta as a 1½-point home favorite. The Thunder have followed up a three-game losing skid with three straight wins, and they’ve won six of their last 10 road games, with the four losses coming by a total of 10 points. In fact, the Thunder’s last five road outings were decided by a total of nine points.
New Orleans took the court Monday for the first time since it was announced that All-Star point guard Chris Paul will be sidelined for up to two months with a knee injury, and the Hornets fell 109-100 to the Suns as a one-point home favorite. Since a six-game winning streak from Dec. 30-Jan. 10, New Orleans has been very inconsistent, going 7-6 SU and 6-7 ATS, and it has dropped three of its last four home games (0-4 ATS).
The Hornets went to Oklahoma City on Jan. 6 and scored a 97-92 upset win as a 4½-point road underdog, its 10th consecutive win over the Thunder (6-4 ATS). During this 10-game series stretch, New Orleans is 6-0 SU (3-3 ATS) in the Big Easy, with the last three being double-digit routs by margins of 18, 12 and 31 points. Most recently, the Hornets have covered in five of the last seven meetings, and the favorite is 13-6 ATS in the last 19.
The underdog has cashed in 10 of the Hornets’ last 11 games (7-4 SU), and the pup 12-5 ATS in Oklahoma City’s last 17 contests.
Oklahoma City has failed to cover in four straight Wednesday outings, but it is otherwise on ATS streaks of 9-2 on the road (5-1 last six), 7-0 against winning teams and 4-0 when playing on back-to-back nights. New Orleans has failed to cover in four straight home games and six of eight when going on one day of rest, but the Hornets are on positive pointspread upticks of 5-1 against the Northwest Division, 4-1 on Wednesday and 14-4 versus opponents with a winning record.
The under is on runs of 6-3 for the Thunder overall, 11-5 for the Thunder against the Western Conference, 6-2 for the Thunder versus the Southwest Division, 37-18 for New Orleans at home, 10-2 for New Orleans against the Northwest Division and 6-1 for New Orleans versus winning teams. Conversely, Oklahoma City has topped the total in five straight games against winning teams and 18 of 26 when playing on back-to-back nights, and the Hornets have gone over the number in five of six overall.
Finally, the over is on a 5-2 roll in this rivalry.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NEW ORLEANS and OVER
Portland (29-21, 27-22-1 ATS) at Utah (29-18, 28-17-2 ATS)
The streaking Jazz go after their seventh straight victory when they welcome the Trail Blazers to EnergySolutions Arena for a Northwest Division clash.
Portland has rebounded from a three-game losing skid with consecutive victories over the Mavericks (114-112 in overtime as an 8½-point underdog) and Bobcats (98-79 as a two-point home chalk). The Blazers continue to play without All-Star point guard Brandon Roy (hamstring injury), who has missed the last seven games in a row and nine of the last 10, and he will be sidelined again tonight.
Portland has alternated SU wins and losses in its last six road games, but it has cashed in its last five on the highway and 10 of the last 14 as a visitor.
Utah ran its winning streak to six in a row with Monday’s 104-92 victory over the Mavericks, cashing as a four-point favorite as it outscored Dallas 27-16 in the fourth quarter. The Jazz have also won 11 of their last 13 games, going 10-1-2 ATS. During this stretch, they’re 8-0 at home (6-1-1 ATS). Utah has been getting the job done on both ends of the floor, topping 100 points in eight straight games and 10 of the last 11 (109.6 ppg average) while holding 12 of its last 14 opponents to 98 points or less (96 ppg average).
Utah has won both meetings with the Blazers this season, winning 108-92 as a five-point home favorite back on Nov. 28 then going to Portland a week ago tonight and earning a 106-95 decision as a 2½-point underdog. Prior to last week’s result, the home team had won eight in a row SU and ATS in this rivalry, with the Jazz winning and covering the last four meetings in Salt Lake City. Also, the favorite has cashed in each of the last eight series clashes, and the SU winner has covered the spread in each of the last 13 meetings.
In addition to cashing in five straight road games, the Blazers are on ATS runs of 6-2 overall, 9-3 in divisional games, 5-2 when playing after one day of rest, 10-3 against opponents with a winning record and 4-1 after a spread-cover. Utah’s 10-1-2 overall and 6-1-1 home ATS streaks are bolstered by additional pointspread upticks of 7-1-1 against the Western Conference, 15-5-2 against winning teams, 6-1 after one day of rest and 3-1-2 after a double-digit win. However, the Jazz are 3-9-1 ATS in their last 12 games against Northwest Division rivals.
Portland carries “over” trends of 20-8 overall, 4-0 on the road, 10-1 against Western Conference teams, 5-1 against Northwest Division foes, 5-1 on Wednesday and 4-0 versus winning teams. Likewise, Utah is on “over” runs of 11-2 against division rivals, 4-0 on Wednesday, 4-0 versus winning teams and 4-1 when playing on one day of rest. Finally, the last four Jazz-Blazers battles have topped the total, as have three of the last four meetings in Salt Lake.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UTAH and OVER
Phoenix (29-21, 26-24 ATS) at Denver (33-15, 22-24-2 ATS)
The Suns continue a four-game road trip when they travel to the Mile High City, looking to defeat the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center for the first time in exactly three years.
Phoenix rallied in the fourth quarter on Friday to defeat Dallas 112-106 as a two-point home favorite, then set out on the road and scored back-to-back upset wins over Houston on Sunday (115-111 in overtime as a 3½-point ‘dog) and New Orleans on Monday (109-100 as a one-point pup). It’s the Suns’ first three-game winning streak since they took four in a row from Nov. 22-29. Also, their consecutive road victories come on the heels of a five-game road losing skid (1-4 ATS). Phoenix hasn’t won three straight on the highway since the second week of the season.
The SU winner is 23-3 ATS in the Suns’ last 26 games, including 9-1 ATS on the road.
Denver rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit Monday to knock off Sacramento 112-109 in overtime, falling short as an 11-point home favorite. Playing without injured All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony for the fifth straight game, the Nuggets outscored the Kings 62-45 in the second half and overtime after trailing 64-50 at halftime. Anthony is questionable to return tonight.
The Nuggets are riding a nine-game home winning streak, but they’re just 4-6-1 ATS in their last 11 at the Pepsi Center and 9-16-2 ATS in their last 27 overall.
The host has won 10 in a row in this series (8-2 ATS), including Denver’s 105-99 victory in the first meeting this year back on Dec. 12. However, Phoenix covered as a nine-point underdog, and the visitor has now cashed as an underdog in the last two battles after the home favorite had won and covered the previous seven meetings. Also, prior to the last two games, the SU winner had been on an 8-0 ATS run in this series and the host had cashed in 10 straight meetings.
The last time Phoenix won in Denver was Feb. 5, 2007, a 113-108 triumph as an 8½-point road favorite. It is 1-5 ATS in its last six trips to the Pepsi Center.
The Suns have covered in seven of their last 10 against winning teams, while Denver is on ATS runs of 5-1 on Wednesday, 5-0 after a non-cover and 5-2-1 against winning teams. However, the Nuggets also carry negative pointspread trends of 5-11 when playing after one day of rest, 4-11-2 against the Western Conference and 1-5-1 versus Pacific Division squads.
The high-scoring Suns are on “over” surges of 4-1 overall, 4-1 on the road, 12-3 against the Western Conference, 4-1-1 versus Northwest Division opponents, 20-7 on Wednesday and 7-3 after a SU victory. Also, Denver has topped the total in five of its last six at home and eight of its last nine on Wednesday.
Finally, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 series meetings between these teams and 4-1 in the last five battles at the Pepsi Center. In fact, the winning team has scored at least 102 points in each of the last 20 meetings, including tallying 118 or more in eight of the last 10.
ATS ADVANTAGE: DENVER and OVER
Marc Lawrence
Houston at Texas-El Paso
Prediction: Texas-El Paso
For a team that returned four starters from a 21-game winner last year, Houston has suffered through a streaky, discouraging season. Puzzling losses to the likes of Texas-San Antonio and Louisiana Tech have put the Cougars in danger of missing out on postseason play unless they mount a late charge. But even though the Coogs beat the Miners by 10 points at home three weeks ago, we don’t look for a repeat performance today. For openers, Houston has covered the spread just once in its last five visits to old El Paso. The Cougars have also failed recently in the underdog role, going 0-3 ATS when catching 3 or more points. Meanwhile, UTEP stands 3-0 ATS with same-season revenge and owns a strong 6-1 ATS mark at home when playing with same-season double-digit loss revenge. Couple those numbers with the Miners’ superiority in FG percentage and rebounding and there’s only one way to look here.
Frank Jordan
Kansas vs. Colorado
Play: Kansas -13.5
Kansas is the number one team in the land with a 20-1 mark and have yet to lose through a half dozen games in Big 12 play. Kansas survived he octagon of doom at Kansas State, barely in over time, but will need to stay focused as to not slip up against a decent Colorado team. Colorado is 11-10 on the year and just 2-5 in conference play, but one of those conference wins is against Baylor who is the 24th ranked team in the country. Look for Kansas to show they are the number one team in the country for a reason and want to stay there for a while unlike some other teams that have been in the top spot. Play Kansas
Hollywood Sports
Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets
Prediction: Denver Nuggets
The Phoenix Suns (29-21) travel to Denver for a Wednesday game feeling good about themselves after two-straight wins on the road against Houston and New Orleans. But this is a tough challenge for the Suns to have only one day to adjust to the altitude in Denver after the long flight from the Crescent City. Phoenix struggles on the road as evidenced by their 11-15 record. Defensively, the Suns allow 110 PPG which is not a promising attribute when facing a Nuggets' team that scores 112.5 PPG with a strong 48.3% shooting percentage on their home court. Denver (33-15) survived a close overtime encounter on Monday against a Sacramento team that always plays them tough. This was a difficult situation for the Nuggets having to play this young Kings team without any rest after their 14-point win at San Antonio the day before. Denver has covered five straight games coming off a game where they failed to cover. And the Nuggets have won 10 of their last 11 games. They should dominate Phoenix on their home court where they enjoy a 22-3 overall record along with an average winning margin of over ten points. The Nuggets are 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning record so expect a spirited effort from Billups and company. Carmelo Anthony is listed as questionable for this game given his ankle injury -- but if he plays that will only be extra gravy for this game. Lay the points with Denver.
Nick “The BookieKiller” Parsons
Detroit Red Wings @ Anaheim Mighty Ducks
PICK: Anaheim Mighty Ducks -135
For a number of different reasons I believe there's decent value on the home side in this situation:
Detroit, which is 2-1 against Anaheim this season, improved to 1-0-1 on its five-game road trip with a 4-2 win at West-leading San Jose on Tuesday.
Keep in mind that Detroit is just 3-7 its last 10 overall and just 2-5 its last seven on the road though.
Also, Chris Osgood is likely to be between the pipes tonight in this back-to-back scenario (has lost last three starts).
On the other side of the rink: Two days after he signed a four-year contract extension and one day after Anaheim (26-23-7) traded longtime No. 1 goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Toronto, Jonas Hiller stopped 33 shots for his second shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory at Florida on Monday.
The Ducks are rolling right now; 10-4 their last 14 overall and 5-0 their last five at home.
Anaheim is in 11th place and five points behind Detroit (27-19-10), which currently holds the final Western Conference playoff spot. Four of the Ducks’ next six games before the two-week Olympic break are against teams ahead of them in the conference standings; suffice to say this is an important stretch for the Ducks.
Bottom line: I expect Anaheim to play with a concerted effort before the break, to take advantage of this home spot, and to improve to 8-4 (+4.8 units) after a win by 2 goals or more.
Jim Feist
Charlotte Bobcats vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Play: Charlotte Bobcats +9-110
You need defense to be able to attack the Lakers, and the Bobcats have it under Coach Larry Brown, ranked 2nd in the NBA in points allowed. Both teams are actually strong in field goal shooting defense, both ranked in the Top 7 in the league. Charlotte has been playing well, on a 7-5 ATS run. Teams aren't always sharp in their first game back after a long road trip, and that's the situation for the Lakers, returning from a season high 8 game trip, mainly on the East Coast. The visitors have the defense to keep this close. Play the Bobcats.
Brad Diamond Sports
Play: Duquesne + over Temple
There is a Christian Brothers school that can play with the Owls for most of the encounter, while possessing the scoring ability to scare the highly rated kids from North Broad Street. However, when you check out the techs, the fundamentals don’t look so strong with the Owls covering 6 straight at home against the Dukes. Still, Temple has not played that well of late and have a major A-10 road game against the Richmond Spiders on deck. Dukes lightly!
James Patrick Sports
Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia
The Backyard Brawl has gone to the Boys from the Steel City at a (13-6-1) ATS rate the past (20) meetings and the Black Cats are (8-3) ATS in Morgantown. Throw into the mix the fact that the Mountaineers knocked Pitt out of the Big East Tournament last season and you'll know why Big Game James Patrick has Pittsburgh Panthers as his Wednesday complimentary selection in College Basketball action.
Matt Fargo
Kansas at Colorado
Play: Colorado
Kansas is coming off a huge win at rival Kansas St. on Saturday in overtime and something it is still recovering from that victory that put the Jayhawks back on top of the national rankings. They are playing some of their best basketball right now but after the Missouri win last week prior to Kansas St., Kansas is in a prime spot for a letdown. Add to that, the Jayhawks have won 13 straight in the series against Colorado, including a 12-0 mark under coach Bill Self and we can assume that the gas pedal will not be all the way down tonight. This along with a game at home against Nebraska precedes the showdown everyone has been waiting for, a game at Texas on Monday night. Colorado lost yet another tough game on the road Saturday, this time at Iowa St. by a single point. That dropped the Buffaloes to 0-7 on the road this season and they have now lost 33 straight Big XII road games but the last two have been by a combined five points so they are close to finally breaking that horrible run. They return home tonight where they are 10-1 on the season but this is definitely the toughest test of the season thus fare. As a comparison, Colorado played host to Kansas St. a couple weeks back and lost to the Wildcats by six points as six-point underdogs and now it is getting over twice as much here. Even last season when it went 1-15 in the Big XII, Colorado never received this many points on its home floor and you have to go all the way back to almost two years ago to the day on February 2, 2008 when it got this many points. It was also against the Jayhawks when the Buffaloes were able to cover the 17.5-point line. Before shooting just 34.4 percent in its loss at Iowa St., Colorado had shot at least 42.9 percent in all its Big XII games, including 50 percent or better three times. The Buffaloes are shooting 46.4 percent in conference action which is third best in the Big XII. Colorado is 11-3 ATS in its last 14 games against teams that are shooting 48 percent or better from the floor and it is 6-0 ATS in its last six home games against teams allowing 64 ppg or fewer in the second half of the season. Kansas has won 19 of 20 games this season and it is 0-7 ATS in its last seven games after putting together wins in 18 or more of its last 20 games. The Buffaloes meanwhile are 5-1 ATS in their last six games as an underdog of 13 points or more and this season they are a perfect 3-0 as a double-digit underdog. 3* Colorado Buffaloes
Tom Freese
Texas A&M at Missouri
Texas A&M is 15-6 overall and 4-3 in Conference Play. Guard Donald Sloan scores 18.5 points a game and guard Derrick Rowland scores 10.5 points a game. Four other players score between 8.8 and 6.6 points a game. The Aggies score 73.3 points a game. Texas A&M are 1-7 ATS their last 8 games off a straight up win and they are 3-7 ATS vs. a team with a win percentage of over 60%. Missouri is 16-5 overall and 4-2 in Conference Play. The Tigers are 10-2 their last 12 games and they score 81.5 points a game. Guard Marcus Denmon scores 10.9 points while shooting 44.4% from behind the arc. Forward Laurence Bowers scores 10.9 points a game. Four other players score between 8.5 and 8.2 points a night. The Tigers are 15-3 ATS their last 18 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and they are 22-6 ATS their last 28 home games. PLAY ON MISSOURI -
Vernon Croy
1* NC State ATS
We are getting very good line value here with the Wolfpack Wednesday night and this pick falls into one of my NCAAB systems. The Wolfpack are 13-3-1 ATS in their last 17 road games and they are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 road games when playing a team that has a winning home record. The Cavaliers are just 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games after covering the spread in their previous game. If you look at the stats from when Virginia beat NC State back on January 9th 2010 the Wolfpack could not have played much worse. I look for the Wolfpack to cover and win this game outright tonight. Take NC State Wednesday night.
VEGAS EXPERTS
Oklahoma City Thunder at New Orleans Hornets
Even with the Thunder playing and winning in Atlanta last night, we have to stick with Oklahoma City here as the loss of PG Paul for 1-2 months is going to prove to be just too much for the Hornets. OKC is playing with revenge for a five-point home loss last month and has gone a very impressive 16-7 ATS on the road this season. New Orleans is giving up an average of 107 PPG its last four contests.
Play on: Oklahoma City
LT Profits
Tulane @ Rice
The Tulane Green Wave and Rice Owls have both been offensively challenged this season, and we look for both teams to continue to throw up bricks tonight.
Tulane is averaging just 62.9 points per game on 39.3 percent shooting overall, and they are coming off of a dismal 40-point effort at home vs. Southern Miss where they made a ridiculously low 11 field goals the entire game! They now go on the road where their shooting percentage dips to 38.5 percent this season, and to a site in Rice where these teams combined for just 120 points when they last met here last season.
Rice has only been slightly better this year, averaging 64.5 points on just 40.1 percent shooting. Sure, their year-to-date home numbers look a lot better, but a lot of that came vs. non-lined opponents such as North Carolina AT&T during the non-conference portion of their schedule. They have played four home games inside Conference USA, and the Owls are 1-3 in those games while failing to reach 50 points in any of the losses!
The Pomeroy Ratings also support an Under here, as Tulane is averaging just .947 points per possession, ranking 261 out of 347 Division I schools, and they rank a dreadful 311 in effective field goal percentage at 44.6 percent, a statistic no doubt hindered by their hideous 42.9 percent success rate on two-point shots. Meanwhile, Rice ranks 253 with an offensive PPP of .952, and they are right above Tulane in effective field goal percentage, ranking 310 at 44.7 percent.
We see no reason for either one of these clubs to suddenly rediscover an offense this evening.
Pick: Tulane/Rice Under 127
JR O'Donnell
Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia
Play: West Virginia -8½
No. 21 Pittsburgh (16-5) at No. 6 West Virginia (17-3), Our camp feels that #21 Pitt 16-5 over all and 10-7-2 ats is a huge Ncaa Tourney Bubble team. They started 2009/2010 real real strong & they are heading south fast due to injuires. They got blasted last game by Usf 70-61 and got extremely lucky vs the Johnnies, up 3 with 2 minutes left & hit all 8 ft's to cover. We note that Mountaineers get a huge boost tonight as 6-9" Deniz Kilicli from Istanbul, yes Istanbul will play tonight. On the flip side Pittsburgh best perimeter defender Jermaine Dixon didn't play in the Panthers last game because of an foot injury , boy was he missed as USF's Dominque Jones went for 37 points. Wvu possess's great offensive balance and this is a huge rivalry.
ALL COMPS!!!!!!!
Bobby Maxwell
2* University Nevada Las Vegas Rebels (UNLV),
4* Colorado Buffaloes,
Brad Diamond
* Duquesne Dukes,
Charlie Scott
* Wyoming Cowboys, Under 150
Dave Cokin
* Virginia Commonwealth Rams,
Dominic Fazzini
4* Oklahoma City Thunder,
Frank Jordan
* Kansas Jayhawks, -13.5
Gamblers Data
* Ottawa Senators , +120
Hollywood Sports
* Denver Nuggets,
Jack Clayton
* Utah Utes, Under
James Patrick Sports
* Pittsburgh Panthers,
Jim Feist
* Charlotte Bobcats,
JR O'Donnell
* West Virginia Mountaineers, -8.5
Marc Lawrence (Preferred Picks)
1* University Texas El Paso Miners (UTEP),
Matt Fargo
3* Colorado Buffaloes,
Nick Parsons
* Anaheim Ducks, -135
Steel City
5* Houston Cougars,
Tom Freese
* Missouri Tigers,
Vegas Experts
* Oklahoma City Thunder,
Vernon Croy
1* North Carolina State Wolfpack (NC State),
Winner Line
* Charlotte Bobcats,