Brad Wilton
Wednesday night free play winner is to lay it all night long with the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State has laid waste to their closest competitors, the Cleveland Cavaliers and earlier this week the San Antonio Spurs, and neither meeting was even close.
Strong chance the 41-4 Warriors can match the record for the best regular season mark in NBA history based on the pace they are on. Don't look for the Mavericks who barely got by the lowly Lakers last night in Los Angeles to keep pace for the full four quarters tonight.
This is major revenge for the Warriors who suffered one of their four losses this season at the hands of the Mavs, 114-91 back on December 30th, so expect no let up off the gas pedal from Golden State tonight.
Golden State has covered 14 of the last 20 series meetings played in Oakland, and after enjoying last night off, look for the Warriors to beat up on the non-rested Mavericks tonight.
20 points or better win tonight.
4* GOLDEN STATE
Craig Davis
Your free play of the day is the Golden State Warriors minus the points at home over the Dallas Mavericks. At the time of this writing the Warriors are laying around 16-17 points in Vegas and offshore.
Let's just say the Mavs need to be glad they found a way to beat the Lakers last night, because they're going to get a dose of reality tonight.
After a complete blowout in Dallas back in December 30th (without Steph Curry), the Warriors are out for revenge tonight to claim their dominance once again in the Western Conference.
Curry scored 37 points in their 30-point win over the Spurs the other night and he appears to be back to full strength. There's simply not a player on the Dallas roster that can stay with him for 48 minutes.
Dallas is a miserable 13-13 on the road, just 7-8 in the month of January, and needed a Dirk jumper with two seconds left last night to beat the lowly Lakers minus Kobe Bryant.
It's all Golden State tonight.
5* GOLDEN STATE
BRIAN HAY
Boise State vs. UNLV
Play: Boise St +3.5
Boise State has already won three road conference games this season. The Broncos have only lost one game since November. I believe Boise State is the best team in the MWC this season and they are an automatic play for me when they are a dog in conference play. UNLV got a spark from having a new coach but they came back to reality with their loss to Nevada last Saturday. When UNLV isn't making three point baskets they really struggle to score and that will be a big problem for them tonight against Boise State. Boise State is 23-7 ATS in their last 30 MWC games.
Harry Bondi
ARKANSAS +3 over Texas A&M
FREE WINNERS are on a nice 9-3 run and tonight we'll back one of the best home teams in the nation, Arkansas, over Texas A&M. Aggies Coach Billy Kennedy called Bud Walton Arena in Fayetville “the toughest place to play” in the nation and Texas A&M's record there certainly backs him up. Aggies have struggled going to Arkansas and have yet to win there since joining the SEC. Home court is a huge factor in handicapping college hoops and the Razorbacks have won 25 of their last 30 SEC games at home. It's also a look ahead spot for the Aggies who crushed the Razorbacks by 20 at home 3 weeks ago and who have an ENORMOUS game on Saturday against 14th ranked Iowa State. Their are also injury concerns as Texas A&M center Tyler Davis, who averages 11.2 PPG, is expected to play tonight but should be limited because of a foot injury. Finally, this line is very low for an A&M squad that has been destroying teams lately and it looks like the public is taking the bait as 90% of the bets in Las Vegas are on the Aggies. It's a trap! Pig Sooie!!
Drew Martin
Texas A&M at Arkansas
Play: Texas A&M -3
Riding one of the country’s longest winning streaks, the 5th ranked Texas A&M Aggies looks for their 11th consecutive victory tonight against Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena. This is a matchup of two teams headed in opposite directions. Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks have lost three straight SEC games and continue to go through the growing pains of a completely rebuilt roster. “I just think our inexperience really comes to the forefront at the wrong time,” Anderson said. The Hogs are going to be up against it tonight as A&M has emerged as the class of the SEC with the No. 2 offense and No. 1 defense in league play. The Aggies handed out a 23-point beat down on Arkansas earlier this month. Jalen Jones scored a game-high 28 points and was one of five Texas A&M players in double figures. The Aggies also made 11 3-pointers -- something Arkansas has struggled with this season -- and led by 21 at halftime. It’s also worth noting A&M turned it over only 10 times in a 75 possession game. The Aggies are tops in the league in lowest turnover rate while Arkansas’s TO rate is down five percent from last year. With an inability to consistently force turnovers, the Razorbacks are an average at-best squad. The spot may not seem ideal for A&M with a big home game against Iowa State on deck this weekend but this is an experienced bunch and one of th
Dr. Bob
Opinion – SAN ANTONIO (-9½) over Houston
San Antonio was humiliated by the Warriors on Monday night and I expect a good performance from the Spurs tonight. San Antonio is 65-30-3 ATS in home games after losing by more than 10 points in coach Gregg Popovich’s tenure as coach, including 44-12-1 ATS if their opponent is coming off a win. There’s no value here, as my ratings favor San Antonio by 10 with Tim Duncan out again and with Dwight Howard expected to suit up for the Rockets, but I’ll lean with the Spurs based on their history of bouncing back.
Opinion – Louisville (-10) over VIRGINIA TECH
Louisville is just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games while Virginia Tech is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games. However, a lot of the Cardinals’ recent ATS slump and the Hokies’ ATS surge is due to variance (Louisville has made just 28.9% of their 3-pointers (35% for the season) in their last 7 games). My ratings favor Louisville by 11 points and my match up model favors the Cardinals by 15 points in this game. The Cardinals should dominate the glass and Virginia Tech, who takes a much higher than normal amount of their shots in the paint, will have a tough time scoring against a Louisville defense that ranks #2 in the nation in 2-point field goal defense. I’ll lean with Louisville at -10 or less.
Opinion - Northern Iowa (-14) over BRADLEY
Bradley is the worst offensive team in the nation and the Braves have lost 6 of their 8 conference games by 19 points or more, including a 44-80 loss at Northern Iowa. Despite winning so easily in the first meeting I don’t see Northern Iowa taking this game for granted given the Panthers’ ugly 4 game losing streak. It’s rare to have a team on a long losing streak be installed as a double-digit road favorite but historically such teams are good bets and Northern Iowa applies to an 18-4 ATS situation based on that premise (I said it was rare so not much of a sample size). My ratings favor the Panthers by 16½ points in this game so there is some line value and I’ll lean with Northern Iowa at -14 points or less and I’d take Northern Iowa in a 1-Star Best Bet at -13 points or less.
Opinion – 1st Quarter play: GOLDEN STATE (-6½) over Dallas
Dallas beat Golden State in the first game that Steph Curry missed this season and I expect Golden State to come out fired up to atone for that defeat. I actually like the Warriors in general in this game, as Dallas isn’t as good with Dirk Nowitzki taking the night off after a hard fought game in Los Angeles last night. My ratings favor the Warriors by 19½ points with Nowitzki out but the Warriors tend to let big leads dissipate when the starters sit late in games, which is why I like the 1st quarter play here. The Warriors outscore their opponents by an average of 6.1 points in the 1st quarter in the 43 games that Steph Curry has played and Curry is playing the entire 1st quarter recently before taking a rest to begin the 2nd quarter. Golden State has outscored their opponents by 22.6 points per 48 minutes when Curry is on the court this season and I’d favor GSW by 7½ points in the 1st quarter tonight, which is enough value for a profitable play given the revenge motive for the Warriors.