Kyle Hunter
Syracuse at Wake Forest
Play: Wake Forest
The Syracuse Orange are in a major look ahead spot here. Syracuse will host Duke on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. Wake Forest isn't a top-notch team, but they've done very well at home this year. In fact, they haven't lost a game at home. They will probably lose this one, but I think they are completely capable of giving Syracuse a real scare before falling in this one. Wake Forest hangs around with a disinterested team here before Syracuse pulls out a close one late. Take Wake Forest.
SPORTS WAGERS
Chicago +8 over SAN ANTONIO
Good spot for the Bulls who catch the depleted Spurs at a pretty good time. San Antonio played last night in Houston and lost 97-90 after blowing a 15-point, first half lead. On Sunday, the Spurs were down by as many as 29 points to Miami and never stood a chance. San Antonio will now return home from a four-game trip to play its fifth game in seven days, third game in four days and tail end of back-to-backs. This is a tired team with injuries to key personnel that includes Tiago Splitter, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Being an older team doesn’t help either.
Very quietly, the Bulls are playing outstanding basketball right now. In fact, Chicago has not lost two in a row since way back on December 18-19 when they lost in Houston and Oklahoma City. That was 19 games ago. We also like that Chicago embarks on a six-game road trip beginning here and often you see teams playing extremely well in the first game of an extended trip. The Bulls are on a current 13-6 run and they not only should be in a great position to cover this game, they have a chance to win it outright. Indeed the Spurs are very tough and can never be counted out for going off for a big game when least expected. However, asking them to win by this margin under difficult circumstances may be asking a bit too much.
SPORTS WAGERS
WAKE FOREST +9 over Syracuse
Entering 2013-14, Syracuse had lost Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Triche and James Southerland. Jim Boeheim's starting backcourt for this season was slated to feature: (1) a sophomore shooting guard who had hit 27 percent of his 3s last season; and (2) an incoming freshman who wasn't "even" rated in the top 15 nationally. In fact, the Orange player who was rated the highest as an incoming freshman, DaJuan Coleman, was destined to be sidelined for the year because of knee surgery. All of the above is correct, yet Boeheim's team, as you may have noticed, is 19-0. C.J. Fair has been excellent as a featured scorer, Tyler Ennis is already one of the best point guards in the nation on both sides of the ball and Trevor Cooney has improved his 3-point accuracy by 15 percentage points. Indeed the Orange are tough but with a 19-0 record and #2 ranking comes a premium to pay and that price is too high for this game. Indeed, Syracuse is capable of blowing out Wake but the Orange have bigger fish to fry with a hug game upcoming this Saturday against Duke at the Carrier Dome. To the Orangemen, this one will feel like a practice.
The Demon Deacons are not an easy out. In fact, Wake has gone 14-6 overall and they’re 4-3 in the conference with victories over North Carolina, N.C. State, Va Tech and Notre Dame. That’s not exactly the cream of the crop in the ACC but Wake is a perfect 12-0 at home and this is exactly the type of game that could get them into the tournament on Selection Sunday, should they continue to win games afterward. Lastly, the Deacs do not have a bad loss on their résumé yet with defeats occurring against Virginia, Kansas, Tennessee, Xavier Pitt and Clemson. In a good situational spot and taking back significant points, we trust Wake to stay well within this range.
Penn State +13 over OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are ranked #24 in the country but this is the time of year that the cream rises to the top and imposters are exposed. Ohio State was 15-0 not long ago after scheduling a bunch of non-conference games against marshmallows. Then conference play kicked in and we’re seeing a much different OSU team. The Buckeyes dropped four in a row as soon as the going got tough against Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota and to a lesser extent, Nebraska. The Buckeyes snapped that streak with an unimpressive, seven-point win over Illinois in their latest. The Buckeyes just don’t have enough offensive weapons. In the past, Coach Thad Matta has always had an offensive superstar, whether it was Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas or Evan Turner. Now it’s LaQuinton Ross, who is no superstar. There’s no go-to guy, especially down the stretch and it’s safe to say that the Buckeyes early-season résumé was deceiving. We also like the fact that the Buckeyes are coming off a win and they have huge games on deck against Wisconsin on Saturday and Iowa on Tuesday. In a good spot, we wouldn’t spot 13 points with the Buckeyes and this is definitely not a good spot.
Penn State is not going to the dance in March. They are 1-6 in conference play but they have been damn close in several of those games that include 3-point losses to both Minnesota and Indiana and a one-point loss to Purdue. In a 16-point loss to Michigan State, the Nittany Lions led by seven at the half but went ice cold in the second half, scoring just 16 points. PSU is also coming off a win over Nebraska and that wins is a confidence booster to be sure. Penn State are not pushovers and they figure to be much closer in this game than advertised. In non-conference play, the Lions lost against Pitt by just nine points and chances are they won’t lose by that much against this very overpriced Buckeyes squad.
SPORTS WAGERS
N.Y. Islanders +128 over N.Y. Rangers
OT included. The Rangers are coming off that big win at Yankee Stadium in a game they had no business winning. The score says differently but pay no attention to that, as the Devils goaltending sprung a huge leak and the Rangers took advantage. Early in the game, the Rangers were down 3-1 and had Cory Schneider been in goal instead of Martin Brodeur, we’d probably be talking about Henrik Lundqvist allowing seven goals because he was well on his way to doing so. Lundqvist has had some good games this season and he’s obviously been one of the games’ best for years but like all goaltenders, eventually those miles take a toll and were seeing that this year from Lundqvist. Whether it’s just one bad year or a sign of things to come, Lundqvist is fighting the puck. In 39 starts this season, Lundqvist has posted a save % of .875 or less 16 times. What’s even more interesting about that is that once he posts a low save percentage game, it has carried over into successive games 12 of those 16 times. That tells us that he’s fragile mentally and streaky. In the game at Yankee Stadium, Lundqvist allowed three goals on 22 shots for a save % of .864 and all three goals were stoppable. Lundqvist will now face some hot shooters and if his last game outdoors is any indication of what’s in store tonight, he may not make it to the third period.
The Islanders are still in this thing. With 27 games left, the Islanders are just seven points out of a playoff spot and one good run puts them right in the thick of it. The Islanders have lost three in a row and have allowed 16 goals over that span but things figure to get at least a little better here with the return of Evgeni Nabokov. Dave Poulin’s .891 save percentage is the NHL’s lowest mark and while the Islanders defense is certainly a work in progress, your goaltender is supposed to win you games from time to time (see Jonathan Bernier). In any event, Nabokov instills a little more confidence to the team in front of him and when they get adequate goaltending, the Islanders are dangerous as hell. The Islanders have scored three goals or more in six straight. Their 61 goals in 17 games since the all-star break is tops in the league and they’re healthier now than they’ve been all season. In a game in which the Islanders have at least a 50% chance of winning and probably more, taking back a tag on them in their first outdoor game ever is where the value lies.
Wunderdog
Virginia Tech at Boston College
Pick: Virginia Tech +7
Virginia Tech plays good defense, coming in at #45 in the nation in rebounding, and faces a very weak Boston College squad - one that has lost 10 of 12. The Hokies are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five road games vs. a team with a losing home record. Boston College is 1-5 in the ACC after a 68-60 home loss to Georgia Tech. BC is 2-5 ATS in ACC play and are on a 2-9 ATS run overall. The first meeting between these teams was a close, low-scoring game in a 62-59, BC win. The road team is 4-1 ATS the last five meetings between these ACC rivals, and the underdog is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings. This shapes up as another close one, so grab the dog and play on Virginia Tech.
NHL Predictions
New York Rangers -135
The Rangers beat the Devils in the first game of the Stadium Series by a score of 7-3 and will have an advantage over the Islanders with some experience on the outdoor rink. These two teams last met on the 21st of Janaury where the Islanders won 5-3, but since then the Islanders have lost three straight games (all at home). The Rangers have gone 10-4-1 in their last 15 games to improve to 28-23-3 on the season, while the Islanders are just 21-26-8 on the year. Lundqvist will get the start again for the Rangers and that should be a bit of an advantage as he has had a feel for the live action at Yankee Stadium. He is now 2-0 in outdoor games in his career with the Winter Classic win in 2012. Evgeni Nabokov is expected to get his first start since coming off the IR for the Islanders. The Rangers are 7-3 in their last 10 games overall and 68-31 in their last 99 vs a team with a losing record. The Islanders are 8-18 in their last 26 vs Eastern Conference opponents, and 3-13 in their last 16 vs Metropolitan opponents. The Rangers have a slight advantage winning 4 of the 7 meetings between these two teams since the start of last season. They are also playing better hockey right now and have already gotten one game in on the outdoor rink which I would think gives them a slight advantage. I like the price we're getting on the Rangers to win tonight.
Tony George
Iowa State at Kansas
Play:Iowa State +8.5
Iowa State is an enigma wrapped in a riddle. They should be able to score against Kansas and beat them up the scoreboard. Problem is for ISU they live and die by the 3 pointer, and their defense is funnel to the basket. Kansas already beat ISU in Ames 77-70 as a 2.5 pup, so now the line swings 10+ points with KU at home? I think they are overvalued here but do win the game in Allen Fieldhouse tonight.
Some of this line is driven by the fact Iowa State has dropped their last 2 road games in conference action to Texas and Oklahoma, and the fact Kansas has cashed out in FG% their last 5 games at 54%, but something has to give here. This is a defining moment for Iowa State at 15-3 on the year, and a good road performance is what we need here to cover the 9 points in no uncertain terms. The issue not ISU’s offense which is averaging 80 ppg on the road this season and 84 overall, it is their defense which needs shored up here tonight to hangft tough, and I am sure the coaching staff is well aware of that after 1 game under their belt against the mighty Jayhawks.
Kansas is a beast at home, and they are railing people right now in the Big 12, but I have seen this team with big leads against good teams, and lose focus and let them right back in it, as Okie State comes to mind. I expect a supreme effort out of Iowa State tonight and Kansas as always will be ready, but does KU’s lack of a true point guard come into play tonight? ISU will bring it hard and heavy and hang within this number in my opinion.
Harry Bondi
OKLAHOMA CITY (+3.5) over Miami
Another blowout FREE WINNER on the Knicks over Boston last night and we will stay in the NBA tonight and back the red hot Oklahoma City Thunder to finally break through and beat Miami. Thunder have won eight games in a row, going 7-1 ATS in that span, and have been pointing to this game to show the Heat that they are the better team, even without the injured Russell Westbrook. Miami has won the last six match-ups against the Thunder, covering the spread each time. But Durant and company have been on a tear lately and we will back them to beat the Heat.
River City Sports
George Washington -5.5
George Washington (16-3) hosts LaSalle (11-8). George Washington is 9-0 at home 3-1 ATS and LaSalle is 5-6 on the road 3-6 ATS. At home the Colonials score over 81 a game and shoot it at a 51% clip. LaSalle scores just about 65 a game and shoots 41% on the road. The Colonials will hold a nice advantage on the boards in this game as well avg more than 5 a game more than the Explorers. We like the home team here coming in off 4 straight wins and revenge on their mind for the loss earlier in the month to the Explorers.
OC Dooley
Northern Illinois +11
You will see at the bottom of this analysis an UNDEFEATED two-year angle which supports underdog Northern Illinois who according to the ESPN.com daily RPI report have the most difficult conference schedule in the entire NATION. For those who follow Northern Illinois they have traditionally struggled in Mid-American Conference play (18-53 since 2009) and already are a dismal 1-5 this campaign. But in this “series” Northern Illinois is finally starting to break through as they actually defeated Kent State on the scoreboard a year ago (67-65 final score) on a BUZZER BEATER which marked their first outright triumph versus the Golden Flashes in an entire DECADE. In the middle of January these pair of conference foes met each other again in what turned into an OVERTIME thriller where Kent State basically survived. Admittedly Kent State is coming off an outright upset where they were cast as an underdog which actually makes them a “bet against” according to my research. In the past three years after an underdog outright upset triumph Kent State (3-15 ATS/HOME) have been a disaster for investors when in front of their own fans. Getting back to Northern Illinois they actually lead their conference in rebounding pulling down on average 38 board per contest and also have a high national ranking (#18) in “offensive” rebounding. In the past two years after actually “failing” to cover the spread twice in a three-game span, Northern Illinois is UNDEFEATED ON THE ROAD (8-0 against the spread) where it counts.