Free Picks: Service Plays for Wednesday November, 28

Rob Vinciletti
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New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Play: New York Knicks
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The Bucks are 0-11 ATS at home with one day or no rest off a road win in which they trailed at the end of the third quarter. They have failed to cover in 5 of 6 at home this season and are 21-55 straight up long term vs winning teams. New York is off a tough Overtime to Rival Brooklyn in their last game. The Knicks are 8-1 straight up and ats when playing with rest this season. Look for the Knicks to get the win and cover here.

Ryan James
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BRADLEY vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
PLAY: BRADLEY
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It is hard to believe that Bradley isn't a much larger favorite in this match up against Central Michigan. The Bradley Braves are 4-1 this season while the Central Michigan Chippewas come into this game with a 3-2 record. The level of competition between these two teams has been about the same. Neither team has had what can be considered a tough schedule. This game is going to come down to offense. That may seem like a no-brainer, but normally offense isn't the only factor you look at when successfully handicapping a game. The reason this game comes down to offense is because Central Michigan has had a complete lack of it. They have only one player who has been able to score an average in the double digits (at 10.4 points per game) while Bradley has four players scoring in double digits. I believe this game will be won by closer to 15 points so laying three on the road is not a problem. Bradley wins big in a blowout.

Ray Monohan
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New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Play: New York Knicks
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The Knicks have lost their last three games away from MSG but are easily the more talented team in this one. Thus far this season they are matching fantastic offense with very good defense to grab victories. Their unbeatable status at home has drifted to their road value but in this one all they have to do is win the game and you win too.

The Bucks are just mediocre at home (3-3) but that drops to an awful 1-5 ATS. I really don't like the talent on Milwaukee, especially offensively. The Knicks should be able to easily outscore Milwaukee unless they're suffering a hangover from the recent overtime loss against Brooklyn.

Dave Cokin
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Saint Louis vs Washington
Pick: Washington
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Both the Billikens and Huskies are less than 100% right now. I'm pretty clearly not a Lorenzo Romar believer, but this is a sharp spot for the home tea, so tonight it's Washington minus the points.

Jim Feist
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Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Clippers
Pick: Los Angeles Clippers
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A tough situational spot for a Minnesota team on a long road trip, the second of a back to back spot while the deep and talented Clippers are rested. The Timberwolves have been short handed all season and rank 28th in the NBA in scoring. The Clippers are 11th in the NBA in points allowed and 8th in point scored. LA plays its second straight home game after a frustrating road trip, ending up a four-game road trip with just one victory. "It's a terrible road trip for us, especially with all of them being winnable games," star guard Chris Paul said. Don't look for any let down at home. Play the LA Clippers.

JR O'Donnell
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Washington St. -7
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Tune up the Idaho Vandals tonight in Pullman ..Power rated @ - 11 flat we are now heating up on the Cbb hardwood.... 6-1 paid / free ticket NBA/CBB last night the J Oster "Goes Hard" tonight on the NBA GOW/CBB GOW TICKET..... Jr 6'10" Brock Motum from Australia can pound the boards ..try this on for size .... WSU improved to 45-0 all-time in the month of November @ home ..... 46-0 after this baby tonight. 70-58 final... in Pullman tonight.

ParlayJoe

Washington -3

DAVID BANKS

Oklahoma City Thunder -9

The Oklahoma City Thunder (11-4, 9-5-1 ATS) are coming off of a historic win over Charlotte, although they probably will not have as easy a time vs. the Houston Rockets (6-7, 6-6-1 ATS) Wednesday from Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma at 8:05 ET on NBA TV. The Thunder beat the Bobcats 114-69 on Monday, and that 45-point winning margin was the biggest margin since the franchise moved from Seattle. However, this will be the Thunder's fifth game in eight nights, and while the Rockets are playing the second of a back-to-back, they had been off since winning their second straight game on Friday vs. the previously hot New York Knicks before Tuesday.

The Thunder have won five of their last six games, although the previous three wins before Monday were all by 10 points or less, which becomes significant with this line projected to be around -10. Oklahoma City has certainly been scoring points, scoring at least 100 points in each of the last six games including the only loss in that stretch, a 108-100 loss to the Celtics in Boston. In fact, the Thunder have one of the best offenses in the NBA, ranking second in the league in scoring at 104.4 points per game, as well a second in both three-point percentage at 41.7 percent and overall field goal percentage at 47.9 percent. However, the reason for the string or relatively close games before the Bobcats came to town is the defense had become rather lax, allowing a disturbing 106.5 points per game in the previous six games, and remember that the Bobcats are not be best shooting team in the league, so the Thunder defense was not the only reason Charlotte was held to 69 points.

This contest also marks the return of James Harden to Oklahoma City after the Thunder traded him to the Rockets just a few days before the start of the regular season after he and the Thunder could not agree on a contract. The Rockets got off to a hot start this season with Harden going wild in the first few games before both he and the team leveled off. Still, Houston does rank fifth in the NBA in scoring at 101.3 points per game and Harden is still ranks fourth in the league in scoring at 25.2 points per game as the starting shooting guard for the Rockets after winning the Sixth Man of the Year award while coming off of the Oklahoma City bench last year. He figures to get a positive response from the Thunder home crowd and you know that he will be extra motivated for this contest. Harden has not been a one-man show though as all five Houston starters are averaging double-digits, so we are probably more likely to see the struggling Thunder defense of recent games here than what we saw against Charlotte.

Interestingly, the Rockets are 4-1 ATS in their last five games vs. teams with a winning percentage above .600 and the Thunder are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games vs. teams with losing straight up records.

Matt Fargo

Georgia Tech vs. Illinois
Play: Georgia Tech

Illinois came into the season unranked and not even receiving a single vote in the AP Poll or the USA Today/ESPN Poll. Now the Illini are ranked 22nd in both polls thanks to a perfect 7-0 start that included a championship at the Maui Invitational but it wasn't all their doing. To be honest, Illinois was fortunate that Butler was able to take out both Marquette and North Carolina as either of those teams would have likely taken out the Illini. Still, it is off to a surprising start and it followed up that Hawaii trip with a one-point win over Gardner Webb on Sunday and I think that is more in line of what this team is made of. Because of the start and the ranking, the Illini are overvalued. Georgia Tech is off to a 4-1 start and this is another team that is on the rise but not quite back to where it used to be. The Yellow Jackets are on the same line with Illinois in that they are two teams with great history but coming off some disappointments and now in rebuilding mode. Georgia Tech went just 4-12 in the ACC last season but is expected to be much better as all five starters are back to go along with a very solid recruiting class. Georgia Tech is coming off a big win over St. Mary's in Anaheim and that victory could be a spark to what lies ahead. The defense was the strength last season and it has already performed better this season, allowing just 51.8 ppg on 37.1 percent shooting including 28.6 percent from long range. The Illini have been shooting very well but that could be an aberration as they were not a good shooting or scoring team a year ago. Illinois has a breakeven 1.00 assist/turnover ratio which is not very good considering its record so the Yellow Jackets defense can dictate this game. A low scoring game is in our favor with the generous line we are getting here.

Jordan Runco

OHIO STATE vs. DUKE
PLAY: OHIO STATE

The #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0 SU, 2-1 ATS) are coming off a 91-45 win over UMKC at home, giving 28.5. #2 Duke (6-0 SU, 4-2 ATS) is coming off a 76-71 win over Louisville to win the Battle 4 Atlantic from the Bahamas. The Buckeyes visit Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night from Durham, N.C. to take on Duke at 9:30pmET in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. Last year: OHIO STATE (-7.5) over Duke, 85-63.

ODDS: The oddsmakers have installed Duke as a 6-point favorite over Ohio State. The total is 144 in most books.

LINE MOVEMENT: The Blue Devils opened as a 6-point favorite and remained there in most books.

COLLEGE HOOPS FREE PICK: Take Ohio State. According to the latest trends: The Buckeyes are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. Atlantic Coast Conference, 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game and are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Duke is 3-13 ATS in their last 16 home games.

This should be a great matchup on paper. Last year at this same time in November, Ohio State scored the first 11 points, led by 19 at the half and was on top by as many as 25 in what ended up as an 85-63 landslide. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said his team was tired and overwhelmed. Once again, the Blue Devils are coming off a nice tournament win after travelling to Nassau in the Bahamas. The Buckeyes are led by PF Deshaun Thomas, who leads the team in scoring at 24 points per game. PG Aaron Craft (14.3ppg, 5.3apg) is one of the best point guards in the country and shoots 47% from beyond the arc. Evan Ravenel (6-8, 250) can keep the big Duke frontline off the backboards.

Rob Veno

Wyoming pk at Cal-Santa Barbara
Recommendation: Wyoming

Level of competition played thus far and home floor advantage both stand as reasons to support UCSB tonight but despite those positives, I fully believe the gap in fundamentals is too wide for the Gauchos to overcome. Roster depletion has left Santa Barbara extremely young and unbalanced in this early part of the season. Head coach Bob Williams offense is now dependent upon the scoring of freshman SF Taran Brown (15.0 ppg) sophomore PF Alan Williams (14.6 ppg). The youthful tandem accounts for 45.1% of the team’s scoring and they’ve attempted 119 field goals while the other 11 players have combined to attempt just 156. This matchup poses real problems for Santa Barbara on the inside because their total reliance on the rugged interior play of Williams (6-7, 240) is not only matched, but likely outdone by Wyoming’s senior paint presence Leonard Washington. With Williams neutralized, Santa Barbara becomes almost exclusively perimeter oriented. Of the players who have taken 20 shots this season, only Brown is shooting better than 40% from the field and their top three 3-point shooters have combined to go 23-of-76, 30.3%. Even at 6-8, Brown is a finesse player launching 34 of his 66 FGA from beyond the arc. Wyoming’s extremely tough defense figures to contest everything which figures to make scoring difficult for UCSB. Conversely, head coach Larry Shyatt’s crew has a solid PG in soph Riley Grabau (7.7 assist-turnover ratio) and a host of capable scorers inside and out. Sophomore Larry Nance Jr. compliments Washington inside and long range marksmen, Luke Martinez (41.9% 3-pointers) and Derrious Gilmore (37.9% 3-pointers) can stretch the defense. Like the diversity and chemistry of Wyoming far more at this point and will side with them here at the pick ‘em price.

Wunderdog

George Mason at Rhode Island
Pick: George Mason -3.5

George Mason has been a fixture at or near the top of the Colonial Conference for years, and that hasn't changed under Paul Hewitt. George Mason won 24 games a year ago, and they won't be far from the top of the Colonial once again. Ryan Pearson is gone, paving the way for Sherrod White who has elevated his game to 15 points per game. Rhode Island has had some very good teams in recent years, but the program is on a down turn, off to a 1-5 start. George Mason simply has too much talent for the Rams to stay in touch for 40 minutes. Lay the points and back George Mason.

John Ryan

Trail Blazers at Wizards
Prediction: Over

The simulator shows a high probability that more than 195 points will be scored in this game. Arguably the worst offensive team in Washington matched up against the worst defensive team in Portland. Washington ranks 30th averaging just 90 PPG and Portland ranks 30th allowing 104.1 PPG. Despite scoring an anemic 90 PPG, Washington can run the fast break where they rank 15th in the NBA averaging 13.2 PPG on the break. Portland is an excellent perimeter shooting team and I fully expect them to have wide open looks. They are averaging 8.4 3-point FG made per game good for fourth best in the NBA. This will force Washington to spread their defense to cover the perimeter, which will then open up the paint area for some easy looks and scores. Washington is winless, but they do have a solid shot at a win tonight, but they will have to make the game a track meet whenever possible. I don't like Washington, but do like them to create a play that will soar over the posted total. I like the OVER.

Charlie Sports

Georgia Tech at Illinois
Play: Illinois

The (4-1) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coast Conference will take on the (7-0) and 22nd ranked Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big 10 Conference in 2012 NCAA Basketball action. The under is 7-2 Georgia Tech last 9 Basketball games played on Wednesday's. Illinois is only 5-14 their last 19 Against The Spread overall. Illinois could be one of the surprise teams in NCAA Basketball this season. Illinois gets the home cover.