Larry Ness
Night Plays
SEC Tourney 9* Tennessee.
Weekly Wipeout Winner Duke
Las Vegas Insider Auburn
Conference Tourney Bailout on Nevada
Fairway Jay
NBA
Big Drive: Sacramento +10.5
Charlotte Under 183
CBB
Big Drive: Illinois -2.5
American -5
Houston +14
Texas -3.5
Utah State -7.5
Scott Rickenbach
Top Play
West Virginia
GAME DAY
4* Purdue
2* Villanova
2* SDSU
Best Sports Picks
Celtics -10.5
Wake Forest -6
Syracuse +7
TOM FREESE
PURDUE
ASA
5* Portland Trailblazers
RAS
UC Santa Barbara/Cal State Northridge Over 134.5
San Diego State/Brigham Young Over 130.5
Scott Delaney
40-Dime BYU - The honeymoon is over, sorry to say, for San Diego State. As impressive as the Aztecs looked yesterday, I'd have to say they simply beat up on a UNLV team that has been non-existent all season and was bound to get trounced. And mainly because the Cougars avoided disaster Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, I believe that was the wake-up call they needed.
Fact is, the Cougars had it tough for a reason, the same way the Aztecs had it easy. And though beating the Falcons likely ensured the Cougars an at-large berth, a win over San Diego State tonight in the semifinals would solidify the bid. BYU swept the regular-season series, winning 77-71 in Provo and 69-59 in San Diego, and that right there alone is enough for me to belive the Cougars can complete the sweep.
The betting numbers tell us everything, as SD State is mired in spread slides of 3-9 as an underdog, 3-10 when catching points in this range, 2-6 in conference play, 2-9 on a neutral sit and 1-6 on Fridays.
On the contrary, the Cougs are on ATS runs of 9-2 in conference play, 7-2 laying chalk and off a straight-up win, 6-1 on Fridays and 7-0 against winning teams.
Take BYU
10-Dime OVER Buffalo/Ball State - This is a bonus play, let's not get too excited guys. I'm simply playing the way the numbers dictate. And the numbers tell me this one should soar based on recent play, and how these defenses perform on the road. The Bulls will likely dictate the pace, and they've gone over in four straight - all in conference play. The over is also on runs of 6-2 with Buff on a neutral court, 8-3 when it's a favorite and 5-2 after covering.
Kelso
50 WVU
10 Ok St
4 SD State
5 Gold St
Scott Rickenbach
Top Play
West Virginia
Top Play
Chicago Bulls
Regular Plays
West Virginia
Michigan
International Sports Brokerage
Big play Wake Forest - 6.5
Mike Lineback
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Adam Meyer
6 Units Louisville -4
Larry Girardi
Atlanta Hawks -5
Milwaukee Bucks +5.5
Henry Slavin
Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
During their current 7-game winning streak the Canucks’ Roberto Luongo is giving up just 1.86 goals per game. In the two games these teams have played so far this season, both have gone under the total. Under is 6-2 in the Canucks’ last 8 overall and the Kings have gone under the total 4-1 in their last 5 against winning teams. Luongo is hot at home.
Play:Under 5.5 Goals 3 Units
Dr Bob
2 Star Selection
Texas (-4) over Baylor
Baylor has played well in their first two games in this tournament, but the Bears are not suddenly a great team after struggling through the Big 12 schedule in the regular season. Texas beat Baylor twice this season, by an average of 11 points, despite shooting the ball horribly from the outside in both games (4 for 21 3-point shooting), so I’m confident the Longhorns can beat the Bears again. Texas applies to a very good 64-19-2 ATS conference tournament situation and my ratings favor the Horns by 4 points – so the line is fair. I’ll take Texas in a 2-Star Best Bet at -4 points or less and for 3-Stars at -3 or less.2-Stars at -4 or less, 3-Stars at -3 or less.
2 Star Selection
Tennessee (-7) over Alabama
Tennessee ended the regular season with a 67-70 home loss as a 13 point favorite to Alabama, but the Volunteers should use that loss as extra motivation tonight. Tennessee applies to a 38-5-1 ATS conference tournament revenge situation and Alabama applies to a negative 46-112-5 ATS letdown situation. The Crimson Tide have improved since the injury to Ronald Steele (just 37% shooting), as Anthony Brock has really played well after not playing in the early part of the season. Bama is also better since firing coach Mark Gottfried, but that improvement may have more to do with the change in the lineup than with the coaching. My ratings favor Tennessee by 7 points even using only Alabama’s games with their current lineup and I’ll take Tennessee in a 2-Star Best Bet at -7 ½ or less and for 3-Stars at -6 points.2-Stars at -7 1/2 or less, 3-Stars at -6.
3 Star Selection
Utah State (-7 ½) over New Mexico State
New Mexico State has won a couple of games in a row against mediocre opposition, but the Aggies have had trouble with good teams and they are just 6-18 ATS as an underdog or pick in coach Marvin Menzies two seasons as head coach. That includes 2 double-digit losses to Utah State this season and New Mexico State applies to a negative 4-29 ATS conference tournament situation that is based on their those two bad outings against Utah State. Utah State has been a consistently good play under coach Stew Morrill when not favored by more than 13 points (123-91-4 ATS, including 12-5 ATS this season) and Utah State has a habit of ending winning streaks – they’re 10-1 ATS the last 4 seasons against teams that have won and covered their last 2 games. My ratings favor Utah State by 9 points and I’ll take Utah State in a 3-Star Best Bet at -8 points or less and for 2-Stars at -8 ½ or -9 points.
3-Stars at -8 or less, 2-Stars at -8 1/2 or -9.
3 Star Selection
Ucla (-6) over Usc
USC needs to win this game to have any hope of an NCAA Tournament bid, but needing to win and being able to are two different things and the Trojans simply don’t match up well with their cross-town rival. USC lost both meetings to the Bruins by an average of 10 points and those losses set up the Trojans in a very negative 4-29 ATS double-revenge angle. UCLA, meanwhile, applies to a very good 111-37-4 ATS momentum situation. My ratings favor UCLA by 6 ½ points, so the line is fair, and I’ll take UCLA in a 3-Star Best Bet at -6 points or less and for 2-Stars at -6 ½ or -7 points.3-Stars at -6 or less, 2-Stars at -6 1/2 or -7.