Brandon Lang
5 Dime - Wright State, Bradley, Nuggets
Free - Sonics
2-Minute Warning
College of Charleston
VEGAS EXPERTS
Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns
Phoenix 4-9-1 ATS its last 14 starts. Jazz 4-0 ATS its last four in Phoenix and has won and covered four of its last five. Jazz, 105-76 Wednesday night home winners over Minnesota, is 8-0 ATS off a double digit win.
Play on: Utah
Josh Dean
10* Columbia +1
5* Atlanta +1.5
5* Brown/Harvard Over 135.5
FREE B: Nuggets
Joel Tyson
Seattle (+11) at PHILADELPHIA
Take the Sonics and the points tonight when they visit the Sixers.
The Sonics are 7-1 ATS in their last eight tries on the road. The road team has had the upper hand in this series as has the underdog, both roles that the Sonics play tonight. The road team is 11-1-1 ATS over the last 13 meetings between these two, and the underdog has cashed in 10 times over the same last 13.
Double digits is a lot to ask to cover in the NBA, and despite the Sixers playing well of late, I feel any team will fail to cover doubles more than they will cover.
Take the points and back Seattle as they keep this one close.
1* SEATTLE
Karl Garrett
Seattle (+11) at PHILADELPHIA
The G-Man's free play run stands at 56-43-2.
Tonight I am all over the Sonics plus the points at Philadelphia.
No doubt the 76ers are playing some inspired ball as they look to lock down a spot in the playoffs next month, but Philadelphia is not a team that should be laying double-digits to anyone.
The Sixers have not been favored by double-digits any other time this season, and while Mo Cheeks' team is on a 9-0 spread run at home, this impost is going to prove just a tad too large.
The Sonics are a decent 13-8 against the spread their last 21 games, and should up it to 14-8 after this contest.
The road team in the series stands at 11-1-1 against the spread the last 13 meetings, and the underdog is on a 10-2-1 against the math over the last 13 series tilts.
Gotta take Seattle with the points tonight.
2* SEATTLE
Sports Gambling Hotline
Golden State -5 at MIAMI
NBA tonight, as while the Warriors are coming to Miami off a straight up loss at Charlotte, we feel Golden State is certainly capable of bouncing-back and covering this road impost against the Heat.
Golden State is on a money-burning 3-9 spread nose dive, but keep in mind the Warriors are fighting hard for playoff positioning in the west, while Miami is just trying to close out this lost season.
Not much use in talking about Miami's straight up wins this season because they are few-and-far-between. With the points, the Heat isn't much better, as they have gone just 3-8 against the spread their last 11 games.
At home this year, Miami is a woeful 8-21 versus the number. We just don't see Miami being able to fend off this Golden State team that is desperate for wins, as they try to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Play on Golden State.
4* GOLDEN STATE
Chuck Franklin
Chicago at BOSTON (-11)
The Bulls certainly surprised me last night with a decisive home win over Cleveland. My Free Picks are still 5-2 the last seven and I've given you Free Pick winners 9 of the last 12... Huge Profits!
Now the Bulls are in a back-to-back, home-and-away situation that will be a disaster. Boston has protected their home court as well as anyone in this league and have won nine straight at home. The Celtics will win their seventh overall game in a row. They have already clinched a playoff spot, but now will be looking to remain the top-seed throughout the postseason.
The Bulls have won two in a row, but haven't won three in a row all season. They have already lost twice this year to the Celtics and will lose for the third time against them. The favorite has covered five of the last six in this series and the Celtics have covered five of the last six versus the NBA Central Division. Chicago is 7-19 ATS the last 26 versus the Atlantic Division and 3-10 ATS in the last 13 games played after a win.
This will be an absolute blowout!
3* BOSTON
Bobby Maxwell
San Antonio (+2) at DENVER
Free play on the NBA hardwood tonight as we side with the Spurs who visit the Nuggets in Denver.
Red-hot Spurs have won 11 straight and 15 of 16 overall and they head to Denver tonight for a matchup with a Nuggets' squad that finds itself on the outside of the playoff listings.
San Antonio got a big home win over the Pacers on Thursday, 108-97 as 13-point chalk. And now they go to Denver where they are one of the few teams to have success. The Spurs are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings in the Mile High City.
The Spurs have won six straight on the road and just swept a two-game road trip to Milwaukee, 96-94, and at New Jersey, 93-83 as 4 1/2-point favorites.
San Antonio has won five of the last six against the Nuggets and the Spurs know how to tighten up the defense. In the last five, the Spurs are holding the opposition to 83 points a game and 37.7 percent field goal shooting.
Denver has struggled against the good teams all season, let's grab the points and play the Spurs tonight.
3* SAN ANTONIO
Michael Cannon
Towson vs.Hofstra -4 at Richmond
Stanford pending last night, but looking good up by 12 at the half.
Take Hofstra minus the points over Towson in the first round of the CAA tournament.
Hofstra has been jelling down the stretch as head coach Tom Pecora has been able to provide high-scoring Antoine Agudio with some other options on offense, most notably freshman guard Charles Jenkins, who is averaging 17.7 ppg over his last four games.
The Pride have won four of their last five and six of nine, while going 4-0-1 ATS in the last five.
Towson has lost 13 straight away from the Towson Center, as well as going 1-6 ATS in its last seven away from home.
Take Hofstra minus the points as they grab the win and cover.
3* HOFSTRA
Scott Rickenbach
Pick on Utah Jazz (+) @ Phoenix
Short but sweet and a Winner (that's the plan!) with our Free Pick write-up on Friday. Note that the write-ups on our star-rated picks are more detailed. In the case of this particular free pick opinion play, this is simply the classic example of getting solid line value by fading a home team that is facing an undervalued road team. There have been changes here for Phoenix and that's why Utah's long-term road struggles are actually just serving to give us line value here. It's been a down stretch for the Suns since their trade for Shaquille O'Neal and we're going to continue to fade Phoenix as a result. However, as Phoenix and at home, they still have to get respect from both the odds maker and the betting public. That's great news for us.
Of course the home vs road dichotomies of these teams will be factored in by most bettors. However, for us, the key is that that Utah is 23-6 since January 1st while the Suns have nearly that many losses just since acquiring Shaq. Since the trade for O'Neal, the Suns are just 3-5. We have seen Utah improve their level of play on the road since the calendar turned to 2008. Also, the Suns defense has been a major problem recently and Steve Nash is going to have trouble keeping up with Deron Williams tonight in our opinion. This is going to result in continued defensive breakdowns for Phoenix. They may be at home but the Suns don't deserve to be laying any points against the Jazz right now. Utah just crushed them at home in their most recent meeting and, even though this game is in Phoenix, it's a tough match-up for the Suns. Play Utah plus the points.
Lou Diamond
Bradley and Creighton.
Take "Over".
Bradley Over is 5-0 in Braves last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Over is 8-0 in Braves last 8 overall. Over is 6-0 in Braves last 6 games following a ATS win. Over is 7-0 in Braves last 7 vs. Missouri Valley. Over is 7-2-2 in Braves last 11 vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Over is 36-15-1 in Braves last 52 games following a S.U. loss. Creighton Over is 4-0-1 in Bluejays last 5 games following a ATS loss. Over is 4-1 in Bluejays last 5 neutral site games. Over is 6-2-1 in Bluejays last 9 vs. Missouri Valley. Over is 5-2 in Bluejays last 7 vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Over is 19-8-1 in Bluejays last 28 overall. Over is 7-2-2 in the last 11 meetings
Jim Kruger
Take Northeastern over James Madison
It has not been a good year for the Dukes of James Madison. Coach Dean Keener he resigned on Feb. 22 effective at the end of the season. What started out as a promising season is not looking very good, 13-16 and the #11 seed in the Colonial Tournament.
JMU faces the #6 seed, Northeastern, who will be looking for revenge from a December 1 loss on their home court to the Dukes.
The Huskies, who start a junior, three sophomores and a freshman, have matured as the season has progressed. After entering the beginning of nearly full-time conference play with a 4-7 record, the Huskies won eight of their first 13 CAA games, including five straight from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13.
Northeastern is led by Matt Janning, last year’s CAA Rookie of the Year. He is the league’s third-leading scorer with 16.4 ppg and also grabs 3.4 rpg along with dishing out 2.4 assists per game. The Huskies’ strength is their defense. In conference games, Northeastern is second in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 61.1 points per game. Playing a variety of zones, Northeastern has held four conference opponents under 50 points and four more under 60.
Take Northeastern!
LT Profits Sports Group
San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets to stay Under 200½
The Under is a perfect 10-0 the last 10 meetings between the Spurs and Nuggets, and none of the last 15 meetings have reached 200 points. Go Under this high-ish total.
Although the Denver Nuggets like to play at a fast pace, this is an awfully high total for any game involving the San Antonio Spurs and we look for the Spurs to control the tempo here.
After all, the Spurs have always been able to slow down Carmello Anthony & Co., as the Under now an amazing 13-2 in the last 15 head-to-head meetings between these clubs including a perfect 10-0 in the last 10 encounters! Furthermore, none of those 15 meetings reached the 200-point plateau. San Antonio has now won 11 consecutive games, and as usual the Spurs are winning with defense, allowing just 87.1 points per game during this streak with the games averaging a combined 182.7 points, about 18 points less than this posted total.
Yes, the Nuggets are averaging 107.6 points per game overall this season including a whopping 109.7 points at home, and they are coming off of a 126-113 shootout win vs. the Phoenix Suns. Still, the last two times that the Nuggets have played teams that play any defense, they scored just 89 points at Houston and 93 points here at home vs. Detroit, and we have already mentioned their past difficulties scoring against the Spurs, including both games this season where they scored just 80 points here and 91 points at San Antonio.
We actually feel that these clubs will have a tough time reaching 190 points here, let alone going over 200.
Spurs, Nuggets Under 200½
Northcoast
Scott Spreitzer 3* Murray St.
Billy Coleman 3* Seattle
ER Sports
20* Playmaker: New Jersey +10
Portland +2.5
San Antonio +2.5
Chris James Sports
3* Hofstra
Dave Price
Portland Trail Blazers vs Milwaukee Bucks
1 Unit on Milwaukee Bucks -2.5
Just when it looked like the Blazers could maybe get things turned around, they have lost back-to-back games and are reeling again. We'll take the Bucks at home laying a small number. The Bucks are 8-0 ATS in home games after a combined score of 205 points or more this season and 10-2 ATS after a combined score of 215 points or more this season. Milwaukee has been at its best this season in high scoring games. The Bucks have covered the spread in 6 of their last 9 contests and scored over the century mark in 5 of those covers. The Trail Blazers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Eastern Conference and 2-12 ATS in their last 14 games following an ATS loss. The Bucks are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 home games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. the Western Conference. Take the Bucks at home against the struggling Blazers.