The Prez
Ohio State +4.0
Less than a week ago the Ohio State Buckeyes, a two-point dog, put a 63-54 beat-down on the tournament bound Michigan State Spartans; and unless OSU can repeat Sunday's upset win, it’s likely to be the Buckeye's March Madness demise.
While the Spartans are a lock to make the field of 64, their 11th straight NCAA tournament, Ohio State could be the first team since the '97 Orangemen to not make the Big Dance after reaching the national championship game the previous season.
Barring a Big Ten tournament title, Ohio State needs to defeat the Spartans and garner one more tournament win to earn serious consideration for an at-large berth on Selection Sunday.
Mr. Izzo's boyz are 6-14 ATS in their last 20 vs. Big Ten and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. Conversely the Buckeyes love playing on Ivy Friday and are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Friday games. Ohio State is 4-1 ATS the last five times these two have tipped off and the underdog in this series is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings. Ohio State finds a way to gut out the Friday afternoon Big 10 battle and win their 20th game of the season.
James Patrick Sports
Jazz vs. Celtics
The Celtics finish off current home stand as they entertain the Utah Jazz in a great match up of Eastern & Western Conference powers. Our Friday NBA complimentary selection is #502 Boston Celtics as they are rock solid at home against the Western Conference and need a win to make a statement that they are definitely a contender for the Larry O’Brien Trophy this season.
Jimmy The Moose
Game: New York Rangers at Florida Panthers
Prediction: Florida Panthers
Reason: Both team's are playing very well coming into this game. The Rangers are hanging on to a playoff spot while the Panthers are fighting to climb into a playoff spot. The Rangers are hungry but the Panthers are even hungrier and will come out on top in this one. The Panthers have won 3 of the last 4 meetings between the clubs in Florida. The Panthers know the importance of this game and will take the two points tonight. Play on the Florida Panthers +.
Brian Gabrielle
NCAAB Ohio State vs. Michigan State
Take Ohio State Buckeyes
Michigan State and Ohio State comes meet in the rubber match of an exciting series which had both teams holding serve at home in 2008. The Spartans own a Big Ten-best .486 field goal percentage and they are once again the premiere rebounding club in the conference, but the Buckeyes are the defending Big 10 Tournament Champions and ended the season strong with back to back upsets of ranked teams - including Michigan State. I'll call this one as close as it gets - Michigan State 61, Ohio State 60
Locksmith Sports
1 Unit on Michigan +13.5
Wisconsin is not a team which plays a style conducive to really blowing teams out. A 9-point win is like a blowout for the Badgers. Michigan gained some momentum with an opening round win over Iowa and I like the Wolverines to be competitive here as they play with nothing to lose. Michigan has played much better basketball down the stretch and actually played the Badgers to a 3-point game this season. Coach Ryan is 4-12 ATS in road games after a cover as a double digit favorite as the coach of Wisconsin . Beilein is 18-6 ATS in road games after failing to cover 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread in all games he has coached since 1997 and 32-16 ATS in March games in all games he has coached since 1997. Oddsmakers are giving the Wolverines too many. Take the points.
Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Lakers -1.5
After a huge blowout win over the defending champion Spurs, I expect a letdown out of the Hornets tonight. The Lakers have already visited New Orleans once this season and they dropped a 29 point defeat on the Hornets. New Orleans is just 7-24 ATS off a home win against a division rival since 1996. The Lakers are 20-6 ATS in road games after scoring 110 points or more over the last 2 seasons, 14-4 ATS when playing 4 or less games in 10 days this season, and 22-10 ATS in road games this season. Take the well rested Lakers here.
Marc Lawrence
Play On: Dallas Mavericks
Note: The new-look Mavericks return to American Airlines Arena in another matchup this week pairing a playoff team with revenge against an also-ran. We can’t blame the Pacers should they tucker-out tonight given the fact they are back on the road off a mini one-game home stand that was preceded by a three-game road trip. To make matters worse, like Willie Nelson, they are on the road again tomorrow night at Orlando. Our history book reminds us that Dallas is 8-1 ATS in this series when seeking revenge. Catching Indiana off a revenge affair with the Sonics, and having the same up next against the Magic, look for the Pacers to peter out at the Triple-A. KEY STAT: Indiana is 2-14-2 ATS in SU losses as a dog versus an opponent seeking same season loss revenge.
Dave Cokin
Bobcats at Rockets
Play: Rockets -12.5
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. No reason to get off the sizzling Rockets here, as they host Charlotte. You'd think there might have been a flat spot somewhere in this streak for Houston, but there simply hasn't been one. Given their form, this number seems more than reasonable, so once again it's the Rockets minus the points.
Dave Price
NBA Los Angeles vs. New Orleans
Take Los Angeles Lakers
1 Unit on Lakers -1.5 After a huge blowout win over the defending champion Spurs, I expect a letdown out of the Hornets tonight. The Lakers have already visited New Orleans once this season and they dropped a 29 point defeat on the Hornets. New Orleans is just 7-24 ATS off a home win against a division rival since 1996. The Lakers are 20-6 ATS in road games after scoring 110 points or more over the last 2 seasons, 14-4 ATS when playing 4 or less games in 10 days this season, and 22-10 ATS in road games this season. Take the well rested Lakers here.
Vegas Sports Pics
Purdue Boilermakers - 4.5 over Illinois Fighting Illini
Purdue is 13-2 last 15 games including two victories over No.8 Wisconsin and an 83-75 win at Illinois on 02/02. Boilermakers rank second in the Big Ten in scoring and third in scoring defense.
Ohio State Buckeyes + 4.5 over Michigan State Spartans
Ohio State is 5-1 last six Big Ten tournament games and 4-1 last five meetings off splitting two games this season, winning at home 63-54 on Sunday, losing at Michigan State 66-60 on 01/15.
Indiana Hoosiers - 5 over Minnesota Golden Gophers
Indiana leads the Big Ten in both scoring and rebounding. The regrouped Hoosiers went 2-0 over Gophers this season, winning at home 69-55 last week and at Minnesota 65-60 on 01/17.
Ted Sevransky
Chicago Rush @ Grand Rapids Rampage
PICK: Grand Rapids Rampage
REASON FOR PICK: Grand Rapids has been an AFL bottom feeder for the last four years. The Rampage compiled a 14-50 SU mark during that span as the franchise deteriorated mightily following their championship season in 2001. Last year, they lost ten games by more than ten points. Clearly, it was time for a serious housecleaning. Enter new head coach Steve Thonn, a former AFL player with Albany in the 1990’s and a solid head coach during his previous stint with the now defunct Houston Thunder Bears.
Thonn handed former Florida State star Adrian McPherson the starting quarterback position, and McPherson did not disappoint in his season debut last week, despite a goal line fumble in the final minute that cost the Rampage the game. Run/pass dual threat QB’s are very difficult to defend in the AFL, and McPherson led the league in rushing last week while throwing four touchdown passes, as Grand Rapids gave the defending champions San Jose a real scare.
Meanwhile, Chicago was getting pounded at home by Philadelphia, as aging QB Shedrick Bonner looked old and out of sync with his receivers for the second consecutive week. Remember, the Rush have six new starters on their eight man offense, and this is their first road game of the year. That’s not exactly an ideal situation to lay a touchdown with on the road, particularly against a team that could be vastly undervalued right now. Take Grand Rapids. Current Line: Grand Rapids +6.5, worth betting at +6 or better.
JEFFERSONSPORTS
HOUSTON ROCKETS-11.5 Houston since feb 7 is 10-2 ats at this number (-11.5). Meaning that if you set the line at -11.5 for the last twelve home games for the rockets they would be 10-2 ats. I'll take those odds. I love the way alston is playing. I love the versatility of scola. Battier is a terrific defender and role player. The role players step up and do their job and they play great D. They even fall into this loose matchup zone that has been giving teams fits. The crowd will be great, its friday night, the streak is alive, I don't think they get caught looking ahead to LA on sunday. The line has dropped some but it is not going to scare me.
Play Houston-11.5
Gold Sheet LTS Early Update
1.5* Ohio State, Tennessee
Kelso Fri early
10 units Oklahoma -8.5 v. Colorado
3 units Mich St -4 v. OSU.
Robert Ross
Los Angeles Clippers at Atlanta Hawks
Clippers opened a four-game East Coast swing Wednesday night with a 22-pt. loss in Orlando. They come here, play Washington Saturday night and finish in Minnesota Monday. The road has not been kind to the Clipps who are 8-20 S/U and 12-16 ATS away from Staples Center. At the end of a long, injury-plagued season don't expect them to put up much resistance in this one. Atlanta takes a big class drop after playing at Orlando Monday and hosting Houston Wednesday. It got two wins last year versus the Clipps, beating them here 86-74 and in L.A. 96-93
Play on: Atlanta
Great Lakes
South Carolina vs Tennessee
Play on: Tennessee Vols
The Vols are 49-37 ATS the last three years, and 29-20 ATS after a conference game the last three years. The Vols are also 10-4 ATS after a conference game this year, and 9-3 ATS off of a win vs a conference rival this year. We look for Tennessee to grab the SEC ATS Tournament Win & Cover today.