Brian Hansen
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Clippers
Prediction: Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are coming off a road loss, but I expect them to be sharp tonight in front of the hometown crowd and to do just enough to come away with an ATS victory! In fact it's interesting to note that LA is a great 6-4 ATS its last 10 vs. Northwest division opponents; play on the CLIPPERS!
DUNKEL
New Jersey at Oklahoma City
The Nets are coming off a 99-88 victory at Memphis, but are just 3-6 ATS after a win by 10 points or more in the previous game. Oklahoma City is the pick (-2 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Thunder favored by 5 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma City (-2 1/2).
Game 501-502: Phoenix at Washington
Dunkel Ratings: Phoenix 117.461; Washington 113.230
Dunkel Line & Total: Phoenix by 4; 192
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 503-504: Houston at New York
Dunkel Ratings: Houston 119.116; New York 119.874
Dunkel Line & Total: New York by 1; 205 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 505-506: Atlanta at Miami
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta 119.099; Miami 121.219
Dunkel Line & Total: Miami by 2; 195
Vegas Line & Total: Miami by 3 1/2; 193 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (+3 1/2); Over
Game 507-508: New Jersey at Oklahoma City
Dunkel Ratings: New Jersey 113.022; Oklahoma City 118.533
Dunkel Line & Total: Oklahoma City by 5 1/2; 192 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Oklahoma City by 2 1/2; 201 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma City (-2 1/2); Under
Game 509-510: Minnesota at Milwaukee
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota 118.100; Milwaukee 118.061
Dunkel Line & Total: Even; 204 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 511-512: Philadelphia at New Orleans
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia 122.393; New Orleans 123.341
Dunkel Line & Total: New Orleans by 1; 195
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
Game 513-514: Portland at LA Clippers
Dunkel Ratings: Portland 118.428; LA Clippers 113.554
Dunkel Line & Total: Portland by 5; 191 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A
NCAAB
NC Greensboro at Furman
The Purple Paladins try to rebound from a 69-53 loss at Georgia Southern, but are 0-5 ATS after scoring 60 points or less in the previous game. NC Greensboro is the pick (+3 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Spartans favored straight up by 2 1/2. Dunkel Pick: NC Greensboro (+3 1/2).
Game 515-516: Marquette at Notre Dame
Dunkel Ratings: Marquette 70.900; Notre Dame 74.007
Dunkel Line: Notre Dame by 3
Vegas Line: Notre Dame by 2 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Notre Dame (-2 1/2)
Game 517-518: Akron at Youngstown State
Dunkel Ratings: Akron 55.947; Youngstown State 55.121
Dunkel Line: Akron by 1
Vegas Line: Akron by 4 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Youngstown State (+4 1/2)
Game 519-520: Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
Dunkel Ratings: Oklahoma 73.057; Oklahoma State 73.230
Dunkel Line: Even
Vegas Line: Oklahoma by 2
Dunkel Pick: Oklahoma State (+2)
Game 521-522: NC Greensboro at Furman
Dunkel Ratings: NC Greensboro 43.996; Furman 41.454
Dunkel Line: NC Greensboro by 2 1/2
Vegas Line: Furman by 3 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NC Greensboro (+3 1/2)
Game 523-524: Canisius at Niagara
Dunkel Ratings: Canisius 43.884; Niagara 58.380
Dunkel Line: Niagara by 14 1/2
Vegas Line: Niagara by 13 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Niagara (-13 1/2)
Game 525-526: Iona at Siena
Dunkel Ratings: Iona 52.939; Siena 65.390
Dunkel Line: Siena by 12 1/2
Vegas Line: Siena by 10 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Siena (-10 1/2)
Game 527-528: Fairfield at Manhattan
Dunkel Ratings: Fairfield 51.659; Manhattan 50.678
Dunkel Line: Fairfield by 1
Vegas Line: Pick
Dunkel Pick: Fairfield
Game 529-530: Elon at Wofford
Dunkel Ratings: Elon 45.300; Wofford 49.255
Dunkel Line: Wofford by 4
Vegas Line: Wofford by 6
Dunkel Pick: Elon (+6)
Game 531-532: The Citadel at Samford
Dunkel Ratings: The Citadel 45.619; Samford 54.373
Dunkel Line: Samford by 9
Vegas Line: Samford by 5
Dunkel Pick: Samford (-5)
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit on Thunder -2.5
The Thunder are playing better basketball than the Nets right now. New Jersey has lost 5 of 6 while OKC has won 4 of 7. OKC played the Nets to within 4 points on the road earlier this month and will be ready to return the favor with a win tonight. First off, New Jersey is 0-9 ATS in road games versus good 3 point shooting teams - making >=36% of their attempts - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons and 0-9 ATS in road games vs. good free throw shooting teams - making >=76% of their attempts - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons. The Thunder are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 home games, 21-7 ATS in their last 28 games overall, and a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 2 days rest. The Favorite is also 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings. Bet the Thunder.
Tom Freese
New Jersey vs. Oklahoma City
Play: Oklahoma City -1½
Oklahoma City is 6-0 ATS their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and they are 5-0 ATS when playing with two days of rest. The Thunder are 18-5 ATS off a straight up loss and they are 9-1 ATS their last 10 home games. New Jersey is 0-4 ATS their last 4 games vs. an opponent who scored 100 or more points in their last game and they are 2-5 ATS their last 7 games overall. The Nets are 1-4 ATS their last 5 games as dogs and they 3-8 ATS vs. the Northwest Division. PLAY ON OKLAHOMA CITY -
Brett Maverick Sports
Suns/Wizards Over
Our selection tonight comes from the NBA where we know the Suns forget to play defense when tired and playing with no rest. When Phoenix plays away with no rest they have gone over the total 6 of the last 7 tries. The Suns are also 9-3 toward the over vs the Southest Division. The Wizards counter these impressive numbers by going over 4 straight when facing Phoenix. Look for the Suns to continue to losen up some on offense and let the Stars shine as they have asked. Take the OVER.
Ben Burns
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Clippers
Prediction: Under
The boxscore will show that these teams played an extremely high-scoring (120-112) game against each other six weeks ago at Portland. However, those who watched that game will remember that it went to double-overtime with 38 of the points coming in the two extra periods. I expect a much lower-scoring affair this evening.
The Blazers saw their last game stay below the number, their seventh 'under' in their last 12 games. The Clippers, who saw last night's game stay below the total by nearly 20 points, have scored 85 points or less five of the last 10 times that they played the second of back to back games. They average only 91.3 points per game at home and figure to have some trouble scoring again here. The last time that these teams met here at LA they combined for only 155 points and the previous meeting here before that finished with only 162. Take a look at the Under.
Vegas Experts
Marquette at Notre Dame
Ok, so if you're taking Marquette here, you are essentially saying that Notre Dame is going to lose a second straight home game. Before Saturday's loss to #3 UConn, they had won 45 straight in South Bend. The "just due" factor works in our favor here as Marquette has yet to lose in league play while the Irish have lost three straight games. ND is 11-2 ATS in that role, 10-1 ATS if the three losses occured in conference play. Lay the points.
Play on: Notre Dame
Matt Fargo
Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
Play: Oklahoma State +3.5
As usual, Oklahoma St. is solid at home as it currently sits at 9-1 inside Gallagher IBA Arena. The one loss happened to come in its last game against Missouri by just a bucket so the Cowboys will be out to reclaim their floor and what better way than in the “Bedlam” against Oklahoma. This will obviously be the toughest opponent to come to Stillwater this season but I like the way that the Cowboys enter this game. They won on Saturday at a very tough Devaney Center against the Huskers in overtime and that was an absolutely huge win as coming into this game with three straight losses would have been disaster. Oklahoma St. lost both meetings to Oklahoma last season and when that happened in 2006, the first meeting in 2007 was taken by the Cowboys at home so the situations are very similar. Oklahoma has won seven games in a row following its lone loss of the season at Arkansas. Only two of those seven games were played on the road and neither came against teams ranked better than Oklahoma St. The Sooners do a lot of good things obviously but there are weaknesses that the Cowboys can run with and I will go over those down further. Oklahoma has looked vaguely human away from the Lloyd Noble Center. In their last three road games, the Sooners lost at Arkansas, won by eight at Kansas State and six at Texas A&M. The Sooners will have the height and depth advantage but the backcourt favors the Cowboys and their trapping system that features four guards and no starter bigger than 6’8” Malcoln Kirkland. The Cowboys are a dangerous three-point shooting team as they are hitting 41.5 percent from long range which is third best in the country. Oklahoma is hitting 35.3 percent which is tied for 125th. Both defenses allow just over 34 percent shooting from behind the arc so the edge goes to the Cowboys here. If they get hot, this game could turn into a long one for Oklahoma which no one is expecting. The Sooners do not want another close game but that is probably not going to come true for them. The reason is that if it comes down to free throws, the Cowboys have the clear advantage. Oklahoma is hitting 67.4 percent from the stripe which is average while the Cowboys are hitting 72.4 percent from the line. The real edge is in the home/road numbers. Oklahoma St. is shooting 78.5 percent from the free throw line at home compared to a dismal 55.5 percent for the Sooners on the road. To put those percentages into perspective, Oklahoma St. is 10th in the country in home free throw shooting percentage while Oklahoma is 341st in road free throw percentage. Those can easily make or break a game, especially a game of this stature. As mentioned, there is revenge on the line but the Cowboys will have a little extra in the tank based on last season’s post game comments. Sooners coach Jeff Capel's win in Stillwater last year produced a candid camera quote to his team: “Hurry up and take a shower and get the hell out of this hell-hole.” Says Cowboy guard Byron Eaton: “That's really just downsizing us as a university. But that's just more ammunition to us.” As mentioned, the three-point shooting could be the key and Oklahoma is just 4-13 ATS in its last 17 games against teams that makes 41 percent or more of their long range attempts. The Sooners are also only 17-35-2 ATS in their last 54 road games making that road free throw shooting percentage that much more worrisome. An outright upset is in the makings for tonight. 3* Oklahoma St. Cowboys
Mike Anthony
Marquette vs. Notre Dame
Play: Marquette +3
More matchup problems for the Irish tonight, as Notre Dame was unable to effectively combat the Golden Eagles 3-guard offense last year, dropping 2 of the the 3 season meetings straight up, while failing ALL 3 against the spread! More of the same tonight, as James, Matthews, and McNeal continue to thin Mike Brey’s even more.
Marquette has won their last 9 games straight up, and that includes 3 straight road wins, at Providence, Rutgers, and NC State. Now that Notre Dame’s long home court winning streak has been snapped, look for the Irish to suffer a bit of a let down and drop yet another conference game.Take the underdog Marquette boys tonight.
Jeff Benton
Obviously, the Hornets are one of the best teams in the NBA and a legitimate threat to win the Western Conference. But they’re also hurting, as two of their best players (Tyson Chandler and David West) are out with injuries. Chandler definitely won’t play in this game, and West is doubtful. That’s 28.8 points and 15.4 rebounds per game that could be sitting in suits and ties on the sidelines.
It was because of those injuries that I issued a 10 Dime Best Bet play on the Timberwolves against the Hornets on Friday, and Minnesota delivered a 116-108 victory. That defeat dropped New Orleans to just 6-5 SU in its last 11 games and 7-11 ATS in its last 18, including 3-4 ATS in its last seven at home.
Meanwhile, what’s not to like about Philadelphia right now? The Sixers have won eight of their last nine, with the only blemish being a buzzer-beating two-point home loss to Dallas a week ago today. Also, even though Philly barely failed to cash in its last two games, it was on an 8-0 ATS run prior to that, including four consecutive spread-covers on the road and six straight spread-covers as an underdog.
The Sixers got Elton Brand back from injury on Saturday, and he went 3-for-4 with six points and two blocks in just 13 minutes of play. Expect his playing time to increase tonight, and he should find plenty of room to roam down low with Chandler out for the Hornets. Throw in the fact that Philadelphia is very well rested (just one game in the last week), while New Orleans is playing its fourth game during that same seven-day period, and I’ll confidently roll the dice with the road ‘dog.
4♦ PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
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Today's Free Pick is Miami -3.5
Maddux Sports
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ATLANTA vs. MIAMI FREE PICK
The Atlanta Hawks have had a subpar January and even when they have played well this month it's been against sub-.500 opponents and the Miami Heat had the same problem but they are coming off a victory over the Orlando Magic, one of the league's top teams. The Heat will look to keep that momentum going tonight against the Hawks who haven't beaten a team with a winning record in more than three weeks. The Atlanta Hawks (26-17) have stumbled in January going 5-7.They had won four of five heading into Sunday's home game against Phoenix, but again couldn't pull out a win against a quality opponent as they shot 41.7 percent and 22.7 percent from 3-point range falling 104-99 for their fifth consecutive loss against a team over 500. The last time Atlanta won on the road over a quality opponent came on Dec. 12th in Miami where a 53-37 rebound differential led to a 87-73 loss. Miami (23-19) beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland in December, but had been 0-6 against teams with winning records in January before it hosted Orlando on Saturday. Miami led by four at halftime and 15 after three quarters, holding on to win 103-97 behind 27 points from Dwyane Wade.Wade is leading the league in scoring at 28.7 points per game, but it's been a shaky supporting cast that's limited Miami from establishing any sort of consistency. The Heat haven't won or lost more than two games in a row in a month.The most disappointing member of that supporting cast has been Shawn Marion, who's missed two of Miami's last three games because of a strained left groin. Marion's 12.0 ppg and 9.0 rebounds per game are his lowest averages since his rookie season, and he's listed as questionable for tonight. Atlanta is without a key member of its frontcourt, second-year forward Al Horford has missed the team's last eight games with a right knee bone bruise, and he isn't expected to join the Hawks tonight in Miami or Wednesday in New York. Marvin Williams, who had missed two games with a concussion has returned and had 11 points in a win over Milwaukee, then led Atlanta with 17 points in Sunday's loss to Phoenix. For the Hawks to win their secong game over the Heat this season, they'll need Joe Johnson to find his shooting touch. Atlanta's leading scorer at 21.6 ppg is averaging 13.3 points on 26.5 percent from the field in his last three games.The Hawks have won two of three in Miami after a stretch where they lost 20 of 21 there. Both teams have been too inconsistent to bet either side although they have both put up points lately as the Miami Heat have gone over in there last 7 out of 9 games.
TAKE OVER 193
JR Tips
Jrtips
ATLANTA vs. MIAMI
The Atlanta Hawks have had a subpar January and even when they have played well this month it's been against sub-.500 opponents and the Miami Heat had the same problem but they are coming off a victory over the Orlando Magic, one of the league's top teams. The Heat will look to keep that momentum going tonight against the Hawks who haven't beaten a team with a winning record in more than three weeks. The Atlanta Hawks (26-17) have stumbled in January going 5-7.They had won four of five heading into Sunday's home game against Phoenix, but again couldn't pull out a win against a quality opponent as they shot 41.7 percent and 22.7 percent from 3-point range falling 104-99 for their fifth consecutive loss against a team over 500. The last time Atlanta won on the road over a quality opponent came on Dec. 12th in Miami where a 53-37 rebound differential led to a 87-73 loss. Miami (23-19) beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland in December, but had been 0-6 against teams with winning records in January before it hosted Orlando on Saturday. Miami led by four at halftime and 15 after three quarters, holding on to win 103-97 behind 27 points from Dwyane Wade.Wade is leading the league in scoring at 28.7 points per game, but it's been a shaky supporting cast that's limited Miami from establishing any sort of consistency. The Heat haven't won or lost more than two games in a row in a month.The most disappointing member of that supporting cast has been Shawn Marion, who's missed two of Miami's last three games because of a strained left groin. Marion's 12.0 ppg and 9.0 rebounds per game are his lowest averages since his rookie season, and he's listed as questionable for tonight. Atlanta is without a key member of its frontcourt, second-year forward Al Horford has missed the team's last eight games with a right knee bone bruise, and he isn't expected to join the Hawks tonight in Miami or Wednesday in New York. Marvin Williams, who had missed two games with a concussion has returned and had 11 points in a win over Milwaukee, then led Atlanta with 17 points in Sunday's loss to Phoenix. For the Hawks to win their secong game over the Heat this season, they'll need Joe Johnson to find his shooting touch. Atlanta's leading scorer at 21.6 ppg is averaging 13.3 points on 26.5 percent from the field in his last three games.The Hawks have won two of three in Miami after a stretch where they lost 20 of 21 there. Both teams have been too inconsistent to bet either side although they have both put up points lately as the Miami Heat have gone over in there last 7 out of 9 games.TAKE OVER 193