SPORTS ADVISORS
(7) Louisville (21-5, 16-10 ATS) at Georgetown (14-11, 7-13-1 ATS)
Louisville shoots for its fourth consecutive win and cover, including its second on the road in 48 hours, when it visits the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. for a Big East battle with slumping Georgetown.
The Cardinals took down Cincinnati 72-63 as a 5½-point road chalk Saturday, a modest victory considering Rick Pitino’s squad had blown out its previous two opponents – DePaul and Providence – by 45 and 18 points, respectively, both at home. Louisville is averaging 88.3 ppg during its winning streak after scoring 56 ppg during a previous 1-2 slump.
After an impressive 15-point road win at South Florida, the Hoyas resumed their losing ways in Saturday’s 78-72 setback to 10th-ranked Marquette as a 3½-point home favorite. Georgetown has dropped eight of its last 10 games, including seven of nine in the Big East, going 1-8-1 ATS during this slump.
Louisville is stuck in a three-way tie for second place in the rugged Big East at 12-2 (11-3 ATS), including 6-1 SU and ATS on the highway. Georgetown, which started Big East play with a stunning 74-63 road upset of UConn, is now 5-9 SU and a woeful 3-11-1 ATS in conference action, including 3-4 at home (1-6 ATS).
The Cardinals knocked off Georgetown 59-51 as a 3½-point home favorite last February, but the Hoyas got revenge a month later in the regular-season finale, winning 55-52 to claim the Big East regular-season crown, coming up just short as a 3½-point home chalk. Going back to 2000, Georgetown has won four of five meetings against Louisville (2-2-1 ATS), with the favorite going 3-1-1 ATS.
In addition to pointspread funks of 1-8-1 overall and 0-4 at home, the Hoyas are on ATS nosedives of 0-6 against winning teams, 4-9 when playing on Monday and 1-4-1 as an underdog. Conversely, Louisville carries positive ATS trends of 4-1 overall, 23-7-1 on the road, 41-13-2 in Big East play, 5-2-1 on Monday, 9-3 after a SU victory and 8-2 after a spread-cover.
The under is 4-1 in the last five meetings in this rivalry, 7-1 in Louisville’s last eight on Monday, 4-1 in its last five against opponents with a winning record, 10-1 for the Hoyas on Monday, 36-16-1 for the Hoyas after a SU defeat and 43-21-1 for the Hoyas after an ATS setback. However, the over is on runs of 4-0 for the Cardinals overall (all in Big East play) and 5-1 for the Cardinals after a SU win.
ATS ADVANTAGE: LOUISVILLE and UNDER
(15) Kansas (22-5, 15-5-1 ATS) at (2) Oklahoma (25-2, 12-9-1 ATS)
First place in the Big 12 is on the line as Oklahoma tries to bounce back from its first defeat of 2009 when it hosts the Jayhawks at the Lloyd Nobel Center.
The Sooners had their 13-game winning streak, which dated back to Jan. 3, snapped in Saturday’s 73-68 loss at archrival Texas as a 1½-point road underdog. Oklahoma, which had started the conference season with 11 straight wins, put up a good fight despite not having star Blake Griffin for much of the contest. Griffin suffered a concussion early in the first half and sat the bench the rest of the night, finishing with two points and three rebounds in 11 minutes. The Sooners played Texas even in the second half (39-39) after trailing by five at halftime.
Although Griffin’s postgame MRI results were deemed negative, the 6-foot-10 forward – who is averaging 22 points and 13.8 rebounds per game, is listed as doubtful for this game.
Kansas won its third in a row Saturday, blowing out Nebraska 70-53 as a 12-point home favorite. The Jayhawks have scored between 70 and 78 points in their last four victories, and the defending national champs are giving up just 57.5 ppg in Big 12 play, limiting seven of their last 11 foes to 62 points or less.
Not only are the Jayhawks 11-1 in conference play, but they’re 10-1-1 ATS, including 6-0 SU and ATS on the road. Oklahoma went just 7-4-1 ATS during their 13-game winning streak, all in Big 12 action. The Sooners are 6-0 SU and 3-3 ATS when hosting league rivals at the Nobel Center.
Kansas has won four straight meetings in this rivalry, cashing in the last two after going 1-5 ATS in the previous six. In last year’s only meeting, the Jayhawks humiliated the Sooners 85-55 as a 15-point home favorite. The host is 5-1 SU and ATS in the last six regular-season battles.
The Jayhawks bring a bevy of positive ATS streaks into this game, including 21-6-1 overall, 14-3-1 in Big 12 play, 6-0 on the road, 7-0 on Monday, 21-8-1 after a SU victory, 7-1-1 after an ATS triumph and 35-16-1 against teams with a winning record. Oklahoma is unbeaten in 15 games at the Noble Center, but just 5-5 ATS. However, the Sooners are 5-0 ATS this season when favored by less than five points.
For Kansas, the under is on stretches of 7-1 overall (all in the Big 12), 5-2 on the road, 5-1 on Monday and 10-1 after a SU victory. On the flip side, the Sooners are on “over” runs of 7-2 overall (all in the Big 12), 10-1 at home, 5-2 on Monday and 9-4 after a SU defeat.
ATS ADVANTAGE: KANSAS
NBA
Atlanta (32-23, 28-27 ATS) at Utah (33-23, 30-26 ATS)
The Jazz shoot for their fifth straight victory overall and their eighth consecutive home win when they welcome the Hawks to EnergySolutions Arena.
Utah is a perfect 4-0 SU and ATS through the first four games of a five-game homestand that ends tonight. On Saturday, the Jazz blasted the Hornets 102-88 as a seven-point favorite, the ninth time in the last 11 games that they’ve scored in triple figures. Utah is on an 8-2 SU and ATS run overall, including 7-0 SU and ATS at home. Also, the SU winner has covered in each of the team’s last 14 games.
Atlanta has split the first four games of a six-game road trip that ends Wednesday in Denver. After knocking off Detroit 99-95 as a 3½-point road underdog prior to the All-Star break, the Hawks have posted losses at the Lakers (96-83) and Blazers (108-98), with a 105-100 win at Sacramento sandwiched in the middle. However, they failed to cover in all three contests.
The Hawks ended a nine-game SU and ATS losing skid to the Jazz with last year’s 116-111 victory as a four-point home underdog, but the Jazz returned to their winning ways in the series with a 100-94 home win two months later. However, Utah came up way short as a 13½-point favorite, ending a 5-0 ATS run versus the Hawks in Salt Lake. The chalk had been on a 10-0 ATS run in this rivalry prior to Atlanta’s two-spread covers as an underdog last year.
Utah’s pointspread runs include 4-0 overall, 58-27-2 at home, 7-1 as a favorite, 15-3 on Monday, 13-5 when playing on one day of rest and 27-11 after a double-digit victory. The only negative for the Jazz: They’re 1-4 ATS in their past five versus the Southeast Division. The Hawks are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games as an underdog and 12-3 ATS when catching between five and 10½ points. However, they’re 1-4 ATS in their last five against winning teams and 0-4 ATS in their last four against the Western Conference.
The under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in this rivalry and 5-0 in the last five clashes in Utah, while the Hawks have stayed low in 11 of their last 16 against the Western Conference. Otherwise, though, the “over” is on runs of 5-2 for Atlanta overall, 17-8 for the Jazz overall, 12-5 for the Jazz after a SU win and 4-0 for the Jazz on Monday,
ATS ADVANTAGE: UTAH
Boston (45-12, 32-25 ATS) at Denver (37-19, 31-24-1 ATS)
The Celtics continue their six-game Western Conference road trip with their one and only stop this season at the Pepsi Center for a clash with the Nuggets, who return home after concluding a brutal nine-game road journey at Milwaukee.
Boston, playing its first full game without injured star Kevin Garnett on Sunday, throttled the Suns 128-108 as a two-point road underdog. With Garnett back in Boston getting treatment on his injured knee, Rajon Rondo had a career-high 32 points and Ray Allen chipped in with 31 as the Celtics set a season high for points scored. Boston is just 4-3 SU in their last seven games and 4-5 ATS in its last nine, but Doc Rivers’ squad has now won 10 of its last 11 road contests (9-2 ATS).
Denver has followed up a 7-1 run (5-3 ATS) with consecutive losses at Chicago on Friday (116-99 as a 1½-point chalk) and Milwaukee on Sunday (120-117 as a 3½-point favorite), two poor defensive efforts after the Nuggets gave up just 81.3 ppg during a three-game SU and ATS winning streak. Against the Bucks, Carmelo Anthony had 33 points and the Nuggets shot 50.7 percent from the field, but allowed Milwaukee to connect on 10 of 21 three-point tries.
The Nuggets went to Boston on Nov. 14 and stunned the defending champs 94-85 as a 10-point road underdog. Prior to that, the host had been on a 7-0 SU and ATS run in this rivalry, including Denver’s 124-118 victory as a one-point home favorite in last season’s lone meeting at the Pepsi Center. The SU winner has covered the number in each of the last 10 head-to-head matchups, with the C’s going 0-4 SU and ATS in their last four visits to the Mile High City.
Although it is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 road games, Boston has failed to cover in six of its last eight on Monday and is 0-4 ATS in its last four against the Northwest Division. Denver is on pointspread streaks of 4-1 on Monday, 13-3 against the Atlantic Division, 5-3 versus the Eastern Conference and 5-2 against winning teams, but the Nuggets are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 back-to-back situations.
The over is 6-1 in the last seven meetings in this rivalry and 4-1 in the last five clashes in Denver. The over is also 5-0 in Boston’s last five against winning teams and 18-8-1 in Denver’s last 27 against the Atlantic Division. Conversely, for the Celtics, the under is on runs of 35-18 on the road, 14-7-1 against the Western Conference, 19-7-1 on Monday and 11-3 when playing on back-to-back nights. Also, the under is 4-2 in the Nuggets’ last six overall, 4-2 in their last six against the Eastern Conference and 4-1 in their last five back-to-backs.
ATS ADVANTAGE: DENVER
Matt Rivers
For Monday take the points with the Pacers.
Indiana is a very beat up club right now with their budding star Danny Granger out but with both teams on a back-to-back why not scoop up this number?
Mike D'Antoni's Knicks at times really are not that bad as Nate Robinson, David Lee and others have shown some promise but this franchise is still all about 2010 and LeBron and that free agent crop so to be getting a half dozen points or so is well enough for me here.
Neither of these teams really play all that much defense and both teams will get out on the break and score some points. It worked out well yesterday for Indiana as they beat a semi surging Bulls team unlike New York who fell North of the border in Toronto.
There's no real rocket science here at all. Both teams are still fairly mediocre, both are playing for a second straight day and neither is at all trustworthy. In the end that all equals a small play on the dog!
Tony Weston
Today's Selection:
Tough call on the Lakers last night as they let the Timberwolves hang around close enough to hand us a loss in this spot. That’s alright because we’ve still hit two of our last three Comp Plays and we’re going for three of four tonight.
We’re sticking with the NBA as we’re taking the Knicks at home against the visiting Indiana Pacers.
New York comes into this game on a roll lately, covering in three of its last four games and going 8-2 ATS its last 10 games at Madison Square Garden.
For the season the Knicks are 17-11 ATS at home and have covered in five straight home games when installed as a favorite.
New York has also covered six of their last seven games against the Eastern Conference and have covered in five of its last seven against the Central Division.
The Pacers, on the other hand, enter this game having gone 1-5-1 ATS their last seven road games and have not covered in any of their last five road games when installed as an underdog of between 5 and 10 1/2 points.
Also, the last time these two played, on Jan. 31, the Knicks got the outright win as a 3 1/2 point underdog, beating Indiana 122-113 at the Conseco Fieldhouse.
New York will remain hot and get over on the Pacers easily tonight. Take the Knicks in front of the fans at the Garden in this one.
3♦ KNICKS
Bobby Maxwell
Atlanta +7 at UTAH
Tonight we've got a comp play on the Hawks as they are on the road taking on Utah.
These two teams are pretty even when it comes to talent on the court, so this is just way too many points to pass up with the Hawks. Grab the points and play Atlanta in this one.
Atlanta has split the first four games of this current six-game road trip that concludes in Denver on Wednesday. Since the All-Star Break, the Hawks have gone 1-2 SU and 0-3 ATS and they lost 108-98 at Portland on Saturday. But even though they have struggled to cash lately, Atlanta is still 13-6 ATS in its last 19 games as an underdog and 12-3 ATS when they are 'dogs between five and 10 1/2 points.
Utah is just 1-4 ATS in its last five games against Southeast Division foes and last time Atlanta came calling in Salt Lake City, the Hawks cashed as 13 1/2-point dogs in a six-point loss.
Atlanta has a plethora of scoring options and when this team is clicking, they are a joy to watch. Mike Bibby makes it all go for the Hawks and he'll enjoy tonight's matchup with Utah's Deron Williams. Utah lost its owner in Larry Miller over the weekend and they had to be playing with a lot of emotion in Saturday's 102-88 win over the Hornets. Today all that emotion will have settled a bit and things get a little tougher.
Grab the points and play the Hawks.
2♦ ATLANTA
Sports Gambling Hotline
Atlanta at UTAH -7
We are on a 13-5-2 free play run the last 20 days!
The road is starting to get a little long for Atlanta, as the Hawks are now playing their 5th of 6 straight road games, and their 4th roadie in 7 nights.
We expect the Hawks to be gassed tonight at Utah against a Jazz team that is firmly on a roll, winning and covering their last 4, and 7 of their last 8 both straight up, and against the spread.
Utah has captured 9 of the last 10 series meetings straight up, and the favorite is on a 10-2 spread run the last 12 series meetings.
This is the last of 5 in a row at home for the Jazzmen, while the Hawks still have a Wednesday road game at Denver to go before the come back home to end the month with Miami.
Utah to roll over the road-weary Hawks.
Play on the Jazz.
4♦ UTAH
Karl Garrett
New Orleans -7' at SACRAMENTO
The 3-game road trek for the Hornets just got a tad easier, as New Orleans has already lost at the Lakers, and at the Jazz, but the G-Man feels strongly they will head back to the Big Easy with a solid win and cover at Sacramento tonight.
The Kings sport just 2 straight up wins their last 17 games, and the points sure haven't helped much as Sacramento is just 5-16 against the spread their last 21 at the Arco Arena.
New Orleans did win the last meeting between the teams, 99-90, but failed to cover as the 15 1/2-point favorite. The price tonight is a little more respectable, and as I said earlier, I don't see the Hornets dropping all 3 on this road swing.
New Orleans to post the win, and cover.
2♦ NEW ORLEANS
Dwayne Bryant
Play: Utah Jazz -7
The Jazz honored their late owner, Larry Miller, with a 14-point win over New Orleans on Saturday. Utah was already a tough team to beat at home (24-6 SU, 19-11 ATS), but now it figures to be even tougher as the Jazz will be playing with a ton of emotion.
This is the fifth game of a six-game road trip for Atlanta. The Hawks' road story is pretty simple; they beat the bad teams and lose to the good ones. In fact, the Hawks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600.
From a series perspective, the Hawks are 2-9 ATS in the last 11 meetings, including 1-5 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Utah.
Added emotion only makes a very good home team even better. I'll lay the wood with Utah tonight.
Lenny Del Genio
Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks
Play on: Over
Frank Jordan
Philadelphia 76ers vs. New Jersey Nets
Play: New Jersey Nets +1
Philadelphia is at .500 with a 27-27 and New Jersey under .500 at 24-32. Both teams are on a bit of a slide as Philadelphia is on a three game losing streak and New Jersey is on a 5 game losing slide as they host the Sixers. In this battle of the Turnpike look for the Nets to end their losing at the expense of Philadelphia and send the home faith to the exits happy. Play New Jersey
Craig Trapp
Louisville vs. Georgetown
Play: Louisville -1.5
Wow surprising this spread should be 5.5-6.0 pts. Louisville is playing for a NCAA championship and Georgtown is playing for NIT.Louisville got back on the right track with a win at Cincinnati on Saturday. A long season for U of L but this team is led by there defense and rebounding. Both of which GTOWN struggles with. Louisville is 16-10 ATS where as GTOWN is only 7-13. Pitino always has his teams playing great at end of the year and this year is no different. Lets take Louisiville -1.5 and love every second of this game!! SCORE Lou 79 - GTOWN 68
Bob Harvey
Louisville -1.0
It’s tough to ignore the momentum of these two teams. In the case of Louisville they’re red hot and headed towards a possible Big East title. Georgetown was a top ten team just weeks ago, but they’re now trying to prevent their season from slip sliding away.
The Hoya’s were the 9th ranked team in the nation as recently as five weeks ago and now isn’t even in the top ten of its own conference. Georgetown has gone 2-8 in its last ten games including a 1-8-1 record ATS.
On the other side of the spectrum are the Cardinals are very much in the hunt for the conference title. They along with U-Conn, Pitt and Marquette all have two Big East losses. Louisville however has the best spread number of any team in the Big East. The Cards are on a 7-3 ATS run and 16-10 vs. the number overall. That includes a sparkling road mark of 6-1 ATS.
In what should be a terrific defensive battle, I’m siding with the sizzling Cards. They’ve got the talent and coaching advantage in this one.
LT Profits
New Orleans Hornets -7.5
Now, we are not normally fans of laying this many points on the road, but we expect the New Orleans Hornets to bring their best effort tonight, which should be too much for the 12-45 Sacramento Kings to overcome.
You see, the Hornets began this three-game Western road trip with a couple of losses, the first in overtime to the best team in the West (Los Angeles Lakers) and the second the next night vs. a great home team (Utah Jazz). They do not want to go winless on this trip, so we look for them to take it to the lowly Kings here, especially since Sacramento has actually covered the first two head-to-head meetings with the Bees this season including an outright upset at New Orleans.
The Kings have the worst record in the NBA, and they have not really improved much as the season has gone on. They are 2-8 straight up in their last 10 games, and the two wins were vs. a couple of other last-place teams in the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies. Furthermore, while Sacramento has always played better at home, this has not been evident this season as they are just 8-18 here at Arco.
Look for the Hornets to take out their frustrations on an outclassed Kings team here, resulting in a handy double-digit victory.
Pick: Hornets -7.5
Cajun Sports
New Orleans Hornets vs. Sacramento Kings
2* New Orleans / Sacramento UNDER 203
Arco Arena will be the site of tonights Western Conference clash between the host Sacramento Kings and the visiting Hornets from the Big Easy. These two teams have met twice this season but this will be their first at Arco the other meetings took place in the Big Easy. The first meeting was back on November 19th with Sacramento winning 105 to 96 as a 13.5 point road underdog and going over the total of 197. The second game took place on December 20th with the host getting the win 99 to 90 as a 15.5 point home favorite but falling below the posted total of 196.5. Oddsmakers have posted a total on tonights contest of 203 which is considerably higher than their two previous meetings this season and we believe this game will fall below that number. New Orleans is 7-0 Under in road games versus teams averaging <=20 assists per game this season and 29-13 Under versus teams that are being outrebounded by opponents by 5 or more per game since 1996. New Orleans is 4-0 Under their last 4 as a road favorite of 5 to 10.5 points and 8-2 Under their last 10 as a favorite of 5 to 10.5 points. New Orleans is 19-8-1 Under after going under in their last game, 16-5-1 Under as a favorite after going under in their last contest and 11-3-1 Under as a conference favorite after going under in their previous game. Sacramento is 12-3 Under in home games versus teams who make 6 or more 3 point shots per game during the second half of the season the last 2 seasons and 7-2 Under their last 9 versus opponents from the Southwest Division. Play UNDER on NBA home underdogs of 6 to 7.5 points, 23-11 Under. Play UNDER on NBA teams coming off a SU loss and now involved in a game with a line range of 6 to 7.5 points, 82-53 Under. With both teams struggling and solid technical support for the under we will recommend a 2* play on the under in tonights contest.
James Patrick
Warriors vs. Clippers
Clippers can't stop anybody of late and Golden State is Over the Total in 44 of 61 Monday games and 33 of 50 road contests. Let the scoring begin at the Staples Center.
Jim Feist
BOSTON CELTICS at DENVER NUGGETS
Take: Under
Both teams played Sunday, so there will be some tired legs. Denver is returning from an 8-game road trip, Boston is playing its 5th straight away from home. It's hard to imagine Boston wanting to get into a run-and-gun track meet with the athletic Nuggets, especially with one of its Big 3, Kevin Garnett, out. And Denver has some minor injuries with forward Carmelo Anthony (bruised left knee) and fellow forward Kenyon Martin is questionable with a bad back. When they met back in November, oddsmakers were expecting an uptempo game, but it fell 19 points under the total. There are even more reasons this time to expect a slow pace. Play the Celtics/Nuggets under the total.