Roy Jackson
Charlotte Bobcats vs. NY Knicks
Charlotte still has a shot at the playoffs while the Knicks’ playoff chances are a fading fantasy. Both teams are playing the second game of a b2b but the Bobcats are at home. The Knicks are 10-24 on the road this season. Charlotte is getting good play from Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton now and the trade that brought Boris Diaw has worked out well for them.
4' Units Charlotte Bobcats -6.5
CHARLIE
500* Pacers @ Bulls Over 208
500* Villanova vs Pitt Over 142
30* Missouri +6
20* Pitt -2
20* Utah -8
10* Portland -13
Indiana +8 free play
California Sports
4.5* Missouri Over
BRANDON LANG
30 Dimes - Villanova
Accupicks
3* Golden St
Stan Lisowski
5* Jazz
3* Char
3* Pitt
3* Missouri
3* Over Missouri
Dr. Canada
Penguins/Rangers over 5.5
Bruins/Leafs over 6
Senators/Thrashers over 6
Young Guns
5* Houston
4* U-Conn
DOC
4 Unit Play.Take Pittsburgh -2 over Villanova
Las Vegas Sport Picks
NBA:
2* Blazers -12
4* Knicks/Bobcats over 206
7* Warriors/Nuggets over 228
NCAA:
2* Pitt -2
4* UCONN/Missouri over 149
Fairway Jay
4* Best - Nuggets / Warriors Under 228
DAVE MALINSKY
4* CONNECTICUT over MISSOURI
Few teams have been as big of a meal ticket in any sports season as Missouri was for us down the stretch ? since January 31st the Tigers produced a perfect 6-0 when we backed them, including three 6* plays and a 5*. But this is where the run ends for Mike Anderson and his team. While their ability to pressure opponents into mistakes, and take advantage of them with outstanding precisions, has been special, what it has also hidden is that their talent is only good, not great. Now they run into an opponent that will force a different pace into the game and will rarely turn the ball over, and this game flow will show how great of a job that Anderson did with the pieces at hand this season. Connecticut is not going to be bothered by a press. While Hasheem Thabeet gets those deserved accolades for the impact that he has only games, it is point guard A. J. Price that has been the heart of this team, and Price has only turned the ball over 88 times in 1,047 floor minutes this season, despite the fact that many of those minutes came against tough Big East defenses. He has set the tone for a team that has only 425 turnovers in 34 games, and one that can use their size as an advantage against the press ? with Thabeet, Jeff Adrien and Stanley Robinson on the court, they can throw the ball right over the top of traps. And Price?s back-court mate Craig Austrie has been as strong with the ball as just about any guard around, with 80 assists vs. only 28 turnovers in 845 minutes. The latter count is special. So what happens when the Missouri presses are broken? A team that lacks size around the basket not only has a huge matchup headache with Thabeet, literally, but both Robinson (15.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per tourney game) and Adrien (14.7 and 10.0 in the Dance) have been dominating as well down low. That exploits a weakness that both Marquette and Memphis were able to find, with each of those teams slashing to the basket through large openings. And it is not just the half-court defense for Missouri that can be exploited, but the fact that when they are not getting easy opportunities off of turnovers the Tiger half-court offense is also nothing special. Missouri gets a lot of assists from attacking the basket and unselfishly dishing the ball. But there is nothing to attack against Connecticut ? the Huskies allowed only 37.4 percent shooting, including 30.5 from 3-point range, blocking 265 shots along the way. It is a matchup that will eventually see the Tiger offense bog down, and they get forced to play a grinder of a game that takes their strentghs away, and exposes all weaknesses.
4* UTAH over PHOENIX
When Jerry Sloan looks at films of Utah?s loss at Phoenix on Wednesday night he sees a perfect storm of disasters by his team. The Jazz allowed the Suns to shoot 54.9 percent from the field; grab more rebounds; get 31 fast break points vs. only 14; and win the points in the paint battle by a major 68-38. All the while Utah was making only 16-27 free throws. So it is no secret that it disturbed the veteran coach, who has had his team at home since that debacle to study the films and go over the glaring mistakes. But here is the subtle key for our purposes tonight ? even with all of that happening, it was a tie game in the final minute. On a night in which the pendulums were swinging in the Phoenix direction in a major way, the Suns could barely escape. They will not be so lucky here. On Thursday we cashed an easy 4* ticket with Portland over Phoenix in the first road outing since losing Leandro Barbosa, and the Suns had little say in the outcome ? once again they were just awful defensively, allowing 60.2 percent shooting, and the legs and depth were not there to chase from behind. Now in a key back-to-back sequence Alvin Gentry must remain aware of the issues that his team has, knowing that burning out those legs in a game that may not be able to win tonight anyway only makes matters more difficult when they play at Sacramento tomorrow, one that absolutely must put into the win column to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. And on a court on which the Jazz are on a current run of 13-0 SU and 10-3 ATS, with the three spread failures coming by a combined 5.5 points, it is an uphill battle from the opening tipoff.Note that the recent home surge by Utah had little to do with scheduling ? the Jazz beat the Celtics, Hornets, Hawks, Lakers, Nuggets and Rockets (twice) in that span. They deliver another knockout punch here, as fresh legs propel a bitter revenge motive into a blowout.
Raging Bull
NCAA:
UCONN -5
UCONN vs. Missouri over 149
NBA:
LA Clippers +15
Indiana Pacers vs. Chicago Bulls over 213
Eddie Mush
4* Knicks +7.5
4* Nova +2
4* Rockets -15.5
6* Jazz -9
8* UCONN -5.5
Winners Inc. Guaranteed Selections
$500,000 NCAA ELITE 8 TOTALS PLAY OF THE YEAR
Villanova and Pittsburgh OVER 140.5