WINNING POINTS
***BEST BET
*Memphis over Los Angeles Clippers by 14
The Grizzlies make our Best Bet list about as often as Mike Miller plays defense, but
this is an excellent spot for them. They can run the tired Clippers out of the gym with
their up-tempo style. The Clippers are seeing action for the fourth time in six days.
Aside from Chris Kaman, the Clippers have no consistent, night-in, night-out performer,which is why they ranked 29th in scoring averaging less than 93 points per
game. The Grizzlies won’t take the Clippers lightly after losing to them at home during the middle of last month, 98-91. The Clippers are one of the few teams the Grizzlies hold a lifetime edge on. MEMPHIS 116-102.
***BEST BET
Purdue* over Wisconsin by 12
If you learned anything from Wisconsin’s losses at Duke and home against Marquette,it’s that the Badgers struggle vs. defensive pressure. Matt Painter took his Boilermakersinto Madison last year with a defensive plan to contain Alando Tucker and KammronTaylor, and stayed well within the number. This year, in his own house, with those twoex-seniors gone from Wisconsin, he’ll just unleash the harassment on the ball --Krabbenhoft and the freshman Hughes -- early and often and let things flow fromthere. Purdue has already acquired 20 turnovers from Ohio State in a selected winnerfor our people on this floor, and got 17 at Michigan State while staying well withinthat number, so let’s stick with what works. PURDUE, 76-64.
***BEST BET
BYU* over New Mexico by 22
When will New Mexico’s inexperienced bench catch up to them, or has it already? The
better conference foes figure to lockdown on McKay’s leftovers that Alford has been
nibbling with. Giddens and Toppert accomplished next to nothing against BYU last
season and now that New Mexico is being asked to make trips into the territory of
unfriendly, familiar Mountain West foes, they should offer more exposure value than
a discounted Kodak roll. BYU, 74-52.
THE SPORTS REPORTER
BEST BET
*MEMPHIS over GONZAGA by 1
[Gonzaga, plus the points] Long the willing road warrior, the Zags again bite the bullet
here and tip shortly after 9 AM Pacific for the greater good of college basketball and
ESPN. Noting that might help all and sundry understand, if Mark Few’s kids break from
the gate a step slow. But Josh Heytvelt and other associates who were absent from some
of the Zags’ early dances are back, and fit for the stretch run. Tigers remain visually
impressive on a consistent basis, but given their position within Conference USA, John
Caliperi’s troops will have to be subject to a sustained brain cramp to lose a regular-season
conference game. This will be a good test, and will benefit Memphis’ development,
but a double-digit rout as suggested by prevailing power ratings would be the shock. Has
“Close!” written all over it. MEMPHIS, 82-81.
BEST BET
*ARIZONA over WASHINGTON by 20
Huskies’ defensive flaws flow to the surface on the road. Consider that UDub had to
labor against Sun Devils’ sharp defensive stylings a day and a half ago, and are now
compelled to wheel right back against a high-flying outfit with a better-than-average
defense – and a serious, slashing offense keyed by Jerryd Bayless. Kevin O’Neill’s offensivesets will be too much for Lorenzo Romar and friends to handle, capping one LostWeekend in the desert for visitor. ‘Cats might start slowly, but they’ll more than make up for it in the late going. ARIZONA, 80-60.
BEST BET
*BOSTON COLLEGE over VIRGINIA TECH by 16
Should Gobblers have given Duke a genuine tussle, difficult to envision their putting up
a sustained battle here, given the travel, blended in with a sub-48-hour turnaround. The
road can make bums of the best of them, under the “right” circumstances. Eagles are
young, and have shown to severe disadvantage when overmatched (see: Jayhawks,
Kansas). But when spotted at a level at which Tyrese Rice and his mates can establish
a measure of offensive flow, look out. BOSTON COLLEGE, 77-61.
THE SPORTS MEMO
BRENT CROW
Georgetown at West Virginia
Recommendation: West Virginia
West Virginia could be a small home dog to Georgetown today,but laying a short price with the Mountaineers is an attractive wager as well if they are installed as the favorite. West Virginia has a very solid home court advantage, as they have won 42 of their last 45 home games, including a 9-0 mark this year(Loss to Oklahoma was not on campus). In Big East play they are 3-0 with wins over Syracuse, St. Johns and Marquette in impressive fashion. With a Georgetown team ranked in the top 10 coming in, the Mountaineers and their crowd will be fired up for another home win. Georgetown has shown some chinks in its armor on the road against quality teams this season, losing at Memphis and at Pittsburgh. They were able to beat bottom rung conference teams Rutgers and DePaul away from home,but neither of those teams are as good as West Virginia, nor do they have the home court edge that the Mountaineers do.West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has his team playing solid defense, especially at home, where they hold the opposition to 37% FG shooting and just 21% accuracy behind the arc. The Mountaineers are also lighting it up behind the arc this season,hitting 38.6% of their three point attempts at home and 37.4% for the season. The have hit at least eight threes in all of their conference home games thus far and that should be a huge factor in them getting a solid win today over the Hoyas.
ROB VENO
Texas A&M at Oklahoma State
Recommendation: Texas A&M
After a pair of humiliating road defeats last weekend, expect this veteran Texas A&M squad to regroup and rebound with a big effort in this enemy venue. Both the offense and defense abandoned the Aggies in the losses as their usually strong shooting (50.3%from the field this season) failed to eclipse the 38% mark and their stout defense (allowing just 59.1 points per game) yielded 68 and 75. Look for a return to the norm in this contest as they match up very well with the poor shooting Cowboys (Big XII worst 44.1 FG%). Oklahoma State has had severe difficulties with top flight teams predicated on defense as both Pittsburgh and Illinois shredded OSU by 17 and 16 points. Head coach Turgeon’s Aggies figure to play with some urgency here which means they’ll turn up the defensive pressure on the Cowboys perimeter players.With no true low post threats, expect the size and experience of A&M’s senior Joseph Jones to combine with 7-foot freshman De-Andre Jordan and dominate inside. That fundamental edge will open things up for Josh Carter and Dominique Kirk whose combination of outside shooting and drive to the basket ability should lead to double digit scoring performances. Additional situational factor exists here as Okie State is likely to give a maximum effort in their home “Big Monday” contest against Texas (check result).That focus for that high profile game probably doesn’t get matched here, and A&M takes advantage with a decisive victory.
TEDDY COVERS
Oklahoma at Baylor
Recommendation: Baylor
We’ve bet on Baylor several times already this young college basketball season, and Saturday’s game against Oklahoma gives us another excellent opportunity to back the Bears in a game that they should be able to control from start to finish. The Baylor program has come a long way in a very short time. When head coach Scott Drew came over from Valparaiso to take the job before the ’03-’04 season, his Bears were hit with serious NCAA sanctions, including a complete forfeiture of their ’05-’06 nonconference slate. No surprise then, that the Bears were unprepared for conference play, finishing the season with a grand totalof four wins. Last year, able to play a full schedule, Baylor improved to 15-16, still lagging well behind the Big 12 powerhouse programs. That is no longer the case. Baylor is 15-2 this season.Their only losses came in a hotly contested game against Top 10 powerhouse Washington State, a game that Baylor led most of the way, and an equally tight game against Arkansas. While the Baylor program is rising, the Oklahoma program is falling, rather dramatically. The Sooners streak of 25 consecutive years earning a postseason bid (either NIT or NCAA) ended in Jeff Capel’s first year on the job, last season. The Sooners have yet to cover a pointspread in Big 12 play, and suffered ugly losses in their only two true road games against quality foes, losing to Kansas and USC by a combined 41 points. This one won’t be much easier for the overrated Sooners against the underrated Bears
POINTWISE
MEMPHIS over Gonzaga (Sat) RATING: 1
BOSTON COLLEGE over Va Tech (Sat) RATING: 2
DUQUESNE over Geo Washington (Sat) RATING: 4
VILLANOVA over Notre Dame (Sat) RATING: 5
THE GOLD SHEET
NBA KEY RELEASE
CHARLOTTE by 18 over Philadelphia (Saturday, January 26)
CBB KEY RELEASES
SAN DIEGO STATE by 14 over Unlv
MISSISSIPPI STATE by 12 over Mississippi
RICHMOND by 6 over Dayton
CTO
NBA
Indiana 107 - Miami 92 10*
CBB
Tulane 76 - E. Carolina 63 10*
Cleveland St 69 - Uw Mil 58 10*
Texas 86 - TT 63 11*
Brad Diamond Sports
CBB #1 SELECTION
Play on: 20 UNITS on St. Joseph's (603) over Temple
Have great respect for Temple HC Dunphy and his kids who last week won on the road at St. Louis, and then returned home to get past futile Pennsylvania in a non-conference (ATS loss) battle. The Hawks survived at home versus athletic UMass after securing a large lead. Now guard Tasheed Carr is injured and will most likely be on the bench for this road test. However, the recent addition of guard Rivera (for the first time this year), has outstanding coach Martelli real options in a spread floor defensively. I like the quickness of the Hawks to play "with" Temple and with Nivins inside they should grab the board leadership. Over the last four series meetings SJU has won each with an average margin of 10 ppg. Recall, the Hawks have covered 7 of 8 on the road, 9 of 10 ATS overall and 7 of 8 off an ATS loss. Also, like the fact Temple is 1-10 ATS L11 versus a winning team SU. Finally, the line is very short considering the Owls weaknesses on defense, but no matter this is a Philly Big-5 that should go down to the wire. In that case, I love coach Martelli and his emotional club to take the short price.
Smart Money NCAAB Dime Club ( Best Bet Three Play)
Game: George Mason vs. NC Willmington
Prediction: NC Willmington
UNC Wilmington has a reputation for protecting their home floor with a lot of pride, having won 11 of their L/13 games SU at home in the Trask Coliseum. Quote: Benny Moss, UNCW coach said about this tilt. ?George Mason is a game ahead of us in the conference standings and we?re playing them on our home court. To be one of the top teams in this league, you have to defend your home court.?Its become obvious to me that the host team will be primed to play and not go down with an all out fight. It must be noted that the visiting Patriots have been bad bets as favorites of 6 points or more , failing to cover 7 of their L/8 under these parameters. Final notes & Key Trends: UNC Wilmington is 11-3 L/14 at home in this series and more importantly have covered 10 of their L/11 under this venue, with the only losses (3) during that above mentioned 14 game span. Play on UNC Wilmington
Game: Morehead State vs. Eastern Illinois
Prediction: Morehead State
Reason: Morehead State has won 5 straight games and are in top form, and ready to take down a struggling Eastern Illinois team that has lost 17 of their 19 games this season, and are now dealing with a foot injury to their top player and scorer , Romain Martin (16 PPG). Morehead State without a doubt is the right side here today. Final notes & Key Trends: E.Illinois is 7-22 ATS L/19 at home as a 6.5 point or less underdog. Play on Morehead State
Game: Arkansas vs. Louisiana State
Prediction: Arkansas
This has been a difficult rebuilding year for Louisiana State , and that is evident during their current 7 game losing streak. Things look to remain difficult as they deal with , the loss of one of their top contributors , Chris Johnson ( 11.5 PPG) to an injury .The Arkansas Razorbacks after suffering back to back losses, will be primed and motivated to pull off a win against a team , that looks like they could be easily taken advantage of , even on their own home floor. Final notes & Key Trends: LSU is 2-11 ATS this season. Play on Arkansas
Alex Smart
Oklahoma +6.0
Oklahoma has won 20 straight meetings in this series against Baylor and notched 11 straight wins as visitors . I know Baylor has played some great basketball this season, winning 16 of their 18 overall games, but history and pride have a way of factoring into this types of confrontations. I also know star freshman Blake Griffin (14.5 PPG) is injured and will not play here today, but the Sooners will still find a way to compete. Take the points with Oklahoma
Matt Fargo
Bradley vs. Wichita State
It has been a tale of two seasons for Bradley and for obvious reasons if you take injuries into consideration. The Braves go as far as point guard Bruce Ruffin can take them. The Braves are 7-3 in the 10 games with a healthy Ruffin in the lineup and at the time of his injury, he was leading the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg. Bradley was basically 3-7 with Ruffin hurt. He quietly returned to the lineup last time out, coming off the bench and playing 24 minutes in a huge win.
Wichita St. is struggling and to be honest, the Shockers could be all but done. They are now 1-7 in the MVC and are currently riding a five-game losing skid while also dropping nine of their last 12 games. The lone conference win came at Bradley so the Braves will be more than ready for some payback as they are well aware of that record. Wichita St. suffered yet another blow when Mantas Griskenas was lost for the season after hurting his knee in their last game against Northern Iowa. He was a huge role player.
During the five-game losing skid, nothing is going right for the Shockers. They are shooting just 39.9 percent from the floor while the defense is allowing 48.5 percent over that span. Even the free throws are not going in as it is hitting just 65.4 percent from the stripe. Making matters worse, the Shockers have an assist/turnover ratio margin of -0.64 which includes an offensive ratio of 0.79. It comes to no surprise this team has been outscored by 13.2 ppg during the streak.
Bradley is ranked 8th nationally in free throw percentage by shooting 76.0 percent from the stripe. The Braves have made at least 70 percent of their free throw attempts 14 times this season, including each of the last five games where they are hitting a solid 81 percent from the line. The team actually shoots better on the road than at home which is a rarity for most college teams and one that cannot be overlooked. The top three scorers on the teams are hitting 84.5 percent on the season.
As mentioned, the Braves have lost only three times with Ruffin playing healthy. They lost at Illinois-Chicago by nine points, at a neutral-site to Vanderbilt by nine points and a home to Michigan St. by five points. Those losses are certainly nothing to be ashamed of. The Braves avenged their only other loss this season, last time out against Illinois St. Bradley’s last four games have been decided by two points or fewer, the last three by a single point, but this one will not be similar as it wins going away.
Play Bradley Braves 1 Unit
Maddux Sports
Auburn +7.5
Kelso
Chairmans 10 units USC +4
5 units on CS Northridge -12.5
4 units on UCLA -17.5
3 units on Ill-Chic +14
Arthur Ralph
Super Pick
Washington Huskies
900 Silver Bullet Saturday
So Illinois
New Mexico
Northern Iowa
Special K Comp
TCU +10 1/2
CLEVELAND STATE +3 1/2
Gold Medal Club
Miss State
Purdue
W.Virginia
Utah U
Alabama
Virginia Tech
New Mexico State
Tom Freeese
San Jose State Spartans at Fresno State Bulldogs
San Jose St is 5-1 ATS their last 6 games at Fresno St. The Spartans 4-1 ATS their last 5 games as underdogs and they won at home over Fresno St by 4 points earlier this year. That comes into play here as the Bulldogs are just 1-9 ATS with revenge from a road loss where they were favored and they are 2-7 ATS their last 9 games vs. winning teams.
COMPS
SCOUT
Iowa St. +13 over Kansas St.
BIG TIME SPORTS
AUSTIN PEAY -5.5 OVER SAMFORD
PLATINUM PLAYS
CBB: the RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS + 19 Over Pittsburgh
MIKE WYNN
Colorado +7 Over Missouri
RAZOR SHARP
EASTERN MICHIGAN over MIami-OH
BIG AL
New Orleans Hornets +6 over SA Spurs
THE VEGAS STEAMLINE
Saturday: Take LA Clippers/Memphis OVER the total of 201
HDs ACTIONLINE
Morehead State -1
DR VEGAS
Illinois-Chicago +14.5 over Butler
HUDDLE UP
Purdue Pk
COMPUTER SPORTS
INDIANA HOOSIERS-8 1/2
TRACE ADAMS
Georgetown Hoyas
System Picks
LA Clippers Under 201
Underdog Picks
Texas Tech +11
Chalk Plays
Charlotte Bobcats -5
Top Play Club
Indiana Hoosiers -9
Moneyline Plays
Notre Dame +120
Joe Wiz
CBA - New Mexico State (-4.5)
All Sports Picks
CBA - Villanova (-2.5)
BestPicks
NBA - San Antonio Over (182.5)
Sharp Sports Advisors
BRADLEY
The Fall Miracle
Gonzaga +12.5
NICK JONES
Butler -14.5
NSA WINS
Pick: New Orleans +5.5
MR A
Charlotte Bobcats - 5
San Antonio Spurs - 5.5