Kelso
Chairmans Club = Charlotte 10 units
Best Bet = Golden St 5 units
March Madness
50 unit Xavier
5 unit Louisville
Michael Cannon
25 Dime
LOUISVILLE
Take the points with Louisville tonight when they take on North Carolina in the East Regional Final.
There’s no question the Tarheels are playing great basketball right now, probably the best in the entire tournament.
But if North Carolina is playing the best, Louisville is right behind them.
Rick Pitino has his team buying into his system right now and the results are apparent. The Cardinals are 17-6 ATS in their last 23 overall and 3-1 ATS as a dog this year.
The Tarheels are going to see a Louisville team that is similar to Clemson in its pressuring defense, but the Cardinals are better at it than the Tigers. If you recall, North Carolina and Clemson battled closely in each of their three meetings this year and I expect the deeper, tougher Cardinals to give them a fight tonight as well.
Pitino won’t have to worry about his team tiring out against the ultra-high tempo of the Tarheels, as the Cardinals can go 10 or 11 deep, which will help them stay close throughout.
The Cardinals also have a versatile lineup, with seven players hitting 3-pointers in the opener against Boise State and eight against Oklahoma.
Looking back at those Clemson games, North Carolina turned the ball over a whopping 59 times in the three meetings, and Louisville figures to force its share tonight.
There’s no doubt North Carolina is a great team, but with the Cardinals battle-tested having played a rough Big East schedule, I don’t see them pulling away tonight.
This game could go down to the last possession, so the points are definitely the play.
Take Louisville plus the number as they stay within the spread tonight.
10 Dime
XAVIER
Take the points with Xavier tonight when they take on Ucla in the West Regional Final.
This is another case of the linemaker overvaluing the Bruins, as they’ve struggled to put teams away in the tournament.
If Ucla let Western Kentucky back in the game after leading by 21 points at halftime, I doubt they’ll pull away from an experienced, balanced Musketeers squad.
Xavier has five different players averaging double-digits in scoring this year. Most of them can hit from beyond the arc, and Josh Duncan is physical enough to hang with Kevin Love inside.
What’s more, Xavier is a good foul-shooting team that won’t waste points when they toe it up from the line.
Xavier may not hail from a dominant conference, but they did record 11 wins this year against teams in the Top 50 in RPI rankings.
I respect the job Ben Howland does with the Bruins, especially on the defensive end, but the fact remains this team doesn’t have a go-to scorer besides Love, and if push comes to shove Ucla will struggle from the perimeter. Josh Shipp has been in an extended shooting slump which will hinder the Bruins in crucial late-game possessions.
Xavier is quick enough and does a good enough job on the boards to stay close tonight.
Take the points with Xavier as they stay within the number.
Dominic David:
3* Over UCLA/Xavier
Dixon Saturday (In Order): (Apologies, short on time, can't post his analysis)
1)Under (154.5) Louisville vs North Carolina
2)UCLA -6 vs Xavier
3)Louisville +5.5 vs North Carolina
Chris Jordan
600 Xavier
Tony George
Golden State +7.5
The Warriors can score and I like Baron Davis up top in this one, we all know Iverson plays little dfense. This should be a shootout with scorers all over the floor. The KEY in this game is Golden States ability to hit the offensive glass better, Denver is lazy on defense and neither team plays much of it. That will keep the high scoring Warriors in it till the end.
Play on Golden State
King Creole
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS plus the points
Once again, we're 'Back on the BOBBIES'... who wrap up a pretty good western road trip. We' used 'em on Wednesday night as our 4* DOG Game of the Month over the La Lakers.... and they won OUTRIGHT by 13 points as underdogs of +13 points (ATS win of 26 points). They also won LAST NIGHT over the Seattle Sonics. We aslo get to fade a Trailblazers team that's basically cashed it in for the year.... and are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 home games. They're also 2-10 ATS in their last 12 roles as favorites.
Portland just got their asses handed to them by the Golen State Warriors on Thursday night, and that's the area that we start our querying in.
So far this season, NBA teams are 7-16-1 ATS when playing off a ROAD loss to the Golden State Warriors.... 2-10 ATS when also off an ATS loss.... and a PERFECT 0-4 ATS at HOME.
Meanwhile, NBA underdogs of 6 < points are 5-1 ATS this season when playing off a ROAD win vs the Seattle Supersonics (BOBCATS).
Now let's review the NO rest situation for Charlotte:
So far this season, NBA road teams on SATURDAY playing with NO rest are a PERFECT 5-0 ATS when playing off BB SU wins (BOBCATS) vs any opponent playing off a DD SU loss (Blazers).
As mentioned above, the Bobcats conclude their 4-game road trip tonight. Since February 1st, NBA teams are 6-1-1 ATS on the road off a SU road win.... a SU road win... and a SU road loss (BOBCATS).
Portland is off a couple of wacky games in which they lost by DOUBLE DIGITS.... and won by DOUBLE DIGITS.
In the 2007-08 NBA season, HOME teams are a PERFECT 0-5 ATS off a SU loss of 15+ points....and a SU win of 15+ points (Blazers).... vs any opponent playing off BB SU wins (BOBCATS).
The Blazers are on a current 4-game 'UNDER' streak.
So far this season, NBA home favs are 1-6 ATS off 4 or more 'UNDERS' in a row vs any opponent off BB SU wins.
Here's the clincher: It's gone and amazing 1-19 ATS in the last 3 1/2 seasons
NBA favorites with 1+ days rest off a DOUBLE DIGIT road loss in which they attempted at least ten 3-pointers and made at least HALF of 'em (Blazers).
Larry Ness
DET -7.0 vs CLE
The Pistons have already clinched their fourth straight division title (and sixth in seven years) plus at 51-21, still have an outside chance to catch the Celtics (57-15) for the NBA's best record. However, the way the Celtics looked against the Suns and Hornets, I think making up six games on Boston between now and April 16 is highly unlikely. The Cavs enter this game 40-32 but have lost five straight on the road (1-4 ATS) since winning Mar 5 in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks (does that win really count in the standings?). The Cavs haven't played since losing at home on Wednesday to the Hornets, 100-99. David West scored with 0.6 seconds remaining in that game, after LeBron (30.7-8.1-.3) had given the Cavs a 99-98 lead with 7.7 seconds left. However, that's the way things have gone lately for Cleveland. Guard Gibson (11.5) missed that game with a sprained ankle and Ben Wallace missed with back problems. Wallace is expected to miss again but Gibson, who has been out since Feb 20, is supposed to play tonight. Detroit's leading scorer, Rip Hamilton (17.7), has missed the last three games with a sore left hip but the latest reports have him back in the Pistons' lineup tonight. I'll note that Aaron Afflalo (3.4), who started in place of the injured Richard Hamilton on Thursday, scored a career-high 15 points. Detroit is 29-6 SU at home this season (21-14 ATS), outscoring opponents by an average of about 11.5 PPG. The Pistons won't forget LY's playoff loss to the Cavs for a long time (lost four straight after taking a 2-0 series lead!) and will also remember losing at Cleveland not too long ago (Mar 19), 89-73. Lay the points with Detroit.
Triple Threat Sports
Golden State (+) over Denver
This is a BIG TIME battle for Western playoff positioning, and as such we expect a close, hard fought contest, making the points the play in this one.
Scott Rickenbach
1* (regular play) Utah Blaze (-) vs Georgia
The Blaze are coming off of yet another loss last week. However, other than an 8 point road loss note how tight Utah's defeats have been. Their other three losses have come by a combined 7 points. This Blaze team has certainly been on the cusp of breaking out of their slump and this week they will do it. They will be facing a Georgia team that lost so much offensive talent from last season that it just doesn't have the pieces necessary to get the job done on the road here. The Force managed one win this season and it was a solid one at home. However, their other three losses have come by an average margin of 12 points per defeat.The Force have played decent defense at times but, even on that side of the ball, Georgia has shown weakness and that's something Utah can expoit at home. QB Joe Germaine is a solid signal caller and he's been coming up with some solid performances this season. That will continue here. The Blaze can step up on defense and make some key stops in this game and that will be the difference as the offenses favor Utah in this one. As long as the Blaze defense comes to play (and at home with an 0-4 record how could they not), Germaine will lead the way to a solid home victory. Play Utah minus the points as a regular selection.
GMC NHL Selection
Ottawa @ Boston
PLAY ON BOSTON
After blowing another lead in Buffalo last night, and being outplayed throughout the game, we note they will also be without scoring play maker Corey Stillman. Boston fighting for there play off lives on home ice, winners of 2 in a row take advantage of the hurting and inconsistent Sens squad.
Valley Sports
3* LA Clippers
3* LAC/Mem over
3* North Carolina
3*NC/Louis under
3*UCLA
3*UCLA/Xav over
2* Golden St
2*Portland
Jeff Alexander Sports
1 Unit on Phoenix Suns -6
I know the Suns just played last night, but I don't see fatigue as a major issue against a terrible Nets squad. A big win over Phily gives the Suns some nice momentum heading into this one and I think we're going to see Phoenix go on another nice little run here. The Suns are 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a road favorite, 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a SU win, 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall, and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 vs. NBA Atlantic. The Nets are 5-21-2 ATS in their last 28 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, 3-13-1 ATS in their last 17 home games vs. a team with a winning road record, 5-17 ATS in their last 22 games as a home underdog of 5.0-10.5, and 8-20-2 ATS in their last 30 vs. Western Conference. The Nets played last night also and I think fatigue will be a much bigger factor for them as they don't have the depth of Phoenix. Lay the points
Locksmith Sports
1 Unit on Charlotte Bobcats +6
The Bobcats are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5 and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog period. The Bobcats are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. the NBA Northwest and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Trail Blazers are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 home games, 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400, and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 1 days rest. Because Portland has a good home record, they are being overvalued here despite the fact that they haven't played that well in the second half of the season. Charlotte has rattled off back-to-back road wins and I like its momentum to continue in this one. Take the points.
Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Denver Nuggets -7
The Nuggets are 9-0 ATS in their last 9 games as a home favorite of 5.0-10.5, 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall, 5-0 ATS in their last 5 vs. Western Conference, and 10-1 ATS in their last 11 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. The Warriors are 2-12 ATS in their last 14 games following a SU win of more than 10 points, 3-10 ATS in their last 13 vs. Western Conference, 1-6 ATS in their last 7 vs. NBA Northwest, and 8-27 ATS in their last 35 games following a SU win. The Warriors are just 2-6 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Denver. The Nuggets are very very solid at home. We'll lay the points.
THE LAS VEGAS TECH REPORT (LVTR)
TAMPA vs PHILADELPHIA
Play: TAMPA BAY +9.5 (ARENA FOOTBALL)
SAN JOSE vs KANSAS CITY
Play: KANSAS CITY +11 (ARENA FOOTBALL)
XAVIER vs UCLA
Play: XAVIER vs UCLA OVER 130 (CBB)
CALIFORNIA SPORTS
5* CLIPPERS OVER
4* Ucla