Matty O'Shea
Siena -6.5 vs Northern Iowa
Siena's last five wins have been decided by an average of nearly 16 points, and I think the Saints get another double-digit victory here. The Saints are a perfect 13-0 at home and could be a very dangerous team when March Madness rolls around. The Northern Iowa Panthers haven't impressed me much when playing on the road or outside their conference, so look for them to lose both SU & ATS for the fourth time in five games.
Dwayne Bryant
Brigham Young +2 vs UNLV
Revenge game for BYU, who lost by 6 at home to UNLV last month as 7.5-point favorites. In that game, BYU shot just 39.7% from the floor, which is well below their season average of 51%. UNLV shot 48% or slightly better than their 43.5% season average. BYU was also outrebounded in that game, 35-31, despite owning a better rebounding margin on the season (+4.2 to -1.6).BYU has reeled off 5 straight wins -- both SU and ATS. On the flip side, UNLV is coming off a SU 9-point loss as a 7-point favorite at Wyoming, so they could be a bit down for this one. We know BYU will be ready.When looking at BYU's road stats vs. UNLV's home numbers, we see that BYU owns a 10% shooting edge, 5.2% 3-point shooting edge, 7.4% free-throw shooting edge, 7.6% 3-point shooting defensive edge, and I already touched on BYU's rebounding edge.Simply put, BYU has the tools to extract some payback and I expect the stats to hold up this time around. I'll take the bucket with BYU tonight.
Jeff Scott Sports
3 UNIT PLAY
Boston College +7 over MIAMI
The Eagles are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Miami-Florida, while the Hurricanes are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite. Yes I know there could be a letdown factor here, after BC beat the Blue Devils, but at this time of the year teams can't afford to letdown and I believe BC will come ready to play. Earlier this week Miami had trouble with the FSU pressure defense and the Eagles play almost the same kind of intense defense that the Noles did. Miami really has on;y one scorer on the team and if you take Mclinton away then this team can be had. Miami comes in winners of just 1 of their last 7 games, while BC has won 5 of heir last 7. The way both teams are heading in opposite directions and they with the way that Miami has struggled a bit on the offensive side, it's clear to me that Boston College sHould easily stay within this number and quite possibly win this one outright.
2 UNIT PLAYS
Butler +5 over DAVIDSON
Butler is 10-2 ATS vs teams that allow less than 42% shooting and 10-1 as a dog the last 2 years, while the Wildcats are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Butler is 6th (57.3 ppg) in the nation in scoring defense and 6th (37.7%) in FG% defense and they should be able to slow down this good Davidson offense enough to stay within the number here. This game will be close throughout and I wouldn't be surprised if Butler won outright.
Louisville -5 over CINCINNATI
The Cardinals are 40-13-2 ATS in their last 55 vs. Big East and 14-2 ATS in their last 16 road games. Cincinnati has been the surprise of the Big east this yera, but their record has been comprised mostly of the bottow teams in the league. Cincinatti has had problems vs teams with above .600 winning pct as they they are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 vs such teams. The Cardinals were blasted at Notre Dame, but they have come back to pound their last 2 opponents. Cincinnati has surprised, but Louisville ios playing to well right now and should be able to easily cover this small number.
1 UNIT PLAYS
Baylor/ Oklahoma State Over 165
The last 6 in this series has averaged 166.3 ppg. Both teams have superior offenses and both teams have less than average defenses. I see plenty of points in this one.
WRIGHT STATE -4.5 over Northeastern
NE has hit a wall of late as they are 1-4 SU and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games. Wright State has been playing well this year as they have won 14 of their last 18 games and they are a solid 8-3 at home. The Huskies are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, while the Raiders are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 home games vs. a team with a winning road record and they usually bounce back from a SU loss as they are 40-19-2 ATS in their last 61 games following a S.U. loss. I see the Raiders winning by double digits in this one.
Dennis Macklin
Virginia at N.C. State
Prediction: Over
NC State Wolf Pack games are 9-1 to the over in L10 and IMO, today's total comes in significantly low. Virginia snapped eight game skid with B2B wins that saw the Cavs average 80 ppg while shooting 48% from the field, a full seven percentage points higher than their season average. There should be pretty good pace to this one and again, this number appears VERY attainable. Play Virginia at NC State over the total.
Bob Harvey
New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres
Play: Under 5½
The Rangers have been outscored 26-6 in their last seven road games and they’ve lost their last two games in Buffalo scoring a combined three goals in one game and four in the other. The Rangers current and past scoring woes are two very significant factors as I “plunder the under” today.
The Rangers are 17-10-2 to the low side as a road team this year and have seen the under play in three of their last four games. They rank 29th in the league in goals per game (2.3) and are 28th in converting the power play (13%).
Buffalo is a break even team 14-14-1 to the total at home this season, but are 8-2 to the low side in their last ten skates. The two games that went over came against a pair of pretty good offensive teams in Philadelphia and San Jose. Defensively, the Sabres are a bit on the stingy side, allowing just 2.8 GPG.
Buffalo backstop Ryan Miller is 2-0 against the Rangers this season and is third in the league in wins. However he’s just 18th in save percentage compared to his counterpart Henrik Lundqvist who ranks 16th in the same category. Lundqvist has also been on somewhat of a role recently, allowing two goals or fewer in six of his last eight starts. He's 4-1-0 with a 1.98 GAA in his last five starts versus the Sabres.
Jimmy Boyd
1 Unit on Florida -7.5
Off a big win over Kentucky, it is going to be very tough for the Commodores to get right back up for this one. Florida has already won at Vandy 94-69 this season and the Commodores have really struggled on the road. Florida is a perfect 15-0 at home on the season and has won 10 of the last 11 in this series at home. The Commodores are just 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog and 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 vs. the Southeastern Conf. Florida has crushed Vandy by double digits in each of the last 3 meetings and this will be Vandy's latest lopsided defeat. Lay the points.
Rob Vinciletti
N. Dakota State vs. Wisc Milwaukee
Play: N. Dakota State -1½
On Saturday night the comp play is on N.Dakota.Game 685 at 8pm eastern.N.D is a solid team in there conference and will give Wis-Milwaukee all they can handle here.They average 81 ppg. and will run up and down the court like gazelles tonight.When ND plays in lined games they are 5-1 su and 5-0 ats.They are 30-5 su off 3+ road games,9-4 after scoring 80 or more,and 7-2 vs winning teams in the second half of the season.Wis-Milwaukee is just 8-18 vs teams who score 77 or more per game and 5-10 as a home dog of 3 or less.Back North Dakota as the comp.
Craig Trapp
Butler vs. Davidson
Play: Butler +5
Butler still expects Curry to play and be effective so to beat Davidson on the road this young team will have to play great. Even with both teams losing as of late both look like they are safely in as at large berths. Of course that is worse case scenarios if they would not win there conference tournament.
Butler graduated everyone from their NCAA Tourney team a year ago and were expected to be in the middle of the pack in the Horizon League. The Butler Bulldogs are instead a very impressive young team who has recieved immediate contributions from 2 key Freshman in Gordon Hayward, and Shelvin Mack. Matt Howard the only holdover with lengthy experieince leads the team in scoring and rebounding.
Butler has been very good against the spread this year going 14-9-1 overall. Even with a very young team they are 9-4 against the spread on the road.
Davidson has played a very good preseason schedule and when Curry is healthy they have not disappointed. They beat a very good West Virginia on a neutral floor and played Oklahoma down to the wire in Oklahoma. Without Curry this game tonight will not be close so all hopes for Davidson is that Curry can play and is effective. Fundamental for this team are very good but athletically they only have one game breaker, Curry.
Davidson is below average this year against the spread going 11-12 overall this year and only 4-6 at home against the spread.
Lets go with the trend and take Butler to win SCORE BUTLER 68 - DAVIDSON 66
Bobby Maxwell
Marquette +3 at GEORGETOWN
This just isn't the same Georgetown team we've seen over the last few seasons. There isn't much fight left in the Hoyas and today we're going to capitalize with a play on Marquette.
The Hoyas are just 2-7 SU and 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine games and they are giving up almost five points more per game over their last five than they have all season. Georgetown is just 3-10 ATS in Big East action and 1-5 ATS at home. They got through last week with a split, losing in Syracuse and failing to cover and then downing South Florida with ease.
Marquette got a pair of conference wins last week, beating St. John's and Seton Hall, but coming up a point short of covering in each game. The Golden Eagles are 11-2 in Big East play and 4-2 on the road. They are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 against winning teams.
It's simple, Marquette has the better team and the more consistent squad. They'll go into Georgetown tonight and score a seven-opint win. Play the Golden Eagles.
3♦ MARQUETTE
California -4' at OREGON STATE
Is Oregon State playing better lately? Yes. But when you can't get any lower, playing better is not that hard to do. The Beavers are still a terrible basketball team and they'll get stomped today at home by the Golden Bears.
Cal is holding a grudge from the shock of a 69-65 home loss to Oregon State back on Jan. 22, losing outright as 17 1/2-point favorites. That's when the Beavers started this little winning run, taking six of their last nine games (5-3 ATS).
But over the last two weeks, Cal has been the team that has decided to turn up the heat. The Bears have rattled off four straight wins SU and ATS and they are doing it with steady offense and a tough defense. Only one team has topped 80 points against them in their last nine games, meanwhile they've topped 82 or more in two of their last four.
Oregon State has scored 80 points or more exactly ONE time this season. The Beavers average less than 60 per contest this season while Cal puts up 76 per game. The laws of averages shows us Cal is going to win this one running away.
Cal had a six-game winning streak going in this series until last month. The Bears are angry and going to exact some revenge today. Play Cal to win this one by 15.
4♦ CALIFORNIA
Jake Timlin
Early afternoon tipoff and the most hyped Bracket Buster game of the day I must site with Butler plus the road points. After all given that Davidson is fresh off a home lost to the Citadel due to Curry out with an injury and just don’t see much improvement for either Curry or the Wildcats today. Not against a Butler team that is balanced and who knows how to play defense with the best of teams in the nation thanks to only allowing 57 ppg. Also, not when the nation’s leading scorer in Curry will be limited with an ankle injury. Flat out, while both teams should be dancing next week I look for Butler to be the one building on the resume today with an outright win over Davidson. With that take the Bulldogs plus the points, but expect an outright for Butler.
PICK: Butler Bulldogs
Tony Weston
Today's Selection
Of course we came through last night as the Hornets do exactly what we said they’d do and deliver a Comp Play winner for us.
We nailed that one and we’re nailing another today as we’re heading to the college hardwood where we’re taking the Kansas Jayhawks at home against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
After some early season, and mid-season, troubles, the Kansas Jayhawks have been playing the defending national champions should, having gone 10-1 SU and 9-1-1 ATS their last 11 games, after going 11-4 SU and 5-4 ATS.
The Jayhawks come into this game 13-3-1 ATS their last 17 games against the Big XII and 8-2-1 ATS their last 11 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400.
Kansas is also 7-2-1 ATS its last 10 home games and is 20-6-1 ATS its last 27 games overall.
Now the Jayhawks battle a Nebraska team that’s 2-5 ATS its last seven Big XII games and is 7-20 ATS its last 27 games as a road underdog and is 17-35-1 ATS its last 53 road games.
Also, in this series the the Jayhawks are 8-2 ATS their last 10 games against the Huskers in Kansas and are 9-1 ATS their last 10 games overall against Nebraska. Consider, too, that the favorite is 9-1 ATS their last 10 meetings.
The Jayhawks will continue those trends and get over easy in this Big XII showdown. Take Kansas easily at home.
3♦ KANSAS
JIM FEIST
SAN ANTONIO SPURS / WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Take Over
San Antonio just came off a game against a defensive-oriented Detroit team. Now they face a team that plays NO defense. Washington is allowing 48% shooting by opponents, second worst in the league. It's clear they don't even care as they play out the string of a lost season, allowing 113, 115, 124, 117, 111, 101 and 103 points the last 7 games. The Wizards are on a 9-0 run over the total. As good as San Antonio can be defensively, they are not as dominant as in past seasons, currently on an 8-2 run over the total. With a chance to run against a soft defensive team, the Spurs will do it. Play the Spurs/Wizards over the total.
Eduardo Costa Vérez
Oklahoma Sooners vs Texas Longhorns
The Oklahoma Sooners are 4-0-1 against the spread in their last 5 games on the road.
The Favorite is 5 and 1 against the spread in the last 6 meetings between these two teams.
The Texas Longhorns are 1 and 5 against the spread in their last 6 games versus a team from the Big-12.
The Texas Longhorns are 0 and 4 against the spread in their last 4 games on a Saturday.
The Longhorns will have to rely on A.J. Abrams for most of their points. Those points may not come easy as Abrams is definitely going to be double-teamed throughout this game.
Oklahoma has the best player in college basketball on their team, Blake Griffin. Griffin is as dominating as any college basketball player I’ve ever seen. In his last game he put up 40 points and grabbed 23 rebounds.
Texas has no answer to Griffin and it showed the last time these two teams played as the Longhorns were drubbed by 15 points.
I don’t see much change in this game. Oklahoma is just too strong physically for Texas to keep pace. Texas will be okay in the first half, but then the Sooners will take charge and pull away in the second half.
I’ll bet the Oklahoma Sooners to cover
Matt Moorhead
South Florida Bulls vs Connecticut Huskies
South Florida has lost two games in a row straight-up. They were pummeled by Georgetown in their last as 5½ point underdogs. A game before they were destroyed by Notre Dame as 13½ point underdogs.
The last time these two teams played the Connecticut Huskies needed overtime to beat the Bulls by a single point. The Huskies were favored by only 7 points in that game.
Since that game South Florida has gotten worse while Connecticut supposedly has gotten better.
I see the Huskies as a huge favorite in this game, but I’m not sold on them absolutely dominating the Bulls.
Connecticut should get the job done, and win by at least 10 to 14 points, but I don’t see them covering this spread
Big Al McMordie
Depaul vs. Pittsburgh
Play: Depaul +27
At 7 pm, our complimentary selection is on the DePaul Blue Demons plus the points over Pittsburgh. On Monday, Jamie Dixon's #4-ranked Panthers won their first game ever vs. a #1-ranked opponent when they went into UConn's XL Arena and upset the Huskies as 3-point underdogs. Although DePaul is clearly overmatched by Pittsburgh, and has no hope of winning the game straight-up, it's a super spot to take the large amount of points. The Blue Demons are winless in Big East play, and will give a supreme effort, while Pitt will suffer a letdown off its big, emotional upset win. For technical support, consider that double-digit conference road dogs are 153-106 ATS since 1990 off back-to-back losses when matched up against a foe off more than five wins. Take DePaul.