Tony Weston
Today's Selection:
We got back on the winning track last night as we came through easily with the Portland Trail Blazers. We’re coming at it with back-to-back Comp Play winners today as we’re coming at it with some college hoops action.
Today we’re taking Memphis at home hosting Southern Mississippi.
Sure, you might be a little scared off by the near 23 points the Tigers are laying, but don’t worry about it because Memphis will roll by about 30.
Consider that the last time these two hooked up, just a couple of weeks ago on Feb. 14, Memphis destroyed Southern Miss 72-47 as a 12 1/2 point favorite.
Including that loss to Memphis, Southern Miss has covered in only one of its last 10 games, including non-covers in back-to-back games coming into today. Going a step further, the Golden Eagles have actually failed to cover in each of their last five games on the road and are only 3-9 ATS away from home this season.
Memphis, on the other hand, is 12-2 ATS at home this year, having covered nine straight games at home, and is beating its opponents by an average score of 80.4-56.7.
Memphis has also covered in eight of its last 10 games against Conference USA and has covered in six of its last eight meetings at home against Southern Miss.
The Tigers will have no trouble in this one and destroy the visiting Golden Eagles. Take Memphis big at home today.
3♦ MEMPHIS
Bobby Maxwell
Orlando -2 at PHILADELPHIA
The Magic have already beaten the Sixers twice this season and we expect them to make it three in a row tonight and do it by at least 10 points.
Orlando is pissed off after a shocking home loss to the Pistons on Friday night and they'll take out that frustration on the Sixers tonight. The Magic have been somewhat average since the break and you know their coach is not satisified with mediocre.
The Magic have too much talent to be average. They'll come out and show it tonight in Philly. Orlando is 3-0 SU and ATS in the last three meetings with the Sixers and got a 96-94 win in Philadelphia on Nov. 26 as five-point 'dogs.
Orlando is on ATS runs of 8-3 against the Atlantic Division and 15-6 on the road, 35-17-1 overall and 40-18-1 in Saturday games. Meanwhile, Philly is just 3-7 ATS in its last 10 at home against teams with a winning road record and 2-5 overall.
Play the Magic tonight to rebound from the ugly Friday loss. Go with Orlando.
2♦ ORLANDO
USC at STANFORD -1
College hoops FREE winner coming your way today as we play Stanford to get the win and cover over USC in this Pac-10 matchup.
The home team has won each of the last nine meetings between these two teams and we're expecting much of the same tonight as Stanford gets the win over USC.
Stanford got a 52-46 home win over the Trojans last season and blew out USC in 2007, winning 65-50 as a one-point favorite. Stanford is 13-5-1 ATS in its last 19 home games and pushed Thursday night against UCLA, losing 76-71 at home as five-point home pups.
The Trojans were busy Thursday losing in OT at Cal 81-78 and just getting the cash as four-point road 'dogs. They are just 2-4 ATS in the last six contests and they have dropped four straight on the road (1-3 ATS) and four of five on the highway.
USC is just 3-13 ATS in its last 16 games after a spread-cover while the Cardinal is 13-5-1 ATS at home and 14-5 ATS as a home favorite.
Stanford was right there Thursday but dropped the ball in the second half, but they'll get it done tonight against the Trojans. Play Stanford tonight.
4♦ STANFORD
Sports Gambling Hotline
Clemson at FLORIDA STATE +1'
Another comp play winner on Friday, as Philadelphia wins outright at New York.
17-6-2 is the free play run the last 25 days!
College hoops for Saturday, and we are on Florida State to continue their recent domination over Clemson.
The Seminoles took a 65-61 decision over the Tigers at LittleJohn on February 7th to make it 3-1 both straight up, and against the spread the last 4 times these schools have met.
Both teams come into this game off conference losses, but Clemson's loss is a little more shocking, as they were favored by double-digits, and lost at home to Virginia Tech, while Florida State lost at Boston College which was not unexpected.
The Seminoles are 11-3 straight up at home this season, and they are also on an 18-8-2 against the spread run their last 28 games.
Clemson appears to be in another late-season rut, splitting their last 6 straight up, and against the spread.
Play on the Sems.
3♦ FLORIDA STATE
Karl Garrett
Duke -5 at VIRGINIA TECH
G-Man with a Friday comp winner on Milwaukee plus the points.
ACC action today, and even though I scored with a 40 Dimer on Virginia Tech in their upset win over Clemson on Wednesday, I will go against the Hokies this Saturday afternoon, as I don't think they match up well against the visiting Blue Devils.
Duke comes into this one having won their last 3 games, and they have covered their last pair in conference play.
The Dookies have also won the last pair of series meetings, and 4 of the last 5 series meetings. Included is a 69-44 beat down of the Gobblers in Durham on January 4th.
Tech has not topped 67-points in any of the last 4 series meetings, and the G-Man thinks the Blue Devils will throw the "D" down on the Hokies once again in this spot.
Lay the road wood with Duke this Saturday afternoon.
1♦ DUKE
Chris Jordan
Texas at OKLAHOMA STATE -1
And all of a sudden the Pokes are in a Big Dance conversation.
That, along with the fact the oddsmakers decided to make them a slim favorite over a Texas team that has dominated this series leads me to believe the Longhorns are a trap play and that the home team is going to stroll out victorious.
Okie State is 13-2 straight-up at home, while it’s won four in a row both on the wood and at the window. That includes road wins at Texas Tech and Colorado; now it’s easy to see how the Cowboys would be hungry for a statement win over the 19-8 Longhorns.
I realize Texas named it in the first meeting, winning by 25 on Feb. 10, but that aforementioned four-game win streak has been since that disappointing loss, and a win today would guarantee Oklahoma State no worse than a .500 Big 12 mark with Kansas State and Oklahoma left on the docket.
But forget the Big 12 for a moment, the Cowboys know darned well at 18-9 overall, they need wins – and that’s with a sense of urgency. They’re on that proverbial Big Dance Bubble, and every minute of every game matters at this point.
Yes, Texas has owned this series; but the last time these two met in Stillwater, the margin fell on two, last January, when Texas eked out a 63-61 win. But that was a team that won 16 games and went to the NIT. This year’s version is looking to make it to the senior prom, ahem, the Big Dance.
Take the home team.
2♦ OKLAHOMA STATE
Al DeMarco
South Alabama at TROY STATE -3'
I'm going to head to the Sun Belt Conference for today's comp play and back Troy State at home laying around 3 1/2 points against South Alabama.
I liked the way the host Trojans rebounded after having their 10-game winning streak snapped by posting an 81-67 road rout of Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday. They jumped out to a 22-point lead at halftime and never looked back. Clearly, this wasn't a team left lamenting the demise of its winning streak. Rather, it was a focused squad that new it had a tough opponent awaiting them on the road, and they accepted the challenge head-on.
Troy State beat up South Alabama on the road in the season's first meeting back on January 15, rolling to a 94-70 win. The Trojans shot 50% from the floor in that contest, and nailed 16-of-30 from three-point range as well.
In addition to being Senior Night, this game has some possible postseason implications for Troy State. Should Middle Tennessee State beat Western Kentucky, the Trojans could earn a piece of the East Division crown in the Sun Belt Conference and the No. 2 seed in its upcoming tournament. A loss, however, combined with a Western Kentucky win, would knock Troy down to the No. 3 seed.
South Alabama has won four straight and six of seven heading into this contest, but clearly Troy State has been the conference's most dominant team over the past six weeks. The Trojans have won six straight Senior Night outings; lucky No. 7 in a row comes tonight with the cover thrown in for good measure.
4♦ TROY STATE
Jimmy Boyd
Duke vs. Virginia Tech
Play: Virginia Tech +5.5
1 Unit FREE PLAY on Virginia Tech +5.5 Condensed writeup due to amount of games to handicap. The Hokies have proven to be one of the best teams in the country at getting up for big games and you can bet they'll be up for this one after getting crushed 69-44 at Duke early in the ACC season. The Hokies are on the bubble again this season and they are confident that a quality win against an opponent like Duke would get them into the dance. Here's the key: Plays on home teams as an underdog or pick (VIRGINIA TECH) revenging a loss where they scored less than 50 points, off a road win against a conference rival are 39-14 ATS since 1997. We'll take the points in a very motivated spot for the Hokies.
Bob Harvey
St. Louis Blues @ Phoenix Coyotes Under 5.5
A case of two teams headed in opposite directions. The Blues are a factor in the playoff race, the Coyotes were but are seeing their playoff hopes slip sliding away. Over the past weeks, St. Louis has played some of its best hockey of the season and are now within three points of the final playoff spot in the West. Phoenix is now six points out after an dreadful 3-11 stretch. Meanwhile St. Louis is on a nifty 5-1-1 run. The Blues will be after their third straight win and second victory this week over the Coyotes and given the drastic directions these two teams are headed, it’s a good bet they’re going to get it. Phoenix is in the lower percentile in the league in about every offensive and defensive category. They are a respectable 17-10-2 at home while the Blues are just 11-15-3 on the ML as a road team St. Louis is 7-3 to the low side in their last ten games, while Phoenix is 5-5 to the under in their last ten outings. The Blues rank in the top ten in several key defensive categories which could explain the four straight unders. My opinion: Phoenix won’t be able to generate enough offensive against St. Louis and goalie Steve Mason. Mason has made 17 straight starts, going 10-3-4 over that stretch with a 1.59 GAA average. Take the low side tonight with a lean towards the Blues on the money line.
Great Lakes Sports
Utah State at Nevada
Play: Nevada Wolfpack
The Nevada Wolfpack are a very nice 8-3 ATS off a loss vs a conference rival the last three years, and they are 40-21 ATS when playing in the month of February since 1997. The Nevada Wolfpack is also a very solid 33-13 ATS when revenging a loss vs an opponent since 1997, and they are 62-54 ATS when playing at home since 1997. We look for the Nevada Wolfpack to grab the home ATS Win & Cover tonight.
JIM FEIST
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS / LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Take LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Fifth straight road game for the Bobcats, who are a long way from home anyway. It's also the second of a back to back road spot for Charlotte, after running up and down the court with uptempo Golden State last night. The Clippers are showing some spunk, going 2-0 SU/ATS after shocking the Celtics, 93-91. They are healthy for the first time in a while, played defense and hustled, so topping the road weary Bobcats won't be nearly as difficult. Play the Clippers.
Dwayne Bryant
Play: Creighton -8
This is another case of embarrassment being a great motivator. On 1/3/09, Illinois State pounded Creighton, 86-64. The Redbirds outshot Creighton 50% to 40.7%, hit 50% of their 3-point attempts as compared to 27.8% for Creighton, had twice as many free throw attempts, and were +14 in rebounds. Think Creighton has had this game circled?
It also works in our favor that this is Creighton's final home game of the season. And while Illinois State is locked into third place in the MVC, Creighton is tied at the top with Northern Iowa. So Creighton has double motivation (revenge and MVC title) today.
Illinois State is coming off a home loss to Northern Iowa and a 14-point road loss at Niagra, so they're not exactly playing their best basketball right now. On the flip side, Creighton has won nine straight and is 6-2-1 ATS in that span.
Illinois State is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600 AND 3-13 ATS in their last 16 games following a SU loss.
Creighton is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600 AND 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite.
Creighton has a huge revenge motive, is fighting for the MVC title, and is playing their final home game of the season. How much more motivation do they need?
I'll lay the wood with Creighton in this one.
Big Al McMordie
Old Dominion vs. Northeastern
Play: Northeastern -4
At 6 pm, our complimentary selection is on the Northeastern Huskies minus the points over Old Dominion. Northeastern checks into this evening's game off back to back upset wins -- at Wright State and at Drexel -- and now fall into a 71.4% ATS system which plays on teams in their last home game off two upset wins, provided they are NOT an underdog of six or more points. Northeastern is 34-15 its last 49 as a favorite, and is 23-6 ATS its last 39 when favored off a straight-up win. Lay the points.
Rob Vinciletti
Wisc Green Bay vs. Wright State
Play: Wisc Green Bay +2½
Wisconsin-Green Bay is a solid 8-2 su as a road dog of 3 or less,9-3 su with 1 or less days of rest and a perfect 9-0 vs teams who allow 64 points per game.Wright.st has lost 75% of there home games when playing with revenge.Check out the big Saturday plays we have cashed 4 of the last 5 Saturdays picking up over 38 units in profit.Back Wisconsin-Green Bay
VEGAS EXPERTS
Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks
Wizards come off a rare Under, making them now 11-2 to the Over last 13 games. Against a Milwaukee team that averages over 104 PPG at home, sailing over this number should not be a problem. Both teams played last night so defensive intensity may be an issue. Since 1996, 30 of the 45 meetings between these teams have seen the Over cash. The Bucks had gone Over in four straight games before last night's Under.
Play on: Over
Jorge Gonzalez
Georgetown vs. Villanova
Play: Over 142.5
The Villanova Wildcats have been playing solid basket ball over their last 10 games in conference play winning nine of those contest. Villanova's offense has been on fire in the month of February scoring an average of 85.5 points per game. Over their last six games the offense is averaging 87.9 points per game. The Hoyas have seen three of their four last games over the the total. Take this game to go over.