Larry Ness
Weekend wipeout winner - Boston Celtics
Insider - Denver CBB
Alatex
Wright st. +9.5
Gina
Memphis Grizzlies (14-41) at Cleveland Cavaliers (31-24)
The struggling Grizzlies have lost ten of their last 11 games and have been a horror away from home, 11 straight losses, just 4-22 thus far this season. Cleveland should have no problems grabbing a victory over Memphis. The Cavaliers have won nine of the last 11 meetings at home against Memphis. However, the Cavaliers are 2-4 ATS in its last six games, 0-5 ATS in its last 5 at Quicken Loans Arena and went 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games against Memphis. Go with the sorry Grizzlies to cover the double digit spread. In the only game of this season, Memphis lost a hard fought fight to Cleveland in overtime, a 132-124 defeat on January 15.
Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies +11½
LA Lakers at Seattle Over
Accu-Picks
4* Boston
4* Dayton
4* Calif.
BEN BURNS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
PITTSBURGH
Game: Louisville vs. Pittsburgh Game Time: 2/24/2008 12:00:00 PM Prediction: Pittsburgh Reason: I'm playing on PITTSBURGH. This is a huge game for Pittsburgh. The Panthers are stuck on 19 wins, and they lost their second in a row Thursday night at Notre Dame. The Panthers know that they probably need to win two more games, maybe three, to get into the tournament. After Louisville, they play Cincinnati, Syracuse, West Virginia and DePaul. They should be able to beat both Cincinnati and Depaul. The games against Syracuse and West Virginia both come on the road though, so both will be tough. However, if they can protect their homecourt this afternoon, the Panthers, who are 3-1 SU/ATS in four series meetings since 2006, will put themselves in excellent shape. Note that Pittsburgh has only lost three in a row once during coach Jamie Dixon's five seasons as head coach. The Panthers, who have been dealing with injuries, are getting healthier. Guard Levance Fields returned recently after missing 12 games with a broken foot and his return makes the Panthers a much stronger team. Fields joins Sam Young and center DeJuan Blair as the nucleus of one of the Big East’s most physical teams. Like Connecticut yesterday, Louisville comes in on a major roll. The Huskies were coming off a road win at South Florida but found the going tougher (although the Bulls also almost beat them) when stepping up in class to face Villanova. The Cardinals last two road wins have also come against a pair of the Big East's lower tier teams, Depaul and Providence. Like the Huskies, the Cardinals will be taking a significant step up in class this afternoon. Like the Huskies, I expect them to find out that winning road games in the Big East isn't as easy as they thought it was. Note that Big East home teams have been very strong all season and that they were a perfect 6-0 SU yesterday. The Panthers have won three straight home games and 16 of their last 17 here. Looking back further and we find them at 95-8 in 103 games at the Petersen Events Center, where the student body—known as the Oakland Zoo—rims the court and provides them with a substantial home-court edge. Look for homecourt to be the difference as the Panthers earn a very important win and move to 7-1 SU/ATS the last eight times they were listed as home underdogs (or pick'em) of three points or less.
OHIO STATE
Game: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State Game Time: 2/24/2008 1:00:00 PM Prediction: Ohio State Reason: I'm playing on OHIO STATE. I feel that this will be a tough spot for the Badgers. Not only are they coming off a big road win at Illinois but they've got another huge game vs. Michigan State on deck. Note that the Badgers are an ugly 3-8 ATS this season when coming off a win vs. a conference opponent. Conversely, the Buckeyes, who lost 80-70 at Michigan last Sunday, are 3-1 ATS when coming off a loss vs. a Big 10 foe. Note that the Buckeyes are also 6-0 SU the last six times they allowed 80 or more points in their previous game, going 9-1 SU during that stretch when playing with five or six day's rest in between games. The rest is important as Coach Thad Matta has been playing his top seven players almost exclusively. The Buckeyes, who have won their last two games vs. the Badgers at Value City Arena are 12-2 here for the season. During that stretch, they've outscored opponents by more than 14 points per game, allowing 56.4 while scoring 70.8. The Badgers are tough and the Buckeyes will have to be at their best to beat them. Well-rested and playing at home, where they're 47-3 their last 50, in an absolutely crticial game, I believe that that they WILL be at their best. They're young but they're also talented and they've got an experienced point guard in senior Jamar Butler, who provides leadership while contributing 14.2 points and 6.3 assists per game. Look for a huge effort on both sides of the ball with homecourt proving to be the difference and the Buckeyes improving to 11-4 SU/ATS the last 15 times they were listed as home underdogs (or pick'em) of three points or less. *Main Event
NBA
UNDER Raptors/Knicks
Game: New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors Game Time: 2/24/2008 6:05:00 PM Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on the Raptors and Knicks to finish UNDER the number. Both teams have been playing a lot of "overs" lately. Those recent results have inflated today's over/under line and, in my opinion, given us solid value with the UNDER. In fact, today's number is several points higher than it was when these same two teams faced each other at New York just two days ago. That game managed to sneak above the number with 202 combined points, due largely to the Knicks scoring 40 and the teams combining for 72 points in the second quarter. I really don't think the Knicks will be having any 40 point quarters here in Toronto though, where the Raptors have held 15 of their last 21 opponents to double-digits in scoring. Note that of those 21 games, the only two Eastern Conference teams to crack the 100 mark here were the Pistons (who had 101) and the Magic, who rank #1 in the conference in scoring. Despite Friday's result, the UNDER remains a profitable 9-3 the last 12 games in this series. The Raptors, who have seen the UNDER go 4-2 this season after playing three consecutive games which finished above the total, have seen the UNDER go 7-1 when playing on a Sunday this season. Meanwhile, we find the UNDER at 6-1 when the Knicks were playing on a Sunday. Looking back a few seasons show the UNDER at 25-16 the last 41 times that the Knicks were listed as road underdogs in the +9.5 to +12 range. I expect the Raptors to do a much better job defensively on Crawford, who had a season-high 43 points on Friday. I also look for them to do a much better job on shutting the Knicks down overall and for the final combined score to be lower than most are expecting with the UNDER improving to 6-1 the last seven times that the Raptors played at home, when playing the front end of back to back games. *Blue Chip
SONICS
Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Seattle SuperSonics Game Time: 2/24/2008 9:05:00 PM Prediction: Seattle SuperSonics Reason: I'm taking the points with SEATTLE. The Sonics have begun the second half by winning two of three games, going a perfect 3-0 against the number. That brings them to 5-2 SU their last seven at home and a profitable 10-4 ATS their past 14 games overall. Naturally, the Sonics would love to continue their post-All Star Break success. Additional motivation will be provided by the fact that they're playing with "double-revenge" from a pair of first half losses. LA managed the "SU" victories in those earlier meetings but both games were very close, with Seattle covering the spread each time. Including those results, the Sonics are a profitable 12-5-3 ATS the last 20 series meetings. Note that each of the last two games here were decided by three points or less. While the Sonics had last night off, the Lakers are coming off a late game vs. the Clippers. Its true that the Lakers have won 11 of the last 20 when they've played the second of back to back games. However, a closer look shows that only two of those 20 games resulted in Laker wins of greater than nine points. While he's not one of the Lakers' "stars," it's still worth noting that former-Sonic Vladimir Radmanovic left with a strained right calf late in the first quarter of last night's game. Due to the Lakers' recent hot streak, this line is several points higher than it was for any of their last four visits to Seattle. With the Lakers playing the second of back to back games and playing on the road for the 11th time in 12 games AND with the Sonics playing their best basketball in recent memory, I feel that the line is much too high. Look for the revenge-minded Sonics to continue their recent improved play, moving to 15-7 ATS when facing a team which allows 99 or more points per game. *Game of the Week
KELSO
5* Notre Dame
3* Rhode Island
Kelso Chairman
10 units Xavier -5
LT Profits
La Salle +9.0
The LaSalle Explorers have quietly been one of the better bets in the country this season going 11-4-1 against the spread in all of their lined games, and we look for them to make a game of it vs. the Duquesne Dukes today.
This is a revenge game for the Explorers, as they played one of their worst games of the season in a 101-84 home loss to these Dukes two weeks ago. LaSalle has gone 3-0 since then however, including a shocking road upset of St. Joseph’s, followed up by another upset of previously nationally ranked Dayton on Thursday.
Conversely, Duquesne has gone downhill since the first meeting. They have now lost two straight games, including a bad home upset loss to Richmond, followed up by a 75-48 blowout loss at Xavier. Also, the visiting team has now won the last four head-to-head meetings between these schools both straight up and ATS.
Look for LaSalle to put forth a much better effort than the first meeting and get the cover here.
LaSalle +9
Detroit Pistons @ Phoenix Suns u200.5
The Phoenix Suns are coming off of an uncharacteristically low scoring 85-77 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday, and we look for them to get slowed down again by the staught Detroit Pistons defense today, resulting in another safe Under.
Yes, the Pistons have been playing rather loosely while allowing 100 points or more the last three games, but we look for them to buckle down today vs. this marquee Western Conference opponent on national television. Detroit still has one of the best defenses in the league when they come to play, limiting opponents to just 90.3 points per game this season on 43.8 percent shooting from the floor.
Naturally, the Suns love to run, but the Pistons did a great job of slowing them down the last time they visited Phoenix, upsetting the Suns 105-83 last March. Also, Phoenix is still working Shaquille O’Neal into the line up, so there is some experimentation going on right now that does not have them running the floor on every possession as usual.
The end result should be similar to that last meeting, at least in terms of pace, with this game topping in the low 190s.
Pistons/Suns Under 200.5
Tony George
Detroit Pistons vs. Phoenix Suns
Play: Detroit Pistons Detroit +2.5
While the Pistons are the better team right with Shaq being force fed into the Suns line-up, the most impressive thing about Detroit not only is theire their frontcourt and overall starting 5, but also the ability to score which will also will keep them in the hunt until the end this year. The best in the East, who is 5-0 ATS their last 5 trips to the desert, and and 7-1 ATS against the Suns their last 8, and also on an 11-2 SU run. The Suns are still working on chemistry and struggled to score 85 points against a Boston team which is in a funk on Friday Night!
Play Detroit.
Tony Karpinski
Wright State vs. Illinois State
Play: Wright State
Wright State--- The Raiders of Wright State are on a 13-3 ATS underdog run. More recently, 5-0 ATS last 5 as road dogs, and 4-1 ATS last 5 conference games and 4-1-1 ATS last 6 on the road. Illinois State is struggling of late going just 2-8 ATS their last 10 and 1-6 ATS as a favorite. Though this line seems extremely high, I have to go with a major rating play of mine, free throw shooting and defense and this is where Wright State has a significant edge plus the 9.5 pts.
Seabass
50*Celtics
50* Pistons
20* Knicks under
20*Pitt
20* Dayton
20* Ohio St
LOCKOFTHEDAY
Today's Lock: Louisville +1
Today we're going with Louisville. They're the hottest team in the Big East right now, winning 8 of their last 9. Pitt has lost 3 of their last 5 games, and even though at home, will struggle versus the Cardinals' pressure.
Ben Burns
I'm laying the price with MINNESOTA. Early money came in on Calgary. I feel this is the wrong move and that we're now getting a very reasonable price with a Wild team that has been extremely tough at home for years. The Wild, who haven't played since a 3-0 loss at Chicago on 2/20, are 4-2 this season when playing with three day's rest in between games. They've also been excellent when coming off a low-scoring effort, going 30-20 the last 50 times they scored one goal or less in their previous game and a highly profitable 95-72 (+32.8) their past 167 in that situation. The Flames, who come off a 1-0 win over the Wings, are 6-9 this season after scoring one goal or less in their previous game and 7-9 the last 16 times they were coming off a shutout win. Last week's loss at Anaheim dropped the Flames to 7-13 the last 20 times they played a road game on a Sunday. The Wild, on the other hand, are 5-0 the last five times they played a home game on a Sunday. Looking back further and we find them at 8-1 their last nine home Sunday games and 14-4 their last 18 in that situation. Look for them to improve on those numbers this afternoon. *Personal Favorite
3G
5*Syracuse
4*Ohio St
4*CAL
NBA
5*Portland
Iceman
5*San Jose
CALIFORNIA SPORTS
4* LaSalle
4* Calif
Savannah Sports
4 Units on Ohio St
Rockdeman Dog Of The Day
NC State
Gold Medal Club
14Karats
Louisville
Whisky
Dayton