Vegas Experts
Maryland Terrapins at Virginia Cavaliers
Cavs are just 4-11 in the ACC but have played better of late, winning three of their last five. They are just 2-5 at home vs. ACC foes but did beat N.C. State here during their recent stretch of improved play by a 78-60 count. They lost at Maryland earlier 85-75 so come in with revenge. Maryland is 8-7 in the ACC and 18-12 overall but has dropped four of its last six including a critical home loss to Clemson last Sunday. It is 4-3 on the Conference road with a loss at Miami and a four-point win at Wake Forest in its last two.
Play on: Virginia
Mike Rose
Utah Blaze @ Cleveland Gladiators Un 109.0
The AFL kicked off in fine fashion last week in Cleveland when the franchise won its first game of the season over the NY Dragons in a game that saw 17,000+ pack the Quicken Loans Center to get a glimpse of Cleveland icon Bernie Kosar’s new team. The Gladiators franchise came over from Las Vegas where they turned into one of the worst franchises in the league the last couple seasons. Kosar wanted experienced vets to lead his team in its first year of existence in Cleveland, and that’s exactly what he got. He couldn’t have made a better choice at the QB position when he decided to bring in Raymond Philyaw who had a monster season in KC last year to help lead the Brigade to the post-season in just the franchises second year of existence. He also stacked the D-Line with AFL vets Silas Demary and Joe Minucci who made names for themselves while playing for Los Angeles and Nashville.
The Gladiators proved to be more of a smashmouth team last week when they gained 308 yards overall, but gained 68 of them on the ground. FB/LB Marlion Jackson set the pace on the ground, while QB Philyaw kept the Dragons defense honest by completing 18-of-23 passes for 248 yards and 5 TDs with 1 INT. They won the turnover battle 3:2 and outscored NY 21-14 to pull away for the 61-49 home win and cover.
Head coach Danny White’s Utah Blaze were one of the more entertaining teams to watch in the league last season. Their offense was simply sensational led by QB Joe Germaine who passed for a league record 5,005 yards last season. He picked right back where he left off last week against Arizona when he completed 19-of-31 passes for 236 yards and 5 TDs with 1 INT. The Blaze lost however by a 63-62 final count when K Steve Videtich’s last second FG attempt sailed wide left.
Oddsmakers installed the Gladiators as short 1-point home favorites, but the betting public has bought into Kosar’s team and the line now sits at (-3.5) with the ‘total’ set at 109. Utah failed to cover the spread in both of their meetings with the Gladiators last season. They won by a 57-47 final tally in “Sin City” as 10.5-point road chalks, and shockingly lost SU to the Glads at home in the rematch as 17-point favorites. The Under has cashed in 4 of Utah’s L/5 road games, and it’s also cashed in 6 of the Gladiators L/9 home games. Look for Cleveland to look to the control the clock with its ground attack while keeping the potent Blaze offense on the sideline in the process. The ‘Under’ looks to be an awfully tasty proposition.
Will Cover
Ohio State/Michigan State UNDER the TOTAL
How low can this one go as the Spartans of MSU head South to take on the Buckeyes who are coming off a huge win over Purdue and need another one to secure a trip to the Big Dance. Defense is the name of the game in this contest as Michigan State has trouble scoring on the Big Ten road, averaging a paltry 53 PPG in their last three away losses in conference play. Ohio State's defense leads the Big 10 in scoring defense and will put the hammer down on the MSU offense. Sparty has already clinched a ticket to the Dance, so Bucks have all the motivation in their favor as they need this one badly and win it with defense.
James Patrick Sports
Kent State vs. Akron
The Golden Flashes are having one of their best seasons in recent times and travel the 11 miles to take on hated rival Akron in the James Rhodes Arena on Sunday evening. Nothing the Zips would like better than to put a dent in the armor of the Golden Flashes heading into the MAC Tournament next week. Akron always a very strong home team and even though a bit out classed, they always come to play in this rivalry. Our Sunday complimentary selection is on Akron Zips in MAC action.
Dave Cokin
Spurs and Suns
Play: Spurs -1.5
The final results aren't in yet, but early returns are indicating that the Suns-Heat deal that brought Shaq to the desert is on its way to being a complete bust for Phoenix. Not only are they losing, it looks to me like their offense is not all out of synch and they appear to be losing confidence. The Suns were absolutely blown out in the fourth quarter of their Friday home loss to Utah. The Spurs also dropped one Friday at Denver, but the defending champs have been razor sharp of late and I like San Antonio's chances here.
Marc Lawrence
Play On: Milwaukee
Note: Bucks host the 76ers with major revenge on their minds from a 112-69 loss, their worst of the season, suffered in the most recent meeting in this series. Our database tells us that Milwaukee is 5-0 ATS when playing with same season revenge from a loss of 35 or more points, They are also 6-1 ATS in this series when avenging a 15-point or larger defeat. With Philadelphia looking dead ahead to a double-rvenger with division rival Boston, and the Bucks off a 2-point home loss, look for the Milwaukee to get its revenge here today.
Jimmy The Moose
Game: Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals
Prediction: over
Reason: The Penguins have played over the total in 5 of their last 6 road games. The over is 6-2 in their last 8 games vs. Eastern Conference opponents. The over is 6-2-1 in Washington's last 9 home games vs. a team with a winning road record. The over is 12-6-3 in their last 21 games vs. a team with a winning record. The over is 7-1 in Pittsburgh's last 8 trips to Washington. The over is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings overall between the clubs. Play the over.
Vegas Sports Pics
Kentucky Wildcats - 2 over Florida Gators
Florida (21-9, 8-7) is 3-6 last 12 games. Kentucky (17-11, 11-4) making a push for an NCAA bid is 10-2 last 12 games. Teams met on 01/19, Gators at home beat the Wildcats 81-70 in OT.
Indiana Hoosiers - 8 over (at) Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State (1-15, 6-11) vs. No.18 Indiana (15-6, 14-3) needs a win to claim at least the number two seed in the Big Ten tournament. Hoosiers are 4-0 (3-1 ATS) last four meetings.
Texas Longhorns - 11 over Oklahoma State Cowboys
OSU (16-13, 7-8) is 2-19 last 21 road. No.9 Texas (25-5, 12-3, 7-2 ATS last 9) needs a win to claim top seed in the Big 12 tournament. Horns are 16-1 home and 10-2 last 12 home meetings.
Maryland Terrapins + 2 over (at) Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia (14-14, 4-11) vs. Maryland (18-12, 8-7) ranks 2nd in the ACC in FG % and first in FG % defense. The Terps, 7-2 last 9 meetings, need wins to move into NCAA bid consideration.
JEFFERSONSPORTS
NCAA HOOPS EARLY RELEASE
AKRON-3
Final home game for Akron and they will play with revenge here. If you can find revenge situations on the final game of the season for the home team it is usually a good situation. Akron lost by 6 to Kent st. in the first meeting and Kent shot almost 60% from the field that day and Akron lost by only 6. I look for wood, dials, and middleton (seniors-final home game) to play well and cover the short 3 points.
MID TENN ST-6
I'm going to try and not over think this one. Troy shoots 37% from the field and gives up over 80 points a game. So they cant shoot and they don't play defense. Mid Tenn st. just beat them by 23 points so Troy will have revenge. But when you don't play d and you can't shoot, you might be in trouble. I had this line a little higher. I'm gonna lay the 6 points with a team that has covered the last 8 of 11 and i'm gonna go against a team that has NOT covered in 7 of their last 9.
WINNINGPOINTS
***BEST BET
Philadelphia over *Milwaukee by 7
Unlike most teams, the 76ers usually can be counted on to give a full effort. The 76ers recently ran the Magic out of the gym and can do the same to the Bucks. Milwaukee has talent it just doesn’t jell much. The 76ers came into March having covered 12 of their last 16. Samuel Dalembert can keep the Bucks from penetrating inside with his shot-blocking. Aside from streaky Michael Redd, the Bucks don’t have a reliable perimeter shooter
PHILADELPHIA 105-98
SPORTS REPORTER
BEST BET
*TEXAS over OKLAHOMA STATE by 26
Will rarely look to make this kind of big-favorite call, but the tealeaves are right. Cowboys come in off blood-feud match against Oklahoma in Stillwater, and we’re going to presume for the moment that Texas will have righted themselves midweek at home against Nebraska before looking to close out their preliminaries with this appetizer. Too much sheer athleticism for this foe, at this juncture.
TEXAS 85-59
Teddy Covers
Weekly Arena Football
AFB Philadelphia +2.5
ANALYSIS: For Week 2 in the AFL, well need a second release. There are two games that still dont have lines; we could have action on both, and a third game with key injury information that could move the line in our favor. The second release time will be at 9 AM Pacific Time on Sunday morning.
Last week, very quietly, in a non-TV game on a busy AFL Saturday, the Philadelphia Soul scored 11 touchdowns on 11 possessions in their season opening blowout over Orlando, a model of offensive efficiency. Then, on Monday Night, Chicago took advantage of numerous San Jose breakdowns on both sides of the football to notch what might appear to be a similar result in the nationally televised ESPN2 affair. To the casual bettor, Chicago might look every bit as good as Philadelphia, if not better. But savvy AFL bettors can tell the difference between the two performances quite clearly, giving us tremendous line value in a game where the underdog should be the favorite. Had the Soul been on national TV last week instead of the Rush, they probably would be the favorite, giving us a clear indicator of how misleading Chicago?s Monday Night performance actually was.
Jon Bon Jovis Soul just might be the best team in the league right now. Quarterback Tony Graziani battled injuries last year, but in the eleven regular season games that he was healthy enough to play, Philadelphia averaged more than 64 points per game. In the five games that Graziani was hurt, the Soul averaged 41 points per game. Clearly, this is a quarterback that makes an enormous difference to his team when he?s on the field. Last week he threw 15 complete passes. Nine of them were for touchdowns. That?s one heck of a ratio, folks. While Chicago is most assuredly a better defensive team than Orlando, we?re still talking about an elite level offense here, capable of putting up points in bunches.
Chicago forced five San Jose turnovers on Monday Night, but if you watched the game, you know that those turnovers were not forced the Sabercats werent sharp in any aspect of the game. Rush QB Shedrick Bonner hit wide open receivers downfield repeatedly due to breakdowns in the Sabercats secondary. San Jose fumbled snaps, they ran poor routes, and the Rush were good enough to take advantage. But make no mistake about it ? this is still an offense with six new starters among the eight players on the field, with a seventh starter shifting positions, a team bound to go through their fair share of growing pains in the weeks to come. Aging QB Shedrick Bonner: It's going to take a little time for us to see the same things on every play, but each week we're going to get better and better.? Bonner got away with a handful of truly awful passes on Monday Night, but against Philly, those mistakes are likely to come back to haunt him. Take Philadelphia.
Big Time Sports
Michigan State at Ohio State
At the end of January, the Ohio State Buckeyes were sitting 15-6, and all was right on the hardcourt in Columbus. But a disastrous 3-6 run since has put Thad Matta's team on the mythical, yet ubiquitous, bubble with one game remaining in the regular season. That game is Sunday at Value City Arena in front of 19,000+, most of whom will be adorned in scarlet and gray.
At 18-12 overall, and a very mediocre 9-8 in conference action, the Buckeyes really need this game, just so they'll remain in consideration for an at-large berth that might come their way next Sunday (16th). The Men of State certainly helped themselves Tuesday night, as they registered an overtime victory against a very good Purdue team. A win in this contest against the boys from East Lansing, (another Top 20 team), might be good enough to get them in to the filed of 64. But then again, it might not. Ohio State has a couple of unsightly blemishes on tehir record; double digit losses at Michigan and at Minnesota. Those two Big Ten disappointments have a combined record of 13-21. And let's not forget a 23 point loss to Texas A&M in late November, and a 19 point defeat against Butler on the first day of December. This was a Final Four team a year ago. They might not be a Final 64 team a week from now.
For Michigan State, it's about winning a tough game in enemy territory, and finishing conference play with a rock-solid 13-5 record. A "W" here would also allow the Spartans to finish the campaign with a stellar 25-6 record overall. But Tom Izzo won't push his kids to their absolute limit. That type of effort should be saved for early round tournament games, and perhaps the Big Ten championship game, if they make it that far. (which is a better than 50/50 proposition). Plus, they're fresh off a Thursday night hard-fought win at Illinois.
Sophomore Raymar Morgan does the dirty work inside (15 ppg at 57% FG's, 6+ boards per contest), while senior Drew Neitzel drills three's at a 40% clip, in between dishing out 4+ assists per game. Freshman Kalin Lucas (10 ppg, 4 apg) and junior Goran Sutton (8 rpg) are also key components in the rotation. Michigan State also plays extremely tough defense. Only 9 of 30 opponents have been allowed to reach the 70 point mark.
This contest should be centered around a theme of defense. The visitor plays it very well naturally, and the host must play it with focus and intensity in order to win. This one will be exciting and frustrating at the same time. We look for a tight contest with points at a premium.
Michigan State / Ohio State Under
Dave Cokin
SAN Spurs and PHX Suns.
Take "SAN Spurs".
The final results aren't in yet, but early returns are indicating that the Suns-Heat deal that brought Shaq to the desert is on its way to being a complete bust for Phoenix. Not only are they losing, it looks to me like their offense is not all out of sync and they appear to be losing confidence. The Suns were absolutely blown out in the fourth quarter of their Friday home loss to Utah. The Spurs also dropped one Friday at Denver, but the defending champs have been razor sharp of late and I like San Antonio's chances here."
San Antonio
Jim Feist
SAC Kings and LA Lakers.
Take "Under".
Oddsmakers have made this total high because these teams have strong offenses, with first-year Sacramento coach Reggie Theus bringing in an uptempo style. However, the offense traded away Mike Bibby, while Artest and Martin are not 100%. The Lakers are one of the best teams in the NBA defensively, allowing 44% shooting by opponents. Only the Celtics, Rockets and Pistons are better.
Kings/Lakers under
Alex Smart
Game: San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns
Prediction: under
Reason: San Antonio no matter who they are playing, almost always seem to be able to set the pace of a confrontation. The Suns used to be able to dictate the tempo against all comers, but with big Shaq Oneal now slowing them down, an up tempo assault against this type of physical opponent will not come easily. Bottom line: Look for both teams to partake in a play off style affair, that will have its speedy moments, but for the most part , be fought and decided on the inside and under the glass, rather than the perimeter ,making for a lower scoring tilt than the pundits might expect. Play UNDER
Sports Gambling Hotline
Florida at KENTUCKY -4'
Winner on Saturday on Louisville plus the points, as the Cardinals just do stay inside the number. Our free play run now stands at 113-94-4 long-term.
Must win situation in Lexington today for both Florida, and Kentucky. While we think the price on this game is a little bloated on the host, we will nonetheless lay the wood with the Wildcats, as we are simply not impressed with Florida's efforts on the road this year.
The Gators are just 2-4 straight up their last 6 on the SEC road, and Billy Donovan's squad is currently on a 2-7 spread run overall their last 9 games, dropping their last pair, and 6 of their last 9 straight up.
Billy Gillispie's team is closing strong, as Kentucky has won 10 of their last 12 games, while covering in 9 of those 12.
Florida did take down Kentucky in overtime earlier this season in Gainsville, as the Gators have now won the last 7 series meetings against the Wildcats. Today we think the tide is going to turn.
Play on the 'Cats.
4* KENTUCKY
Karl Garrett
Michigan State -2 at OHIO STATE
At 24-6, the G-Man has to believe Michigan State is in the Big Dance. At 18-12, the G-Man has to believe Ohio State is in need of a few more wins to assure themselves a spot in the at-large pool.
The Buckeyes stopped a 4-game slide with Monday's huge home win and cover over a tough Purdue team. A win today would certainly move Ohio State into consideration for a spot in the Big Dance, and with the way Michigan State has really stunk it up on the road of late, the G-Man is going to side with the Buckeyes to get another big home win today.
The Spartans did come up with a rare conference road win at Illinois on Thursday night, but prior to that win, Michigan State had dropped 4 in a row both straight up, and against the spread in conference play on the highway.
The Buckeyes do own a 13-3 straight up mark in Columbus this season, and they are seeking revenge for a loss at East Lansing earlier this season. Michigan State won by 6 as the 8 1/2-point favorite. I don't see a repeat happening today in a game that could mean a ticket to the Field of 65 for the Buckeyes.
I am taking OSU to continue the Spartans road woes.
2* OHIO STATE
Bobby Maxwell
Maryland at VIRGINIA -2'
We got a FREE winner with Syracuse as the Orange dominated Marquette Saturday in the Big East. Today we've got a complimentary play on Virginia as the Cavaliers host Maryland in an ACC showdown.
Even without much hope of an NCAA tourney bid, the Cavaliers have been playing some pretty good basketball down the stretch here. So let's go with them to get the best of Maryland in this regular-season finale for both squads.
Virginia has won three of its last five but got drilled by Duke on Wednesday 86-70 as a 6 1/2-point underdog at home. Prior to the Duke game, they went to Georgia Tech and won 76-74 as a 4 1/2-point 'dog and scored a blowout home win over N.C. State, 78-60 as a 5 1/2-point favorite.
Maryland has dropped three of its last four SU and ATS and lost to Clemson a week ago 73-70 as a one-point 'dog. Last year when these two squared off in Virginia, the Cavaliers got a 103-91 victory as one-point favorites.
These teams have had opposite ends to their season and while neither one will probably get into the Big Dance, Virginia has had more fight down the stretch. Let's lay the small chalk and play Virginia in this one.
4* VIRGINIA
Joel Tyson
San Antonio -1' at PHOENIX
Lay the samll number when the Spurs visit the Phoenix Suns today. The Suns have covered just two times in their last 11 tries at home.
The Spurs have already picked up one win here on this court this year, and this victory came before Shaq was put in the lineup. Now the O'Neill is playing the Suns have fallen like a bag of rocks from one of the NBA's best to possibly the NBA's worst.
The Suns have lost two straight and four of their last five, while despite losing last time out the Spurs had picked up wins in nine of their last 10.
Play the Spurs to get the win and cover today.
2* SPURS
Kelso Sturgeon
Chairmans Club
10 units Indiana -8.5 @ Penn St
Best Bets
5 units Purdue -5 @ Michigan
3 units Connecticutt -13 @ Cinn
Marc Lawrence
Double Perfect College Hoops Last Home Game Play
Play On: Nebraska