Cajun-Sports
Game: Charlotte Bobcats vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Line: Cleveland Cavaliers -7.5
Rating: Two-Star
Selection:CHARLOTTE BOBCATS +7.5
Analysis: Quicken Loans Arena will be the site of tonight?s clash between the hometown Cavaliers and the visiting Bobcats from Charlotte. Quicken has not been kind recently to the host as the Cav?s have posted a record of only 12-19 ATS their last 31. Although a recent win streak where the Cavs won 4 of their last 5 against the number has made that overall ATS number not appear so bad. The team they welcome in tonight has proven to be a money maker in this arena even though they do not win SU they get the cash. The Bobcats have lost their last 6 trips here straight up but they have posted a record of 4-2 ATS. That is the number we are most concerned with and it appears with the improvement lately with the Bobcats we should get the money once again. The Bobcats with the ATS win on Friday night in Houston improve their ATS record to a solid 7-1 their last 8 times to post. On the technical front we note that the Bobcats off two SU losses are 69-46-3 ATS when installed as an underdog. If they are a conference underdog the record stands at 43-26-2 ATS. If the Bobcats lost SU and went under the posted total and are now installed as a conference underdog they are 30-8-2 ATS, if they also won against the spread they are 15-0-1 ATS. Fundamental?s backed by solid technical support signal a play on the Bobcats tonight. Take the points here as Charlotte continues to cash ATS checks at Quicken Loans Arena.
Triple Threat Sports
Wisconsin over Illinois
Badgers basically won the Big 10 tournament with yesterday's win, as they now simply have to go through the formality of beating an Illinois team that took advantage of a very soft draw to get here, and even with that could have lost each of those games. Ryan's team won by doubles in both prior meetings and should complete the sweep pretty easily here
Tony George
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets
Play:Los Angeles
Can the Streak end? YES. LA is the team who can do it. They are on fire on offense at 112 ppg their last 5 games and 108 ppg on the season. With Gasol in the line-up, the Lakers are complete and Kobe is having a great season and better than T-Mac up top. The key for LA is the frontcourt with Odom who has played much better ball, and Gasol who can and will get some cheap ones in the paint. LA has covered the last 2 in this series and is 6-2 ATS the last 8.
Free Play on the Lakers.
Scott Rickenbach
AFL 1* (regular play) New Orleans VooDoo (+) vs Tampa Bay Storm
Simply too many points for the Storm to be laying on the road here. After two tough tests to start the season (a road game and then a home game versus Georgia), we could easily see a letdown for Tampa Bay in this match-up. It would not be hard for the Storm to look right past a VooDoo team that many have projected to be one of the worst teams in the league this season. Of course this means we are getting great line value with a team that proved last week (win over Orlando) that they are capable of not only competing in, but winning, their home games.
New Orleans got a surprisingly solid performance from Danny Wimprine at QB last week while Steve Bellisari was out with an injury. Bellisari is expected back today but, as evidenced last week, the VooDoo are in good hands with either signal caller. New Orleans already has five interceptions on the season and yet, they have not turned the ball over once this season. Taking good care of the ball, playing opportunistic defense on the other side of the ball, it all adds up to a very dangerous home dog! The Storm have been impressive in their first two games but now could get caught looking ahead to their upcoming showdown with Philly that is coming up in two weeks. This is a very difficult spot for Tampa Bay to maintain their focus based on their upcoming schedule. The Storm will find that the VooDoo are much better than ‘advertised’ in what should be a very tight ballgame Sunday. Play New Orleans plus the points as a regular selection.
Arthur Ralph
Super Picks Sunday Arkansas
900 GOLD KEY Sunday winner Texas
Free Pick: Wisconsin
BEN BURNS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL|
ARKANSAS
Game: Georgia vs. Arkansas
Prediction: Arkansas Reason: I'm laying the points with ARKANSAS. The Razorbacks come off a pair of tough games the past two days. That's nothing compared to what the Bulldogs have endured though as they come off a pair of upsets just yesterday alone. That's obviously a very brutal schedule and I definitely look for fatigue to be a factor this afternoon. I expect that to be particularly true vs. an extremely physical Arkansas team. The Razorbacks held a 34-22 rebounding edge over the Volunteers yesterday, that included 13 at the offensive end. That led to a 14-6 edge in second-chance points. The Razorbacks also had a 44-34 scoring edge in the lane. They're now 15-5 SU the last 20 times they faced an opponent which had previously beaten them on the road, which is worth noting as they lost at Georgia earlier. As Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl lamented: "You can’t win championships getting beat on the boards like we did." Arkansas' previous tournament opponent (Vanderbilt) knows the feeling. That's because the Hogs outscored the Commodores by a 50-20 margin in the paint while outrebounding them by a whopping 45-24 count. I expect that type of physical dominance to be too much for the beleaguered Bulldogs and for this one to turn into a rout. *Tourney Blowout GOY
NORTH CAROLINA
Game: Clemson vs. North Carolina
Prediction: North Carolina Reason: I'm laying the points with NORTH CAROLINA. Beating Duke is always quite an accomplishment and the Tigers should be proud of themselves. However, defeating Duke and North Carolina on back to back days is an entirely different matter, particularly as the Tar Heels are even better than the Blue Devils right now. Indeed, the Tar Heels are ranked #1 and have won 10 straight games, including an 8-point win at Duke. The Tar Heels got their "wake-up call" yesterday when the Hokies took them down to the wire. The last time a team played them close like that was when they beat Virginia by only one point on 2/12. The Tar Heels evidently didn't care for that as they responded by winning their next game by 39 points. The Tar Heels have won eight straight in this series and seven of those eight victories have come by a minimum of seven points, six coming by double-digits. Look for them to "bounce back" from yesterday's near upset with a convincing "statement" victory this afternoon. *Main Event
BEN BURNS
NBA
UNDER Bobcats/Cavs
Game: Charlotte Bobcats vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on Cleveland and Charlotte to finish UNDER the number. This total is several points higher than it was for either of this season's earlier meetings, which I feel provides us with excellent value. The Bobcats, who managed only 80 points (89-80 loss) in their most recent game, have seen the UNDER go 7-3 this season after scoring 85 points or less in their previous game. They've also seen the UNDER go 4-2 on Sunday games this season and 9-5 their last 14 Sunday games overall. With Lebron James' "star power," the Cavs play on Sundays significantly more often than do their guests. Like the Bobcats, they've also shown a tendency to play low-scoring games on the "Lord's Day." In fact, the UNDER is 14-6 the last 20 times that they played on a Sunday and a highly profitable 66-31-2 their last 99. The Cavs have been involved in some relatively high-scoring games on the road recently. However, the UNDER is a perfect 4-0 their last four home games and 6-1 their last seven. The only game that finished above the total during that seven-game stretch came vs. defensively-challenged Memphis. That game still only snuck above the number though and the Cavs held the Grizzlies to only 89 points. The other six games had an average combined score of exactly 180 points with all six falling below the number by a minimum of nine points. The most recent game here saw just 168 combined points scored (88-80 win vs. Portland) and stayed below the total by roughly 20 points. I look for this evening's final score to be lower than expected once again. *Blue Chip
KNICKS
Game: Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks
Prediction: New York Knicks Reason: I'm taking the points with NEW YORK. All games are really important for the Hawks, as they're right in the middle of the playoff race. However, while they've been solid at home, the Hawks have been terrible on the road. That being said, I don't believe that they should be laying points away from Atlanta, not even against the 'lowly' Knicks. Indeed, Atlanta has lost six straight road games. All six losses came by a minimum of six points and the last five all came by double-digits. Looking back further and we find them at 1-13 their last 14 on the road and 2-19 their last 21. They've also lost 13 of their last 14 visits to New York, including each of their last three. The Knicks lost but covered at Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. They followed that up with losses against several top tier teams (Hornets, Cavs, Pistons, Blazers, Mavs) before stepping down in class and beating Miami in their most recent game. That victory gives them some much needed confidence and I expect it to boost their overall morale. This is another winnable game and I expect the positive momentum to carry over from the Miami victory. After leading New York to that win, Jamal Crawford stated: "We're not going to the playoffs, but we’re going to try to finish strong." With a chance to do some "spoiling," look for Crawford and co. to step up with a huge effort, improving to 7-1 ATS the last eight times they were a host in this series. *Best Bet
BEN BURNS
NHL
UNDER Flyers/Penguins
Game: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on the Flyers and Penguins to finish UNDER the total. The Penguins erupted for seven goals in their last game. However, they'd scored two or less in two of their previous three games and it's also worth noting that they've seen the UNDER go 13-9 when coming off a win by two goals or more and a profitable 16-11 after scoring four or more goals in their previous game. The Flyers lost 3-2 vs. Boston yesterday. That brought the UNDER to 4-1 their last five games and 9-4 their last 13. The last time that they played the second of back to back games (3/12 vs. Toronto) they lost by an identical 3-2 score. For the season, the UNDER is a profitable 10-5-1 when they've played a road game with an over/under line of six or greater. I feel that the number is generous and I'm expecting another relatively low-scoring affair this afternoon. *total of the week
The Fat Jack
KANSAS -5 1/2
WISCONSIN UNDER 112 1/2
Kelso
50* Texas
Rocco Vincintore Guaranteed Selections
1000* ACC CONFERNCE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER
North Carolina -5.5
Bob Balfe
NBA Bobcats
NCAA UNC
LT Profits
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Detroit Red Wings looked lethargic yesterday after clinching a playoff berth on Thursday, and they could be in trouble today as a big road favorite with no rest vs. the improved Columbus Blue Jackets.
Unlike the Wings, the Blue Jackets had the day off yesterday following their worst performance in a while, a 6-3 home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. They can be expected to improve on that performance today in front of an excited home crowd, and remember that Columbus has actually won the last two meetings with Detroit to even up the season series at 2-2.
The Wings looked like a team with nothing to play for yesterday in a listless 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators, snapping a five-game winning streak. We would not be surprised if that lethargy spills over here for one more game vs. a more motivated opponent, especially since Detroit is playing without rest.
All things considered, this looks like excellent value for the home underdog.
Pick: Blue Jackets
Toronto Raptors +4.0
Both the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings are coming off of blowout losses, but at least the Raptors had last night off while the Kings were getting pummeled in Phoenix, and Toronto probably needs this win to avoid a winless road trip.
This is the fourth game of a five-game Western trip for the Raptors, and it has been a horrible adventure so far as they have lost the first three games to the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets, all by double-digits. Furthermore, they have a date with the Utah Jazz, the team with the biggest home court advantage in the NBA, up next. That means that this game vs. the Kings tonight is Toronto’s best chance to salvage a win on this trek.
The good news is that the Sacramento is the only team the Raps are facing on this trip that has a losing record, and they have had success vs. the Kings in the recent past, going 5-1 against the spread in the last six meetings including a 116-91 blowout win in Toronto this year. Granted, the Raptors are still without Chris Bosh and they are 2-5 straight up without him, but interestingly, all five losses have come against teams that would be in the playoffs right now (the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards besides the first three games of this trip) while both wins have come vs. teams with losing records. The Kings fall into the latter category.
Sacramento had been playing good ball for a while, but they have regressed lately going just 3-8 both SU and ATS in their last 11 games. The Kings were pasted by the Suns 127-99 last night, thanks to a miserable performance defensively as they allowed Phoenix to shoot a spectacular 60.8 percent (48 for 79) from the floor! Then again, defense was never a strong suit for a Kings team that is allowing 103.8 points per game for the season, and even with Bosh, the Raptors have enough weapons to take advantage of this porous defense, especially from the perimeter.
Finally, while the Kings are a decent 19-12 SU at home, they have not exactly been dominant like they have in the past here, only winning their home games by an average of +2.2 points per game. Meanwhile, the Raptors have been respectable on the road, that last three games notwithstanding, going 15-18 SU while getting outscored by just a scant -0.2 points per contest.
Pick: Raptors +4
Frank Rosenthal
NBA
502 HEAT+14.5 SB
507 HAWKS-2 SB
509 LAKERS+4 SB
UNDER 198 SB
514 KINGS-3.5 SB
COLLEGE HOOPS
515 CLEMSON+6 SB
OVER 151 SB++
517 GEORGIA+8 SB
520 TEXAS+6.5 SB+
522 WISKY-6.5 SB
Ross Benjamin
10* Kansas