Scott Rickenbach
1* (regular play) Chicago Bulls (-) vs Miami
In the long grind of an NBA season, it is important for a capper to focus in on games where there are special edges. Let’s face it, the odds makers do a rock solid job on most games so the key is finding those games where there is a stronger edge than one would normally expect to find. That is the case here with the Bulls. Chicago has not forgotten losing at Miami in their first match-up this season. That occurred in late December and the Bulls felt disrespected when the Heat called a timeout with just 30 seconds left and a 13 point lead. They used the time out to pull Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, and Mario Chalmers from the game. However, the Bulls definitely felt it was not necessary and was simply a way for the Heat to “rub salt in the wound” in what was already a dominating effort for Miami. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro was quoted after the game as saying “we’ll play them again”. That time has come!
On Thursday in Chicago on TNT, the Bulls get a chance to execute payback and they won’t let it pass them by. The key here is that the Heat have been struggling badly. Miami has lost five of their last seven and a big problem has been having to rely too much on Wade. He’s the only guy giving steady contributions in many games. That’s a big problem in this match-up because the Chicago native actually hasn’t played well at the United Center. In his last five games there Wade is averaging 16.6 points on just 36.1 percent shooting! Look for the other Chicago native on the floor tonight, Derrick Rose, to key the Bulls victory here. Rose has come a long way since that game at Miami. The Bulls have won five of their last seven and, over the last seven weeks, Rose has impressed more and more with each passing week. He’s averaged 18.4 points on 57.1 percent shooting in his last seven games. Also, Rose has 47 assists versus just 14 turnovers during this stretch.
While the Bulls had to rally to win their last game (versus the Pistons) it is the growth of Rose that helped the Bulls have that strong game-ending run. Those are the kind of strong finishes that build confidence and this Chicago team has come a long way compared to where they were the last time they faced the Heat. In the first match-up, Luol Deng got hurt during the game and Larry Hughes and Aaron Gray were both playing significant roles. Now Deng is healthy and Hughes and Gray weren’t even in the box score of the Bulls win over Detroit Tuesday. Also, Kirk Hinrich is now back for Chicago and Joakim Noah has become a big contributor. This is a classic case of two teams going in opposite directions and the added incentive for the Bulls here made it a definite play for us! Play Chicago minus the points as a regular selection
1* (regular play) Louisville Cardinals (-) @ Notre Dame
This is a classic case of “hot versus not”. What’s interesting here is you would have never expected to see a line like this earlier in the season as Notre Dame has such a solid history at home. However, times change and if you don’t keep up with the times you lose! We’re speaking from the sports betting “perspective” there as this Irish team certainly doesn’t merit that much more respect here even though they’re on their home floor. They’ve lost seven straight games and two of those were at home. We love the fact that we’re able to get a short number of points to lay with Louisville, the far superior team, just because they’re on the road in this match-up. The key here is defense. The Cardinals play it and the Fighting Irish don’t!
Notre Dame has allowed at least 87 points in five of their last seven games. That is simply amazing as this is not the NBA folks! To be giving up that many points in College Hoops is a real issue! The streak of defensive demise – and Notre Dame’s current seven game losing streak – started with a loss at Louisville. While it’s true that the 87 to 73 loss to the Cardinals was an overtime game, it’s also true that the Cards held Notre Dame to just two points in overtime while Louisville scored 16 and got the win. Once again, it’s evident who has the superior defense in this match-up. The Cardinals are 10-1 in their last 11 games and the only loss was to Connecticut! Of course the Huskies are currently the top team in the country and Notre Dame is not on par with that team. The Cardinals defensive numbers are in stark contrast with how the Irish have performed lately. The most points that Louisville has allowed, in going 18-4 this season, is 75 points. Only FOUR times this season has Louisville allowed more than 68 points in a game! As for Notre Dame, they give up an AVERAGE of 73 points per game on the season!
Even though the Irish took this match-up to overtime in the first meeting between these teams, note that the Cardinals had edges in rebounds, blocked shots, and steals. Truly the only reason the game wasn’t more of a blowout in regulation is because the Irish made 9 of 20 three pointers while the Cardinals only made 10 of 30 from downtown. Overall, the Irish are the better team from 3-point land but it’s normally not that pronounced and the Cardinals have shown the ability to rely on their defense – as they did at St John’s on Sunday – when their offense is not clicking. Of the 18 wins the Cardinals have this season, only two have come by less than six points. Those were against Kentucky and Villanova. Both these teams are superior to the Irish. As for Notre Dame, all their losses have come by at least five points and many have been blowout defeats. We have no qualms about laying the short number here with the Cardinals. Luke Harangody will be the focus of the Cardinals defense and we saw at UCLA what happens to the Irish (a 26 point loss!) when Harangody is shut down. The only other guy to score in double digits when Notre Dame first met Louisville was Kyle McAlarney. However, McAlarney has only made 17 of 60 (28%) of his field goal attempts in his last five games and this has played a key role in the demise of the Irish. That’s another reason their losing streak continues here. Play Louisville minus the points as a regular selection.
1* (regular play) Southern Cal Trojans (+) @ Arizona
Under coach Tim Floyd, the Trojans have a history of performing very well as an underdog in Pac Ten action. We get another fantastic opportunity to ride that streak here. The Trojans are coming off of an embarrassing loss at UCLA in their last game. They’ve had over a week to “stew” about that loss and that means when they take the court tonight there is going to be tremendous mental and physical energy coming from USC. Before that loss to the Bruins, Southern Cal was a very impressive 15-6 on the season. Five of those six losses had come by an average margin of just 3 points per game. That easily “gets us into the game” here as the Trojans tremendous defense has kept them in all but two games out of 22 games this season! The key tonight is that USC is so hungry they will not be denied in this spot.
Before their loss to UCLA, the Trojans had held ten of their last twelve opponents to 64 points or less! As for Arizona, the Wildcats have allowed four of their last eight opponents to score at least 77 points! Yes, Arizona has won five straight games but, prior to this, the Cats had gone just 6-7 in their previous 13 games. This truly is very much a mediocre Pac Ten team. The Wildcats last three wins have all come against three of the worst teams in the conference. Their prior two wins including a non-conference opponent, Houston, and also a big win over the Huskies. Yes, beating Washington was somewhat impressive but they did give up 97 points in that game. The Wildcats got 51 free throw attempts in that game. That is ridiculous and they won the game despite getting outscored 84 to 65 from the field. That’s not going to happen very often. In their win over Houston they allowed 90 points!
The coaching edge also goes to USC in this match-up with Floyd going against interim coach Russ Pennell. The first match-up between these teams was a tight win for USC but they had five more field goal attempts and nine more free throw attempts. It was only a strong shooting performance from Arizona that kept the game close. The Trojans should give a much stronger defensive effort here. This is especially true with coming off of the loss at UCLA that was such an ugly one. The reserves ended up playing a lot of minutes in that game and the Trojans starters will come back hungrier than ever as they seek, and get, a big road win here! Play Southern Cal plus the points as a regular selection.
1* (regular play) Vancouver Canucks Money Line (-) @ Phoenix
Opposite Action Plays
Notre Dame
Mike Lineback
Celtics/Mavericks Under
Lenny Del Genio
GS Warriors
Tony George
Celtics
Cogyle
8* Kings Over 5.5
Bond
10* Bulls Under 195.5
Daddy
10* St Joes
RAS
1.5 units Furman
1 unit Idaho
NSA
20* UCLA -1
10* Louisville -3
10* St Joe's -1.5
10* San Diego -13.5
10* Boston -2.5
10* Portland +3.5
Kelso
10 units Pepperdine
5 units Portland (CBB)
3 units Bulls
Scott Spreitzer
25* Buffalo
Nick Parsons
Miami Heat
C-Stars Sports
1000 units Top Play 8:00 PM Troy over Middle Tennessee St
1000 units Top Play 9:05 Portland St. minus the points over Idaho State
1000 Units Top Play Boston/Dallas under the total When DALLAS team played as a Home team - Last 3 years - Coming off 2 game home stand 4-12 O/U in this spot. When BOSTON team played as a Road team - playing on Thursday - Coming off a 1 game win 2-9 O/U in this spot.
ATS Lock Club
5 units Notre Dame +3.5
4 units Arizona -2.5
3 units Arizona St. +1.5
ATS Financial Package
4 units Troy -1
3 units Gonzaga -4.5
CHARLIES SPORTS
500* Buffalo -9
30* Delaware +6
20* Notre Dame +3
20* San Diego -13
10* Portland @ Golden St under 217
10* Dallas +4 (free play)
Indian Cowboy
4 Unit Play. Take Northwestern +2 over Illinois
We have certainly gone around the merry-go-round once this week as we are 1-1-1 rolling into Thursday. Currently we are 17-9 out our last 26 college ball picks which is sound but I really want to repeat something similar to last week when we went 5-2 hitting at one point 5 straight underdogs, four of which won outright. We did solid in Januayr with +66 units and in February we are hovingering around +20 in total profit as we roll on with our tortoise and investment philosophy of 2 plays a day - 1 per college and 1 per the nba. For today's play, let's roll with an upset in the making in the Big10 - my favorite conference. Man, I love this conference. When it was announced that Tubby and Jimmy B were going to be two of the coaches in this conference, I was stoked. This is because I knew Penn State and Northwestern were going to be much better this year as they had recruited well and had a lot of returning talent come back. Such is the case when Northwestern went ahead and prevailed in countless surprising results this year. Remember, Northwestern is the same team that beat Wisconsin at home by 3, the same team that beat Minnesota at home, Michigan State on the road, and after starting the year 0-4 in conference play, now sit at 4-6 so they can certainly use all the conference wins they can get. They only play Illinois once this year and bear in mind, well over 70% of the public favor Illinois. I love Illinois basketball. In fact, it is the team that I have ridden the most in the 2008-2009 year for ATS covers. Heck, they were even my GOM twice this year. But, this is simply not a good spot for them. Illinois beat this team 70-37 at home last year so these group of young men who have now grown up and a are a bit more seasoned, remember that stomping. You don't think these fellas that defeated Michigan State, Wisconsin and Minnesota do not have what it takes to take care of Illinois at home? Heck, this team even beat FSU at home as well. Illinois comes off a huge emotional win against Purdue and are in for a classic let down here as they are the same teams that of late have lost on the road to Wisconsin by 13 and Minnesota by 23. This game will swing back and forth, but let's ride the wave of the home crowd, with massive revenge from last year, our team that comes off a road loss as they return home and fading the public who is likely to get buried here as there is a reason why Northwestern is a +2 dog similar to what they were when they Minnesota and defeated them relatively easily.
2 Unit Play. Take Golden State Warriors -3.5 over Portland Trailblazers
Congrats on the Nuggets Outright last night at Orlando. Regardless of what happens today considering this is a 2* selection we will have our 8th straight winning week this week. But, I would love to hit this play as it will allow us to go 3-1 overall on the week and enable us to secure even more profit this week. The line has steadily increased for this game and it should not come as a surprise. For starters, the Trailblazers come off a big win last night and cover against OKC. After all, they had revenge against the Thunder and they got it done. Well, now, the Warriors have revenge against this tem from an earlier season loss. Given the style of play the Warriors play anyway which is an up and down style of play, they certainly will have their legs underneath them and the Blazers will not. Let's not forget, this is the same Blazer team that fell to the Thunder handily on the road and this is the same Warrior team that beat the Jazz, Celtics, Suns and nearly the Cavs by losing 1 point at home. Let's ride GS here with GS as they are rested, have revenge, have covered their last 4 at home against the likes of the Jazz, Knicks, Clippers and even the Spurs who they ended up losing to in OT. Let's ride the W's as they are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 games at home and the Blazers are just 4-11 ATS in their last 15 road games.
BOB AKMENS
20* CAROLINA HURRICANES
Rocketman
E Michigan
Karl Garrett
20 DIMER - TEMPLE OWLS
10 DIMER - LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
No doubt the Hawks have been playing some hot hoops, as they have won their last pair, and 9 of their last 10 as they get set to take on in-city rival Temple tonight, but in this battle of birds, I am going with the Owls.
Temple played tough at Xavier last week, and followed that loss up with a solid win and cover at home over URI over the weekend. The Owls have now won 7 of 10 straight up, going 6-3-1 against the spread along the way.
Most importantly, after 5 straight series losses, it looks like Fran Dunphy's ways against the Hawks have turned the tide, as Temple has won the last pair of series meetings, and they have covered the last 3 meetings as well.
I believe Temple currently has the Hawks number, and I am siding with the Owls to make it 3 straight over their conference rival.
Bell's Best Bets
NcaaB:
Portland - 4
Idaho + 5
NWestern + 1.5
UCLA - 1
St. Joe's - 1.5
Plus Line Sports
NHL selection
Detroit Puckline (+113) Moneyline (-275)
Basketball selections
Wisc GB -5
Buffalo -9
Niagra -8
Alatex
15* Arizona -2.5
Yankee Capper
NCAA HOOPS GUARANTEED BLOWOUT
BUFFALO -9.5
NCAA HOOPS GUARANTEED BLOWOUT
PORTLAND STATE -4
The Sports Contrarian
NBA
5 Unit Warriors -3
CBB
5 Unit Louisville -3
ACME Sports Inc.
Chicago Over 195
Dallas Under 194
Taw Jackson
Buffalo -9 G.O.D.
Mavericks +4 O.D.W.
Saint Mary's +4.5 O.D.W.
Powerplaywins
Play Of The Day
Utah State -5
Syndicate Betting Systems
5 Unit Play Bulls -4
5 Unit Play Mavericks Under 194
EAST COAST SPORTS CONSULTANTS
WILLIE "D"
CBB Insider FLORIDA ATLANTIC
"LEGS" DIAMOND
CBB Bookie Ball Buster EASTERN MICHIGAN
RANDY MITCHEL
CBB Diamond CLEVELAND ST.
Wunderdog
Game: Miami at Chicago (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Chicago -173 (moneyline) (risk 3 to win 1.7)
The Bulls have finally awakened and are playing their best basketball in two years. They followed a successful 4-3 road trip with a win at home over the Pistons. They have now gone 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight games, and for the first time this season they have scored 100+ in six straight games. The Heat has covered just two of their last seven games. They are struggling offensively, as they have been held to 87 points per game in their last three and it shows, as they are 0-4 ATS when their opponent is off a 100+ game. The Heat hasn't had any success in Chi-town as they are a miserable 2-8-1 ATS their last 11 trips here. The Bulls win this one and I'm taking them on the moneyline.
Game: Boston at Dallas (9:30 PM Eastern)
Pick: 4 units on Dallas +2.5 (-110) (risk 4 to win 3.6)
Dallas is playing on a high level right now as they are winners in six of their last seven. What has gone unnoticed with this team is their domination at home. They started the season a dismal 0-4 at home, but have since gone 17-3, with one of the three losses was in OT. They were hammered in Boston 124-100 a few weeks ago, and they will be focused here to get revenge. The Celtics, as good as they are, have struggled against the really good teams on the road losing to Portland, Cleveland, and LA. This has been a dog-based series with the dog capturing five of the last seven. With the way the Mavs have been playing at home, I gotta take them here with the points.
Game: Portland at Golden State (10:30 PM Eastern)
Pick: 4 units on Portland +3.5 (-110) (risk 4 to win 3.6)
The Warriors are getting a huge bounce here off their 144-point explosion against the Knicks. They are still not good in this role as they are just 6-9 ATS as a favorite. They are way overpriced here as they have not been favored over any winning team since November 5, before the teams settled to where they would ultimately be. Portland has not been an underdog all season on the road against a team with a losing record on the season. The Blazers are a young team and solid in the second of back-to-back nights at 12-5 ATS. The Warriors show inconsistency after a win as they are 13-43-1 ATS in their next game. We have a live dog here, and Portland gets the call.
Game: Buffalo at Eastern Michigan (7:00 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Buffalo -9.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)
The Bulls may have tipped their hand when they took UConn to the wire before losing a four-point decision. They have now won eight straight, and are playing even better. The Eagles appear to have quit as they have now dropped six of their last seven by 10+, and own just one win this season over a Div-1 team - and it took OT to get that one. These teams are light years apart, with one playing for the MAC title and the other waiting for a dreadful season to end. The Bulls win big here.
Game: Niagara at Canisius (7:30 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Niagara -8.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)
While Siena at 19-6 gets all the ink in the Metro Atlantic. Niagara has quietly carved out an equal niche, coming off their NCAA appearance last season. The Purple Eagles have matched Siena win for win, and have an identical 19-6 record on the season. The Purple Eagles have now won five straight games, and the last four have been by a combined 74 points or 18.5 ppg. The Golden Griffins are heading in the opposite direction off of five straight losses to just two wins in their last 12. The five losses have averaged double-digits. The Purple Eagles are pressing Siena and won't stumble here. I like them for the road win and cover.
Game: Santa Clara at Pepperdine (10:30 PM Eastern)
Pick: 3 units on Santa Clara -8.5 (-110) (risk 3 to win 2.7)
Pepperdine used to own this conference, and was battling Gonzaga for top honors. This once proud program has won just 26 games the last three years. This year looks to be even worse as they enter here 6-18. Four of their six wins were gifts, beating two Div-2 teams and a 1-23 Loyola, Marymount team twice. They have lost by 10+ in 12 of their 18 losses and just aren’t a competitive team. The Broncos are coming together as witnessed by six straight wins and a huge statement over St. Mary's by 18. Pepperdine can only hope here, but the Broncos continue to roll and win this one big.
BobbyClarkSports
NCAA: Temple +1 Wager 880 to win 800
Illinois -2 Wager 550 to win 500
Notre Dame +4 Wager 550 to win 500
NHL: Flyers Wager 2100 to win 1000
Bonus: Dallas +4
BookieBasherSports
UCLA -1.5
Seabass
20 Golden State
100 Mavs Under
20 Louisville, Weber St
50 AZ St, Gonzaga
Steam 100 Idaho
RON RAYMOND
Heat / Bulls Over 195.5
Carolina Hurricanes -130
Ottawa Senators +180
Calgary Flames +100
I am gonna cut out of here guys I feel like I got hit by a Mack Truck so if you see something don't be afraid to post it.
Thanks