Matt Rivers
200,000* UNREAL BARKING DOG!
Your winner here is on Georgia Tech!
Yes Clemson won and covered both meetings this season but it wasn't nearly as easy as the final score may indicate and to get Tech here plus this gaudy number at the Georgia Dome, making this thing close to a home game, is a total coup!
In the series this season Clemson won by 14 at home, covering by 1 1/2 points and then won by 8 at the Thrillerdome a few weeks ago covering by literally 1/2 point. In both games it was the Jackets who looked the better in the first halves. In that last game Tech even built a 15 point lead about 10 minutes in before flailing later on. I am telling you that this is not that far from an even game in this situation and to get around double digits is just wrong!
Paul Hewitt's team has not quit. Yes the season has been horrific as they have lost a ton of close games and I mean a ton. The last defeat in Chestnut Hill against Tyrese Rice and Boston College about summed up the season. The Jackets played tough, had the lead late and failed by a slimmer than slim (one point) margin at the very end. I am not at all saying that Georgia Tech is a good team as 2-14 in the ACC and 11-18 overall is rather poor for sure but there is a decent upside with Hewitt's crew and I just do not see them getting blasted here at all.
Clemson is a solid team that has a high ceiling for sure with talented talented players like Rivers, Oglesby, Booker and others but the Tigers are not the same team away from LittleJohn Coliseum. We have seen it over and over and over again how Oliver Purnell's team rises up at home and blows out Duke and others but just sometimes craps in its collective pants away from home. This is not considered a true road game but with the game being a mile away from the Georgia Tech campus it certainly is not a comfortable setting for Clemson.
Lawal, Clinch, Peacock, Aminu, Shumpert and the rest of this Tech team has had issues shooting free throws but it's not like this Clemson team is any good at that themselves as they are known to throw a brick or two from the charity stripe.
Clemson may win and advance but to be honest with you there is a great chance that they may not. That about sums up why I love the dog Jackets so much here!
Frank Patron
30000 unit must win game of my career #48
Bowling Green -2.5
Vegas Sports Experts
10* Take UAB (-9) over Southern Mississippi (NCAA Power Play)
Southern Mississippi
• 2-9 ATS as an underdog this season
• 4-12 ATS vs. conference opponents this season
• 3-12 ATS when playing their 2nd game in a week
10* Take Phoenix (+3.5) over Cleveland (NBA Power Play)
Phoenix
• 10-2 SU vs. Cleveland at home since 1996
• 7-1 SU after having lost 5 or 6 of the last 7 games
• Averaging 110 ppg at home this season
Bonus Pays
5* Take Virginia Tech (+3) over Miami (NCAA)
5* Take NC State (+2) over Maryland (NCAA)
5* Take New Jersey (-320) over Phoenix (NHL
Bell's Best
Early Release
Louisville - 9
Kiki Sports
Thurs Morn
1 unit Minnesota -2
1 unit Miami (Fla) -3.5
3 units Mississippi +6.5
Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
Suns +4.5 over Cavs
NCAA Basketball
NC State +2 over Maryland
RAS
Buff +1
Boise +1'
ID -1
UTEP +1'
CS Full +1
all for 1 unit.
Dr. Canada
Pens/Jackets over 5.5
Sabres -130
Caps/Flyers over 6
Predators -130
Sharks -135
Eddie Mush
4* Florida -9.5
6* Miss St. -9.5
6* Akron +1.5
8* Dayton -4.5
8* Ga Tech +9
10* TX -2.5
10* USC +1.5
15* Kentucky -6.5
MATT FARGO
**9** SEC TOURNEY GAME OF THE YEAR **6-0**
After starting the season 1-5 in the SEC, Vanderbilt rallied to finish 7-3 over its final 10 gets to get back to even in the conference and that is a big momentum builder heading into the conference tournament. The Commodores are coming off a 75-58 drubbing of Arkansas, their third straight victory that includes a win at LSU that snapped the Tigers' 13-game conference winning streak. Other wins came against SEC East leader South Carolina, another incredibly hot team in 10-6 Auburn as well as this same Alabama team. When the offense gets going, this is a tough team to take down as the Commodores have won seven straight games when surpassing 70 points and that includes a 79-point effort in that Alabama game. The Alabama defense is not a strong one as it has allowed 70.7 ppg on the season including 77.4 ppg away from home and that could very well be the difference once again. Alabama enters this game off a win and it has won four of its last five games to turn around what looked like was going to a disaster of a season after head coach Mike Gottfried resigned. A lot of people have been impressed but I’m still not sold on the Tide despite coming in with some momentum following that buzzer-beating three-pointer at Tennessee on Sunday. Alabama has won two conference road games, snapping a two-year, 18-game SEC road losing streak. That includes Sunday’s win. While this game is not a true road game, it isn’t at home either so winning three straight outside of Tuscaloosa against conference foes is the task at hand and one that just isn’t going to happen. Vanderbilt will enter the SEC tournament on a winning streak for the first time since the 1993-94 season. This is a revenge game for Alabama but it means little for this team as it is 5-16 ATS in its last 21 games away from home when revenging a loss where that opponent scored 75 or more points. Vanderbilt is known for its strong home floor edge but it is a solid 9-2 ATS in its last 11 neutral court contests. The fantasy run for the Tide ends on Thursday as the much stronger Commodores takes it going away.
9* Vanderbilt Commodores
**7** CBB DARK HORSE DANDY 7-1 START
The MAC tournament is as wide open as ever this season so the low numbers in Thursday’s four games comes is no surprise. What does come as a surprise is the fact that the 6th seed is favored over the 3rd seed in this game. The Golden Flashes finished the season stronger over the second half so that is the main reason but one that should not affect the line like that. Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon has stressed to his players all season that they’re only as good as their intensity. The Bulls reeled off nine straight wins before a Feb. 15 loss at Ball State launched a four-game losing streak in which their focus wavered. They vowed they’ve learned their lesson. Kent St. is coming off an unimpressive win over Northern Illinois on Tuesday to advance to this one and while it has had a day to rest and prepare, the Bulls have had four days off to get ready for this game. The win against Miami on Sunday gave the Bulls their first ever first-round bye in the MAC Tournament and a share of the league title. The Bulls have never been seeded higher than fifth in the MAC tournament since joining the conference in 1998. That speaks volumes of how good this team is and the way it won on Sunday gives Buffalo a huge boost of confidence. The Bulls came from 13 points down at the half to score the vital victory. Buffalo has won seven road games this season—its most since the 2004-05 campaign when it won eight. The seven road wins are tied with Miami for second most in the MAC this season (Akron has eight). These two teams squared off just a week ago and that game resulted in a six-point win for the Golden Flashes in overtime. That game was decided by free throw shooting as Kent St. scored 12 more points from the line. That was an aberration however as they do not get to the line much. A big edge here for the Bulls is the post play. Either the Golden Flashes control the boards or they are dominated on the boards. Buffalo pulled down 34 offensive rebounds in the two meetings between the teams during the regular season. They have gotten erratic production down low all season. During the first-round game against Northern Illinois, Kent St.'s forwards combined for just 16 of the team's 64 points. That will be the difference and Buffalo moves forward.
7* Buffalo Bulls
**8** NBA TNT STAR ATTRACTION **15-5 RUN**
I have gone against Cleveland numerous times on the road lately and will do so once again. The red hot start for the Cavaliers has led to them being overvalued almost every time out, especially in road games. Cleveland started the season 10-4 on the road but since then, it has gone 12-8 which is definitely solid, but not nearly the same. It is 8-12 ATS in those games and is a proven point to the Cavaliers being overvalued in these recent road games and it is definitely overvalued tonight. Phoenix is having a tougher than normal season and it is in the midst of a season long five-game losing streak. That only adds to our value here. Four of those losses came on the road, all against playoff bound teams while the latest came on Tuesday at home against Dallas who is gaining momentum right now. This recent skid has put the Suns five and a half games out of the Western Conference top eight so a run has to start and what better time than now against one of the best teams in the league while getting a ton of home points. A solid strategy in the NBA is to back these home underdogs whose home record is at least identical or close to the road record of the favorite and that is certainly the case here. Phoenix is 19-12 at home this year so it is only a game and a half worse than the Cavaliers road record. The Suns have been home underdogs only twice this season, winning against the Lakers 11 days ago as dogs of roughly the same number. The loss also came against the Lakers but that was way back on November 20th. Phoenix has not been playing bad during this recent stretch, it has just been on the wrong side of some late game breaks. The last four losses have come by six points or fewer. The Suns defense was torched for 122 points last time out against Dallas and the defense is the liability again but a bounce back effort can be expected. Phoenix is 19-8 ATS in its last 27 games after allowing 120 points or more and Cleveland is 0-6 ATS in the second half of this season when playing against a team that is allowing 46 percent shooting or worse from the floor. There is no denying that Phoenix has struggled against the better teams this season but this number is too good to pass up. Cleveland has covered 75 percent of its games as a home favorite but just 54.2 percent of its games as a road favorite. This game also sets up as a revenge spot as Phoenix was beaten soundly in Cleveland by 17 points just a month ago. The Suns had 22 assists and an amazing 25 turnovers in that game and the main reason for that was that they were without Steve Nash in that contest. This will be a different result in the desert.
8* Phoenix Suns
GAME DAY
2* Virginia Tech
2* Kansas
2* Northwestern
LARRY NESS
Revenge Rout
Boise St made a remarkable run last year in the WAC tourney, upsetting Utah St in the semis and then, in three overtimes, beat New Mexico St 107-103 on its home court in Las Cruces, nabbing the school's first NCAA bid in 14 years. However, head coach Greg Graham lost four starters from that team, the 6-6 Larry (19.4-9.2), the 6-9 Nelson (15.7-7.3) and the 6-7 Tiederman (13.9-3.4) in the frontcourt plus guard Bauscher (9.2-3.2 APG). This year's team has a fairly solid frontcourt despite all the losses, featuring the 6-7 Sanchez (12.8-7.1), the 6-7 Noonan (10.7-3.6), the 6-9 Cunningham (9.8-4.1) and the 6-9 Okoyoe (9.0-5.6). The Broncos' backcourt is also fairly deep with Thomas (9.4-4.8 APG), Garner (5.7), Greene (6.2) and Anderson (5.4). Boise State enters this game 19-11, including 9-7 in the WAC. New Mexico State is 16-14 and like Boise, 9-7 in the WAC. Also like Boise, NMSU lost four starters from LY's 21-14 team. The lone returning starter is Gibson (13.8), who is joined in the backcourt by Young (18.1-4.0-3.1), Larouche (5.6-4.3 APG) and Castillo (4.6). The 6-6 McKines (12.2-10.0) has been joined up front this year by two freshman, the 6-8 Gillenwater (12.4-4.3) and the 7-0 Rahman (6.9-4.6). Boise beat Nex Mex St in both meetings this year and now the teams get a rematch of last year's championship classic, squaring off in this year's quarterfinals. Neither team plays much defense and the winner will almost assuredly be gone in the next round, vs Utah St. However, as I so often do, I'm getting ahead of myself. Boise St cost New Mex St a second straight NCAA bid with that triple-OT win last year in Las Cruces and while Aggies have little hope of winning this week's tourney (and gaining the automatic bid), they sure can offer up some "payback" for last year's title-game loss and two regular season losses this year, ending any hopes Boise had of a return to the "Big Dance" this year. Revenge Rout 15* New Mexico St.
Dr Bob
7 Thursday Daytime Best Bets.
Louisville (-10) 3-Stars at -10 or less, 2-Stars up to -12.
Xavier (-12) 2-Stars at -12 less.
Kansas (-7 1/2) 3-Stars at -9 or less, 2-Stars up to -10.
Georgia (+9 1/2) 2-Stars at +9 or more.
BYU (-16) 2-Stars at -17 or less.
Utah State (-10 1/2) 2-Stars at -11 or less.
Washington (-5) 3-Stars at -6 or less, 2-Stars at -6 1/2.
Great Lakes
5* BC
4* Iowa
4* B Green
3* Ariz St
3* N Mex
4* S Ant
3* Phoenix
Wayne Root
Moneymaker- Northwestern
No Limit- Va Tech
More Later