POINTWISE PHONES
3* kentucky
4* temple
4* stanford
5* oral robt
5* kent st
6* kansas
6* purdue
6* xavier
1* is highest rating
Ethan Law Purchased Premium Picks
double-dime bet Arizona 2.0 vs W.Virginia
Analysis: ARIZONA (19-14) at W VIRGINIA (24-10)
Here we go guys with the very first big NCAA selection of the season. Although this is the second strongest play in the first round, we have to step out when we see a good spot. Arizona (19-14 SU & 17-14 ATS) will be making its 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 27th overall. Their opponent, West Virginia (24-10 SU & 14-13 ATS) is making its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance and the third in the last four years. We all know by now about the controversy surrounding the inclusion of Arizona into the field of 64 as many out there believed that Arizona State was the more worthy team. Well I can tell you with confidence whether its Arizona or ASU it doesnt matter because West Virginia doesnt match-up well against either team. Indeed, although Arizona comes into this contest with one of the lest number of wins of any of the teams in the filed, few could dispute the very real fact that this Arizona team one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the entire country. They also played in a PAC-10 conference that many will argue was on par, if not superior to what I believe was a very overrated big east conference. On the season the Wildcats averaged 72.1 points per game on an incredible .475 shooting. On paper, West Virginia averaged 74.9 points per game on .454 shooting. However, a differentiation can be made when you consider their strength of schedule. Arizona owns a statistical advantage in 3 point percentage 39% to 35% and more importantly owns a significant fundamental match-up advantage on the free throw line where they shoot 74% to West Virginias 68.2%. Fundamentally, Arizona prefers to get out in the open court and play transition basketball something West Virginia is not very effective in defending. West Virginia also did not defend well against the three pointers. The fact that west Virginia Head coach Bob Huggins is 0-2 against Arizona (with one of those losses coming in NCAA Tournament play) cements it. Rest assured, the wrong team is favored here so take those points.
PLAY 2* UNITS ON ARIZONA +2
MR A
Chicago Bulls + 4
Utah Jazz -
Billy The GREEK
3*Baylor
2*Dallas Mavs
Sports Unlimited
5* Oral Roberts
Jeffersonsports Adding
Oral Roberts +9
Kentucky under 130
Gator's NBA/CBB 70% Report
NBA
Thursday: Play On NBA home underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points in a game involving two teams which allow 43.5-45.5% shooting from the field, a team that averages <=14.5 turnovers per game against a team that gets <=14.5 turnovers per game.
51-17 ATS since 1996 (75.0%) PLAY: Chicago Bulls +4
Frank Rosenthal
NBA HOOPS
702 BULLS+4 SB
703 CELTICS+2.5 SB
706 JAZZ-6 SB
OVER 217 SB
COLLEGE HOOPS
708 DUKE-19 SB
UNDER 156 SB
710 WEST VA-1.5 SB
711 GEORGIA+9 SB
715 PORTLAND ST+23 SB
OVER 145 SB
720 WISKY-11 SB
722 USC-3 SB
UNDER 141.5 SB
724 ND-6 SB
OVER 141 SB
729 ORAL ROBERTS+9 SB
733 KY+6.5 SB
736 UCLA-31 SB
NIT
739 MARYLAND+5.5 SB
UNDER 154.5 SB
741 SO ILLINOIS+6.5 SB
Gavazzi
5*Oral Roberts
4*Marquette
4*Xavier
4*Michigan St
3*Purdue
3*Stanford
3*WVU
3*USC
3*Notre Dame
3*BYU
Wunderdog
Boston at Dallas
Pick: Dallas -2.5
After their amazing start, it's hard to imagine that the Celtics could heat it up even more but that's what they have done, winning 13 of their last 14 games. They have taken out two Western Conference contendersin Houston and San Antonio and now shoot for a third. They laid anamazing comeback on the World Champion Spurs two games back and then proceeded to end Houston's 22 game winning streak (NBA second-best) with a 20-point beat-down. They have done this all without Ray Allen and his 18 ppg. Can they make it three in a row on the road against the league's elite? We don't think so. Dallas has also been hot, winning five of six. They are off a 2 point loss to the Lakers but over these last sixgames they are outscoring their opponents by an average of 19.4 ppg (108.5 - 89.1). Dallas has more to play for. They need to protect their home court (where they are very strong at 29-5). They are fighting for playoff position, whereas Boston is not. Teams that have won 20+ of their last 25 games, playing in a game with a line of -3 to +3 are just 17-40ATS (30%) the past five seasons. We tend to fade Dallas on the road but at home it's another story. We think Boston's great run hits a speed bump tonight.
Rocketman Sports
San Antonio @ Chicago
Play On: 1* San Antonio -4
Chicago is 4-12 ATS this year after a win by 10 points or more. San Antonio is 8-3 ATS at Chicago since 1996. Bulls are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. Bulls are 7-20 ATS in their last 27 games following a SU win. Bulls are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 vs. NBA Southwest. Bulls are 3-13 ATS in their last 16 games following a SU win of more than 10 points. Spurs are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings in Chicago. Road team is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings. San Antonio comes in losers of 4 in a row. Another loss here is just not going to happen to this team. We'll recommend a small play on San Antonio tonight
CHRIS JORDAN
1000* Purdue
200* Kent State
200* Oral Roberts
200* Cornell
Dave Malinsky 4* play
Belmont @ Duke
PICK: under
REASON FOR PICK: 4* BELMONT/DUKE Under
We have been waiting patiently for this one to hit its peak and it looks like “Go Time” now, with 157.5 becoming commonly available. That is creating an approximation of 89-69 when we compare the Side and Total in the current marketplace, and in this case we have a favorite that is not looking to reach the former count, and an underdog that can not reach the latter.
Belmont’s Bruins are no stranger to the Big Dance - this will be the third trip in a row. But they managed just 44 points in losing to UCLA two years ago and 55 vs. Georgetown last March, and in the only game against a tourney team this season scored only 49 vs. Xavier. There is the appearance of punch in the statistics that just is not there in reality against this class of opponent. Yes, they led the Atlantic Sun in scoring, but so much of that stems from the ability to hit from long range, where they attempted 28.9 triples per game and made 36.9 percent. That can happen against lesser competition. But against the size and tenacity of the Duke perimeter defenders everything gets pushed a little further from the basket, and we will not call for them to be anywhere near that same success rate. And instead of quick looks from the perimeter expect them to be forced deep into the shot clock here, particularly since there is no inside game to draw defenders.
The Blue Devils will not have any problems scoring early, but will not use up any more energy than is necessary to put this one away. Mike Krzyzewski has one of the most effective “slow down” end-games in the nation, and we would not be surprised if the shot clock starts getting milked as early as 8:00 media timeout in the second half. It is a case of not only wanting to keep his players fresh for Saturday, particularly because it requires so much energy for this particular Duke edition to be successful, but also because he respects the sport enough to not embarrass an out-classed opponent. Twice in the last four years his Blue Devils have been favored by -20 or more in the first round, and those two games played Under the Total by counts of 29.5 and 27. This fits the past pattern on all fronts
Matty O'Shea CBB Sides Single-Dime Bet
Maryland vs Syracuse
Analysis: The Syracuse Orange barely beat Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT because point guard Jonny Flynn aggravated a back injury with five minutes left in the first half and did not return. Flynn will try to play tonight, but he will not be close to 100%. That will severely hamper the team's chances of making it to the next round against Maryland because he has been their MVP all season. When Flynn plays below average, Syracuse usually loses. When he plays well, they usually win. Consider that he led the Big East in minutes played with 39.2 per game (out of 40) and was on the court 522 out of a possible 525 minutes in 13 games leading up to Tuesday's victory. The Orange lack depth and only go seven players deep with Flynn in the lineup. Look for the Terrapins to take advantage of this and bet them as my Single Dime NIT Play O' the Week.
Matty O'Shea NBA Total Single-Dime Bet
DAL / BOS Under
Analysis: The Boston Celtics have been winning with outstanding defense, and I don't expect that to change tonight in an effort to complete the Texas Triangle sweep. They have held San Antonio and Houston to an average of 82.5 points in their last two games after limiting Milwaukee to 77 to open their five-game road trip. The UNDER is 5-1 in Boston's last six games. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks were playing great defense until suffering a 102-100 home loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. They had surrendered 86.6 points per game in their previous five, so look for head coach Avery Johnson to stress this tonight against the Celtics. Finally, we have the top UNDER ref in the NBA calling this game in Ed Malloy. This all adds up to betting the UNDER as my Single Dime NBA TV Play O' the Day.
Seabass late
10 Md
20 AZ St and BYU
50 ND
Comp = Cornell over