Burns college hoops
EVANSVILLE (+10 or better)
Game: Evansville vs. Valparaiso Game Time: 12/11/2007 8:00:00 PM Prediction: Evansville Reason: I'm taking the points with EVANSVILLE. The Aces have a new coach, Marty Simmons, and have been learning a new system. Therefore, it wasn't a complete surprise when they started the season by going 0-3. They've turned it around since though, winning two straight and three of their last four, both SU and ATS. Tonight, they'll face a solid Valparaiso team which has gotten off to a hot start. Off back to back conference road wins, I feel that the Crusader players are starting to pat themselves on the back a little bit though. Perhaps more importantly, they're also all already talking about upcoming big back to back games vs. Wisconsin and UNC. Looking past Evansville will prove costly though. The Aces defeated the Crusaders last season. Additionally, as we have learned over the years, teams from the Missouri Valley Conference are almost never pushovers and they almost play tough defense. Note that the Aces are currently allowing a mere 60 points per game. These teams have already had two commmon opponents and the results were relatively similar. Valparaiso beat Austin Peay by a score of 61-47. Meanwhile, Evansville faced Austin Peay last time out and won by 10 points, 52-42. Both teams also faced and defeated Ball State. Valparaiso won by 13 points (as 12 point favorites) while Evansville won 51-50, as 2.5 point underdogs. The significant difference there was that the Aces defeated the Cardinals at Ball State while the Crusaders did so at Valparaiso. The Aces have been profitable at this time of year and also when facing teams from outside the Valley. Back to back victories bring them to 11-3 ATS their last 14 lined games in December and 15-8 ATS their last 23 non-conference lined games. During the same stretch, the Aces are also a profitable 20-10 ATS on the road and 17-7 ATS after having played a non-conference game their previous time out. Last year's game was decided by five points. I feel that this year's spread is too high and am expecting another close game which comes down to the wire. *Best Bet
Mighty Quinn
LA Clippers
Matt Rivers
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Why not take the points here with Minnesota!?!?! Sure they're not good and are 3-15 overall but there are some positives going on here with this team. They just shocked Phoenix in a rare outright win and have been covering a lot more than they haven't of late including a huge win a few weeks ago in New Orleans and an easy cover in Dallas against Dirk and the Mavs. Al Jefferson is an absolute star in the making who, when all is said and done, will be a multi year All-Star. The guy is playing with a bad knee and still putting up absurd numbers. In that last game the big man went for a cool 32 points and 20 rebounds. The former Celtic probably won't repeat that feat but the Wizards certainly are not exactly loaded with top flight big men for him to contend with. Washington is in first place in their division and surviving very well without their superstar in Gilbert Arenas as Caron Butler has played great but these guys are still not a squad that frightens me nor really can be laying a big number such as this. The T'Wolves are young and probably will suffer another loss but they should be competitive and keep this thing close enough for the cover.
Tony Mathew's
UTAH JAZZ -12½
We will side with the Utah Jazz as they face-off against the Portland Trail Blazers in Tuesday's NBA contest. Super Powerful Utah Jazz Offense! That's right... This Utah Jazz offense is powerful. The Utah Jazz (at home) are currently scoring an average of 110.8 points per game. In other words, the Utah Jazz should have no problem outscoring the Portland Trail Blazers who (on the road) are scoring an average of only 89.8 points per game. The Utah Jazz have already proven to be the much superior team. In fact, the Utah Jazz are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 meetings against the Portland Trail Blazers (when playing in Utah). Take the Utah Jazz -12½!
Jim Feist
CLIPPERS / NETS UNDER
Offense is not the specialty of either of these teams: Both rank in the bottom 10 in points scored. The Clippers haven't topped 100 points in 5 straight games, battling injuries again. LA is on a 4-1 run under the total. Cuttino Mobley has elbow and groin injuries. In the Clippers' seven wins, Mobley averages 15.6 points and shoots 59% from the field. In their losses, he's at 9.4 points and shooting 29%. LA is second worst in shooting (42%), while New Jersey is third worst. These teams met twice last season, and the under was 2-0. Look for more missed shots than swishes in this one. Play the Clippers/Nets under the total!
Scott Richenbach
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS -135
The Penguins are off their very successful and highly publicized western Canada road swing. It was Sidney Crosby's first trip to western Canada and the media coverage was all over him as they followed him like a hawk during the Penguins road trip. Even though the Penguins are back in Pennsylvania, their road trip is certainly not over yet as they're in a tough spot in Philly tonight. The Flyers were pummeled by the Penguins for much of last season as they lost all eight games with the Pens. Philadelphia hasn't forgotten this, and as a result, they've already won their first two match-ups with Pittsburgh this season. The Flyers were an awful team last season but they've made big strides this season and they're out to prove that once again to a Pittsburgh team whom they have closed the gap on. These teams are tied in the Atlantic Division standings but it is Philly that comes into this game with the extra hunger. The Flyers have alternated wins and losses in their last eight games and they're coming off of a loss at Colorado on Friday. The extra rest has Philly geared up for a big win on home ice against their in-state rivals. Mike Richards of the Flyers has done a good job against Crosby this season and that will help key another victory tonight. The Flyers opened their home schedule with six straight wins in Philly. After some recent struggles here, the Flyers will get back on track on home ice as they catch Pittsburgh off of back to back shootout victories to finish a tough road stretch in western Canada. The Flyers will have the fresher legs and the extra hunger and you'll see that on the ice tonight. Play Philadelphia on the money line as a regular selection.
Burns NBA
UNDER Sonics/Bulls (188 or better)
Game: Seattle SuperSonics vs. Chicago Bulls Game Time: 12/11/2007 8:35:00 PM Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on Seattle and Chicago to finish UNDER the number. The Bulls have seen the "over" go a profitable 5-3 when listed as underdogs this season. However, its been a different story when they've been in the favorite role. In fact, the UNDER has gone 8-2 (8-1 if counting them as a favorite for the Pistons game on 11/8) when they've been laying points. Looking back at the last couple of seasons and we find the UNDER is also a profitable 16-6 when the Bulls have been listed as home favorites in the -6.5 to -9 range. Three of the last four series meetings at Seattle have finished above the total. However, each of the last two games at Chicago have stayed below the total which brings the UNDER to 8-5 the last 13 meetings here. The Sonics have started to play much better defense of late and have seen the UNDER go a profitable 6-1 their last seven games. The Sonics, who play at New York tomorrow, have also seen the UNDER go 3-1 the last four times they played the front end of back to back games. The Bulls, who play at Indiana tomorrow, have seen the UNDER go 6-2 the last eight times they played the front end of back to back games and 11-5 their last 16 in that situation. Look for tonight's game to be lower scoring than expected once again, with the UNDER improving to 7-1 when the Bulls have faced a team with a losing record. *WGN TOW
OVER Hawks/Raptors (188 or better)
Game: Toronto Raptors vs. Atlanta Hawks Game Time: 12/11/2007 7:05:00 PM Prediction: over Reason: I feel this number is too low and am playing on the Raptors and Hawks to finish OVER the total. For starters, the Raptors have seen their road games average 194.8 points this season with the last three of them all finishing above the number. Meanwhile, the Hawks have played higher-scoring games at Atlanta than they have on the road and have seen their games here produce an average of 194.4 combined points. The Hawks scored an upset win at Orlando last night. That's noteworthy as we find the OVER at 5-2 the last seven times that they played a home game after having played the previous night. Note that six of those seven games produced a minimum of 192 points and that the seven games overall produced an average of 199 combined points. The fact that the Raptors are slight favorites is also worth mentioning as both teams have seen the "over" be profitable when they've been in this role. The Raptors have seen the OVER go 24-15-1 the last 40 times they've been listed as road favorites of -3 points or less, including a 2-0 mark this season. During the same stretch, the Hawks have seen the OVER go 42-30-1 when listed as a home underdog of three points or less. That includes a 14-6 mark their last 20 in that situation. Looking at the series history and we find that the OVER is a highly profitable 11-1 the last 12 series meetings and that even the lone game that finished below the number still produced 190 combined points. I'm expecting another relatively high-scoring affair that finishes above the relatively low number.
Scott Spreitzer
Minnesota Timberwolves at Washington Wizards
Tuesday, December 11th, 7:05 PM ET
I'm laying the points with the Wizards on Tuesday night. The T-Wolves continue to falter with KG residing in Boston. They're now on a 6-11 ATS skid as a dog, and they're 3-7 ATS against teams that score over 99 PPG. Meanwhile, the Wizards have covered seven of nine as a favorite this season, and they have little trouble against teams with a losing record, going 8-3 ATS
Play on: Washington
Alex Smart
UL LAFAYETTE +12
LA Lafayette are a young team with a lot of offensive up side. To put it bluntly they are rebuilding , but have , a large array of shooters that are capable of hanging with some of the nations best teams. Their not ready to contend in the Sunbelt just yet, but mark my words, they will be a thorn in a lot of teams sides this season, possibly pulling of some pretty big upsets in the process. Their opponents UCF , are more experienced than their visiting opponents, and use a unselfish team orientated game plan, to beat their opposition. Bottom line: The Knights after back to back tough losses ,to Ole Miss and USF, may come out here a little lethargically , giving the under rated Cajuns the edge they need to make a game of this. Final notes & Key Trends: UCF has failed to cover 4 of their L/5 at home, vs a team with a sub. 500 record. Take the points
Michael Cannon
2* UTAH -12½
Lay the big number with Utah tonight when they host Portland. Expect Utah to come out fired-up tonight since this is its only home game during a five-game stretch. Carlos Boozer is turning into a possible MVP candidate, averaging a double-double on the year so far. The Jazz have been a money making machine at home while Portland has struggled against the spread on the road. Lay the points as Utah grabs the home win and cover.
Scott Spreitzer's CBB Tuesday Night TKO! *53-17, 76% ATS!
My Tuesday TKO is a play on the Bradley Braves. Even though they have the revenge factor on their side, Wright State is in a tough situation on Tuesday. The Raiders just knocked off rival Butler in a physically and emotionally grinding, 43-42 tilt. WSU was quite fortunate. Butler shot horribly in the game, even when facing the basket without a defender in front of them. The Bulldogs hit just 32% of their attempts. I doubt the Raiders will be helped out again tonight. Bradley has had a week to get over their close loss to Michigan State. BU basically led from the opening tip until just over four minutes left in the game. They couldn't wrap it up because of their deficiency on the glass. But that was Izzo's Spartans, who are absolute beasts on the boards. Wright State is not a strong rebounding team and they have a lot of newcomers on the roster. It's a Raiders squad that barely escaped at home against Marshall; lost at home to Valpo; and were beaten on the road by Marist. Bradley, with Daniel Ruffin leading the way is my pick to win the Mo-Valley. Ten Bradley players have seen action in all nine games and nine of their players are averaging over nine minutes played per game. They had no problem at all with Wright State a season ago, and I believe they'll handle the Raiders on Tuesday. Bradley is my Tuesday TKO. Thanks! GL! Scott.
Scott Spreitzer's NBA TKO Game of the Week! *11-4, 73% ATS!
My NBA GOW is a play on the Raptors, minus points. Chris Bosh came back with a bang on Sunday and I expect another big night in Atlanta. Bosh scored 21 points and grabbed 10 boards in Toronto's 13-point win over Houston. And, they may get Andrea Bargnani back tonight. Whether he plays or not, this is a strong spot for Toronto. The Raptors have dominated this division, now on a 27-9 ATS run against the Southeast. More importantly, they're on a 7-3 run against the Hawks, winning two straight in the series. The Hawks played and won last night and now must suit up in a quick turnaround. I expect Toronto to pull away in the second half and gain an important win, playing nine of their next 11 away from home. I'll back the newly healthy Raptors, my NBA GOW on Tuesday. Thanks! GL! Scott.
Gold Sheet
11* Valparaiso 84 Evansville 59
Pointwise
Best Bet
Bradley 73 Wright st 63
C. Florida 78 La-Lafayette 61
Ats Financial
3* S.illinois
ATS LOCK CLUB
3* Valpo
CTO
VALPARAISO over Evansville...E’ville’s 42-year-old rookie HC Marty Simmons (player & assistant under former HC Crews) unable so far to
replace 3 of the top 4 scorers from year ago, as poor-shooting 1-5 Aces (no DD scorer over 42% FGs) have managed only to eke out 51-50
win at Ball State. E’ville unlikely to make needed progress vs. seasoned, internationally-flavored, nicely-balanced Valpo (all 5 returning
starters between 9 & 12 ppg), which is already 2-0 SU & vs. spread TY in preconference revenge (W. Michigan & Ball State). Make that 3-0.
*VALPARAISO 84 - Evansville 59 RATING - 11
Elite Sports Picks
Toronto/Atlanta OVER 184.5
Discount Sports Picks
5* Toronto -1.5
5* Detroit -5.5
North Star Sports Service
BRADLEY -1.5
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS -3.5 (Best Bet)
PITTSBURGH +131
FLORIDA -119 (Best Bet)