BIG AL
At 10:05 pm, on Wednesday, our 5* College Basketball Game of the Year is on the Texas El Paso Miners minus the points over Oregon State. Kudos to the Beavers, who entered the CBI Tournament with a record below .500. But they've won four straight games to reach the .500 mark (17-17) and their four wins were all as an underdog! In its last game, Oregon State defeated this UTEP team 75-69 at home, and now travels to El Paso for the 2nd game of this Championship series (if necessary, a 3rd game will also be played in El Paso). Will OSU make it five wins in a row tonight? According to my database, it's highly unlikely. First of all, teams playing with same-season revenge vs. non-conference foes off a win are 15-3 ATS in the NIT, CBI and CIT Tourneys since 1993. And, second, teams playing away from home are 0-17 ATS in post-season tourneys off three or more upset wins, if they won their last game by five or more points, and are matched up against a foe who is NOT off back-to-back SU/ATS wins. 5* Game of the Year on the Miners.
Raging Bull
Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings Over 236
Charlotte Bobcats +9
Tim Trushel
20* Toronto +9.5
10* New Jersey -1.5
Brandon Lang
5 Dime Oregon State
5 Dime Suns
5 Dime Bobcats
FREE - Mavericks
A friend of mine just told me about Sharpplays, are they good??? Do anybody know?
Maddux Sports
Basketball
3 units on Orlando -10
3 units on Memphis -2.5
3 units on Miami +5Free Pick LA Lakers -6.5
Maddux Sports
Hockey
3 units on New Jersey +130
3 units on Phoenix -105
Cajun Sports
Miami Heat @ Dallas Mavericks
Play: 4* Dallas Mavericks -5
Due to the short turnaround time on the College Tournament Games we do not have a full write-up for our NBA and College Basketball selections. American Airlines Center will be the site of tonight’s east meets west when the Miami Heat faceoff against the host Dallas Mavericks. Dallas owner Mark Cuban loves attention and it appears at the time of this writing that his Mavericks will more than likely be facing the number one seed LA Lakers in the opening round of this year’s Western Conference Playoffs. Even if they are locked into their playoff position a chance at the Heat is one this Mavericks team seems to relish after losing to them in the 2006 NBA Championship. The Mavs have won the last five meetings since that Championship Series by an average of thirteen points per game. The Mavs offense utilizing Dirk Nowitzki has caused huge problems for the Heat defense in fact he made twelve of fourteen shots in the 111 to 96 beating the Mavs put on the Heat back on January 31st. Another key for the Mavs offense is their ability to drain the trey; they average shooting 19 per game and average making 7 which is a huge problem for a Heat defense that allows 39.3 percent from behind the arc. Miami is 7-19 ATS versus teams who attempt at least 18 three-pointers per game and 2-10 ATS during the second half of the season including 11-26 ATS over the last three seasons. Coming off that January 31st loss the Heat may be looking to avenge that loss but we know they are 7-12 ATS revenging a home loss this season and 23-36 ATS the last three seasons in that role. The Heat are 1-6 ATS this season revenging a loss where their opponent scored 110 or more points against them in the loss and 9-18 ATS the last three seasons. Dallas has played very well at home this season posting a record of 26-9 SU and our Math Model projects they will score more than 106 points in this contest and shoot 49 percent from the field which is bad news for the Heat as they are 9-21 ATS when they allow 48 to 51 percent from the field We also note that the Mavs are 17-7-1 ATS when they score more than 104 points in a game. All systems point to a Dallas win and cover over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in Dallas so lay the short price as the Mavs cash the SU and ATS ticket for us in American Airlines Center tonight.
Graded Selection: 4* Dallas Mavericks 114 Miami Heat 96
Beat Your Bookie
100* Play UTEP (-9.5) over Oregon State (NCAA)
Oregon State is 4-13 ATS when playing on a Wednesday
Oregon State is 5-27 SU when playing as a road underdog the last 3 seasons
Oregon State is 8-28 SU when the total posted is between 130 and 139.5
Other Hoops & Hockey Plays
50* Play Orlando (-10) over Toronto (NBA)
30* Play Philadelphia (-200) over Toronto (NHL)
Jimmy Boyd
4* Major NBA Public Massacre of the Week on Nets -1.5
Detroit just played a tough one at Cleveland yesterday and it is going to be very tough for the Pistons to bounce back on the road against a Nets team that is coming off its most embarrassing loss of the year. This one is all about pride and I expect the Nets to play with a lot of it tonight to snap a 5-game losing streak. The Favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings and the Nets are 18-6 ATS when playing against a marginal losing team (Win Pct. 40% to 49%) - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons. Take New Jersey.
5* 2009 NBA GOTY on Suns -1
The Suns return home after 3 straight road games and 3 straight losses, including a terrible loss to the lowly Kings last time out. The Suns won't quit on this season no matter what and since they are still alive in the playoff race, I expect one of their most motivated efforts of the season tonight. I expect Houston to be much more concerned about its revenge game with the Lakers coming up next as well. Phoenix is 15-4 ATS off an upset loss as a road favorite over the last 3 seasons, winning in these spots by an average score of 107.3 to 99.3 and 8-1 ATS after allowing 120 points or more this season, winning in these spots by an average score of 116.1 to 106.3. Pound the Suns!
4* Major CBI Tournament Championship Series BEST BET on UTEP -9
The odds makers have gotten the public on Oregon State with this line which is right where they want them as this one is going to be a rout for UTEP. The Miners are at home and it's a do-or-die game. Oregon State has had the benefit of playing all of its tournament games at home but I expect disaster for the Beavers when it steps out of its routine for the first time since March 11. Oregon State is just 4-10 when playing away from home this season. The Beavers are 2-12 ATS in their last 14 games as an underdog of 7.0-12.5. The Miners are 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 non-conference games and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite of 7.0-12.5. Lay the points.
C-Stars Sports
1000 Units Top Play UTEP minus the points over Oregon St.
1000 Units Top Play Lakers minus the points over Milwaukee
1000 Units Top Play Charlotte/Boston OVER the total
Oscarxena Sports
UTEP -9 (3 Unit Play)
In the second game of this best of three series I will once again go with the home team and make a wager on the Miners tonight. UTEP lost the first game after making a valiant comeback from a 21 point second half deficit before falling 75-69. In that game a couple of things drew my attention and that is that UTEP had trouble with OSU's 1-3-1 zone and committed 13 turnovers in the game but they only committed four of those in the second half so they obviously adjusted to the defense. Also UTEP is one of the top teams in the country getting to the FT line as on the year they average 27 attempts per game and in the first game they only attempted 9 FT's. I believe with the home court advantage and the home crowd behind them they will take better care of the ball tonight and also get some easy points at the FT line as well. You saw last night how some teams like San Diego State and Notre Dame who have been playing at home all month struggled on the road and those games were at a neutral court so imagine what the Beavers will be in for tonight as they travel for the first time since taking on USC at their home court on March 7th. Oregon State was only 4-10 SU this year in road games while UTEP was 12-4 SU on their home court. UTEP is 11-4 ATS this year after a non-conference game and in a strange trend Oregon State is 4-13 ATS since 1997 when playing a game on Wednesday. I think all the trends coupled with the intangibles make UTEP a great bet tonight. I almost made this a 4* but I will go with a 3* due to they must cover by double digits here but I do think they will.
JB Sports
GS Warriors
Rocketman
Charlotte Bobcats
Lenny Del Genio
UTEP
Ron Raymond
Islanders/Capitals Under