Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Utah Jazz pk
Utah is 24-3 at home this season and 17-10 ATS in those games. The Jazz are coming off a double-digit loss to the lowly T-Wolves and will be out for revenge tonight. Utah has won 8 of its last 10 home games against the Pistons and the last 5 overall meetings the past 3 seasons. Utah is 16-6 ATS in home games versus good teams outscoring their opponents by 3+ points/game over the last 2 seasons and 23-12 ATS in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. This will be Detroit's 3rd game on the road in 4 days and you'll see them start to look a little road weary tonight. Take the Jazz.
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit on Georgetown -17.5
St. John's has lost 4 in a row SU and ATS. The Johnnies have been blown out by 17 points, 18 points, and 30 points respectively in 3 of those four games. Georgetown is a perfect 4-0 SU and ATS in all games with St. John's the past 3 seasons. The Hoyas won by 32 at St. John's a month ago and won by 24 points and 23 points respectively in the two meetings prior. St. John's is 5-18 ATS off a road loss over the last 3 seasons and 1-8 ATS off a road loss by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons. The Johnnies are also 0-7 ATS versus slow-down teams averaging 53 or less shots/game over the last 2 seasons. The Hoyas will crush St. John's again tonight.
Locksmith
1 Unit on Davidson -15
Since Davidson beat Appalachian State on the road by 11 points late in November, the Wildcats have continued to improve their play. They'll really do a number on the Mountaineers tonight. Appalachian State has lost 9 of its last 10 games ATS. Davidson has won 17 games in a row and 10 of its last 14 ATS. Davison is 8-0 ATS versus good defensive teams with a shooting pct defense of =45% with a defense of <=42% this season. The Wildcats will show just how much better they are then anyone else in the Southern Conference tonight as they punish a top-tier Southern Conference team.
Matty O'Shea
Baylor -4
JWhip
Utah -4.5 (CBB)
Tony George
Illinois State -3
JB
76ers +2
Insider Sports Report
Nebraska -2.5
Brandon Lang
15 Dime - UTEP
5 Dime - Lasalle
5 Dime - Richmond
5 Dime - Central Florida
5 Dime - Jazz
5 Dime - Cavaliers
Free Pick - Texas Tech
Larry Ness
George Mason
REASON FOR PICK: Both William and Mary and George Mason are looking to rebound from BracketBuster losses over the weekend when the teams meet tonight at the Patriot Center. It's an important CAA game, as George Mason leads the Tribe by a single game in the league standings with just two games remaining, so tonight game will determine CAA tournament seeding. It's the last home game for George Mason, which has taken full advantage of playing in front of the faithful by posting a 12-1 SU mark. Unfortunately, the Patriots were on the road on Saturday and fell to non-conference opponent Ohio, 69-57. George Mason led by 17 points early (32-19 at the half), but couldn't hold on to the lead in the second half, getting outscored 50-25 in the second half. Meanwhile, William & Mary has dropped four of its last five games down the stretch. The Tribe stepped out of conference and lost at home to Loyola-Chicago in a 71-66 decision on Saturday. William & Mary has lost its last three road games and desperately needs a good showing with Virginia Commonwealth coming to Williamsburg to finish out regular season play on Saturday.
William & Mary has gotten the job done this season with balanced scoring and solid defensive play. Four players average around 10 points a game while several others have been known to lead the team in scoring from time to time. Danny Sumner took the reins against Loyola-Chicago, pacing the Tribe with 18 points and nine rebounds in the five-point loss. He is now averaging 10.1 PPG while hitting 50.5 percent from the floor. Laimis Kisielius leads the team in scoring at 10.9 PPG, while David Schneider and Nathan Mann aren't far behind at 10.7 and 10.2 PPG, respectively. Schneider is pulling down a team-high 4.8 RPG while hitting a solid 85.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Folarin Campbell led George Mason with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists before fouling out in the 12-point loss to Ohio. It was an unfortunate turn of events for the Patriots, who led big early, but couldn't overcome 16 turnovers and 28.0 percent second half shooting from the field. Campbell is netting 15.4 PPG, while the 6-7 Will Thomas has been producing double-doubles regularly. Thomas, who finished with nine points and nine boards in the recent setback, is putting up 16.3 PPG and 10.5 RPG while connecting on 63.2 percent from the floor. Guard John Vaughan is also contributing double digits at 13.5 PPG, and the team as a whole is averaging in 71.5 PPG compared to just 63.6 PPG from its opponents. In William and Mary's last three road games, the Tribe has made just 35.3 percent from the floor (27.0 percent on threes), while averaging just 52.7 PPG. When one considrs that GMU is 12-1 SU at home, allowing 38.5 percent shooting (32.8 percent on threes) and has outscored opponents by an avergae score of 70-to-55, it just make sense to lay the points.
Ted Sevransky
Southern Miss
You’re not going to find a sharper contrast in styles than the one you’ll see tonight as Tom Penders Houston squad takes on Larry Eustachy’s Southern Miss team. Penders wants to run and gun, taking shots early in the shot clock. His team is not particularly adept in a halfcourt game, playing their best basketball in transition against teams that don’t defend well and commit lots of turnovers. Southern Miss, on the other hand, refuses to run with anybody, playing a slowdown, halfcourt game that relies on offensive execution and a defensive mindset.
Which philosophy is likely to win out here? All we need to do is look at recent results to get a definitive answer. Southern Miss has given Houston all kinds of problems over the last two years. They beat Houston outright on their home floor last year, and lost by three and by four in a pair of pointspread covering losses on the road. It’s surely worth noting that Houston didn’t crack 70 points in any of those games, as the pace was controlled by the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss struggled to control the pace in the early part of their Conference USA campaign, losing badly at Memphis and UTEP in uptempo contests. But Eustachy’s relentless preaching has paid off in recent weeks, leading to five SU wins and covers in the Golden Eagles last six games, including outright road wins and covers at Tulane and East Carolina. Look for Southern Miss to maintain their positive momentum tonight in a tight game that should go right down to the wire.
Take Southern Mississippi
Dave Malinsky 4* play
GAME: Chicago Bulls @ Indiana Pacers
PICK: Chicago Bulls
REASON FOR PICK: 4* CHICAGO over INDIANA
In Monday’s edition of RIM SHOTS we detailed how difficult it was going to be handicapping Chicago games because of such major changes being made. So why are we stepping in here? Largely because we like a lot of what we have seen so far, and also because it is not difficult at all to take +2 against what might be the worst team in the NBA at this moment. We still start with the Bulls.
Although it will take time for the pieces to properly fit, the effort that the Bulls put forth at Houston and Dallas were solid. It is not easy playing teams of that caliber on the road on back-to-back nights when the faces are so new, but it absolutely helps in terms of accelerating the development process. Now they come off of a longer than usual practice on this very court yesterday afternoon (afterwards from coach Jim Boylan, who knows that his future is on the line - ”We want to play up-tempo and need to build chemistry”, and from newly acquired Larry Hughes - "I like the energy. Everybody's trying to help one another and get the next man involved in a place where he can be successful."), and in a game in which they are stepping way down in class they match up quite well. With four former NBA starters coming off of the bench the depth is outstanding, and it creates a big advantage against an opponent that has virtually none.
When we referred to the Pacers as possibly being the worst team in the league right now it was not an exaggeration. They are 3-12 in their last 15 games, but an * must be put next to that. One of the wins came against a gassed Portland team that was without Brandon Roy, and coming off of a tough game at Detroit the previous night. Another came against the Nets in their first game without Jason Kidd, and that same Net team turned around and beat them by 11 the following evening. The other came against the Knicks. Enough said. They lack talent, chemistry and depth, and the bench just got out-scored by 31 in their loss to Toronto here on Monday. It is more of the same story tonight, as the Bull “reserves” completely dominate their weaker counterparts.
Ryan's 5* Big-12 Monster Game of the Week
Ryan rolled in more profits with easy 5* winners on Missouri St. and Vanderbilt. His 5* Monster run now stands at 39-22-1 ATS for 64% ATS. This Big-12 Game of the Week is backed by Ryan’s extensive research featuring game dependent angles hitting 93% ATS for a 25-2 ATS record. Pay only when it wins ATS......Texas A&M
Larry Ness' Las Vegas Insider-CBB
Larry and his "unmatched" contacts combined to call Vandy's upset of new No. 1 Tennessee last night, improving their mark with his exclusive BKB Insiders to 34-19 (64.2 ATS) since Jan 1. It's the kind of consistent winning long-time followers have come to expect. "It pays to be on the inside with Larry.......Texas A&M
Cajun Sports CBB Selection for Wednesday
Game: LaSalle Explorers vs. Fordham Rams
Line: Fordham Rams -4.5
Rating: TWO-Star
Selection: LASALLE EXPLORERS +4.5
We find it rather easy to back the Explorers after getting their fourth straight win at Duquesne on Sunday 75 to 72 as a 10.5 point road short. They are led by senior guard Darnell Harris who averages almost four 3-pointers per contest and averages 49% which ranks sixth in the nation he also contributes 16 points per game. The Rams have struggled at home this season when laying chalk posting a 1-4 ATS record their last 5 times to post in that role. While this Explorers team has been a money making machine on the highway posting an almost perfect 9-0-1 ATS record this season. No reason to buck such strong technical and fundamental indicators so take the points here as the Explorers get the outright win.
Ross Benjamin
Charlotte @ New York
Play On: Charlotte +6.5
Any conference home favorite of 3.5 or more that is off an away underdog ATS loss, has a win percentage of .333 or less, versus an opponent off an away underdog ATS loss of 10 or more points in which they scored 88 points or more, and they have a win percentage of .265 or better is 0-5 SU and ATS since 1990. The underdog has won all 5 of these games outright by an average of 15.2 points per game. Play on the Charlotte Hornets plus the points as my free selection of the night.
InfoPlays
3* on Drexel -3.5
James Madison has lost 10 of their last 12 games overall while going 11-1 ATS in the process. This small spread won’t be a problem for Drexel to cover at home tonight. Drexel is 10-0 in their last 10 meetings with James Madison, a stat that cannot be ignored here. Drexel is 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home meetings with James Madison as well. James Madison is 1-9 ATS after having lost 5 or 6 of their last 7 games this season. James Madison is 1-8 ATS after playing a game as a home favorite over the last 3 seasons. Despite Drexel’s struggles this season, they will have a nice bright spot to look back upon when they improve to 11-0 against James Madison with a big home win tonight. Bet Drexel at home.
WILL SYKES
DETROIT vs UTAH
SYKE-O-ANALYSIS: I'm going to make this short and sweet. The Jazz are one of the best home teams in the league when it comes to games that count. Tonight they test their squad once again. The Jazz completely dominates the Pistons in this match up going 7-3 SU in their last 10 games and winning and winning their last 4 games in Utah since 2004. The Jazz are right smack down in the middle between the Suns and the Hornets in the Western Conference. They're 3 games behind the Suns and pretty much even with the Hornets. And those two teams will battle it out tonight as well. So the Jazz need this win as much as possible. After Utah's loss yesterday against Minnesota, you better believe they're more than ready tonight against the Pistons. The Pistons have won two games on the road against two teams that average over 100ppg and now playing against another team that averages 105ppg is going to be tough. With that being said the Pistons haven't won a third game ATS after winning two games on the road, they're 0-3 ATS and 1-2 SU in that situation. One last thing to ice the CAKE, that game they one SU after that situation was against the Hawks, and they only won that game by 1 point (11/04/07) and on that same note the other two SU loses came from Chicago (I've been mentioning how horrible Chicago is all season) and New York Knicks (and we all know how horrible they are) Now this should be CAKE, Utah is a much more dominant team then those other teams.
DIAMOND CAKE: Utah Jazz ML