WINNERS EDGE
NBA
Atlanta Hawks + 6 , 4 unit ( NBA game of month )
NY Knicks - 1.5 , 2 units
CBB
Seton Hall + 10.5 , 2 units
So Mississippi -15 , 2 units
Ball St. + 2 , 2 units
THE GREEN KINGS
NCAA HOOPS
E. MICHIGAN -2
DAYTON -5
PITTSBURGH -9
ST. JOES -7
WYOMING/COLORADO UNDER THE TOTAL OF 139
UTEP/SMU OVER THE TOTAL OF 142
Brandon Lang
15-Dime - Marshall
15-Dime - UNC Charlotte
15-Dime - Marquette
5-Dime - St. Joseph's
5-Dime - Dayton
5-Dime - West Virginia
Free Pick - Washington Huskies
WINNING POINTS
**PREFERRED
Saint Louis over Dayton by 1
SAINT LOUIS, 59-58.
**PREFERRED
Rhode Island over Charlotte by 14
Seed this! RHODE ISLAND, 75-61.
**PREFERRED
Southern Miss over Rice by 17
SOUTHERN MISS, 69-52.
St. Joseph?s over Fordham by 10
ST. JOSEPH?S, 68-58
Duquesne over LaSalle by 9
DUQUESNE, 78-69.
Tulsa over East Carolina by 7
TULSA, 71-64.
UTEP over SMU by 12
UTEP, 67-55
Marshall over Tulane by 1
MARSHALL, 67-66
Wyoming over Colorado State by 4
WYOMING, 62-57
Cal-Irvine over Long Beach State by 9
CAL-IRVINE, 71-62
Arizona over Oregon State by 17
ARIZONA, 73-56.
California over Washington by 8
Jack Burnet One-and-Only 10,000 Dime
West Virginia -8
Paul Leiner
5* Over 116.5 St Louis/Dayton
Chris Jordan
600* Charlotte
100* Arizona
100* Cal Irvine
100* S Miss
Gold Sheet Early Phone Plays Wednesday
1.5* West Virginia, Wyoming, St Joseph's
Big Al
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Atlanta Hawks over Houston, as Atlanta falls into several super systems of mine, including one that is 32-6 ATS since 1998 which plays on certain home dogs of +2 or more points off a SU/ATS loss vs. foes off 4+ SU/ATS wins. With Atlanta in off 5 SU/ATS losses, and Houston in off 11 SU/ATS wins, the Hawks fall into our 32-6 system. Also, the home team is a strong 20-6-2 ATS in this series since 1992, including 10-1 ATS off a loss and also 10-1 ATS vs. its foe if that foe is off a SU/ATS win. The Houston Rockets have been without center Yao Ming for some time now, but one of the reasons there hasn't been a drop-off has been the solid play of rookie Carl Landry (who leads all rookies this season in Player Efficiency Rating (PER)). However, Landry will miss tonight's game and that will hurt Houston. All good things must come to an end, and tonight, it's Houston's win streak. 5* NBA Game of the Month on Atlanta. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my College Winners tonight, as I'm 35-11 since last year in March Madness (ranked #1 in 2007).
At 9 pm, in the Championship game of the Big Sky Tourney, our selection is on the Portland State Vikings over Northern Arizona. Both teams received byes into the Tourney semi-finals by virtue of being the top 2 seeds, so the road to the Championship game was as easy as it gets, with each team needing to win just one game. But teams not favored by more than 2 points are horrific in Title games after receiving a bye into the Semis, as they've covered just 20% of the time since 1991. This game will be played in Portland at the Rose Garden since the Vikings earned the #1 seed, and top-seeded home teams are a solid 75% ATS vs. winning teams in the Tourneys, if priced from -2.5 to -12 points. Big Sky Conference Game of the Year on Portland State. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my 5* NBA Game of the Month today or my Atlantic 10 Tourney Game of the Year.
At 8:50 pm, our selection is on the Rhode Island Rams over Charlotte. Rhode Island started the year with 14 wins in its first 15 games, and was ranked in the Top 25. But the Rams finished 21-10, going 7-9 in its conference schedule. However, the beauty of the Tournaments is that it's a whole new season, and we often see re-births of teams that stumbled down the stretch. And one of the things that I like to do is play on revenging teams which are Pk'em or Favored off a pointspread loss to end the regular season. These teams are 71% ATS since 1991, and I have certain tighteners which boost our win percentage to 77% which apply to Rhode Island. The Rams fell 74-64 to Charlotte last week, so they play this game with revenge. Also, since 1992, favorites in the Atlantic 10 Tourney are 101-52 ATS, including 22-6 ATS off a straight-up and ATS loss, and then 9-0 ATS when playing with revenge off a SU/ATS loss. Atlantic 10 Tourney Game of the Year on Rhode Island. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my 5* play in the NBA tonight, or my other College Hoops winner today.
The Fat Jack
PROVIDENCE+8 1/2
SYRACUSE -1 1/2
SAINT LOUIS +5 1/2
EVENING SELECTIONS
RHODE ISLAND -1 1/2
SMU +10 1/2
S. MISS -15
Bryan Leonard Comp
PICK: Houston Rockets
Needless to say the Rockets are on a roll winning 19 straight games and 10 straight by double digits. They are playing the best team ball of anybody in the league. The way the Rockets are playing right now reminds us of how the Celtics started the season. Tracy McGrady who at times has been considered a selfish player has bought into what the Houston coaching staff has been selling, team basketball and defense. They haven't allowed triple digits in 17 games and counting.
While Houston is peaking defensively the Hawks are floundering. Atlanta had done a pretty good job on the defensive end until recently. In their last five games Atlanta has allowed 135 to Golden State, 116 to New Orleans, 108 to Charlotte, 94 to offensively challenged Miami and 123 to Orlando. Atlanta is 1-5 in the month of March with the lone win coming against Miami and all of the losses being by double digits. Simply put Atlanta isn't playing nearly well enough to compete with Houston. These two met about a month ago and the Rockets dominated in a 19 point victory, that wasn't as close as the final score. Houston wins their 20th in a row as they dominate the Hawks defensively.
PLAY HOUSTON
Sports Gambling Hotline
Rhode Island vs. NC CHARLOTTE (+1') - at Atlantic City, NJ
We see the linesmakers finally got wise, and posted the price on this neutral site game down near a pick after giving the 49ers six points in their regular season road outright in Kingston 74-64.
Rhode Island may be 21-10, but most of those wins came early in the season, of late the Rams are in a free-fall, as URI has dropped 7 of their last 9 straight up, including their senior day finale clunker to NC Charlotte.
Bobby Lutz' team is up to 18-12 on the campaign thanks to wins in 3 straight, and 4 of their last 5 both SU and ATS.
With a 6-2 spread mark their last 8 games, we will back the 49ers to find gold on the boardwalk in Atlantic City tonight. Charlotte has captured 2 of the 3 conference meetings since 2006, and we like them again tonight.
If you ask us, the Rams are out of gas, and NIT-bound!
Play on NC Charlotte in this one.
3* NC CHARLOTTE
ATS Lock Club
5 units Marshall
4 units Wyoming
3 units California
NHL
4 units over Car -Chic
4 units Anaheim
JEFFERSONSPORTS
West Virg under 139
Duquesne-6
Dayton under 115
Kelso
5 units Villanova +2 v. Syracuse
4 units Central Mich -6 v. N Ill
3 units St. Joes -7.5 v. Fordham
BEN BURNS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SETON HALL
Game: Seton Hall vs. Marquette
Prediction: Seton Hall Reason: I'm taking the points with SETON HALL. The fact that the Pirates stumbled down the stretch has caused the general public to want to avoid and/or go against them here. I believe that's given us excellent value and that the current line is too high. Despite a 3-game losking skid to end the regular season, this is still a relatively solid Seton Hall team, one which won 17 games on the season. The Pirates are also a team that rarely gets blown out away from home. Looking at their last 10 road games and we find that only three of those games resulted in double-digit losses and that they were only beaten by more than 14 once during that 10-game stretch. That includes a 5-point loss at Marquette. Granted, the Golden Eagles did blow them out when the teams met at Seton Hall. However, in addition to that result causing more people to jump on the Marquette bandwagon here, it should also provide the Pirates with some added motivation. Note that the Pirates are 3-1 ATS the last four times that they faced a team which defeated them by 20 or more points in the previous meeting. Its also worth mentioning that they've gone a healthy 18-12 ATS the last 30 times that they had failed to cover the spread in their previous three games. Marquette, which lost its final two Big East games, has gone just 4-11 ATS in first round tournament games and 3-12 ATS its last 15 conference tournament games. During that stretch, the Golden Eagles are also a dismal 1-6 ATS when listed as neutral court favorites in the -9.5 to -12 range. I expect them to have their hands full once again as the Pirates, who averaged greater than 77 ppg during the regular season, give them a much tougher game than expected. *Contrarian GOW
FORDHAM
Game: Fordham vs. St. Josephs
Prediction: Fordham Reason: I'm taking the points with FORDHAM. Considering the close nature of the games that both these teams have played recently, I feel that this afternoon's line is too high. Fordham comes off a momentum-building 69-62 win over St. Bonaventure. That victory, which clinched a berth in this tournament, marked the Rams' ninth straight game which was decided by seven points or less. St. Joseph's comes in off a double-digit loss at Dayton. That dropped the Hawks to 2-4 SU/ATS their last six games with neither of those two victories coming by more than seven victories. Its also worth noting that three of the last five meetings in this series have been decided by six points or less. The Rams have under-achieved this season. However, they've got five seniors on the team, all of whom play major roles on the team. I believe that they're better than their record indicates and I expect them to give a massive effort here. Note that Fordham also closed out last year's regular season with a 7-point victory (vs. Temple) as a home favorite. The Rams followed up that victory by seeing their conference tournament opener come down to the wire, eventually earning a 2-point win over Richmond. They'd go on to lose by four vs. Rhode Island in the next round. Including those results, the Rams have seen all six of their games, which were played in March of 2007 and March of 2008, decided by seven points or less. Look for the Hawks to get a lot more than they bargained for, as they fall to 1-7 ATS the last eight times that they were favored by eight points or less. *A-10 GOY
VILLANOVA
Game: Syracuse vs. Villanova
Prediction: Villanova Reason: I'm taking the points with VILLANOVA. Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Connecticut, West Virginia, Marquette and Pittsburgh are all likely to be going "dancing," regardless of how they fare in this tournament. However, both Syracuse and Villanova desperately want to be the eighth team selected from the Big East. That makes this is an absolutely huge game. As Villanova coach Jay Wright said: "...it's an awesome game, I think it's a play-in game for the NCAA Tournament." Both teams come in having won their last two games and both have identical 9-9 Conference records. The teams split the two meetings too, with each wining on the other's home floor. Villanova won 81-71 at the Carrier Dome back in January while Syracuse returned the favor with a 87-73 victory at Villanova a couple of weeks later. At the time, the Wildcats weren't playing well defensively, as four of five opponents scored 77 or more points. However, since that stretch, the Wildcats have really improved on that side of the ball, as they've held eight of their last nine opponents to 70 points or less. Those nine opponents managed to average just 62.55 points per game. Conversely, the Orange have allowed six of their last seven opponents to score 70 or more points. Those seven opponents averaged a whopping 77.29 points per game. In the win at Syracuse, the Wildcats used their speed and attacked the basket. That led to the Orange getting into foul trouble, including leading scorer Donte Greene, who was called for his fourth foul with 17:04 left and the score tied at 40. It was all Villanova from that point. Look for the Wildcats to use their speed and attack the basket aggressively again today, in attempt to again get Syracuse in foul trouble. Behind a big game from Scottie Reynolds and co, I expect the Wildcats to score the minor upset, moving on to get another crack at Georgetown at the same time tomorrow and improving to 6-2 ATS the last eight times they were listed as "neutral" court underdogs of three points or less. *Main Event
BEN BURNS
NBA
ATLANTA
Game: Houston Rockets vs. Atlanta Hawks
Prediction: Atlanta Hawks Reason: I'm taking the points with ATLANTA. Recent results have given us excellent value with the home underdog here. Houston comes in on an epic run and has covered the spread in 11 straight games. The Hawks, on the other hand, have lost five of six and have failed to cover in each of their last five. That being said, the Hawks did win their most recent home game and they've been highly competitive here all season, going 19-12. That's almost identical to Houston's 19-11 mark on the road. Its true that the Rockets haven't missed a beat since Yao Ming went down. However, it's also true that they were upset here last season and that they've lost five of their last six trips here. They were favored in both 2006 and 2007 but lost those two games by a combined 17 points. Looking back further and we find that the Rockets are just 2-9 their last 11 trips to Atlanta and that both the victories came by single-digits. This is a big game for the Rockets as they've pulled within a game of the spurs for the division lead. Its even bigger for the Hawks though as they're currently occupying the eighth and final spot in the East and desperately need to right the ship. Look for them to give a huge effort tonight, continuing their homecourt success in this series and earning (at least) the cover. *Best Bet
INDIAN COWBOY
ST. LOUIS vs DAYTON
Play: Dayton -5.5
Only early game on the card Three night plays will be posted later