Matty O'Shea
LAC / PHO Under 228
I can't remember ever seeing a 10-point line adjustment from the opening number in a home-and-home series played on consecutive days like we have here. The total on Tuesday's matchup between the Clippers & Suns opened at 218 and closed as high as 225 at some books. Now oddsmakers have the opener for the rematch at 228 despite the fact that both teams play worse in tonight's situation. Phoenix averages nearly three points less on the road while LA averages almost three points less at home. Also consider that the referee crew working the game favors the UNDER as well. In fact, the UNDER is a perfect 5-0 in games with a line of 205 or higher called by ref Bill Spooner this season. With Clippers forward Zach Randolph also possibly sitting out due to a suspension, I'm taking the UNDER.
SportsKingz
PENN ST. +9.5
MISSISSIPPI ST. -2.5
LOUISVILLE / PROVIDENCE OV 146.5
Jack Jones
Florida State -2.5 over Miami
I'll take the Seminoles tonight who are 10-3 at home against a Hurricanes squad that has gone just 3-4 in true road games. Florida State had won three in a row before a tough loss to last weekend, but at 6-4 have a better ACC record than the 4-7 Hurricanes. I know the Canes played both Duke and North Carolina tough in their previous two games, but there is no denying this team is in a skid having lost five of their last six. I like home teams that play great defense and with the Seminoles giving up just 63.7 points per game on 38% shooting, they fit into this category tonight. This should be a great game, but I'll take the Seminoles in a close one.
Oklahoma State -1 over Texas Tech
This game is a little scary tonight as the Red Raiders might be just 2-8 in Big 12 play, but they are 11-3 on their home floor while Oky State is just 2-5 on the road. However, Tech has lost six of their last seven games and were demoralized by Oklahoma on Saturday. The Cowboys have a load of talent with four guys averaging over 14 points per game, a big reason why they are scoring 83 per contest. Texas Tech can score too, but their defense isn't quite as good, allowing 78.6 points per game this year. To me, Oklahoma State has more talent than the Red Raider do, and with the Red Raiders struggling, the Cowboys are worth a play tonight.
maddux sports
Today's Free Pick is Penn State +9.5
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SPORTS BETTING LAUGH CORNER 😀
New and Improved Tweaked System
picks are on a 1 win and 1 loss run. ;D
Todays pick: Atlanta Hawks (buy 2 pts)
Mortgage your house and lay it buddy !!! 😛
Drew Gordon
New Jersey at DALLAS -8
Solid Free Play winner on the Wizards over the Timberwolves 111-103 last night! Told you the Jefferson-less 'Wolves were in big trouble, even against the lowly Wizards! We keep it on the pro Hardwood & the home team once again tonight...
This is a bad spot for the Nets, coming off an ugly blowout loss last night, and now playing a rested and highly motivated Dallas team in this one. There's no doubt the Mavs were disappointed by losing their last game before the All-Star Break to the Celtics at home. I'm confident Dirk and company will be looking to come out and start the 2nd half strong, and that's bad news for New Jersey.
Also, don't think the Mavs have forgotten the last meeting between these two teams, where the Nets crushed them 121-97 in East Rutherford back on Dec 19th. Payback is a bitch, and anyone who's followed the Mavs knows they are a much different team at this point, going 9-4 SU & 8-5 ATS over their last 14 games.
From a match up standpoint, the Nets backcourt dominated the Mavs in their last one, as Harris dropped in 41 and Carter 34 in the Nets blowout win. Things are going to be A LOT different this time around, as we all know the Mavericks defense is much better at home, allowing 99 ppg there on the season. Not only that, but the fact they Nets are playing in the tail end of a back-to-back only means tired legs on both ends of the court.
Bottom line, Houston made minced meat out of this Nets team last night, and I expect Dallas will do the same tonight at home. Fatigue plus a little payback makes the perfect recipe for a lopsided Mavericks home win and cover in this one!
Take Dallas over New Jersey in this NBA match up.
2♦ DALLAS
Butler -5 at WIS.-MILWAUKEE
Solid bounce back spot here for the Bulldogs, who are coming off a 71-67 embarassment of a loss against Loyola-Chicago as an 18-point home favorite! You better believe coach Stevens will have his boys AMPED for this contest, and we all saw what happened the last time these two schools played! Had the Bulldogs crushed the Ramblers, I'd be a little worried about their focus tonight on the road, but since that obviously wasn't the case, you can expect to see a "max-effort" by Butler in this one.
Speaking of their last meeting - a 78-48 absolute shellacking of the Panthers by the Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse - there's no doubt the Bulldogs owned every single aspect of that contest. Granted, we expect to see a closer game tonight in Milwaukee, but the Bulldogs should still cover the number with ease. In their last meeting, Butler put on a defensive clinic, holding the Panthers to just 24% shooting, including a lockdown 15% (3 of 20) from 3-point! Panthers offense may be more comfortable at home, but Butler's defense travels well (allowing 59 ppg on 37% shooting away this season), and will be just fine tonight.
Finally, there's two more things to consider: A. the Panthers offense hasn't exactly been firing on all cylinders of late, shooting just 38% from the field over their last 5 games. A match up against Butler's lockdown D isn't going to help those numbers. And B. Butler has been a cash-cow on the road, going 9-3 ATS this season, and coming off their shocking loss to the Ramblers, look for them to make it 10-3 ATS away on the season tonight. Bulldogs bounce back strong Wednesday night!
Take Butler over Wis.-Milwaukee in this college hoops match up.
2♦ BUTLER
Chris Jordan
Drake at NORTHERN IOWA -8
Drake is struggling mightily, and clearly isn’t the team we watched last season. The Bulldogs have lost eight of their last 10 games entering tonight's game with NIU (18-8, 12-3), which has a one-game lead in the Missouri Valley Conference over Creighton with three games to play. Drake is mired in ATS slides of 2-5 off a straight-up loss and in 1-5 versus Missouri Valley Conference. On the other hand, the Panthers are on ATS runs of 4-0 after an ATS loss, 5-2 when hosting teams with a losing road record and 10-4 overall.
1♦ NORTHERN IOWA
Providence at LOUISVILLE
Rick Pitino will want his boys to keep the defensive pressure on tonight, as the last thing he needs is another letdown like last week against Notre Dame. The Cardinals are on under runs of 12-5 against teams with a losing road mark, 12-5 when laying more than 13 at home, 16-5 after winning by more than 20 points and 5-0 after putting a 90-spot or better on the board. Look for a slower-paced affair, just as two of the last three meetings that have stayed under. Keep this one low.
1♦ UNDER PROVIDENCE/LOUISVILLE
Sports Gambling Hotline
St. Joseph's +1 at ST. LOUIS
Tonight in the battle of the Saints, we are backing St. Joe's over St. Louis.
The Hawks need to stop the bleeding, as they come into St. Louis off a pair of conference losses to in-city rivals Temple, and La Salle, as they have seen their record dip to 14-10 overall for the year.
St. Louis meanwhile is off a loss to Rhode Island that snapped a 4 game winning streak.
This series has been very road-oriented recently, as the road team has won and covered the last 4 series meetings. It should also be noted that Joey's comes into this one sporting a 7-2 spread mark on the road this season.
In what should be a close one until the very end, we favor the Hawks, and the road trends to continue in this Atlantic 10 rivalry.
Play on St. Joseph's.
1♦ ST. JOSEPH'S
Jeff Benton
Pacific -1' at UCSB
Came up short with last night’s freebie on the 76ers. We’ll get back on track Wednesday as we switch to the college hardwood and go way out West and take Pacific as a small road favorite at UC Santa Barbara in late-night Big West Conference action.
Santa Barbara has shown some signs of life in its last two games, beating UC Irvine by 10 points as a one-point road underdog then knocking off Cal Poly at home Saturday 68-66, but failing to cover as an 8½-point favorite. Despite those two wins, though, this still is not a good basketball team. The Gauchos are just 4-7 in the watered-down Big West, including 2-2 SU and 0-4 ATS at home, and they’ve failed to cover in 10 of their last 12 Big West contests.
One of UCSB’s conference defeats this year came at Pacific on Jan. 24, and it was as ugly as it gets – the Gauchos made just 12 baskets in 42 tries (28.6 percent) in losing 58-36 as an eight-point underdog. Including that contest, Pacific is on a 4-2 run and the Tigers are 7-4 in conference, with three of those defeats coming by a total of five points.
Pacific has also owned the Gauchos in recent years, winning and cashing in eight of the last 11 meetings, including last year’s 71-58 rout in Santa Barbara as a seven-point underdog. This time around, the oddsmakers have made the Tigers a slight road favorite, which tells you what they think of the roster talent on both teams. And when you consider that Pacific is 7-3 ATS as a single-digit favorite this year and 14-6 ATS in its last 20 when laying less than seven points, while UCSB is 1-7-1 ATS in its last nine as an underdog and, well, this almost seems too easy. Look for Pacific to crush UCSB for the second time in a month.
4♦ PACIFIC
Karl Garrett
Penn State +9 at ILLINOIS
The G-Man on a 16-8 comp play run my last 24 releases.
Underdog play tonight in Big Ten action, as Penn State plays at Illinois.
Both schools have had solid seasons, and Illinois does come into this home date sporting a 13-1 straight up mark on their home hardwood. The Illini has also won 3 in a row in conference play as they get set to host a Penn State team that recently ended their 3-game losing streak with a home win over Minnesota.
Based on those facts, Illinois may look like the play tonight, but the G-Man feels this line is a little inflated, especially when you take a look at what has transpired in this series in recent years.
This is the first meeting this season between the schools, with the last 6 meetings having been a 3-3 straight up split. Penn State has covered the last 4, and 5 of the 6 against the spread in the last 6 showdowns.
A further look reveals 3 of the 6 games having been decided by just 1-point, including the last pair!
Overall, just 15 total points seperate these schools in the last 6 meetings, making the points the play tonight.
Take the Nittany's plus the generous impost.
5♦ PENN STATE
Matt Rivers
For Wednesday take the huge number with NC State.
I watched the first game of this series a few weeks ago in Raleigh and no doubt North Carolina was the better team and deserved the cover. But the Wolfpack did fight hard and were a few points away from the cover. I fully expect Sidney Lowe's team, which has been improving a ton of late, to play hard once again and lose but this time stay in this gargantuan number.
There is no doubting that NC State has some talent, it just seems like this team does not always care to play for their coach in Lowe. But lately these guys have picked it up a ton and in this rivalry spot are getting too much. The Pack have won two in a row and three of four. Included is a most recent 21 point win on the road at Georgia Tech, a monster victory over James Teague and a former number one in Wake Forest and a victory over a pretty darn solid Miami team.
Obviously Tyler Hansbrough is phenomenal and the Tar Heels are probably the most loaded team in the nation with Ty Lawson, Danny Green and others and can score with the best of them. I am not at all going to say that Roy Williams' squad won't get out on the break and pour in their 85 or so but I do believe this game will be somewhat competitive.
Brandon Costner, Courtney Fells and the rest of the visiting Pack should lose by double digits as North Carolina probably is too good at the Dean Dome but the Heels have not been clicking on all cylinders over the past week and to get such a monstrous number with this barking dog is fine with me.
Jake Timlin
Nothing short of a twenty something point blowout tonight in Gainesville as the Gators get back on track with a blowout win against Alabama. Yes after losing their last two games the Crimson Tide is just what the Gators need to bounce back into the win column. You see helping the Gators tonight will be an Alabama team that has lost 7 of their last 9 games and who is winless on the road this season. Even better news for Florida is the fact that in the Crimson Tide last 9 games they have just 1 cover win to show just how bad they really are. Meanwhile, for Florida they are great at home sitting with a perfect 14-0 SU record as they have been dominate in those 14 games thanks to winning by an average of 18 points per game. Well expect for the trends to hold I look for the Gators to beat down Alabama tonight as Florida rolls by 20 plus points.
PICK: Florida Gators
Craig Davis
21 points in this rivalry? Sorry, that’s too many.
As talented as this Tar Heels team is, I simply don’t think they should be giving 21 points to a team that had to travel just 20 miles to be here tonight. Yes, I’m aware of the 17-point UNC win in Raleigh a few weeks ago, but much of the damage was done in the first half and NC State didn’t have enough firepower (though they did hang in) in the second half.
Different story tonight. Since that last loss to UNC, the Wolfpack have beaten 3 opponents (including Wake Forest by 6 and Georgia Tech by 21) and suffered just one loss… a tough four-point OT loss at Virginia Tech. They’ve improved enough to keep tonight’s game close all 40 minutes.
They won’t win, but they won’t lose by 20 either.
2♦ NORTH CAROLINA STATE
LARRY NESS
Miami (FL) @ Florida State
PICK: Florida State
Sunshine State rivals meet in Tallahassee on Wednesday, as Florida State hosts Miami-Florida. FSU had snuck into the top-25 (at No. 25) back on Feb 9 but after a win over Virginia, the Seminoles lost 86-63 to Wake over the weekend and dropped out of the latest poll (released on Monday). The Seminoles are in the middle of the ACC pack at 6-4 but with a 19-6 overall mark, could be 'dancing' come March. Miami-Fla made an NCAA appearance last year for the first time in six seasons but will be hard-pressed to make a "return engagement" this season. The 'Canes are 15-9 overall but just 4-7 in ACC play. Miami shot just over 30 percent from the floor this past Sunday but were still very much in the game against the No. 3 Tar Heels, as Jack McClinton (20.3-3.3-3.0) had 35 points (his third straight 30-point game). The 6-7 Brian Asbury (7.3-4.8) added 12 points but the team found little help elsewhere, as the remainder of the team accounted for just 18 total points. The 6-9 Dwayne Collins (11.5-7.3) missed the North Carolina game with an ankle injury and is questionable for tonight's matchup. FSU lost perimeter players Rich (14.5-4.4), Swann (11.8-3.1-2.9) and Mims (11.6-4.3) off LY's team but Leonard Hamilton's team has survived. Returning guard Toney Douglas (20.3-4.2) is the team's best player and a trio of guards join him in the FSU backcourt. JUCO Kitchen (6.9-4.) has produced the most, joined by 6-5 freshman Loucks (3.9) and 6-5 Dulkys (4.0). The 6-9 Echefu (8.4-4.9) is joined up front by the 7-1 Alabi (8.0-5.7), 6-9 freshman Singleton (8.1-5.4) and the 6-8 Reid (5.5-3.7). Overall, FSU is an excellent defensive team, ranking among the ACC's best in scoring defense (63.7 PPG) and opponents' FG percentage (38.4), plus FSU has also forced just over 16 turnovers per game. Alabi is facing a possible suspension and if not for that, I'd make a bigger play on FSU but as is, let's use the Seminoles as a small play.
Scott Rickenbach
St. Louis Blues @ Columbus Blue Jackets
PICK: Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets are in the 145 price range on Wednesday. That is a range that I will occasionally venture into but it’s one I prefer not to get involved with too often with my star-rated and/or guaranteed picks. That is why you’re reading about this selection here because I do feel there is still tremendous value with Columbus on Wednesday. The Blues have had great success against the Blue Jackets in recent meetings. However, we love taking Columbus on their home ice when they’re coming off of a tough loss in a shootout. This position is made even stronger when we’re able to fade St Louis when they’re coming off of a tight win over the Rangers in their last game.
While the Blues have been playing much better lately they’re still dealing with a superior team in this match-up. The Blue Jackets had won four straight games, including victories over the Sharks and Red Wings, before they came up short against Dallas in that shootout loss. The last time they played the Blues they outshot them 35 to 22, earlier this month, but they lost the game 4 to 2 and that game was played in Columbus. Since that game the Blue Jackets have gone 4-1-1 and they’re ready to avenge that loss with a huge effort on home ice tonight. The loss of Fredrik Modin to injury certainly doesn’t help the Jackets but they’ve still got enough fire power offensively to get the job done here. We love the way RJ Umberger is stepping up and the Jackets did outshoot the Stars 43 to 22 in their tough loss on Monday. There are some situational issues here for the Blues (like huge motivation for the Blue Jackets!) and that, along with the other issues noted above, means one should consider a small play on Columbus on the Money Line on Wednesday night.
Jimmy Boyd
1 Unit on Iowa State +18.5
The Cyclones were embarrassed by the Jayhawks at home with a 15-point loss earlier this season that was really worse than the final score showed. The Clones will be out for revenge here while Kansas will be looking ahead at bigger fish to fry in upcoming games (Nebraska and Oklahoma). While KU has won 8 of the last 11 home meetings in this series, the Cyclones are 7-4 ATS in those games. One of the major reasons why the Clones will keep this one within the number is because they do a good job of taking care of the rock and plays on underdogs of 10 to 19.5 points (IOWA ST) - excellent ball handling team - committing <=12 turnovers/game, in February games are 51-25 ATS since 1997. The Cyclones are now 5-0 ATS in their last 5 Wednesday games and they'll bring their A-game to Lawrence tonight. Take the points.