Bob Valentino
My free play for Thanksgiving is on West Virginia, laying the chalk against Illinois.
Last year the Mountaineers spent Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas, at the Orleans Hotel. This year they're in New York for the NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Coach Bobby Huggins doesn't have any holidays, until April, and it's always about business for his troops. Tonight the physical Mountaineers are going to manhandle Illinois, which arrives this sason with one of the oldest and most experienced teams in college basketball, but also players who have proved to be inconsistent the past few years.
Once a staple in the dance, this team has missed the big tournament in March the past three years because it has lost the chemistry it once had. Meanwhile, Huggins has re-built the program in Morgantown, and once again has a talented troupe.
The Mountaineers are in after making 15 3-pointers and shot 54.4 percent from the floor during Sunday’s 100-41 victory over New Hampshire. Six players scored in double figures, led by sophomore forward Esa Ahmad’s career-high-tying 14 points.
All three West Virginia victories this season have been via blowout, with big wins over Mount St. Mary’s, Mississippi Valley State and New Hampshire.
Look for another double-digit win for the Mountaineers.
5* WEST VIRGINIA
Eric Schroeder
My freebie for tonight is on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in college basketball, as they're catching points from the Dayton Flyers at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
The 'Huskers are on the road for the four-day, eight-team Wooden Legacy tournament, and I'm not so sure the right team is favored. Quite frankly, I'm not sure if Dayton or Nebraska should be favored, but I do know we have a Cornhuskers team that is undefeated at 3-0, and will be geared up to stay perfect against the Flyers (2-1) by stealing this opening round game.
Nebraska comes into tonight after a 65-54 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday. With plenty of rest, I'm looking forward to seeing senior Tai Webster produce another big game, on the scoreboard and on the boards.
But beyond Webster, the impressive part of this team is that seven of Nebraska's top nine scorers are freshmen or sophomores. Webster leads the attack with 17.7 points per game, and also pulls 5.3 rebounds per contest and dishes 2.7 assists per outing.
Sure, the Flyers were picked to win the Atlantic-10 Conference and went 25-8 last season, but they come in after losing to No. 15 St. Mary's last Saturday, 61-57.
Look for the Huskers to tighten things up and play strong defense to limit Dayton, while they challenge for the outright win.
4* NEBRASKA
Anthony Michael
LSU -7
Have to love the Tigers here since they will have a huge motivational edge. They lost last week to Florida as double digit favorites so they will be looking to atone for that game and they will want to win the last regular season game for the interim coach. They have covered the last 5 games straight against the Aggies and where does Texas A&M get any motivation here? They lost their last 2 SEC games which took them out of play for the title game and they are already bowl eligible so not really anything to play for here. The Aggies have not covered a game at home since their opener way back on September 3rd.
MICHAEL ALEXANDER
Steelers -8
The Steelers seem to be back on track, with 24-9 win over the horrible Browns, while recording 8 sacks. That win snapped a 4-game Pittsburgh losing streak, since the injury to Ben. Ben is back tonight, and that is the big key here. The Steelers were +116 points ATS in 8-of-9 games Ben going down. In the 4 game losing streak, the Steelers were -42½ points ATS. The Colts come into this one off their first back-to-back wins this season, putting them into a tie with the Ravens. However, Indianapolis is 1-10 ATS at home vs a non-division opponent when off a SU win and cover.
RAY MONOHAN
Portland +15
Portland heads into UCLA on Thursday night and the visitors plus the points are the move here.
Portland has started off 3-0 this season and has looked rather impressive doing so. They're 2-0 ATS in lined games as they're outscoring their opponents by an average of 15 points per game.
This team's defense is going to be key here. They do not allow many second chances and continue to suffocate shooters on the outside. They won't allow anything easy in transition as well, which is UCLA's game.
Some trends to note. Pilots are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games. Pilots are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
This is one of those games where Portland can stay close. Expect the Bruins to struggle with the quick defense from Portland, especially in the early going.
WINNING ANGLE
Minnesota +2.5
Detroit has lost 59 of the last 100 games against the spread when playing in the month of November and they have lost 82 of the last 139 games against the spread when playing as a favorite. Detroit has lost 35 of the last 49 games against the spread after having won three of the last four games and they have lost 54 of the last 90 games against the spread coming off a non-conference game.
Washington +7
Dallas has lost 48 of the last 87 games against the spread when playing as a home favorite of 7 points or less and they have lost 51 of the last 94 games against the spread coming off a non-conference game. Dallas has lost 68 of the last 125 games against the spread coming off a home win in their last game and they have lost 6 of the last 8 games against the spread after scoring 25 points or more in five straight games.
Indianapolis +8
Indianapolis has covered the spread in 11 of the last 12 games when playing on a Thursday and they have covered the spread in 9 of the last 10 games when playing in the month of November. Indianapolis has covered the spread in 33 of the last 55 games when playing as a home underdog and they are averaging 26 points a game on offense this season.
Texas A&M +7.5
LSU has lost 52 of the last 86 games against the spread when playing in the month of November and they have lost 26 of the last 43 games against the spread after having lost two of the last three games. LSU has lost 9 of the last 14 games against the spread when the total posted is between 42.5 and 49 points and they are only averaging 16 points on offense over the last three games.