Wunderdog
Ohio vs. C. Michigan
3 Units UNDER 53
Dan LeFevour is the MAC's all-0time leader in passing yards and he is the main reason the Chippewas are double-digit favorites here. His team scored 34.2 points per game this season and Ohio scored 26.7, so this total is set in the 50s. But, the fact is, Central Michigan did most of their offensive damage at home this year. At home they put up 476 yards and over 50 points per game. But away from the cozy home field, those numbers drop precipitously to 381 yards and 22.6 points per game. Their defense however remained stout, giving up 18 ppg on average, home and away. I like this one to go UNDER.
Teddy Covers
Bobcats Over 181.5
Evan Altemus
Toronto Raptors +4
This game is a big revenge situation for Toronto, and they should have strong motivation. The Raptors followed up a loss at home to Washington with an embarrassing blowout loss at Atlanta the following night. Toronto’s defense was absolutely torched in that game giving up 145 points to the Hawks. Because of that, I expect the Raptors to show up in a big way tonight. Washington is not a good team, and I expect them to have a letdown here after beating Toronto just a few days ago. The Wizards aren’t particularly strong at home, while the Raptors are decent on the road. The road game has also surprisingly dominated this series recently as well. Look for Toronto to win outright and/or cover the point spread.
3 UNIT SELECTION
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
Manhattan +13
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this matchup is on the large visiting dog:
Antoine Pearson scored 16 points to lead Manhattan in a 68-44 win over Fordham on Saturday night.
Darryl Crawford added 15 points and Rico Pickett had 14 for the Jaspers, who have won three straight games. Pearson finished 6-for-8 from the floor and tallied five steals, and Crawford chipped in with nine rebounds.
Manhattan is 4-2 SU to start the season.
On the other side of the court: Five Akron players scored in double figures in an 80-68 victory over Niagara on Sunday.
The Zips outscored Niagara 57-37 in the second half to erase an eight-point halftime deficit and I expect a similar collapse down the stretch tonight.
The Purple Eagles are a sub-par 2-4 ATS their last six at home.
Bottom line: The Jaspers matchup well against the Purple Eagles and when taking into account the recent play of both teams, look for MANHATTAN to improve to 3-2 ATS this season after a non-conference game and for Niagara to fall to 1-5 ATS this year as a favorite.
*9* MANHATTAN.
Maximus
LOCKS
TAKE NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS PK vs Montana St Bobcats.
EVALUATION: The Montana State Bobcats come into this game with a 2-3 SU record, and have only been able to beat San Francisco and Colorado Christian, two schools who are really not top caliber this year. They are averaging about 65.4 points a game while allowing their opponents over 70 points. Out of their five games, four have been rated and they are 1-3 ATS. The Bobcats were blown out in their last game out last Saturday at the Oregon Ducks 66-89, and they are only scoring 65 points a game at home. The BEARS on the other hand come in with a perfect 7-0 mark and have been averaging 75.86 points a game. They have an avg. margin of difference of 14 and their numbers equal up to the Bobcats in turnovers and assists. They are road tested so far, winning all 4 games and have averaged 73.5 points on the road. Their 3-1 ATS record looks solid, and they are shooting a really good 48.6% per game average. This is a Big Sky conference game for the 2 teams, where N. Colorado won both contests last year by 10 on the road, and by 27 at home. Looks like early season predictions are not living up to its salt. Montana St was expected to finish at the top of the conference and Northern Colorado was expected to be at the bottom.
PROJECTION: NORTHERN COLORADO 71 MONTANA ST. 64
TAKE COLORADO BUFFALOES +2.5 vs Oregon St. Beavers.
EVALUATION: Oregon St was expected to be a middle of the Pack team in the PAC-10, but their 2-3 SU record looks like they will be more near the bottom than the middle. They have dropped 2 of their 3 home games and have only been putting up about 62 points a game. What we really don’t like the Beavers are not very good at protecting the ball and have been averaging 19.2 turnovers a game, and only have about 4 3-pointers a game. The Colorado Buffaloes come in with a 5-2 SU mark, and those two losses came to Arizona 87-91 in OT at the Maui Invitational, and Gonzaga 72-76 in the same tournament. They are scoring an average of 81.14 points a game and have an average win difference of 11.71 points a game. Their 77.3 points a game on the road is a respectable number and we look for the BUFFS to beat up on the Beavers tonight
PROJECTION: COLORADO 78 OREGON St. 63
SOLIDS:__________________________________PROJE CTION
CANISIUS -1 vs Loyola-Md___________________CANISIUS 70-65
AUBURN TIGERS -9 vs Troy Trojans__________Auburn 80-64
CAL RIVERSIDE +2 VS San Diego_____________Cal Riverside 80-66
OVER/UNDERS
Colorado/Oregon St. OVER 132 ½ ______________141
San Diego/ UC Riverside OVER 123 ½ ____________146
MONEYLINE
MANHATTAN +700______________________Manhattan 67-63
Scott Rickenbach
FRIDAY NIGHT UPSET SPECIAL!
Troy Trojans(+10) over AUBURN TIGERS
Auburn is 4-3 this season but the 4 wins have come against Niagara, IUPUI, High Point, and Alabama A & M. Niagara is a fairly solid team from the MAAC but the Purple Eagles have struggled early this season. The point is that the Tigers really don’t have a signature win on their docket yet this season. Their win over Niagara was their best win and yet that’s not overly impressive. In fact, the three times Auburn has faced better competition, they’ve lost all three games. And we’re not talking about stepping up and facing tremendously tough teams either! We’re talking about Missouri State, Central Florida, and NC State. Auburn has played those three teams and lost all three games. With 24 wins last season, the Tigers finally seemed to “break through” under head coach Jeff Lebo. However, Auburn began this season with having to replace three starters. Making matters worse, one of the two starters was lost to injury early this season. The Tigers were already projected to fall back in the SEC this season but now their early season growing pains have been more pronounced due to the reliance on many new players in the starting lineup. The Tigers had 101 turnovers compared to just 70 assists in their first five games this season so it’s apparent that there are issues trying to get all the players use to playing with each other in terms of player rotations and being a cohesive group. Even though Troy is “only” a Sun Belt team the Trojans are one of the top teams in the conference. They dropped to a 4-3 record on a last second loss to Georgia Southern in their most recent game but, keep in mind, that was a situation where Troy was playing their third game in three nights as it was part of a tournament. This game tonight is part of a stretch where Troy is playing eight straight games away from home. Whether the visitor or playing on a neutral court, the early season scheduling means that Troy is already being battle-tested. That helps when it comes to a game like tonight’s game and Troy’s only other two losses this season were against Florida and UAB. Then, after playing three games in three days, the Trojans have been able to gear up for this game with four full off days leading into this Friday affair. It will serve them well and you know the “small school” Sun Belt team is geared up for this game while the “big school” SEC team could get caught looking ahead to upcoming games the Tigers have scheduled with ACC opponents. As for Troy, they don’t play again for over a week after tonight’s game. That said, the Trojans will definitely leave it all on the floor at Auburn tonight and they lost by just three points to the Tigers when they faced them three years ago. This game means a lot to Troy and they’ve got a very strong, experienced backcourt which could continue to give the mistake-prone Tigers offense some issues. Additionally, the Trojans have been getting solid play in the frontcourt from Antywan Jones and Yamene Coleman. Note that Coleman is an Alabama transfer who will look to have a huge gave against a former SEC rival he locked horns with last season. The Trojans are capable of hanging with the Tigers here both in the frontcourt and in terms of play along the perimeter. This will make it very tough for Auburn to ever pull away in this game…let alone to even win it by double digits! Play Troy plus the big points as an 8* Regular Play selection.
Our friend Jim Feist seems to think Mike Conley plays for the T-Wolves.... :-
NHL PRO PICKS
Anaheim +130
MustWinSports
5 DIME TEASER OHIO & OHIO/C MICHIGAN OVER
Marc Lawrence
Central Michigan -13
Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour headlines tonight’s showdown with the record-setting signal caller owning 99 TD passes, over 12,000 passing yards and 36 career wins. LeFevour is also a perfect 2-0 SU and ATS in MAC championship tilts, including a 31-10 win over these same Bobcats in the 2006 title game. The series dog checks in with a 0-4-1 ATS mark by an average losing margin of 26 PPG. While Ohio HC Frank Solich is a solid 23-8 SU and 18-8-1 ATS versus weak opposition (sub .400 foes), he is just 8-21-1 SU and 13-16 ATS when taking on an opponent with some bite (greater than .400 opposition). Meanwhile, Central Michigan head man Butch Jones is a perfect 5-0 SU and ATS versus an opponent off a SU dog win and has held his own against greater than .333 opposition, winning 14 of 22 SU, including 15 of them on the ATS scoreboard. Once again LeFevour passes the test with a 10-0 SU and 9-1 ATS mark versus conference opponents off a SU and ATS win. Lay the points with the Chippewas against the banged-upp Bobcats. We recommend a 3-unit play on Central Michigan.
Rocketman
Utah -8
Indiana comes in with a 6-10 overall record this year while Utah is now 10-7 on the season. Indiana is 2-8 ATS as an underdog this year. Utah is 9-2 ATS last 3 years after 3 or more days rest. Indiana is allowing 107.9 points per game on the road this year. Utah is scoring 105 points per game at home this season. Pacers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Friday games. Pacers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game. Pacers are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 vs. Western Conference. Pacers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a SU loss. Pacers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. Pacers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss. Pacers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning SU record. Pacers are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games overall. Pacers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games. Pacers are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog. Pacers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as a road underdog. Pacers are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest. Jazz are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a SU win of more than 10 points. Jazz are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win. Jazz are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. Jazz are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a losing SU record. Jazz are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. Eastern Conference. Jazz are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game. Jazz are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game. Jazz are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall. Jazz are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400. Jazz are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. Jazz are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games playing on 3 or more days rest. Jazz are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 Friday games. We'll play Utah for 3 units tonight!
Lenny Del Genio
Utah -7.5
The Jazz feast on lousy teams at home. The Pacers certainly fit the bill here. They have lost seven of eight, both SU and ATS, and the only win was against the Clippers. They are allowing 107.9 PPG on the road this season. Utah has won three straight games by an average of almost 21 PPG. They have been off since Monday, so they'll be ready for this matchup. By contrast, Indiana lost for a second straight time on the West Coast Wednesday night, falling at Sacramento. After a slow start, HC Jerry Sloan has the Jazz playing much better. They beat the Spurs in San Antonio two weeks ago and have won six of their previous seven. They rank in the top five in shooting percentage. Indiana is in the bottom ten. The Jazz will take advantage. Take Utah.
Our friend Jim Feist seems to think Mike Conley plays for the T-Wolves.... :-
I seriously doubt the Feist and other big touts do the actual writesups,I imagine they give someone the pick and a few reasons why they like it and someone else does the writeup.
ATS Lock Club
3 Units Central Mich
Mike Lineback
4* Boston Celtics/Oklahoma City Thunder UNDER 191
4* Dallas Mavericks/Memphis Grizzlies OVER 204.5
4* Detroit Pistons -3
4* Charlotte Bobcats -3.5