Iron Horse
Total of the year
Ravens / Packers Over
Northcoast
2* Packers
RON MEYER
10* GB PACKERS
Mac Monster
25 * Packers -3
Tim Trushel
Packers
Spurs
Spurs Under
Scott Spreitzer
Monday Night Game of the Year
Packers
Antony Dinero
Appalachian St at Wofford
Play: Appalachian St +7
After losing at Michigan State, the Terriers had a quick turnaround to get ready for this SoCon challenge from ASU, which has beaten them five of the last six times. Isaiah Butts' size gives the hard-nosed Wofford squad trouble, and Josh Hunter adds another option that the hosts will have to worry about inside. Five of Wofford's results have come by five points or less and this one should be a tight one, too, with Jeremi Booth joining Donald Sims and Kellen Brand as perimeter scorers. Back Ap State +7.
Virginia at Auburn
Play: Auburn -4
Forward Mike Scott is questionable with a high ankle sprain and won't be at 100 percent if he does go, so Auburn will be able to have an easier time of it on the boards. Sylvan Landesberg can't do it all, and Lucas Hargrove is a tough adversary for him if he doesn't have to be busy helping Johnnie Lett with Scott. With Tay Waller back to take pressure of DeWayne Reed and Frankie Sullivan with his 3-point stroke, the Tigers have the ingredients in place for a breakthrough win, with a better effort no doubt coming following the weekend's loss to Troy. Lay the 4.
Long Beach St at Texas
Play: Long Beach St +22
The 49ers still haven't gotten Larry Anderson and T.J. Robinson to fuse together in the same game, and it wouldn't be too shocking to see the challenge ahead of them in Austin get them going, if only for stretches. Depth is a major issue for the 49ers, but Dan Monson does have his most talented squad at Long Beach, Eugene Phelps to bang in the post, and a long-range shooter in Stephen Gilling that can pick up points in a hurry. Take the Beach +22.
Michigan St at The Citadel
Play: Michigan St -15
The Spartans have been struggling to find their way, so Tom Izzo wants them to grow as a unit, and hopes this stop to foreign territory, in a small gym where they have to keep the crowd from getting involved, brings the best out of them. Delvon Roe is continuing to progress and should dominate inside, while guards Lucious, Lucas and Allen will be too much for Cam Wells and Zach Urbanus. Lay the 15.
Brown at Providence
Play: Providence -19.5
The Friars welcome in an in-state rival that just got throttled by Tubby Smith's Minnesota squad up in Minneapolis on Saturday, and Brown appears to be having trouble establishing any checmistry despite a number of holdovers from last year's squad. Providence has lost three of five, blowing opportunities to defeat Boston College and Rhode Island the last two times out. Keno Davis is still tinkering with rotations, but considering the need to build confidence with Big Ten play around the corner, look for him to put his best Friars lineup out there to get some momentum going. Back Providence to win by 30 or close to it, making the 19.5 we're dropping here seem trivial.
W Carolina at Bradley
Play: W Carolina +8
After getting drilled by Texas, the Catamounts have won six straight and visit Peoria eager to knock off a team that's beaten Illinois. Unfortunately for the Braves, that win has put a bullseye on their backs, and they're far too reliant on the 3-pointer for that not to catch up with them. Brigham Waginger is one of the SoCon's top point guards and will manage the tempo, and WCU is very stingy vs. the 3-pointer, allowing opponents to shoot 25.5 percent from beyond the arc. Back Western Carolina plus the points here.
BLACK WIDOW
6* Widow Wiseguy Ravens/Packers Monday Night ATS "BLOOD BATH" on Green Bay -3
Despite injuries, the Packers are showing a lot of heart and finding ways to win games. Most folks would look at this game and think that Baltimore has the better defense, while the Packers have the better offense, but that's simply not the case. Get this, the Packers own the #2-Ranked defense in the league, giving up just 281.5 yards/game. Baltimore owns the #10-ranked defense at 308.9 yards/game. Advantage Packers. Green Bay also flaunts the #6-Ranked offense in the league at 382.0 yards/game. Looking down we find Baltimore as the #13-Ranked offense at 353.4 yards/game. That's certainly and improvement from year's past, but the defense is getting older and is no longer the same stop unit they once were. Baltimore needed overtime to beat a Steelers' team playing without Ben Roethlisberger at home last week. Green Bay has had 10 days' rest to get ready for the Ravens having not played since their 34-12 win over Detroit on Thanksgiving, which is also a big factor favoring the Packers. The Ravens have allowed 242 passing yards/game on the road this season and now they are up against Aaron Rodgers, who is averaging 263 passing yards/game this year. The Ravens allow 7.1 passing yards/attempt away from home, while the Packers average 7.5 passing yards/attempt overall. That's where the advantage really lies in this game, with the Packers' passing game against the Ravens' poor pass defense. Green Bay is 11-1 ATS (+9.9 Units) in home games vs. good teams - outscoring opponents by 6+ PPG on the season in the second half of the season since 1992. They are winning by an average of 10.2 points/game in this spot and covering the spread 92% of the time. Take the Packers and lay the points.
4* on Appalachian State +7
4-5 Wofford should not be getting this much respect from odds makers Monday. They don't have a pressure defense, thus they don't cause a lot of turnovers. Appalachian State is 14-2 ATS (+11.8 Units) in road games versus teams who average 6 or less steals/game on the season since 1997. They also don't have an explosive offense, which is a big reason why we are fading them today. Wofford is 11-25 ATS (-16.5 Units) after scoring 30 points or less in the first half in 2 straight games since 1997. Wofford only has 2 wins by more than 3 points this season, and they came against Lees-Mcrae and Southern U. Appalachian State has won 10 of their last 15 meetings with Wofford, including their last 2 road meetings. Take A p pa lac hi an State and the points.
4* on Western Carolina +7.5
Western Carolina is 7-1 this season, and they are somehow still going under the radar in the eyes of the odds makers. All 5 starters are back from last season for Larry Hunter's squad, and it's clear that this experience is paying major dividends already. Their only loss this season came at Texas, which is one of the better teams in the country. The Catamounts are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a S.U. win. The Catamounts are 7-2-2 ATS in their last 11 non-conference games. Bradley is a solid team as well, but the Braves are just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a home favorite. T he Braves are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Take Western Carolina and the points.
KBHoops
5* North Texas +13 *POD*
5* Denver UNDER 217
Pitbull
15 units Iona +5
15 units Denver Nuggets -6.5
10 units Oklahoma City -7.5
Mark Fox
Matchup: College of Charleston at UNC Greensboro
Play: College of Charleston -3
In this battle of the Southern Conference South (College of Charleston Cougars) vs. North (North Carolina-Greensboro Spartans), lay the points with the COUGARS!!!
* The Cougars are 18-3 ATS in their L21 ROAD games in December games
* The Cougars are 8-3 ATS in their L11 games played on a Monday
* The Spartans are 2-10 ATS L12, 7-18-1 in their L26 HOME games INCLUDING 0-2 ATS THIS SEASON!!!
* The Spartans are 5-16-1 ATS in their L22 games played on a Monday
* The Spartans are 1-4 ATS in their L5 games as a HOME underdog of 3.5 to 6 points
The COUGARS have WON 3 STRAIGHT games vs. the Spartans by scores of 69-56 at NC, 89-73 & 77-62 at NC)!!!
Mike Lineback
4* Green Bay Packers -3 -130 (1/2 pt buy still like at -4)
4* Baltimore Ravens/Green Bay Packers OVER 43
HalfBets
8* Baltimore +3.5 Game
4* Green Bay -1.5 1H
NHL PRO PICKS
Edmonton +111
Montreal +109
Triple Threat Sports
3* The Citadel (+) over Michigan State
To start with, our Power Ratings on this game show MSU as no better than a 12' point favorite in this game, and in fact one of the numbers we use shows that the game should be in single digits. The provides the base for the play, and nice line value. As for the rest of the reasoning, to start off, this is the best Citadel team in ages, as they have some size, a great deal of quickness, play sound defense and make their free throws. We rate them slightly better (and we mean slightly, it is .21) better here at home than Wofford - MSU's previous foe - and the Spartans only beat Wofford by 12, and that was at the Breslin Center. Michigan State is 0-3 ATS away this season and has not been away chalk of this range in quite some time. On the other hand, the Bulldogs are 29-15 ATS in their last 44 dog roles and thrive on the style of play of MSU, as The Citadel is 11-0 ATS against offensive teams of this class. Sticking with the numbers, note that Spartans hitting just 64% of their free throws this season as opposed to a 72% success rate for The Citadel. Note also that when these two teams played last season Michigan State won by 14 at home against a Citadel team playing nowhere near the level they are now, and MSU had a huge edge at the line in that game, shooting 24 more and making 14 more (the exact margin of victory) free throws than the visitor. Now that The Citadel is at home expect the zebra edge to be lessened. Finally, emotionally the Bulldogs are MUCH more up for this game than is MSU, as this is the first ranked foe to visit in 20 years, AND since the game is on ESPNU it is a rare national TV appearance for The Citadel. We expect them to make a good showing and to cover this number.
NHL Eastern Conference Game of the Month!
4* Atlanta over Toronto
Bad spot for the Leafs here as they are still without #1 Goalie Gustavsson and his replacements - Toskalo and MacDonald - have allowed ten goals in the last five periods of play. That is not a good sign against Ilya Kovalchuck and Maxim Afinogenov af Atlanta, who have combined for 29 points in the last 11 games. Meanwhile, Thrasher netminder Johan Hedberg is 3-0 with a 1.30 GAA in his last three times between the pipes. Numbers show that Atlanta has won five of six, that Leafs are 1-9 this year against winning teams, and that the Thrashers totally dominated the last meeting, outshooting Toronto 38-17. Atlanta gets the call here.
Red Dog Sports
5* NHL Play (10-5 last 15 Plays)
Washington at Tampa Bay
Play:Washington Capitals
Washington has won the last 10 meetings and is a hot team with 5 wins in a row. Tampa Bay has lost 4 of 5 and is a home underdog. Look for Washington to win this game on the road by 3-2.