Underground Sports Connection
200* Thunder/Kings Over 198.5
James Patrick Sports
5* Pot of Gold
Canucks vs. Blues
Play: Blues
Expect the Canucks to have their hands full in St. Louis on Tuesday Night as the Blues remember their embarrassing dismissal from last season’s play-offs in which Vancouver swept them in the first round. It was the first return to the postseason for the Blues since 2004 and they were the hottest team in the NHL at the close of last season. St. Louis didn’t make a lot of off-season moves but they received a Power Play boost with the return of Erik Anderson. Home Ice and unmemorable postseason result make for Vancouver singing the Blues after this game.
BRANDON LANG
10 DIME - BUFFALO BULLS - There will be no quit in Turner Gill's squad tonight.
First of all, this line is coming down as people are starting to jump on Ohio in this football game. Jump all you want.
From the outside it looks like Ohio has everything to play for at 6-3, and competing for the MAC East title and a date in the MAC championship game, and has had 10 days to get ready for this game but there is a game they just played that concerns me in this spot here.
3 weeks ago ago at home to Kent State, the Bobcats lost 20-11 mustering up 164 yards total offense against the 56th ranked defense in the country. I'm talking 11 points and 164 total yards here folks.
Now you are facing a defense in Buffalo ranked 55th but this time you are on the road.
Here are other concerns for me in trying to make a case for Ohio in this game.
Against a schedule that features just 2 BCS opponents in UConn and Tennessee with the rest being MAC opponents and Cal Poly, Ohio's offense comes in ranked 93rd running the football, 90th passing all adding up to the 105th total offense out of 120 teams.
Conversely, Buffalo has played Pittsburgh, UTEP, UCF, and the two best teams in the MAC in Temple and Central Michigan, and through a much tougher schedule have managed the 50th best running attack, 35th passing for the 35th best offensive team in the country.
Yes, defensively Ohio is ranked 37th overall to the Bulls 55 but again, in my opinion, Buffalo has played a much tougher schedule. Simple as that.
I am impressed with Ohio's performance at Tennessee but to lay the kind of egg they laid at home to Kent State has me a bit concerned here.
Let's not lose sight of one thing here. Buffalo was one 3rd down conversion away from beating Bowling Green, and they are also one or two plays away from being 7-2. This is fantasitic value with the Bulls tonight.
They have beaten Ohio by double digits the last 2 years, and like I said at the top, there will be no quit in Turner Gill's team tonight. They are on national TV for the 2nd straight week and from a recruiting standpoint, they will take this game as serioius as any game this year.
Finally, it's not out of the question for Buffalo to finish 6-6 and still get a bowl game and I truly believe that will be Gill's mantra besides the fact he will not want to lose back to back home games in the MAC.
I am going against the public line move, with the home team, with the better offense, against a team they have manhandled the last 2 years to win this game and keep their slim bowl hopes alive.
10 Dime BUFFALO
FREE SELECTION - OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Dave Malinsky
Top of the Ticket – Side
4* Oklahoma City Thunder(-1.5) over SACRAMENTO KINGS
What do we read into Sacramento winning the first two games without Kevin Martin on the court Nothing. What do we read Oklahoma Citys 3-3 start that would seemingly elicit yawns Plenty. That means that we have excellent value to back what is not only the far better team, but also one that is physically and mentally tougher, which makes a big difference in terms of grinding out SU wins in such a setting. The Kings did what teams often do when a key player is sidelined ? they buckle down and play very hard for the first game or two, while also catching the opposition flat. This is not a lineup that forces an opponent to pay much attention in the film room. But it is after that first wave of adrenaline wears off, and when the other side now takes them seriously, that the crash happens. This is a young team lacking in experience and chemistry, and while they were given an invitation to be successful in a wide open game vs. mindless Golden State on Sunday night, that flow changes in a major way here. Oklahoma City is an under-rated item in this pointspread range. While bringing in top-level young talents like Kevin Durrant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook did create a level of visibility, the additions of Nenad Krstic, Thabo Sefolosha and Etan Thomas on the court, and Maurice Cheeks on the sidelines, were far off of the radar screens. But those additions have provided key pieces to a Thunder puzzle that now fits together in a concise way. Despite facing a challenging schedule through the first six games they are #5 defensively and #5 in rebounding on our best sets of ratings, with the Westbrook/Sefolosha back-court one of the better defensive combos in the league, and the Thomas/Nick Collison duo a tremendous defense and rebounding tandem off the bench (from Scott Brooks, on that latter duo - Its huge. We have two energy, intangible players coming off the bench. They create offense by just playing hard, cutting hard, getting offensive rebounds and making the extra pass. And defensively, theyre tough.) Sacramento has yet to be forced into a half-court game since losing Martin. The Kings led 85-68 going into the fourth quarter vs. Utah and coasted, and were never pushed in that playground game vs. Golden State. Now they will have to play some precision basketball for the first time with the current starting lineup, and that means breakdowns on both ends of the court. Tyreke Evans is talented but still raw, which means difficulties getting untracked vs. Sefolosha, and when that happens the entire offense bogs down. Meanwhile a defense that rates 27th on our best charts brings even more chemistry problems (note in winning those last two games the Warriors and Jazz were 68-126 on 2-point attempts). You do not win many games with such issues.
MR EAST
NBA TUESDAY BIG TICKET
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS @ MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
PLAY: PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS -5 FOR 4 UNITS
The Memphis Grizzlies will be without Allen Iverson as he takes a personal leave, and the word is Iverson is contemplating retirement. The Grizzlies have a bunch of good young players, but the bench has been ineffective as the team depth is a big question mark, and now have to replace 31 minutes a night from Iverson. The Grizzlies big 4 are getting 36+ minutes a night. What is happening is the fast paced no defense approach works well for awhile, but the Grizzlies have been outscored by a minimum of 8 points in the second half in each of their last 5 games. Portland can score, and play defense, and last year finished the season 9-4 ATS in their last 13 as a road favorite, and are already 1-0 this year. I like Portland in this one.
Jason Johnson
Wizards at Heat
Pick: Heat -6.5
Right now the Heat are playing at the top of their game. A surprise to most of the league, Miami is off to a 5-1 starts having covered the number in each of their five wins. Dwayne Wade has looked unstoppable but what has been even more impressive is that he has at least five assists in each of the last three games. This tells us that the Heat are playing unselfish ball.
Washington has dropped four straight both SU and ATS including a loss just a week ago at home to the Heat. They haven't score more than 90 points in any of those four games.
Miami gets the check mark at home.
Winning Angle
Play Ohio (+1) over Buffalo*
Buffalo has lost 6 of the last 8 games and they have also lost 26 of the last 36 games when playing in the month of November. Buffalo has lost 3 of the last 4 games as a home favorite of 3 points or less and they have also lost 20 of the last 28 games coming off an OVER the total.
Play Miami (-6.5) over Washington*
BeatYourBookie
100* Play Oklahoma City (-1.5) over Sacramento
Tom Freese
Houston at Dallas
Dallas is 41-20-1 ATS their last 61 games when playing with two days of rest and they are 4-1 ATS their last 5 games overall. The Mavericks are 5-2 ATS their last 7 games off a win by more than 10 points and they are 11-4 ATS their last 15 games vs. the Rockets. Houston is in a 41-16 ATS Play Against System that says to Play Against road underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points in a game including two teams with a win percentage of 60% to 75% in the first half of the season. The Rockets are 4-9 ATS their last 13 road games vs. a team with a winning record. 10* "NO BRAINER" PLAY ON DALLAS
Ohio U at Buffalo
A win here secures a Bowl Game for Ohio U. The Bobcats have another reason to play as they have revenge from a 32-19 loss to Buffalo last year. Ohio U is 6-1-1 ATS their last 8 games as road dogs and they are 8-3-1 ATS their last 12 road games. Buffalo is 2-7 ATS their last 9 home games and they are 0-6 ATS their last 6 games as favorites. The Bulls are 1-6 ATS their last 7 home games vs. a team with a winning road record and they are 0-6 ATS their last 6 games as home favorites. 10* MAC GAME OF THE MONTH PLAY ON OHIO U.
Five Star Sports
3* Ok City / Sac Under
igz1 sports
3* Montreal +105
Mac Monster
7* Buffalo -1.5
Payne Sports
8 Units - Ohio +1.5
NHL PRO PICKS
Pittsburgh +123
Nashville +228
Unlocked Sports
2* Charlotte Bobcats +4
The public is all over the Orlando Magic on this one. This team got destroyed by Oklahoma City 102-74 two days ago so there is no question that they will be fired up for this one. However, we cannot ignore the value that we are getting on the Bobcats. Charlotte is 3-0 at home this season and 5-0 ATS in its last 5 overall
The Bobcats are a much healthier team than Orlando is at the moment. More importantly, we cannot ignore Charlotte’s statistics at home in this early season. They are outscoring their opponents by an average margin of 11 points per game and opponents are hitting only 22.6% of their 3 point attempts. The trends also tell the story in this one. Charlotte is 18-6 ATS in its last 24 home contests. Orlando is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 contests after scoring less than 75 points in its previous contests. Orlando is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 meetings in Charlotte and the home team is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings. Lay the number on Charlotte.