NHL PRO PICKS
Dallas +155
Phoenix +123
Mac Monster
15* Ball St + 14.5
Stephen Nover
25 Dime WIZARDS
20 Dime Buffalo/Miami-O OVER
25 Dime WIZARDS - The standings show Washington with one of the worst records in the league at 2-7. Cleveland, of course, is an elite team. There's no finer player than LeBron James.
But the Wizards are a very live 'dog in this spot. This is a rare nationally televised game for Washington being on ESPN. It's the season debut of Antawn Jamison, who has missed every game because of a shoulder injury. Jamison is the heart of the Wizards. The team will get a huge boost from his being back. Also back is key backup guard Randy Foye. It's the first time this season the Wizards will have their entire core group of players healthy.
The Wizards have been idle since Saturday. Cleveland played a sloppy game last night against Golden State. The Cavaliers got stuck playing Golden State's up-tempo style and couldn't put away the Warriors until the final two minutes. The Cavaliers committed 17 turnovers and were outplayed during the final period.
The Cavaliers enter this matchup extremely banged-up. Shaquille O'Neal is out with a strained shoulder. Anderson Varejao, another of the Cavaliers big men, is questionable with a bruised hip as is guard Jamario Moon, who had to leave last night's game with an ankle injury.
Washington's 2-7 record is somewhat deceiving. The Wizards have been sloppy. Gilbert Arenas has been up-and-down since coming back from knee surgery. But the team has desperately missed Jamison and has played maybe the most difficult schedule in the league so far.
The Wizards have already faced seven playoff teams from last season with five of their first nine games occurring on the road. They've already gone against four division leaders - Cleveland, Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas. If you discount the 0-11 Nets, the Wizards have played opponents that have a .702 winning percentage.
The Wizards usually play the Cavaliers tough at home. Cleveland is 4-19 in its last 23 regular-season away contests versus the Wizards. Washington has won four in a row at home against the Cavaliers. Washington has covered four of the last five times it has met Cleveland.
"I'd be surprised if we didn't play well," Wizards coach Flip Saunders was quoted as saying.
20 Dime OVER Buffalo/Miami-O - What do you figure is going to happen when two bad Mid-American Conference teams with terrible defenses get together for a Wednesday night nationally televised game?
Points, that's what. There are going to be a ton of points racked up in this matchup.
Buffalo's season is lost, but the Bulls' offense has gotten into gear late in the year. The Bulls are averaging 28 points and 464.3 yards of total offense during their last three games. Buffalo has been doing plenty of damage on the ground, averaging 200.3 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per rush in its last three games.
Miami of Ohio has trouble stopping the run, allowing 195.3 yards rushing in its last three games. The Redhawks rank 100th in run defense and 107th in scoring defense allowing an average of 33.5 points per game.
Buffalo quarterback Zack Maynard isn't the sharpest quarterback out there, but he'll be able to pick his spots off play-action with Miami of Ohio having to respect the run. The Redhawks don't put heat on a quarterback. They have six sacks in their last three games.
The Redhawks have only one interception in their last three games. During this time frame they've allowed opposing quarterback to connect on 60.5 percent of their throws.
Buffalo doesn't present much of a pass rush either. The Redhawks are a passing team behind quarterback Zac Dysert, who has averaged 344 yards passing in the last four games with seven touchdown throws.
Dysert should have success against a Buffalo defense that has allowed 30.3 points in the last three games, 5.8 yards per play and 416.7 yards of total offense.
The two teams have gone over in four of their past five head-to-head games.
Cstars Sports Picks
1000 Units Minnesota/Houston under the total
1000 Units Ball State/Central Michigan over the total
1000 Units Loyola Marymount minus the points over UC Irvine
Bob Balfe
Ball State +15
Ball State is 1-9 but have played alot of close games and are capable of winning at home. CMU does not blow teams out on the road like they do at home. Look for Ball State to keep this game close at home. Take the points.
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
UNLV -5
For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this matchup is on the home side:
Tre’Von Willis had a game-high 17 points to lead UNLV to a 91-52 victory against Division II Pittsburg State of Kansas Saturday night.
UNLV closed the first half on a 24-7 run and Willis scored the initial seven points of the second half to extend the lead to 55-32. He had 13 second-half points.
Kendall Wallace added 16 points for UNLV, including 4 of 5 from the 3-point line, and Justin Hawkins finished with 11 points. Of the 13 Rebels who played, 11 scored.
On the other side of the court: Luke Babbitt scored a game-high 26 points as Nevada cruised past Montana State 75-61 in the season opener for both teams Saturday night; however the Wolf Pack do not matchup well in some key positions vs. the Rebels.
Bottom line: UNLV forced the Gorillas in their last game into 25 turnovers and limited them to 27 % shooting in the second half and I expect them to build off that performance; play on UNLV! 6* UNLV.
Marc Lawrence
Utah Jazz -8
The Jazz return home to host the Raptors in a non-conference clash at the Delta Center knowing they are 8-0 SU and 7-1 ATS the last eight games in this series. They are also 49-22 ATS at home as a dog or favorite of less than 11 points off a loss when hosting an unrested opponent. With Toronto in the last leg of a four-game West Coast road swing, look for Utah to bounce back from a tough four-point loss to the Cavs last Saturday here tonight. We recommend a 3-unit play on the Utah Jazz.
Larry Ness
Insider - Miami Ohio
Scott Spreitzer
25* Bobcats
Tony George
Indiana Pacers -6.5
Indiana is RED HOT and have been on a 5 game tear and off a big win last night at New Jersey. They already beat NY at NY by 12, and the Knicks are going in the totally opposite direction losing 9 out of 10 and giving up a whopping 110 ppg on defense. That does not bode well on the road at all! Indiana rolls at home tonight.
Play 1.5 Units on the Pacers
Lenny Del Genio
Buffalo -4.5
Buffalo has lost three straight games, but they have come by a total of seven points. One of those losses was by just a single point to a Bowling Green team that just hammered Miami by 21 last week. In fact, five of the Bulls seven losses have come by a touchdown or less with the only exceptions coming to #8 Pitt and MAC East leading Temple. Miami, on the other hand, has a habit of getting hammered with eight of their losses coming by double-digits. They are now 2-10 ATS vs. teams with a losing record. Can't see the Bulls failing to cover a third straight game as a favorite, despite the injuries, as Miami is -18 in point differential this year. Simply put, these teams are not in the same class and the line does not reflect that. Buffalo is our 25* MAC Game of the Year.
Unlocked Sports
3* Philadelphia -110
3* Florida/Buffalo UNDER 5.5
Savannah Sports
2* Ball State +15.5
Eric Degarde
3* Philadelphia Under 186
2* LA Clippers +5
Ben West Sports
NCAA FB
4* Central Michigan (-15)
NBA
4* Cleveland Cavaliers (-4.5)
4* Indiana Pacers (-6.5)
4* Houston Rockets (-6)
4* New Jersey Nets (+10)
4* Dallas Mavericks (-1)
NHL
5* Detroit Red Wings (-175)
5* Minnesota Wild (-140)
NCAA BB
3* Rhode Island (-8)
3* VA Commonwealth (-6.5)
3* Illinois-Chicago (+2.5)
3* UC Irvine (+5.5)
Mike Lineback
4* Washington Wizards +4