Sports Gambling Hotline
Chicago at PORTLAND -8'
We are 7-3 the last 10 days with our free plays.
Tough spot for the Bulls this Monday night, as Chicago is now playing their 4th road game in 6 nights, and playing in Portland is not an easy propostion these days, as the Blazers are 5-2 straight up on their own hardwood, and 4-3 against the spread at home this year.
Portland also owns the last 4 series wins, covering in the last pair, and 3 of the 4 overall.
Throw in a Chicago 2-6 spread run on the road their last 8, and Portland's 7-2 spread mark their last 9 as a favorite, and we have a feeling things could get ugly for the visitor before this one is in the books.
Play on Portland minus the points.
4♦ PORTLAND
Bobby Maxwell
Chicago at PORTLAND -8'
Improved to 13-5 with my last 18 FREE selections after getting the winner with the Colts on Sunday. Tonight I'm on the NBA hardwood for a comp play on the Blazers as they host the Bulls.
Portland has so much talent that the Blazers could get double-digit scoring from any of about 9 players on any given night. They are young, quick and very deep. I’m going to lay the chalk and play the Blazers in this matchup.
All five Portland starters scored in double-digits on Saturday as they crushed Minnesota 106-78 as a 13-point home favorite. Martell Webster had 21 points and 13 rebounds and point guard Steve Blake had 14 points and nine assists.
Portland has won four straight in this series and humiliated the Bulls 116-74 in Portland last season, easily cashing in as a 6 ½-point favorite. And normally in this series, the straight-up winner gets the cover, going 8-2 ATS in the last 10.
The Bulls are on a long, grueling West Coast road trip, having already made stops in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Denver. They were blown out in Los Angeles and in Denver and this team just doesn’t score enough points to beat a team like Portland. Chicago has only gotten more than 94 points once this season.
Trust the young guns of Portland. They are 11-5 ATS at home and 7-3 ATS overall. Play the Blazers in this one.
4♦ PORTLAND
Drew Gordon
Chicago at PORTLAND -8
9-3 roll L12 Free Plays, including the Falcons cover at the Giants Sunday! For today's complimentary play, we're looking at the Bulls/Trail Blazers match up.
I admit at first glance, the line on this constest seems a bit bloated. However, once you start digging into the meat of this match up, you see why the Trail Blazers are such strong favorites, and make no mistake, they will win and cover this contest.
Why? Several reasons, but let's start with a strong situational advantage for the home team, as the Bulls are playing their 3rd road game in 4 nights, and we all know its never easy to maintain focus and energy levels in that spot. Bulls have both roadies to open their road trip, getting routed in both games, and I just don't see much hope for them in this one either, especially after watching Portland throttle Minnesota by 28 points Saturday.
The issue with the Bulls road play has been two fold: A. Lack of effort on the defensive end, allowing 108 and 112 points respectively in their L2 games, and 46% shooting on the season away. And B. The Bulls offense has been sloppy, and it won't get any easier against a VERY good Blazers D tonight. Portland may not be the offensive juggernaut that both the Lakers and Nuggets are, but when it comes to defense, they are excellent, especially at the Rose Garden. Blazers are surrendering just 88 ppg on a ridiculous 41% shooting at home thus far this season!
Finally, from a match up standpoint, the Blazers own an edge at almost every position, and especially in the frontcourt. Deng is good, but Gibson is a rookie and Noah is ho-hum. On the other side, the trio of Oden, Webster and Aldridge is as nasty as they come, and they will own the paint in this contest. True, Blake is a defensive liability, but with Salmons playing very inconsistent ball right now (shooting 34% on the season), we'll call the backcourt match up a push. In the end, the road-weary Bulls are not only in a bad situational spot, but also playing a superior defensive team with match up edges all over the court. Blazers roll!
Take Portland over Chicago in this NBA match up.
3♦ PORTLAND
Chris Jordan
San Francisco at UCSB -6'
Those of you with me long-term know this was a big play for me last Tuesday, when I played the Gauchos against Weber State.
Tonight Santa Barbara will be taking it to the visiting Dons, and I like it for much of the same reason I like it last week.
As I stated, coach Bob Williams is reaping the benefits of the most depth and best balance he's had in the dozen years he's been coaching in wine country.
He not only has plenty of experience back, but starting point guard Justin Joyner is back on the floor after spending much of last season sidelined with an injured wrist.
He's joined by Loyola-Marymount-transfer Orlando Johnson, a 6-foot-5 scorer who is rumored to become the team's go-to guy by the time conference play rolls around. Reportedly, this kid can also crash the boards and will be an all-around threat who could end up becoming an all-conference stud.
The Gauchos are a serious threat to Long Beach State in the Big West Conference with this roster, and will outclass scrappy San Francisco tonight.
5♦ UCSB GAUCHOS
Jeff Benton
Pepperdine +18 at UCLA
Hope you took advantage of Sunday's free NFL winner on the Patriots, who crushed the Jets. For Monday’s free play, I’ll head to the college hardwood and back Pepperdine plus the points at UCLA.
I still can’t get the image of the Bruins losing their season opener a week ago tonight to Cal-State Fullerton out of my head. And it wasn’t just the result – 68-65 in overtime as a 15-point home favorite – it was how pathetic UCLA was shooting the ball. The Bruins made just 26 of 84 shots (31 percent!), including 5 of 29 from three-point range (17.2 percent). They did rebound four days later and beat Cal-State Bakersfield, but only by a 75-64 score – and that was non-lined game against a Division II school!
Pepperdine’s program has been way down in recent years, no question about that. But to be getting this kind of double-digit price is too much to pass up – especially considering these teams regional rivals have met three times since 1999 (all at UCLA), with the Waves winning one of those games 85-78 as a 14 ½-point underdog and losing a pair of two-point nail-biters in the others.
UCLA has failed to cover in four straight lined games overall going back to last season, four of five non-conference games and seven of nine against teams from the West Coast Conference. Meanwhile, Pepperdine has cashed in four of its last five non-league games and is 3-1-1 ATS in its last five against the Pac-10. UCLA should win this game, but I’ll be honest with you: With their shooting can go cold, I won’t be shocked if they don’t. Even if the Bruins do prevail, I’m confident it won’t be a double-digit rout. Take the points.
3♦ PEPPERDINE
Dominic Fazzini
Arizona +2 vs. Wisconsin at Maui Classic
I am tearing things up with my complimentary selections, with the Chargers' rout of Denver on Sunday improving my run to 12-2 over the past 14 days, and 9-1 over the last 10!
And don't think I can't keep it going today! There's another winner sitting right here with Arizona's late-night meeting with Wisconsin in Maui.
First-year Wildcats coach Sean Miller knows how to beat the Badgers, just having done so in the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament as Xavier's coach. And he's got a solid senior point guard in Nic Wise to help Arizona navigate Wisconsin's tough defensive attack, which has allowed an average of 44 points in the Badgers' first two games, victories over IUPU-Fort Wayne and Oakland.
But Arizona is a lot more talented than either one of those teams, and Wise is averaging 15 points and 5.5 assists to start the season as the Wildcats easily defeated Northern Arizona and Rice at home, going 1-0-1 ATS with a push against the Lumberjacks as a 17-point favorite and and cover against the Owls as a 14-point favorite.
Freshman forward Solomon Hill scored in double figures in both games, and is averaging 14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, while junior forward Jamelle Horne also surpassed 10 points in each game and is averaging 13.5 points and nine rebounds.
And the Wildcats' supporting cast is much stronger than the Badgers' bench is, and that depth should help Arizona wear down Wisconsin.
The Wildcats are 4-1-1 in their last six nonconference games, and has had success playing in the Maui Classic in the past. Wisconsin, however, is 2-5 ATS in its last seven games on a neutral court. Take Arizona tonight to cover the points.
3♦ ARIZONA
Stephen Nover
Arizona +3 vs. Wisconsin, at Maui
The Wildcats and Badgers are hooking up in the Maui college basketball Invitational. This is Pac-10 versus Big Ten, teams that don't usually meet. But Arizona has an edge because its coach, Sean Miller, knows Wisconsin.
Not only is Miller a former Badgers assistant, but he was the head coach at Xavier last year. His Xavier club defeated Wisconsin, 60-49, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Musketeers frustrated Wisconsin because of their physical, but disciplined style. Miller has put together a similar type team, one with plenty of athleticism. Wisconsin assistant coach Greg Gard was quoted as saying about the Wildcats, "They might be the most athletic team we'll see all year, player for player, up and down the lineup."
The key is the Wildcats have an experienced, elite point guard to run the team in Nik Wise. He has extra motivation in this matchup because he was one of the last cuts from the United States team at the World University Games last summer in Serbia. The coach of that team was Bo Ryan, who coaches Wisconsin.
The Badgers' key player is their point guard, Trevon Hughes. Miller is well aware of him. His Xavier team defended him so well that Hughes could make just 3 of 16 shots from the floor in that NCAA Tournament defeat.
2♦ ARIZONA WILDCATS
Tony Weston
The Chargers come through with an easy win over the Broncos as I deliver yet another Comp Play winner.
I’m handing you another one tonight as we head to Kansas City, Mo., where Texas will beat up on Iowa in the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
Though it’s still early in the season, Texas has looked absolutely dominant in the early going, beating its first two opponents by nearly 40 points per game (81-41.5), covering easily to start the season 2-0 SU and ATS.
Including those first two wins, the Longhorns have now covered in 4 straight games against non-conference opponents and are riding a 4-0 ATS streak overall.
Now Texas, which is 20-8 its last 28 games on Monday, gets to battle an Iowa team that’s just 1-8 ATS its last 9 games played at neutral sites. Keep in mind, also, the Hawkeyes have covered in just 2 of their last 6 games overall and are only 1-3 SU and ATS their last 4 games overall.
Also, when these two last hooked up the Longhorns picked up a solid 68-59 victory as a 4-point favorite. Though that was back in 2005, it really won’t matter because Texas will deliver similar results and get an easy victory going away.
3♦ TEXAS
Craig Davis
Tonight's free play is on the Milwaukee Bucks getting nine points from San Antonio. I'm not sure the Spurs should be giving nine points to anyone right now the way they are playing right now. Milwaukee is 8-3 on the season for a reason... good guard play. Rookie Brandon Jennings has been sensational, scoring 26 in his last game and averaging nearly 30 points per game to start the season. The Bucks are doing all of this without Michael Redd and Joe Alexander, who are still nursing injuries. The Bucks have won and covered three straight games and haven't lost a game since a 115-113 OT loss to Dallas... absolutely nothing to be ashamed of either. Before that their last loss was on November 3rd... an 83-81 setback to Chicago. Milwaukee has also won the last two in this series and four of the last six, SU. Meanwhile, the Spurs are just 1-3 ATS in their last four and 3-5 ATS in their last 8, including a 90-83 loss to the Utah Jazz... a team that never goes into San Antonio and wins. Guess what? It happened. Gotta grab the points with the Bucks here in this spot.
2♦ MILWAUKEE
Steve Duemig
Northern Illinois - Ohio
Interesting line movement in this game and it is the one we always look for. The "reverse line movement" That's where public money is hard on one side yet the line draws down to the dog and Ohio opened a 1 point underdog here. That means that there is pretty substantial wiseguy money on the other side of the public. N. ILL has a much bigger fish to fry in the week to come and I wouldn't be surprised to see some players rested in this one for the Huskies. Ohio is also quite tough at home.
1♦ OHIO
UD, please do not post anything from Pregame here. They don't want their stuff posted
Thanks pal
Mr. Vegas Wins
Titans at Texans
Tennessee (3-6 SU, 4-5 ATS) QB Vince Young (2 TDs, 2 INTs) has helped to engineer a quiet turnaround. He still can’t pass, and this is a one dimensional offense that prefers ball control to kill the clock. The offense is mainly talented RB Chris Johnson, who has 128, 228, 135 and 137 yards rushing the last four games. They don’t want to get into a passing shootout with Houston, so look for Tennessee’s game plan to control the ball and keep scoring down. Play the Titans/Texans Under the total.
John Ryan
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. New York Rangers
Play: Columbus Blue Jackets
Ai Simulator 3* graded play on Columbus as they take on the NY Rangers set to start at 7:00 EST. Supporting this graded play is a system that has gone 26-13 making 23.1 units since 2004. Play on road teams against the money line off a close loss by 1 goal to a division rival and is a tired team playing their 3rd road game in 5 days. Rangers are in a very poor role for this game noting they are just 1-10 against the money line (-11.3 Units) when playing against a marginal winning team sporting a win percentage of 51% to 60% in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons. HC Hitchcock is a solid 22-11 against the money line (+16.3 Units) in road games off a road loss against a division rival in all games he has coached since 1996. Take Columbus.
Coastal Carolina vs. Indiana State
Play: Indiana State -6
Ai Simulator 3* graded play on Indiana State as they take on Coastal Carolina set to start at 5:30 EST and is the consolation game of the Preseason NIT taking place in Bowling Green, KY. AiS shows a 70% probability that Indiana State will win this game by 6 or more points. AIS shows a 92% probability that Indiana State will hit 79% or higher of their free throw shots. Note that Indiana State is a perfect 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) in road games when they make 79% or more of their free throws in a game over the last 2 seasons. Further supporting this play are 3 solid angles. Indiana State is a solid 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) in road games after 2 straight games with 9 or less offensive rebounds over the last 2 seasons; 15-2 ATS (+12.8 Units) off a no-cover where the team won straight up as a favorite since 1997; 14-2 ATS (+11.8 Units) off a home no-cover where the team won straight up as a favorite since 1997. Working against Coastal Carolina is the fact that HC 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) in road games after leading in their previous game by 15 or more points at the half in all games he has coached since 1997. Take Indiana State.
Kyle Hunter
Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Play: Under 185
The under is 5-1 in both teams' last 6 games overall and the under is 7-1 in the Blazers last 8 home games. If Greg Oden can stay in the game he will definitely deter Rose and the Bulls from taking it to the hoop. The pace of the game should definitely be slower than average in this one, and the referees for this game all lean toward the under. The stats are on our side, take the under here.
JR TIPS
TIMBERWOLVES at CLIPPERS
The Minnesota Timberwolves are headed towards another terrible season but the Los Angeles Clippers barely won the the first matchup. The Timberwolves arde looking at their 13th straight loss and have been winless on the road thsi season. Minnesota only won their season opener 95-93 against winnless New Jersey this season. Minnesota has lost its last eight games by double digits and has surrendered 113.0 points per contest en route to going 0-6 on the road, including a 106-78 loss to Portland on Saturday night.The Clippers committed 18 turnovers and shot 42.7 percent in their last matchup against the Wolves as Chris Kaman had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead Los Angeles. Kaman and Baron Davis have been carrying most of the Clippers' scoring load for a combined average of 36.7 points a contest and they won their last game with a 106-99 victory over Denver on Friday night. Rasual Butler had 27 points off the bench and Al Thornton added 18. Los Angeles will matchup the veteran center Chris Kamana against Minnesota's Al Jefferson who has been inconsistent in 11 games after undergoing knee surgery in February. Jefferson had 20 points and 10 rebounds versus the Blazers in his second game back after the death of his grandmother and he's averaging 16.0 points after posting a career-best 23.1 last season.Jefferson is averaging 24.6 points and 11.5 rebounds in his last seven games against the Clippers. A young team playing on the road losing by double digits every nioght loses confidence and they will face a Clipper team that is starting to gain confidence.
TAKE LA CLIPPERS -5.5