Red Dog Sports
NC-Greensboro vs. NorthCarolina
Play: NC-Greensboro +27½
One of the biggest lines of the day is UNC Greensboro at UNC being played in Chapel Hill. UNC is off a big win at Michigan State and they play Kentucky next week. UNC-G is coached by former UNC player Wes Miller. They are 4-4 and did lose at Louisiana Tech by over 30 points but did stay within one point of ECU (also coached by a former Tar Heel named Jeff Lebo).
UNCG does have five players scoring over 9 ppg:
Cain 16.9
Saddler 14
Potts 10.8
Paulus 10.4
Locke 9
UNC is well coached by Roy Williams but they don't shoot free throws well and struggle to make 3-pointers, excpet for Marcus Paige. PJ Hairston and Leslie McDonald will probably miss this game as well.
The Tar heels do have some talent, with most being underclassmen. Guys like Nate Britt, JP Tokoto, Luke Davis, Brice Johnson, Desmond Hubert, James Michael McAdoo and Kennedy Meeks.
UNC did blow out Oakland in their opener but jumped ahead at the half but allowed their opponent to easily outscore them in the second half.
Look for UNC to win by 20 to 25 points on Saturday so take UNC Greensboro getting 27.5 points.
Alex Smart
Texas vs. Baylor
Play: Baylor -15
Baylor for much of their current campaign have destroyed opponents with its top tier QB play and remarkable overall offensive performances. Needless to say their opponents today, the Texas Longhorns are a program that despite of some decent wins are long way from national championship contention and could easily get clobbered by the Bears team with a inferiority complex- that needs shedding. What better way for Baylor to get the proverbial chip off their shoulders-then with a old fashioned behind the woodshed butt whooping of a storied football program. This could get really ugly Longhorns fans-so make like an armadillo or wash away your tears with some lone star beer.
Bruce Marshall
Islanders at Kings
Pick: Under
The Kings have been involved in so many "unders" over the past few weeks that we wonder if the "total" is soon going to be posted at 4 1/2 goals for one of their games. Oddsmakers still have the "total" at 5 for tonight's visit by the Islanders to Staples Center, but once again we hardly see a goal explosion. Especially since the Isles have been laboring to score goals lately. In fact, both teams are struggling lately on the power play;Los Angeles has failed to score in its last 25 opportunities with the advantage spanning the previous seven games, while the Islanders have gone 2 for 23 on their own chances during their current 8-game losing streak. After rookie Martin Jones gave Kings GK Ben Scrivens a well-deserved rest in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win at Anaheim, Scrivens ( 6-1-3 with a 1.47 goals-against average in the Kings' previous 10 game) is likely back in net tonight.
Charlie Scott
Missouri vs. Auburn
Play: Missouri
Sharps and syndicates fired Mizzou money Friday, Shop around for cases like this where the Money line was less than Missouri -1.5. I bet Missouri because I expect Missouri to win the game and would lay up to -2.5 What a wild trip Auburn players have been on the last couple of weeks Beating Georgia with a Hail Mary, and beating Bama with a Field Goal Miss Return for a TD. For Auburn Players and Coaches After Winning the most important game in their careers (Alabama) the SEC Championship game vs Missouri is a letdown. While Auburn gets all the media attention, bettors know and respect this Missouri team. Mizzou is well Coached, has Sr QB Franklin back to run an explosive offense with playmakers. Missouri's defense is also well coached, has a really good front 7 that can stop the run and pressure the QB. Auburn has gotten some breaks this Season, while Missouri is just really good.
Joe Gavazzi
Oklahoma +9.5
With need, you bleed. All the pressure is on the home standing Cowboys who hold their destiny in their own hands. A loss on this field sets up the Texas/Baylor winner for the Big 12 Championship. Clearly, the Cowboys are the hottest team in the league, with 7 straight wins and 6 straight covers. And we rarely go against a home field where the Cowboys are on runs of 32-14, 23-8, and 9-1 ATS. Senior QB Chelf has stepped up to lead the late season surge. But, getting Oklahoma as a rivalry double-digit dog, with a record of 9-1 SU in this series, is too much to pass up. The Sooners have had a decent season of their own at 9-2 SU with their only losses to Baylor and Texas. The combination of a strong defense at 330 YPG and a running game at 240 RYPG are an outstanding combination for savvy HC Stoops to play the spoiler. Signal caller tandem of QB Bell/Knight do just enough to keep the Sooners competitive in this with the opportunity to steal the victory.
UCLA +1
Missouri is still a work in progress for HC Haith. That is, if Thursday night’s choke against WVU, in which they almost allowed WVU to spoil our Best Bet, is any indication. Nonetheless, before you can take off the rubber band with a superior UCLA team, please note the Tigers 54-2 SU mark (5- 0 TY) at Mizzou Arena. Savvy UCLA 1st year HC Alford is working his magic in Westwood. Already he is 6-2 ATS with net coverage of 45 points. Consider Tuesday night when his troops did not waiver in the face of (9) 1st half Gaucho triples. Alford simply threw out a 1-2-2 three quarter court zone trap and ruined Barbie’s rhythm. A bit concerning is the Bruin’s first road game at such a tough site, but Alford is 44-29 ATS away, 27-14 ATS in December, and 43-10 ATS following consecutive double digit wins. Must like any team that plays as hard as these Bruins and dishes out 20 assists per game.
Your Bookies Money
Golden St. +1
Everything points to a Golden St. win in this spot. I believe the loss of Mark Gasol is starting to take full effect for Memphis. In the 2nd half of their last game, the Clippers absolutely destroyed them. Tony Allen did not play in that game and he is questionable for this game. Also Ed Davis an underrated big man was hurt last game and it's almost a lock he is out for this contest. Golden St. is coming off a very bad loss last night in Houston, but what made this pick so attractive to me is that Memphis has already beaten Golden St. twice this year. However, those losses were against a Memphis team at full strength and the lineup they put out Saturday will be far from full strength. If Golden St. is not motivated after what happened last night and losing twice to Memphis already this year they will never be up for a game. On a side note Andre Iguodala has been upgraded to questionable. I'm not saying he will play, but this is the best chance for him to see some action in a few games. In conclusion, I just see this as a game Golden St will give extra attention too for many reasons, while Memphis is banged up and has not been playing good anyway at full strength.
Harry Bondi
MEMPHIS (-1) over Connecticut
In a battle of two teams that have had dreadful seasons, we'll side with Memphis, which has the far superior defense in this game. Believe it or not, the Tigers ranks 17th in the nation against the run, giving up just 120 yards per game. That doesn't bode well for UConn, which is averaging just 85 yards per game on the ground and will be starting freshman back-up QB Casey Cochran. Memphis has been a profitable bet when facing fellow losing teams, going 8-3 in its last 11 in that situation, while UConn is just 3-7 ATS against losing teams and a money-burning 6-14 ATS in its last 20 games overall. Memphis rolls to a road victory.
Allen Eastman
Evansville (-9) over Miami, OH
I think that this game will be a blowout from start to finish. I think that the home team will take care of business by at least 20 points. Both teams are rebuilding. But Evansville has been much better in the early going. They are 5-2, and they have strong wins over Mercer and Valparaiso. Miami has gotten off to a real rough start and has even lost to a Division II school, Wilmington. Evansville has better guards and too much size on the interior. The Purple Aces are 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 nonconference games and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games overall. Take the home team.
EZWINNERS
Missouri Tigers Pk
Auburn has been magical this season having escaped with wins that could have easily gone the other way and given them four or five losses on the season. Nobody has been within a touchdown of Missouri all season with the exception of the crazy 4th quarter comeback by South Carolina. Missouri just keep rolling along even with starting quarterback James Franklin sidelined for several games do to injury. Franklin is back and has plenty of weapons to attack the vulnerable Auburn secondary which has allowed over 1000 yards passing in their miracle wins over Georgia and Alabama. The key to slowing the Auburn offense is to contain their running game and force quarterback Nick Marshall to beat you with his arm. Missouri has a top five ranked rushing defense and they have the advantage of having just played Texas A&M and their playmaking quarterback Johnny Football. The Missouri defense did a great job against Manziel last week and they also contained another mobile quarterback in Mississippi's Bo Wallace in their win over the Rebels. I expect Missouri to do the same in this match up against Marshall. The Missouri secondary is an underrated unit and I don't see Marshall having a big day throwing the football. Play on Missouri.
Michigan State Spartans +5.5
This match up is another classic case of defense wins championships. Michigan State hangs their hat on the defensive side of the ball and has one of the best defenses in college football. The Buckeyes on the other had have a defense that has allowed 24 or more points in five of their wins this season and they were absolutely shredded by Michigan last week. The Buckeyes lost the captain of their defense safety Christian Bryant in the middle of the season. Since the loss of Bryant the play of this Ohio State defensive unit took a serious dive which has put a lot of pressure on the Ohio State offense to win shootouts like they did last week. I'm sure that Ohio State with quarterback Braxton Miller and running back Carlos Hyde will be able to run the ball better against Michigan State better than most teams have, but I don't think they will be able to do so consistently for the entire game to make up for the holes in their defense. The Spartans run a pro style offense that is very balanced and even though they don't have explosive offensive numbers I expect them to be able to control the time off possession and win this game. The BCS usually gets lucky and doesn't have a controversy about who's in the championship game and a loss here by Ohio State will bail them out once again. Take the points.
UNC Greensboro +27.5
I love this spot for UNC Greensboro. The Tar Heels have played to the level of their competition this year. North Carolina has beaten then #3 ranked Louisville and they are coming off of an upset win over #1 ranked Michigan State on the road but they have also lost games to Belmont and UAB. This is a huge flat spot for UNC as they come off of the huge upset road win to host this 4-4 UNC Greensboro Spartans team with a game against #3 ranked Kentucky coming up next. Greensboro is a pretty good shooting team and should be able to knock down enough shots from downtown to cover this number. Take the points.
DAVE COKIN
FRESNO STATE AT UTAH
PLAY: UTAH -10.5
One of the most important rules in handicapping is to not overreact to an injury. But when evidence is presented that the impact is really significant, it makes sense to try and capitalize on the injury.
That’s the case today as Fresno State heads into Salt Lake City to take on Utah. The Bulldogs looked like a team to keep an eye on at the end of last season. They showed quite a bit of improvement as the season progressed and the key guys were all going to be coming back.
Unfortunately for Fresno State, much has transpired between then and now. Kevin Olekaibe is playing his senior season at UNLV, and a couple of useful big guys off the bench got injured. But the biggest blow came a few games back when Tyler Johnson went down with a foot injury.
Johnson is tremendously important to this team. Sophomore transfer Cezar Guerrero has been terrific so far, but Johnson is the key to the team as far as I’m concerned. The Bulldogs are 2-1 since he went down. But they were basically blown out after grabbing a big early lead against Drake, and needed OT to slip past a couple of mediocre opponents.
Those aren’t good signs heading into Utah, and the fact Fresno is now basically a seven man unit doesn’t inspire confidence playing in altitude. I don’t like the Bulldogs here for all these reasons.
As for Utah, I’m impressed. Larry Krystkowiak has this program back on the rise to respectability. The Utes are off their first loss of the season, but they gave Boise State a huge battle before succumbing by just two points. Soph Jordan Loveridge and junior college transfer Delon Wright looks like a keeper.
I think the number is catching up to Utah and that their under the radar status is pretty much gone already. But this looks to me to be a good matchup for the Utes and I’m expecting them to deliver with a comfortable win today. I’ll look to lay the points this time with Utah.
Mid-Major Matt
Dartmouth at IPFW
Pick: IPFW -6.5
The Mastodons return home after a four game road trip to host Dartmouth on Saturday. IPFW is looking to snap a two game losing streak that started with a two point defeat by Illinois. Naturally, a hangover occurred at Miami Ohio where they lost by seven. This is a team that has been tested and had a five game win streak before the two losses. They have seven players who score eight points or more and are led by Luis Jacobo who puts up 13.3 points per game. Dartmouth is only 3-2 on the season and is coming off a loss to Northern Illinois last time out. Depending on where you looked they were a favorite in that one. Now they head on the road for their third straight which will be followed ironically by a game at Illinois on Tuesday. Alex Mitola leads the squad from the Ivy League with 13 points per contest. Last year IPFW won by four on the road at Dartmouth after nearly choking away a 13 point halftime lead. The Mastodons beat Dartmouth at home too back in 2011. We'll take IPFW to win this one.
Larry Ness
Kansas at Colorado
Prediction: Kansas
Kansas head coach coach Bill Self admits his young Jayhawks are being tested by a tough early season schedule. Kansas played a Nov 12th game in Chicago against Duke and subdued the Blue Devils, 94-83. The Jayhawks spent Thanksgiving weekend in the Bahamas (Battle 4 Atlantis), winning two of three (lost to Villanova), but overall, looked sluggish. The now-No. 6 Jayhawks (6-1) visit the high altitude of Boulder for a game against former Big 12 rival Colorado (now in the Pac 12) this afternoon, with a trip to Florida to face the No. 15 Gators coming next (Dec 10), before facing New Mexico in Kansas City on Dec 14.
"I don't know who did our scheduling. I don't really understand," Self said facetiously. "It's probably not the wisest thing to have done. But you know what? We'll come together. The Atlantis trip didn't serve its purpose for coming together, so hopefully we'll do a much better job in Boulder." Self is starting two freshman in guard Selden (9.4) and 6-8 swingman Wiggins (14.3-5.6) plus Black (4.0-3.1), is a Memphis transfer. Those three are joined by the 6-8 Ellis (15.1-6.6) plus a third guard in Tharpe (6-3-5.0 APG). Also making significant contributions is 7-0 freshman Embiid (9.1-7.0).
Tad Boyle has made plenty of ‘noise’ since taking over at Colorado, winning at least 21 games in each of his first three years (24, 24 & 21) plus taking the Buffs to the postseason in each of those three seasons. NONE of that had previously been accomplished in Colorado BKB history! The Buffaloes will have a hard time replacing the 6-7 Andre Roberson (10.9-11.2), who left early for the NBA, but Spencer Dinwiddie, a 6-6 junior guard (led team with 15.3 PPG last year), decided against leaving and will be back, joining Askia Booker (12.4) in the backcourt. The 6-10 Josh Scott (10.2-5.7) returns off an excellent freshman season to form the core of what will be another very good team in Boulder.
Colorado lost its season opener to Baylor but has since won EIGHT in a row! Dinwiddie (15.3-3.7-3.3) and Booker (11.4) form an outstanding backcourt. Scott (12.2-8.7) leads the way up front, getting help from 6-7 sophomore Xavier Johnson (9.1-4.9) and 6-9 freshman Wesley Gordon (7.6,-6.3). The Buffs are tough at home BUT, the Jayhawks last lost to the Buffaloes 60-59 back on Jan 22, 2003, entering this game on a 19-game winning streak over Colorado. I’m NOT about to step in front of that!
Tony Karpinski
Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
Play: Oklahoma State -10
Today’s free pick is Oklahoma State over Oklahoma, giving the points. Oklahoma can run the ball a lot behind their large line, who is good for 133 /game, and they have a great 3rd down team, that keeps drives going with patience and determination. The biggest problem for them here is, they can't stop teams when they get inside the 20, and this could be a serious issue. Going in to play Oklahoma State, who have won 7 straight, covering in 6 of those games. With a passing attack that is much better than Oklahoma’s. They can also cause turnovers with Shaun Lewis and Caleb Lavey roaming the field. They have a team that can stop the run, holding opponents to only 3.4 YPC on the season. The Cowboys are going to be looking to lock up the Big-12 title, and will. Oklahoma State is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games at home and cruise to a convincing win on Saturday.
Jeff Alexander
Dallas Mavericks +6
I like this rested Dallas team to keep this one closer than the oddsmakers think. The Mavs are 25-9 ATS in their last 34 road games and 18-6 ATS in road games when playing on 2 days' rest under coach Carlisle. Dallas is also a phenomenal 61-36 ATS as a road underdog of 6 points or less under Carlisle. The Mavericks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games versus a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600 and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings with Portland. The Mavs have won or lost be fewer than 6 points in each of their last 13 games with the Trail Blazers.
Doug Upstone
UCLA vs. Missouri
Play: Missouri -1
Two 8-0 teams hook up in Missouri Saturday afternoon and this figures to be a dandy. UCLA beat the Tigers last year in LA by three in OT and the Tigers will look to return the favor today. UCLA has been blistering from 3 point range at 43% on the season, but look for that to cool down a bit facing their first road game of the season and going up against a good Missouri defense. Take the home team in this virtual coin clip contest.