Tony George
Oregon -5½
The Ducks are on fire gents, and Dana Altman has them RED HOT at home. How about a 14-0 record at home and covering 14 out of their last 17 on their home floor, along with burning PAC 12 opponents to the tune of 16-5 ATS their last 21 games against conference foes.
On Super Bowl Sunday the Ducks face the Utes 2 weeks removed from a 18 point road win against Utah where the Ducks lit up the Utes for 77 while allowing just 59. Add in the fact Utah scores just 67 ppg on the road while Oregon puts up 79 ppg at home, and the Utes are just 5-6 ATS on the road and I sense a quack attack tonight in Eugene. All things considered the stats look pretty even and you can expect a higher scoring game than the first one and over 147 looks tasty, but I am not getting in front of the train that is Oregon at home, as I have homecourt worth a full 3 points in this game on my power ratings. Oregon is for real gents, lay the wood.
Mike Lundin
Los Angeles at Miami
Play: Under 196½
I think buckets will come at a premium for both teams when the Miami Heat host the Los Angeles Clippers on Super Bowl Sunday afternoon. The under is 16-9 in the Heat's 25 home games on the season and 5-0 in the Clippers last five on the road. The Heat have played solid defense in recent games coming off a pair of wins against Dallas (93-90) and Charlotte (98-95) as Hassan Whiteside has come off the bench in each of the two games, and he should be ready to get back into the starting lineup for this one. Afternoon games in the NBA have a tendency of being low-scoring affairs, and that should definitely be the case here just hours before the Super Bowl. We can also note that the under is 6-2 in the Clippers' last eight overall and 8-3 in the Heat's last 11.
Marc Lawrence
Clippers vs. Heat
Play: Heat -1
Edges - Heat: 6-1 SUATS last seven games; and 9-1 SU and 6-3-1 ATS home versus Western Conference foes this season. Clippers: 11-22-2 ATS as dogs after facing the Magic. With the Heat back to full health and playing their best ball of the season, we recommend a 1* play on Miami.
Will Rogers
Niagara +10
The Iona Gaels are coming off a blowout win at Canisius on Friday, and they will be a double digit road favorite at Niagara on Sunday. I took the Gaels as a four point favorite on Friday, but I think they are overvalued in this spot.
Here are my keys to the game:
1. Previous History - The Gaels have won six straight against the Purple Eagles, but Niagara has covered the spread in three of the last four meetings. Iona is just 4-10 ATS in it's last 14 overall.
2. Home Cookin' - The Purple Eagles don't score a lot of points, but they play pretty well defensively, especially at home. They have allowed opponents to average just 69 points on 40 percent shooting at home this season. They have lost each of their last three home games, failing to cover in all three. All three of those games were decided by less than 10 points.
3. X-Factor - The Gaels are 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 road games vs. a team with a losing home record, and they've failed to cover in seven of their last 10 versus conference rivals.
Brad Diamond
Utah vs. Oregon
Play: Utah +6
The Utes travel to Oregon in 18-point same season revenge after being smashed by the Ducks 77-59 back in January. And, although Oregon is on a five game win streak, believe they will have rabid unit taking their skilled shooting to the wire. The UNDERDOG has covered three straight in the series.
Frank Jordan
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Miami Heat
Play: Los Angeles Clippers +1.5
LA Clippers are going through issues with Blake Griffin and other employees, but the Clippers are playing well with wins in seven of their last 10 games as they sit at 33-17 in 4th seed in the West. Miami is 5th in the East with a 29-22 record as they have won their last two games and six of 10. Miami is 13-7 against the West and the Clippers are 16-5 against the East. The Clippers are 16-9 on road while Miami is 16-9 at home. Look for a great game between these start studded teams with the winner of the game going to the winner of the Dwyane Wade vs. Chris Paul match up and that will go to Paul the Clippers as they win by 4.
Power Sports
Miami-Florida vs. Georgia Tech
Pick: Georgia Tech
I actually just played Miami on Wednesday as they handled Notre Dame, 79-70, down in Coral Gables. That win now looks more impressive considering what the Fighting Irish just did yday to North Carolina. But there's no reason to stay loyal to a team, particularly when they're about to hit the road. Go against "The U" here.
The opponent Sunday is Georgia Tech and the Yellow Jackets have admittedly had a rough "go of it" in the ACC this season. But they've played a tough schedule and four of the seven conference losses have been by five points or less. None were by double digits. Tuesday saw the Ramblin' Wreck lose here at home to Duke, 80-71, as four-point underdogs. Three-point shooting continues to hurt Georgia Tech, especially against Duke, who went 11 of 23 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets shot just 2 of 19 from distance in the loss.
Regression is likely in store Sunday for Miami as they shot nearly 57 percent overall against Notre Dame. This team has lost three of its past four road games. I've actually been on the right side of their last two games, first going agianst them when they visited Raleigh and lost to North Carolina State, 85-69 as five-point favorites. The 'Canes lone ACC road win came at the expense of last place Boston College and even then they failed to cover. My recommendation here is to take the points.
Jesse Schule
Denver scores first
Having a look at the available props for this year's big game, I have isolated a half a dozen that I feel are worthwhile investing in. I've decided to give out three of them as free picks, while I also have a variety of player props listed for sale.
Let's start with the National Anthem, which will be performed by Lady Gaga. The over/under is 134.5 seconds, with the price on the over -150. Admittedly I am not an expert on national anthem performances, but I did do a little investigating, and it sure seems that most performances last in the neighborhood of two minutes. Last year Idina Menzel's performance lasted roughly 125 seconds. In 2014 Renee Fleming's performance last 122 seconds. Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson have all completed the anthem in less than 130 seconds in recent Super Bowls. Lady Gaga took over three minutes to perform a rather casual version of the anthem at New York City's Gay Pride Parade in 2013, but I would be willing to bet on a more conservative, and shorter performance here at Super Bowl 50.
Every year the President of the United States is asked to pick the Super Bowl winner, and Barrack Obama has yet to reveal his pick. I think it's almost a forgone conclusion that he's going to be picking the Panthers. It would be very difficult for him not to, when you consider that they are a heavy favorite, with an MVP quarterback who happens to be incredibly popular. This bet looks like easy money.
Now since the Panthers are the favorite, you can get Denver at +180 to score first. I like this bet because Denver's defense is good enough to force a punt if Carolina wins the toss, and their offense looked particularly sharp on the opening drive in the AFC championship game. Getting such a good payout on the underdog to open the scoring looks well worth the gamble.
Jim Feist
Denver Nuggets at New York Knicks
Pick: New York Knicks
Can't imagine Denver being into this one, a bad defensive team a long way from home. It's the start of a four-game trip and their 5th road game over the last 7 contests. The Denver defense is No. 22 in field goal shooting, plus No. 23 in points allowed. The Knicks have had a tough schedule of late and are home, hungry for a win. Kristaps Porzingis is a force, off a game where he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks. The defense is No. 11 in field goal shooting and No. 13 in points allowed.
Jamie Michaels
Panthers v Broncos
Play: Over 44
Well, Super Bowl 50 is finally upon us and in spite of the 2 high-profile QBs in this game, a LOT has been said about the elite defensive matchup, and rightly so. Both teams held their opponents to under 20 points per game. Both rank in the top 8 in 1st downs allowed. Both fall in the top 10 in sacks percentage. Both teams rank in the top 6 in total yards allowed. Denver ranks 1st in rushing yards allowed while the Panthers sit at #4. Denver is 3rd in passing yards allowed, while Carolina ranks 1st in takeaways. On paper, this game shouldn’t get above 40. BUT we do have 2 of the league’s most dynamic QBs in Cam Newton and Peyton Manning. Cam has done an incredible job this year of staying in the pocket and finding his open receivers. He has hit TE Greg Olson 89 times for 1294 yards while the Broncos’ Demarius Thomas has been targeted 192 times for 1356 yards ranking 5th overall with 111 receptions. I don’t know that we see a lot of Thomas in this game, but let’s not forget about TE Owen Daniels who has become a recent favorite target for Manning. Both QBs claim to be in great form physically and mentally and are emotional prepared for this game. But even should nerves get the better of either of these 2 at some point, these elite defensive units should be good for several takeaways and perhaps even a Manning interception (he had 17 on the year) for a pick-6, right in line with the Panthers 6 for the season. If both teams play a clean game, turnover-free game, we will see a score along the lines of 20-17, but I expect the D’s to step it up a notch for this game and at the very least get some better field position for their offense, particularly the Panthers offense who is an incredible 70% in red zone scoring percentage! And we can never rule out a sack/fumble/recovery/TD on Sunday either. This will be an exciting game to watch and I think we see the defensive efforts for both teams create more scoring opportunities for their respective offenses.
James Manos
Panthers vs. Broncos
Play: Broncos +5.5
This wager as much as belief in a low scoring game as an affirmation of the side. Simply no way that the Broncos can win this game without controlling pace of play. True that Peyton will be limited but the NFL's #1 defense is 9-2 SU and ATS in the Superbowl and the Broncos enter with the league's best stop unit.
Wunderdog
Atlanta @ Orlando
Pick: Under 203
The Orlando Magic is in a free fall, losers of 17 of their last 20 games. It is clear to see why as this team has been brutally bad offensively, generating 87.7 points per game in their last 20 games. Atlanta, just less than three weeks ago, held the Magic to an ugly 34.5% shooting and just 6-22 from deep. The Hawks are allowing less than 100 points a game and have already shutdown this Orlando offense in dramatic fashion, and this certainly doesn't look like the coming out party spot for a struggling Orlando offense that has shot 42% or less in half their most recent 18 games. This game fits a 269-166 situation on the low side of the total.
Harry Bondi
ORLANDO (+2.5) over Atlanta
In the first game of a home-and-home series, we'll grab the struggling Magic, who despite losing three of their last four straight up have managed to cover three of those games. In fact, during Orlando's eight-game losing streak in mid-January only one of the losses was by double-digits, which means this is a team that is hanging tough and hasn't played as bad as its record indicates. Take the under-valued home dog in a double-revenge situation.
OC Dooley
Magic +3.5
At most offshore locations Atlanta opened as a 2-and-a-half point road favorite but that figure has since jumped up a full point to account for Orlando's disaster (2-15 record) ever since the calendar turned to 2016. However after failing to cover the spread 12 times in a dreadful fourteen game stretch Orlando enters this afternoon riding a miniature 3-1 ATS run. In this "series" 2 of the most recent 3 clashes played in Orlando have been close affairs decided by three-or-less points on the scoreboard. In a shocking season-long statistic immediately after a game where they were cast as a home underdog Orlando has gone a dazzling 9-1 ATS in the ensuing contest
Craig Davis
It's the Iowa Hawkeyes minus the points over the Illinois Fightin' Illini'. At the time of this writing, the Hawkeyes are giving around 11 points in Vegas and offshore.
Simply put, the Illini' stink. They aren't a good basketball team and just recently had to go to overtime to beat the lowly Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Iowa is a very good basketball team on the verge of being the top-rated team in the Big 10 with a win today. They've won four of their last five games in this series and can improve to 10-1 in conference play for the first time since the 1981-82 season.
Folks, these are two teams heading in opposite directions, and while this could be considered a look-ahead spot for the Hawks, I think they'll take care of business today so they can get back to their hotel room to watch the big game in the NFL.
Take the Hawkeyes minus the points as your winning free play of the day.
2* IOWA