John Ryan
Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals
Play: Boston Bruins
5* graded play on Boston as they take on Washington in NHL action set to start at Our proprietary sports handicapping model and simulator shows a high probability that Boston will win this game. Supporting this graded play is a system that has produced a record of 24-9 making 25.1 units since 1997. Play on road teams against the money line after 2 straight wins by 2 goals or more and now facing an opponent after scoring 5 goals or more in 2 straight games. Boston is a rock solid 23-11 against the money line (+12.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons; 21-4 against the money line (+16.9 Units) off a win by 2 goals or more over a division rival over the last 3 seasons. Take the Bruins.
Karl Garrett
Buffalo at OHIO UNIVERSITY (-16)
Your free play is on the MAC game, as the G-Man expects Ohio U to trounce Buffalo at Peden Stadium tonight.
The Bobcats have won their last 5 games, and they are on a 5-1 spread run their last 6 games. Frank Solich's team has also been able to go 3-1 their last 4 tries when laying 10-points or more.
Buffalo on the other hand struggles to get the ball in the end-zone, and in 5 of their 8 games this year have been held to 2 TD's or less.
The Bulls are also 1-6 against the spread in lined games this year.
G-Man is smelling a possible shut out tonight.
Lay the chalk with the Bobcats in their last regular season home game to cover this impost.
5♦ OHIO UNIVERSITY
Scott Delaney
Georgia Tech (+13) at VIRGINIA TECH
Inclement weather and a rivalry clash ... I'll play the underdog tonight in this one.
Why?
Well, I suspect the Yellow Jackets are going to blitz tonight, forcing Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor to throw the ball, or have a little apprehension when dropping back under pressure.
Georgia Tech, on the other hand, isn't a passing team - not with the 119th passing offense in the nation. Nope, the Jackets have the No. 1 rushing game in the country. And that could spell trouble with the Hokies worried about how they're going to move the ball.
Both teams have to play in the rain. And I think the messy weather makes this one closer than the near two-touchdown point spread. I suspect Virginia Tech is going to get the win, but it's not going to be easy - or pretty. Thus, take the points in this one.
2♦ GEORGIA TECH
Michael Cannon
Georgia Tech at VIRGINIA TECH (-13)
For tonight’s freebie lay the points with Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets just don’t have the same mojo as last season when they won the ACC. They’ve been knocked off by lesser foes and humiliated at home by some of the better schools like NC State.
Now they travel to Blacksburg where the Hokies have been on a tear for the last month and a half.
Virginia Tech is on a 6-0 SUATS run since dropping its first two games of the season, including a humiliating loss to I-AA James Madison in Week 2.
But the Hokies have turned it around and are now one of the most balanced teams in the country. They average over 400 yards of offense per game, 215 ypg on the ground and 210 ypg through the air. Their defense has speed all over and Frank Beamer has always been known for stellar special teams play.
Beamer is also cash money in a revenge spot, going 48-19-2 ATS in his career. You’ll recall Georgia Tech upset Virginia Tech 28-23 last year.
Take the Hokies as the big home chalk for the win and cover.
3♦ VIRGINIA TECH
Joel Tyson
Georgia Tech at VIRGINIA TECH (-13)
The defending ACC champion Yellow Jackets have been a little inconsistent this year, and their 27-13 loss at Clemson their last time out has me thinking they will be on the short side again by double-digits tonight.
G-Tech is just 1-3 against the spread on the road this year, and their lack of a passing game means Bud Foster's job just got a little easier tonight.
Virginia Tech has reeled off 6 straight wins and covers since losing their first 2 games of the season, and the Techsters are in revenge mode after dropping a close one in Atlanta last season.
With a chance to impress the pollsters, look for the Hokies to run it up tonight.
2♦ VIRIGINIA TECH
Bobby Maxwell,
New York at CHICAGO (-7)
Improved my FREE run to 10-3 with my last 13 selections after Wednesday's winner on the Mavericks as they went to Denver and scored the win and cover. Tonight, I'm on the NBA again with a comp play on the Bulls, laying the points at home against the Knicks.
For my comp selection, Chicago has not been a friendly place for the Knicks to visit in recent years and things aren’t going to get any better for them in this stop. Go ahead and lay the points with the Bulls as they’ll win this one by double-digits with no problem.
The Bulls have taken 16 of the previous 18 meetings in Chicago and four straight. Back in February, Chicago put up a 33-point win on the Knicks, winning 118-85 as 6 ½-point favorites. The very next night back in New York, the Bulls won 115-109, still cashing as a two-point road ‘dog.
After opening the season with a road loss in Oklahoma City, Chicago has come home and won two in a row, beating and cashing against both Detroit on Saturday and Portland on Monday. Derrick Rose is having a great start to the season, averaging 28 points a game and nine assists and he had 39 points in the victory over Detroit while teammate Luol Deng had a career-high 40 points on Monday in the win over the Blazers.
The Knicks are still getting used to each other as there are 10 new players on this year’s roster. Amare Stoudemire was brought in to take care of the scoring and rebounding, but he’s gotten to the 20-point mark just once in their first three games.
I think New York has potential, I just believe this is a horrible matchup for them. Chicago is much more balanced and can score from either the transition game or the half-court setup. The Bulls are on positive ATS runs of 5-0 as a chalk, 4-1 at home, 8-3 overall and 26-11 after a spread-cover.
Play the favorite tonight as Chicago wins this one big. Play the Bulls.
2♦ CHICAGO
Stephen Nover
New York at CHICAGO (-7)
I'm making the transition into basketball after finishing the baseball season with an 80-52-2 run on my free selections. There's only two NBA games on Thursday, but I'll make the Bulls a free play against the Knicks.
The Knicks are breaking in 10 new players. Right now they are going through a major transition phase. Their big off-season signing was Amare Stoudamire. But he's learning life without Steve Nash isn't that easy. Only once in three games has he broken the 20-point barrier.
The Knicks' schedule has been thrown out of whack. They were supposed to host Orlando on Tuesday, but that game was postponed after debris fell into the arena during an overnight cleaning of asbestos-related materials. Now the Knicks have to travel to Chicago before immediately flying back to New York to host Washington on Friday night.
The Bulls are a serious contender to win the Central Division. Derrick Rose is the second-leading scorer in the NBA. Chicago is playing better defense, too, under new coach Tom Thibodeau, who was the Celtics' defensive guru when he was their assistant.
Thibodeau knows the Knicks well having seen them multiple times when he was at Boston.
The Knicks have a terrible history when playing at the United Center having lost in Chicago 16 of the past 18 times.
3♦ CHICAGO
Chris Jordan
New York at CHICAGO (-7)
Chicago catches the Knicks at the right time, as they come into the Windy City after a canceled game on Tuesday night. That extra day off didn't do them any favors, even though the Magic likely would have won big anyway.
But at least they would have kept the blood flowing for a Chicago team that has won two straight, both at home, by 10 and 12 points.
The well-rested Bulls have won four of five straight against the Knicks, while Chicago is on a 3-1 ATS run versus New York.
Checking the betting numbers, the Bulls come into this rivalry clash on winning ATS runs of 5-0 as the installed chalk, 7-1 versus the Atlantic Division, 4-1 at home and versus the Eastern Conference and 8-3 overall.
Lay the chalk with the Bulls tonight.
2♦ CHICAGO
Derek Mancini,
Oklahoma City at PORTLAND (-5)
No question the Thunder have gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season, including outright losses in their last two (vs Jazz, and at Clippers). They're also 1-3 ATS, which says a lot because oddsmakers knew the public would
be looking to bet the Thunder early and often this season. More of the same tonight, as bettors believe they're getting a bargain in the Thunder's first game as a dog this season... Think again, as the oddsmakers know exactly what they're doing.
Portland has always been tough at the Rose Garden, anyone who doesn't know that, doesn't know the NBA. After starting the season with a huge win over Phoenix, the Blazers went on the road for 4 straight games (3-1 SU and
2-1-1 ATS). They finally get back to the friendly confines of home tonight, and I expect we'll see a strong response in what is a early benchmark game for Portland. The Blazers won and covered 3 of 4 meetings last season, and the way both teams are playing right now, you can make it 4 of 5 after tonight.
Can't like the fact the Thunder are in the second game of a back-to-back, even early on, it's never a good thing. Also, besides being better rested, we saw one of the strengths of this Portland team in their 14-point win over the Bucks two days ago... Despite their starters struggling, they were able to win thanks to some rock-solid play from their bench, incl. 18 from Mathews and double digits from both Cunningham and Armon Johnson. While the Thunder may have the more talented team, they just aren't clicking yet, and the Blazers will take full advantage of that tonight. Take Portland over Oklahoma City Thursday.
2♦ PORTLAND
Chuck O'Brien
Oklahoma City (+5) at PORTLAND
I’ve hit my last two in a row after the Jazz rolled easily last night, so let’s head back to the NBA on Thursday and take the Thunder as a small road underdog at Portland.
The Trail Blazers took three of four from Oklahoma City last year, but the teams split their two meetings in Oregon with the Thunder winning 89-77 as a 1½-point road favorite and Portland prevailing 103-95 as a 1½-point home favorite in the next-to-last game of the regular season. In fact, the visitor ended up 3-1 SU and ATS last season.
What has me siding with Oklahoma City tonight is the fact that the Blazers are in a very tough scheduling spot. They’re coming off a four-game, eight-day trip that took them from Los Angeles to New York to Chicago to Milwaukee. Indeed, it was a successful journey, as Portland won three of the four contests (2-1-1 ATS), but tonight marks their sixth game in a sixth different city in nine days. That’s pretty grueling, especially this early in the season. To my point: Portland is 1-4 ATS in its last five home games following a road trip of seven or more days.
Yes, Oklahoma City is in its first back-to-back spot of the season, coming off Wednesday’s stunning blowout loss at the Clippers. However, the Thunder have a young, athletic roster that can tolerate back-to-backs better than a lot of teams. Also, after consecutive double-digit losses to the Jazz and Clippers, you know Kevin Durant and his troops will be determined as hell not to lose a third in a row, something that hasn’t happened since the end of January.
One last thing: While the Blazers have failed to cover in four of their last five in the marquee Thursday night spotlight, Oklahoma City went 6-1 ATS in its last seven Thursday contests last year.
4♦ OKLAHOMA CITY
O.C. Dooley
Georgia Tech / Virginia Tech Under 56.5
One of the keys to this total surrounds the weather forecast which calls for WINDY conditions with gusts from 13-18 miles per hour. Temperatures will be falling into the 30's tonight at Virginia Tech and light showers could be a factor early, but what causes lower scoring football games is when windy conditions make it difficult to pass the football and that is certainly possible according to the forecast. Another critical factor goes way back to the spring when Virginia Tech spent 3 full days at Iowa learning how the Hawkeyes held the "triple option" attack of Georgia Tech to only 9 different first-downs in the most recent BCS Orange Bowl classic. Basically tonight marks the first time that Virginia Tech has appeared on an ESPN national telecast since the infamous opening week primetime setback against Boise State. In that contest the Hokies defense struggled in part because they were just breaking in SEVEN new starters. To put this in proper perspective in the 15 long years where Bud Foster has been the Virginia Tech defensive coordinator, he never has a stop-unit "greener" and inexperienced like the current 2010 unit which certainly has started to gel during the past month. Odds are strong that the Hokies offense will at least be slowed down tonight as they are facing a "3-4" defensive allignment for the first time all season. Georgia Tech is operating with first-year defensive coordinator Al Groh who used to be the head coach at Virginia. One can argue that Groh lacks the proper personnel to operate the current 3-4 allignment, but the good news is that the Yellow Jackets are coming off a much needed "bye" week where they have had the opportunity to "fine tune" the schemes that are brand new. For the Yellow Jackets to have a real shot at being competitive tonight, they must have a huge game defensively since on the other side of the football the offense is struggling. It was one year ago when Georgia Tech was one of the best nationally in "third down" conversion rate (52%) but that has all changed in 2010 in part due to a non-existant passing attack. Even though Georgia Tech thrives on the "triple option", they need to keep opposing defenses honest by passing the football, but the problem is they Yellow Jackets are converting just 38% of their attempts. After losing a key player to the first-round of this year's NFL draft, Georgia Tech has essentially used a wide receiver "by committee" setup which obviously is not working. Turning to the database I see that in the past three years the Virginia Tech Hokies are 6-0 UNDER/HOME in the "second half" of the season. In addition the Hokies are 11-2 UNDER/HOME after leading their prior game by at least 24 points at halftime. Admittedly we have seen 3 different very high scoring football games this week in primetime, but all that has done is help inflate this particular total