Larry Ness
Late Breaking Play
No. 13 Villanova (11-1) will travel to Marquette on Thursday in its Big East opener but first must wrap up its annual series of games vs its "Big Five" rivals. The Wildcats are looking to sweep all four games vs city rivals for the third time in four seasons. The Wildcats have already beaten Penn (69-47), St Joe's (59-56) and LaSalle (70-59) and tonight take on the Temple Owls. The Owls upset then-No. 8 Tennessee 88-72 back on Dec 13, as 6-6 senior Dionte Christmas (20.8-6.4) scored 35 points. However, the Owls have dropped both games since, falling 71-59 at Kansas on Dec 20 and losing 76-71 last Monday at Long Beach State. The Kansas loss is no big deal but the loss at Long Beach St should concern coach Fran Dunphy. Dunphy led the Owls to four straight wins to end the regular season last year (his 2nd at Temple) and then led Temple to the A-10 tourney title with three more wins, beating St Joe's in the championship game. A 72-61 first round NCAA loss to Michigan St didn't put damper on a very good season for the Owls. The team's 5-5 start is a disappointment but that could all change with a win over 'Nova. I'm not quite sure how good Villanova is? The Wildcats are 11-1 , losing only to Texas but the Wildcats sure looked outclassed vs the Longhorns (lost 67-58 at Madison Square Garden). The 6-8 Cunningham (17.3-7.8) is joined in the frontcourt by 6-8 sophomore Pena (7.5-5.9) and senior swingman Anderson (4.6-3.8). Reynolds (14.7-4.5 APG) and Stokes (12.2) are the starting backcourt, with Fisher (8.9) and Redding (6.8-4.6) getting significant minutes. The 6-7 Clark (4.8-3.) is about the only other real contributor. Christmas is the 'key' for Temple and he's joined on the perimeter by Brooks (12.5), Inge (8.50)and freshman Moore (5.8). The 7-0 Olmos (12.0-3.5) is scoring more than double what he averaged LY (5.8) and the 6-9 Allen (9..6-8.0) has shown solid improvement from his freshman season. Villanova had seven days off for exams prior to its 78-68 win over Navy on Dec 22 and was a "step slow" on defense all game, allowing 14 three-pointers. Villanova is facing another lay-off here (six days) since the Navy game and the Wildcats are hoping they won't have the same troubles here (I'm hoping they will). The Wildcats won 101-93 at Temple last December, as Christmas had 20 points but shot just 5-of-15. It marked Villanova's third straight win in the series, meaning this is the senior's last chance to get a win over the Wildcats. Villanova struggled vs 5-6 St Joe's and didn't pull away from 6-5 LaSalle until late, so despite the fact that they've won 22 straight here at The Pavilion, I expect this one to be close. Fran Dunphy's Owls were able to beat Tennessee (albeit at home) and with a big game from Christmas (it IS that time of year!), they are surely capable of taking this one to wire.
Late Breaking Play on Temple
Good afternoon from St. Louis everyone....so I guess the question I have for everyone is their opinion in the chances of Missouri covering the spread against Northwestern
Good afternoon from St. Louis everyone....so I guess the question I have for everyone is their opinion in the chances of Missouri covering the spread against Northwestern
I like Missouri myself and gonna wait to see if I can find a better number than -12½
VictoriousPlay
3* Washington Under 88.5
2* Denver @ Atlanta Under 200
2* Philadelphia @ Utah - Utah -6.5
Seabass
20* Villanova, GTown, Cincy
Blade what are your thoughts on the over/under on the MIZZOU game...66.5 seems like a lot of points to me...I have not watched Northwestern play all year
Wunderdog
C. Michigan at Kentucky
3 units C. Michigan +21.5
This line is big thanks to Central Michigan having lost six of their last seven and all but one road game this season. But can the Wildcats cover this huge number? Consider that their big wins this season have come against very weak competition. They have played games vs. Delaware State, Longwood, Lamar, Appalachian State, Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic this season, padding their numbers. They were 24 point favorites vs. Fla Atlantic and won by just 7 points last game. I think this number is too large and will back the road team here.
Niagara vs. Murray State
3 units OVER 139
After winning five straight to start the season, Murray State has lost four of five. The last time they saw action they were embarrassed, putting up just 41 points. I like that to provide motivation for them to bring their A game offensively here. They shot 27.7% from the field in that game and went 0-for-15 from beyond the arc. The focus for this team since that game has to have been on offense and teams rarely put up two awful performances like that in a row. Prior to that game, the Racers scored 78, 64, 64 and 78 in their prior four games while giving up 76, 73, 75 and 79. Niagara can score as they average 77 points per game. The thing that can keep this one UNDER is another really bad performance by Murray's offense and I don't expect that. I like this game to go OVER.
Long Beach State at Oregon
4 units Long Beach State +9.5
Oregon is coming off an overtime win and can't be too excited to face LBS here as they look ahead to conference play on deck. Both of these teams have identical records and similar scoring profiles, so why is this line so big? Yes, it's a home game for Oregon, but this is too many points, especially considering that the Ducks have the lesser defense on the court tonight. I like LBS to keep this game close.
James Madison vs. U T E P
3 units UNDER 149
James Madison has been very consistent this season, averaging around 140 points per game whether it be on the road, at home, early or recent play. We know what we get from this team. UTEP has been a scoring machine at home (82.5 ppg) but on the road their average drops by a full 10 points. This is the highest total seen in a James Madison game all season and despite that they have gone UNDER in every game but two thus far. I like this one to go UNDER.
Denver at Atlanta
Pick: 3 units Atlanta -5
Pick: 2 units UNDER 200
The fact that they are under the radar thanks to th Celtics, Cavs and Magic, the Hawks are undervalued, especially at home. Atlanta is 13-2 at home and Denver is 9-7 on the road. Five points here simply is not enough. Right now the Hawks are clicking offensively as they have averaged 103 ppg over their last five. Denver's defense is not playing well right now (102 per game allowed over their last five). I like the Hawks to get the win and cover. I also like this game to go UNDER. Atlanta wil bring defensive intensity to this one, as they have all season. They are holding opponents to 93.1 per game at home and holding foes to 5 points under their average all season. If they do that to Denver, the Nuggets will score in the mid 90s here. And Atlanta should get around 100. Take the Hawks and the UNDER.
Washington at Houston
Pick: 4 units OVER 189.5
The Wizards are 1-11 on the road this season and the reason is not offense but defense. They are giving up 101 per game away from home. Houston scores over 100 at home. So, the Rockets should easily get to triple figures here and the Wizards should be able to get over 90. The recent play of Houston underscores this as their last five games have averaged 9 points per game higher than their season average and they have gone 4-1 OVER as a result. The Rockets are coming off a home game and they are 11-1 OVER in that situation this season.
Guaranteed Sports Pick
Bulls/Nets over 209.5
DAVE MALINSKY
5* Weber State +19.5
4* Cincy/Memphis Under 136
Scott Rickenbach
NJ NETS
Did anybody see Indian Cowboy. He had a college POD going at 6Pm?
RAS
Loyola Maryland/North Carolina State Over 143 1 UNIT
Ball State/UC Santa Barbara Over 121 1 UNIT
Billy Coleman
NBA 4* Wash
4* Portland st
4* UTEP
3* G Town
3* Davidson
Blade what are your thoughts on the over/under on the MIZZOU game...66.5 seems like a lot of points to me...I have not watched Northwestern play all year
I like the fav and over in this game.
Blade what are your thoughts on the over/under on the MIZZOU game...66.5 seems like a lot of points to me...I have not watched Northwestern play all year
I like the under and also see John Ryan has a nice 10* for the under also.