Scott Spreitzer
Indiana at Notre Dame
Prediction: Notre Dame
New Indiana coach Tom Crean is a great teacher, but he's not a miracle worker. When Kelvin Sampson got caught cheating (allegedly) he left the Hoosier program with NO talent whatsoever. The Hoosiers have just ONE returning guard from a season ago, and Brett Finklemeier is a walk-on who averaged less than two minutes per game. You get the picture. I'll give Indiana credit for a 2-0 start, but it must be noted the wins came against Northwestern State and IUPUI. Making matters worse tonight, starting freshman guard Verdell Jones sprained his ankle in the three point win over IUPUI and he is listed as questionable this afternoon. Now, whether he plays or not doesn't really matter in the final scheme of things, but the point is, this team has nothing to offer against a talented top-10 program like Notre Dame. Four of Mike Brey's starters are back from last season. It's a group that can beat you inside or out. And, of course, they're led by Luke Harangody, who could be in for a career day in this one. It's going to be a long season for Crean...and a wide-margin win today for Notre Dame. I'm laying the points with the Irish.
Carlo Campanella
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints
Monday Night Football features two NFC teams struggling to stay in the Playoff picture as both teams are in must win situations. Both of these squads have explosive offenses, with the Packers averaging 27.4 points per game and host New Orleans putting up 26.6 points per game. The Oddsmakers have taken this into account and opened the MNF Total at 53 points, but it was quicky bet down to 52, while even dipping to 51 as some sportsbooks. Even with that early money, the number is still in the 50s and high enough for us to look "Under" knowing that the Saints host this off a 2 game road trip and we find them going "Under" in 23 of 33 games following back-to-back road battles. With the pressure to get into Postseason play in front of a National television audience, expect this not to be the shootout everyone expects it to be.
10* Play On Under
Timothy Black
Green Bay Packers vs. New Orleans Saints
Play Over 50½
Two great passing teams on the fast track of the dome. Reggie Bush is back in action for the Saints where he will account for big plays on offense and special teams. Two defenses that are just good enough to keep their offense in the game will lead to a high scoring, close finish.
Sportsbettingstats
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints
Last week the Packers crushed the Bears 37-3 while the Saints beat the Chiefs 30-20. This game is as close to must win as it gets tonight in the Big Easy between these 2 NFC teams. The Packers are still in the NFC North race while the Saints will be battling for the rest of the season for the Wild Card. This game may be more important to the Saints, as if they lose it will be a major uphill battle to make the post season. The Saints are led by MVP candidate QB Drew Brees (3251 yds 18 TD 11 TD) and his main targets are Lance Moore (52 rec 609 yds 5 TD) and Devery Henderson 22 rec 554 yds 3 TD). The Saints rushing attack is led by the duo of Deuce McAllister (299 yds 3 TD) and the finally healthy Reggie Bush (294 yds 2 TD). The Packers are led by QB Aaron Rodgers (2351 yds 15 TD 6 INT) and his main targets are Greg Jennings (48 rec 865 yds 5 TD) and Donald Driver (45 rec 472 yds 3 TD). The Packers rushing attack is led by Ryan Grant (770 yds 3 TD).
Staff Pick: The Saints have one of the best offenses in the league, ranking 1st in the league, but the key to this game may be if they can play some defense. Their D ranks 24th in the league and they are especially weak at stopping the pass. The Packers D is ranked a respectable 16th, but they simply cannot stop the run. Their secondary is very good and they have 16 interceptions and have returned 6 of those for TD's. If Bush and McAllister can have a big game the Saints will be sitting pretty, as it will force the Packers to not only focus on the pass and it will keep the legit Green Bay D on the sidelines. The Saints have not been at home in the past few games and they may light up the scoreboard tonight in front of their home crowd. This game may become a shootout and the Saints are better in those types of games. Another key in this game may be turnovers, as the team that cannot turn the ball over and move the chains will be successful. If Brees does not throw INT's they will be hard to stop. Look for Brees to put on a show tonight, as the Saints will win this high scoring game and stay in the playoff picture.
Saints 42 Packers 35
Vegas Experts
Oregon at Alabama
Neither team has played anyone of note and in fact both squads already have a loss to a non-lined team on its resume. That's never a good sign, but we'll side with Bama here noting Oregon also barely beat Northern Colorado (as a 17.5-point favorite!). It's clear that the public nor the oddsmakers are aware how bad this Ducks team is. They are playing six freshman and lost 60% of their scoring from last year, including all five starters. Will be a long year for Ernie Kent up in Eugene.
Play on: Alabama
LT Profits
Phoenix Coyotes +135
The Phoenix Coyotes won their only trip to Madison Square Garden vs. the New York Rangers at a huge price last season, and although this price is much smaller, we ate looking for yet another upset.
Now the Rangers are a nice 14-7-2 overall, but their success has been entirely due to great defense and the goaltending of Henrik Lundqyist. Now that is certainly not a bad thing, but the Rangers could be in trouble vs. the more wide-open Western Conference teams, as the Blueshirts are only averaging 2.21 goals per game offensively here at home.
The Coyotes jumped off to a big lead here last year and the Rangers were unable to come back in a 5-1 Phoenix victory. Now granted, Phoenix is not your prototypical West team as they too have struggled offensively. However, they may be catching the Rangers at the perfect time, as the New Yorkers have uncharacteristically yielded 10 goals in their last two games.
The Rangers have lost at home recently to two other West clubs in the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers, and we look for the Coyotes to make it a hat trick here.
Pick: Coyotes +135
Brian Hansen
St. Josephs at Texas
Prediction: Texas
Junior center Dexter Pittman looks to continue his fast start to the season Monday when the Longhorns open the Maui Invitational with a first-round game against Saint Joseph's. Pittman has totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns (2-0) this season. He made his second career start Wednesday and had 10 points and six boards in a 76-51 win over Tulane; look for another big effort tonight. Saint Joseph's (1-1) has been idle since losing 73-69 in overtime at Holy Cross on Nov. 16th and are a horrible 17-22 ATS over the last 3 years when playing against a team with a winning record! Look for TEXAS to improve to 2-0 ATS as a favorite this season!
MTi Sports
Sacramento Kings at Portland Trail Blazers
Prediction: Sacramento Kings
The Kings are 8-0 ATS (10.4 ppg) since April 15, 2006 as a dog after a double digit loss in which their opponent shot at least ten three-pointers and made at least half of them. The Trailblazers are 2-17 ATS at home after playing the Suns and 0-9 ATS (-7.4 ppg) as a favorite with at least one day of rest after a loss in which they committed fewer than ten turnovers. Consider grabbing the big number.
John Ryan
Detroit Red Wings at Vancouver Canucks
Prediction: Vancouver Canucks
Ai Simulator 3* graded play on Vancouver (NHL) Supporting this graded play is a system that has gone 41-25 making 25.1 units since 1996 with the average play a +122.2 dog. Play against road favorites against the money line off a road win by 2 goals or more in November games. Vancouver off to a fast start this season and are in position for a solid home win against one of the elite teams in the NHL. Note that Vancouver is 8-2 against the money line (+8.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season. Detroit is also playing their third straight road game placing them into a difficult situation of 140-95 against the money line, but losing -47.4 units. Vancouver has a strong offense that is not relying on the power play. They have scored 66 goals in 21 games and 17 goals in their last 5 games. They are only converting 16.7% of their PP opportunities, but they have had more than twice as many PP than opponents. Vancouver has allowed a PP conversion percentage of just 11.9 on only 42 chances for 5 goals. Detroits PP is working at a very high level converting 33% of their 81 opportunities, but Vancouver has the PP killing unit that matches up very well against a road weary Detroit team. Moreover, Detroit has allowed opponents to convert PP opportunities at a poor 22.2% of the time. Take Vancouver.
WUNDERDOG
Green Bay at New Orleans
Pick: UNDER 51
This is a must-win for both teams as each sit at 5-5. With the tight wild-card races this year, a loss will likely deal the death blow to the playoff hopes of the loser. The New Orleans offense has been the best in the NFL, led by Drew Brees. But the Packers' vulnerability has been to the run, not the pass. Green Bay is in fact great vs. the pass, allowing just 176 passing yards per game. And, they have intercepted 16 passes already on the season. These teams know what's on the line here and I expect the intensity to be very high - almost playoff like (as this is essentially an elimination game). Those types of games are usually lower scoring than expected. What do you think these head coaches focused on this week? With each offense averaging 27 ppg, it was not there. With a very important must-win game coming up, they were very likely focusing on their area of perceived weakness - defense. But are these defenses really that bad? New Orleans has been decent defensively at home this season, holding foes to 17.5 points per game. The Packers have quietly built a very sold defense, holding their last five opponents to an average of just 16.2 points per game. Last game they held Chicago to 234 total yards and 3 points. This total is set too lofty thanks to the sexy offenses and high-profile quarterbacks. But that's only part of the story. This situation calls for the UNDER.
Tom Freese
Sacramento at Portland
Portland is 23-8 UNDER when the Total is 200 or higher and they are 37-18 UNDER vs. an opponent that scored 100 or more points in their last game. The Trailblazers are 41-20 UNDER vs. Western Conference foes. Sacramento is 5-2 UNDER their last 7 meetings with the Blazers and they are 34-17 UNDER after a game where both teams scored 100 or more points. The Kings are 20-8 OVER off a double digit loss in their last game. PLAY ON 'UNDER
Lenny Del Genio
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints
Prediction: Over
The Saints have allowed 30+ points in four of their last six games and Green Bay has key defensive injuries. As you already know, there has been only one "true" Under on Monday Night Football this season (Pittsburgh/Washington). These teams combine to average over 53 PPG. Too many Over trends to list here. The Pack have gone Over in 9 of their last 11 road games. They are 13-1 Over when coming in off 4 or more ATS wins. They have gone Over in 19 of their last 26 games overall. New Orleans is on a 13-4 Over run against conference opponents. They are 6-0 Over at home after scoring 30+ points in their previous game and 9-2 Over off a SU win. Green Bay is on a 15-5 Over run themselves in conference play. Take Green Bay/New Orleans Over.
Marc Lawrence
Houston Rockets at Miami Heat
Prediction: Miami Heat
Heat catch the Rockets off an upset win at Orlando knowing that Miami is 10-3 SU and 8-4-1 ATS the last 13 games as a series host. Grab the points with the Heat.
RJ Robbins
Cal Santa Barbara vs. San Francisco
Play:San Francisco -2
We are taking San Francisco -1. over Cal-SB. This will be Cal-SB first road game this season and San Francisco is off to a 3-1 start for 1st year Coach Rex Walters. SF will look to revenge the last 2 in the series losing by identical scores of 74-69 the last 2 years (2006,2007). SF fits into a nice 73% winning situation for us on home teams being favored by less than 3. We look for SF to get their revenge tonight by the score of (what else could it be). 74-69
Mr A
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints
Both the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints meet at Louisiana Superdome having the same 5-5 records. Expect this battle to be offensive brawl. The Packers are coming off a 37-3 win against Chicago last week, while he Saints beat Kansas City 30-20. Take the over. The total has gone ‘over’ in 6 of the last 7 meetings.
Over - 51½
San Antonio Spurs -2½
New Orleans Hornets -5½