LT Profits
Arkansas State +3.5
Now, we normally favor Missouri Valley Conference teams in these early-season non-conference affairs, but the Indiana State Sycamore are off to a disappointing 0-4 start, while the Arkansas State Indians are an impressive 4-1.
In fact, Arkansas State is a perfect 4-0 against the spread, as they covered the number in their lone straight up loss, a seven-point loss on the road at Mississippi in their season opener. Perhaps most impressively, the Indians are coming off of back-to-back straight up road upset wins at Ball State and Tennessee-Martin, running their road record to a respectable 2-1.
Conversely, two of the four Indiana State defeats have come right here in the supposed comforts of home. Moreover, it is not as if they are losing to national powerhouses here either, as their home losses have come vs. North Texas and Murray State.
We feel that this Arkansas State team is more athletic than either of the two clubs that have already beaten Indiana State so far, and that the Indians defensive pressure that has limited their opponents to 35.3 percent shooting from the floor will be too much for the Sycamores to handle.
Thus, Arkansas State is simply the better team at this time, and their defense is allowing nearly 20 points per game less (58.0) than the Indiana State defense has (77.0), making the Indians a very live road underdog here.
Pick: Arkansas State +3.5
Tom Freese
Miami at Golden St
Miami is 10-2 ATS off a straight up loss and they are 13-5 ATS vs. teams with a losing record. The Heat are 11-4 ATS vs. a team that allowed 100 or more points in their last game and they are 16-7 ATS vs. Pacific Division foes. Golden St is 3-11 ATS off an ATS loss and they are and they are 5-13 ATS after scoring 100 or more points in their last game. The Warriors are 1-6 ATS vs. Eastern Conference foes and they are 0-5 ATS on Monday. PLAY ON MIAMI
J. Gauthier Sports
Anaheim at Detroit
Pick: Anaheim
Even after losing 4-1 at Boston the linesmakers are not catching up, Wings are becoming the Yankees of the NHL, overpriced every game. Are they a good team, hell yes, are they twice as good as the Ducks, frankly no! Hiller standing in for Giguere has stopped 93 of 95 shots last 3 games. Ryan Getzlaf has 12 pts. in last 8 games for the Quackers and had 5 assists in their 5-4 victory over the Wings earlier this year. Osgood will be back in net as Ty Conklin hasn't shown anything, he's 12-3-1 against Minny but has lost his last 2 and some confidence after being benched for long term back up Conklin. Hossa leads a string of all-stars for Detroit against the Mighty Ducks who are 7-2-1 on road this year. You want a live underdog that can win, you've got them.
Frank Jordan
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans
Play: Under 48
Neither team is scoring that much, Jacksonville 20 points a game and Houston 22, also neither team is allowing all that many point either, Jacksonville 21 points and Houston 26. So it should be a low scoring low twenties kind of game with Jacksonville dominating the time of possession with the running game. Play the Under
Gina
Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics
Orlando has been outstanding road team, but going against the Celtics in Boston is a huge task for any team, but with numerous injuries to key players it’s out of the question. Go with the Celtics at the Garden. Orlando is 2-11 both straight-up and against the spread in their last 13 games in Boston.
Boston Celtics -9
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
It appears to be another high scoring Monday night battle between two ailing teams. The total has gone 'over' in 16 of Jacksonville's last 23 games and nine of their last 13 on the road, while Houston has gone 'over' in 11 of its last 13 games, four of its last 6 at home. Look for the trend to continue tonight in Texas. The over is 11-2 on Monday nights thus far this year.
Over 48
Mr A
Jacksonville at Houston
Houston should be fired up for tonight’s Monday Night brawl at home. The Texans first- Monday Night game. The struggling Jaguars are in disarray, turmoil and injuries have plague coach Jack Del Rio squad. Take the Texans at Reliant Stadium. Houston is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home against Jacksonville. Look for Houston’s wide receiver Andre Johnson to be in the spotlight. Johnson leads the NFL in receptions and yardage.
Houston Texans - 3
NBA
Charlotte Bobcats -3½
Orlando Magic +9
Jeff Benton
Yet another free winner on Sunday, as the Browns (4♦) stayed within the number against Indianapolis. That’s now four straight complimentary winners and 11 over the last 14 days! We’ll continue that hot streak by switching to the NBA and playing the TWolves plus the points at Charlotte.
Both of these teams are off to terrible starters, with the Bobcats’ 5-11 record being slightly better than Minnesota’s 4-11 mark. However, the Timberwolves have at least split their last six games, with impressive wins at the Pistons (106-80) and at home against Philadelphia (102-96) during this stretch. Also, Minnesota has covered in four of its last five road games, including against such powerhouse teams as the aforementioned Pistons, the Nuggets (90-84 loss) and Blazers (97-93 loss).
In fact, the TWolves have been pretty competitive in the majority of their games this year, with only two double-digit losses and only one – a 95-78 home defeat to the Celtics – being a complete blowout.
Lastly, look at the gauntlet that Minnesota has run through over its last 10 games: road games at Portland, Golden State, Denver, Detroit and Oklahoma City, and home games against Portland, Philadelphia, Boston, Phoenix and Denver. There’s only one weak link (Oklahoma City) in that stretch, and the TWolves won that game by two points, narrowly missing as a 2½-point road favorite.
The Timberwolves covered in last year’s visit to Charlotte (121-119 loss as a four-point dog), and seeing as they’re averaging 99 points per game on the road and the Bobcats are scoring just 87 ppg at home, I look for Minnesota to come out of Charlotte with the cash once again tonight. Take the points.
2♦ MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Nostradamus
Houst/Jack Under 48
Orlando +8.5
Orl/Bost Over 189.5
Col/Minn Over 5 -130
Anaheim +180
Kent +12.5
Idaho/CS SAC OVER
USC -18
Lenny Del Genio
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
Prediction: Houston Texans
This is the first ever MNF game in Houston, so the Texans will be fired up and coming off a SU win in Cleveland, they are the team that comes into this game in the better mindset anyway. Jacksonville is one of the league?s biggest disappointments. They are just 1-7 ATS on grass this year. Houston?s offense averages over six yards per play. They are also 10-3 ATS vs. the Jags, including 5-1 ATS here at home. Take Houston.
WUNDERDOG
Minnesota at Charlotte
Pick: Minnesota +3.5
Both of these teams are starved for the win right now. Both teams also see this as a very winnable game. The Bobcats have covered four-straight games, but they did lose ATS to the T-Wolves last year as they won by just two at home. They haven't been as good in their building this year as they were last season when they posted a 21-20 mark. It has been a learning process for the Bobcats, getting used to new Coach Brown's offense and the wins haven't been as prevalent - even at home. The T-Wolves sense a winnable game here on a court where they have had success. The Wolves notched a six-point win and cover here two years ago, then lost by just two and got the cover here last year. I like the T-Wolves in a rare winnable road game for them.
Jacksonville at Houston
Tonight the Houston Texans host a Monday Night Football game for the first time since 1994. Both of these teams have struggled to identical 4-7 records, and their playoff fate has for all intents and purposes been sealed - neither will be playing in January. Both of these teams have average offenses. Jacksonville's defense is solid while Houston's is not. The Texans have struggled with Sage Rosenfels under center. He has already thrown nine interceptions and fumbled four times. Last week they turned to the run, pounding the ball 36 times on the ground and it resulted in a win. So Steve Slayton and Ahman Green should get a lot of work in this one against a Jags defense that ranks 18th against the run. The Jaguars counter with a tandem of running backs that should find some room on the 23th ranked rushing offense of the Texans. The Jags are a dismal 1-7 ATS this season when playing on grass. But, Houston has gone just 4-7 ATS overall this year. Our computer matchup on this gamepredicts a score of 22.6 to 26.4.
Tony Karpinski
CS Northridge vs. Drexel
Play: Drexel -2.5
Drexel is playing just its third game of the year, and the last time the Dragons played was back on the 22nd of November when they were blown out at Georgetown. Expect the Dragons to be itching to go, as they are well-rested, and will take on a Matador team that is playing their fifth straight road game, and they have yet to win one away from home as they enter play tonight.Rider just beat Cal State Northridge by double-digits, and I expect Drexel to win this one by double-digits on Monday night at home.
Ben Burns
Toronto Maple Leafs at Los Angeles Kings
Prediction: Los Angeles Kings
The Leafs managed to pick up two points last time out but they're still not playing particularly well. Even with that result, they've still got just three wins in their last 11 games. Conversely, the Kings have seven victories in their last 11 games, including wins in each of their last two. The Kings are 3-0 their last three against Eastern Conference teams and a respectable 12-11 (+2.9) since 2006. On the other hand, the Leafs are 2-5 against the West this season and 10-17 (-6.5) since 2006. Including a 5-2 win last season, the Kings are 9-5-2 the last 16 games in the series. They've allowed just 23.3 shots per game at home this season while the Leafs are allowing 29.5 per game on the road. Consider LA
Dennis Macklin
Anaheim Ducks at Detroit Red Wings
Prediction: Anaheim Ducks
You won't get a much more attractive opportunity to cash a $2.00 dog than we find tonight with the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks have won four straight by an 1-3 aggregate and have done their best work (7-3) away from the pond. The Wings are just 1-3 in their last four and were just hammered by Eastern Conference heavyweights Montreal and Boston. Anaheim is 9-6 in the series since they started playing hockey again so give me the team at the height of a form spree againts a team on the down escalator at plus $1.91 !!! Take Anaheim.
Larry Ness
Orlando Magic @ Boston Celtics
PICK: Boston Celtics
The Magic are led by their terrific frontcourt of Howard (21.8-13.9), Lewis (18.2-6.2) and Turkoglu (17.2-5.4-3.9). PG Nelson (14.4-3.6-5.1) is off to a great start and Pietrus (12.9), acquired from Golden State, has been a huge addition. No team was getting a higher percentage of points from its starters than Orlando but Nelson has missed the last three games with a strained hip flexor, and he's expected to miss at least another week. Pietrus is out three to five weeks with a torn thumb ligament and even backup guard Keith Bogans (fractured thumb) is sidelined for at least a month. That leaves JJ Redick and veteran Anthony Johnson as the starters. The Magic went 27-14 SU on the road last year and have continued their outstanding play this season, winning six straight away from home after dropping their first road game this year (6-1 SU and 4-2-1 ATS). However, competing in Boston will be another story, especially since the Magic will be without their starting backcourt. Not much has changed with the Celtics this year. Posey was a key player off the bench and is now with the Hornets but Pierce (18.4-6.6-3.4), Ray Allen (117.6) and KG (16.1-8.5) don't look "a year older" this season. PG Rondo (9.5-4.2-6.9) and center Perkins (7.1-7.6) join them in the starting lineup with Tony Allen (9.0), Powe (7.4-4.1) and House (7.2) all contributing off the bench. Boston went 35-6 SU at home last season as part of its NBA-best 66-16 record, then went 13-1 at home in the postseason. The Celtics are 9-1 at home TY and going back to March 26, have won 28 of their last 30 home games (including the postseason). Defense is still the 'key' to Boston's success, as the Celtics are allowing a league-low 90.1 PPG and own the best defensive FG percentage in the league (40.8), as well. The fact that Orlando comes in with a 13-4 overall mark and an excellent road mark, should "get Boston's attention," which spells bad news for the Magic. With Nelson and Pietrus healthy, the Magic may have been worth a try but not without them. Lay the points.