Tim Trushel
Bulls
Nets Over
RON RAYMOND
Hornets / Bulls Over 189
76ers / Jazz Under 203.5
MATT FARGO
9* USC
SEAN HIGGS
5* USC
I am taking the Trojans. The best bowl name ever. For a sport that loves to not talk about gambling, you have to appreciate the irony with this! So the Trojans finally stumbled this year after dominating for basically a decade. Nothing wrong with that when you are replacing a half dozen or so NFL players every year. Now we have the anit-Pac 10 wave gaining momentum as Oregon State and Cal both lost outright to Utah and BYU. USC has 3 starters out for various violations. I find it hard to believe that the 2nd teamers aren't going to play for HC Pete Carroll. This is USC, this isn't Nevada where, I made the mistake of backing the "system" instead of the players. USC reloads yearly, and if its the Bookmaker.com or Rose or Sugar, the Trojans will show up. BC also has been brutal on the road this year averaging just 14 points per game. USC defense have allowed 16 or less points in 7 of 12 games. USC is 6-1 SU and ATS in its last 7 bowl games. USC
Andre Gomes
OKL / CHL Under 190
In my opinion we are dealing with an overinflated line in this contest and the biggest reason for such line is the outcome of the last 2 games of the Thunder that ended way over the total posted. Against the Lakers the line was 197.5 points and the game ended with 219 points and in their last game against the Suns, the line was 212 points and the game ended with 230 points!
However this contest will be way different than those 2 games because the Bobcats play on a completely different style than the Lakers and the Suns. In fact, I tracked the pace of both contests and both were fast paced games. Plus those games were a free throw party, as the games ended with 63 and 66 FT's! Well, the Bobcats are known for playing in a slow pace with half court sets defensively and offensively and right now they are the 4th best team in the league in allowing FT's to the opponents with only 22.4 FT/game. Gerald Wallace is a pretty underrated defender and he will matchup against Kevin Durant and the same can be said about Felton vs Westbrook and I expect the Thunder to have some problems in scoring tonight against the Bobcats.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats offense is still a work in progress project and they have tremendous problems in scoring down the stretch. Note that when playing at home, they are averaging 95.7 points per game, while shooting 44.2% from the field, however on the road they are scoring only 86.4 points per game (while shooting 43.3% FG)! The Thunder are not a bad defensive team anymore, as they are allowing 97.0 points per game this season - good for the 11th best mark in the league! I expect this game to be a slow paced game with both teams focusing on defense. My fair line for this contest is 185/188 points and I see enough edge on the Under in here to pull the trigger.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on Under 190