Gold Medal Club
Oregon State
Saint Louis
Larry Ness
Las Vegas Insider - NCAA
Purdue head coach Matt Painter brought in terrific freshman class last season and the Boilermakers won 25 games while reaching the second round of the NCAA tourney. Now sophomores, guard Moore (13.8-4.8-2.8), the 6-8 Hummel (13.8-8.0) and the 6-10 Johnson (12.1-5.5) are the mainstays of this year's 18th-ranked team, which enters this game at Minnesota 14-4. Painter was a little nervous when Hummel was suffering from some troublesome back spasms recently but it doesn't seem to be anything too serious. Grant (7.9) and 5-8 freshman Jackson (4.9-3.4 APG) join Moore in the backcourt to round out Purdue' starting lineup, while guards Green (5.6-4.2) and Kramer (4.5) plus 6-9 senior Calasan (7.3-3.5) are the main reserves. In Minnesota, Tubby is once again working his 'magic.' The man can coach, it's that simple. He took over a devastated Minnesota basketball program which won only nine games two seasons ago and went 20-14 in his first year last season. He lost three starters from that team but enters this game 16-2 and ranked 21st in the nation. Minnesota opened the year 12-0, including a 70-64 win over Louisville in a neutral-site game at Phoenix. The Gophers finally lost 70-58 to Michigan St on Dec 31 (their only home loss TY at 12-1) and then this past Sunday, missed 12 of their first 13 shots in the second half of a 74-65 loss at Northwestern. Lawrence Westbrook (14.1) is the team's lone double digit starter but depth is the key to this team, as the Gophers are capable of going 12-deep. Nolen (8.1-3.7-5.3) joins Westbrook in the backcourt with the 6-7 Johnson (9.6-4.1), the 6-11 Sampson (6.3-3.8) and the 6-10 Iverson (6.1-3.8) starting in the frontcourt. The main reserves on this very deep team are guard Hoffarber (7.8) and 6-8 forward Carter (5.4-3.6). Purdue has held 14 of its 18 opponents below 40 percent shooting this year and its 36.0 FG percentage allowed leads the nation. Purdue is forcing a Big 10-best 16.7 turnovers per game and after committing a season-high 19 turnovers Sunday, the Gophers will have to take care of the ball. Purdue has not been tested very often away from home yet, playing just one true road game in its first 14 (an easy win at Ball St). In two road games in Big 10 play so far, the Boilermakers have lost 67-64 at Penn St and won 63-61 at Northwestern, where Minnesota just lost. I'll note here that not only did Minnesota go scoreless for a 7:32 stretch in Sunday's game at Northwestern but the Gophers also only had 11 FT attempts (made five) compared to 27 by the Wildcats, who made 21. Those things happen on the road in conference play and expect Minnesota to get some of those favorable calls here. Purdue has lost five of its last six visits to Minnesota and Tubby should make that SIX of seven after tonight.
Las Vegas Insider on Minnesota
7* Revenge Rout
St Mary's joined Gonzaga as one of two WCC teams to receive an at-large bid to last year's NCAA tourney. The Gaels lost six games prior to last year's first-round NCAA loss but FIVE came against NCAA tournament teams. The only starter lost from LY's team is guard Golden (7.0) and St Mary's enters this game 17-1, with its lone loss coming at Anaheim in a late-November tourney (75-62 to UTEP). The Gaels enter this game on a 14-game winning streak and will be ready for the team which beat them last year in the WCC tourney (at this very venue) in two overtimes. San Diego was the reason both St Mary's and Gonzaga needed at-large bids, as after upsetting the Gaels, the Toreros upset the Bulldogs in the conference final. It was quite a first year for San Diego head coach Bill Grier (former Gonzaga assistant), as San Diego followed its WCC tourney title by upsetting U Conn in the first round of the NCAA tournament. However, things have not gone as smoothly this year. Brandon Johnson had a breakout season last year (16.9-4.1-3.5) and the senior guard was expected to be the team leader again this season, He was but then went down with a season-ending injury after eight games. It's helped that Trumaine Johnson got back on the floor shortly after that, as the sophomore has played very well since rejoining the team on Dec 22. He's averaged 13.1-2.1-2.7 with San Diego posting six straight wins since losing that Dec 22 game vs Boise St. Dorr (6.6-3.6-2.4) and Jackson (6.4) join him in a three-guard lineup with Lewis (5.5-3.1) and Ginty (4.7) adding excellent depth. The 6-7 Pomare (14.8-7.0) is again the team's best big man joined by the 6-6 Jones (10.6-5.4) in the starting lineup. The 6-9 Mafra (4.8--2.3)is a JUCO transfer and his size has helped. The problem in this matchup though, is that the Gaels have a terrific frontcourt. The 6-11 Samhan (13.8-9.7), the 6-7 Simpson (13.1-11.2) and the 6-7 O'Leary (6.1-5.1) are all back from LY. In the backcourt, the Gaels are led by the exciting Mills (19.1-3.9) with Hughes (8.5-3.5 APG), McConnell (4.7) and Hunter (4.6) adding depth. St Mary's will want this one pretty bad after last year's double-overtime loss in the WCC tourney and don't be fooled by San Diego's 4-0 start in conference play. Those wins have come over San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pepperdine and Loyola-Marymount, four schools with a combined record of 20-57 (.260).
Revenge Rout on St Mary's
Weekly Wipeout Winner - NCAA
Lorenzo Romar has had some memorable years in Seattle with three straight NCAA teams (two Sweet 16s) but two years ago his 19-13 team went uninvited to the postseason and last year's 16-16 team lost at home 72-71 to Valparaiso in the new CBI tourney to end the year 16-17. However, Washington has an NCAA bid in their sights this year, opening 13-4 (4-1 in the Pac 10). The guard combo is one of old and new, with senior Dentmon (13.8-2.9-2.5) being joined by 5-8 freshman Thomas (15.8-3.0-3.2), who is reminding many of Nate Robinson. Overton (4.6) and Turner (4.2) are the top reserves. The 6-7 Brockman (15.8-10.7) is now a senior (seems like he's been there forever!) and is having a superb season. The 6-6 Pondexter (10.0-6.0) and 6-8 freshman Gant (3.5-3.8) join him in the starting lineup with 6-9 sophomore Bryan-Amaning (8.6-5.5) providing excellent play off the bench. USC is 12-5 (3-2 in the Pac 10), after sweeping the Arizona schools this past weekend at home. The Trojans are led by a pair of 6-5 guards, Lewis (15.8-3.3) and Hackett (10.6-4.2-5.6) plus three pretty good forwards. The 6-9 Gibson (14.9-10.2) and two 6-7 freshman, DeRozan (12.5-5.1) and Washington (8.6-5.8). Tim Floyd knew OJ Mayo was a "one-and-done" guy but the 6-8 Jefferson (12.1-6.3) went undrafted and couldn't return because he hired an agent. How good would USC have been TY with both of those guys? Anyway, this year's team lost forward Cunningham (role player) to a season-ending injury and the frontcourt depth leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, Washington just returned last Saturday vs Arizona, after missing five games. Lewis watched practice the other day with his left foot in a boot but claims he'll be OK here. However, he was seen walking gingerly from the trainer's room to the locker room after practice. The team is calling it a mild sprain but we'll see? USC beat Washington in both meetings last year but with Thomas joining Dentmon in TY's backcourt, that duo will put lots of pressure on its Trojan counterparts, especially if Lewis is less than 100 percent. It's also worth noting that led by Brockman, Washington is one of the nation's best rebounding teams.
Weekly Wipeout Winner on Washington
Ben Burns
Washington Wizards at Los Angeles Lakers
Prediction: Under
I'm playing on the Wizards and Lakers to finish UNDER the total. Both these teams played last night and both saw their games finish above the total. The Wizards enjoyed a high-scoring win at Sacramento while the Lakers slipped over the number vs. the "rival" Clippers. However, with both teams playing the second of back to back games, I look for this evening's game to prove somewhat lower-scoring than most are expecting. While the Lakers have seen the UNDER go 6-4 the last 10 times that they played the second of back to back games, the last time that the Wizards played the second of back to back games, they scored just 89 points, en route to a 92-89 loss vs. Chicago. The last time that they played a road game, after having played the previous night, they managed a mere 85 points, losing 97-85 at New Orleans. I expect the Wizards, who rank among the lowest scoring teams in the league, to have some trouble scoring again tonight against a Lakers defense which is stronger than many realize. Note that even with last night's result, the Wizards have still seen the UNDER go 12-5 their last 17 games. They've also see the UNDER go 20-11 as underdogs this season, including a profitable 4-1 mark when listed as underdogs of greater than a dozen points. Therefore, it's not all that surprising to also find the UNDER at 14-5-1 their last 20 games against teams with a winning record. The Lakers have held back to back opponents to double-digits. I expect them to deliver another strong defensive effort and for that to lead to tonight's game staying below the generous number. *Blue Chip
RAS
Dayton -5
SD +4.5
Montana State -5
UC Davis -3 (2 units)
ASA
Purdue at Minnesota
Pick: Minnesota +1.5
The Gophers are a vastly improved team this year under second year man Tubby Smith. They are deep and athletic with nine guys averaging double digit minutes. They are coming off a “letdown” loss @ Northwestern where they played very poorly. It was to be expected as they entered that game off a huge upset win @ Wisconsin. It was the first time in 14 years that the Gophs won in Madison so for them to lose focus at perceived to be lowly Northwestern was not a surprise to us. Smith even mentioned as much in his post game press conference, “Maybe we hit the wall a little bit because of our emotional high. We play a lot of guys so we should have been able to find that combination but we couldn’t today,” Smith said. They will be ready at home on Thursday.
Purdue was picked by many to win the Big Ten this year and they have struggled a bit, especially on the road. They have played two conference road games against teams not expected to be near the top of the league and they had some trouble in both. They lost at Penn State and then made somewhat of a miracle comeback at Northwestern to grab a 2-point win. The Wildcats blew a 14-point second half lead in that one and Purdue captured the win with two free throws just 2 seconds left in the game. Needless to say, this team has not been impressive on the road and this will be their toughest test to date.
The Gophs have played the underdog role to a tee this year covering three of the four times they’ve been getting points including winning three of those games outright vs. Iowa, Louisville and Wisconsin. They are 10-1 at home with easy Big Ten wins over Penn State and Ohio State. Their only loss in the Barn was to Michigan State. The home team has won 6 of the last 7 and 15 of the last 20 in this Big Ten series and we don’t see that changing tonight.
Winning Angle
Play Orlando (-4.5) over Boston* (Top NBA Play)
Play Seton Hall (+2) over Providence* (Top NCAA Play)
Play West Virginia (+4.5) over Georgetown
Vegas Sports Experts
10* Take Orlando (-4.5) over Boston (NBA Power Play)
Orlando
• 16-5 ATS coming off a non-conference game
• 12-2 ATS in home games vs. Atlantic Division Opponents
• 13-5 ATS when the total posted is between 190 and 199.5 points
10* Take LA Lakers (-14.5) over Washington (NBA Power Play)
Lakers
• 87-6 SU as a home favorite of 12.5 to 18 points
• 15-3 SU in home games when the total posted is between 205 and 209.5 points
• 9-2 SU vs. Washington at home
Bonus Hoops & NHL Plays are
3* Take Seton Hall (+2) over Providence (NCAA)
BeatYourBookie
100* Play Butler (-9.5) over WI-Green Bay
Butler is 9-1 ATS when the total posted is between 120 and 129.5 points
Butler is 9-1 ATS when playing their 2nd game in a week
Butler is 22-5 SU vs. WI-Green Bay
100* Play Washington (-5.5) over USC
Washington is 10-1 SU in all home games this season
Washington is 9-1 SU coming off a win by 10 points or more
Washington is 5-1 SU & ATS coming off an OVER the total
NBA Basketball
50* Play LA Lakers (-14.5) over Washington
Pro Sports Plays
10* Take Washington State (+5.5) over UCLA (NCAA Top Play)
Washington State has won 3 consecutive games and they have also won 26 of the last 32 games coming off an OVER the total. Washington State has won 11 of the last 14 games at home when the total posted is 119.5 points or less.
10* Take Stanford (-13) over Oregon (NCAA Top Play)
Stanford has covered the spread in 7 of the last 8 games and they have also won 11 consecutive games at home vs. Oregon.
5* Take LA Lakers (-14.5) over Washington (NBA Bonus Play)
Seabass
100* Vegas Steam Play - Pacific
Blue Wizard
3* Utah State -4.5
Brad Diamond
20* Blowout of the Week - Wisconsin Milwaukee
5* Horizon League Game of the Week - Butler
igz1 sports
4* Wisconsin Milwaukee -3.5
4* Utah State -4.5
3* Purdue vs Minnesota Under 130
3* Arkansas State +9.5
C-Stars Sports
1000 Units Top Play Portland/Loyola Marymount over the total
1000 units top play Minnesota plus the points over Purdue
1000 units top play St. Mary's minus the points over San Diego
John Fina
4 units Orlando Magic -4.5