Service Plays---Sat

LT Locks
Todays Selection:
Washington St. @ a pick

Vegas Experts Tip Of The Day
Play on: Stanford

Stanford Cardinal at Washington State Cougars
Saturday, February 25, 7:00 P.M. EST

Cardinal drops in class after losing its last two at home to Arizona and at Washington. Washington State has been a spotty spread team in Pac-10 play, going 1-4 S/U (1-3-1 ATS) over its last five and 2-10 S/U (4-7-1 ATS) over its last 12. Stanford handled the Cougars easily at home January 26 69-56 as a 6.5-point chalk and is 30-16 ATS when the line is +3 to -3 since 1997 and 60-37 ATS in road games since 1997.

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News Letters--Top Plays

SPORTS REPORTER

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RECOMMENDED
*GEORGIA TECH over WAKE FOREST by 13
Excuse us for continuing to go against the Disillusioned Demons, but it’s sort of like
whacking a piñata; the more times you hit it, the better the feeling. Wake, in no doubt a
moment of weakness, somehow pasted the Jackets, 86-71, on January 18 in what now
stands as their only ACC win to date. Skip Prosser & Co. are currently on a 2-10 SU, 4-8
ATS run and it should be clear to all by now that both the players and coach can’t wait
for the season to end. Tech isn’t much, but if it can’t avenge that earlier loss we will be
shocked. GEORGIA TECH, 84-71.

BEST BET
*WEST VIRGINIA over LOUISVILLE by 20
Every report we read says that Rick Pitino’s team is on the NCAA bubble and all we can
say is that the bubble must be the size of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans combined. This
is not a good basketball team. It still doesn’t possess a legitimate point guard, a second
scorer to pick up the slack for the overworked Taquan Dean and it certainly doesn’t have
the hardnosed defense we’ve seen in past Louisville editions. The Mountaineers interesting
inside/outside offense, the mobility of Kevin Pittsnogle and the toughness of Mike
Gansey are all more than the Cardinals (0-6 SU, 1-5 ATS as a dog allowing 75 PPG) can
handle right now. WEST VIRGINIA, 86-66.

RECOMMENDED
SETON HALL over *DEPAUL by 14
It’s the overachievers from New Jersey featurin
g wins vs.West Virginia, at Syracuse and
at North Carolina State (by 18 points) against the underachievers from Illinois featuring
two losses to Providence and home defeats by Rutgers, Marquette and Bucknell. The
Blue Demons’ below .500 home record, 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS mark as chalk and 3-9
record in the Big East speaks volumes. Meanwhile, not only have players like Brian Laing,
Kelly Whitney and Donald Copeland saved Pirates’ Louis Orr’s bacon, and probably his
job, but they just might get him an invitation to the Big Dance. SETON HALL, 78-64.

BEST BET
*LSU over KENTUCKY by 21
The Tigers do two things extremely well at home: They shoot with real accuracy (49.2%)
and they don’t allow their opponents to shoot well (38.3%). This fits in quite nicely with
two things that the Wildcats can’t do: Kentucky doesn’t shoot very well (43% overall on
the road, 30.4% from three) and they are not nearly as good defensively (70 PPG in the
SEC currently as opposed to 65 in 2004-05) as in past seasons. This is yet another “bubble”
NCAA team that is living on reputation alone. They have no shooters, average point
guard play and a thin and unimpressive bench. The far superior Tigers get revenge from
a heartbreaking, three-point, buzzer beating, last-second loss to the ‘Cats in Lexington
with ease. LSU, 84-63.

RECOMMENDED
*AIR FORCE over UNLV by 15
In a game that featured one of the most interesting lines in college hoops this year, the
Flyboys won a rare road game, 52-50, as three-point dogs in Vegas a month ago. Three,
that’s right, three foul shots were taken, one by the home team and two by the Force.
UNLV was 0-1 and Air Force was 1-2. The game was over in 15 minutes. Just kidding,
folks. If Air Force could win on the road by taking just two foul shots, shooting 39.6% to
the hosts’ 51.2 % and getting six less rebounds, winning at home should be a piece of
cake. AIR FORCE, 74-59.

RECOMMENDED
STANFORD over *WASHINGTON STATE by 7
With Derrick Low back at the point for the hosts, Dick Bennett’s offense looks organized
for a change, but not enough to sway us away from a more experienced and ever
improving Stanford. Chris Hernandez handles that job for the Cardinal and does it a lot
better. And, if Hernandez is off his game, Stanford can always rely on Matt Haryasz and
Dan Grunfeld to save the day. That trio combined for 42 points, 9 assists, 18 rebounds
and three steals in Stanford’s, 69-59, victory over the Cougars a month ago. Bennett has
no such safety net or comfort zone. STANFORD, 70-63.

GOLD SHEET
Gold Sheet best bet for today

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HHH Seton Hall 73 - DEPAUL 62—Following back-to-back 20-win
campaigns, midwest scouts tell us depressed DePaul (10-13 thru Feb. 21) still
struggling to adjust to 1st-year HC Wainwright. So, don’t mind laying small
number with bubbly Seton Hall (good RPI of 34; won & covered 6 of last 7 thru
Feb. 20). With blossoming 6-5 soph F Laing (19 pts, 8 rebs. in upset over West
Va. Feb. 14) taking some burden off DD scorers 6-8 C Whitney & 5-10 G
Copeland, Pirates likely to hand Blue Demons their 6th straight home loss. 04-DNP

HHH BRADLEY 88 - Drake 59—Drake has won & covered 5 straight in series!
But that surprising streak ends vs. fired-up Bradley squad that’s 10-2 as home
chalk TY. Braves’ quality Gs Ruffin & Bennett will break down Bulldog presses
and/or work it inside to solid duo of 6-8 Sommerville (15 ppg) & 7-0 O’Bryant (13
ppg, 8 rpg, nearly 3 bpg), with the latter fired up after season-low 4 points (but
had 4 blocks) before fouling out in just 21 mins. of earlier loss at Des Moines.
Dr. Tom Davis 0-6 as conf. road dog TY. 05-DRAKE +1 75-73; 04-DRAKE -1
79-73, Drake +6 79-69

WINNING POINTS

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**PREFERRED
Xaiver over Rhode Island* by 10
You get the feeling that RIU is hanging by a thread, relying on offensive rebounding
because their best shot a missed shot. Xavier outshoots them on both 2s and 3s and the
Musketeers also hit their free throws at a much higher rate. Brian Thornton may still
be out for Xavier, but they like what they see in B.J. Raymond’s production. Xavier
head coach Sean Miller says that using a new offense this late in the season could benefit
the Musketeers because opposing teams have no game tape to scout what they will
do. Last Saturday, Duquesne coach Danny Nee agreed. "All the other film is worthless
now. Whatever you thought, it's worthless." XAVIER, 71-61.

***BEST BET
NC State* over Boston College by 17
You’ll remember that Smokin’ Herb Sendek took out UConn of the Big East in last
year’s NCAA Tournament. You’ll also remember NC State’s utter destruction of Boston
College, at BC, earlier this season. BC will remember it as well, but as a 21-win, power
conference team into game two of the first late-regular season road trip since getting to
21 wins, they won’t consider it a must-win until they get a chance to double-avenge it
either in the ACC Tournament, or next season. Fact o’ the matter is that BC, first year
in the ACC from the Big East, hasn’t seen enough of this amped-up, hybrid version of
the Princeton offense, and Al Skinner and staff can’t prepare ‘em to succeed against it
yet. NC STATE, 77-62.

***BEST BET
Ohio over Akron* by 9
Akronians absorbed their expected spanking – as advertised -- in last Friday’s trip out
to Nevada. Do they let it linger? Or do they continue to build on that attractive 8-1-1
ATS record as home favorite this season? We say, ix-nay on the home favorite lay.
Bobcats – who we dissed in the early season and who have performed to the pointspread
players “expectations” with an “overvalued” 8-9 ATS record after last season’s 20-
9 ATS – are now the value play with Leon Williams going to work in the paint and getting
some zebra-perception benefit due to his status of being a monster on a defending
conference champ in an important, late-season game. OHIO, 71-64.

**PREFERRED
CS Fullerton over Cal Poly SLO* by 11
Cal Poly takes the floor in the neighborhood of being 6-2 ATS in lined home action
this season. But the roster is thin, it’s getting late, and the Fullertonians bring too much
scoring from too many different angles for Poly’s zone to be able to contain well
enough. It’s Senior Day for a home team whose only contributing senior transferred
from Cornell and is now playing in his first season for Cal Poly. Other than forward
Gabe Stephenson and junior guard Derek Stockalper, this is a team full of sophomores
and freshmen. CS FULLERTON, 80-69.

**PREFERRED
SMU* over UAB by 2
SMU, a semi-dead team for C-USA, may not receive any breaks playing home against
a 19-win visitor. But you still have UAB coming in off a seven-day layoff and a lookahead
to a home revenge game with Memphis, while in a position to bounce waaaaay
down after beating offense-less Southern Miss by 37 points on the road (laying –10).
It’s Senior Night for the home dog, whose leading scorer Bryan Hopkins will be likely
be playing his final home game. SMU definitely has the rebounders to wrestle away
UAB’s preferred, quick tempo and the Blazers often struggle against the uglier styles.
SMU, 60-58.

**PREFERRED
UTEP* over Houston by 16
With 27 rebounds between John Tofi and Jason Williams, UTEP slowed it down and
stayed in the hunt at Houston in a six-point loss, a game they trailed by seven at the
half. If Tofi – rested recently with a foot problem – is ready to go again, they probably
like their chances of winning the rebounding game by a mile, and working their insideoutside
game against a visitor that runs hot and cold from three-point range. UTEP’s
best outside shooter Miguel Ayala was absent for that first meeting. He came back last
week against Rice. UTEP, 77-60.

CTO Best Bets
SAINT LOUIS over *Charlotte...Charlotte continues to provide more value on road (9-2 vs. spread!) than home (7-5 SU, 3-6-1 vs. spread),
so eager to “take” with sizzling SLU squad (6 straight covers before Rhode Island Feb. 22) fueled by its stifling defense (59 ppg)
implemented by crafty HC Soderberg. Billikens sweet-stroking 6-2 frosh G Lisch (season-high 22 vs. Temple’s rugged defense) has
progressed into a prime-time weapon. And expect SLU’s physical 6-10, 270 C Vouyoukas (13 ppg on 55% FGs, 8 rpg, 2 bpg) to be a “big”
nuisance for 49ers premier 6-8 F Withers. Double revenge works. SAINT LOUIS 71 - *Charlotte 67 RATING - 10

*MISSOURI STATE over Creighton...Missouri State (9-3 as home favorite TY) closing regular season with a flourish (seven straight covers
going into Feb. 22 game at Illinois State). And this could be Bears’ 20th victory of season (same for Creighton), with both teams needing
every win for NCAA tourney consideration. But MSU’s depth and muscle should pay big dividends against thin CU team that greatly misses
injured top scorer Funk and is hoping valuable 6-8 F Watts can recover faster from a case of mono. Bears were swamped 78-56 when
visiting Creighton earlier this season, but that was in conference opener way back on Dec. 28 when Blue Jays were healthier & deeper.
Now, it’s payback time. *MISSOURI STATE 72 - Creighton 50 RATING - 11

NEVADA over *Utah State...Here we go again! Only in Nevada’s case, that’s a good thing, as Wolf Pack (7-0 SU last 7 thru Feb. 19) in midst
of another late-season run similar to past 2 years that solidified NCAA status. Nevada certainly more menacing now than bitter Big Monday
Jan. 23 loss vs. Utah State in Reno, when it hit only 33.8% FGs and mere 3 of 17 triples. Since then, several Wolf Pack weapons have taken
turns complementing 6-11 C Fazekas and will attack Stew Morrill’s varied defenses more confidently in rematch. Worth noting Nevada
hasn’t been swept by a WAC foe since Tulsa turned trick in 2003. NEVADA 65 - *Utah State 55 RATING - 10