Date | Match Up | Rating | Score | Result | Profit | Lead Time | Analysis |
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12-21-20 | Steelers v. Bengals +14.5 | 17-27 | Win | 100 | 6 h 54 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Even though it's been 4 weeks since Burrow's injury, you can't help but think about the connection between his and Carson Palmer's knee injuries. Of course, Palmer's came in this very same stadium against the Steelers in the '05 Wild Card. The Steelers went on to win that game & 2 more road games (Indy & Denver) on their way to winning Super Bowl XL. The Steelers are favored by two touchdowns despite a down-trending offense that has topped out at 19 points in their last three games. And that was when Baltimore was missing guys all over the place. Revenge for blowout loss earlier vs. division rival, home dog on Monday night |
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12-20-20 | St. Louis -2.5 v. Minnesota | Top | 82-90 | Loss | -107 | 11 h 59 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day The visitor is 6-0 SU and 6-0 ATS, but playing its first true road game. “True road” doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing this year as in the past, given the lack of crowd enthusiasm for home teams. There are still Big Ten referees for the A-10 squad to overcome but otherwise, they have the scoring, the rebounding, the experienced depth, and the coaching to pull this off. Illinois helped expose Minnesota earlier in the week. |
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12-20-20 | Chiefs -3 v. Saints | 32-29 | Push | 0 | 29 h 4 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Would you believe that the defending champion Chiefs haven't covered since Nov 1st? And would you believe that the league's MVP, Patrick Mahomes, is in off a career worst 3 interceptions? And would you believe that the Saint "D" is the best in the NFL? If all of that isn't a recipe for atonement, we don't know what is. Sure, New Orleans as a true elite, but have to see an angry Mahomes & Co taking this one |
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12-20-20 | Jets v. Rams -17 | 23-20 | Loss | -105 | 29 h 48 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Who would have ever thought the Jets could have a coach worse than Rich Kotite? Congratulations Adam Gase, who surpassed Kotite with the Jets having lost a franchise-record 13 consecutive games. New York has been outscored by 132 points in six away contests for an average road loss of 22 points. This is the Jets’ second West Coast game in a row. Sean McVay is licking his lips envisioning a passing attack against the Jets young and talent-deficient cornerbacks. The Jets are 4-13 ATS in their last 17 road matchups versus opponents with a winning home record. Sacks leader Aaron Donald faces a Jets squad ranking last in points and total yards. |
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12-20-20 | Marquette +3 v. Xavier | 88-91 | Push | 0 | 5 h 34 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 units The host Musketeers are 7-0 but were forced to pause for a while. They’ll probably introduce recently eligible Hampton transfer Big Ben Stanley to Big East ball here, but head coach Travis Steele will be forced to juggle minutes off the interruption. Fresh off double-avenging Creighton, Marquette seeks to take a fifth straight from the Musketeers. |
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12-20-20 | Seahawks -4 v. Washington Football Team | 20-15 | Win | 100 | 26 h 50 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units These 2 have played 3 times in the playoffs in the last 15 years, with the Seahawks taking 3 out of 3. The last being 2012, when RGIII crumbled to the turf in FedEx Field, basically ending his career as Washington's savior. Sad to say the least. Russ is back! 21/27, 206 yards, 4 TDs with 1 INT. That gives him a team record 36 TD passes. The Seahawks tied the team record with its 5th game of 35+ points. Four straight Ws for Wash after that 2-7 start. Now a game up in the NFC East. Here's hoping Alex Smith is OK |
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12-20-20 | Bucs -6 v. Falcons | 31-27 | Loss | -111 | 26 h 34 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units First matchup of these two teams this season. They will meet again in Week 17. By that time, the Bucs postseason status may be solidified, so this one is huge for Tom and company. Bucs D has gone 4 straight games with 5+ sacks (6 vs Minn.). Best start for Tampa (8-5) since '16. Brady had his 6th game with 2+ TD passes & 0 picks & joined Jameis Winston as only Tampa Bay QBs with 30 TDs. On the other hand, the Falcons officially eliminated from the playoffs after Ryan's 3 picks in LA. Bucs |
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12-19-20 | Alabama -17 v. Florida | Top | 52-46 | Loss | -109 | 104 h 51 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit SEC Championship Game of the Week No doubt, some of the glitter has come off this one, with last week's incredible Gator loss to Lsu (57-yard field goal off penalty in L0:23), but still another 609 yards. Trask now 3,717 yards & 40 TDs with only 5 INTs, but Florida 100th in rushing. 'Tide: 41+ points in L10 games. Jones 27 TDs with 3 INTs, 3,321 yards, 76%. We don't jump this ship. |
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12-19-20 | Miami-OH v. Bradley -11 | Top | 68-69 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 13 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Mismatch of the Day Off 24- and 28-point losses to Wright State and Buffalo, teams that contended for Mid-Major conference championships last season, Miami-OH doesn’t appear to be in a good spot on the road against the Missouri Valley’s back-to-back post-season tournament winner. Bradley had a 10-day break end on Thursday night with a cushy, 23-point win here vs. Jackson State in which everybody got to play, a nice tune-up for this, in which a better effort is needed before they go to Missouri on Tuesday for a class test. |
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12-19-20 | Eastern Washington -9.5 v. Northern Arizona | 80-64 | Win | 100 | 7 h 28 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units We’ll repeat the forecast from yesterday’s game that was postponed due to ongoing insanity, although there’s a chance this, too, won’t be played: The 0-4 Eagles of EW have been playing their butts off, very competitive in hastily scheduled true road games vs. three Pac 12 foes and Saint Mary’s. They lost to Arizona by 3 points. Northern Arizona lost to Arizona by 43, also to Cal-Riverside by 24, Colorado State by 39… NAU hasn’t had a winning conference season in the Big Sky since 2014 and has lost six straight to EW. |
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12-19-20 | Boise State v. San Jose State +6.5 | 20-34 | Win | 100 | 73 h 22 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units A completely rare happening when the spread on a game between these 2 squads comes in a less than a TD, with 3 of their last 5 meetings showing the Broncos as 36, 40, & 31 point chalks. Not the case this time around, as Boise, although 5-1 straight up, has covered just once since October, while ranking 107th in rushing "O", as well as 86th in rushing "D". The Spartans rank 13th in scoring "D", have covered 10-of-11, & are undefeated, with their 2 road games resulting in 22 & 8½ point covers |
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12-19-20 | Bills -5.5 v. Broncos | 48-19 | Win | 100 | 5 h 16 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The Bills had no problem handling the Broncos last season holding them to 134 total yards in a 20-3 home victory. Things don’t look any better this time around for the Broncos. Their pass rush is missing Von Miller and their secondary has become severely short-handed minus their two top cornerbacks, suspended A.J. Bouye and injured Bryce Callahan. Josh Allen has made great strides from a year ago. Allen has accounted for 35 touchdowns spearheading a balanced attack that has produced 30 or more points in six games. Drew Lock has thrown 13 interceptions in his last nine starts. Denver has scored 21 or fewer points in six of those starts. |
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12-19-20 | Clemson v. Notre Dame +10.5 | Top | 34-10 | Loss | -109 | 99 h 16 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit ACC Mismatch of the Day Rematch Tigers, losing in 2 OTs 6 weeks ago, with a 205-32 rushing yard deficit. No Lawrence, though Ugalaleilei threw for 439 yards (2 TDs with 0 INTs). Etienne: 1.6 yards per rush. Three Clemson turn overs were key. ND: 511-262 point edge L14 games, & a 254-125 point edge L6 outings. Tigers post-season kings, but tight. |
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12-19-20 | Youngstown State +2.5 v. Northern Kentucky | 64-79 | Loss | -107 | 3 h 24 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units YSU seeks to end an eight-game losing streak to the host. Their current leading scorer, Naz Bohannon (22 ppg), fouled out of last year’s 2-point loss here trying to guard since-departed Dantez Walton. The visiting Penguins have only three games under their belts but their starting group has played a lot of ball together. |
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12-19-20 | Marist v. Manhattan -3 | Top | 61-39 | Loss | -102 | 3 h 19 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day Seton Hall transfer Anthony Nelson, a 6’4” junior guard and New York, NY-er, stepped into the MAAC with 19 and 23 points for Manhattan in his first two games last week, which were also the team’s first two games. Marist has somebody top 20 points for them about once every three weeks. Actually, it hasn’t happened yet in four games this season. |
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12-19-20 | Western Kentucky +5 v. Alabama | 73-71 | Win | 100 | 3 h 16 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Although Alabama is a tad taller this season, they still lack a player who can prevent 6’11”, 235 senior center Charles Bassey from doing harm. With Alabama barely cracking 40% field goal shooting overall and less than 30% from three-point range, the Tide is in tough because you know former SEC head coach Stansbury is pointing for a pelt in SEC territory with a favorable style match-up. Alabama’s 6’8”, 210 Herbert Jones had a 17-and-12 game vs. Furman but Furman’s forwards go 6’7”, 6’8” and Alabama won the game by only 3 points. |
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12-19-20 | Oklahoma v. Iowa State +5.5 | Top | 27-21 | Loss | -108 | 96 h 36 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit Big-12 Championship Game of the Week What a thorn in the side of the Sooners, have these Cyclones been (5-0 ATS, +85 points). On a 7-1 ATS run, behind QB Purdy (5 TDs last year), & RB Hall (#1 in land). Sooners always get this one (8-0 SU in Big12 title games), & a 48-16 points per game edge in their L4 games. Could be an epic. |
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12-19-20 | Texas A&M -13.5 v. Tennessee | 34-13 | Win | 100 | 69 h 35 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units There’s no buying in to Tennessee’s 42-point outburst last week against Vanderbilt. They still rank 109th nationally in scoring at 20.0 points per game, and had been held to 21 or less in six straight games, all losses, prior. The Vols are woeful against the pass, ranking 105th, and that should allow Aggies’ uneven QB Kellen Mond to get off to a good start. He’s topped 300 yards twice and thrown 3+ scores four times, and once getting his team out to a lead, the Aggies can lean on their 30th-ranked rushing attack. Outside of the conference championship games, no one has more to play for than A&M, who beat Florida and only lost to Alabama. A statement win where they impress on both sides of the ball is needed, and that’s what the Aggies turn in |
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12-19-20 | Indiana -7 v. Butler | 68-60 | Win | 100 | 1 h 3 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Zero (0) steals, 5 offensive rebounds, 24 fouls by Butler in their loss at Villanova. This is only their third game. They still need work. The Hoosiers have beaten Butler’s Big East cousin Providence by 21 points, played well vs. what appears to be more imposing defense on Florida State. Bo Hodges, ETSU transfer, may debut for the Bulldogs but it’s probably a reach to call him an instant difference-maker. |
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12-18-20 | Iowa State v. West Virginia -15.5 | Top | 65-70 | Loss | -100 | 28 h 50 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day “Iowa State searches for answers after a sloppy start to Big 12 play,” said Wednesday morning’s headline. Normally, you look in the last place you left something. Instead, the skidding Cyclones are forced to travel all the way to Morgantown, WV to face a 6-1, #8-ranked opponent after losing the rivalry game 105-77 to Iowa, following up with a 75-65 home loss to fellow flounderer Kansas State – who shot only 17.4% from three-point range but never trailed after the 10:00 mark of the first half. Keep searchin’ fellas. Jackson State and Chicago State await, in your place, after this. Ya’ might find some some answers then and there. Here and now, rebounding and shooting issues are magnified in this match-up. |
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12-18-20 | Ball State v. Buffalo -13 | 38-28 | Loss | -118 | 77 h 57 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units Katie, bar the door! These 2 sure can light up the scoreboard, with Bulls at 51.8 points per game (rank 1st in scoring & rushing "O" (Patterson: 18 TDs), & on an 18-5 ATS MAC run. Cards on 5-0 SU run, & are 6-0 in the dog role, with Plitt at 7 TDs with 1 INT the L2 weeks. But needed TD in L0:29 to take Western Michigan. Bulls’ RB Jaret Patterson is the best player on the field. Buffalo has won all of their games by at least 19, including a 31-point win over Miami (OH), who beat Ball State. The Bulls play keep away and limit the Cardinals passing attack. |
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12-18-20 | St. Peter's -1.5 v. Monmouth | 76-78 | Loss | -108 | 24 h 53 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Monmouth debuted on Tuesday night, sending Hofstra to the free-throw line 32 times (vs. only 13 FTs for themselves). That’s a sign that their defense isn’t there yet and why should it be? Six games into its season -- including a sweep of Niagara here last weekend and two power-conference match-ups plus Lasalle -- St. Peter’s has all the momentum and foundation beneath them here. |
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12-17-20 | Nebraska-Omaha v. Wyoming -10.5 | 78-82 | Loss | -106 | 10 h 23 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Omaha will be playing at altitude two nights in a row – moving up from 5,000 feet in Boulder, CO to 7,100 feet in Laramie, WY. It was only a 137-mile drive to escape the Buffs and get to Cowboy Country but this still seems like a magical mystery tour for a visitor that is struggling to score (in the 40s, again, last night, thank you!). Wyoming averaged a mere 67.2 points per game last season, had a 3-7 non-conference record. They hired Jeff Linder (Northern Colorado) as head coach and now they’re 5-1, averaging 86.2 points per game with a 16.3 to 10.5 Assist/Turnover ratio |
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12-17-20 | Chargers v. Raiders -3 | 30-27 | Loss | -108 | 9 h 21 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Nothing more the Chargers would love to do than knock the Raiders out of playoff contention like they did in Week 17 in 2011, which allowed Tebow and company to take the AFC West with an 8-8 record. Herbert (36/44, 243 yards, 2 TDs 1 INT) threw a beautiful pass to set up that game winning 43-yard field goal last week. That is the Chargers first win this season vs a team with more than 2 wins. The Raiders fired their defensive coordinator after Sunday night’s home loss to the 9-4 Colts. Therefore, rookie Chargers’ QB Justin Herbert is likely to see things he didn’t see in the first meeting between these AFC West rivals back on November 8, when the Chargers had 75 offensive snaps to the Raiders 50 and 9.5 more minutes of possession time, but still managed to lose 31-26 |
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12-17-20 | Kansas v. Texas Tech -3 | Top | 58-57 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 28 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day Georgetown transfer Mac McClung is leading Texas Tech in scoring at 14.1 ppg and his longer-than-average range helps the Red Raiders’ offense space the floor for dribble penetration by #2 and #2 scorers Terrence Shannon and Kyler Edwards. VCU transfer Marcos Santos-Silva, at 6’7”, needs to prove he can finish as strongly at the rim in the Big 12 as he did in the A-10. But Kansas lacks rim protection this season. So, in this match-up, Santos-Silva may very well get it done. Gonzaga and Creighton both exposed some interior defense weaknesses that Kansas will either live with, or improve upon. But the personnel isn’t really there to improve upon it |
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12-16-20 | Butler v. Villanova -12.5 | Top | 66-85 | Win | 100 | 8 h 58 m | Show |
CBB Play of the Day Butler is in a bad spot. They’ve played only one game, on November 25. They were life and death to get past Western Michigan at home, scoring only 66 points. WMU hasn’t beaten a Division I team in three tries since, averaging 61 ppg. Butler was/is replacing 90% of its three-point production from last season and their 5-for-20 performance on threes in the lone game makes it seem like they won’t be getting 50% of it back. Jay Wright and the Wildcats, highly ranked, will fiddle a sad tune for the Bulldogs while maintaining that ranking. |
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12-16-20 | Nebraska-Omaha v. Colorado -21.5 | 49-91 | Win | 100 | 6 h 3 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The manner in which Colorado dispatched of Northern Colorado the other night suggests that Omaha is similar fodder. We went against this visitor last week against Kansas when they were taking 25, called it by 35, and they lost by 45. Life is short. Patsies are few. Go against them when you can |
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12-16-20 | Northeastern +18.5 v. Syracuse | 56-62 | Win | 100 | 4 h 7 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units 100+ points plus at Boston College the other night for Syracuse, eh? That’s a little ridiculous. Their shooters figure to come down to Earth. Syracuse is not a strong rebounding team. Their tallest starter, Marek Dolezaj, plays out on the perimeter. They don’t crash the offensive glass. Northeastern is not outsized in this match-up unless Boeheim puts his bench full of inexperienced, offensively challenged 6’10’’ and 6’11’’ stringbeans out there, in which case he’d be sacrificing offense. Northeastern gave up 30+ points in their season debut to a 6’10” UMass center who can score inside but came back two nights later and neutralized him in a revenge win. There’s nobody like that for them to guard tonight. They’re happy to guard the perimeter, rebound, and let the chips fall where they may. |
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12-15-20 | Wichita State v. Tulsa | Top | 69-65 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 43 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Mismatch of the Day The Shockers of Wichita played nice defense in the 3-point home loss to Oklahoma State, covering by 1 as a home dog. But they still have yet to shoot better than 37.5% overall for a game. That’s not a good sign as they head out on the road to face a good conference foe that plays good defense with the added benefit of knowing them pretty well. Senior guards Brandon Rachal and Elijah Joiner should be chomping at the bit to get after the Shockers, who ended Tulsa’s 2019-20 by beating them by 22 points in Wichita. |
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12-15-20 | Appalachian State v. Tennessee -18.5 | 38-79 | Win | 100 | 8 h 33 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The Vols have been warming up against real opponents who had more games under their belt. Two games, 2-0 SU and ATS as the less-than-sharp favorite vs. Colorado and Cincinnati. Not bad. The offense they couldn’t find in those games should get a little bit better against a Sun Belt also ran. The defense should continue to do its job against an outclassed foe that scored only 69 points in regulation vs. Bowling Green, 61 vs. Charlotte. |
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12-14-20 | Ravens -160 v. Browns | 47-42 | Win | 100 | 6 h 10 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Baltimore has dominated this series going 8-2 SU, 7-3 ATS in the past 10 meetings, including easily handling Cleveland, 38-6, opening week. Lamar Jackson threw for 275 yards and three touchdown passes in that game, which was the Browns’ worst opening week defeat since football resumed in Cleveland in 1999. The Ravens have won 10 of their last 12 road contests going 8-4 ATS. The Browns have been missing multiple starters in their secondary, including cornerback Denzel Ward and strong safety Ronnie Harrison |
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12-14-20 | Rutgers v. Maryland -2.5 | 74-60 | Loss | -107 | 10 h 56 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Clemson ambushed the Terps in one of those typically unprepared Mark Turgeon road games. He now has their attention, and the obligation to coach the heck out of them, for the Big Ten conference and home opener against a Rutgers bunch that had it all over Syracuse in the match-ups, and available personnel |
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12-13-20 | Mercer -5 v. Georgia Southern | 77-75 | Loss | -110 | 23 h 5 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units We all enjoyed Georgia Southern being mercy-ruled at Davidson Friday night. Revitalized Mercer has already beaten Georgia Tech and Georgia State by 10 and 17 points, scoring 80+ against an ACC school and a perennial Sun Belt contender. Like Davidson, they are shooting better than 40% from three-point range. May as well go right back to the well. |
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12-13-20 | Falcons -120 v. Chargers | 17-20 | Loss | -120 | 28 h 57 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units These 2 have only played 10 times, with the Falcons winning 8. Last matchup was a San Diego 33-30 OT win in 2016 Georgia Dome. Gone is Philip Rivers, but Matt Ryan is still slinging it for the Falcons (3,436 yards this year). Both of these squads coming of home losses. In fact, it was the worst loss in Chargers history. Falcons almost got that Hail Mary at the buzzer to beat the Saints, but wasn't meant to be. Matt sacked 11 times by Saints this year. Bolts haven't beaten a team with 2+ wins. Consider: LA is 9-18-1 ATS at home under Lynn, which is the second-worst mark in the NFL during this time span |
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12-13-20 | Washington Football Team v. 49ers -3 | 23-15 | Loss | -108 | 28 h 47 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Kyle Shanahan holds special animosity toward Washington because both he and his father, Mike, were fired by Washington owner Daniel Snyder following the 2013 season. Kyle gave the game ball from last season’s 9-0 shutout of Washington to his father. San Francisco is healthier. It’s a short week for both teams having each played on Monday. Washington has it rougher with a long trip to Arizona’s home stadium, the temporary hosting spot for San Francisco’s home games. Not playing in the Bay Area isn’t such a bad thing for the 49ers considering they are 1-4 at Levi’s Stadium and 4-2 in true road games |
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12-13-20 | Chiefs -7 v. Dolphins | 33-27 | Loss | -104 | 26 h 8 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The Chiefs have won their last 11 road, or neutral site, games. They are 12-6-1 ATS laying points. Patrick Mahomes is on another insane tear with an 18-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio during Kansas City’s last seven games, all victories. Miami lost 20-13 to Denver two weeks. The Chiefs are 2-0 versus the Broncos beating them by a combined 33 points. Miami cornerback Xavien Howard has an NFL-leading eight interceptions. But Howard can’t be responsible for both Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Hill leads the NFL in touchdown receptions with 13 while Kelce is far ahead of any other tight end in receptions, yards and touchdowns. The Dolphins are committed to playing rookie Tua Tagovailoa. Perhaps Tagovailoa will emerge as a superstar to justify his lofty draft position. But right now Mahomes versus the inexperienced rookie is a huge mismatch |
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12-13-20 | Titans v. Jaguars +7.5 | 31-10 | Loss | -110 | 26 h 53 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Jaguars normally seem to give the mighty Titans a decent game, losing just 33-30 in their first meeting. Whereas the Titans are an inconsistent play (haven't posted more than a 2-game spread run all season), the seemingly hapless Jags are on a 4-1 spread run, losing 4 of their last 5 games by 2, 4, 2, & 3 pts, allowing a consistent 27, 24, 27, 27, & 27 pts. Sure, the Titans, with the powerful Henry, can move it, but on defense, they rank just 25th. We'll grab the TD in this game. |
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12-12-20 | Virginia +2.5 v. Virginia Tech | Top | 15-33 | Loss | -105 | 97 h 5 m | Show |
Rating: 5 Unit ACC Game of the Month We're well aware of the fact that the Hokies are 15-1 SU in this series. But 4 straight losses for Tech (-52 points ATS) who've allowed 30+ points in 16-of-21 games. Cavs are just the opposite: 4-0 lately, & at 39.3 points per game in L3 lined games. Armstrong: 287 passing yards & 130 rushing yards in last week's rout of BC. |
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12-12-20 | Alabama -120 v. Clemson | 56-64 | Loss | -120 | 10 h 43 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Alabama’s Nate Oats is our new favorite coach in the world (see his recent putdown of Duke’s Coach K). It seems like a style contrast: Clemson slow, Alabama quick. Oats knows what needs to happen: “We’ve got to buckle down on the defensive end, force misses, get the ball and break off the misses. If we can do that, then I think we can get going up and down.” Not such a big if, considering that they’ve already made his vision happen against Providence |
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12-12-20 | Auburn -6 v. Mississippi State | 24-10 | Win | 100 | 53 h 1 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units This is a chalk series, as the Bulldogs are on a 4-12-1 ATS run, while dropping their last 6 home games ATS. Their only win following opening week rout of Lsu, came against 0-8 Vanderbilt. The SU winner has covered all 9 Tiger contests, & yet another |
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12-12-20 | Auburn v. Memphis -6.5 | 74-71 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 57 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Adding Va. Tech transfer Landers Nolley to the four sophomores who played a lot as freshmen make Memphis a formidable invader against an Auburn team still in flux for Bruce Pearl. “You want to talk about getting exposed, this’ll be the best defensive team that we’ve played,” he says. Considering that Auburn is giving up 81 ppg after four, scoring points isn’t all Pearl needs to be concerned about |
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12-12-20 | UAB -3.5 v. East Tennessee State | Top | 65-61 | Win | 100 | 6 h 50 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit CBB Game of the Week ETSU is down 20 points from last season’s per game scoring average of 76. Their Assist/Turnover Ratio is 8.7 to 19.3. This is not good. But this is what happens when the head coach of a 30-4 team times his move for greener pastures off a season like that, takes assistants with him, and his move is followed by transfers, graduations, and the new coach must mold freshmen and transfers in an immediate rebuild. UAB’s Andy Kennedy – not one of our favorite coaches but he managed to snag an experienced scoring guard from Georgia Southern (Quan Jackson), another experienced scoring guard from UL-Monroe (Michael Ertel) and a 7’, 260 center from Clemson. So far, nobody’s beaten them and nobody’s come close. It’ll all come crashing down, of course, but not just yet. |
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12-12-20 | Navy v. Army -7 | 0-15 | Win | 100 | 24 h 52 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Recent history in this epic series has the dog on a 7-2 spread run. Before the triple option, it was all Middies, but Cadets now own a 6-1-1 series run, despite last year's 31-7 Navy rout. But Perry has departed, with Middies unheard of 46th in rushing. Army? Try #3 in run "O", & #4 in total "D" |
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12-12-20 | Wake Forest +2 v. Louisville | Top | 21-45 | Loss | -110 | 50 h 22 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Conference Play of the Day The respective records of these two, are hardly indicative as to their true worth. For the Deacons, only slips have come vs the likes of Clemson, North Carolina State, & North Carolina, the latter 2 by scores of 45-42 & 59-53, both on the road, with Wake posting 32 & 30 first downs vs those powers, who've accumulated a combined record of 15-6. Cardinals' 7 losses have also come vs upper tier squads, succeeding only vs the likes of Western Kentucky, 2-6 Florida State, 1-10 Syracuse. Revenge for last year's 62-59 wrenching loss. |
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12-12-20 | Alabama -31.5 v. Arkansas | 52-3 | Win | 100 | 45 h 24 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Bucking Hogs, who've covered 9-of-11 is a bit scary, but, unless 'Tide is looking past them, it's lights out here. 'Bama "D" is improving, with its "O" the best. Jones: 3,113 passing yards, 76%, & 27 TDs with only 3 INTs, with Smith leading the nation in receiving. 'Tide has topped 40 points in its last 7 games |
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12-12-20 | Notre Dame +8 v. Kentucky | Top | 64-63 | Win | 100 | 2 h 60 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Mismatch of the Day The Irish have been straddling spreads in losses against quality Big Ten opponents Michigan State and Ohio State. Kentucky hasn’t shown that they can score like those other two, with 64, 62, 62 points in three straight losses to Richmond, Kansas and Georgia Tech. Unfriendly road whistle against short-rotation visitor notwithstanding, because ya’ gotta get ’em while they’re down |
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12-11-20 | Iowa State v. Iowa -13 | Top | 77-105 | Win | 100 | 28 h 59 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day The kid we told you about on Iowa – 6’10" Jack Nunge – wasted their time with 0-for-5 three-point shooting and only 3 rebounds, 0 blocks in 22 minutes vs. North Carolina. But the Hawkeyes still won the game by 13 points! Iowa State’s low rebounding numbers (only 30 per game) and low-percentage three-point shooting (29.1%) do not bode well for a match-up with the nation’s #3, which has too good an inside-outside game |
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12-11-20 | Georgia Southern v. Davidson -14 | 45-77 | Win | 100 | 26 h 58 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Ike, Tookie, Quan Jackson, all gone for Georgia Southern, who beat still-winless South Carolina Upstate by 3 points after beating two NAIA schools. In the 72-69 win, they shot 2-for-17 from three-point range. Uh-oh. Now, they get to truly measure themselves against an Atlantic 10 title contender dropping down in class and returning home after three games against Texas, Providence and UNLV and shooting 49.5% from the field. |
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12-11-20 | Nebraska-Omaha v. Kansas -24.5 | 50-95 | Win | 100 | 26 h 58 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Omaha is in the same city as Creighton, but they ain’t Creighton! Those Blue Jays merited every part of their high national ranking. These Mavericks are scoring a mere 63.7 ppg (Creigton got here averaging 84) and played their last game, and most of the previous, without leading scorer Marlon Ruffin, a 6’5" junior guard who’d had a game-high of 18 vs. Creighton in a 27-point loss. 6’8" KU freshman Jalen Wilson had quite the three-point stroke vs. Creighton, has help there, and 6’10", 265 junior David McCormack got a season-high 28 minutes in vs. Creighton, should move forward now |
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12-10-20 | Long Beach State v. San Francisco -15.5 | 62-107 | Win | 100 | 9 h 23 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units USF already has wins away from home against Virginia, Nevada and Cal Poly, the latter by 25 and 26 points, so they haven’t let down since achieving the ol’ “signature win” vs. Virginia. Looks like Cal-Poly’s Big West cousin Long Beach is headed up the California coastline for a drubbing. Dan Monson’s bench has totaled 4 points in two games, 1 at Loyola Marymount and 3 vs. Seattle U |
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12-10-20 | Patriots v. Rams -4.5 | 3-24 | Win | 100 | 5 h 27 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Back-to back games in SoFi Stadium for the Pats, as last week, the Pats embarrassed the Chargers, 45-0 (12th shutout under Belichick). He has now won in 50 different stadiums, as the Pats have won 4-of-5. Of course, this is the 1st time that these 2 have played since Super Bowls LIII, when the Pats (-2½) won 13-3 for Brady & Belichick's 6th title. Rams beat the Cardinals last week for the 7th straight time as Goff had 351 passing yards. L.A. ranks 6th & 2nd in total "O" & "D", while Pats are 21st, & 16th |
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12-09-20 | Northern Iowa v. Richmond -9 | 68-78 | Win | 100 | 10 h 57 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units UNI has been a sucker-side so far at 0-3 ATS, losing all D-1 games outright to fellow mid-Majors Western Kentucky, Saint Mary’s and Utah State despite shooting 42.9% from three-point range. With outside shooting that good, other stuff is lacking. On Monday, the Spiders of Richmond came out of a program pause on short practice and no opponent-specific prep to get past a very good Wofford team that played in the SoCon Championship game last season. |
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12-08-20 | UTEP v. St. Mary's -12 | 61-73 | Push | 0 | 4 h 10 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units UTEP’s Souley Boum played against Saint Mary’s when he attended San Francisco, a program that improved after he transferred. “We’ll have our hands full and it will be a great challenge for us,” says UTEP head coach Rodney Terry about defending Saint Mary’s offensive system. His team didn’t practice much last week before drilling Sul Ross State, after they’d drilled Texas Permian Basin. Those are Division 3 and Division 2 schools, folks. Starting point guard Jamal Bienemy logged a lot of minutes for Oklahoma but never scored much, plays only his second game for UTEP after missing the latest. |
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12-08-20 | Cowboys v. Ravens -8 | 17-34 | Win | 100 | 2 h 9 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Is it possible that horrid Cowboys (3-8) are in a better position than the Ravens (6-4)? When 'Boys lose, they really lose. Zeke: 39 yards from scrimmage in that Thanksgiving Day debacle vs the 'Skins. He also lost his 5th fumble of the year (had 5 in his previous 4 seasons combined). No, 60 rushing yards as a team will not get it done (122-yard deficit). And that "D" also continues to let this team down, now allowing 20+ points in EVERY game this season (longest streak in team history |
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12-08-20 | Montana v. Georgia -10.5 | Top | 50-63 | Win | 100 | 1 h 14 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day The Montana coaching staff gets to split the guaranteed money generated from most of their games against power-conference opposition. It’s in DeCuir’s contract to schedule some of these games, and for the money to go among the coaches. It’s true. You could look it up. The message being, ‘If we schedule these games and show up, we make more money and the team gets a good scrimmage vs. better athletes.’ The score is not important. Showing up in SEC country averaging only 29.7 rebounds per game also bodes poorly. |
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12-07-20 | Bills +1 v. 49ers | 34-24 | Win | 100 | 12 h 59 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units This was the Super Bowl Chris Bermann always wanted, but never got. He was close in '88, '90, '92, & '93, but it never happened. What a game that would have been, it wouldn't have mattered if it was Montana or Young under center. Bills got it done vs the Chargers last week. Nothing fancy, offensively, but were in control from the coin flip. What an upset for the Niners in L.A. last week. Back-to-back sweeps of the Rams. Consider that the Bills are 4-0 vs |
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12-07-20 | Chattanooga v. Middle Tennessee -2 | 80-70 | Loss | -110 | 11 h 50 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units A hard-nosed defensive mindset could serve the home side as well in this match-up as it did when it held Murray State to 61 points in a recent home win. The visiting Mocs won only 62-54 at Tennessee Tech recently, a 9-22 squad from last season (0-4 currently) not known as a tough defensive outfit |
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12-06-20 | Broncos v. Chiefs -13.5 | 16-22 | Loss | -105 | 33 h 37 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Chiefs absolutely own this team. Since Mahomes has taken over, KC is 6-0 vs Denver. And he has done it every way imaginable: in the snow, & left-handed escaping Von Miller's grasp on MNF 2 years ago. What a joke that the Broncos/Saints game wasn't delayed, but the Ravens/Steelers was. Makes zero sense. Denver had no chance in that one, with their 12 passing yards the fewest in the NFL since 2016. On the other hand, there are the Chiefs: Mahomes, Hill, etc. Best start since 2003 for KC. Additionally, KC is 9-1 ATS the L10 versus Denver. |
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12-06-20 | Seton Hall v. Penn State -2.5 | 98-92 | Loss | -104 | 12 h 41 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Seton Hall offense without Myles Powell to dominate the proceedings – still a work in progress, eh? 0-2 SU on the road so far at Rhode Island and Louisville despite 25 and 22 points from Sandro Mamukelashvili, who has yet to have foul trouble but it wouldn’t be good if he does |
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12-06-20 | Missouri -5 v. Wichita State | 72-62 | Win | 100 | 6 h 45 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The host Shockers hit only 40.9% from the field against Oral Roberts here. It’s early still, but Cuonzo’s kids are finding the net so far like never before on his watch. Drew Buggs, grad transfer point guard from Hawaii, is getting partial credit. Cuonzo Martin has been able to keep a core group together for a few seasons, while Wichita’s has transferred out |
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12-06-20 | Bengals v. Dolphins -10.5 | 7-19 | Win | 100 | 25 h 2 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units This one could have been a battle of the young guns. However, as we all know, Burrow as KOed for the season 2 weeks ago. Let's hope these 2, along with Herbert are battling in the playoffs for years to come. Where does this team go without Burrow? When you are TD home dogs to any NFC East team, you have pretty much answered that question. Bengals are now 1-13-1 in one possession games over the last 2 seasons. Dolphins' Fitz'magic' got it done again last week, and against one of his many former squads. Miami has now won 6 of its last 7 games, & grabs this contest |
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12-06-20 | Browns v. Titans -5.5 | 41-35 | Loss | -103 | 25 h 59 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units This will loom large come January in regard to playoff seedings. The head-to-head tie-breaker between these two is enormous. The Browns got their 8th win last week in Jacksonville. That's 3 straight. Not the most impressive win, but that running attack is very impressive, keeping them in the thick of the AFC playoff race. Chubb: 144 rushing yards & a TD. The Titans went into Indy & took complete control of AFC South. Derrick Henry is simply a monster: 27 rushes, 178 yards, 3 more TDs. When Titans are cooking, well.. |
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12-06-20 | Saints -2.5 v. Falcons | 21-16 | Win | 100 | 25 h 36 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The Saints just keep marching on. A couple of weeks ago we mentioned the fact that New Orleans has had a 6-game winning streak in each of the last 4 seasons. Well, that run has now been extended to 8 games, after opening the year at 1-2. And they've done it without Brees, which seems unfathomable. But Hill has filled that void quite nicely with his do-it-all capacity. And by the way, how about that Saint "D", ranking 3rd in the NFL. Falcons did everything right against the Raiders last week. But not here |
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12-05-20 | UCLA +3 v. Arizona State | 25-18 | Win | 100 | 55 h 54 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units If any squad carries the "rusty" label, these 'Devils certainly qualify, as they haven't seen any action since their 28-27 loss to USC on opening week. Right, 4 straight cancellations. Bruins have allowed 48 & 38 points on the road this year, but check 244, 267, & 281 rushing yards L3 weeks (+47½ points ATS) |
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12-05-20 | Baylor v. Oklahoma -21.5 | 14-27 | Loss | -109 | 52 h 18 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units The season flies by so quickly, that the fact that the Bears had dropped 5-of-6 games to start the year, was lost on many. Snapped that streak with a win over Kansas State, in the last 0:00 (Brewer 2 TDs 0 INTs), but now run into a Sooner squad which is more complete than its recent editions, which were unstoppable on offense, but a sieve, defensively, resulting in a 2-9 spread streak. Not the case this time around, ranking 23rd in total "D". Have a 165-50 point edge in last 3 games (+54½), & dominated the Bears past 2 seasons. |
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12-05-20 | Clemson -21.5 v. Virginia Tech | Top | 45-10 | Win | 100 | 105 h 60 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit ACC Game of the Week All is right in Tiger world with the return of Lawrence (403 passing yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs), with 581-246 yard edge vs Pittsburgh, which had held 380-312 yards per game edge. Hokies fading fast: 3 straight losses (-52 points ATS), allowing 29, 26, & 30 first downs. And they've ceded 30+ points in 15 of their last 20 contests. No other way to go. |
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12-05-20 | Stanford v. Washington -11 | 31-26 | Loss | -114 | 48 h 14 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units Oh, how the Cards have fallen. Were annually among the elites, with a stellar overland game, to complement an always fearsome passing game. But they've been patsies of late, with last week's 24-23 win over California, made possible when the Bears missed a PAT kick in the final minute. Check a 418-165 rushing yard deficit over their last 2 games. By the way, that win snapped a 6-game losing skein, both SU & ATS. Huskies barely got by Utah last week, which serves to lower the line, & this a home series (8-1 ATS |
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12-05-20 | Miami-OH +5 v. Wright State | 47-71 | Loss | -109 | 6 h 46 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units You started worrying about Wright State when they said they would be tossing it more down low to Loudon Love and Grant Basile, the latter who happens to be beginning this season with an injury and played only 18 minutes in Wednesday’s 80-64 home loss to Marshall. Love and Basile combined for 20 points in 47 minutes. The rest of the team shot 14-for-44. The visiting Redhawks scored 81 points vs. Wright last season. Lost the game by 7 points, but Love had 27 that night for reasons that may no longer exist |
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12-05-20 | Iowa v. Illinois +13.5 | Top | 35-21 | Loss | -103 | 101 h 37 m | Show |
Big-10 Game of the Week Illini overland game seems a hidden gem, as only Wisconsin has contained it: 472, 181, 338, & 285 in their 4 games since that opener (319 rushing yards per game). Four straight wins for Hawkeyes, but just 34 & 19 yard edges & a 16-yard deficit in their last 3 games. And a 192-79 Illini rushing yard edge last year. |
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12-05-20 | Eastern Washington +12.5 v. Arizona | 67-70 | Win | 100 | 4 h 49 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Visiting EW will be without starting point guard Ellie Magnusen for this hastily scheduled affair but they were 23-8 last season and have already played Washington State to within 3 points on the road. Arizona is basically replacing their entire starting lineup around transfers James Akinjo and Jordan Brown. The Wildcats shot 38.3% from the field against Grambling in their only game |
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12-05-20 | Texas v. Kansas State +10 | Top | 69-31 | Loss | -110 | 94 h 5 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit Big-12 Play of the Day Dog continues to come through in Texas games, now standing at 29-12-1 ATS. Texas never trailed Iowa State until L1:24 in 23-20 loss. Ehlinger just 1 TD with 0 INTs, but he's 23 TDs with only 5 INTs for the season. Home team is 4-1 ATS in Wildcat games (+81 points). Kansas State needs it for .500 campaign, & is 12-5 ATS lately. |
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12-04-20 | South Dakota State v. Bradley +1.5 | 88-84 | Loss | -105 | 10 h 45 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The shelf-life of the traveling Jackrabbits figures to expire after coming out of Iowa State on Wednesday, where they pulled off a mild “upset” of the Cyclones but at +3.5 in early December against an unranked foe with no fans in the stands, it was about as mild as it gets. It’s no Sunday drive getting to Peoria, IL from anywhere. When they get there, they’ll be facing the Missouri Valley’s two-time conference tournament winner who played three games in three days last week, covered the true road game at Xavier for us and played an exhibition tune-up here on Tuesday. The Braves have nothing scheduled for 13 days after this and after tomorrow’s visit from St. Joe’s was canceled, have been able to turn their full attention to tonight’s assignment |
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12-04-20 | Wisconsin -4 v. Marquette | 65-67 | Loss | -120 | 9 h 50 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Marquette had an awful offensive game against an opponent not known for defensive tactics (Oklahoma State). Trouble ahead? It’s early in the post-Markus Howard era and if they couldn’t score while Okie State’s underclassmen wizards were putting on their display, then how they gonna score in the halfcourt against a team whose program is perennially drilled into playing 35 full seconds of dogged, man-to-man defense |
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12-03-20 | VMI v. Virginia Tech -20.5 | 57-64 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 48 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units VMI doesn’t stray into power-conference territory very often. In 2018-19, they lost 94-55 at Pitt, 89-65 at Va. Tech. Last year, they lost by only 9 points to Va. Tech, but the Hokies had a new head coach who spread the minutes around generously among many new players – nine played 11 to 27 minutes. Freshman Hunter Catoor was their leading scorer for the first and only time of the season. This year’s group of Hokies – a group more to Mike Young’s liking -- handled Radford and South Florida by 15 and 18 points around beating #3-ranked Villanova, all three better than VMI |
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12-02-20 | St. John's +1.5 v. BYU | 68-74 | Loss | -110 | 7 h 45 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Seems unfair for BYU to be playing an athletic, up-tempo opponent that’s rested, after BYU played against USC yesterday, doesn’t it? Not that we’re concerned about fairness. Unfairness is what creates value, we hope. BYU head coach Mark Pope would like his seven-foot Purdue transfer Matt Haarms to be a 27-30 minute guy (he’s played 12 and 24 minutes so far). “It’s hard to do for a big to log that many minutes, but I think he can do it… In terms of getting him the ball in the right spot, that’s going to be a learning process for us.” We can earn while they learn. |
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12-02-20 | Indiana v. Stanford -1.5 | 79-63 | Loss | -110 | 3 h 8 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Off a 20+ point loss vs. Texas, Indiana will probably be missing guard Al Durham (14 ppg so far). The offense didn’t look good with guards Rob Phinisee and Khristian Lander on the floor together and that combo may be forced to play more minutes this afternoon. Stanford’s aggressive defense (22 turnovers from North Carolina) would figure to capitalize on struggling offense. Also, 6’11” senior center Joey Brunk has yet to make an appearance for Hoosiers |
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12-01-20 | Kentucky v. Kansas -4 | 62-65 | Loss | -113 | 9 h 59 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units It’s possible that Kentucky rebounds from shooting 0-for-10 from three-point range in the loss vs. Richmond. But 10 trey attempts is not a lot of three-point shots, is it? And it’s not like their forwards were pouring in the buckets in the paint. Only 64 points vs. Richmond? The Spiders are good, but defense is not their calling card. Kansas tempo would figure to make the turnover problem they had vs. Richmond remain a problem |
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12-01-20 | Western Kentucky +4 v. Louisville | 54-75 | Loss | -108 | 5 h 23 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units As long as they’re taking points against opponents who aren’t familiar with them, Stansbury and his Hilltoppers seem to be a decent option. Louisville has been missing several injured players, including 6’11’’ center, Malik Williams, recovering from foot surgery. They played only seven escaping Seton Hall by 1 point. West Virginia had the size to help neutralize WKU’s Charles Bassey. Louisville doesn’t seem to have it at the moment |
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11-30-20 | Iona v. Seton Hall -19.5 | 64-86 | Win | 100 | 10 h 4 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Pirates’ head coach Kevin Willard should relish beating one of his mentors, Rick Pitino, when Pitino is coaching the lesser roster his first game. “We’re not ready to play right now but we have to play a game.” Thanks for the heads-up, Rick! Two Iona starters, Asante Gist and Osborn Shema, are expected to be out with injuries |
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11-30-20 | Seahawks v. Eagles +6.5 | 23-17 | Win | 100 | 8 h 9 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Rematch of last year's Wild Card game in Philly, when the Seahawks (+2½) upset the Eagles behind Russ & DK Metcalf. Eagles now 3-6-1. "O" line useless in Cleveland, yielding 5 sacks, while Seahawks' Wilson just passed Peyton for most wins (92) by a QB in their first 9 seasons. Philly is 0-4 SU this season vs teams currently over .500, with Wentz owning NFL-high 18 turn overs this season. Seahawk "D" ranks dead last in the NFL, so Eagles a chance |
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11-30-20 | St. John's v. Boston College | 97-93 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 9 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Jim Christian’s seat at Boston College is hotter than just about anyone else’s in the nation. His roster has more continuity of personnel than the Red Tomato, whose coach Mike Anderson does a very good job with what he has – especially when playing down in class -- but probably isn’t ready to run-n-gun a fellow power-conference also ran off a neutral floor just yet. BC struggled against zone defenses last season but won’t see much of that from the Red Menace. |
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11-29-20 | Bears v. Packers -7.5 | 25-41 | Win | 100 | 104 h 38 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units We have been stung by the Bears of late, unable to shake those late comebacks in the early season. But they've failed to top 17 pts in 3 of their last 4 games, losing all 4, while QB Foles now has 8 picks. The Packers have settled down following their 4-0 SU/ATS start, & enter this off an OT loss to the Colts. Thus their 3rd loss of the year, so note that they followed up their earlier 2 losses with 35-20 & 34-17 romps over Houston & San Francisco. Ditto. |
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11-29-20 | Texas Tech v. Houston +3 | 53-64 | Win | 100 | 8 h 22 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Marcus Santos-Silva, VCU transfer, is an exciting new piece for a Texas Tech team that has several others, such as Georgetown transfer Mac McClung, UNLV transfer Joel Ntrambwe and Wichita State transfer Jamarius Burton. All of them averaged double-digits in scoring for their prior programs. But Houston scored 89 points on Wednesday without preseason American Athletic Conference player of the year Caleb Mills. They forced 22 turnovers, blocked 8 shots, had a 37-9 advantage in bench points. Then, they eased past Boise State on Friday in a fine, low-scoring tune-up for this |
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11-29-20 | Saints -5.5 v. Broncos | 31-3 | Win | 100 | 98 h 37 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units This matchup would be completely different with a packed Mile High. Not the case in '20. Here they come. After an 0-3 start the Broncs have won 4-of-7. Saints are now a mind-boggling 6-0 without Brees since last year. Have won 7 straight, averaging 29.6 points per game during that streak. Hill: 18/23 for 233 yards, 51 rushing yards & 2 rushing TDs vs Falcons. And that "D" stepped up , sacking Ryan 8 times. Broncos: no opening TD drive in their last 13 games |
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11-29-20 | 49ers v. Rams -7 | 23-20 | Loss | -105 | 98 h 31 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Can Niners' depleted squad play spoiler vs the Rams? They're allowing 32.7 points per game during their 3-game losing streak (first 3-game losing skein since 2018), with Mullens 1 TD with 2 INTs vs New Orleans last week, his 6th career start with at least 2 turnovers (0-6 record in those 6). Rams are coming in off their Monday Nighter with the Bucs, but are 5-0 with |
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11-29-20 | Dolphins -6.5 v. Jets | 20-3 | Win | 100 | 96 h 8 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Adam Gase Bowl. Is this the one the Jets finally win? Tua got knocked out of the game in Denver, but is expected to start this one. He was sacked 6 times by the Broncos. Fitzpatrick in relief: 12-of-18, with 117 passing yards, but 0 TDs & an end zone pick in the final minute, snapping Dolphins' 5-game winning streak. The Jets have never been 0-10 until now, & are 0-8 vs AFC for first time since 1996. They completed just 3 passes in first half vs Chargers, 4 if you count the awful 'pick-6' from Flacco. No Jet revenge |
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11-28-20 | Montana v. USC -11.5 | 62-76 | Win | 100 | 11 h 57 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Wouldn’t be going against the Mobley family currently factoring heavily in the USC program. They’re more efficient and responsible than, for example, the Ball family that was trying to run the neighboring UCLA program. There is lots of length on the floor for Montana to navigate around. First of six straight road games for the visiting Grizzlies, four of them – including this – contractually guaranteed-payment games by stipulated clause in the contract of head coach Travis DeCuir. |
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11-28-20 | Arizona v. UCLA -10 | 10-27 | Win | 100 | 80 h 56 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The Bruins sure can move it, with last week's 267-88 rushing yard edge over Oregon a prime example. Took 'Ducks to limit, despite absence of Thompson-Robinson (expected to start here). 'Cats have allowed 34+ points in 8-of-9 contests, with 27-0 windup at Washington serving as misleading final. It's UCLA in this one! |
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11-28-20 | Notre Dame +10.5 v. Michigan State | 70-80 | Win | 100 | 10 h 50 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units The Irish closed last season 9-4, have plenty of returning experience and production. Michigan State is forever primed to play its best basketball in March. Says Irish head coach Mike Brey, regarding Michigan State (who no longer has point guard Cassius Winston or paint owner Xavier Tillman), “When I think about them, when I talked to the team, can we stop transition and can we keep it to one-and-done so they don’t play volleyball on the backboard?” They might. Also, Michigan State turned it over 18 times vs. Eastern Michigan’s zone the other night. |
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11-28-20 | Mississippi State v. Ole Miss -9.5 | 24-31 | Loss | -110 | 76 h 40 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units That shocking opening week Bulldog upset of Lsu, along with its 27-point cover seemed an omen of things to come for the season, especially with Stanford transfer Costello tossing 5 TDs. However, that was a one-game wonder, as Costello has thrown exactly 1 TD since then, with Mississippi State on a 1-5 SU & ATS run, losing its L3 road games by a combined 96-26 margin. Rebels give up points by the bushel, but counter with a 46.2 points per game "O". And they're 14-4 ATS lately |
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11-28-20 | Auburn v. Alabama -24 | Top | 13-42 | Win | 100 | 99 h 51 m | Show |
Rating: 4 Unit SEC Game of the Week What an offense! 'Tide now at 49.5 points per game & Jones at 347 passing yard per game (18 TDs with only 3 INTs). So 35+ points in every game since start of '19, & that "D" is finally coming around. "Iron Bowl" has provided innumerable shockers thru the years, but can't see pedestrian Tiger "O" keeping this one close. Lay it. |
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11-28-20 | Kentucky v. Florida -23 | Top | 10-34 | Win | 100 | 94 h 48 m | Show |
Rating: 3 Unit SEC Play of the Day From the frying pan into the fire for Kentucky, who had held 8-of-13 foes under 18 points, before L2, in which they were stung for 49 points per game, including last week's 63 points by Alabama. Offensively, try 10, 3, & 3 points 3-of-last-4. Florida's Trask now 31 TDs with only 3 INTs, with Florida topping 35 points last 9 games. Gator call |
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11-27-20 | Colorado -5 v. Kansas State | 76-58 | Win | 100 | 10 h 18 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Have to believe that Bruce Weber needs more time to develop his K-State team into something resembling his preferred style. Until then, anyone with quality should be able to handle them, anyplace. Buffs did us a solid vs. South Dakota, step up in class looking fine in this spot |
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11-27-20 | UC-Davis +8.5 v. Santa Clara | 63-66 | Win | 100 | 6 h 51 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Nothing about Santa Clara’s 62-49 win against Idaho State on Wednesday suggested forthcoming dominance of Jim Les’ Davis boys, who probably benefit from scheduling changes that would have had them flying all over the place this month. This change in November itinerary was a 90-minute bus trip, two days ago, and they’ve stayed in town since debuting with 93 points on Wednesday in this “Invitational.” Lost the game but hey, 93 points looks better than 62! |
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11-27-20 | Notre Dame -4.5 v. North Carolina | 31-17 | Win | 100 | 52 h 6 m | Show | |
Rating: 3 Units The 'Heels have been one of our darlings since the return of Mack Brown, along with the arrival of QB Howell, who stands at 23 TDs with 6 INTs following last year's brilliant 38 TDs with 7 INTs, with running backs Williams & Carter the perfect complements. However, that Irish "D", which held Clemson's running back Etienne to 1.6 yards per rush, while owning a 234-87 rushing yards per game edge, seems simply impenetrable. QB Book is also one of the best, with his 11/1 TDs to INT ratio again. Come too far |
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11-27-20 | St. Joe's v. Kansas -17.5 | 72-94 | Win | 100 | 4 h 58 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units This’ll work out better for the Jayhawks than yesterday, when they were thrown to the Gonzaga wolves. That which didn’t kill them makes them stronger. St. Joe’s took Auburn to the wire and figures to be worse for the wear a day later. |
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11-27-20 | Nebraska v. Iowa -13.5 | 20-26 | Loss | -110 | 49 h 19 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Didn't take the Hawkeyes long to straighten it all out, after opening with a pair of heartbreaking losses, with a 125-35 point edge in routs of Michigan State, Minnesota, & Penn State (+78 points ATS). They've done it mainly by the takeaway route, but have been one of the more reliable chalk plays for years, with the favorite covering 30 of their last 46 games. Nebraska still searching for answers, with their quarterback situation highly fluid, while unable to contain opposition rushing games thus far. Momentum is all Iowa. |
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11-26-20 | Washington Football Team v. Cowboys -3 | 41-16 | Loss | -100 | 50 h 36 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Dallas is 8-1 SU all-time vs Washington on Thanksgiving. Most recent results: Dallas 31-23 in '18, Boys 31-26 in '16, Skins 38-31 in '12, behind the brilliance of RG III, Boys 27-20 in '02). Dallas snapped its 4-game losing streak to get their 1st win since Oct 11th, with 31-28 win over Minnesota. And Zeke: 21 rushes, 103 yards. Hard to believe that's his first 100-yd game this season. In addition, the short week favors the home side as well. The Washington Football team beat the Bengals 20-9 at home. Alex Smith earned an important victory, but Washington is still 0-4 against the spread on the road this year. |
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11-26-20 | Texans v. Lions +3 | 41-25 | Loss | -110 | 22 h 7 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Eight years ago, these 2 battled here on Thanksgiving. Texans trailed in that one 24-14 in the 3rd quarter, only to come back & win 34-3, giving them. That win gave them an 11-1 record, on way to ending that season losing to the Pats in the Divisionals. Houston in off first W, Watson: 344 passing Yards, 2 TDs with 0 INTs. His last 5 games: 12 TDs & zero picks. Lions couldn't have looked any worse in Carolina vs their 2nd string QB, with Stafford suffering the first shutout of his career (159th start). The Texans are in the midst of a forgettable season with 3-7 SU, 2-7-1 ATS mark. |
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11-26-20 | Bradley +10 v. Xavier | 50-51 | Win | 100 | 4 h 31 m | Show | |
Rating: 2 Units Musketeers invite Braves to sit with them for holiday and could have their Thanksgiving lunch eaten by a rude guest. Xavier – not as strong the last two seasons and with turnover issues that rarely existed in Chris Mack’s tenure -- will be blending in a couple of “veteran” transfers and perhaps one more if they can get Big Ben Stanley (22-and-7 at Hampton) eligible. The Braves – back-to-back Mo Valley champs -- won’t be awed, regardless. |