Date | Match Up | Rating | Score | Result | Profit | Lead Time | Analysis |
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04-30-19 | Celtics +7.5 v. Bucks | Top | 102-123 | Loss | -105 | 12 h 54 m | Show |
10* Boston (8:05 ET): The Celtics aren't your typical 4-seed and in fact many feel they are the favorite in this series, even though the Bucks had the league's best regular season record. Game 1 certainly was a wake up call for Bucks fans, who watched their team get trounced 112-90. A team that was #1 in points per game got held to only 90 points on 34.8% shooting. Milwaukee now finds itself in almost "must win" territory heading into Game 2 tonight, but this looks to be a series that the oddsmakers have mispriced as I'm not convinced Boston isn't the better team based on its Game 1 showing or at least every bit Milwaukee's equal. Take the points. There's no denying that Boston underachieved in the regular season. Though they finished 4th in the East, they actually had the league's 6th best point differential and 5th best net efficiency rating. So they aren't exactly an ideal second round draw for Milwaukee here in Round 2. Remember that while this same Celtics squad made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year (lost to LeBron James and Cleveland), Milwaukee just won its first playoff series as a group. It was the first series win for any Bucks team going back to the group that got jobbed by the officiating in the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals (vs. the Iverson' 76ers) The Celtics are a perfect 6-0 SU/ATS their last six games and they too swept their 1st round series. Only they swept Indiana. Milwaukee was not tested by a Detroit side that appeared as ill-prepared for the playoffs as any team in recent memory. The ease w/ which the Bucks won that series may have done them no favors here. Boston is a perfect 6-0 ATS its last 6 road games and 10-3 ATS its L13 visits to Milwaukee. They are playing tremendous defense right now (allowing just 91.4 PPG in the playoffs!) and that makes them a great play as the underdog for Game 2. 10* Boston |
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04-27-19 | 76ers v. Raptors -6.5 | Top | 95-108 | Win | 100 | 12 h 35 m | Show |
10* Toronto (7:35 ET): The Raptors' misfortune in Game 1's is well-known. I wrote about in the opener of their 1st round series (where I won w/ the Under) and said an outright upset was a "distinct possibility." Sure enough, they did lose outright to Orlando, by a score of 104-101 (were -9.5). But then the Raptors really poured it on over the next four games, holding the Magic to an average of 89 PPG while winning all four. I do think that this Game 1 is going to be different for Toronto as I have my suspicions about Philadelphia going forward and think they're outclassed here. Lay the points. For the record, the Raptors are 2-14 SU all-time in Game 1's. That includes a 1-10 record in Round 1. What's really head-scratching is that a lot of these losses have occurred at home. Each of the last two years, they've been swept in Round 2, but that was against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This time, there will be no King James and they do enter as the better team. There's also some positive history on their side. They've defeated Philadelphia 13 straight times here at home and are 21-3 SU against them since the start of the 2013-14 regular season. The Sixers did win one of the four matchups this year, but that was when the Raptors were w/o Kawhi Leonard. Toronto's defense against Orlando really impressed me. Of course, they are a pretty strong offensive team as well, averaging 114.0 PPG while ranking sixth in efficiency. Philadelphia actually averages slightly more PPG (one spot behind in efficiency), but there is a gap at the defensive end. In the first round vs. Brooklyn, the Sixers followed a similar trajectory by losing Game 1, then winning four straight. But they also gave up an average of 111.4 PPG. Remember that the Sixers had a pretty week YTD point differential (+2.9 PPG) for a 3-seed. 10* Toronto |
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04-25-19 | Nuggets v. Spurs -3 | Top | 103-120 | Win | 100 | 12 h 13 m | Show |
10* San Antonio (8:05 ET): I am 3-0 in this series and have won three different ways. In Game 5, it was the Under. Game 2, it was the Over and going all the way back to Game 1, I was on the Spurs. Since pulling the outright upset in Game 1, San Antonio has lost three of four and that's too bad considering they probably should have been up three games to none going into Game 4. But they will likely end up "ruing the day" they blew a double digit 4th quarter lead in Game 2. That cost them the chance of taking the first two games in Denver and a shot at advancing here. I still think the Spurs were clearly the better team in the first four games, however. They held a double digit lead in all four games. They were clearly NOT the better team in Game 5 though as they got blown out by the Nuggets, 108-90, in Denver. But again, that was on the road. Coming into this series, home court advantage figured to play a significant role. Denver is now 36-8 SU in all home games this season while San Antonio is 33-10 SU. Both teams have losing records on the road. In the regular season, no team had a wider split between home and road victories than these two. The Spurs were #1 w/ 16 more wins at home than on the road while the Nuggets weren't far behind (+14). Game 6 is in San Antonio, so you can probably guess where I'm heading here. To go back to my analysis from Game 1, I think the Nuggets are a pretty shaky #2 seed. They were definitely aided by a lucky 7-0 SU mark in games decided by three points or less during the regular season. Also, their YTD point differential was just 5th best in the Western Conference. Net efficiency rating was just 6th and only slightly better than the Spurs, who won six less games. I say we're heading back to Denver for a Game 7. The Spurs are 10-1 ATS this season in home games when playing w/ revenge for a double digit loss on the road. 10* San Antonio |
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04-24-19 | Jazz +8 v. Rockets | Top | 93-100 | Win | 100 | 13 h 36 m | Show |
analysis soon |
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04-23-19 | Nets +8.5 v. 76ers | Top | 100-122 | Loss | -100 | 12 h 34 m | Show |
8* Brooklyn (8:05 ET): Since taking Game 1, the Nets have had a tough time in this series, especially on the defensive end. Not that they were noted as a great defensive team or anything, but they have allowed 145, 131 and 112 points the L3 games and now face elimination Tuesday night in Philadelphia. The good news is that Brooklyn is an outstanding 13-1 ATS since the start of last season if they allowed 110+ points in three straight games. Despite two double digit losses in the series, the Nets have played the Sixers tougher than you might think and I'll take the points here. The Nets led Game 4 at the half, 63-57. They were down only six at the half in Game 3 (lost by 16) and down just one in Game 2 (despite losing by 22). Of course, they won Game 1 outright here in Philly, 111-102 as eight-point dogs. So far in the series, they have averaged 62 PPG in the first half. So scoring has not been an issue for them, at least in the first half. The second half has been a somewhat different story, but the fact is they still are averaging 114.2 PPG for the series. Getting as many points as they are here, a similar scoring output should yield an easy ATS victory in Game 5. I took Brooklyn in that Game 1 upset as I said I wasn't really sold on the 76ers. For a 3-seed, they have a weak YTD point differential (+2.9 per game). Joel Embiid is back and he led the way w/ 31 pts and 14 rebounds in Game 4. But the Sixers should feel a little fortunate to be up 3-1 in the series. Maybe they do end up closing things out Monday, but still take the points as I anticipate this game coming down to the wire and being much closer than anticipated. 8* Brooklyn |
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04-19-19 | Celtics v. Pacers -3 | Top | 104-96 | Loss | -107 | 29 h 30 m | Show |
10* Indiana (8:35 ET): The Pacers lost a couple of low scoring games in Boston, 84-74 and 99-91. Game 1 saw them fall apart in the third quarter when they scored all of eight points. In Game 2, the collapse happened later. They were outscored 31-12 in the fourth quarter this time as Boston outscored them 10-0 over the final five minutes. Indiana desperately needs to find some offense as they've been held 100 points the last three times they've played the Celtics. Game 1 was their lowest scoring game of the year (same as the Celtics). At home, I think Indiana finds the missing offense and delivers in a virtual "must-win" spot. Lay the short number. Boston hasn't exactly been shooting the lights out either. They shot just 36.4% in Game 1 and 47.6% in Game 2. Kyrie Irving had 37 points in Game 2, but outside of Jayson Tatum (26 pts), he didn't have much help. Only one other Celtic had more than six points. Remember that Jaylen Brown is now starting in place of the injured Marcus Smart. I expect Smart's absence to be felt more on the road. The Celtics were only mediocre on the road in the regular season, going 21-20 overall and they had a losing record as an underdog. Meanwhile, Indiana is an outstanding 29-12 SU at home. Key for them is defense. The fact that they've held the Celtics under 100 in both games should not come as a shock considering the Pacers were #1 in the league in scoring defense. They allow just 101 PPG at home, so expect the defensive prowess to continue as they find their offensive touch. The Pacers won 24 of their 33 games as a home favorite in the regular season, outscoring opponents by almost eight points per game. Yes, there's been a big swing in the line from Games 1 & 2. However, Indiana is significantly better here and they are also a perfect 6-0 ATS when coming off a road trip of at least seven days. 10* Indiana |
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04-18-19 | Warriors v. Clippers +9 | Top | 132-105 | Loss | -110 | 15 h 50 m | Show |
8* LA Clippers (10:35 ET): The "world" figured to be on the Warriors here after they blew a 31-point lead and lost to the Clippers in Game 2. Sure enough, that is the case and while Golden State certainly ought to be respected, they are laying far too many points in this spot. I though the lines for both Game 1 and 2 were inflated. Now it looked as if "the joke was on me" midway through the third quarter of Game 2. Having already lost Game 1 by 17 points, they were down by 31 and things were looking bleak. But that's when the greatest comeback in NBA Playoff history took place. The Clippers are now back at home where they went 26-15 SU during the regular season. They shot 56.5% from the floor in Game 2, a number they likely will be unable to match tonight, but nevertheless this remains a prolific offensive team. They average 117.9 PPG at home and as previously noted, Golden State isn't as good defensively this season as in years' past. Obviously, it is rare to find the Clips getting this many points at home. They split two regular season home games w/ the Warriors and neither time were they getting this many points. As critical as I'd been of DeMarcus Cousins and his adverse effect on the Warriors' offense, the team will miss him as they simply don't have much depth. Now when you're as "top heavy" talent wise as the Warriors are, depth really isn't that great of a concern. But it can be in the playoffs, especially on the road as you get deeper into a series. Remember that the Clippers are among the deepest teams in the league as they are #1 in bench scoring. Golden State simply has not been a good team to bet on this season as their ATS record was third worst in the league during the regular season. Take the points. 8* LA Clippers |
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04-18-19 | 76ers v. Nets +3 | Top | 131-115 | Loss | -107 | 28 h 55 m | Show |
10* Brooklyn (8:05 ET): This was a specific game I had targeted when they playoff seedings were first announced. Philadelphia is a pretty pedestrian road team, having gone just 20-21 SU in the regular season. Brooklyn, as they showed in Game 1 of this series, is better than you think. They took the series opener, leading almost wire to wire, 111-102 as an eight-point underdog. I had them. Sensing some potential retribution from the Philly side, I laid off Game 2. That was wise as the Sixers shot 56% from the field en route to a 145-123 win and cover. Looking at the lines for Game 1 & 2, the Sixers seems to be a bit overvalued here as the series moves to the Barclays Center. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise considering the nature of the Game 2 victory. But my own personal power ratings have this game as a pick 'em. Take the points. Brooklyn went 23-5 SU as a favorite in the regular season. Honestly, I thought the likelihood of them being favored in this spot was greater than them ending up as a dog. But then Game 2 happened. It's not that the Nets didn't shoot the ball well, quite the contrary. They were 47.9% from the field, including 15 of 36 from three-point range. The problem was they gave up 51 pts in the third quarter. Yes, 51 points. Philadelphia shot 18 of 25 in the quarter and was 11 for 11 from the free throw line. That quarter was (obviously) the difference in the game. It went from a 1-pt deficit at halftime to 29 pts for the Nets. They ended up losing by 22. But note Philadelphia is just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games after scoring 125+ pts the previous time out. They are also 1-5 ATS off the L6 double digit wins. The Nets are 13-6 ATS off an ATS defeat and 9-3 ATS following a DD loss. There won't be any 51 pt quarters this time as I expect a much better effort on the defensive end from Brooklyn at home. Remember what I said about the Sixers in my Game 1 analysis. For a 3 seed, a YTD point differential of less than +3.0 per game is kind of weak. 10* Brooklyn |
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04-17-19 | Jazz +6.5 v. Rockets | Top | 98-118 | Loss | -100 | 13 h 1 m | Show |
8* Utah (9:35 ET): Admittedly, my play on the Jazz for Game 1 did not go well. They lost by 32 points. But that final score of 122-90 is a little misleading when you consider how things really got out of hand late. Houston outscored them 39-19 in the fourth quarter to take a game that already wasn't very competitive and turn it into a full fledged rout. But - believe it or not - as I come back with a play on Utah for Game 2, much of the rationale will stay the same. The number, which I thought was too high for Game 1, has stayed relatively unchanged here. Take the points. Directly taken from my Game 1 analysis - "The Jazz are a better team than their seed indicates. As a matter of fact, in my own personal power rankings I have them one spot above Houston. I have them #4 overall, 2nd best among Western Conference teams (trailing only Golden State obviously). Only three teams - the Bucks, Warriors and Raptors had better net efficiency ratings and point differentials. Were it not for an "unlucky" 0-7 SU record this year in games decided by three points or less, Utah definitely would have finished higher." One bad game is not going to change my view of them. The Jazz shot just 39 percent in Game 1 and were 7 of 27 from three-point range. That's not a winning formula and their trademark defense wasn't present either. I expect them to play much better on BOTH ends of the floor Wednesday. Coming off a SU loss, they are on a 20-6-1 ATS run this season. They did lose the meaningless regular season finale (to the Clippers), so Game 1 was a rare instance of them failing to cover in that spot. But the last time Utah lost three games in a row straight up was mid-November (note: they've never lost four in a row). I took the Clippers off a double digit loss on Monday (and won) and will do the same thing here. 8* Utah |
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04-15-19 | Clippers +13.5 v. Warriors | Top | 135-131 | Win | 100 | 14 h 50 m | Show |
10* LA Clippers (10:35 ET): The Clippers came into this series as the biggest underdogs EVER in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs. So no one is giving them much of a chance. On a Saturday where the other three underdogs all won outright, the Clips lost Game 1 by 17 points, but that's really not horrible considering they closed as 13.5-pt underdogs. There's been no real change in the line for Game 2 and I do see some value w/ the underdog. They are 8-1 ATS on the road, off a road loss, this season. Steph Curry probably isn't making eight three-pointers again here either. Take the points. Despite Curry going 8 of 12 from three-point range for the game and the Clippers making only 2 of their first 10 three-point attempts, the game stayed relatively close for most of the first half. It was just a two-point game w/ slightly over two minutes to go before halftime. That's when the Warriors made a big run and never looked back (Clips never got closer than six points). Curry has killed LA all season, but containing him would go a long way. Easier said than done obviously, but the rest of the Warriors really weren't that impressive in Game 1. The Clippers were only 27 of 64 on 2-pt attempts Saturday (42%), a number which should go up substantially here. DeMarcus Cousins only played 21 minutes in Game 1 for Golden State. That's something to keep an eye on as the Dubs are a substantially WORSE offensive team when Boogie is on the court. Obviously then, it would be wise for HC Steve Kerr to minimize his minutes, but is that really possible over the course of a series? Only six Warriors played more than 20 minutes in Game 1. They are obviously lighter on "star power," but the Clippers are a significantly "deeper" team than the Warriors and had the most bench scoring in the league. They will keep this one close! 10* LA Clippers |
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04-14-19 | Jazz +6.5 v. Rockets | Top | 90-122 | Loss | -109 | 78 h 56 m | Show |
10* Utah (9:35 ET): The Jazz are a better team than their seed indicates. As a matter of fact, in my own personal power rankings I have them one spot above Houston. I have them #4 overall, 2nd best among Western Conference teams (trailing only Golden State obviously). Only three teams - the Bucks, Warriors and Raptors had better net efficiency ratings and point differentials. Were it not for an "unlucky" 0-7 SU record this year in games decided by three points or less, Utah definitely would have finished higher. This is way too many points to pass up for Game 1. Houston losing to Oklahoma City in the final game of the regular season proved costly. It was a game that they led by as many as 14 pts in the fourth quarter (lost 112-111 as 3-pt chalk). Now if "all" that did was simply end Houston's prior six-game SU/ATS win streak, it wouldn't be that big a deal. But that result, coupled w/ Portland winning on the final day of the regular season, dropped the Rockets down a spot and into this unfortunate matchup w/ the Jazz. The teams split four regular season meetings and again, by the numbers, Utah was better in the regular season. The Rockets actually had a decent defense last year. That was how they were able to win 65 regular season games and come within an eyelash of the NBA Finals. But this year, their defensive efficiency rating dropped down to 16th in the league. The Jazz were #2 in that department. Now, Utah will be tested defensively by a Houston team that has James Harden and Chris Paul. But I think they'll be up to the task and Donovan Mitchell should hit some key shots for them on the other end. Utah did drop its final regular season game (in OT to the Clippers), but it meant nothing and it was by six points or less (6 exactly). The Jazz are 10-2 ATS this season off a loss by 6 pts or less. Houston will "rue the day" it lost its own regular season finale. 10* Utah |
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04-13-19 | Spurs +5.5 v. Nuggets | Top | 101-96 | Win | 100 | 39 h 25 m | Show |
8* San Antonio (10:35 ET): This season has to be considered a massive success in Denver, regardless of what happens here in the playoffs. However, not to be the "bearer of bad tidings," but the Nuggets were a bit fortunate in finishing the regular season w/ a 54-28 SU record. They went an extremely fortunate 13-3 in games decided by three points or less. That was the most wins by any team in games of that nature and easily the best win percentage. The Nuggets are one of two playoff teams in the West that didn't have a winning record. First round opponent San Antonio happened to be the other, but this is too many points to lay for Game 1. These teams essentially finished the regular season w/ matching net efficiency ratings. Denver was +3.0 while San Antonio was +2.8. This was far from Greg Popovich's best defensive team, but they did improve on that end of the floor - significantly - over the second half of the season. The Spurs did end up beating projections for this season and a major reason for that was the offensive end. They were fifth in offensive efficiency and led the league in three-point shooting percentage. With both teams ranking near the bottom of the league in pace of play, possessions will be vital here. I think it's going to be difficult for Denver to create any separation. In the past, home court advantage has been pretty critical when these teams meet. The home team has won 10 straight meetings, including four this season. Denver had the best home record in the league (34-7 SU), but I still have my doubts about a team that lack a true "go to" superstar and is making its first foray into the postseason as a group. Meanwhile, this will be the 22nd straight year in the playoffs for San Antonio, and while the names on the back of the jerseys have changed, the coach has not. I'm not a huge "buyer" in this Nuggets team and like the points! The Spurs have gone 19-2 ATS avenging a loss this season if the opponent scored 110+ pts in the previous matchup. 8* San Antonio |
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04-13-19 | Clippers +13 v. Warriors | Top | 104-121 | Loss | -115 | 37 h 4 m | Show |
8* LA Clippers (8:00 ET): The Warriors weren't the Warriors this year. Sure, they won 57 games and actually posted the highest scoring average (117.7 PPG) under HC Steve Kerr. But their vaunted reputation clearly preceded itself as they were a bust at the betting window, posting a 35-46-1 ATS record, the third worst mark in the entire league. Only the disappointing Lakers and hideous Knicks were worse to bet on in the regular season. It's an old rival that Golden State draws in the opening round of the playoffs, the Clippers, and not surprisingly the line is big for Game 1. I'm taking the points. Meanwhile, the Clippers were one of the best teams to bet on this season, going 45-36-1 ATS. That was the third BEST ATS mark in the league (only Milwaukee & Dallas were better). Doc Rivers did arguably his best coaching job this season, especially considering the front office trading away Tobias Harris was supposed to signal the end of any kind of playoff run. But it didn't. Danilo Gallinari posted career bests in points per game, field goal percentage and three-point percentage. While they might lack a "true" superstar, the Clippers are among the deepest teams in the league as they led the league in bench points (53.2 PPG) by a wide margin. Golden State took three of the four regular season meetings, the last two both coming by convincing margins (18 and 27 pts). The Clippers did cover the first two though and were 11-5 SU/ATS in all division games. They've also covered 13 out of the last 16 division road games. The Warriors actually lost straight up 11 times in the regular season and were just 16-24-1 ATS at Oracle Arena. The spread here is larger than it was for either regular season matchup here in Oakland. The Clippers were also a top five team in scoring this year. One thing worth monitoring with the Warriors is that they were a far worse offensive team w/ DeMarcus Cousins on the court. They also slipped defensively as well. Too many points here. 8* LA Clippers |
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04-13-19 | Nets +8 v. 76ers | Top | 111-102 | Win | 100 | 31 h 14 m | Show |
Note: this play stands regardless of Joel Embiid's status! Obviously, we'd feel even stronger about Brooklyn were Embiid not to suit up for the 76ers. 8* Brooklyn (2:30 ET): The Nets made the playoffs for the 1st time since 2014-15, but aren't really getting much of any respect as oddsmakers view them as the weakest team in the entire field. I don't necessarily agree w/ the sentiment (I think Detroit is worse) and think we can use the opinion to our benefit here in Game 1 against Philadelphia. While neither playing on the road nor the underdog role suited Brooklyn particularly well in the regular season, this is too many points to pass up given they split four matchups with the Sixers and were 3-1 ATS. Take the points. It turns out that trusting the famed "process" in Philadelphia has paid dividends as for the second straight year the Sixers won 50+ games. Last year's team did make the second round of the playoffs, so the expectation coming into this season was for them to take "the next step." But I'm not sure that's going to happen. Part of the reason I say that has to do w/ the fact the Sixers' point differential was only fifth best in the East this year, so a third place finish should be considered a little fortuitous. Over the course of the year, the Sixers outscored teams by less than three points per game. As I said earlier, these teams split four regular season matchups, but Brooklyn was 3-1 ATS. They covered both times at home (won by 25, lost by 2), then later pulled an upset here as 5.5-pt road underdogs. All three of those games were played before X-Mas and the Sixers did take the final game, handily, by a score of 123-110. That was just over two weeks ago and Philly shot the ball very well. Brooklyn has been in "playoff mode" for some time now (just to ensure they got here) while Philadelphia largely got to coast over the last month. That, to me, signals the favorite could get caught "flat footed" here for Game 1. 8* Brooklyn |
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04-09-19 | Hornets -7.5 v. Cavs | Top | 124-97 | Win | 100 | 11 h 33 m | Show |
8* Charlotte (7:05 ET): With two games remaining, there's only one spot left in the Eastern Conference playoffs and it will go to one of three teams: Detroit, Miami or Charlotte. The Pistons are in "pole position" right now, one game ahead of the other two teams. Charlotte has won three straight, including a key win over Detroit on Sunday that enabled them to stay alive. The Hornets basically have to win out and tonight's game against sorry Cleveland looks to be an easy one. Overall, the Hornets are 8-2 ATS the L10 games. The Cavs have dropped nine in a row straight up and tonight is their final game of the year. Expect little effort from them. Lay the points. Believe it or not, the Cavs may end up slightly worse this season than they did the season after LeBron James first left town (2010-11). At 19-62 SU, they may not have the worst record in the league (the Knicks do), but they have the worst point differential in the league at -9.4 per game. A loss here would mean they'd finish w/ the same record as that 2010-11 team, which was outscored by 9.0 PPG. The Cavs showed little fight on Sunday when they lost here at home to San Antonio, 112-90 as 8.5-pt dogs. There's a good chance Kevin Love won't play tonight. The number here is obviously inflated due to Charlotte's need to win, but it's still justified in my eyes. Note the Hornets were favored by a similar number (actually more!) the first time they visited this season. Granted, they lost that game outright, but that was also back in November. The stakes are far higher now and there won't be any kind of letdown. They did beat the Cavs twice - by 32 and 11 points - at home. The Cavs' home arena (currently Quicken Loans Arena) will be renamed Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for next season. Call it whatever you want, the team is very bad and ranks dead last in the league in defensive efficiency. 8* Charlotte |
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04-08-19 | Texas Tech v. Virginia -1 | Top | 77-85 | Win | 100 | 30 h 41 m | Show |
10* Virginia (9:20 ET): Those who follow my NCAA Tournament picks regularly know that I constantly tout the importance of defense, particularly efficiency, this time of year. If you were still on the fence about believing me, then look no further than this National Championship matchup which pits the #1 team in scoring defense (Virginia) against the #1 team in defensive efficiency (Texas Tech). For the record, Virginia is 5th in efficiency while Texas Tech is third in points allowed. Points definitely figure to be at a premium Monday night, but ultimately (pun intended!) I feel that it will be Virginia cutting down the nets. They have been the more consistent team all season and were my pick to win it all before this Tournament started. It's not just Virginia's entire body of work that has me on them here. The Hoos have been very good in this Tournament as well. As per usual, we start w/ defense. They are giving up only 55.5 PPG for the season, 58.6 PPG in the Tournament. Remember though, they were taken to overtime by Purdue. Yes, the last three victories have all been by five points or less. But we are getting what I feel is an extremely good value here as this line would have been much higher had these teams played a couple weeks ago. Also, the Cavaliers are a perfect 11-0 ATS the L2 seasons when on the road and coming off a SU win where they did not cover. That's the situation they're in here. Tip your cap to Texas Tech, who has been very kind to me in this Tournament. They were a *10* ULTIMATE POWER release when they upset Gonzaga in the Elite 8, then my *10* Game of the Year when they upset Michigan State. They're a perfect 5-0 ATS now in the Big Dance w/ all but one win (Gonzaga) coming by double digits. They are giving up fewer PPG (55.8) in the Tournament than Virginia. But, the irony here is that with the defensive numbers basically being a draw, it could come down to the fact Virginia is #2 in the country in offensive efficiency (Tex Tech just 28th). Virginia has been the better team all year and getting them as basically a "pick 'em" is a big deal. 10* Virginia |
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04-07-19 | Thunder -6.5 v. Wolves | Top | 132-126 | Loss | -105 | 7 h 21 m | Show |
8* Oklahoma City (3:30 ET): The Thunder will definitely NOT have the home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but that doesn't mean there's nothing left to play for in these last three games. Mostly, it's what they are trying to AVOID. That would be finishing in eighth place and having to play Golden State in the first round. Right now, they are in seventh, but just one-half game ahead of the Spurs, who are in Cleveland today for a game against the lowly Cavaliers. So winning should be a huge priority here for OKC and I think they come through by delivering a big win on national TV Sunday. Lay the points. Eliminated from playoff contention, Minnesota is reduced to a "spoiler role" and it's something that they have embraced. They upset Miami on Friday, winning 111-109 as three-point home dogs. That put a severe damper on the Heat's playoff hopes. The T'wolves also recently beat Golden State (as 10-pt dogs) here at home, which was a *10* Game of the Week selection for me. So I do respect them. But I don't expect motivation to be as high here as it was for Golden State or even Miami two nights ago. Yes, it's a national TV game. But let's not forget that the T'wolves have covered only 6 of their last 19 games. They are 0-3 vs. the Thunder this season. Oklahoma City has won two straight by double digits, including a 123-110 win over Detroit on Friday. That came on the heels of a 119-103 win over the Lakers where Russell Westbrook had 20 pts, 20 rebounds and 21 assists, making him just the 2nd player in league history to have a 20-20-20 game. This is the third season in a row that Westbrook will average a triple double, which is incredible. But the Thunder are more than just Westbrook as it was Paul George leading the way w/ 30 pts vs. the Pistons. The Thunder also have a massive edge defensively in this matchup as they rank 4th in the league in efficiency while the T'wolves are 22nd. 8* Oklahoma City |
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04-06-19 | Texas Tech +3 v. Michigan State | Top | 61-51 | Win | 100 | 104 h 15 m | Show |
10* Texas Tech (8:49 ET): The Red Raiders were a signature *10* ULTIMATE POWER release for me in the Elite 8 when they upset top seeded Gonzaga. They remain a live dog moving forward, thanks to #1 ranking in defensive efficiency. This is the key metric that I've leaned on in past tournaments and Texas Tech beating Gonzaga (who was #1 in the country in offensive efficiency) was the latest example of it working out. As soon as the Red Raiders moved on Saturday night, I knew I was going take them again here, regardless of the Duke-Michigan State winner. The fact Michigan State won I believe is a better deal for the Red Raiders as they don't have the offensive weapons that Duke does. Take the points. Since a poor 1st half in the first round game against Bradley, Michigan State has been very good, outscoring its opponents by 50 points. They outlasted Duke 68-67, sparked by Cassius Winston's 20 points. But Sparty is not a deep team. Only seven players saw action against Duke w/ one of them (Gabe Brown) playing just three minutes. Had Xavier Tillman not gotten into early foul trouble, it's likely Brown wouldn't have even seen the floor. All other MSU starters played at least 38 minutes w/ Winston playing the whole 40. I realize the Spartans have won 14 out of their last 15 games (only loss by 1 pt!) w/ three wins over Michigan. But Texas Tech, save for Duke, will be their toughest opponent to date. Remember that Texas Tech had no problem beating Michigan in the Sweet 16 themselves. They crushed the Wolverines, holding them to 1 of 19 shooting from three-point range, in a 63-44 final. Michigan State's three wins over Michigan were by a combined 24 points. The Red Raiders have held their four tournament opponents to an average of 57 PPG and the last three have all been against top 25 offenses. They just held the #1 offense in the country (Gonzaga) to 69 pts on 42.4% shooting. I don't see Michigan State topping those numbers, so I'm clearly siding w/ the underdog in this one. 10* Texas Tech |
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04-05-19 | Hawks v. Magic -8.5 | Top | 113-149 | Win | 100 | 12 h 1 m | Show |
10* Orlando (7:05 ET): For most NBA teams, simply making the NBA playoffs doesn't mean much. The majority of teams in this league either have championship aspirations or are deliberately tanking. But the Magic don't fit into either of those categories. Having not made the playoffs since Dwight Howard left town in 2012, an appearance of any kind (even if it meant being swept by Milwaukee) would be welcomed. Lately, Orlando has been playing very well. They've won 8 of 10 and as a result are currently tied w/ Brooklyn for 7th in the Eastern Conference w/ just three regular season games to play. The Magic obviously can't afford any kind of slip up as Miami is breathing right down their neck. The ninth place Heat are only one-half game back. There are four teams - all separated by a game - battling for the final three spots and obviously one is going to be left out. Believe it or not, but the key numbers - whether it be point differential or net efficiency rating - say the Magic are the best team out of that quartet. Tonight is the final home game of the regular season, so expect them to be extra motivated. They are 22-16 at home for the season and have not lost here since right after the All-Star Break. They've won eight straight at home and 12 out of the last 13, including a 14-pt win over the Knicks on Wednesday. Drawing Atlanta is obviously of great help to the Magic here as well. The Hawks came into the year as non-contenders and have certainly "lived up" to that advanced billing. While far from the worst team in the league, the Hawks are definitely in the bottom five. I say that knowing full well they've gone 5-2 SU and 6-1 ATS their last seven. They've recently upset both Philadelphia and Milwaukee, but both of those games were at home and the opponents came in disinterested. They won't be facing a disinterested opponent here on the road. The Hawks are dead last in the league in points allowed (118.8 per game) and are giving up even more than usual the L5 games. Meanwhile, the Magic have been among the best defensive teams in the league since the Break. They've also posted three double digit victories against Atlanta since the New Year. 10* Orlando |
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04-03-19 | Rockets v. Clippers -1 | Top | 135-103 | Loss | -110 | 14 h 15 m | Show |
10* LA Clippers (10:35 ET): Houston certainly proved me wrong last night by going on the road and delivering a resounding statement in Sacramento. The Rockets won 130-105, easily covering the 5.5-pt spot. It was their 50th win of the year along w/ the third straight win and cover. As a result, they've moved into third place in the West and are only 1.5 games back of Denver (3.5 games behind Golden State). But this is a tough spot playing a Clippers team who is also looking to improve its own playoff position. The situation tremendously favors LA here, who is playing at home. The Clippers are currently sixth in the West, one-half game back of Utah. Obviously, getting into the top four (2.5 games back) and garnering home court advantage for the first round playoff series should be the goal. The Clips are 25-13 SU at home this season, averaging 117.7 PPG. The team has done its best to shoot up the standings and had itself a tremendous March, going 13-2 SU and 10-4-1 ATS. Not only is Houston playing the second game of a back to back here, the Clippers have been off for two days. They last played Sunday and blew out Memphis 113-96 as 10-pt chalk. The Rockets have performed poorly when playing on the road w/o rest. They've gone 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS in the situation, including 1-4 ATS when both games took place on the road. Meanwhile, give the Clippers any rest at all (meaning they're not playing in the second game of a B2B) and their SU record is 40-24. They have already beaten Houston twice this season, once by three here at home and by 20 on the road. While Houston has the stars, the Clippers are the deeper team. 10* LA Clippers |
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04-02-19 | Rockets v. Kings +5 | Top | 130-105 | Loss | -100 | 12 h 23 m | Show |
10* Sacramento (10:05 ET): This has the potential for an upset as the Kings are a much better team than you think. While they're going to miss the playoffs for a 13th straight year, 2018-19 has brought masssive improvement as they can still finish above .500 for the 1st time since that last playoff year (2006). At 44-32-1 ATS overall, Sacramento has been one of the best teams to bet on this season. Only the Bucks and Clippers have been more profitable at the betting window. Tonight, they can play "spoiler" against a Houston team that just beat them 119-108 over the weekend. Take the points. The Rockets have already wrapped up a playoff spot and are probably going to have home court advantage for their first round playoff series, whomever that's against. Right now, they are tied w/ Portland for third place. Avoiding Utah in the 1st round should be a priority, but considering how congested the West is, that's not a simple thing to do. Saturday's win over the Kings saw James Harden deliver a 5th career 50+ pt triple double, leading the team for a fourth quarter rally. Sacramento actually led after three quarters, but was outscored 28-15 in the fourth. This is not a "true" home and home for the Kings as they've played a game since losing in Houston. That was the follow night in San Antonio where they snapped an 11-game losing streak in the Alamo. Finishing .500 seems to be a goal the Kings are excited about. "We've just got to come out and be ready to play. We can't overlook and say the season's over. We have a goal, let's get that," said Buddy Hield, who led the team w/ 26 pts in SA. The Kings are a lot stronger at home (23-15 SU overall, 13-5-1 ATS L19), so the Rockets face a much tougher challenge here than what they faced Saturday. 10* Sacramento |
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03-31-19 | Auburn v. Kentucky -4.5 | Top | 77-71 | Loss | -105 | 6 h 18 m | Show |
10* Kentucky (2:20 ET): Just as Kentucky has gotten back one of its key cogs (PJ Washington), Auburn has lost one of theirs (Chuma Okeke). This turn of events is obviously a decided edge for the already favored Wildcats and I've got no hesitation about laying the short number here. UK swept the regular season series, winning by two on the road and by 27 at home. While it is quite unlikely the beatdown will be as severe here as it was in Lexington, UK should win by more than they did down in Auburn. They scored 80+ in both previous games and are much better defensive team compared to the Tigers. Kentucky has been outstanding defensively in this Tournament, holding all three of its opponents under 60 points. That will obviously be tested by an Auburn team that's shooting the lights out right now (53.5 FG% L2 Games). But I view the Wildcats as being up to the challenge here. They are top 10 (8th) in defensive efficiency and all three Tournament opponents have been held under 40% shooting. Obviously, Auburn is more prolific than any of UK's three previous opponents, but they were held to 32.8% shooting the last time they met. Being without their third leading scorer (Okeke) obviously hurts as well. Okeke had 20 pts last round vs. North Carolina. Of the six teams still left standing in this Tournament, five are ranked in the top nine nationally in defensive efficiency. Auburn is the other, way off the pace at 43rd. This should end up costing them given the value of this particular metric. They can't continue to shoot above 40% from three-point range. The Tigers have given up at least 75 points in every game in the Tournament, and again, they gave up 82 and 80 points to Kentucky in the regular season. They are looking to do something incredible here - that's beating Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky in three straight Tournament games, but they ultimately fall short here. 10* Kentucky |
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03-30-19 | Grizzlies -1.5 v. Suns | Top | 120-115 | Win | 100 | 15 h 36 m | Show |
10* Memphis (10:05 ET): Clearly, the oddsmakers made a mistake in opening Phoenix as a slight favorite here as the line quickly "jumped the fence" and the Grizzlies now find themselves in the chalk role. The Grizz are a team I've used w/ a great deal of success this month. Now, normally that's at home and as an underdog, but I'll make an exception here despite them not being in either situation tonight. These teams are "worlds apart" defensively as Memphis is #2 in the NBA in scoring (105.3 PPG allowed) while Phoenix is near the bottom (27th), giving up 116.3 PPG. The Suns have gotten B2B 50+ point games from Devin Booker, yet lost both times, including by 33 at Utah. That game saw Booker's teammates combine to score less than he did. Wednesday night, the Suns lost here at home to the Wizards, 124-121. They've now lost five in a row and seven out of eight. Booker has scored more than 50% of his team's points the L2 games, which is not a recipe for success and you have to figure he'll struggle more than usual to find his shot, given how strong Memphis is on the defensive end. Phoenix is allowing 119 PPG its last five contests, including 125 and 124 the last two games. This is a big drop in class for the Grizzlies, who just had to play Oklahoma City and Golden State. They've lost five of seven overall, but did beat OKC, not to mention Houston last week. But stretching things back further, the Grizz are a respectable 7-7 SU the L14 games and they also beat Portland and Utah. Now almost all of those wins came at home. But Phoenix is not a hard team to beat, even on the road. Memphis did lose here (by two) early in the season, but considering how well both Mike Conley and Jonas Valanciunas are playing right now, they get the win tonight. 10* Memphis |
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03-30-19 | Texas Tech +4.5 v. Gonzaga | Top | 75-69 | Win | 100 | 11 h 40 m | Show |
10* Texas Tech (6:09 ET): Once again, we have an underdog w/ a better defensive efficiency rating. Actually, as long as Texas Tech stays in this Tournament, they'll be in this role. Well, provided they're the underdog. No team in the country has a better defensive efficiency rating than the Red Raiders, who have completely stifled their three tournament opponents, holding them to 57, 58 and 44 points. The performances in the last two rounds were really impressive considering they were against Michigan (LY's national runner-up) and a Buffalo team that was among the highest scoring in the country during the regular season. Right now, I wouldn't bet against this team when getting points. This is an interesting battle as it pits the country's #1 defensive team against the #1 offensive team. Gonzaga has looked every bit the part of a #1 seed so far, winning all three of its games by double digits. But Texas Tech will easily be their stiffest test to date. In the Sweet 16, the Zags faced a Florida State team that was top 15 in the country in defensive efficiency. The Seminoles were able to hold them to 72 points on 40.3% shooting. Again, Texas Tech is #1 in the country in defensive efficiency, so I am of the belief they're going to do an even better job here. None of the Red Raiders' opponents in this Tournament have shot better than 37.1% from the field. Texas Tech has also won all three of its games by double digits. Their average margin of victory is actually is 18 PPG w/ every win coming by at least 15 pts. What they just did to Michigan Thursday night was very impressive. They held the Wolverines to 44 pts on 32.7% shooting, making them look like a bad team. Michigan missed its first 18 three-point attempts. That came after holding Buffalo, who averaged 84.5 PPG and had just scored 91, to 58. The Red Raiders are allowing just 53.0 PPG in the Tournament and have held seven opponents under 50 this season. Remember that Gonzaga was held under 50 in the WCC Tournament Final, so it wouldn't be unprecedented. 10* Texas Tech |
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03-30-19 | Cavs +10 v. Clippers | Top | 108-132 | Loss | -109 | 8 h 7 m | Show |
8* Cleveland (3:35 ET): Cleveland, yes Cleveland, has been a tough out down the stretch. The Cavs once again had a disastrous beginning to a post-LeBron era, but recently they've played a lot better, going 8-4-1 ATS the L13 games. They even had San Antonio on the ropes for much of the game Thursday before letting them "off the hook" and losing 116-110. I'm not saying the result here will be as good as last night's 10* Game of the Week play on Minnesota (upset Golden State), but the Cavs should cover pretty easily. Take the points. The eight playoff teams are pretty much set in the Western Conference and the Clippers are one of those to have already clinched. They're still jockeying for position though and currently find themselves in the six spot after losing 128-118 at Milwaukee Thursday night. That loss snapped a six-game win streak. The team is still 11-2 SU in its last 13 games overall, but I wouldn't be surprised if they came out a little "sleepy" for this early start time (12:30 local time) and that would be a problem laying this many points. These teams just met in Cleveland last week and it was one of those games where the Cavs played hard, but ultimately fell short. They lost 110-108 as 6.5-pt dogs, even after scoring 40 pts in the 1st quarter and taking a 15-point lead. It was a similar story two nights ago vs. San Antonio, whom they led by nine at halftime. For the Clippers, this is the first game back home after a four-game trip out East and there's always the fear of a "letdown" in that first game back at home. They are not a team accustomed to being in this price range, so we'll go the other way. 8* Cleveland |
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03-29-19 | Warriors v. Wolves +10 | Top | 130-131 | Win | 100 | 10 h 59 m | Show |
10* Minnesota (8:05 ET): This is a lot of points to lay on the road, even for a team like Golden State. Then again, it's not like laying points w/ the Warriors this year has been a very good idea. The Dubs have the third worst overall ATS record in the league at 31-42-2 w/ only the Knicks and Lakers worse. Take away the small sample of games where they were an underdog and the team is cashing in just above 40% of the time for the year. After a disastrous stretch at the betting window in February, things have improved somewhat here in March, but they are still only 6-6 ATS w/ four outright losses. One thing Golden State has not had much trouble doing the last few years is beating Minnesota. They are 28-6 SU against the T'wolves, including 13-3 here in Minnesota. They've already beaten them three times this year w/ all of those wins coming by at least eight points. The most recent was 10 days ago here at the Target Center by a score of 117-107. The spread for that game was six points, so there's been a sizable adjustment here and I'm not sure that's warranted. Minnesota might be eliminated from playoff contention, but it's not as if they're a bad team. It's been a rough stretch lately, but they're still 23-12 SU at home and have Karl Anthony Towns on the roster. Towns has averaged 23.3 points and 14.3 rebounds against the Warriors this season. One might look at Boogie Cousins being in the lineup tonight for Golden State as a net positive. After all, the Warriors have been able to comfortably defeat the T'wolves the last two times w/o Cousins on the floor. But Cousins' presence has seemingly had a NEGATIVE effect on Golden State, particularly on offense. With Cousins on the court, the Dubs are averaging about five points less per 100 possessions. Since the All-Star Break - a stretch which has seen Golden State go just 10-7 SU - Cousins is the only one of the six key players to have a negative +/-. So Golden State might actually be in WORSE shape tonight. T'wolves get the cash. 10* Minnesota |
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03-28-19 | Oregon v. Virginia -8 | Top | 49-53 | Loss | -110 | 76 h 17 m | Show |
10* Virginia (9:59 ET): Given the way this Tournament has gone ("the chalk has walked!"), the idea that Oregon could somehow win here seems a little far-fetched. Admittedly, the Ducks are as hot as any team in the country right as they come into the Sweet 16 on a 10-game win streak, both SU and ATS. But Virginia has been one of the best teams in the country all season. They still don't get enough credit because they lost in the first round last year to a 16-seed. But that's fueling them this year and after a bad 1st half in the 1st round, the Cavailiers have looked completely dominant. I'm laying the points here in what is my top play for the entire Sweet 16. For the first half against Gardner-Webb, there had to be a sense of dread in Charlottesville. Virginia was down six going into the break and it looked like UMBC all over again. But this time the Hoos put together a vintage second half performance, holding Gardner-Webb to just 20 points and Virginia won comfortably (by 15). Then, in the second round, they faced an Oklahoma team that had turned in one of the Tournament's best 1st round performances (95-72 win over Ole Miss). Virginia held the Sooners to just 51 points. In terms of scoring defense, no team in the country is better than Virginia as they allow only 55.0 PPG. Historically, the matchup of a #1 vs. #12 seed in the Sweet 16 has gone the way you'd think. Top seeds have absolutely dominated, going a perfect 19-0 SU head to head. None have been closer than seven points. Top seeds are also 9-3 ATS the previous 12 matchups with an average margin of victory of 16.8 PPG. All 12 won by at least eight points. Overall, #1 seeds are 14-1 SU, 12-2-1 ATS in the Sweet 16 since 2014. The odds are not in Oregon's favor here and I expect Virginia's defensive prowess to be on full display in this one as they roll onto the Elite 8 w/ a third straight double digit victory. 10* Virginia |
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03-28-19 | Purdue +1.5 v. Tennessee | Top | 99-94 | Win | 100 | 73 h 12 m | Show |
8* Purdue (7:29 ET): I think Purdue is the better team here. Granted Matt Painter's team has not done well in the past vs. top three seeds in this Tournament, especially in this round. His Boilermakers are 0 for their last 7 against the spread when taking on a top three seed including losses by a combined 45 pts the L2 years in the Sweet 16. But Tennessee HC Rick Barnes is a big money burner in this event himself, going 1-9-1 ATS his L11 NCAA Tournament games, including 0-2 this year. Through the first two rounds, I don't think there's any denying that Purdue has looked better than Tennessee. Now, for a half, the Vols looked unstoppable against Iowa. They were up as much as 25 on Sunday. But then came the second half. They blew the entire lead and needed OT just to advance. As an Iowa bettor, I was pretty grateful, as the Hawkeyes ended up losing by only six as 8.5-point dogs. It was only a seven-point win for Tennessee in the 1st round against Colgate, whom they allowed to hit 15 three-pointers. In my analysis for the Iowa game, I mentioned that defending the three-point line has been an issue all season for the Vols. Opponents are hitting 38.4% of their 3-pt attempts against them outside of Knoxville. Iowa was even below that percentage (w/ only seven makes), so in that regard Tennessee was actually a bit lucky. There's been no luck needed for the way Purdue handled Old Dominion and Villanova in the first two rounds of this Tournament. They dominated both, winning by 13 and 26 respectively. The showing against 'Nova, the defending National Champs, was obviously the more impressive of the two. The game was never in doubt as the Boilermakers took a 43-24 lead into halftime. The shooting percentages they've allowed in two games are pretty ridiculous. ODU shot 26.9% while Nova was at 34.5%. On offense, Carsen Edwards was ridiculous w/ a 42-point game against Nova, including nine made threes. Similar three-point shooting from the Boilermakers here is what I expect. Look for them to finally clear that Sweet 16 "hurdle." 8* Purdue |
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03-28-19 | Florida State +7.5 v. Gonzaga | Top | 58-72 | Loss | -109 | 73 h 53 m | Show |
8* Florida State (7:09 ET): This is a matchup I'd hoped for in the Sweet 16 when the brackets were first released. Florida State has a higher defensive efficiency rating (key metric!) than Gonzaga and should easily be able to stay within this number, if not pull the outright upset. One could point to the fact the Seminoles have only had to play a 13 (Vermont) and 12 seed (Murray State) to get here, but the Zags' path of Farleigh Dickinson (16-seed playing for a second time in three days) and Baylor was hardly a "murderer's row" either. Also, Florida State beat Gonzaga in LY's Sweet 16 (as a lower seed), 75-60 as six-point underdogs. Now I did play against the 'Noles in Round 1. But they were laying a decent number to an experienced Vermont team. For three-quarters of the game, it was neck & neck before FSU pulled away late (but still did not cover). Their Round 2 performance was much more impressive though as they destroyed Ja Morant and Murray State, 90-62 as only four-point chalk. They held the Racers to 32.8% shooting as a team and it was a blowout going into halftime. FSU has now won 16 of its last 18 games, the only two losses coming to Duke and North Carolina. Both teams are better in 2019 than they were in 2018. Gonzaga's offensive numbers are off the charts this season, but like I said earlier - Florida State is the better team defensively here. The Seminoles have the kind of size that Gonzaga normally does not have to deal w/ in the West Coast Conference or even so far in this Tournament (Baylor is an undersized team). Yes, the 'Noles will be w/o Phil Cofer here (father passed away), but they were w/o him against Murray State as well. I think they honor their teammate w/ another strong performance here. Last year, they held the Zags to 33.9% overall shooting and 25.0% from three-point range. Under HC Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles are 7-1 ATS w/ five outright wins as a NCAA Tournament underdog. 8* Florida State |
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03-27-19 | Wizards v. Suns +2 | Top | 124-121 | Loss | -109 | 13 h 49 m | Show |
8* Phoenix (10:05 ET): This would be the rare instance of the Suns going into a game believing they can win. This team has been buried at the bottom of the Western Conference all season and they are on a four-game losing streak. Now 17-58 SU overall, the Suns are simply playing out the string. But that's also the case w/ Washington, who has now lost five in a row and is at the disadvantage of having played last night (lost to the Lakers, 124-106). The Wizards are an absolutely terrible road team (9-29 SU), so them being favored here makes for an easy target. Take the points. I needed four more points from the Wizards & Lakers last night having had the Over. Unfortunately, the Wiz scored just six points over the game's final five minutes. Of course, by then, their chances of winning the game were long gone. The Lakers outscored them in every quarter and the Wiz's playoff chances are now all but dead. Their play on the road has a lot to do w/ this disappointing season as they've been outscored by about eight points per game. Going back further, they are just 16-35 ATS their L51 road games. The fact they are just 3-7 SU & ATS as a road favorite this season should be enough to make anyone not want to lay the points here, no matter how short the line is. While Phoenix was beaten badly in its last game (lost 125-92 to Utah), don't blame Devin Booker, who went for 59 points. His teammates were not good, however, making just 12 of 42 shots (!) including 2 of 15 from three-point range. (Jimmer Fredette was atrocious.) But this is a game the Suns can win. It's the start of a five-game home stand, which has some other winnable games as well. While it's unlikely they avoid another 60+ loss season, I look for the Suns to come through here in a revenge spot for a triple OT loss in Washington back in December. 8* Phoenix |
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03-27-19 | Colorado +5.5 v. Texas | Top | 55-68 | Loss | -104 | 12 h 12 m | Show |
10* Colorado (9:05 ET): Both teams are obviously 2-0 here in the NIT, but while Colorado has covered both of its games (albeit barely), Texas is 0-2 ATS in theirs. The Buffs have won seven of eight overall, the only loss coming to top seed Washington in the Pac 12 Tournament. The Longhorns have now failed to cover five in a row dating back to the end of the regular season and are just 3-5 SU the L8 games. I realize this game is in Austin, but Colorado looks like the much better team and I'll gladly take the points here. Colorado really dominated its second round NIT game against Norfolk State as they led by 20 at the half and coasted from there. They were actually pretty fortunate to cover the large spread (-14) as Norfolk State missed 11 of 21 free throws in a 16-point loss. But now the Buffaloes are back to being underdogs, a role they have actually not been in very much lately. Playing w/o rest in the Pac 12 Tournament, they did "upset" Oregon State as 2.5-point pups. Other than that, Washington is the only team they've been a dog against in the last month. Honestly, it may be more important that Texas is a favorite than Colorado being the underdog. The Longhorns have been huge money burners as chalk this season, going 7-15 ATS in that role w/ eight outright losses. Their two wins in this Tournament have both been by six points or less and by just eight points total. They are just 18-16 SU on the season, by the way. The 1st round game against South Dakota State saw the 'Horns make 15 three-pointers (unlikely to be repeated here) and the game against Xavier went to OT. Better team is getting points. 10* Colorado |
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03-25-19 | Longwood v. DePaul -15 | Top | 89-97 | Loss | -107 | 11 h 13 m | Show |
8* DePaul (8:00 ET): Longwood is outclassed here as they face a team from the Big East Conference. DePaul may not be Villanova, but they are certainly head and shoulders above their opponents in this one. Longwood pulled a real stunner in their first CBI game, beating Southern Miss 90-68 as 9.5-point home dogs. I'm not entirely sure how or why Longwood ended up w/ the home court advantage for that game, given Southern Miss was a 20-win team in the regular season. Longwood has a losing record (16-17 SU overall) and went just 5-11 in the Big South. DePaul also delivered an impressive performance in 1st round CBI action by hanging 100 pts on Central Michigan. They gave up 86, but it hardly mattered as the Blue Demons couldn't miss and hit the century mark for the THIRD time this season and second in four games. We should expect them to score a ton again this evening while you probably can't say the same for Longwood. The Lancers did make 18 three-pointers and shoot 52.6% overall against Southern Miss, but they are averaging a scant 64.8 PPG away from home this season. That's a huge drop (double digits) from what they average at home. Longwood clearly "wanted it more" than Southern Miss as they had way more energy at the start of the game. They raced out to a 25-13 lead and never looked back. A similar start is unlikely tonight. I know this seems like a lot of points to lay in a postseason tournament, but Longwood is probably the worst team still playing college basketball at this point. The Lancers had lost four in a row before beating Southern Miss in what I'll call a "gifted home game." DePaul can score w/ the best of 'em and should have no problems here. 8* DePaul |
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03-25-19 | 76ers v. Magic +2 | Top | 98-119 | Win | 100 | 10 h 19 m | Show |
10* Orlando (7:05 ET): Right now, it appears as if Philadelphia is destined to be the 3-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Indiana did win Sunday (crushing Denver!), but had been struggling prior to that, and Boston is imploding before our very eyes. The end result is a 2.5 game edge for the Sixers over the Pacers and 4.5 game edge over the Celtics entering Monday. But this doesn't mean the Sixers are immune to defeat right now. In fact, they were just upset in Atlanta over the weekend, losing 129-127 as seven-point road favorites. Tonight they're on the road again, facing an even more dangerous foe, and I'll gladly take the points here. While Philly is comfortably in the playoffs, Orlando is busy fighting for its postseason life. The Magic have not been to the playoffs since 2012, which was Dwight Howard's final season here. Lately, they've been playing like a team that wants in, no matter the seed. It's a four-game win streak, all at home, and tonight they look to make it a perfect 5-0 homestand. While they needed OT to overcome Memphis Friday night, their three prior wins all came by double digits. Entering Monday, the Magic trail the Heat for 8th place in the Eastern Conference, so this game means a lot more to them than it does Philly. Not only are the Sixers just 18-17 SU on the road this season, they've been outscored by roughly two full points per game. As a road favorite, they've really struggled, going 5-10 ATS w/ seven outright losses (including the one to Atlanta Saturday). Poor defense is what cost them in Atlanta as they gave up 129 points and lost in the closing seconds. Meanwhile, Orlando's defense has been outstanding of late as they're giving up an average of only 103.8 PPG since the All-Star Break, which is #1 in the league during that time. Opponents are shooting just 30.7% from three-point range since the Break, also #1 in the league. 10* Orlando |
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03-25-19 | Utah Valley +2.5 v. South Florida | Top | 57-66 | Loss | -109 | 10 h 13 m | Show |
8* Utah Valley State (7:00 ET): Another quarterfinal matchup in the CBI, this one featuring two teams that won, but failed to cover their first game. Utah Valley State is off a wild 92-84 win over pesky Cal State Northridge where they were 11-point favorites. Now they're the underdog against a USF team that struggled to get by Stony Brook (needed overtime) here in Tampa. The Bulls only won 82-79 (as 7.5-pt chalk), dropping to 1-7-1 ATS their last nine games. I realize UVSU has failed to cover three in a row, but I wouldn't trust South Florida as favorites moving forward. Take the points. Utah Valley State had a solid finish to its regular season and has lost only one time in the last 10 games. That was to Grand Canyon in the WAC Tournament semifinals. The Wolverines finished second in the conference, behind only New Mexico State, who almost upset Auburn in the NCAA Tournament. Since the starting the year 1-3 (two losses to NCAA Tournament teams, the other at BYU), Utah Valley State has gone 24-6 its last 30 games w/ only one loss by more than seven points. This is a pretty good team and they're dangerous in the underdog role considering they average 77.6 PPG. South Florida stumbled badly down the stretch, not only at the betting window, but straight up as well. The three-point win over Stony Brook was just the Bulls' second win in the last nine games. The other was by five, over a terrible Tulane team that didn't win a single conference game and just fired its head coach. In other words, I wouldn't want to be laying points w/ this group right now. The Bulls actually trailed Stony Brook by 18 (again, here at home!) at the half. The better team is getting points in this one, in my opinion. 8* Utah Valley State |
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03-24-19 | Ohio State +6.5 v. Houston | Top | 59-74 | Loss | -115 | 20 h 53 m | Show |
8* Ohio State (8:40 ET): Ohio State rewarded my faith in them by pulling a minor upset in Round 1, 62-59 over Iowa State as five-point pups. That was my biggest play of the Round of 64 and I came away even more impressed w/ the Buckeyes than I was going in. They do need to feed big man Kaleb Wesson more and I suspect that will happen here. Though OSU needed to stave off a potential game-winner from the Cyclones, they led virtually the whole way and only trailed briefly in the second half. Few will give the Buckeyes a chance here, but I'm taking the points. Houston is the second round opponent for Ohio State. The regular season champs from the American Conference looked very impressive in Round 1, beating Georgia State by 29 as 12.5-point chalk. It was the third time in the last four games that the Cougars, a very good defensive team, held their opponent to 30.0% shooting or worse. But the competition hasn't been that strong as the other two times came against Memphis and UConn. UH did lose the American Tournament Final to Cincinnati, a team Ohio State has beaten this year. I get the Cougars have been beaten all of three times this season, but they're laying too many points. I said this in the writeup for Ohio State in the last round, but the return of Wesson makes all the difference in the world w/ this team. A three-game losing streak at the end of the regular season coincided w/ Wesson being suspended, but he led the way w/ 21 points against Iowa State. The team is 3-0 ATS since he returned to the lineup, losing only once and that was to Michigan State in the Big 10 Tournament, by only seven points. Ohio State is undervalued right now, bottom line. The Big 10 is playing too well as a whole not to grab this many points. 8* Ohio State |
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03-24-19 | Buffalo +4 v. Texas Tech | Top | 58-78 | Loss | -109 | 17 h 10 m | Show |
10* Buffalo (6:10 ET): We're looking at a tournament almost bereft of major upsets. Entering play on Sunday, there's still a chance that every team seeded 3rd or higher could advance to the Sweet 16. That simply doesn't happen very often. Here, we have one of the few teams seeded 3rd or higher yet to make its way onto the Sweet 16, that being Texas Tech. The Red Raiders didn't have much problem w/ Northern Kentucky on Friday, winning 72-57 as 13-point chalk. They do own the nation's top defensive efficiency rating (per KenPom), but will be severely tested here by a Buffalo team that just put up 91 points in Round 1 and averages 85.1 PPG. Take the points. Buffalo, the two-time reigning MAC Champs, are in the second round of the Tournament for a second straight year. Last year, they came in as a relative unknown and pulled an upset of Arizona as a 13-seed before running into Kentucky. This year, things are much different. They were the favorite in Round 1 and played like it, completely dominating Arizona State. They're a dog in Round 2 yet again, but this time only as a 6-seed and w/ a real legit shot of advancing to the school's first ever Sweet 16. Tip your cap to the job done here by HC Nate Oats, whose team is 32-3 SU this season. That's tied w/ Houston for the best win percentage (.914) in all of D-I. Normally, I would side w/ a team that has the defensive efficiency Texas Tech does. But Buffalo is not often an underdog and is a legit Top 20 team in the country. This will be just the fourth time the Bulls have gotten points all season. They have scored 82 or more points in six consecutive games and were 5th in the regular season in points per game. This is also a veteran team. Their 1st round effort vs. Arizona State was as impressive as any turned in during the Round of 64. 10* Buffalo |
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03-24-19 | UCF +13.5 v. Duke | Top | 76-77 | Win | 100 | 16 h 23 m | Show |
8* Central Florida (5:15 ET): The expectation is for top seed Duke to roll here. But we'll take advantage of that and grab an inflated number w/ a UCF team that really surprised me in dominating a good VCU team 48 hours ago. Yes, VCU's leading scorer was hampered with an injury. But the Golden Knights building up a lead as big as 21 points is still impressive. They're getting double digits here, because after all "Duke is Duke," but given the Blue Devils' slow start vs. North Dakota State, I wouldn't be rushing to the betting window to lay the points here. In fact, I'll do just the opposite. Duke did get off to a slow start in Round 1. They trailed 16-seed North Dakota State (Carson Wentz's alma mater) early and were up only four at the break. Eventually, they did win rather easily, 85-62, but failed to cover the lofty 27.5-point spread. Coming into this year's NCAA Tournament as the prohibitive betting favorite (best odds to cut down the nets since 2015 Kentucky), the Blue Devils are definitely overvalued. They've covered only 3 of their last 12 games. UCF's defense can and is likely to keep them within the generous spread here. The Knights give up just 64.1 PPG on the year w/ opponents shooting 39.2%. They held VCU to 31.1% shooting. UCF did turn in a poor effort in the regular season finale vs. Temple (lost 67-62) and then ran into the host team in the American Tourney, Memphis, and lost badly. But other than those two games, the Golden Knights have covered every game dating back to February 10th. That's a 9-2 ATS run entering Sunday. They're 8-3 SU in that same stretch w/ two of the losses coming by five points. They've suffered only one loss by double digits all season and that was in the conference tournament at Memphis. UCF has the tallest player in the country on its roster (the 7'6" Tacko Fall), so look out Zion Williamson! Also, their HC (Johnny Dawkins) is a former Coach K assistant, so his former boss isn't going to look to embarrass him. 8* Central Florida |
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03-24-19 | Iowa +8.5 v. Tennessee | Top | 77-83 | Win | 100 | 11 h 12 m | Show |
8* Iowa (12:10 ET): The Big 10 has performed so admirably in this Tournament that how can you NOT consider Iowa plus the points here? The conference has only lost (straight up) twice so far and one of those was because Minnesota and Michigan State played one another (Wisconsin was the other). The Hawkeyes really impressed me in coming back from an early hole to defeat Cincinnati 79-72 as 4-pt dogs in the 1st Round. They were down 18-5 early, but from that point on, it was all Hawkeyes. In the second round, they'll be facing a Tennessee team that is NOT as strong as Cincinnati was defensively. I expect Iowa to score in this game and that makes taking the points the way to go. Also the game is in Columbus, a venue they regularly visit as Big 10 rivals of Ohio State. Tennessee did not cover its 1st round game vs. Colgate. The Vols won 77-70 as 17.5-pt chalk as they were outscored in the 2nd half. With 14 minutes remaining, the game was actually tied as Tennessee could not protect a 14-point lead. Like I said earlier, I expect Iowa to have plenty of success offensively in this game. They shoot 36.6% from three-point range and average 78.3 PPG overall. Even though it was season-high (15) three pointers allowed by Tennessee against Colgate, defending the three-point line has been an issue all year for the Vols. They let opponents shoot 38.7% from behind the arc outside of Knoxville for the year. If Colgate was able to have that kind of success, just imagine what the Hawkeyes can do. I'm not sure why Iowa isn't being given the respect it deserves here. Maybe it's their poor defensive efficiency rating, which normally would scare me off. But UT is no "great shakes" either defensively as they allow 77.8 PPG away from home and that's a big reason why I've never totally "bought in" on their success this season. Though still only 2-9 ATS the L11 games, Iowa is 5-1 SU/ATS at neutral sites in 2018-19 and rarely is getting this many points. 8* Iowa |
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03-23-19 | Auburn -2 v. Kansas | Top | 89-75 | Win | 100 | 14 h 5 m | Show |
8* Auburn (9:40 ET): The lower seed is slightly favored here, which is telling. Now I understand, it's a 4 vs. 5 (seed) matchup, so the teams are rather evenly matched on paper. But I still feel we're getting some value here on Auburn due to the way their 1st round game vs. New Mexico State ended. The Tigers nearly blew all of a 13-point second half lead, holding on for a 78-77 victory thanks to some NMSU blunders in the closing minute. Ironically, I thought Auburn was a little overvalued for that 1st round matchup as they were coming off winning the SEC Tournament. But for much of the year, it's been a case of being undervalued and that is again the case tonight. Kansas was the only high seed to cover the spread in the afternoon session on Thursday. They ran away from Northeastern in an 87-53 beatdown that saw the Jayhawks completely dominate the second half. They shot 56 percent from the floor, but it won't be that easy again tonight. Nor are they likely to hold Auburn anywhere close to the 28.1 FG% they held Northeastern to. I think most would agree that this Kansas team is NOT as strong as past editions, so I'm not surprise they check in as the underdog here. Note that the Jayhawks are just 5-11 ATS coming off a SU win including 0-4 ATS if that SU win was by more than 20 points. Auburn is hot as they've won nine straight. A lot of those wins have been close, but they did destroy Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Final, a situation where I was on them. I've made the case multiple times this season that this is a Top 15 team and typically they are priced accordingly. The Tigers played much better than the final scored showed vs. New Mexico State and now don't have to win by any kind of significant margin. Kansas will not be able to rely on a 50-16 edge in points in the paint here like they did vs. Northeastern. Lay the short number. 8* Auburn |
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03-23-19 | Heat v. Wizards -2 | Top | 113-108 | Loss | -100 | 11 h 12 m | Show |
8* Washington (7:05 ET): Not a good spot for Miami tonight as they are coming off a 116-87 whitewashing at the hands of Milwaukee last night. As well as the Heat had been playing before that (they'd won 8 of 10), they still are only one-half game ahead of Orlando for the 8th (and final) playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Heat may play better on the road, and they haven't lost to a team that isn't in the top two of the East since February. But Washington has been good at home this season ATS (21-13-1) and typically takes care of business as a favorite. The Wizards may be on the fringes of playoff contention, but I look for them to come up big on Saturday. The Heat got off to a decent start last night, scoring 32 pts in the 1st quarter. But from there, they were unable to score 20 points in any other quarter. The Bucks are #1 in the league in defensive efficiency, so give some credit there. However, make no mistake about it, Miami has had some offensive troubles this season. Three times in the last five games they've been held below 100 points. I'm surprised to see the Heat are 11-3 ATS in the 2nd game of a back to back this season, but that also includes a 7-1 mark at home. Only three times this season have they had to play B2B road games. They have been outscored by 5.3 PPG in those three contests. Washington has lost three in a row, putting a severe damper on its already dwindling playoff hopes. They are coming off a five-point loss to the Nuggets, here at home, a game that was tied going into the fourth quarter. That was the second night of a back to back for them. The good news is that the Wizards are on a 6-1 ATS run following a SU loss. They've also fared far better in division games this year (9-4 ATS) than have the Heat (4-9 ATS), at least when it comes to the betting window. The Wizards have covered 2 of 3 against the Heat already this year. I like them to make it 3 of 4 tonight. 8* Washington |
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03-23-19 | Maryland +2.5 v. LSU | Top | 67-69 | Win | 100 | 26 h 36 m | Show |
10* Maryland (12:10 ET): The defensive efficiency metric I lean so heavily on for handicapping this Tournament clearly favors Maryland in this second round matchup. The Terrapins are 24th in the country in defensive efficiency, LSU is 58th. Taking underdogs, no matter how small, with that kind of DE advantage is something I love to do. It was the strategy used in yday's big winners on Oklahoma and Washington. Neither of these teams covered Thursday, but LSU is a team I was NOT sold on for much of the regular season as they were a clear overachiever in the regular season. They also are playing w/o HC Will Wade, who is a part of the ongoing NCAA scandal. Take the points. Maryland spent a lot of their Round 1 game trailing Belmont. The Terps are a very young team w/ six freshman seeing time. No one in their rotation had ever won a NCAA Tourney game before Thursday. In the frontcourt are two players (Fernando, Smith) who will be in the NBA. In the backcourt is one of the Big 10's best guards, Anthony Cowan Jr, who shot just 3 of 18 against Belmont (including 1 of 10 on three-pointers). The fact the Terps still won in spite of their best player having "that kind of game" is a mark in their favor, especially w/ them falling into such an early hole (trailed by 12 in 1st half). Cowan won't shoot that poorly again here. LSU was far more in control of their 1st round game against Yale. The Tigers led by 16 at halftime and held on for a 79-74 win (but did not cover). However, the size advantage they enjoyed against Yale won't be present here. Now you can say the same for Maryland, who used size to its advantage against Belmont. However, a discussion of the LSU coaching situation bears repeating. Not having your head coach in this tournament is obviously not ideal. LSU has enjoyed a tremendous record in close games this year (including four OT wins in SEC play). You have to wonder if that luck is set to run out. I think it will. 10* Maryland |
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03-22-19 | Ohio State +5.5 v. Iowa State | Top | 62-59 | Win | 100 | 78 h 28 m | Show |
10* Ohio State (9:50 ET): Iowa State is riding high right now, coming off an impressive win in the Big 12 Tournament. But I also believe said run makes the Cyclones somewhat susceptible to a 1st round upset. The committee did them no favors here w/ the draw of an undervalued Ohio State team, who most will disregard simply because they finished w/ a losing conference record. The Buckeyes do come into the Tournament having lost four of five. However, key to that was they were w/o their best player (Kaleb Wesson). He's back now and OSU is a live dog here. Take the points. The edge in defensive efficiency here goes to the Buckeyes, who rank a strong 27th in that category, which is the second highest rating for any double digit seed. Meanwhile, Iowa State is 59th in defensive efficiency, putting them right behind 13-seed UC Irvine. In terms of single digit seeds, only five have a lower defensive efficiency rating than the Cyclones and two of them are either an 8 or 9 seed. Something that must be remembered here is that Iowa State had lost six of eight going into the Big 12 Tournament. Now they're the "toast of the town." Ohio State played two horrible games w/o Wesson, losing by double digits at Purdue and Northwestern. They shot 33.3% and 29.6% in the two losses. But then they took Wisconsin to overtime (lost by 4) and Wesson returned. With Wesson back, they beat Indiana in the Big 10 Tourney before bowing out to top seed Michigan State (only lost by 7). Wesson's return is huge and makes the Buckeyes a much better team than how they looked down the stretch. Don't fall victim to recency bias, Ohio State is the play here. 10* Ohio State |
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03-22-19 | Grizzlies v. Magic -9 | Top | 119-123 | Loss | -107 | 9 h 46 m | Show |
10* Orlando (7:05 ET): The Magic are trying to make the playoffs, something they have not done in the post-Dwight Howard era (which goes back to 2012). Right now, they are 1.5 games behind Miami for the 8-seed and have won three in a row. All three wins have been by double digits. Now, they've hardly faced the stiffest competition during that time. Two of the wins were against Cleveland and Atlanta while the other was against New Orleans w/o Anthony Davis. But those wins show me that Orlando is "doing what it should do" and that trend should continue tonight at home against Memphis. Now Memphis is a team that I've used somewhat regularly of late, in the underdog role. Their scoring defense (ranked #2 overall) is good enough to keep them in most games. But even though they just upset Houston (at home) Wednesday night, the Grizzlies have been giving up a lot more points than usual recently. It's an average of 130.6 PPG allowed in their L3 contests. Now they did need OT to overcome the Rockets and James Harden's 50 points. But the prior two games, both of which were on the road saw them allow 132 and 135 points to teams far worse than Orlando (Atlanta, Washington). Maybe we should talk a little bit about Orlando's defense here. The Magic held the Pelicans to a 37.3 FG%, the fourth time in five games they've held an opponent below 42.0% from the field. In those five games, Orlando is allowing an average of just 96.6 PPG. Memphis is not a good road team (10-25 SU) and while the rank near the top of the league in scoring defense, they're also at the bottom in offense at 102.5 PPG. The Grizz are long out of playoff contention in the West, so motivation could be an issue moving forward. No so for Orlando, however, as they look to avenge an eight-point loss in Memphis from 12 days ago. The Magic are also a perfect 7-0 ATS at home this season when coming off B2B home games. 10* Orlando |
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03-22-19 | Washington +3 v. Utah State | Top | 78-61 | Win | 100 | 76 h 32 m | Show |
8* Washington (6:50 ET): Here's yet another matchup where defensive efficiency is the key metric to lean on. Washington may have run into the buzzsaw known as "Oregon" in the Pac 12 Tournament Final, but Mike Hopkins' Huskies were regular season champs in the conference and that should mean something here. I realize that the Pac 12 was most certainly "down" this season, but the Huskies are a top 20 team in the country in defensive efficiency and that makes them a fantastic value getting points in this 1st round matchup w/ Utah State. Take the points. Utah State was a "bubble team" entering its conference tournament (Mt West), but took itself right off the bubble by winning in Las Vegas. They caught a break though when top seed Nevada was upset in the semifinals by San Diego State. That made for an easier than anticipated final, which the Aggies won 64-57 as six-point favorites. USU has won 10 straight to get to 28-6 SU on the year, but the level of competition in the Mt West isn't what it is in the Pac 12, even in a down year for the former. Utah State ranks only 47th in defensive efficiency, so again not sure they should be favored here against the regular season champs from a bigger (and better) conference. Washington plays a 2-3 zone as Hopkins is a Jim Boeheim disciple from Syracuse. My call is that Utah State is going to struggle to make shots against the unfamiliar defense. Also, when Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year Matisse Thybulle is on the floor, the Huskies force a turnover on 25% of their opponents possessions. Utah State actually allows a lower FG% than Washington over the course of the season, but that's also thanks to facing the dregs of the Mountain West. Save for Nevada LY, the MWC has really struggled in this event. Utah State went 17-17 SU last year and was picked to finish NINTH in the Mountain West before the season started. The spot is likely "too big" for them. 8* Washington |
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03-22-19 | Oregon v. Wisconsin -1.5 | Top | 72-54 | Loss | -109 | 73 h 24 m | Show |
10* Wisconsin (4:30 ET): This just might be the most fascinating line of the entire 1st round. Oregon is undoubtedly hot right now as they ran through the Pac 12 Tournament, winning three of their four games by double digits en route to garnering the automatic bid (which they needed). The Ducks are a perfect 7-0 ATS in March and being priced like it as they are essentially a "pick 'em" taking on a Wisconsin team that has spent much of this season ranked in the top 25. Under normal circumstances, I might consider Oregon in this spot. But this is a horrendous draw facing a team that ranks in the top five (nationally) in defensive efficiency. Wisconsin comes into the Tournament ranked #21 in the country at 23-10 SU overall. They've won six of their last eight games. The only two losses were by two to Indiana and to Michigan State in the Big 10 semis. There have been instances of the Badgers dropping B2B games before, but I just do not see it happening here. This is one of the top defensive teams in the country and that carries a lot of weight w/ me this time of year. They also have an efficient offense, led by Ethan Happ, who is one of the better individual players in this entire Tournament. Oregon will NOT enjoy the pace at which Wisconsin likes to play. Oregon has actually won eight in a row going back to the final game of February, including two wins over regular season champ Washington. But the Ducks also benefited from having played all of those opponents at least one time before. Here, that won't be the case and Wisconsin certainly doesn't play like most Pac 12 teams. The irony here is Oregon is actually no slouch defensively either. They are top 20 in the country. Had they been matched up w/ any other 5-seed, I would have probably taken them. But the selection committee dealt them a bad blow with Wisconsin, who is simply the better team in every facet of the game. Remember, the Ducks lost their best player (Bol Bol) mid-season, something that isn't even being talked about anymore. A month ago, no one would have thought they'd be in the Tournament, let alone have a chance to beat a team like Wisconsin on a neutral floor. 10* Wisconsin |
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03-22-19 | Oklahoma +1.5 v. Ole Miss | Top | 95-72 | Win | 100 | 69 h 23 m | Show |
8* Oklahoma (12:40 ET): I'm again turning to defensive efficiency as the key metric for this NCAA Tournament and why not? It's been pretty foolproof in year's past. Three years ago, few would have predicted South Carolina would get to the Final Four. But the Gamecocks were actually top three in the country in D.E. (Last year's Cinderella, Loyola Chicago, was 17th). It's not the "end all, be all," but it is instructive. In this early Friday matchup, we're looking at Ole Miss team that ranks a rather pedestrian 65th in defensive efficiency going against an Oklahoma side that's 23rd. I think that's pretty significant when the better defensive team is taking points. Similar to last season, Oklahoma got off to a great start and then faltered a bit in the teeth of Big 12 play. The only difference is this year's team doesn't have Trae Young. But they are much better defensively (LY's squad ranked 85th in efficiency) and thus capable of winning at least one game (which the Young-led team failed to do LY). The Sooners are allowing a FG% of just 40.2 for the season, which is a very good number (2nd in the Big 12). While they did finish w/ a losing conference reccord, don't let that fool you. This is a team better designed to win in March than on a random Tuesday in January. Ole Miss was picked to finish 14th (last!) in the SEC before the season, so tip your cap to the job done here by 1st year HC Kermit Davis. But one thing Davis will have to work on moving forward is the defense, which is particularly suspect along the three-point line. Ole Miss opponents buried over 37% of 3PA, which is a really high number and will mean trouble against an OU squad that has multiple players that can shoot from deep. Also, the Rebels are one of the very worst teams in the field at defending in transition. The last five games saw them allow a FG% of 50.0 (!), so it's no wonder they lost four of the five games. 8* Oklahoma |
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03-21-19 | Pistons -7 v. Suns | Top | 118-98 | Win | 100 | 14 h 27 m | Show |
10* Detroit (10:05 ET): A few 'dud' performances on the road have really hurt the Pistons lately. First they were held to 75 and 74 points respectively, by Brooklyn and Miami, two teams they are in direct competition w/ for playoff spots. Then, after seemingly getting back on track w/ a couple of wins at home (over the Lakers and Toronto), they go out and lose at Cleveland to the lowly Cavs, 126-119 as 6.5-pt favorites. It's a similar class of opponent here - and a similar number - but this time I look for a much different result as the Pistons should roll the Suns tonight. Lay the points. Phoenix also happens to be off a loss as a favorite, which is something you can't say very often. Sure, losing has certainly been common for a team that's 17-55 SU (last in the Western Conference) on the season. But being favored is not something that happens often to the Suns. The fact they lost here at home to Chicago, 116-101 on Wednesday, doesn't exactly bode well for tonight. The Suns trailed basically wire to wire. Speaking of wire to wire, they've been in the basement of the Western Conference virtually the entire season. I see no reason to expect them to play well tonight. Detroit, on the other hand, should be highly motivated. This road trip will only get tougher w/ stops in Golden State, Portland and Denver forthcoming. They already blew a very winnable game in Cleveland, allowing the Kevin Love-less Cavs to shoot a ridiculous 58.2% from the field. They can't afford to drop another game to a bottom-feeder. Blake Griffin did sit out vs the Cavs, so his return should spark the offense. It should be easy scoring on a Phoenix team that is tied for 28th in points allowed and 29th in efficiency. Covering the spread will require a little defense too and I expect the Pistons to be a lot better here than they were vs. Cleveland. 10* Detroit |
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03-21-19 | St. Mary's +5.5 v. Villanova | Top | 57-61 | Win | 100 | 69 h 54 m | Show |
10* St. Mary's (7:20 ET): If you recall past Tournament runs (of mine), then you know defensive efficiency is a metric I lean on heavily this time of year. It can be particularly useful when the underdog has a higher DE rating. Such is the case here w/ St. Mary's taking on Villanova. Make no mistake about, this Villanova team is nowhere close to LY's juggernaut that ended up cutting the nets down. That team ranked 11th nationally in DE. This year, the Wildcats ranked 73rd, which (in my eyes) makes them susceptible to suffering a 1st round upset. I'll take the points here. You have to wonder whether or not St. Mary's would be in the NCAA Tournament had it not been for an upset of Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament Final. But the Gaels did win that game and thus are here as an 11-seed. They are no defensive juggernaut (55th in efficiency), but they have a higher rating than 'Nova and are also comparable on the offensive end (21st vs. 16th). I just don't see the gap between the teams that the oddsmakers seem to. St. Mary's has won a NCAA Tournament game each of the last three years. They play at a very slow pace and also crash the glass at a solid rate. If they can beat the Zags, well, they are capable of beating anyone on any given night. Villanova entered LY's Tournament as the betting favorite. That is certainly not the case this year. While they did win both the Big East regular season title and tournament, the league was down. The Wildcats also won the last two games by just four (Xavier) and two (Seton Hall) points. Also, despite a high number of attempts from behind the three-point line, the Wildcats aren't converting at their usual rate in 2018-19. I've had this team earmarked as having the potential for suffering an outright loss in the 1st round for some time. I'm not wavering from that. 10* St. Mary's |
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03-21-19 | Abilene Christian +23 v. Kentucky | Top | 44-79 | Loss | -115 | 68 h 19 m | Show |
8* Abeline Christian (7:10 ET): Little is known about 15-seed Abilene Christian. But Kentucky HC John Calipari seems at least a little scared, at least when it comes to those particular Wildcats' three-point shooting. And for good reason. Abilene Christian is connecting at a somewhat ridiculous 38.6% from behind the three-point line this year. Granted, the level of competition in the Southland is nothing close to what the Wildcats will see here. But given their proficiency from behind the arc and how many points they're getting, I think the underdog is a strong call here. No one will give them a chance. I think they'll outperform expectations rather easily. So here's the deal on Abilene Christian. They were NOT regular season champs in the Southland (finished 2nd), but did unseat New Orleans in the Tournament Final, 77-60, and were 4.5-point favorites in that game. This is their 1st ever NCAA Tournament berth, but it's an experienced group w/ three seniors and one junior among the starting five. Admittedly, it's not a team w/ a lot of height and depth took a hit when two reserves were dismissed earlier in the year. But this team's level of three-point shooting can keep them in any game. Kentucky was really strong down the stretch and should have beaten Tennessee in the SEC Tournament. But they faltered late and lost that game. As per usual, UK has a young roster. They've got plenty of talent, but I can see the players looking past this game and onto the next round. They've only covered 1 of their last 6 games. Also, Coach Cal's team will not be able to trade threes w/ Abilene Christian. Only 23.6% of UK's points come from behind the arc. That's bottom 20 in the country. The three-point shot alone should be able to keep the underdog within the generous spread here. 8* Abeline Christian |
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03-21-19 | Vermont +9 v. Florida State | Top | 69-76 | Win | 100 | 15 h 12 m | Show |
8* Vermont (2:00 ET): I'm seen "some" go so far as to label Florida State a "Final Four Darkhorse." Maybe that's true, but the designation has also made the Seminoles a tad bit overvalued here in Round 1. I concede that the Noles have lost only twice since January 22nd. Those losses were to North Carolina and the ACC Championship Game against Duke. They're 14-2 SU the L16 games. But this Vermont team is not to be taken lightly. The America East Champs play great defense and rebound shockingly well given their lack of height. It's also been a two-year journey back to the Tourney for the Catamounts. Take the points. Vermont fans feel center Anthony Lamb is as good as any player in the country. He was certainly the best player in his conference. The Catamounts allow just 62.6 PPG, which is the 16th best in the entire country. In conference play, they allowed just 0.885 points per possession. The last five games saw them allow an average of just 52.6 PPG. Only three teams in the country gave up fewer offensive rebounds. Something else that's key is how often Florida State sends its opponents to the free throw line and how good Vermont is at converting when they get to the charity stripe. Unaccustomed to being an underdog, Vermont will be very motivated here. By the way, this game is being played in Hartford, which is much closer to Burlington than it is Tallahassee. Back to the journey. Last year, Vermont was one of the top mid-majors in the country. But on their home floor, they were upset by UMBC (on a buzzer beater). We all know what happened w/ UMBC (became 1st 16-seed to win a NCAA Tourney Game). Vermont was not going to be denied this year, however. They got revenge on UMBC is this year's America East Final and here they are, a year more experienced. I think that after making a run to the ACC Final, FSU is due for a letdown. Vermont is the kind of team that pulls upsets in this Tournament. 8* Vermont |
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03-20-19 | Heat v. Spurs -6.5 | Top | 110-105 | Loss | -103 | 11 h 18 m | Show |
10* San Antonio (8:35 ET): A month or so ago, it was no guarantee that either of these teams would make the playoffs. But both have gotten hot and now appear to be virtual locks for the postseason. Miami is still a precarious 8th in the East, but has won 8 of its last 11, including a 116-107 triumph at OKC on Monday. But San Antonio is the hottest team in the league right now w/ not only nine consecutive victories (8-1 ATS), but also six consecutive covers. They just beat the Warriors (here at home) Monday night and I see them continuing to roll here. Lay the points. Defensive has fueled the Spurs' turnaround as they're now tied for 5th in the West (w/ OKC) at 42-29 SU overall. For awhile, this was looking like the worst defensive team HC Greg Popovich had ever coached in San Antonio. But the Spurs have been #2 in the league in defensive efficiency since Feb 26th, allowing 103.1 points per 100 possessions. This coupled w/ the fact they have been BETTER than usual at the offensive end this season (4th in efficiency), thanks primarily to leading the league in 3PT shooting % (39.8) by a comfortable margin. The win over Golden State improved the Spurs to a remarkable 16-1 ATS at home this season when playing w/ revenge for a road loss. They have revenge here as they lost down in Miami, 95-88, back in November. The Heat have turned in some superb defensive efforts of their own recently. Notably, they've held Charlotte below 85 pts TWICE this month and Detroit to only 74. Those three wins were crucial in the playoff race. However, save for OKC, none of Miami's recent victories have come against competition the caliber of what they face tonight. It's both impressive and odd that the Heat have played better on the road this season, but I don't think that trend holds tonight as the Spurs are too hot to deny right now. 10* San Antonio |
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03-19-19 | Belmont v. Temple +3.5 | Top | 81-70 | Loss | -108 | 22 h 25 m | Show |
10* Temple (9:10 ET): Belmont is the rare at-large NCAA Tournament entrant. The Bruins tied for the regular season title in the OVC (w/ Murray State), but fell to the Racers (who are led by the sensational Ja Morant) in the Tourney Final. I think it's nice that the Bruins got into the field of 68 (they were deserving!), but this is a much tougher draw than most realize. I reckon that Belmont will be the popular play b/c of the story here, but it's a little surprising they are favored considering Temple is the better defensive team and played a far tougher schedule in the American. I'm taking the points here. Temple had an early exit in the American Tourney, losing to a lower seed (Wichita State) in the quarterfinals, 80-74 as 1.5-pt chalk. They limited the Shockers to 39.1% from the field, but the problem was the Owls had their own "off-shooting night." The Owls finished 3rd in the American, behind only Houston and Cincinnati. They were one of only two American teams to beat Houston in the regular season. While an extremely fortunate 4-0 in overtime games this year, the Owls were rarely blown out. Their largest loss (18 pts) was to Tulsa of all teams. The only other DD loss came to Villanova. They went 6-3-1 ATS as underdogs. It's not that Temple is that great defensively; it's also that Belmont is pretty bad at that end of the floor. The Bruins rank an ugly 127th in defensive efficiency, which is a key metric I lean heavily on this time of year. Belmont does shoot the three extremely well (37.4%), but Temple has fared well against such teams, going 8-0 ATS the L2 years vs. teams that shoot at least 37% from behind the arc. I don't think we'll see the usual three-point sharpshooting here from Belmont. They were just 7 of 32 (21.8%) vs. Murray State in the OVC Tourney Final, a potentially bad sign. Temple has an experienced backcourt, led by the AAC's top scorer Shizz Alston Jr. They get the cash. 10* Temple |
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03-19-19 | 76ers v. Hornets +1.5 | Top | 118-114 | Loss | -110 | 11 h 55 m | Show |
10* Charlotte (7:05 ET): The mistake here is that the public sees the line an automatically gravitates towards the Sixers, who are third in the East and a "name team." But while Charlotte is currently 10th in the Eastern Conference, they're a much better team than the record shows. This has actually been the case for some time now w/ the Hornets. But the problem has been an incredibly frustrating 5-24 SU record in games decided by three points or less the L3 seasons. Their 10 such losses this year are easily the most in the league. But tonight, I've got them picking up a much needed win! Sunday saw the Hornets turn in an absolutely dreadful showing at Miami. They put up only 75 points, which was fine by me as I had the Under (and it was a 46-point winner!) But from Charlotte's perspective, it was a very bad loss. It put them 2.5 games behind the Heat for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It was also their 8th loss in the past 11 games. But despite this, a return home should do the team some good. They're 21-14 SU at home this season, outscoring opponents by about 4.0 PPG. This is a stark contrast to the team's poor performance on the road. The Hornets basically have their "backs against the wall" going into this one. If they don't turn things around quickly, then it's time to kiss the playoffs goodbye. The upcoming schedule is challenging. But for as poor as Sunday's performance looks on paper, note it was a close game going into the 4th quarter. But they missed 13 of their final 16 shots, including all eight three-point attempt, and finished the game w/ a season-low 31.3 FG%. They'll be much better tonight, trust me. Philly is coming off a 130-125 win over Milwaukee (in spite of 52 pts from Giannis Antetokounmpo), but prone for a letdown on the road where they're just a game over .500 for the season (and -2.1 PPG). The fact that the Sixers are 3-0 SU/ATS vs. the Hornets in 2018-19 is misleading when you consider all three games were decided by three points or less and all were played before Thanksgiving. Two were overtime games. This is Charlotte's chance to make a statement and I believe they will deliver big-time. 10* Charlotte |
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03-18-19 | Pacers v. Blazers -4 | Top | 98-106 | Win | 100 | 15 h 35 m | Show |
8* Portland (10:35 ET): The Blazers lost more than a game 48 hours ago. C.J. McCollum went down w/ a left leg injury in the team's 108-103 loss at San Antonio Saturday and he'll be out for "at least a week." The Spurs were actually my *10* Game of the Week, so I "benefited" from the injury. I feel we can do so again tonight, albeit in a much different way. Portland opened up too low here and should be favored by significantly more against an Indiana team that has been w/o its best player for two months now. The Pacers have done a nice job "treading water" w/o Victor Oladipo, but have lost six of their last 10 w/ all four wins coming at home. Lay the short number. Indiana, like Portland, is 4th in its conference. They are coming off a last second loss at Denver Saturday night. In that game, the Pacers got off to a hot start as they were up 34-25 at the end of the first quarter and led by as many as 18 in the second. But they went 0 for 11 from three-point range after halftime. Losing 102-100 will be difficult to get over for a team that has now dropped five straight on the road. That includes a 19-point loss to Milwaukee and 17-point loss to Philadelphia. Over the L5 games, the Pacers are averaging less than 100 PPG! Even without McCollum, Portland should be okay as long as Damian Lillard has the ball in his hands. Lillard had 34 in the losing effort vs. San Antonio Saturday. He also recently scored 51 in a game. The home court advantage is huge here for the Blazers. Not only has Indiana lost five in a row on the road, they haven't won in Portland since 2007! Portland is 8-1 SU in the L9 head to head meetings w/ Indiana, including a 103-93 road win very early on in the season. Being that they're 25-9 SU at home, I think they overcome the McCollum injury here and get the 'W.' 8* Portland |
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03-17-19 | Nets v. Clippers -6 | Top | 116-119 | Loss | -109 | 21 h 23 m | Show |
10* LA Clippers (9:05 ET): Bad spot for Brooklyn here as they just got beat in Utah last night and now have to head further West to take on the rested Clippers. The Nets have not been a good bet in the second game of a back to back this season, going just 3-9 SU and 2-10 ATS. They also lose roughly two-thirds of the time when priced as an underdog. They were never really "in it" last night vs. the Jazz, trailing by double digits most of the way. They shot just 35 percent and were dominated on the glass. The loss dropped Brooklyn to 2-6 ATS in the month of March. The last time we saw the Clippers, they were beating the Bulls 128-121 Friday night. This will be the fifth game of a six-game homestand, so the situation is totally in their favor tonight. The Clippers are looking like a real safe bet to make the playoffs right now as they've won six of seven games in March and have a six-game cushion over ninth place Sacramento w/ just 12 games to play. The top eight in the West have really been solidified at this point. But position is still up for grabs among the top eight and the Clips have a very realistic shot at moving up the standings. They could finish as high as as 3rd (unlikely) were everything to break right. Brooklyn is 7th in the East, which has a far more congested race for the bottom few spots. It's a 3.5 game lead over ninth place Orlando and Charlotte, so it's not time to panic yet, but the Nets aren't playing well. They've been held under 100 pts in B2B games for just the third time all year and have really been dominated on the glass in their last two games. As touched on earlier, things have not been good in the second game of a back to back as they're being outscored by 10.4 PPG in that spot. They've also lost seven straight times on the road to the Clippers. Huge edges to the home team in this one. 10* LA Clippers |
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03-17-19 | Texas-Arlington v. Georgia State -3.5 | Top | 64-73 | Win | 100 | 7 h 33 m | Show |
8* Georgia State (2:00 ET): The Sun Belt Championship Game has wormed its way onto Selection Sunday, but this matchup between UT Arlington and Georgia State may have the most value on the board. The top two seeds benefited tremendously from the SBC Tourney format, which gave both of them a bye into the semifinals, which means they each only had to win one game to get here. Those games were played yday w/ Georgia State beating Texas State 59-46 & UT Arlington beating Georgia Southern 67-58. Georgia State won both regular season matchups against UT Arlington and thus is the top seed here. I look for them to make it 3 for 3 on Sunday. Lay the points. You may remember Georgia State from a few years ago when they pulled a historic upset (15-seed over a 2) against Michigan State. Ron Hunter is still the coach here and the program is obviously doing well. The Panthers hold non-conference victories this year over East Tennessee State, Alabama, Georgia and a St. Bonaventure team that may end up making the Big Dance. I put a high priority on defense this time of year and Georgia State certainly turned in a strong effort on that end of the floor yday. They held Texas State to 21.8% shooting (season-low for an opponent) and only 15 first half points. It was the Panthers' seventh win in their last eight games and they are 4-0 SU/ATS L4. The two regular seasons wins over UT Arlington both saw Georgia State play outstanding defense. They held the Mavericks to 37.5% shooting overall and just 10 of 52 from three-point range. In the home game, UT Arlington shot just 2 of 25 from behind the arc! Despite attempting far more shots, the Mavericks couldn't get the job done either game. Now they did cover in both losses. They lost by five as 6.5-pt home dogs and six as 8-pt road dogs. So this looks like a value on the favorite here. UT Arlington is on a 5-0 SU/ATS run, but that ends here. 8* Georgia State |
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03-17-19 | Auburn +4.5 v. Tennessee | Top | 84-64 | Win | 100 | 13 h 18 m | Show |
10* Auburn (1:00 ET): A late rally yday led to Tennessee stunning Kentucky in one SEC semifinal. The other one saw Auburn stave off Florida after appearing to get away w/ a foul on the potential game-tying three-pointer. Pay no mind to the respective seeding of these two teams. Tennessee might be the 3-seed in the SEC, but they're very much in play for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament were they to win today. Auburn, the #5 seed in the SEC Tournament, is a top 15 team in my eyes and an opponent no one will want to face next week. Only one can win here, obviously. I'll take the points as I'm not at all surprised Auburn got here. They've underachieved somewhat this season, but are finally starting to perform up to expectations. Looking at the stat sheet from yday, it's somewhat miraculous that Auburn beat Florida. The Gators shot 60% from the field (season-high) and finished w/ a 32-17 advantage on the boards. But the Tigers did win. They held Florida to a season-low in shot attempts (38) and also converted 19 turnovers into 20 points. Auburn had 56 shot attempts to Florida's 38 and also killed them from three-point range. They were 13 of 29 from behind the arc while the Gators were just 6 of 15. The fact Auburn attempted only five free throws (made only two!) didn't even matter. Really, it was a remarkable performance. With just under three minutes to go, Kentucky led Tennessee by eight. As someone holding a UK ticket, I was thinking cover not an outright loss. Back when the Vols were ranked #1 in the country, I was leery of them. In some ways, I still am. This game figures to have plenty of emotion w/ former Tennessee HC Bruce Pearl now coaching Auburn. Of course, this is not the first time Pearl has taken on his former school. In fact, he just beat them 84-80 (as a 2.5-pt home dog) last week. Auburn has now won seven in a row and I give them an excellent shot at pulling the outright upset yet again. 10* Auburn |
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03-16-19 | Blazers v. Spurs -2 | Top | 103-108 | Win | 100 | 11 h 22 m | Show |
10* San Antonio (8:35 ET): Based on how this season has gone, it's probably right to assume that Golden State and Denver will finish in the top two spots in the Western Conference. But after that, it's a jumbled mess w/ the other six (likely) playoff participants jockeying for position. The Spurs are in sixth place, but have won seven in a row coming into tonight's home game vs. Portland. The Blazers are in 4th, now by their lonesome, after beating New Orleans (no Anthony Davis) last night. Both teams are in the second night of a back to back (Spurs blew out the Knicks last night), but I say that's an advantage for the team playing at home. Lay the short number. The Pelicans choosing to sit Davis last night was obviously of great benefit to the Blazers. Still, they were down 37-30 after the 1st quarter before settling down defensively. It was the 4th straight game where Portland scored at least 121 points, which is quite the streak, but I look for that to come to an end tonight in San Antonio where the Spurs will look to slow the game down and play "their style." Note that the Blazers have been outscored on the road this season. Also, while they are a perfect 3-0 SU/ATS this season in the second night of B2B home games, they are just 1-5 SU/ATS in the second of B2B road games. San Antonio is a perfect 12-0 ATS at home this season when seeking revenge for a loss in which it allowed 110+ points. They lost up in Portland, 127-118, right before the All-Star Break. That was the third meeting of the season and the home team has gone a perfect 3-0 SU/ATS. The Spurs have gotten back to playing defense as last night's 109-83 beatdown of the Knicks was the sixth time in the seven-game win streak that they held the opponent to 105 pts or less. (Only team that topped it was Milwaukee). Granted it was "only" the Knicks, but yday also marked SA's ninth straight win at home. Something most do not realize about the Spurs is that they rank 4th in the league in offensive efficiency due to shooting 39.8% from three-point range, which is the BEST mark in the league. 10* San Antonio |
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03-16-19 | Iowa State v. Kansas -1.5 | Top | 78-66 | Loss | -107 | 7 h 29 m | Show |
10* Kansas (6:00 ET): Maybe they'll be having the last laugh in Lawrence after all. After having their historic 14-year streak of winning the Big 12 regular season championship snapped this year, the Jayhawks are now favored (albeit ever so slightly) to win the Big 12 Tournament Final today. The opponent is Iowa State, a team that clearly benefitied from top seed Kansas State playing without its best player yesterday. You have to wonder what would have happened had Dean Wade suited up for Kansas State Friday night. My guess is that it would have resulted in an all Sunflower State final. Iowa State turned it over 17 times and was not strong offensively for most of the second half. Granted, Kansas State is not just the best defensive team in the Big 12, but also one of the best in the entire country. But the Cyclones blew all of a double digit lead in the 2nd half and needed to hit some critical shots down the stretch to secure the four-point victory. While they've mostly looked good each of the last two days, remember the Cyclones lost five of their final six regular season games. Kansas also got a bit of a break in this tournament by getting to play 10th seeded West Virginia in the semifinal as opposed to Texas Tech (who WVU upset in the quarterfinals). The Jayhawks didn't have much problem w/ the Mountaineers last night, winning 88-74 as 9.5-point chalk as they shot 52.4% from the field and had a pair of 40+ pt halves. Iowa State was a tough opponent in the regular season, but they split the two meetings w/ each team winning at home. Not winning the Big 12 regular season title has Kansas highly motivated this week and they get the job done Saturday night. 10* Kansas |
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03-16-19 | Tennessee v. Kentucky -1 | Top | 82-78 | Loss | -110 | 5 h 55 m | Show |
8* Kentucky (3:30 ET): If either of these two schools were to win the SEC Tournament, then they'd be in line for a top seed in the Big Dance. But of more immediate importance is taking this rubber match. The home team rolled in both regular season meetings as UK won 86-69 in Lexington and Tennessee won 71-52 in Knoxville. Like a lot of people, I've had my suspicions about the Vols and I simply believe UK is the better team here. The key is a top 10 ranking in defensive efficiency. Since being humiliated in the opening game of the season by Duke (lost 118-84!), Kentucky has been beaten only four times. Three of those were by two points or less (5 pts total!), one coming in overtime (Seton Hall) and another at the buzzer (LSU). The other was to Alabama, which was avenged yday w/ a convincing 73-55 win as 12.5-pt chalk. Coach Cal cited his team's rebounding as key to the win. Now they go to avenge the only other regular season, that being what happened in Knoxville two weeks ago. The Wildcats shot miserably in that game (31.8%) and that's not going to happen again here. Tennessee has set a school record for wins this season (28) and like Kentucky most of their losses were close games. The one exception was against the 'Cats. It was a seven-point win over Mississippi State for the Vols on Friday as they shot 51.5% from the field. I wouldn't look for a repeat of that here today. A big key here is that Tennessee gives up 77.9 PPG away from Knoxville, which is a significant increase over what they're allowing in home games. Kentucky's PPG allowed away from home is more in line w/ what they allow in Lexington, thus their higher defensive rating. I like Kentucky (a lot) to move on. 8* Kentucky |
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03-16-19 | Rhode Island v. St Bonaventure -1.5 | Top | 51-68 | Win | 100 | 4 h 6 m | Show |
8* St. Bonaventure (1:00 ET): I played St. Bonaventure yday and came away even more impressed w/ this group than I already was going into the game. They beat George Mason 68-57 as a relatively short favorite. While that result won't exactly through "shockwaves" through College Basketball, watching the game, this team appears poised to make a run. They are very good defensively and now catch a significant break in that top seed VCU is out of the A-10 Tournament. The Bonnies will face the team that upset VCU, Rhode Island, and once again appear undervalued. Rhode Island is now on a 6-0 SU/ATS run after upsetting VCU 75-70 yday. It was the third year in a row that the Rams ousted VCU from this event. It was also a huge revenge spot for the Rhodies, who had lost 76-42 the last time they faced VCU. The coaches and players seemed particularly motivated. "They (VCU) were heckling us a lot to get us out of our game," Jeff Dowtin said. The win does come w/ a major caveat, however. VCU lost its leading scorer Marcus Evans in the second half. After he left the game is when Rhode Island made its move. Earlier, I touched on the kind of defense that St. Bonaventure has been playing. (Also discussed in yday's analysis). Yesterday marked the 9th time in the last 11 games that the Bonnies held their opposition to 60 points or less. They essentially controlled the game throughout, holding George Mason to 35% shooting overall. While yday was a revenge spot for Rhode Island, today it's St. Bonaventure's turn as they lost up in South Kingstown, 75-63, back in January. The Rams shot 54.3% from the field in that game, something that will not happen again here. That was one of just three games the Bonnies allowed 50% shooting in conference play this year and one of just seven overall. 8* St. Bonaventure |
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03-15-19 | Bucks v. Heat +5 | Top | 113-98 | Loss | -105 | 10 h 47 m | Show |
8* Miami (8:05 ET): I'm playing both side and total in this one. Let's start w/ the side as the Heat come in having won five of six, including an impressive performance in a crucial game vs. Detroit Wednesday night. They went on a 21-0 run to start the 2nd half in that one and ended up winning 108-74 as a short home favorite. That leaves them not only 1.5 games up on ninth place Orlando, but also just 2.5 games back of the six seed (Brooklyn). Were the playoffs to start today, Miami and Milwaukee would be a 1st round playoff series. Expect the Heat to treat this as a "playoff game." Milwaukee has been the best team in the league this season by virtually every metric. They just dominated New Orleans their last time out, putting up 130 pts in the process. The Bucks' offense is obviously great and they also happen to rank #1 in defensive efficiency. But defense seemed to be non-existent for stretches against the Pelicans, particularly in giving up a 41-point third quarter (Bucks were fortunate to score 45 themselves in that 3Q). It was the fifth time in six games that the Bucks gave up at least 113 points. That's a problem moving forward as this team will almost always be laying points. Meanwhile, defense has not been an issue for the Heat. There have been four times in the NBA this year that a team has held an opponent to eight points or less in a quarter. Three of those have come from Miami! The latest was that decisive 3Q vs. the Pistons Wednesday as they outscored them 33-8 in that stanza. The last time they hosted Milwaukee, they kept the Bucks in check, holding them to 87 points. That was the Bucks' second lowest point total in a game all season. They shot 9 of 43 from three-point range and Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to a season-low nine points on 3 of 12 shooting. Take the points here. 8* Miami |
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03-15-19 | Suns +13 v. Rockets | Top | 102-108 | Win | 100 | 10 h 42 m | Show |
8* Phoenix (8:05 ET): After having their nine-game win streak snapped Wednesday (by Golden State), this would seem to be a "trap game" for Houston. Not that I think they'll lose. But laying this many points is a dangerous proposition. It was a two-point loss to the Warriors, on national TV, though the Rockets trailed by as many as 13 (at home) and Golden State was playing w/o Kevin Durant. James Harden seemed to "shrug" off the loss while HC Mike D'Antoni was vocal about his team needing to learn from the mistakes it made in the game. Bottom line is I think the Rockets have a letdown tonight. Take the points. Phoenix has actually played better of late. They'd won four of five (covered all five games!) before running into Utah two nights ago. That was a game I cashed the Under as the Suns were held to 97 points by one of the league's premier defensive teams. Houston is not a premier defensive team as they rank 12th in scoring and 21st in efficiency. The Suns have recently beaten both the Bucks and Warriors, so they won't be intimidated here. The fact they rank near the bottom of the league in both defense and rebounding is mitigated by the fact the Rockets aren't strong in either of those areas either. In fact, these are the two worst teams in rebounding rate in the entire league. Many of the Rockets' wins during their 9-game streak were close. So that's another reason not to want to lay the points here. They're also 2-10-1 ATS the L13 games vs. teams with a losing SU record and have actually failed to cover its last four games against foes w/ a win percentage below .400. That shows they are prone to take "lesser" foes too lightly and given the spot, I think that'll be the case again here. 8* Phoenix |
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03-15-19 | Florida State v. Virginia -9 | Top | 69-59 | Loss | -108 | 9 h 40 m | Show |
10* Virginia (7:00 ET): Despite getting off to a slow start yday vs. NC State, Virginia ended up winning by 20 (76-56) and comfortably covering as 11.5-pt chalk. Just imagine the result had the Hoos not been down at the half! Meanwhile, there was nothing easy or comfortable with Florida State's 65-63 win over Va Tech yday. That game went to overtime, putting them at a severe disadvantage today against the ACC's top seed. Virginia won the lone regular season meeting, by 13 points, in Charlottesville. It should be a similar result tonight in the first of two ACC semfinals. Lay the points. Virginia leads the country in scoring defense, giving up only 54.6 PPG. That defensive prowess was on full display yday (particularly in the 2nd half) as they held NC State to 38.8% shooting for the game, including 3 of 20 from three-point range. It was the Cavaliers' ninth win in a row overall. This season has seen them go 8-0 ATS when on a win streak of that length. There have been plenty of wins for a team (29-2 SU overall) that I consider the best in the country right now. I feel that because of LY's historic upset at the hands of UMBC, the Hoos are going to be severely undervalued this month. Such is the case here. Florida State shot just 34.1% from the field in the first meeting w/ Virginia and finished w/ a season-low 52 points. Virginia has a habit of doing that to its opponents. FSU got points from 10 different players yday and 33 total from its reserves. Still, it took a late three-pointer to send the game to OT where the Seminoles won on a Terrance Mann basket w/ just 1.8 seconds remaining. FSU has won 13 of its last 14 games, but the lone loss was by 18 to North Carolina. They are simply not on the same level as the other three semifinalists in the ACC. 10* Virginia |
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03-15-19 | George Mason v. St Bonaventure -3 | Top | 57-68 | Win | 100 | 6 h 38 m | Show |
8* St. Bonaventure (2:30 ET): A big key in handicapping today's card is there are a great number of rested teams facing opponents that played yday. That very situation presents itself in all four games of the Atlantic 10 Tourney where the top four seeds all got byes into the quarterfinals. Count St. Bonaventure among that group and the Bonnies are laying just a small number to George Mason Friday afternoon. George Mason was fortunate enough to draw a poor George Washington team in its opening round contest, but still only won by four points. I'll be laying the short number here. GMU has actually been fortunate enough to play GW two straight times. (They also beat the Colonials 81-65, on the road, in the regular season finale!). But yday's tournament battle was a lot tighter as the Patriots' biggest lead was only eight points and that came early in the 1st half. They actually trailed by as many as five in the second half. Keep in mind they were nine-point favorites at the betting window. St. Bonaventure is a team they split with in the regular season as each team won by double digits on its home floor. While George Mason won the 1st meeting by 15, St. Bonaventure was more dominant w/ a 23-pt win in the rematch. Other than GW, the only other team George Mason has defeated over the last month was Richmond, who also finished near the bottom of the A-10 regular season standings. Meanwhile, St. Bonaventure is hot, having won seven of its last eight games. The favorite has covered the spread in each of the last nine meetings between these schools and that's mainly been the Bonnies, who are 6-1 ATS the last seven matchups. Big edge to the Bonnies on defense as they rank 57th in the country in defensive efficiency while GMU is 151st. The Patriots also are allowing opponents to shoot a blistering 54.4% from two-point range, which is last in the A-10. Furthermore, GMU is now 0-6 ATS following its last six SU wins. 8* St. Bonaventure |
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03-15-19 | Memphis v. UCF -2 | Top | 79-55 | Loss | -110 | 6 h 44 m | Show |
8* UCF (2:00 ET): The American Conference's Tournament is being played in Memphis, which obviously gives the host team some advantage. But it won't enough today for the Tigers to overcome a very underrated UCF team. While Memphis had to play yday, UCF got a bye into the quarterfinals. That, to me, is just as important as the homecourt advantage here for Memphis (if not more so). Now UCF did not fare well in their previous venture here, losing by 20 points. But that and a loss in the regular season finale (at Temple) will have them fully motivated this afternoon. Lay the short number. Memphis really didn't need any kind of additional advantage for its 1st round matchup w/ Tulane. The Green Wave were the worst team in the American this year and quite possibly one of the worst teams in the entire country this year, excluding the smaller conferences. Tulane finished the season 0-19 SU vs. the rest of the American and 4-28 SU overall. So don't go putting much stock in the Tigers' 83-68 win yday. They totaled a season-high 52 pts in the 1st half, a number they won't come close to matching today. It was the second time they beat Tulane in the last month (both at home, no less), so the fact the Tigers have also won five of six is also slightly misleading. UCF has had nearly a full week to "stew" over losing to Temple in the regular season finale. While that was called an "upset," Temple actually did go off as a 2.5-pt betting favorite. The loss dropped UCF out of the Top 25 and also halted an eight-game ATS win streak. Their only SU loss in those eight games was by five at Cincinnati. They later avenged that defeat and also won at Houston on 3/2, which was one of just two conference losses suffered by the Cougars all season. These teams like to play at VERY different tempos and I think it's going to be a problem for unrested Memphis here today. 8* UCF |
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03-14-19 | Long Beach State v. Hawaii -1.5 | Top | 68-66 | Loss | -110 | 15 h 14 m | Show |
8* Hawaii (11:30 ET): The Big West is one of the few leagues that does NOT provide any advantage to the top finishers from the regular season. The conference tournament is a straight ahead format w/ the top eight teams playing four quarterfinal matchups. Now the bottom two teams from the reg season don't even get a chance to play in the tournament, but considering how bad UC Riverside and Cal Poly both were, that's of little consequence. The final quarterfinal of Thursday pits 4-seed Hawaii against 5-seed Long Beach State. The Warriors will be looking to make it a 3-0 season sweep of the 49ers after beating them twice in a week two months ago. Long Beach State will arrive in Anaheim on a five-game win streak. But three of those wins were by five points or less and the other two were against the two teams that didn't qualify for this tournament. Before that stretch, LBSU had lost eight of nine w/ the only win coming in OT against Cal Poly (worst team in the Big West). At one point in the season, the 49ers were eight games below .500. Even w/ the strong finish, they are only 14-18 SU overall. Half of their eight league wins came against those bottom two teams. This is a team that gives up 79.5 PPG away from home. Hawaii actually won a pair of games here on the mainland to end its regular season. They held Cal State Fullerton to 59 points in the regular season finale. Offensively, the Warriors turned in two of their better efforts of the year against LBSU. They tied a school record w/ 14 made three-pointers (on 27 attempts) in the second matchup, which was on the road. Note that Hawaii was one of only three teams in the entire Big West to finish the regular season w/ a winning SU record. They should easily move onto the semifinals to face one of the other two, top seeded UC Irvine (who is the clear class of the league). 8* Hawaii |
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03-14-19 | East Carolina +11 v. Wichita State | Top | 57-73 | Loss | -110 | 14 h 59 m | Show |
10* East Carolina (10:00 ET): This line would seem to be inflated even though Wichita State just drubbed East Carolina nine days ago. The Shockers won 72-55, as 14.5-point favorites, but of course that came was played in the friendly confines of Koch Arena. It was the second time beating the Pirates this year as back in February it was a 16-point win in Greenville. Wichita State certainly got hot down the stretch, winning 9 out of its last 11 games. Meanwhile, ECU has won just twice in its last 16 games and both wins were against horrendous Tulane. Despite those respective trajectories, I maintain the line is inflated and I'll take the points. When a team comes into its conference tournament red-hot, I think there needs to be a little trepidation when they start laying big numbers. Wichita State has a track record, but this edition is not the strongest. They really did beat up on the bottom of the American, a designation which clearly applies to East Carolina, but I'm not sure we should go trusting a team that was three games below .500 on January 26th and only 2-6 SU in conference play. Of the last nine wins, two were against ECU, two were against Tulane, two were against Tulsa, two were against SMU and the other vs. UConn. That's the bottom five teams in the American. Three were by three points or less, including the regular season finale vs. Tulane, who did not win a single conference game this season. East Carolina was clearly the American's second worst team this year w/ the only non-Tulane win being a shocker over Cincinnati. But down the stretch, they did have a few tough losses, including two in overtime. Over the last three seasons, they are 16-4 ATS following B2B games where they had five or less steals. Is anyone going to confuse the Pirates for a "good" team? No. But they deserve more credit than they are getting Thursday. Too many points for a team that shoots just 38.7% away from home (Wichita State) to lay. 10* East Carolina |
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03-14-19 | Connecticut v. South Florida +1.5 | Top | 80-73 | Loss | -110 | 17 h 19 m | Show |
8* South Florida (1:00 ET): The American's conference tournament gets going Thursday w/ four 1st round matchups. The winner here moves on to face top seed Houston, so the odds are long for either UConn or USF going very far in this event. Neither is exactly displaying "peak form" lately either. UConn no longer resembles the program once known for coming up huge in March. The Huskies have just two wins in their last nine games. One of them was against USF, who is just 1-6 its last seven games. Something will have to give here and surprisingly, I side w/ the Bulls in this one. There were two regular season matchups between UConn and USF and they split the pair, each winning at home. UConn was clearly overvalued as a 3.5-pt road favorite back in January, losing 76-68. They did gain a measure of revenge just 11 days ago in Storrs, but won by only two points (70-68) and thus missed out on covering (were -3!). That second meeting was an ugly shooting day for both teams. Ironically, on the day they retired Ray Allen's number, UConn didn't make a single three-pointer (0 for 15). They shot just 38.5% for the game. Fortunately for the Huskies, USF was even worse overall (32.8%) even though they made three 3-pointers (3 of 18). Here in Memphis, the teams should shoot better. But how much good shooting did UConn "use up" in their regular season finale against East Carolina. They shot 62.5% from the field in the 82-73 win as 6.5-pt road favorites. The Huskies definitely won't be shooting that well again today. South Florida is the superior defensive side in this one, giving up just 67.0 PPG, which is a respectable number. Certainly a lot better than UConn, who gives up 77.9 PPG away from Storrs. UConn also won just two games away from home all season. That is shockingly bad. 8* South Florida |
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03-13-19 | Washington State v. Oregon -10.5 | Top | 51-84 | Win | 100 | 15 h 29 m | Show |
10* Oregon (11:30 ET): The Pac 12 was rightly maligned this season and may only end up sending one team to the Big Dance depending on how this tournament plays out. Regular season champ Washington figures to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but if they also emerge victorious this weekend in Las Vegas, then the rest of the league could very well be shutout. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there were two teams in the Pac 12 that turned in absolutely horrific regular seasons. Those were Washington State and Cal. I'll fade the former here as they've got no chance here. Oregon is a team that came into 2018-19 w/ high hopes, but those mostly went "out the window" when Bol Bol went down w/ a season-ending injury. Still, the Ducks have persevered and actually finished the regular season on a 4-0 SU/ATS run. One of those wins came against Washington State, by 11, as 6.5-pt road favorites. You'll note the spread is several points higher today (neutral setting) but the Ducks also beat the Cougars by 20 as 13-point favorites in Eugene earlier in the year. They also just knocked off Washington in the regular season finale. In three of the last four games, Oregon has not given up more than 51 points. Ironically, Wazzu was the one team to top 51 against the Ducks. But they may not do so here. The Cougars come into this game on a five-game losing streak, having failed to cover all five times as well. Defensively, they are very bad, giving up almost 80 PPG. (Oregon gives up only 63.7 PPG on the year). Having already taken two DD losses to the Ducks in the regular season, I don't see why the tournament will be any different for Wazzu. Oregon is 25-12 ATS the L3 seasons when coming off a conference win. 10* Oregon |
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03-13-19 | Rice v. Marshall -6.5 | Top | 65-82 | Win | 100 | 14 h 39 m | Show |
8* Marshall (10:00 ET): Marshall is a team I've jumped on a couple of times recently and both times they easily covered. In some ways the Thundering Herd benefited from C-USA's wacky "pod" system of scheduling at the end of the regular season. After every team played 14 games, the teams were grouped 1-5, 6-10 and 11-14. You then only played the teams in your own pod. Marshall swept their pod, going 4-0 SU and ATS. Thus, they actually finished tied w/ the second best record (11-7 SU) in league play. Yet because of said "pod" system, they're still seeded 6th. So that is to their detriment as they won't even get a 1st round bye in the C-USA Tournament. But expect the Herd to make some noise in this event. Sure, I made the point that this is a much better team at home (where they won't be playing anymore). But they're hot. Also remember that this was a NCAA Tournament team a year ago (won 25 games!) and returned four starters. It was absolutely a disappointing start to the season, but they have the horses to finish strong. Their 1st opponent in the C-USA Tournament is Rice, who has been playing all of its recent games against the lowest tier of teams in the league. Facing Marshall will be a big step up in class for the Owls. Because Rice was in the 11-14 pod, they actually played the same team back to back in their last two regular season games. It was Charlotte, who didn't even qualify for the tournament. The Owls really had nothing to play for in their last game (though it was Senior Day) and they lost to the 49ers 78-70 as 5.5-pt favorites. Two of Rice's recent wins came against the two teams that did not make this tournament: Charlotte and UTEP. They did beat Marshall earlier in the year, 74-69, but that was at home. So revenge comes into play here and I don't think the Thundering Herd will take it easy on the Owls. 8* Marshall |
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03-13-19 | Arizona v. USC +1 | Top | 65-78 | Win | 100 | 7 h 54 m | Show |
8* USC (3:00 ET): What a tumultuous season in Tucson as the Arizona program has been clouded by the specter of this NCAA investigation. It would almost be appropriate then for the Wildcats to bow out in the first round of the Pac 12 Tourney. They did have a three-game win streak in late February, but those are the only wins for the team going all the way back to late January. Overall, the Wildcats come into the postseason tourney having dropped 9 of their last 12 games, both SU and ATS. USC hasn't been much better, but the Trojans did Arizona 80-57 in the regular season. USC has lost and failed to cover four in a row. But they had a tough schedule at the end of the reg season, having to play the final three games on the road. You may recall that I faded them last Saturday in Colorado. It was actually my *10* Game of the Week. But the thinking there was CU was a terrible matchup for the Trojans, both in terms of rebounding and getting the game in Boulder. That wound up being true. Today's game is not in hostile territory and Arizona happens to be one of the two teams in the Pac 12 averaging fewer rebounds per game than the Trojans. In the 80-57 blowout of the Wildcats in the regular season, USC completely dominated every facet including the boards. They held Arizona to 27.8% shooting, including 5 of 25 from three-point range. It was arguably their best game all season, certainly in conference play. An argument can be made that USC deserved a better regular season record as they were 0-3 in overtime games. The Trojans should defend better here (compared to recent efforts) and they are the better three-point shooting team. 8* USC |
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03-12-19 | North Dakota State v. Nebraska-Omaha -2.5 | Top | 73-63 | Loss | -108 | 10 h 43 m | Show |
8* Omaha (9:00 ET): This is the Summit League Finals. The top seed in this tournament (South Dakota State) was stunned in the Opening Round, losing to a bad Western Illinois team. That result has certainly "opened the door" for #2 seed Omaha to advance to its first ever NCAA Tournament (program was not D-I until 2011-12 season). The Mavericks have played two close games so far here in Sioux Falls as have their opponents, North Dakota State. Carson Wentz's alma mater was a more direct beneficiary of South Dakota State getting knocked out early as the Bison got to play Western Illinois in the semifinals yday. But they won only 76-73. The Bison's leading scorer Tyson Ward made just 1 of 6 field goal attempts yday, but he and the rest of the team got bailed out by a season-best 20 pt effort from Sam Griesel. NDSU did lead by as many as 15 early in the 1st Half, but could not shake the Leathernecks and actually trailed briefly w/ less than 10 minutes remaining. I can't stress enough how bad Western Illinois was during the regular season. This is a big step up in class for the Bison tonight and they've already lost twice to Omaha during the regular season. Those games were decided by a total of 21 points. Those two regular season meetings played out very differently w/ Omaha winning 90-77 at home and 58-50 on the road. The Mavericks come in off a 1-pt victory over IUPFW last night where they were held to a season-low 24 pts in the second half. But they didn't allow a single basket over the game's final four minutes either. A quick look at the regular season standings confirms that South Dakota State and Omaha were the clear class of the Summit League this year. Again, it's a major break for the Mavericks not to have to deal w/ the top seed here (who would be playing on its home court). I look for them to move on. 8* Omaha |
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03-12-19 | Lakers -1 v. Bulls | Top | 123-107 | Win | 100 | 13 h 33 m | Show |
10* LA Lakers (8:05 ET): Imagine thinking the Lakers were going to make the playoffs this year. LeBron James made what I considered a pretty "lateral" move (in a basketball sense), leaving the Cavs for LA as the roster he joined on the West Coast wasn't much better than what he was playing w/ in Cleveland. Plus, he was moving to the (much) tougher conference for the 1st time. The end result is the Lakers will be considered one of the most disappointing teams in the league for 2018-19, even if it actually benefits them long-term to MISS the playoffs. James missed a lot of time after injuring his groin on X-Mas Day. But since he came back, the Lakers are only 4-10 SU in the games that he has played. He'll be working on a minutes restriction the rest of the way plus the team's 3rd leading scorer (Brandon Ingram) and point guard (Lonzo Ball) have already been shut down for the season. The team's #2 scorer (Kyle Kuzma) has also missed three straight games w/ an ankle injury, though there is a chance he could return for tonight's game in Chicago. James will play, carrying a real "skeleton crew" into the Windy City as the Lakers look to snap a rather ugly five-game losing streak. As dire as things seem for the Lakers right now, with LeBron they can still defeat the lowly Bulls, who could be w/o their leading scorer Zach LaVine here. LaVine (23.3 PPG) sat in Sunday's 131-108 loss in Detroit, a poor effort even by this team's low standard. Even w/ LaVine in the lineup, the Bulls are dead last in the league in offensive efficiency. At home, the Lakers beat the Bulls by seven back in January. I know LA is 0-8 ATS its last eight games, but this is a real "buy low" spot on them and I expect them to be motivated to win. 10* LA Lakers |
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03-11-19 | San Diego +5 v. St. Mary's | Top | 62-69 | Loss | -109 | 15 h 17 m | Show |
8* San Diego (11:30 ET): It's become almost automatic for Gonzaga and St. Mary's to meet in the WCC Tournament Final every year. In fact, we've gotten that exact Finals pairing 7 out of the last 10 years (but not last year). The three times we didn't see the pairing, BYU made it in place of St. Marys. (Gonzaga has made the Final every year since 1997!) As per usual, Gonzaga and St. Mary's have received the double byes into tonight's semifinal round by virtue of finishing 1-2 in the regular season. But there's an upset-minded team looking to spoil the party this year and it's San Diego, who has gotten on a real late-season "roll." This year's WCC Tournament has already featured plenty of upsets as neither Gonzaga nor St. Mary's will be facing "who they thought they would." San Diego is the 7-seed and just stunned BYU 80-57 on Saturday to get here. It was the Toreros' third straight excellent defensive performance in this tournament. They'd previously held Portland to 47 points on 33.3% shooting and Santa Clara to 45 points on 27.8% shooting. Now those were games they were favored to win. But they were 3.5-point dogs against BYU and limited them to 31% shooting from the field. I'm counting on that USD defense coming up big again tonight. St. Mary's has been off since 3/2 when they lost the regular season finale, at home, to Gonzaga. They were held to just 55 points in that contest, which is bad news considering the team's 18-32 ATS record the L3 seasons coming off an Under. The Gaels are not as strong this year as they have been in past years. Now don't tell that to San Diego, who will be playing w/ double revenge here for a pair of double digit losses in the regular season. The Toreros shot the ball horribly (29.4%) the last meeting, which I don't expect to be the case here. In what figures to be a low-scoring game, taking the points is the way to go. 8* San Diego |
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03-11-19 | Thunder +3.5 v. Jazz | Top | 98-89 | Win | 100 | 13 h 53 m | Show |
10* Oklahoma City (9:05 ET): As much respect as I have for the Jazz (remember, I called for them to go on a big January run and they did), I don't like them laying points to a superior team like the Thunder, even at home. Yes, OKC has gone just 1-9 ATS its last 10 games. But they were in a horrible spot their last game, coming off a win in overtime at Portland and playing w/o rest against the Clippers. They lost 118-110, but I'm calling for a bounce back here as this team is "due" to start covering. Take the points. You may recall that I just played AGAINST Utah in their most recent game. I took Memphis, as a home dog, and they beat the Jazz outright by a score of 114-104. Utah trailed most of the way and was forced into an unusually high number of three-point attempts. Now the Grizzlies do lead the NBA in scoring defense. But OKC isn't too shabby in the defensive department either, ranking 5th in efficiency. Three players fouled out in Friday's loss to the Clippers, including Paul George and Russell Westbrook, which obviously didn't help in an already less than advantageous situation. The Thunder are 3-0 against the Jazz this season, including two one-point victories. The last time they played was Feb 22nd and that was a double overtime game. It's pretty surprising that OKC has only three wins in its last 10 games, two of them requiring OT and the other coming by just four points. They are too talented for such a streak to continue and I believe the better team is getting points in this one. The Thunder are a solid 9-6 ATS when getting points this season and Utah has failed to cover four of the last five times it has been favored, losing two of those games outright. 10* Oklahoma City |
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03-11-19 | Ball State v. Eastern Michigan -2 | Top | 61-43 | Loss | -109 | 11 h 47 m | Show |
10* Eastern Michigan (7:00 ET): The MAC Tournament gets underway Monday. These 1st round matchups are being played at campus sites, quite an edge for the home teams, who will have to win four times this week to make the Big Dance (next three rounds all played in Cleveland). Here we have the #6 vs. #11 seed matchup w/ Eastern Michigan hosting Ball State. The latter did not end its regular season well (at all) as it dropped five of six, the lone win coming by just a single bucket. Overall, Ball State is 2-11 ATS its last 13 games w/ seven straight non-covers. So laying just a small number w/ EMU seems to be a good idea here, especially considering they swept the regular season series. It was a two-point win in Muncie back in January, then a seven-point win here in Ypsilanti just a week ago. Last week's game saw the Eagles largely in control from start to finish. They led by 12 at halftime and held the Cardinals to 38.5% shooting for the game. For the season, Eastern Michigan went 11-6 SU here at home while holding foes to 66.2 PPG on just 40.2% shooting. Ball State has averaged just 61.4 points over its last five games. The Cardinals' regular season ended w/ a 64-57 loss at home to Northern Illinois (were 5-pt favorites). They are 9-26 ATS the L3 seasons when coming off a game that went Under the total. Eastern Michigan also lost its reg season finale, but covered the spread at Toledo in a six-point defeat. They are a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS off their previous three losses and I trust the Eagles' defense to get the job done here. Ball State is basically a wounded animal at this point, waiting to be put out of its misery. 10* Eastern Michigan |
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03-11-19 | NC-Greensboro v. Wofford -6.5 | Top | 58-70 | Win | 100 | 8 h 51 m | Show |
8* Wofford (7:00 ET): This is the Southern Conference Final and top-seeded Wofford is in the rare position of being a "smaller" mid-major that does NOT have to win its conference tournament. The Terriers are ranked 22nd in the country coming into Monday and will likely be even higher once the new poll comes out later today. I say that because they're now on a 19-game win streak (school record) after rather easily dispatching of East Tennessee State in the semifinals yesterday. But despite their "assured" NCAA Tournament status, I'm still laying the points here w/ Wofford as they have something to prove. Because they "need" to win tonight, I'm figuring UNC Greensboro might be a pretty popular underdog tonight. But the Spartans have expended a lot of energy the last two days in coming from behind to defeat both Samford and Furman. Sunday, they ended the game on a 21-10 run to win 66-62. Saturday, they were down 12 to 7-seed Samford at the half and down six w/ six minutes to go. Privately, I think Wofford has to be ecstatic to draw UNC Greensboro in this spot, rather than Furman, who I had rated as the stronger potential opponent. UNC Greensboro has pulled off a number of come from behind efforts to get to 28-5 SU on the year. But they got drilled both times they faced Wofford, losing by 29 and 30 points. With this game being on national TV, I don't think Wofford is going to be prone to any sort of letdown. Rather, I look for them to make their presence felt on a national level as they look to go into the NCAA Tournament w/ a fairly decent seed (a 6 or 7?). The Terriers are 20-0 SU vs. the rest of the SoCon, winning by an average margin of 17 PPG. They have covered the spread in 10 of their last 11 games, only failing when the were asked to lay 23.5 against VMI. 8* Wofford |
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03-10-19 | Magic v. Grizzlies +1.5 | Top | 97-105 | Win | 100 | 21 h 3 m | Show |
10* Memphis (6:05 ET): The Grizzlies came through for me in a major way Friday night, upsetting the Jazz (here at home) by a score of 114-104. The most impressive thing about that win is the Grizz led virtually "wire to wire" against a very good team. If they can beat Utah, then certainly they can beat Orlando, even as the Magic try and jockey themselves into playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Orlando just beat Dallas Friday night, but they weren't as fortunate at the betting window as they failed to cover as 6.5-pt chalk (won 111-106). Unfortunately for them, they were outscored 33-19 in the fourth quarter. As I stated in the writeup for Friday night's play on Memphis, they are a good defensive team, which will allow them to stay in most games. This has been the basis for me taking them multiple times in the home dog role. They now rank #1 in the league in scoring defense (103.8 PPG allowed), just ahead of Indiana. They forced the Jazz into taking an abnormal number of three-pointers Friday. As for the Grizzlies' offense, it does rank near the bottom of the league, but there are now several new pieces starting to gel together. Count Jonas Valanciunas among them. He contributed 27 pts against the Jazz and is now averaging 19.2 PPG on 61.5% shooting in six games here. Orlando has failed to cover in three straight and this could be a rare instance of them going off as a road favorite. That's only happened six times previously this season and they've lost three of those six games outright. My own personal numbers indicate Memphis should be favored here as they go for their first three-game win streak since November. The Grizzlies are 4-0 ATS in March and have played better than the SU record would indicate. I'll continue to take them until the oddsmakers give them the respect they deserve. 10* Memphis |
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03-09-19 | North Dakota v. Nebraska-Omaha -5.5 | Top | 76-81 | Loss | -115 | 23 h 7 m | Show |
8* Neb-Omaha (9:30 ET): This is a quarterfinal in the Summit League Tournament, which gets going today in Sioux Falls, SD. Second seeded Omaha is one of two teams that really dominated this league during the regular season (top seed South Dakota St being the other). There's quite a gap between those two teams and the rest of the field, so I thought it would be an opportune time to take advantage of that fact w/ the pointspread being widely available (not always the case in the Summit League). Omaha should easily roll onto the semifinals. Lay the points. The Mavericks went 13-3 SU in conference play during the regular season. They split w/ South Dakota St (who finished 14-2 SU), but unfortunately were swept by Oral Roberts, losing both times by four points or less. But overall, this is a team that has won 16 out of its last 19 games, including 12 of 14. They concluded the regular season w/ an easy win over last place Denver (who didn't even qualify for the tournament), 86-76 as a four-point favorite. That was the Mavericks' 3rd straight road game. Omaha's quarterfinal opponent is a North Dakota team they beat twice during the regular season, scoring 90+ pts in both games. The road win was a lot closer (92-91) as the Mavericks breezed to a 90-72 win at home. The Fighting Hawks did have a three-game win streak snapped in their reg season finale as they lost by 15 at South Dakota. But note before that three-game win streak, the Fighting Hawks were just 3-9 SU in league play. They were a perfect 4-0 against Western Illinois and Denver, the two worst teams in the league, and just 2-10 SU vs. everyone else. The last time these teams played, Omaha shot a blistering 56.5% from the field. 8* Neb-Omaha |
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03-09-19 | USC v. Colorado -6.5 | Top | 67-78 | Win | 100 | 19 h 38 m | Show |
10* Colorado (5:00 ET): This would appear to be the proverbial "two ships sailing in opposite directions" type deal. USC has lost three in a row and six of eight (also 2-6 ATS). Colorado has won and covered seven of its last nine games, including B2B blowouts here in Boulder. The Buffaloes still have a chance to finish in the top four in the Pac 12, if Oregon State were to lose at Washington State or if Utah lost at home to UCLA. That would mean a first round bye in next week's conference tournament. They have beaten USC 8 of the last 12 meetings, including 69-65 (as 4.5-pt dogs) back on Feb 5 in LA. At home, the Buffs should roll today. USC has been pretty horrific on the defensive end of late. They've given up a combined 176 pts the L2 games, including 22 made three-pointers. Consider that the Trojans shot better than 55% from the field Thursday and still lost by nine to Utah. This is their second three-game losing streak in Pac 12 play this season. Unlike the first time, they don't have the luxury of facing Cal the next time out. They are 1-8 ATS their last nine road games against teams with winning home records. They give up 82.8 PPG on the road this year and Colorado has gone 12-3 SU here in Boulder this season. A big edge for CU in this matchup comes on the glass. They are the top team in the Pac 12 in rebounding differential (+5.5 per game) while USC ranks 10th (-1.7). USC was really dominated on the glass by Utah on Thursday. No Pac 12 team likes the "2nd road game in three days" scenario, but Boulder is a particularly tough place to play (altitude). Colorado crushed UCLA at home Thursday night, 93-68, as six-point chalk. For a second straight game, they held their opponents below 40% shooting. It would appear as if the Buffs have all the key advantages heading into this one and I'm expecting a rout. 10* Colorado |
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03-09-19 | Florida Atlantic v. Marshall -6 | Top | 61-76 | Win | 100 | 14 h 38 m | Show |
10* Marshall (12:00 ET): I jumped all over the Thundering Herd earlier in the week and they rewarded us w/ an easy 94-78 win and cover over FIU. I had said that this was a completely different team at home and sure enough, they responded in kind. For the season, they are now 11-3 SU in Huntington and averaging an impresive 87.9 PPG. I also went over how the "pod" format being used by Conference USA may end up hurting the Herd, but the bottom line is I expect them to continue a strong finish to the regular season here in the finale vs. Florida Atlantic. Lay the points. For awhile there, Marshall was having a real rough go of it, especially at the betting window. There was a stretch where they'd lost seven of eight game and things got even worse ATS w/ a 10-game slide. That's what landed them in the "pod" w/ the middle of the pack C-USA teams, rather than competing for a top five seed w/ the big boys. I went over this unique "pod" format in the last writeup. But just to rehash, after every C-USA team played 14 games, they were broken up into three groups. If you were a top five team after the 14-game mark, you were assured no worse than a top five seed for the conference tourney, but would only play fellow top five teams for the remainder of the regular season. The same thing holds true for the teams that were 6 through 10 in the standings as well as 11 through 14. The bottom line is that Marshall has taken advantage of their "pod" and finishing strong. They've now won four straight, scoring 85 or more pts in every game. Despite likely entering the C-USA Tournament as the probable 6-seed, there's a chance they could end the season actually tied for 2nd place in the standings, which is kinda unlucky. They've already beaten FAU once this season, 96-84 here in Huntington. They were 11-pt favorites for that game. Curiously, they are laying a lot less for the rematch. As stated in the previous writeup, Marshall has underachieved this season as they returned four starters from LY's 25-win team. FAU just took a brutal three-point home loss to La Tech on Wednesday following a six-day layoff. That makes this a pretty rough spot facing an opponent that's started to rediscover itself. 10* Marshall |
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03-08-19 | Nuggets v. Warriors -6 | Top | 105-122 | Win | 100 | 13 h 53 m | Show |
8* Golden State (10:35 ET): The last time that the top two teams in the Western Conference faced off, Denver was feeling pretty good about itself. They came in ahead of Golden State in the standings and had won 8 of their last 10 games. Plus, they were getting the Warriors at home. It quickly turned into a nightmare though w/ the Dubs erupting for a NBA-record 51 point 1st quarter en route to a 142-111 thrashing. I seriously doubt that things will be that one-sided again tonight, but the end result will be the same w/ Golden State coming out ahead by a comfortable margin. Warriors HC Steve Kerr has come out and said that the team owes the paying customers at Oracle Arena a better effort. He was referring to the fact they just lost here at home to Boston, by 33 points, which was the worst home loss of the Kerr-era. Thus I suspect Denver is again likely to feel the wrath of Golden State here. I know that the Dubs have not been a great team to bet on this season (worst ATS record in the league!), but they are usually "money" coming off a SU loss. They are just 2-12 ATS their L14 games overall, so we're getting them at a cheap price as a result. This is a really important game considering the Warriors have just a one-game edge over the Nuggets on the standings. It's on ESPN. I don't expect Golden State to lose in such a spot and the pointspread just seems rather short. Despite the fact they haven't been nearly as dominant as past years, this year's Warriors still sport the second best efficiency rating and point differential in the league (trailing only Milwaukee in both categories). After losing four of their last six games outright, the Dubs should be in an ornery mood at Oracle tonight and looking to prove a point. 8* Golden State |
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03-08-19 | Jazz v. Grizzlies +5 | Top | 104-114 | Win | 100 | 11 h 39 m | Show |
10* Memphis (8:00 ET): The Grizzlies are a team I've used w/ high frequency of late. That may seem odd, given where they currently reside at in the standings, but they're #2 in the league in scoring defense and almost always getting points. That's a solid combo and a big reason why they have covered three straight and four out of their last five. During that time, they've beaten the Lakers, Dallas (by 30!) and Portland. The two losses were by a combined six points. Their last four losses have been by a total of 17 pts. So in what figures to be a low-scoring game here vs. Utah, I'm grabbing the points. Utah was able to avenge a loss to New Orleans its last time out. They had dropped the front end of a home and home w/ the Pelicans Monday, losing 115-112 at home. But they bounced back w/ a 114-104 win in the Big Easy Wednesday night. Note that Anthony Davis played only limited minutes in both games. Utah is a good team, but only a .500 proposition on the road, which makes laying points seem like a bad idea in this situation. Memphis is only giving up 102 PPG at home this year, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that they are 9-6 ATS as a home dog. Excluding the second night of back to backs, Memphis has been a profitable team to bet on this season. They've also fared better against their own conference than they have against the East, which seems odd. Though most generally don't think of them this way, Utah has actually been an underachiever this season as they have been favored in 48 of their 64 games. I expect them to finish the season pretty well, but the Grizzlies have given them trouble, winning two of the previous three matchups (all took place before Thanksgiving). Interestingly, both times they won, the game was in Salt Lake City. The Jazz failed to top 100 points in all three games. 10* Memphis |
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03-08-19 | Harvard v. Cornell +6 | Top | 59-72 | Win | 100 | 10 h 7 m | Show |
8* Cornell (7:00 ET): Cornell has lost five in a row, the last four all coming out on the road and those four road losses got progressively worse (in terms of margin) as the trip wore on. It was a nine-point loss to Princeton, 18 pt loss to Penn, 23 pt loss to Yale and 24 pt loss to Brown. Fortunately, the Big Red get the final two games of the regular season at home. The first is against a Harvard team they already beat once, 67-61 as 9.5-point road dogs. Going by that line and result, it would certainly appear as if we're getting some solid value on the home dog for tonight's rematch. Take the points. Harvard is tied w/ Yale for the conference lead and swept the regular season series, so they have the tiebreaker. That means all the Crimson need to do is win their final two games and they are Ivy League regular season champs. But these last two games are both on the road where they are just 6-7 SU this season and have been outscored. The Crimson have won three straight, but all three wins were by single digits and the last two came at home. They shot 51.2% in the 1st meeting w/ Cornell and still lost. I don't imagine they'll shoot that well again. Cornell actually pulled off a stunning rally in upsetting Harvard the first time around, coming back from a 13-point halftime deficit to take the game outright. They scored 46 pts in the second half after scoring only 21 in the 1st. They did have almost a 2:1 edge in FT attempts, but that could very well be the case again tonight as they are playing at home. Something to keep in mind about Cornell is that they have played 17 of their 28 games on the road. They're a solid 7-4 SU at home and tonight will be just the fourth time they've gotten points in their own gym. 8* Cornell |
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03-08-19 | Bowling Green v. Buffalo -14 | Top | 73-84 | Loss | -110 | 10 h 39 m | Show |
10* Buffalo (6:00 ET): Though 19th ranked Buffalo has already clinched the MAC regular season title, expect no shortage of motivation from them Friday night. First off, it's Senior Night. Secondly, they'll be looking to avenge one of the two losses they suffered in conference play this year. This is the first time all season UB finds itself in a revenge spot. There was no rematch with the other MAC team they lost to (Northern Illinois). So Bowling Green should be forewarned that this final game of the regular season could get pretty ugly for them. Lay the points. It was back on February 1st that Buffalo lost at BG, 92-88 as an eight-point road favorite. The loss to Northern Illinois was by just a single point, so this team is seven points away from being on the verge of completing a perfect MAC season. The Bulls' 27-3 (SU) record puts them as one of six teams in the country w/ an overall win % of .900 or better. They are perfect here at home (14-0), outscoring opponents by 23.2 PPG. They have outscored conference opponents by 14.2 PPG, whether it's home or the road. The first meeting w/ BG saw them blow an eight-point halftime lead. They haven't forgotten. Bowling Green has sputtered some down the stretch, losing three of its last four. Their last game was easily the worst performance of the season as they were drubbed by Akron, 91-67 (as 2.5-pt dogs). Giving up that many points to an offensively challenged team like Akron is not a good sign for tonight. The Zips shot nearly 58% from the floor and were 14 of 31 from three-point range despite coming in as the MAC's worst 3-pt shooting team. I realize that Buffalo is 0-3 ATS its last three games, but two were on the road. The Bulls were 15 of 34 from behind the arc in their last game. This is an experienced group, so Senior Night is a big deal, and a win here would set a new school record for a single season. 10* Buffalo |
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03-07-19 | Evansville v. Illinois State -4 | Top | 60-65 | Win | 100 | 14 h 31 m | Show |
8* Illinois State (9:35 ET): The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament gets going Thursday and as always the event takes place in St. Louis. Tonight, the bottom four teams must play just to get into the quarterfinals. I like Illinois State's chances against last place Evansville. While the regular season didn't end particularly well for the Redbirds, they did sweep both meetings from Evansville. They won comfortably both times as well. So I don't think doing so a third time will be much trouble here. Evansville has posted only two SU wins since January 16th! Lay the points. One of those two Evansville victories came in the reg season finale, an upset of Valparaiso (on the road) as five-point underdogs. Ironically, the only two games that the Purple Aces won over the last two months both came at Valpo's expense. They'd lost seven in a row between the victories and are just 2-11 SU the L13 games overall. Last weekend's win was all the more surprising because Evansville had just one "true" road win prior to it. Following a SU win, the Purple Aces are just 2-8 SU, 3-6 ATS this season. I just don't see them winning B2B games at this juncture. Illinois State held Evansville to 38.2 and 32.7 percent shooting in its two regular season victories. The Redbirds have lost six of eight themselves and got somewhat of a "raw deal" having to play this extra tournament game as they finished tied w/ Northern Iowa for 6th, but lost the tiebreaker. Outside of Normal, ISU hasn't exactly been "gangbusters," but they did win at Evansville. They lost the regular season finale at Southern Illinois despite four players finishing in double digits. Interesting here to note is that Illinois State is 17-5 SU all-time in the MVC Tournament when playing an opponent they swept in the regular season. That includes 10 straight wins, four of them coming against Evansville. The Purple Aces are also short-handed w/ Dainius Chatkevicius still suspended. 8* Illinois State |
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03-07-19 | South Alabama v. Coastal Carolina -6.5 | Top | 70-92 | Win | 100 | 22 h 57 m | Show |
10* Coastal Carolina (7:00 ET): We're into the final week of the Sun Belt's regular season slate and both teams here figure to finish in the middle of the league's pack. Coastal Carolina's SBC record is 8-8 SU as they just pulled off a nice upset over the weekend, going on the road and beating La Monroe 97-91 as 5.5-point pups. South Alabama perhaps pulled off a bigger shocker, beating 1st place Texas State 77-63 as 3-pt dogs, albeit at home. This is a revenge spot for CC after losing by seven down in Mobile back in January. I think they get the job done in Thursday's rematch. Lay the points. Coastal Carolina had dropped five of six before beating La Monroe Saturday. Devante Jones scored a season-high 30 pts for the Chanticleers in the upset and Zac Cuthbertson added 25. The win snapped a four-game losing streak on the road. But here at home Coastal Carolina is 8-3 SU and outscores opponents by a healthy 12.2 PPG. Their final two regular season games are both here in Conway. Note that if the Chanticleers were to sweep this week, then there is a chance they could finish fifth in the Sun Belt. They've covered four of their last five at home and are 14-5-1 ATS the L20 times off a SU win. South Alabama really lucked out Saturday when Texas State's leading scorer Nijal Pearson (18 PPG) failed to make a single shot from the field (0 for 8). The Jaguars were able to pull away in the second half, but I certainly wouldn't look for them to shoot 62.8% from the floor again nor 10 of 17 from three-point range. They really killed Texas State from three-point range as the Bobcats were just 5 of 25. Note USA is just 2-9 SU on the road this season and sees their scoring average dip down to 68.2 PPG. The win over Texas State represents their best offensive game (in terms of shooting %) this entire season. 10* Coastal Carolina |
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03-06-19 | Heat v. Hornets -3 | Top | 91-84 | Loss | -105 | 11 h 40 m | Show |
10* Charlotte (7:05 ET): These two Southeast Division teams met twice in October and haven't played since. The Hornets took both games, a stark contrast to the way the rivalry had gone in recent seasons. Coming into 2018-19, the Heat had gone on a six-game SU win streak (5-0-1 ATS) at Charlotte's expense. Tonight's game might be as important as any of those prior contests. That's because the Hornets and Heat come into Wednesday tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Despite sporting 29-34 records, they are actually tied for the division lead, one-half game up on Orlando. The Hornets can be incredibly maddening, particularly when it comes to their shortcomings in "close games." Over the L3 seasons, the team's record in games decided by three points or less is an unfathomable 4-24 SU. They come into tonight having dropped 8 of 11 overall, including 118-108 here at home to Portland on Monday. But even w/ that loss, Charlotte is still 20-13 SU on its homecourt, a vast improvement from their 9-21 SU road record. Another positive is that the Hornets are 7-3 ATS their L10 games vs. teams w/ a losing record. Miami has dropped 9 of 11 (w/ three 3-game losing skids), but has since rebounded to win three of its last four games. The latest win came by just a point over Atlanta, 114-113, even though they outshot the Hawks 55.7% to 41.8%. (The key was Atlanta taking and making far more threes). The Heat's last two losses were both by only three points. So them taking the court as underdogs might seem tempting. But the Heat are only 1-9 ATS their previous 10 division games. They've also only had to play two road games since the All-Star Break. 10* Charlotte |
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03-06-19 | Florida International v. Marshall -6 | Top | 78-94 | Win | 100 | 10 h 47 m | Show |
10* Marshall (7:00 ET): Conference USA adopted a strange format for determining its seedings for the upcoming tournament in Frisco, TX. Rather than play a traditional schedule, teams were grouped into three "pods" after everyone played 14 league games. If you were a top five team after the 14-game mark, you were assured no worse than a top five seed for the conference tourney, but would only play fellow top five teams for the remainder of the regular season. The same thing holds true for the teams that were 6 through 10 in the standings after that 14-game mark. Both FIU and Marshall are in that "pod," meaning upward mobility is limited to the sixth seed, no matter how well either team plays down the stretch. Strange times, indeed. Sure enough, both of these teams have picked up their level of play since the "pod" format started. FIU has won four straight while Marshall is on a three-game win streak. Thus, both are now actually tied for 4th place in C-USA w/ 9-7 SU records, even though (again) neither can be seeded higher than 6th. Confused yet? Well, let's get to what you NEED to know here. Marshall already beat FIU once this year, 105-97 (no overtime!) and for a second time will get to host them here in Huntington. That's a big edge considering the Thundering Herd are 10-3 SU at home this season and averaging 87.5 PPG. FIU is just 5-7 SU in "true" road games this year, giving up 85.7 PPG. This "pod" format created some unique scheduling spots and for Marshall, they actually had a 12-day break. They responded by upsetting both La Tech and North Texas on the road as 7 and 5.5-point dogs respectively. This was a 25-win team LY that brought back four starters. So it's been a bit of a disappointing year, particularly at the betting window where before the B2B upsets, they'd failed to cover 10 in a row. But the Herd seems back on track now and I like them laying a shorter number than what they laid in the first matchup w/ FIU. Unlike the previous two times they've taken the floor, FIU hasn't had at least a week off between games. 10* Marshall |
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03-05-19 | Illinois-Chicago v. Green Bay -3.5 | Top | 77-82 | Win | 100 | 11 h 36 m | Show |
10* Green Bay (8:00 ET): This will be the third time in three weeks that I'm siding w/ the Phoenix. The first two have gone quite well as I had them in wins over Detroit and Wright State. The latter was an upset as a 4-point dog just last week. Both games were here at home as is this one, which is the opener of the Horizon League Tournament. They draw a UIC team they beat twice during the regular season, both times by five points or less, but I expect the rubber match to be the easiest win of them all as Green Bay seems to be "peaking" at the right time. Lay the points. As I talked about each of those last two times I played Green Bay, they are a much better team here at home. They've gone 11-3 SU here, averaging 87.1 PPG. Equally as important as those offensive numbers though is how the defense improves. While the Phoenix give up 85.6 PPG on the road, a pretty frightening number, they are only allowing 75.0 at home. The fact they are outscoring opponents by double digits here at home for the season makes getting home court advantage for this 1st round Horizon League matchup so critical. The last time these teams played, Green Bay staged a dramatic rally, coming back from a 19-point halftime deficit. That was on the road, just 10 days ago. That game saw the Phoenix held to a season-low 20 points in the 1st half, which won't happen here. They won the season's first meeting 90-85 here at home. UIC is not a good road team, so them being the lower seed definitely hurts. They are 4-11 SU/ATS on the road this season, getting outscored by more than seven points per game. I know they were dominating (for the 1st half) the last time they played Green Bay, but that was at home. This spread is way too low. 10* Green Bay |
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03-05-19 | Bulls +7.5 v. Pacers | Top | 96-105 | Loss | -109 | 11 h 42 m | Show |
8* Chicago (7:05 ET): Indiana was a team I expected to regress after they had gone an extremely fortunate 11-2 SU in games decided by three points or less last season. But for much of this season, it appeared as if the team might actually IMPROVE upon last year's 48-win total. Then Victor Oladipo went down w/ a season-ending injury. The Pacers lost the first four games w/o Oladipo, but then shockingly would go on to win the next six and eight of nine overall. But they've started to slip again, losing three of four, and I'll grab the points in tonight's matchup w/ the Bulls as I think Indiana is a vulnerable favorite here. Now Chicago is by no means a good team. But they do come into this evening having gone a very solid 5-2 SU/ATS their last seven games. They did just fail at an attempt to sweep a home and home w/ fellow bottom-dwellar Atlanta on Sunday, losing 123-118. That came on the heels of a wild 4OT affair two nights prior when they beat the Hawks 168-161 in the third highest scoring game in NBA history. The Bulls are 0-3 SU vs. the Pacers this season, but all three losses have been by six points or less and this is the first time they'll get to face them since the Oladipo injury took place. The Pacers are off a loss here as they fell right here at home to Orlando Saturday night, 117-112 as three-point favorites. That game saw the team get clearly bothered by the officiating, which irked HC Nate McMillan. But Indiana also allowed Orlando to shoot 50% from the floor, which you don't see very often by a Pacers' opponent. Another key player in handicapping this game is Otto Porter Jr, who the Bulls acquired at the trade deadline from Washington. They are 6-2 SU w/ Porter in the lineup and 0-2 when he sits. He sat Sunday, but will be back tonight. Something else worth noting is that Indiana is just 4-8 ATS in division games this season. 8* Chicago |
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03-04-19 | Pelicans v. Jazz -9.5 | Top | 115-112 | Loss | -105 | 14 h 35 m | Show |
10* Utah (9:05 ET): Both of these teams come off somewhat improbable wins. A career-night from Donovan Mitchell (46 pts) led to the Jazz coming back from a 17-point deficit and beating Milwaukee 115-111. Note they were actually five-point favorites in that game and it was their fourth straight win. New Orleans, without Anthony Davis, was able to forge an even bigger comeback Saturday night in Denver. Down by as many as 19, the Pelicans won that game 120-112 as 13.5-pt underdogs. So something is going to have to give here. I'm banking on the more consistent commodity, that being Utah. Lay the points. The Jazz are currently 6th in the West, but this is a team that is capable of doing some real damage come playoff time. The last two games have seen them beat two of the top teams in the league, Denver and Milwaukee. Defense has been outstanding the last four games w/ every opponent held under a 42.4 FG%. Here at home, this has been an excellent team. They've won eight of nine, including five straight, to improve to 21-10 SU here for the year. The are already outscoring visitors by 6.6 PPG. New Orleans has been able to deal w/ the Anthony Davis distraction to remain relevant in the playoff race. But if they have an issue, it's winning on the road. Yes, they've just won at both Phoenix and Denver. But that's only improved their road record to 11-24 SU. Tonight will be their third road game in four nights. They give up 116.4 PPG on the road and are a bottom five team in the league in overall points allowed. Utah has massive edges when it comes to the defensive end and getting this game at home. 10* Utah |
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03-03-19 | Wolves v. Wizards -1.5 | Top | 121-135 | Win | 100 | 9 h 19 m | Show |
10* Washington (6:05 ET): The Wizards simply could not find any offensive rhythm Friday night vs. Boston as they shot just 40% from the field and lost 107-96. That was just fine by me as I was holding an Under ticket. But for the Wiz themselves, the loss dropped them four games off the playoff pace in what has been quite the disappointing season. Tonight, they're back home and that's ultimately the key here as neither they or their Sunday opponent (Minnesota) is a very good road team. The T'wolves have lost two in a row on the road and I played against them both times. Let's make that three. Lay the short number. Washington has just one win in its last six games. Ironically, it was on the road against Brooklyn. But note they've gotten only one of those last six games at home. It was against Indiana and they were in the second night of a back to back. Tonight, they're rested and home, the first time in this situation since a Feb 8 win and cover against Cleveland. The Wiz are a respectable 16-12 SU at home this season (16-11-1 ATS). While far from the most dominant home court edge in the league, it's still a far cry from their somewhat heinous 8-25 SU (9-23-1 ATS) road record. Speaking of heinous road records, Minnesota is now just 9-23 SU away from the Twin Cities after losses to Atlanta and Indiana earlier this week. They won just one road game in February and it was against woeful Knicks. They've given up at least 122 pts in each of their last five road losses and are just 4-17 SU when priced as the road underdog this season. Both teams badly need this game, but Washington is the lucky one to get it at home. They are 14-7 SU at the Verizon Center since 11.20 and 4th in league in PPG at home w/ 117.0. They are +2.8 pts per 100 possessions here while Minnesota is -4.5 points per 100 possessions on the road. 10* Washington |
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03-03-19 | Boston College v. Georgia Tech -1.5 | Top | 78-81 | Win | 100 | 9 h 13 m | Show |
10* Georgia Tech (6:00 ET): The Yellow Jackets have never been a contender in the rugged ACC this season and will come into the final week of the regular season sporting a 4-12 SU record in conference play. They've lost 9 of 10, but today is Senior Day in Atlanta and that should provide some motivation to win the final home game. Their only SU win in those L10 games was here at home, over Pitt, on 2.20. I have to say that Georgia Tech "feels" like it should be better considering they rank in the top 30 nationally in defensive efficiency. Of that top 30, you can expect almost every team to make the NCAA Tournament. Earlier this week, the Yellow Jackets had no answer for one of the top teams in the country, Virginia, who smashed them 81-51. It was the Jackets' second straight double digit road loss. But as mentioned above, this is a home game and the final one at that for the departing senior class. Given there will be no major postseason tournament for this team, expect them to treat this as the biggest game of the season. Giving up only 63.7 PPG at home is a nice foundation for Ga Tech. Interesting is that the last two games with a spread of two points or less, they won both. Boston College comes in here having covered five in a row and they just upset Louisville in Chesnut Hill Wednesday. That makes the Eagles ripe for a letdown though, at least in my eyes. They've got two regular season games left, both of which will be at home, and the next one is North Carolina. It will be very easy for the Eagles to overlook this game. This is a team that has won just three of its last nine games straight up. They were lucky that L'ville couldn't make a shot on Wednesday. But this isn't a great defensive team by any means nor are they great offensively. Ga Tech opponents are shooting below 40% for the year. 10* Georgia Tech |
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03-02-19 | Grizzlies +5 v. Mavs | Top | 111-81 | Win | 100 | 12 h 40 m | Show |
10* Memphis (8:35 ET): Dallas snapped a five-game (SU and ATS) losing streak on Wednesday w/ a 110-101 win over Indiana. The Mavs are a team that plays significantly better at home (21-10 SU) than on the road (6-24 SU) and they'll be hosting Memphis tonight. But the role of favorite hasn't been all that kind to the Mavs. The last time they were asked to lay points, they lost outright - here at home - to Miami by double digits. The Grizzlies, with the top scoring defense in the Western Conference, should certainly be able to "stay in" this game and have a great shot at pulling the outright upset. Take the points. Memphis is off a bad home loss to Chicago Wednesday night, which was their fifth loss in the last six games. Note, however, that four of those losses have been by six points or less. The team is w/o top draft choice Jaren Jackson Jr for the foreseeable future, but that defense should be able to keep them in most games, including this one. The Grizz allow just 104.1 PPG, so as an underdog, they're still an attractive wager. Note that when playing on exactly two days rest this season, the team's SU and ATS record is 8-3. Dallas has traded away four starters in an attempt to build for the future. In what projects to be a pretty low scoring game (by modern NBA standards), taking the points just seems like the right way to go here. Despite being division rivals, Memphis and Dallas have met only one time previous to this in 2018-19 and it was the Grizzlies winning 98-88 at home back on November 19th. That time, the Grizzlies were playing the second night of a back to back. With a pretty tough stretch of upcoming games, Memphis should come in really focused tonight. 10* Memphis |
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03-02-19 | Ole Miss v. Arkansas -1 | Top | 73-74 | Push | 0 | 4 h 29 m | Show |
10* Arkansas (1:00 ET): The Razorbacks were able to end a six-game ATS losing streak on Tuesday w/ a surprisingly competitive effort against Kentucky as they lost by only four at Rupp Arena. But at the end of the day, it was still the Hogs' sixth straight up loss in a row. They've faced a fairly rugged gauntlet of late, only getting two games here in Fayatteville since their last win, which came on February 5th vs. Vandy. Today shapes up as their best shot at victory in a while as they host an Ole Miss squad that has be emotionally drained coming off a tough loss to Tennessee. I'm backing the home team in this one! Ole Miss lost by two to Tennesse, at home, a game which ended in protest after a questionable call went against them to seal the deal. Ironically, in a one-poing win over Georgia last weekend, it a was a protest BEFORE the game that caught attention as the Rebels' players kneeled during the national anthem over pro-Confederate rallies that were taking place near the arena. Thus, it's been a real whirlwind of emotions lately and this just reeks of a trap game as the Rebels just got done taking one top 10 team down to the wire and have another (Kentucky) set to come to Oxford next week. This is commonly referred to as a "sandwich spot" and it's not an enviable position for the road team. Back on January 19th, these teams met in Oxford w/ Ole Miss prevailing 84-67 as 6.5-pt chalk. It was one of Arkansas' worst performances of the season as they never led. At the time, Ole Miss was ranked #18 in the country, but they've since fallen out of the polls. Like Ole Miss did against Tennessee, Arkansas led much of the way against Kentucky, even going up by as many as 15 (on the road!). I just look at the Razorbacks as a team that's lost so many close calls against top tier opponents (eight loss by 6 pts or less!) that they're due to break through one of these times. 10* Arkansas |
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03-01-19 | Hornets v. Nets -3.5 | Top | 123-112 | Loss | -105 | 12 h 29 m | Show |
8* Brooklyn (7:35 ET): These two Eastern Conference playoff contenders just met a week ago, in Charlotte, with the Nets winning 117-115. D'Angelo Russell matched a career-high w/ 40 pts in that game, including the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute. That was just one of a number of close losses Charlotte has suffered this season. They lead the league w/ 10 losses by three points or less. That doesn't even include Wednesday's painful setback at the hands of Houston where they lost 118-113 as five-point home underdogs after blowing a 12-point second half lead. Brooklyn is also off a loss here. They too fell at home Wednesday night, to the Wizards, 125-116 in a game they were favored to win by five. Things started well w/ the Nets racing out to an early 10-0 lead. But it was all downhill from there as they ended up trailing by as many as 28 at one point! I expect a strong bounce back effort tonight. That was just the third SU loss (in 19 tries) for the Nets as a favorite this season. They are a perfect 2-0 ATS when off a SU loss as a favorite. Despite Wednesday's loss, they remain in sixth place in the East and now are getting Spencer Dinwiddie back (has been out since 1/23). With Caris LeVert also back in the fold, this is as close to "full strength" as the Nets have been all season. Charlotte now has some work to do as they've fallen out of the top eight in the East. They've lost three in a row overall - all at home. Losing three in a row on your own court is obviously a HUGE missed opportunity. But especially so for the Hornets, who are only 8-21 SU on the road. This is one of those situation where I'm NOT buying into the revenge angle. If Charlotte couldn't beat the Nets at home, I don't see them getting the job done in Brooklyn. This is the 4th head to head meeting of the season and the Nets have won two of the previous three. 8* Brooklyn |
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03-01-19 | Iona v. Rider -5.5 | Top | 86-79 | Loss | -109 | 12 h 53 m | Show |
10* Rider (7:00 ET): Rider's attempt at a late season renaissance continues Friday w/ a home date against the first place team in the MAAC, Iona. At one point, the Broncs were 5-0 SU and leading the conference themselves. But a shocking mid-season swoon very nearly derailed them. From January 19th to February 12th, they went 0-9 at the betting window and 3-6 straight up. They were favored in all nine games. Many of those games were the second time they'd faced a conference foe, which is also the case tonight. But this is a rare revenge spot for the Broncs, who lost at Iona 77-71 (as 2.5-pt favorites) on January 25th. Despite that mid-season swoon, winning the MAAC regular season title is still in play for the Broncs. They are 10-6 SU in conference play, which is one-half game back of Iona. So a win tonight would mean more than just "revenge." But the revenge angle is pretty strong here. When Rider lost to Iona last month, it was their 1st conference loss. At the time, no one could have foreseen what would ensue. But the Broncs have turned things around. They come into tonight on a three-game win streak, including a 16-pt win over Niagara last Friday. They are now 10-2 SU at home. Given Rider was a 2.5-pt favorite at Iona last month, we're getting some good value for this rematch. Sure, the oddsmakers had to make some sort of adjustment, but this looks to be an overreaction. Yes, Iona has won six straight, covering the spread in the last five. But a good number of those wins were close games. At one point, the Gaels were just 2-12 SU away from home this season. They are still allowing 80.2 PPG on the road. Rider lost a good number of close ones during their losing streak and they are much better than their record. When seeking revenge for a road loss, the Broncs are 11-3 ATS the L3 seasons. 10* Rider |
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02-28-19 | Wright State v. Green Bay +4 | Top | 67-70 | Win | 100 | 12 h 22 m | Show |
10* Green Bay (7:00 ET): On a six-game win streak, Wright State has improbably climbed to the top of the Horizon League. It wasn't that long ago that I was writing the Raiders had been an "unlucky team" early in the season, dropping six games by six points or less. But that "worm has turned" as they have four such WINS during a 10-1 SU stretch. As good as this team feels right now, I think there ought to be some trepidation about laying points w/ them on the road. While 14-2 SU (10-3-1 ATS) at the Nutter Center this season, Wright State is just 4-9 SU away from home. Green Bay is a team that won big for me two Saturdays ago. I released them as a ~SIGNATURE~ *10* ULTIMATE POWER release here at home vs. Detroit and they won 82-73, more importantly also covering as a short favorite. The Phoenix won their next game too, on the road, by just one over UIC. But they came up short on Sunday, losing by 11 at IUPUI, despite holding a slight advantage at halftime. Like Wright State, Green Bay plays a lot better here at home. They're 10-2 SU, averaging an impressive 89.0 PPG. Not only is that markedly better than how much they score per game on the road (75.6), we see similar improvement on the defensive end. They give up just 74.8 PPG at home as opposed to 85.6 PPG on the road. I think the home court edge is critical here and you have the revenge angle in play as well. Back on January 26th, Green Bay lost at Wright State by a score of 87-75. As you might expect, the Raiders shot the ball well at home (55 percent) while the Phoenix struggled to find their own rhythm. But it should be a reversal of fortunes tonight as Green Bay's scoring differential goes from -10.0 per game on the road to +14.3 at home. Wright State averages 8.6 PPG less on the road than at home while they allow 8.1 PPG more. 10* Green Bay |