1-26-13

[Can'tPickAWinner]

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Study Group: Saturday's Top 25 NCAAB Betting Notes

With no playoff football this weekend, college basketball steps into the spotlight with a schedule packed with Top-25 showdowns. Check out our betting news and notes for every game involving a ranked program Saturday.

Syracuse Orange at Villanova Wildcats (+7.5, 133)

No. 4 Syracuse takes its eight-game winning streak and 1.5-game Big East lead into Villanova on Saturday in search of its seventh consecutive conference victory. The Orange knocked off then-No. 1 Louisville 70-68 on Jan. 19 before coming back to edge No. 20 Cincinnati 57-55 two days later. Guards Brandon Triche and Michael Carter-Williams provided clutch late-game shots in both victories. Against the Bearcats, Triche made two mid-range jumpers before a Carter-Williams 3-pointer pulled the Orange even with Cincinnati 55-55 with 1:24 left. C.J. Fair’s tip-in 1:02 later won the game. Villanova snapped a three-game losing streak when it defeated the Cardinals 73-64 on Tuesday. Ryan Arcidiacono led five Wildcats players in double digits with 15 points and Achraf Yacoubou made a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 3:57 left as Villanova pulled away late. Syracuse beat the Wildcats 72-61 on Jan. 12 behind a 22-point effort from Fair.

Louisville Cardinals at Georgetown Hoyas (+4.5, 118)

No. 5 Louisville has had some trouble closing out games lately. The Cardinals will be looking to snap a modest two-game slide when they visit Georgetown on Saturday. Louisville was the No. 1 team in the country when it squandered a late lead and fell at home to Syracuse last Saturday. It was free throw shooting that helped doom the Cardinals late in a loss at Villanova on Tuesday. The Hoyas are coming off a strong performance at Notre Dame. Georgetown used a tight defensive effort to stifle the Fighting Irish and will look to slow the pace with Louisville as well. The Cardinals like to get out and run but have been held below 70 points in three of their last four games, including the two setbacks. Senior point guard Peyton Siva and All-American candidate Russ Smith tend to dominate the ball offensively for Louisville but have both been inconsistent with their shot in Big East play.

Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions (+13, 126)

No. 15 Ohio State travels to Penn State in search of its fourth Big Ten victory in five games. The Buckeyes are fresh off a 72-63 win over Iowa on Tuesday in which leading scorer Deshaun Thomas overcame a cut under his eye to score 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grab seven rebounds. Before beating the Hawkeyes, Ohio State lost to No. 11 Michigan State 59-56 on Jan. 19 and defeated No.3 Michigan 56-53 six days prior. The Nittany Lions are winless in conference play. They lost to No. 8 Indiana 72-49 on Wednesday, shooting just 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. Penn State has lost by at least nine points to six of its seven Big Ten opponents.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish at South Florida Bulls (+3, 119)

Notre Dame has lost three of its last four games after a 14-1 start, capped by a demoralizing 16-point loss at home to Georgetown on Monday. The Irish play three of the next four games on the road, beginning at struggling South Florida on Saturday afternoon. Notre Dame is still shooting almost 50 percent from the field and is second in the nation in assists. However, the Irish have not been good on the defensive end since league play began. Meeting South Florida might be the best medicine. The Bulls are averaging 51.7 points and shooting 37.8 percent from the field in Big East games – last in both categories – and have dropped seven straight to the Irish. South Florida could not build on its first conference victory over Georgetown, losing 55-47 at Seton Hall on Wednesday.

Maryland Terrapins at Duke Blue Devils (-13, 135)

Duke was the latest No. 1 team to fall in the week it ascended to the top of the rankings. The Blue Devils will try to shake off an embarrassing loss when they host Maryland on Saturday. Duke re-took the top spot Monday after Louisville fell on Saturday but the Blue Devils, who held the top spot for four weeks earlier in the season, were blasted 90-63 at Miami on Wednesday. The Terrapins have won two of three. Duke went more than eight minutes without a field goal in the first half against the Hurricanes and suffered the third-worst loss ever for a No. 1-ranked team. The Blue Devils, whose other loss came at North Carolina State, have yet to lose at home. Maryland has struggled on the road in ACC play, falling at Miami and North Carolina, and is averaging 55.2 points over its last five games. The battle between Terrapins center Alex Len and Duke big man Mason Plumlee could be a look at two future NBA draft picks.

Kansas State Wildcats at Iowa State Cyclones (-3.5, 134)

No. 13 Kansas State looks to rebound from a 59-55 loss to No. 2 Kansas when it travels to Iowa State on Saturday. The Wildcats had an eight-game winning streak snapped when their in-state rivals handed them their first Big 12 defeat on Tuesday. Leading scorer Rodney McGruder managed just 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting from deep in the loss. Iowa State had won three straight before falling to Texas Tech 56-51 on Wednesday. Will Clyburn logged his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but the Cyclones shot just 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from 3-point range.

Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wisconsin Badgers (-2, 125)

Wisconsin is in the midst of a brutal stretch that has the team facing eight ranked opponents in a span of 11 games. That includes a pair of contests against No. 14 Minnesota, the first of which will be played at Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. The Badgers hit their high point of the season with a two-point upset at then-No. 2 Indiana on Jan. 15 but have dropped their last two games, including a 49-47 loss to 11th-ranked Michigan State on Tuesday night. Minnesota could tumble out of the rankings next week following a three-game losing streak. The Golden Gophers opened the season 15-1 and were riding an 11-game losing streak before back-to-back losses to Big Ten Conference heavyweights Indiana and Michigan. The skid reached three in Wednesday's 55-48 loss at Northwestern, a game in which Minnesota was held to its lowest point total of the season. Wisconsin has won the last three meetings.

Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks (-14, 132)

Kansas is poised to take over the No. 1 ranking in the USA Today Coaches poll, but first the second-ranked Jayhawks have to get past visiting Oklahoma on Saturday in a battle for first place in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas has ripped off 16 consecutive victories - the longest active winning streak in the nation - and is coming off a pair of hard-fought road wins at Texas and bitter rival Kansas State. The Jayhawks have dominated the series with Oklahoma in recent seasons, winning the last nine meetings. The Sooners have bounced back from an ugly home loss to Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 18 with victories in six of their last seven games. The only loss in that stretch was a nine-point defeat at Kansas State a week ago. Oklahoma had dropped six straight games to Texas before squeezing out a 73-67 victory Monday behind a career-high 29 points from Romero Osby. The 6-8 Osby leads the Sooners in scoring (14.5 points) and rebounding (6.5) and is averaging 19.2 points in conference play.

New Mexico Lobos at San Diego State Aztecs (-4, 127)

New Mexico is the only undefeated team in Mountain West Conference play and the No. 17 Lobos can turn their unblemished mark into a commanding lead if they can win at No. 25 San Diego State on Saturday. New Mexico was forecasted to battle the Aztecs and Nevada-Las Vegas for the regular-season crown and both San Diego State and UNLV already have two league losses. “We want to stay undefeated for as long as possible in conference,” senior guard Chad Adams said after Wednesday’s victory over Colorado State. “If we could go all year, that would be great. We’re all trying to get some rings.” The Aztecs defeated Nevada on Wednesday to snap a two-game losing skid. San Diego State won its first eight home games before losing to UNLV on Jan. 16.

Vanderbilt Commodores at Missouri Tigers (-14, 128)

Missouri will try to notch consecutive conference wins for the first time in its tenure in the Southeastern Conference when the 22nd-ranked Tigers host Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers have gotten off to a bumpy start in their first season of Southeastern Conference play with losses at Mississippi and Florida, but they're 3-0 at home in league play and 11-0 overall at Mizzou Arena. They survived a scare Tuesday, overcoming a 13-point deficit for a 71-65 home win over South Carolina. The Commodores have won two straight after losing their first three conference games, and they're coming off a 73-61 win against Auburn on Wednesday. The teams are meeting for the sixth time with Vanderbilt holding a 3-2 advantage. They split a home-and-home series in 2009 and 2010 with the host team winning each game.

Temple Owls at Butler Bulldogs (-8.5, 127)

Butler is expected to have shooting guard Rotnei Clarke back in the lineup when the Bulldogs host Temple, which has won three of its last four games. The ninth-ranked Bulldogs have gone 1-2 without their leading scorer, who missed three games with a sprained neck after crashing into a padded basket support on Jan. 12 at Dayton. Clarke ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 16.3 points per game, and he was clearly missed when La Salle snapped Butler’s 13-game winning streak with a 54-53 victory on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are 33-10 following a loss under coach Brad Stevens and 9-0 this season at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but the Owls showed they’re capable of an upset when they beat then-No. 3 Syracuse last month.

Washington Huskies at Oregon Ducks (-9, 138)

Last week it appeared Washington and No. 19 Oregon had a chance to bring unbeaten Pac-12 records into their game Saturday afternoon in Eugene, Ore., but then the Huskies were beaten by Utah and Oregon State, two teams that were previously winless in conference play. Washington got off to a slow start in both games and never led. The Huskies must answer the bell against an Oregon team that’s off to its best start in conference play since 1925-26. The Ducks feature five players who average double figures in scoring, plus 6-7 senior forward Arsalan Kazemi, who averages 8.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals. Kazemi made his first Pac-12 start Wednesday against visiting Washington State and produced 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals in the 68-61 victory. Kazemi will have to battle for rebounds with Aziz N’Diaye, the 7-foot senior center for Washington who averages 10.7 points and 9.5 boards.

North Carolina Tar Heels at North Carolina State Wolfpack (-6, 153)

With surprising Miami (Fla) undefeated in Atlantic Coast Conference play, the pressure is already on No. 18 North Carolina State to go on a long winning streak in order to fulfill its preseason expectations of winning the conference. After losses in two of their last three, a rare win by the Wolfpack over North Carolina on Saturday would be a step in the right direction. Following a win against then-No. 1 Duke on Jan. 12, North Carolina State has since sandwiched a pair of road losses against Maryland and Wake Forest by a total of three points around a home win against Clemson. In order to keep pace with the league-leading Hurricanes, the Wolfpack need to end their 13-game slide against the Tar Heels. North Carolina is on a three-game winning streak after beginning ACC play 0-2. The Tar Heels defeated Georgia Tech 79-63 on Wednesday.

USC Trojans at Arizona Wildcats (-16, 137)

Arizona’s strong start has given way to two losses in four games and the No. 6 Wildcats strive to relocate their groove when they host Southern California on Saturday. Arizona won its first 14 games and Thursday’s 84-73 home loss to unranked UCLA was easily its worst performance of the season. The Wildcats dug themselves a 21-5 hole and were just 5-of-24 from 3-point range. “When you get down like that, it’s hard to fight back,” senior forward Solomon Hill said afterwards. Arizona is now two full games behind Pac-12 leader Oregon, which handed the Wildcats their first loss. The Trojans lost 98-93 in overtime to Arizona State on Thursday to drop to 1-2 under interim coach Bob Cantu, who replaced Kevin O’Neill on Jan. 14. USC’s offense has emerged to average 78 points over the last four contests.

Mississippi Rebels at Auburn Tigers (+7.5, 141)

Riding an SEC-best eight-game win streak, No. 24 Ole Miss tries to stay atop the conference when it visits struggling Auburn on Saturday night. The Rebels rallied for a 62-56 win over Tennessee on Thursday as Marshall Henderson scored 24 of his 28 points after halftime. The JUCO transfer leads the SEC in scoring (18.9), and the Rebels rank fifth nationally in scoring (81.3). The Tigers have dropped three straight, most recently falling 73-61 at Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

La Salle Explorers at VCU Rams (-12, 139)

The Explorers look to follow up their upset of Butler with another toppling of a ranked opponent when they travel to face the No. 16 Rams on Saturday. La Salle is coming off a last-second win over the No. 9 Bulldogs while VCU is trying to bounce back from an overtime loss on Thursday to Richmond that snapped the Rams' 13-game winning streak. This game could be an up-and-down affair, featuring the top two teams in the conference in steals per game and turnover margin. Both squads average in the 70s in scoring, with VCU ranking 10th in the country with its 79.0-ppg average. A close game could come down to free-throw shooting, and the Explorers have the edge there, hitting 72.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Florida Gators at Mississippi State Bulldogs (+21, 125)

No. 7 Florida faced its first halftime deficit in Southeastern Conference play this season in its last game and still won by 17 points. Given their recent dominance, the Gators appeared poised for their third 6-0 start in league play on Saturday when they travel to Mississippi State. Florida has been excelling against SEC opponents, winning by an average of 24.8 points and allowing 48.4 points per contest while also shooting 50.4 percent from the field. Just as impressively, three of the last four Gators’ victories have been on the road, including Wednesday’s 64-47 triumph against Georgia. Conversely, the Bulldogs lost 96-70 to Arkansas on Wednesday – the team’s third straight setback of at least 15 points following a 2-0 start in league action.

San Francisco Dons at Gonzaga Bulldogs (-20, 147)

Defending the 3-point line should be the primary goal Saturday evening when No. 10 Gonzaga hosts San Francisco in a West Coast Conference game. The Dons have made at least nine 3-pointers in a game seven times this season and De’End Parker, a 6-6 junior guard who played two games at UCLA last season, is shooting 47.7 percent from beyond the arc. San Francisco may have trouble handling Gonzaga’s size, however. Without a player taller than 6-9, the Dons have been outrebounded in all seven conference games this season and 13 of the last 15 overall. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are led by 7-foot junior forward Kelly Olynyk, who's averaging 18.5 points and 6.9 rebounds. He made all nine field-goal attempts in a victory Thursday night against BYU, bumping his field-goal percentage to 67.4. The second option is 6-8 senior forward Elias Harris, who averages 15.5 points and 7.1 rebounds. He scored a season-high 25 against BYU.

Bradley Braves at Wichita State Shockers (-16, 129)

When No. 21 Wichita State plays host to Bradley in a Missouri Valley Conference game Saturday night, the Shockers will attempt to beat the Braves for the second time this season. Wichita State won 69-63 when the teams met Jan. 6 in Peoria, Ill. The Shockers have a three-game winning streak and are coming off a 62-52 victory at Missouri State on Wednesday. Bradley, which is coming off a 66-56 loss at Evansville on Wednesday, is 2-20 in MVC road games since the start of the 2010-11 season. Although Bradley is 71-61 in the series against Wichita State, the Shockers are 41-20 all-time at home against the Braves and have won six straight in the series

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Australian Open: Women's Final Betting Preview

Victoria Azarenka (-140) vs. Na Li (+120)

The world's top player enters the final in the midst of controversy after taking a medical timeout for breathing issues prior to the final game of the semifinal match. Azarenka was frazzled, but regained her composure after the timeout to break Sloane Stephens and win the match.

Azarenka is looking to become the eighth player to win back-to-back Australian Open titles. Na Li enters the final off straight set wins over Agnie Radwanska and Maria Sharapova. Both players were in great form before being ousted by China's top women's player.

Azarenka holds 5-4 career head to head advantage, but Li has won both meetings that occurred at majors including the 2011 Australian Open. Azarenka has won 20 straight matches in the month of January (dating back to the 2011 loss to Li).

[Can'tPickAWinner]

JOE GAVAZZI

Rhode Island at Fordham 1:00PM

5* Rhode Island -3
The Rams best boy, Gaston (knee) missed the Dayton game on Thursday. The Rams ONLY LOST 96-51. Ya’think he’s important? He is doubtful for this contest. Even with his presence, under third year HC Pecora, the Rams are 12-22 ATS in con play. At their legendary Rose Hill gym, they are but 20-23 SU, 3+Y. Hard-trying Rams allow 75/game and commit 16 TOs per game, a microcosm of why a team comprised of 12 underclassmen has beaten only lowly Duquesne in A10 play. Only thing preventing us from a stronger play on a good defensive visitor who takes care of the ball, is that in the turn-around year, under first year HC Hurley, the Rams are just 1-5 SU away.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

POINTWISE

COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26 SCORE

COLLEGE KEY RELEASES
TEXAS A&M over Georgia (Sat) RATING: 2
OKLAHOMA STATE over West Va (Sat) RATING: 4

(11:00) Syracuse 78 - VILLANOVA 70 (Wells Fargo Center)
(12:00) DREXEL 61 - Georgia State 59
(12:00) Ohio State 72 - Penn State 54 (ESPN2)
(12:00) Notre Dame 64 - SOUTH FLORIDA 61
(12:00) Louisville 73 - GEORGETOWN 63 (ESPN)

(1:00) OKLAHOMA STATE 87 - West Virginia 72 (ESPNU)
(1:00) VIRGINIA 69 - Boston College 55
(1:00) DUKE 80 - Maryland 67 (CBS)
(1:00) FORDHAM 68 - Rhode Island 60
(1:00) INDIANA STATE 63 - Northern Iowa 54
(1:30) Arkansas 66 - SOUTH CAROLINA 65
(1:45) IOWA STATE 71 - Kansas State 67

(2:00) WISCONSIN 65 - Minnesota 64
(2:00) GEORGE WASHINGTON 76 - Charlotte 68
(2:00) HOFSTRA 82 - UNC-Wilmington 71
(2:00) TULANE 73 - Rice 52
(2:00) TENNESSEE 69 - Alabama 65 (ESPN2)
(2:00) YOUNGSTOWN STATE 70 - Cleveland State 52
(2:00) HARVARD 84 - Dartmouth 57
(2:00) MARQUETTE 73 - Providence 68
(2:00) YALE 65 - Brown 64
(2:00) MEMPHIS 79 - Marshall 62 (FSN)
(2:00) EASTERN MICHIGAN 67 - Northern Illinois 57

(3:00) NEBRASKA 71 - Northwestern 70 (ESPNU)
(3:00) GEORGIA TECH 74 - Wake Forest 73
(3:00) MIAMI-OHIO 62 - Ball State 59

(4:00) SAN DIEGO STATE 70 - New Mexico 65
(4:00) Detroit 64 - LOYOLA-CHICAGO 60
(4:00) CENTRAL FLORIDA 67 - Smu 59
(4:00) KENTUCKY 85 - Lsu 52
(4:00) NEVADA 73 - Boise State 71
(4:00) DAYTON 79 - Duquesne 62
(4:00) Baylor 82 - TCU 64
(4:00) KANSAS 83 - Oklahoma 75 (ESPN)
(4:00) Saint Louis 76 - ST BONAVENTURE 66
(4:00) JAMES MADISON 67 - Old Dominion 54
(4:00) PITTSBURGH 78 - DePaul 65
(4:00) Ucla 71 - ARIZONA STATE 60 (FSN)
(4:00) Southern Mississippi 69 - TULSA 68
(4:30) Santa Clara 75 - SAN DIEGO 72

(5:00) LA-MONROE 73 - Troy 61
(5:00) Utep 72 - EAST CAROLINA 62
(5:00) MISSOURI 88 - Vanderbilt 66 (ESPNU)
(5:00) OREGON STATE 70 - Washington State 64

(6:00) TEXAS A&M 74 - Georgia 51 (FSN)
(6:00) Ohio U 75 - KENT STATE 65
(6:00) ST JOSEPHS 69 - Xavier 63 (CBSC)
(6:00) BUTLER 73 - Temple 70 (ESPN2)
(6:00) HOUSTON 78 - Bradley 62
(6:30) SAINT MARYS 75 - Pepperdine 60

(7:00) MID TENNESSEE STATE 82 - Western Kentucky 56
(7:00) TOLEDO 73 - Bowling Green 59
(7:00) CENTRAL MICHIGAN 71 - Western Michigan 62
(7:00) AKRON 80 - Buffalo 54
(7:00) COLUMBIA 65 - Cornell 55
(7:00) WRIGHT STATE 76 - Illinois-Chicago 63
(7:00) OREGON 72 - Washington 66
(7:00) ARIZONA 73 - Southern California 65 (ESPNU)
(7:00) Towson 79 - WILLIAM & MARY 72
(7:00) LONG BEACH STATE 68 - Cal-Irvine 67
(7:00) NO CAROLINA STATE 83 - North Carolina 73 (ESPN)

(8:00) GONZAGA 77 - San Francisco 59
(8:00) TEXAS 76 - Texas Tech 56
(8:00) VA COMMONWEALTH 75 - LaSalle 58 (CBSC)
(8:00) Florida 73 - MISSISSIPPI STATE 55 (FSN)
(8:00) WICHITA STATE 70 - Bradley 57
(8:00) Evansville 74 - ILLINOIS STATE 72
(8:00) NORTH TEXAS 71 - Arkansas-Little Rock 58
(8:00) Mississippi 80 - AUBURN 67 (FSN)
(8:30) ARKANSAS STATE 75 - Florida Atlantic 64
(9:00) UTAH STATE 73 - Louisiana Tech 71

(10:00) Hawaii 76 - CAL-SANTA BARBARA 74
(10:00) WYOMING 69 - Air Force 60
(10:00) SEATTLE 72 - Texas State 67
(10:00) SAN JOSE STATE 65 - Texas-Arlington 63
(10:00) IDAHO 71 - Texas-San Antonio 64
(10:00) Colorado State 76 - FRESNO STATE 75
(10:00) CAL-POLY SLO 83 - Cal-Northridge 73
(10:00) PACIFIC 77 - Cal-Fullerton 74
(10:00) CAL-DAVIS 64 - Cal-Riverside 58
(10:30) Byu 78 - PORTLAND 59 (ESPNU)

BEST BETS: SYRACUSE, OKLAHOMA ST, GEORGE WASH, YOUNGSTOWN,
SAN DIEGO ST, KENTUCKY, MISSOURI, TEXAS A&M, OHIO U, MID TENN ST,
WRIGHT ST, NORTH TEXAS, MISSISSIPPI, TEX-SAN ANTONIO

NBA BASKETBALL

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26 SCORE

(7:05) Cleveland Cavaliers 98 - TORONTO RAPTORS 94
(7:05) New York Knicks 106 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 95
(7:05) WASHINGTON WIZARDS 93 - Chicago Bulls 92
(7:35) Minnesota Timberwolves 89 - CHARLOTTE 84

(8:05) HOUSTON ROCKETS 109 - Brooklyn Nets 97
(8:35) MILWAUKEE BUCKS 108 - Golden State 106
(8:35) SAN ANTONIO SPURS 114 - Phoenix Suns 98

(9:05) DENVER NUGGETS 100 - Sacramento Kings 95
(9:35) UTAH JAZZ 93 - Indiana Pacers 89
(10:05) Los Angeles Clippers 103 - PORTLAND 96

BEST BETS: NEW YORK (3), HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO (1)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

WINNING POINTS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Saturday, January 26

**PREFERRED
Syracuse over Villanova* by 21 (at Wells Fargo Center)
Villanova is a floating garbage barge that can’t play defense without fouling the heck
out of people. They are putting together some of the worst offensive rebound numbers
in recorded history.
SYRACUSE, 76-55

Drexel* over Georgia State by 11
Two top Georgia State players were recently lost due to to academic issues.
DREXEL, 62-51

Ohio State over Penn State* by 17
Ohio State has questions about guys who aren’t DeShaun Thomas scoring against
good foes, but Penn State isn’t a good foe.
OHIO STATE, 68-51

South Florida* over Notre Dame by 1
On this floor, USF has a way of really bearing down, playing ugly, and prevailing in
what would be a boredom festival if the score wasn’t close all the way.
SOUTH FLORIDA, 56-55

Louisville over Georgetown* by 7
Hoyas can’t score much, 6’8” Whittington is suspended, and if they want to hang their
hat on defense, it’ll be hard to find a hook on the rack with Louisville’s hats already
hanging there.
LOUISVILLE, 60-53

Oklahoma State* over West Virginia by 14
Virginia* over Boston College by 15
Duke* over Maryland by 17
Rhode Island over Fordham* by 3
Indiana State* over Northern Iowa by 1
South Carolina* over Arkansas by 1
Iowa State* over Kansas State by 5

***BEST BET
Minnesota over Wisconsin* by 14
The combination of good, physical defense, and better outside shooting range than
average by Minnesota should spell doom for the Badgers on the road like it did for
them at Iowa, only worse. At 10 steals per game for the Gophers, Wisconsin’s penchant
for “probing’ the other team’s defense could get them poked in the eye.
MINNESOTA,71-57

George Washington* over Charlotte by 4
NC-Wilmington over Hofstra* by 1
Tulane* over Rice by 14

Tennessee* over Alabama by 2
ESPN2 will show you how far down the SEC is this season with this 2-hour exhibition
of non-offensive talent.
TENNESSEE, 52-50

Youngstown State* over Cleveland State by 7
Harvard* over Dartmouth by 24

Marquette* over Providence by 14
If the fragile Friars get to the end of the first half with a lead, it would be the biggest
upset of the college basketball season.
MARQUETTE, 74-60

Yale over Brown* by 11
In the grand old tradition of Ivy League play, Brown, after beating Yale 65-51 a week
ago, should mail it in on the road re-hook.
YALE, 70-59

**PREFERRED
Memphis* over Marshall by 27
Marshall has stepped it up a notch since once and future leading scorer DeAndre Kane
returned from a brief injury absence, but they have specialized in losing on the road
by double-digits with or without him, are winless away from home this season, and
Memphis looks like the best team they will have played on the road to this points.
MEMPHIS, 90-67

Eastern Michigan* over Northern Illinois by 13
Nebraska* over Northwestern by 2
Georgia Tech* over Wake Forest by 3
Miami-Ohio* over Ball State by 8

New Mexico over San Diego State* by 3
Lingering back issues for point guard Xavier Thames could leave the Aztecs up the
river without a paddle against the Lobos.
NEW MEXICO, 66-63

***BEST BET
Loyola-Chicago* over Detroit by 9
With the visiting Titans having posted some huge offensive scores recently (101
against Youngstown, 89 vs. Valpo, 98 vs. Illinois-Chicago), they are set up nicely to be
beaten on the road by a defense-first home underdog that slows tempo, can make
some stops, and has better depth after the starters. Although they were swept by
Detroit (3-0) last season, the Ramblers have increased offensive production and
decreased scoring yield dramatically this year.
LOYOLA-CHICAGO, 69-60

Central Florida* over SMU by 9
Kentucky* over LSU by 19
Boise State over Nevada* by 5
Dayton* over Duquesne by 17
Baylor over TCU* by 12
Kansas* over Oklahoma by 18
St. Bonaventure* over Saint Louis by 1
James Madison* over Old Dominion by 11

Pittsburgh* over DePaul by 24
Style/smarts contrast strongly favoring home team.
PITTSBURGH, 78-54

Arizona State* over UCLA by 1
Bruins, with young backcourt and big-stiff forwards, can find a way to mess this up
on the road.
ARIZONA STATE, 70-69

Southern Miss over Tulsa* by 10
Playing 10 kids for 10 minutes or more in his first season as head coach, Southern
Miss’s Donnie Tyndall is flying under the radar at 15-4 SU, 11-5 ATS.
SOUTHERN MISS, 69-59

San Diego* over Santa Clara by 1
UL-Monroe* over Troy by 1
East Carolina* over UTEP by 4

Missouri* over Vanderbilt by 17
Vandy’s last four wins were against: South Carolina, William & Mary, Cornell,
Alabama A&M. Ha. Ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha-ha!
MISSOURI, 78-61

Oregon State* over Washington State by 5
Texas A&M* over Georgia by 10
Ohio over Kent State* by 2
Gonzaga* over San Francisco by 24

**PREFERRED
St. Joseph’s* over Xavier by 16
Lots of experienced scoring on the St. Joe’s side, and they should get F Halil Kanacevic
back after a brief absence to help strengthen the rebounding. Not so much experienced
scoring on Xavier, and they block only 2 shots per game.
ST. JOSEPH’S, 72-56

Butler* over Temple by 9
Houston* over UAB by 6
St. Mary’s* over Pepperdine by 21
Middle Tennessee* over Western Kentucky by 16
Toledo* over Bowling Green by 6
Western Michigan over Central Michigan* by 8
Akron* over Buffalo by 19
Columbia* over Cornell by 1
Wright State* over Illinois-Chicago by 7

Oregon* over Washington by 6
Arsalan Kazemi is getting a lot of credit for stiffening Oregon’s defense but he’s a bit
undersized for the task of going against the Huskies’ 7-footer N’Diaye.
OREGON, 74-68

Arizona* over USC by 12
Towson over William & Mary* by 4
Long Beach State* over Cal-Irvine by 6

North Carolina State* over North Carolina by 10
The Tar Heels’ players have to guard just about everybody on the floor for the
Wolfpack? Oh, that can’t be a good situation for them.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 82-72

Texas* over Texas Tech by 18
VCU* over LaSalle by 18
Florida over Mississippi State* by 22
Wichita State* over Bradley by 18
Illinois State* over Evansville by 8
North Texas* over Arkansas-LR by 4
Mississippi over Auburn* by 12
Arkansas State* over Florida Atlantic by 10

***BEST BET
Utah State* over Louisiana Tech by 15
La. Tech has been on a roll, basically against nobody, either home or away. They’ve
rarely played well in this building, even when the program was going well. With a oneday
break in between San Jose (not an easy game) and this, and Utah State coming off
a cakey Texas-Arlington, wouldn’t be surprised to see Utah State’s offense take off from
the perimeter and put a dent in La. Tech’s nice defensive FG% of 29.6%.
UTAH STATE, 76-61

Cal-Santa Barbara* over Hawaii by 9
Wyoming* over Air Force by 6
Seattle* over Texas-San Antonio by 9
Colorado State over Fresno State* by 1
Cal Poly-SLO* over CS Northridge by 10
Pacific* over CS Fullerton by 4
BYU over Portland* by 15

NBA BASKETBALL

*Toronto over Cleveland by 5
The Cavaliers played last night, but were 6-3-1 ATS during their last 10 road contests.
TORONTO 100-95

***BEST BET
*Philadelphia over New York by 11
A rested 76ers club that has been idle since Tuesday catches the Knicks off a Thursday
road tussle against the Celtics. The Knicks were 5-7-1 ATS in their last 12 games
through this past Sunday. Jrue Holiday should be in line for a big game with the
Knicks forced to give Jason Kidd extended minutes with Raymond Felton out.
PHILADELPHIA 98-87

Chicago over *Washington by 7
The Bulls have been far more solid on the road going 10-2 SU and 8-4 ATS in their
last 12 away matchups. This is Chicago’s first road matchup in eight days.
CHICAGO 98-91

*Charlotte over Minnesota by 1
The injury-racked Timberwolves were at Washington on Friday night. Laying points
with Charlotte is much too tough on the nerves and has been a losing proposition, as
the Bobcats are only 1-4 ATS the five times they’ve been chalk this season.
CHARLOTTE 105-104

*Houston over Brooklyn by 7
The Rockets are not a team to fade at home. Houston was 7-2 SU, 6-3 ATS in its past
nine home contests through last Tuesday. Brooklyn could be vulnerable to the longrange
shooting of James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons ranking among the
bottom eight teams in defensive field goal percentage.
HOUSTON 103-96

*Milwaukee over Golden State by 3
The Warriors have been short-handed at point guard relying heavily on Jarrett Jack,
who is dealing with a sore elbow, with Stephen Curry out. The Bucks have played better
under Jim Boylan.
MILWAUKEE 103-100

*San Antonio over Phoenix by 18
Manu Ginobili (check status) still may be missing, but San Antonio has won its last
13 home games, through this past Tuesday, by an average margin of 17 points per
game.
SAN ANTONIO 112-94

*Denver over Sacramento by 9
Denver outscored Sacramento, 64-38, in the paint when it destroyed the Kings in
Sacramento, 122-97, in mid-December. The Nuggets, however, have failed to cover
five of the past six times when laying seven or more points.
DENVER 110-101

*Utah over Indiana by 5
This is a revenge spot for Utah, which lost 104-84 on the road to Indiana on Dec. 19.
The Jazz were 12-5 ATS in their first 17 home contests.
UTAH 95-90

***BEST BET
*Portland over Los Angeles Clippers by 7
This is the first of back-to-back games for these two teams on consecutive days. The
Trail Blazers are tough at Rose Garden as Miami found out earlier this month. The
Trail Blazers are 9-2-1 ATS through this past Tuesday the past 12 times when taking
on foes with a winning record.
PORTLAND 102-95

[Can'tPickAWinner]

RickJ's Handicapping Picks Saturday College Hoops

1 Unit

555 Cleveland St +7.5

1/2 Unit

709 Tenn Martin +7.5

[Can'tPickAWinner]

THE GOLD SHEET

COLLEGE FORECAST

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26

★★★ KEY RELEASES ★★★
GEORGIA STATE by 4 over Drexel
LOUISVILLE by 9 over Georgetown
OKLAHOMA STATE by 21 over West Virginia
SOUTHERN MISS by 9 over Tulsa
AIR FORCE by 5 over Wyoming

Day Games

Syracuse over VILLANOVA by 4 to 6—(at Wells Fargo Ctr.) 12-SYR -14'
72-61; 11-Syr -9 79-66

★★★Georgia St. 66 - DREXEL 62—CAA sources suggest to keep an eye
on quietly surging Georgia State, which has won and covered four straight in
impressive fashion as 6-5 frosh G R.J. Hunter (16.2 ppg; son of HC Ron Hunter)
emerging as one of loop's most dominant performers. Onlookers also
suggested that it might take a couple of months for papa Hunter to mold new
components such as his son and VPI transfer GF Manny Atkins (13.8 ppg) into
the Panthers' fold. Big difference from first meeting four weeks ago in Atlanta,
when GSU was at the end of 5-game losing streak and Drexel experienced rare
on-target shooting night (53% from floor). For the most part, Dragons have
been hit-and-miss on attack end since high-scoring G Chris Fouch went down
with early-season injury, contributing to poor 4-14 sprea dmark for Bruiser
Flint's side. 12-Dre +1' 77-60; 11-GSU -4' 58-44, DRE -5 68-46

Ohio St. over PENN ST. by 12 to 15—11-OSU -21' 78-54 TV—ESPN2

SOUTH FLORIDA 45 - Notre Dame 44—Big East sources suspect Mike
Brey is resurrecting last year’s “slow burn” offense for Notre Dame (no covers
last four; also “under” last five) after evidence that the slow-footed Irish simply
can’t play at an enhanced pace and shake loose for enough clear looks at the
bucket in a faster tempo mode. And, since USF HC Stan Heath had decided a
while back that his Bulls had a better chance if they, too, reverted to last year’s
deliberate tempo, the first team to 50 (no, let’s make that 45) likely wins in
Tampa. 11-UND -6 60-49, Und -2' 57-53 (CT-OT-neut.)

★★★Louisville 69 - GEORGETOWN 60—After taking some deserved
criticism from demanding HC Rick Pitino following back-to-back losses vs.
Syracuse & Villanova, expect loaded Louisville to please their head honcho in
this eagerly-anticipated payback game vs. G’Town. The Cards, who had their
20-game home win streak snapped in LY’s 71-68 upset loss, will shoot more
accurately from foul line after a “despicable” (Pitino’s word) 12 of 24 in their
shocking setback vs. the Wildcats on Tuesday. With oddsmakers making
adjustments following the Hoyas’ impressive 63-47 win at Notre Dame on
Monday, compelled to lay the small number with L’Ville squad, which hasn’t
dropped 3 straight since Jan. 21, 2010. 11-Gtwn +6 71-68 CABLE TV—ESPN

★★★OKLAHOMA ST. 78 - West Virginia 57—There has been a growing
indication that teams that have changed leagues (e.g., West Virginia) are
having a difficult time when playing on the road at what, for the visitor, is a very
unfamiliar conference venue. And Oklahoma State has been a tough site for
any visitor for decades. With the Mountaineer program down a tick this season,
can’t expect WV to get off to a good start in Stillwater. Meanwhile, athletic OSU
has had five days to prepare and is off a Monday’s 10-point loss at Baylor. The
Cowboy roster is deeper than in 2012, and OSU (76% FTs) is tough to catch
when it gets the lead. 11-DNP CABLE TV—ESPNU

VIRGINIA 67 - Boston College 62—11-UVA -18 66-49

DUKE 78 - Maryland 61—With Duke in a devilish mood following its
humiliating 90-63 mauling at Miami, inclined to buck an under-performing
Maryland team (5 straight spread losses) that has dropped six straight on the
ACC trail dating back to LY. The normally-aggressive Blue Devil “D” (38% FGs)
should be fired up after Wednesday’s rout, helping to fuel Duke’s transition
game vs. the mistake-prone Terps, getting substandard play at the critical PG
position. Look for Duke’s normally-steady Gs Seth Curry & Quinn Cook to
quickly find their mojo after combining for a ghastly 1 of 21 (yes, one) from the
field vs. the Hurricanes. 11-Duke -10' 74-61, DUKE -15 73-55 TV—CBS
FORDHAM over Rhode Island by 3 to 5—11-FORD -3' 66-64, RIU -6 78-58
INDIANA ST. over Northern Iowa by 3 to 5—12-Isu +7 65-61; 11-NIA -6 65-
48, ISU +1 59-54

Arkansas 73 - SOUTH CAROLINA 67—At a short price, will side with highoctane
Arkansas (79 ppg), which is capable of notching its first win as a visitor
following expected setbacks at Michigan, Texas A&M and Ole Miss so far TY.
Hog mentor Mike Anderson enjoyed the luxury of emptying his bench in the
Hogs’ 96-70 bashing vs. Mississippi State on Wednesday, while South Carolina
is recovering from its draining, come-from-ahead 71-65 defeat at Missouri
Monday. Look for UA’s dynamic 6-3 soph PG B.J. Young (17.9 ppg, 4.1 apg) to
use his size advantage by “posting up” the Gamecocks’ 5-9 playmaker Bruce
Ellington (WR on football team has played in only 9 games), who has many
more TOs (29!) than as assists (17) TY. 11-ARK -5' 76-65

IOWA ST. 84 - Kansas St. 72—KSU recouping from its emotionally/
physically-draining battle with heated rival KU on Tuesday. Hence, Wildcats
won’t easily keep up with deep-shooting, high-powered ISU (converting 9 treys
pg; 80 ppg), which is in a nasty mood after laying an egg in its low-emotion 56-
51 upset loss at lowly Texas Tech Wednesday. The unselfish Cyclones (17
apg; five players in DDs) own the better-balanced attack, while super sixth-man,
6-2 sr. G Tyrus McGee (13.2 ppg; 45% from the arc) continues to be an
instigator off the bench. Irate ISU covers its 7th straight in series. 11-ISU -1 72-
70, Isu +7' 65-61

WISCONSIN over Minnesota by 1 to 3—11-Wis -1 68-61 (OT), WIS -10 52-45
GEORGE WASHINGTON over Charlotte by 3 to 5—11-GWU -2' 60-52,CHA -4' 72-62
HOFSTRA over NC Wilmington by 5 to 7—11-NCW -3 86-80, HOF -7' 93-64

TULANE 77 - Rice 58—Improving 13-6 Tulane in an extra bad mood for this
one. The Green Wave, who blew a 15-point lead in their 71-60 setback at
Memphis on Wednesday, are in triple-revenge mode vs. woebegone Rice,
which is 3-6 its last 9 as a DD-underdog TY. Careful Tulane (only 11.8 TOs pg)
has few empty possessions. And the Green Waves’ explosive 6-8 jr. F Josh
Davis (17.8 ppg) should dominate the paint vs. the smallish, G-heavy Owls, who
were out-rebounded 35-15 in their 76-66 loss at UCF on Wednesday. 11-Rice
+3 50-49, RICE -4 88-74

TENNESSEE over Alabama by 1 to 3—12-ALA -6 68-65; 11-ALA -3' 62-50 CABLE TV—ESPN2
YOUNGSTOWN ST. over Cleveland St. by 8 to 11—11-Ysu +12' 73-67,Csu -4 67-47
HARVARD over Dartmouth by 4 to 6—12-Har -10' 75-65; 11-HAR -21 63-47, Har -14' 54-38

MARQUETTE 78 - Providence 75—Though MU hasn’t played since its 71-
69 OT loss at Cincy last Saturday, still interested in taking DDs with industrious
PC aggregrate suffering only uno lopsided loss TY (at that was a spread push
in 80-62 defeat at L’Ville Jan. 2). The fast-paced, speedy Friars can run with the
erratic-shooting Eagles (converting a Big East-worst 26% triples), who’re only
1-4 as home chalk TY. PC’s terrific 6-1 jr. G Bryce Cotton (21.9 ppg, 3.0 apg)
has been on a scoring binge, while battle-tested sr. PG Vincent Council (10 ppg,
6 apg) can withstand the Eagles’ high-pressure defense. 11-Mar -6' 79-72
YALE over Brown by 1 to 3—12-BRO +1 65-51; 11-YALE -13 68-64, Yale
-6 73-60

MEMPHIS over Marshall by 17 to 20—11-MEM -8 83-76, Mem -2 87-67, MEM -12 83-57 (CT)

EASTERN MICHIGAN 64 - Northern Illinois 61—Hard-working NIU is
feeling “good vibes” following its surprising 74-61 upset victory at Central
Michigan on Wednesday. So, points worth taking with Husky squad that
received needed scoring help for go-to 6-7 soph F Abdel Nader (13.9 ppg) from
6-7 Norwegian Aksel Bolin, who chimed in with 13 off the bench vs. the Chips.
Crooked-shooting EMU (39.9% FGs; 309th in the country) has been poor
investment vs. NIU, going just 1-7 vs. the spread the last 8 in the series. Note
that the Huskies are a time-proven 23-12 as a road dog L3+Ys (7-3 TY). 11-
Emu -1' 47-40, EMU -8' 48-45, Niu +8' 55-52 (CT)

Northwestern 65 - NEBRASKA 57—Now that well-schooled, disciplined
Northwestern is oozing with confidence following its 55-48 home upset of
nationally-ranked Minnesota, strongly recommend the Wildcats, gunning for
their third consecutive Big Ten road win. NU’s perplexing 1-3-1 zone greatly
hinders offensively-challenged Nebraska (57 ppg), which has nobody hitting
more than 32% from 3-point land. The Wildcats’ own the far superior insideoutside
duo in 6-8 sr. F Jared Swopshire (L’Ville transfer; 9.4 ppg, 6 rpg) & sr.
G Reggie Hearn (14.1 ppg), while unflappable soph PG Dave Sobolewski (11.4
ppg, 4.6 apg) is a stabilizing force. Cross-sport revenge works. 11-NWU -6 84-
74 CABLE TV—ESPNU

Wake Forest 64 - GEORGIA TECH 57—Don’t look now, but Wake Forest is
suddenly one of the nation’s hottest pointspread performers, with covers in 8 of
its last 9. Much prefer the Deacs’ established 1-2 scoring punch of jr. F Travis
McKie (15.3 ppg) & sr. G C.J. Harris (14.6 ppg) than frosh weapons swingman
Marcus Georges-Hunt and PF Robert Carter that Tech HC Brian Gregory is
counting upon for leadership these days. Jackets being exposed after their soft
pre-ACC slate, failing to cover last six on board. 11-WFU +1' 59-50, GTU -4' 69-62

MIAMI-OHIO over Ball St. by 1 to 3—11-Mia +7 59-53
SAN DIEGO ST. over New Mexico by 1 to 3—11-Sds +10' 75-70, Unm -1'77-67, Unm -4' 68-59 (CT-neut.)
Detroit over LOYOLA-CHICAGO by 3 to 5—11-Det -5 65-54, DET -15' 67-52, DET -13 80-71 (CT)
UCF over Smu by 11 to 14—11-Ucf -3' 59-52
KENTUCKY over Lsu by 13 to 16—11-Ky -10 74-50, Ky -16' 60-51 (CT)
Boise St. over NEVADA by 4 to 6—11-DNP

DAYTON 71 - Duquesne 56—No covers in seven straight for Duquesne! 11-
Duq +4 83-73, Day +4 74-62
Baylor over TCU by 7 to 8—12-BAY -18' 51-40; 11-DNP

KANSAS 68 - Oklahoma 55—Kansas doesn’t appear to be a great team this
season; just a team that often plays great at key junctures. The Jayhawks are
only 5-6 as a home favorite this season. So, if rugged OU big man Romero
Orsby (14.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) can get KU shot-swatter Jeff Withey in a little foul
trouble, the improved 2013 Sooners might hang inside the roomy impost,
catching the Jayhawks after their satisfying victory over K-State Tuesday. 11-
Kan -7 72-61, KAN -17 84-62 CABLE TV—ESPN

St. BONAVENTURE 72 - Saint Louis 66—After eye-opening, back-to-back
upset wins vs. Temple & St. Joe’s in the City of Brotherly Love in its previous two
games, believe revived St. Bona can snap its unusual 3-game home losing
skein vs. SLU bunch that’s 0-2 as an away dog TY. The Bonnies’ hard-to-guard
6-6 sr. F Demetrius Conger (16 of 23 FGs last 2 games) is red hot, while
developing Senegalese 7-0 soph C Youssou Ndoye has scored in DDs in 2 of
the last 3 outings. Plus, you can bet the Bonnies haven’t forgotten their seasonworst
86-62 blowout in St. Louis LY, when they were outscored 50-24 after
intermission! 11-STL -10 86-62

JAMES MADISON 64 - Old Dominion 50—Please note JMU’s eight straight
“under” results and five straight covers at home, while Blaine Taylor’s struggling
OSU has dropped its last five vs. the number. 12-Jmu +3' 58-55; 11-Odu -2 67-
61 (OT), ODU -10' 80-71

PITTSBURGH over DePaul by 8 to 11—11-DEP +5 84-81
Ucla over ARIZONA ST. by 1 to 3—11-UCLA -11' 75-58, Ucla -9 66-57

★★★Southern Miss 75 - TULSA 66—Tulsa’s rookie HC Danny Manning
has his squad (4 straight covers) on the right track following its 79-61 blowout
at Marshall on Jan. 9. However, strongly believe that the Hurricane’s miniuptick
comes to a crashing halt vs. ball-stealin,’ strong-boarding USM (11.8
spg; 2nd nationally; +6.3 rpg), which will have boundless energy following its
bench-clearing 102-46 bludgeoning of that same Marshall team Wednesday.
Hattiesburg sources tell us that Philly native 6-5 jr. juco Dwayne Davis (teamleading
13.3 ppg; 48% from tripleville) has brought a tough, inner-city mentality
to USM, while pass-first distributor 5-11 jr. Neil Watson (8.8 ppg, 5.2 apg) is
displaying excellent peripheral vision and passing skills. 11-USM -6' 77-69 (OT)

Santa Clara 75 - SAN DIEGO 67—Although USD enjoyed a brief resurgence
earlier this month, rumors are floating around WCC circles that HC Bill Grier
could still walk the plank if the Toreros begin to lose traction in the final stages
of the season. Santa Clara’s best effort is hard to forecast with G Kevin Foster
likely to keep firing away from the perimeter whether he’s hot or cold. But the
Broncos are getting more help from other scoring sources lately, as they
reversed their own recent slump with road wins at San Francisco & Pepperdine.
SCU notewoerthy 6-1 vs. spread away. 11-Usd +9' 75-62, USD -6 70-65
Troy over LA.-MONROE by 5 to 7—12-TROY -4 64-55; 11-TROY -8' 91-63

Utep 76 - EAST CAROLINA 66—With veteran UTEP seeking to stay in the
thick of the C-USA race, have no qualms bucking defensively-soft ECU (77
ppg). Tim Floyd’s full-court trapping defense will be a nuisance for the Pirates’
PG Miguel Paul, who has committed 19 TOs over the last 5 games, while
connecting on only 10 of his last 38 FG attempts. The Miners’ high-level
backcourt duo of PG Jacques Streeter (9.4 ppg, 4.6 apg) & smooth-stroking SG
Konner Tucker (12.6 ppg; 51% from arc) wins the perimeter battle, while bluecollar
6-9 soph F Cedric Lang keeps the pressure on ECU’s primary scorer, 6-8
F Maurice Kemp. 11-UTEP -6 70-56

MISSOURI 68 - Vanderbilt 64—Underestimate Vandy HC Kevin Stallings at
your own peril, as his Dores are making unmistakable progress, with his young
backcourt (led by 6-5 soph Kedren Johnson, now 15.1 ppg) finally becoming
more settled the last few weeks. Recent injuries to key Mizzou weapons F
Laurence Bowers (knee) & G Keion Bell (ankle) are making the Tigers (just 1-
3 vs. line last four) a bit more of a risky proposition these days. 11-DNP CABLE
TV—ESPNU

OREGON ST. 77 - Washington St. 69—Dangerous game for WSU. While
the Beavers are riding high after beating Washington for their first Pac-12 win
this season, the Cougars have to get their chins off their chest after blowing a
DD lead to lose at Oregon. Prefer the better-balanced hosts (five active players
averaging double figures). 11-WSU +1 81-76, Wsu +10 83-73, Osu -4 69-64
(CT-neut.), Wsu +7 72-55 (CB)

TEXAS A&M over Georgia by 12 to 15—11-DNP

Night Games

Ohio 74 - KENT ST. 65—With highly-experienced, good-shooting Ohio (all
starters back from LY’s Sweet Sixteen; 49% FGs) eager to stay tied with Akron
atop the MAC East Division, have no problem laying small price vs. rebuilding
KSU bunch, which has already suffered home losses vs. Toledo & the Zips. The
surging Bobcats have gone 7-1 SU since inserting bruising top reserve 6-8, 263
C Reggie Keely (11.1 ppg) into the starting lineup. Envision Ohio’s doeverything
sr. PG D.J. Cooper (14.5 ppg, 8.3 apg, 3.5 rpg) running circles
around the Golden Flashes’ still-learning 6-4 soph counterpart Kris Brewer (only
2.4 apg). Plus, this one has added significance for the Bobcats’ respected firstyear
mentor Jim Christian, who was the Kent State head man for six campaigns
(2002-08). 11-OHIO -5 87-65, KSU -2' 68-61

GONZAGA over San Francisco by 13 to 16—11-GON -15' 74-63, USF +5 66-65
SAINT JOSEPH’S over Xavier by 1 to 3—11-XAV -7 68-55

Temple 68 - BUTLER 63—Now Butler is finding out about the Big Five after
its first A-10 road trip to Philly resulted in a bitter 1-point loss at La Salle
Wednesday night. Brad Stevens hoping that sharpshooting Arkansas transfer
G Rotnei Clarke (16 ppg) returns from his recent neck strain in time for this one
vs. Temple. But even if Clarke is available, Owls can fluster the Bulldogs, much
as did the Explorers, and Fran Dunphy’s well-balanced strike force, led by G
Khalif Wyatt (17.5 ppg), was enough to outscore Syracuse in December. 11-
DNP CABLE TV—ESPN2

HOUSTON over Uab by 4 to 6—11-UAB -8' 80-69
SAINT MARY’S over Pepperdine by 14 to 17—11-Stm -13 74-45, STM -23 61-47
MIDDLE TENN. ST. over Western Kentucky by 9 to 12—11-MTS -13' 72-64, WKY +9 73-67
TOLEDO over Bowling Green by 1 to 3—11-BGU -10' 66-63
CENTRAL MICHIGAN over Western Michigan by 1 to 3 —11-WMU -8 64-61, CMU +2' 76-70
AKRON over Buffalo by 5 to 7—11-BUF -2' 82-70, Buf +6' 74-70
COLUMBIA over Cornell by 4 to 6—12-Col -2 67-58; 11-COL -3' 61-56,COR -3' 65-60

WRIGHT ST. 66 - Ill.-Chicago 54—Midweek loss at Youngstown
temporarily cooled Wright State after the surprising Raiders had covered 8 of
their previous 9 on the board. But Billy Donlon’s squad has made quite a
fortress out of the Nutter Center (which was once better known as the venue
where John McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his GOP running mate in 2008),
covering last six as host. The suffocating Wright State “D,” allowing mere 56
ppg, could pose problems for UIC attack that has bogged down in recent weeks.
11-Wsu -1 74-70 (OT), WSU -8 69-63

OREGON over Washington by 13 to 16—11-WAS -9 76-60, ORE +1 82-57,WAS -5 90-86 (NIT)

ARIZONA 74 - Southern Cal 68—If interim SC HC Bob Cantu is really
serious about forcing the tempo more than the Trojans did when Kevin O’Neill
was calling the shots from the sidelines, such an accelerated pace would seem
to be a plus for host Arizona. But the Wildcats have walked a tightrope so often
this season that we’re a bit reluctant to lay a significant number. SC is not
without some weapons (UCI transfer F Eric Wise and Wake Forest transfer G
J.T. Terrell in particular) who could make Arizona sweat just a bit. 11-Ari +1' 57-
46, ARI -13 70-54 CABLE TV—ESPNU

Towson 71 - WILLIAM & MARY 62—Never mind that Towson is ineligible
for the CAA’s postseason tourney due to academic progress penalties. The
Tigers are one of the nation’s most-improved teams under 2nd-year HC Pat
Skerry, who has remade his roster with a slew of Big East transfers (including
frontliners ex-Georgetown Jerrelle Benimon & ex-Providence Bilal Dixon, plus
ex-South Florida G Mike Burwell), who have helped LY’s 1-31 side to wins and
covers in 6 of last 9 despite narrow losses in last two outings. While Towson
ascends, snakebit W&M declines, losing last 8 SU (and 1-6 last 7 vs. line). The
thin Tribe bench contributed to a Jan. 9 loss at Towson, and those recurring
depth issues have put HC Tony Shaver on the hot seat. 12-TOW -5 99-86
(2OT); 11-Wmu -4 66-49

LONG BEACH ST. over UC Irvine by 4 to 6—11-Lbs -13 74-60, LBS -17 77-
50, Lbs -13 68-57 (CT-neut.)

NORTH CAROLINA ST. 72 - North Carolina 71—Reports of internal discord
and our own suspicions about HC Mark Gottfried (whose reputation as a much
better recruiter than game coach are being confirmed by erratic efforts of his
NCS side) have gotten us off of the Wolfpack scent for the time being. And for
good reason, especially with NCS failing to cover 6 of its last 7 as chalk.
Meanwhile, nearby Tobacco Road rival UNC is experiencing a bit of a
renaissance with three wins and covers in a row. Explosive swingman Reggie
Bullock (14.2 ppg) is now emerging as a reliable scoring complement to 6-9
James Michael McAdoo (14.7 ppg). 11-UNC -13 74-55, Unc -6' 86-74, Unc -9'
69-67 (CT-neut.) CABLE TV—ESPN

TEXAS 74 - Texas Tech 63—With TT acquiring an enhanced self-image (at
least temporarily) following its surprising 56-51 home upset vs. talented Iowa
State, the suddenly-upbeat Red Raiders might be able to stay within earshot of
a young Texas crew, which suffered a serious blow with the sidelining injury to
leading rebounder 6-7 soph Jonathan Holmes(broken hand vs. Oklahoma on
Monday). TT’s highly-touted frosh G Josh Gray (16 pts. vs. ISU; ESPN rated
him the 18th best prep PG LY) is becoming a more confident scorer, while
productive 6-7 soph F Jordan Tolbert (9 ppg; 5.7 rpg; 23 pts. last 2 games) can
do some business down low sans the aforementioned Holmes hovering in the
paint. The hiccupping Horns only 2-9 last 11 as DD chalk. 11-TEX -18 74-57,
Tex -11 71-67 (OT)

VA. COMMONWEALTH 68 - La Salle 63—Buoyed by its midweek win over
Top Ten Butler side that temporarily revived its recently-flagging Big Dance atlarge
hopes, La Salle is at least feeling better about iself heading into the
treacherous Siegel Center. High-pressure “Shaka Ball” can unnerve many
unsuspecting A-10 foes who are getting a taste of the VCU style for the first
time. But sources suggest that the Explorers have the savvy ballhandlers in
their vet backcourt (especially since Virginia Tech transfer Ty Garland became
eligible in mid-December) to deal with the Rams’ disruptive tactics. 11-DNP

Florida over MISSISSIPPI ST. by 19 to 22—11-FLA -9 69-57
WICHITA ST. over Bradley by 13 to 16—12-Wsu -4 69-63; 11-Wsu -11' 90-51, WSU -20' 78-41

Evansville 72 - ILLINOIS ST. 66—Illinois State is breathing again, with two
wins in a row following six defeats on the trot, but the Redbirds barely survived
on Wednesday vs. Indiana State and have still dropped 7 of last 8 vs. line.
Recurring long-distance shooting woes (ISU 0 for 13 from tripleville at midweek
vs. the Sycamores) make the Redbirds a very hard sell these days. Much prefer
visiting Evansville and on-fire sr. G Colt Ryan (22 ppg last nine). 11-ISU -8 75-
73, EVA -3 79-71

NORTH TEXAS over Arkansas-L.R. by 1 to 3—12-ALR -3 67-53; 11-Alr +6'
69-66, Unt +3 75-67 (OT)

Mississippi 79 - AUBURN 68—Fast-paced, high-scoring Ole Miss (82 ppg)
looking to stay tied for first place with Florida in the SEC. Therefore, won’t flinch
in laying several hoops with the money-making Rebels (9-3 vs. spread thru Jan.
23), who prevent opposing teams from staging comebacks by yielding only 28%
from downtown. Ole Miss’ gifted 6-2 jr. juco G Marshall Henderson (18.9 pg) is
one of the loop’s top newcomers, while the formidable inside duo of 6-7 sr. F
Murphy Holloway (15.8 ppg, 10.6 rpg) & 6-9 sr. F Reginald Buckner (10.4, 8.1
rpg) should get a plethora of second-chance pts. vs. the Tigers’ limited
forecourt. 11-AUB +1 69-68 (2OT), MISS -8 61-54, Miss -4 68-54 (CT-neut.)
ARKANSAS ST. over Florida Atlantic by 7 to 10—12-FAU +4' 72-65; 11-
Fau -1' 58-50, Asu +3 70-55 (CT-neut.)

Louisiana Tech 67 - UTAH ST. 58—Sure, USU remembers getting rudely
dumped by La Tech in last March’s WAC Tourney, when the Ags were the top
seed and expecting another Big Dance invitation. But the season has turned
inside-out in a hurry for Stew Morrill after top scorer G Preston Medlin (16.1 ppg)
and F Kyisean Reed (third-leading scorer at 12.1 ppg and also 58% from floor)
have gone down with recent injuries, partly explaining the Utags’ five straight
spread losses thru Jan. 23. 11-Usu -3' 69-65, USU -9' 77-63, Ltu +4' 72-70 (CTneut.)

Hawaii 71 - UC SANTA BARBARA 65—Mainland trips a lot easier this
season for Hawaii now that the Warriors play in the Big West, as it’s all one-stop
flights to California these days instead of the several connections involved in
past journeys to the many remote WAC outposts scattered among three
different time zones. Coach Gib Arnold’s side has learned to play away from
home, covering its first three as visitor this season (prior to Thursday at Cal
Poly) after enjoying similar spread successes on the road last season. Host
UCSB could have its hands full dealing with a legit “big” (Hawaii’s 6-10 Vander
Joaquim), and most Big West observers believe now is about the time for the
Warriors to begin an ascent after various impact frosh and transfers (including
high-scorer ex-Nebraska F Christian Standhardinger at 14.7 ppg) have had a
couple of months to play together. 11-DNP

★★★Air Force 64 - WYOMING 59—Mountain West sources have their
doubts that Wyo HC Larry Shyatt can keep his Cowboys afloat with almost no
bench and main perimeter threat G Luke Martinez (14 ppg) on the suspended/
injured list after breaking his hand during a recent bar fight in Laramie.
Meanwhile, the recent scoring spree by Air Force sr. F Mike Fitzgerald (17.8 ppg
last five) is finally providing a capable second scoring option for the Falcs
beyond star G Michael Lyons (18.6 ppg). 11-Wyo -2 64-53, Afa +12 58-53

SEATTLE over Texas St. by 12 to 15—11-DNP
SAN JOSE ST. 55 - Texas-Arlington 54—Be careful in games involving San
Jose State as long as star G James Kinney (20. 6 ppg) and starting F Louis
Garrett remain suspended. 11-DNP

IDAHO 77 - Utsa 58—Hard to make much of a case these days for a UTSA
side than had posted just one SU win in its last 13 games and one spread cover
in its last six prior to Thursday’s game at Seattle. Much prefer value-laden Idaho
team that had covered 7 of last 9 prior to Thursday vs. Texas State and owns
effective inside-outside balance on attack end with Gs Connor Hill and Stephen
Madison (combined 27 ppg & 48% from floor) able to space the court effectively
with rugged 6-10 C Kyle Barone (15.6 ppg) causing havoc for foes on blocks.
11-DNP

Colorado St. 62 - FRESNO ST. 51—We expect that wherever legendary HC
Boyd Grant might be these days, he’ll be interested in the outcome of this battle
between two of the schools he used to coach. Grant would be positively thrilled
at the deliberate tactics employed by current Bulldog mentor Rodney Terry,
reminding longtime regional observers of the type of tortured pace that Grant’s
Fresno teams used to employ. But CSU’s sr.-laden lineup is not likely to get too
rattled by the sight of a half-empty Save-Mart Center. And the Bulldog frontline
will be hard-pressed to cope with the Rams’ 6-10 Minnesota transfer Colton
Iverson (15 ppg & 9 rpg) and ultra-aggressive PF Pierce Hornung (10 rpg), who
key CSU’s nation’s-best +14.1 pg rebound margin. CSU a lot more lethal than
the Wyoming squad (minus star G Luke Martinez) that was recently throttled in
this building. 11-DNP

CAL POLY SLO 79 - CS Northridge 69—Too many demons, perhaps, for
Bobby Braswell’s CSN to exorcise, considering their 6-game spread losing
streak thru Jan. 23 and the memory of its nightmarish 100-54 loss at Mott Gym
last season. Cal Poly (5-1 vs. line last six prior to Thursday’s game vs. Hawaii)
has been providing a lot more spread value lately. And HC Joe Calero’s vexing
combination of defenses could further unnerve the recently-misfiring Matadors.
11-SLO -14 100-54, CSN +6' 94-81

PACIFIC 81 - CS Fullerton 73—Thanks largely to a Big West-best 47%
shooting, Bob Thomason’s UOP had covered 5 of its last 6, and 10 of its last 14
prior to Thursday’s game vs. UC Riverside. Meanwhile, streaky Fullerton is
trending downward lately (the defensively-suspect Titans no covers last three
prior to Thursday’s game at Davis). 11-CSF -11' 78-73, Csf -3 69-68

UC DAVIS 70 - UC Riverside 64—Riverside not much of an alternative, but
hard to ignore the curious poitnspread success of the road team (5-0 last five
prior to Thursday’s game vs. Fullerton) in games featuring Kimberly Guilfoyle's
alma mater UC Davis in recent weeks. 11-Ucr -3 60-58, UCR -11 59-54

Byu 77 - PORTLAND 56—Portland (which had scored more than 57 points
just once in last eight games prior to Thursday’s clash vs. USF) simply lacks the
firepower and shot-creators to make up any sort of a deficit. The Pilots aren’t
helping themselves by shooting only 29.2% beyond the arc. Hard to envision
Eric Reveno’s side keeping pace with a BYU quintet featuring legit big-time
scoring options G Tyler Haws (21.6 ppg) & PF Brandon Davies (18 ppg). 11-Byu
-13 79-60, BYU -21 76-66 CABLE TV—ESPNU

NBA BASKETBALL

★★★ KEY RELEASES ★★★
DENVER by 20 over Sacramento
NEW ORLEANS by 3 over Memphis

TORONTO 94 - Cleveland 84—Cleveland hosted Milwaukee last night, but
Cavs are 5-3 on the road in the second night of back-to-back games. Cleveland
has plenty of young legs, as none of the core of PG Kyrie Irving, G Dion Waiters
and PF Tristan Thompson is over 21 years old. Cavs are 6-3-1 vs. the number
in their last 10 on the road, but must respect Toronto side that’s 12-4 against the
number last 16 at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors are 6-2 SU & vs. the
number last 8 meetings with Cleveland, although the Cavs are 2-2 at Toronto
since LeBron James left the team. Toronto is scoring 101 ppg & shooting 47%
in January, with 6 players scoring in double digits, even though Alan Anderson
& DeMar DeRozan have been in shooting slumps. Totals note: This series is
13-1 “under” last 14 in Toronto! 12-Tor +4' 113-99 (189); 11-Tor +2 104-96
(195), TOR -5 92-77 (191), Tor +4 96-88 (194), Cle +7' 84-80 (188)

New York 101 - PHILADELPHIA 95—Even before Philly’s troubles this
season, New York has dominated the Sixers, covering 10 of last 12 in the series.
The most recent Knick victories came early this campaign in a pair of easy wins
in back-to-back games on Nov. 4 & 5. Sixer Jrue Holiday and Knick F Carmelo
Anthony each had 27 pts. in the first meeting, when the game was decided by
the reserves, as New York’s bench outscored Philly’s by 15 pts. thanks to 20
from J.R. Smith. The Knick backups held an identical 15-point edge the next
day, again led by Smith (17 pts.). Injured Knick PG Ray Felton has been
practicing, and he’s targeted this game for his return. Although New York is just
4-5 SU since return of Amar’e Stoudemire, the last 3 of those losses came
against teams playing .600 or better ball. 12-NY -3' 100-84 (187), Ny +2' 110-
88 (184); 11-NY -4 85-79 (196), Phi +2' 106-94 (194), Ny +4' 82-79 (191)

WASHINGTON 97 - Chicago 92—Both of these teams played at home last
night, Washington against Minnesota and Chicago facing Golden State. The
red-hot Wizards have covered 9 of 11 in 2nd of back-to-back games and were
riding an 8-game pointspread winning streak into Friday’s match with the
Timberwolves. Washington has covered 4 straight at the Verizon Center,
beating Orlando, Atlanta and OKC SU in the last 3 of those. Bull F Luol Deng
is very iffy with a strained hamstring, which obviously is a problem for Chicago.
In the first meeting this season, neither team shot well, but the Wizards didn’t
have PG John Wall, F Trevor Ariza, G Jordan Crawford or G A.J. Price available.
Those players are contributing 40 ppg, 15 apg & 11 rpg in January. 12-CHI -10'
87-77 (181); 11-CHI -12 78-64 (181), Chi -9 98-88 (190), Was +12' 87-84 (188)
TV—NBA NETWORK

CHARLOTTE 98 - Minnesota 94—Neither of these teams showing much
life, but Charlotte’s record at home is bordering on historically poor. The
Bobcats have dropped 16 in a row at Time Warner Cable Arena, and they’re just
4-13 vs. the number last 17 at the “Cable Box.” Minny slumping badly over the
last month, logging a 3-11 spread mark last 14 (1-6 on the road) since
Christmas, and Timberwolves are coming off a game last night in Washington.
Minny is just 1-9 SU on the road, and injuries have robbed Timberwolves of a
good amount of production. Bobcat G Kemba Walker hit a last-second shot to
give Charlotte a win in Minnesota back on Nov. 14. Minny F Kevin Love & C
Nikola Pekovic didn’t play that night, and that could be the case again, as Love
is through for a while. If Pekovic can’t go, Bobcats have a shot at ending home
losing streak. 12-Cha +7' 89-87 (183); 11-MIN -10' 102-90 (194), Min -5' 88-83
(201)

Brooklyn 102 - HOUSTON 97—Both teams played last night, and entering
those games, they were headed in opposite directions. Brooklyn was 10-1 SU
& 8-3 vs. the points last 11 prior to visiting Memphis, while Houston had dropped
9 straight spread decisions, winning just 1 of those SU before visiting New
Orleans. Really don’t need to go much beyond those numbers in analyzing this
matchup, as have to give edge at point guard and center to the Nets. Neither
team has fared well in 2nd night of back-to-back games, as Houston is 4-9
against the number, and Brooklyn 3-7 when unrested. Nets “Carlesimo bump”
should continue against slumping Rockets. 11-Hou -6' 112-106 (191)

Golden St. 104 - MILWAUKEE 94—Wonder if injured Warrior C Andrew
Bogut will make the trip back to his old stomping grounds and show the Warriors
where they can find the “Shielas” after the game in Milwaukee? Bogut won’t
play (although his return is likely to come before the All-Star Game), but HC
Mark Jackson’s team hasn’t missed him much, as the Warriors have pulled to
within shouting distance of the Clippers in the Pacific and have the 5th-best
record in the West. Milwaukee enjoying a coaching-change bump with the firing
of Scott Skiles, winning and covering 6 of first 8 under Jim Boylan. However,
Bucks just 1-5 as a home dog this season, while the Warriors are 34-19 against
the points on the road the last 1+ years. Both teams played last night, and
Milwaukee is 3-13 against the points at home, while G.S. is 14-4 on the road in
2nd of back-to-back games the last 1+ seasons. 11-Mil -1' 120-98 (209)

SAN ANTONIO 104 - Phoenix 90—San Antonio played last night in Dallas,
and HC Gregg Popovich has been known to pull punches by holding out
marginally injured players to ease the grind. That being said, the Spurs have
dominated the Suns, winning 7 of last 8 SU, covering all 4 last season. Still, the
Suns have hung in on the road, covering 8 of last 12 away from home and are
6-2 vs. the number last 8 getting more than 8 points. Phoenix fired HC Alvin
Gentry and replaced him with Lindsay Hunter after losing to Milwaukee on Jan.
17, and the Suns responded by winning at Sacramento thanks to 25 King
turnovers and 19 pts. off the bench from Michael Beasley. Not sure Phoenix can
sustain that effort, and San Antonio certainly isn’t Sacramento. 11-SAN -8' 102-
91 (197), San -1' 107-100 (203), SAN -9 105-91 (208), San +3 110-106 (206)

★★★DENVER 123 - Sacramento 103—While on occasion we note a spark
of life from Sacto, for the most part there is not a lot of evidence that Kings are
ready to make any sort of a sustained move even to the fringes of Western
Conference playoff contention. Sacto entered last Friday’s game vs. Thunder
having dropped 9 of its last 10 vs. the number, and with pending distractions
related to possible franchise sale and relocation to Seattle (we’ll save our slings
and arrows directed at the Maloofs for another time), we’re not holding our
breath to see Kings rally. Denver has crushed Sacto in three of four meetings
since last season, including 122-97 romp at Sleep Train on Dec. 16 when
Nuggets hit 54% from floor. Note lots of “overs” both ways lately...Denver 7-2
last nine and Kings 12-5 last 17, both thru Jan. 24. 12-Den -4' 122-97 (204); 11-
DEN -11' 110-83 (208), Den -6' 122-93 (205), DEN -9' 119-116 (OT-212)

UTAH 91 - Indiana 83—Indiana mostly staying afloat despite tough
scheduling stretch (in midst of second extended multi-game road trip in two
weeks) and ongoing absence of high-scoring F Danny Granger. Pacer defense
allowing an NBA-low 89.1 ppg is keeping Frank Vogel’s team in the hunt most
nights. But not every night, and now Indy must face a Jazz side that has made
quite a nice fortress out of EnergySolutions Arena, covering 12 of first 18 at
home. Jazz also in payback mode after absorbing 104-84 beating at Bankers
Life Fieldhouse back on Dec. 19 when Utah was caught in that Indy defensive
vise grip, shooting only 38% from floor and recording only 8 points in 2nd Q when
the game got away from Ty Corbin’s side. Payback worth a look in rematch.
Also note “unders” in 13 of last 16 Pacers games. 12-IND -3' 104-84 (187); 11-
IND -9 104-99 (192) TV—NBA NETWORK

LA Clippers 102 - PORTLAND 93—Clippers hitting a few speed bumps in
the last week with losses to Warriors and Thunder, and Chris Paul’s recent knee
injury remains a short-term concern. But tonight’s opponent Portland has been
a hard sell in recent weeks, as Blazers have often had the look of a tired team.
Which is an observation shared by many NBA onlookers who believe Portland’s
lack of quality depth is causing HC Terry Stotts to pile too many minutes upon
the starters, who often looked fatigued in recent weeks when Blazers were on
a 6-game SU losing streak that was only broken last Wednesday vs. Pacers. In
earlier meeting at Rose Garden on Nov. 8, Clips dominated glass by 56-41
count and used their bench strength (specifically super sub Jamal Crawford and
his 25 points) to help shoot 53% from floor and trigger easy 103-90 Clips win.
Not much evidence in recent weeks that Blazers are ready to reverse that result.
12-La -1 103-90 (201); 11-LA -3' 93-88 (200), POR -5' 105-97 (196), La -2 74-
71 (189), LA -9 98-97 (187)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

PLAYBOOK MARC LAWRENCE

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

VIRGINIA over Boston College by 3
The Eagles are America’s best-kept secret… until now. BC took its
lumps last season by starting four unsung freshmen and a fi rst-year
transfer but those growing pains have resulted in a 9-4-1 ATS log
this year. And under third-year HC Steve Donahue, the Eagles are
16-7 ATS on the road, including 10-2 ATS versus greater than .667
opposition. In fact, BC is a perfect 7-0 ATS this season against .600
or greater foes. And with the Wahoos in a sticky letdown situation
(after in-state rival Virginia Tech) with an LTKO revenger on deck
against NC State (0-3 ATS before the Wolfpack), there’s no reason
to believe that the Eagles won’t continue to fl y high outside of
Chestnut Hill. And though we’d like to call for the outright win,
we can’t – not with Virginia 11-1 SU at home this year. But we will
grab the double digits as these suddenly experienced Eagles have
made quite a nest under Donahue. A must take.

Minnesota over WISCONSIN by 6
Though the Gophers slipped up earlier this week in Evanston, the
No. 4 rebounding team in the land is a ‘golden’ 4-1 ATS on the
road this season and 14-1 SU versus sub .900 opposition. And
though the Badgers topped Minny SU in both meetings last
season, the Gophers have covered fi ve of the last seven in these
matchups. More important, that sweep brings Wisky’s 11-17 ATS
log versus a foe with last season double-revenge exact into play.
And with Bo’s boys off a brutal scheduling spot that includes a
triple revenger (and LTKO) against Michigan State (1-3 ATS after
Sparty) and a battle with Ohio State looming on deck, look for
the Badgers to drop their third straight in conference play. Even
though the Badgers return home off a home loss to Michigan
State, we say take a shot with the visitors and grab the points as
Tubby’s troops ‘rebound’ nicely this afternoon in Madison.

TULANE over Rice by 24
Tulane ‘waved’ goodbye to their fi rst winning season since the
2007-2008 campaign thanks to a season-ending 8-game losing
skid and two earlier losses to the Rice Owls. You can bet (and we
will) that the Green Wave’s fi ve returning starters will be anxious
to make amends against this non-threatening nocturnal that
ranks dead last in the nation in Rebounding Margin (-15.1 net
RPG) and is among the worst in Defensive Field Goal Percentage
(48.7). Rice has also been pan-fried in this series when they enter
playing .400 or less ball, posting a 0-4 SU and ATS mark. And if
you’re worried about laying the largest number in this matchup
since Tulane was a 16-point favorite in 2008, don’t be. Our
PLAYBOOK.com database reminds us that the Owls are an eyepopping
11-38-1 ATS in SU losses against a foe they beat twice
the previous season. And since there’s nothing Green about the
13-6 Tulane edition this season, we have no problem laying the
‘Big’ number this afternoon in New Orleans. An ‘Easy’ decision.

OREGON over Washington by 16
After dismantling the Huskies at home late last season (82-57) and
avenging a New Year’s Eve loss in Washington, the last thing the
Ducks wanted was a rubber match with the revenge-minded sled
dogs in postseason play – unless, of course, it was for the Pac-12
crown. Well, that didn’t happen as both were one and done in
the conference tourney but their paths did cross just a few weeks
later as the Huskies sent the Ducks packing in round three of the
NIT tournament. That took place in Seattle and once again the
series shifts to Eugene where the determined Ducks fi gure to be
in payback mode. As it is, the webbed ones are 14-5 ATS in this
matchup with revenge, including 9-1 ATS on this fl oor. Better yet,
Oregon oglers love the fact the Huskies enter off a meaningful
revenger with Oregon State (lost as the top seed to the Beavers
in the aforementioned conference tourney and are 2-5-1 ATS after
facing OSU) and have the 6th-ranked Wildcats waiting in the wings.
Thus, the Ducks (17-2, 6-0) should have no problem staying unbeaten
in Pac-12 play. Lay it AND play it as Oregon gets its revenge.

NBA BASKETBALL

HOUSTON over Brooklyn by 11
After opening the season 21-14, the ‘Linsanity’ has worn off and the
Rockets have fallen on ‘Harden’ times as they’ve dropped eight of
nine heading into Friday night’s contest in New Orleans. However,
nothing stops the bleeding like hosting a foe that you’ve beaten like
a drum over the years and Houston has done just that to the Nets,
posting an 11-0 SU and a 9-1-1 ATS mark in this series since 2006.
This trip to the Toyota Center also marks Brooklyn’s fourth road
game in six days – and second in as many nights – bringing its 1-6
ATS log away without rest into play. Making matters worse for P.J.’s
pups is the fact that last night’s encounter was in Memphis and the
Nets have sung the blues after facing the Grizzlies, dropping their
last eight in SU fashion. Thus, Houston should have no problem
landing yet another double-digit victory in Space City. No need to
be afraid. Like a visit to the Chicken Ranch – it’s a lay!

[Can'tPickAWinner]

CAPPERS ACCESS

Villanova
Kansas
Missouri

[Can'tPickAWinner]

UFC on FOX 6: Johnson-Dodson Title Fight Pits Speed vs. Power

Demetrious Johnson (-285) vs. John Dodson (+215)
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defends his strap for the first time when he takes on former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner John Dodson in a fast-paced bout that serves as the five-round headliner of UFC on FOX 6 Saturday.

Johnson (16-2-1) won the UFC flyweight belt when he beat Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152, as he was able to outpoint Benavidez over five rounds to sneak out with a split decision.

“Mighty Mouse” is the fastest fighter in the UFC and has gone 2-0-1 in three fights since dropping to 125 pounds, creeping into the pound-for-pound talks in the process. He’s a very good wrestler, a good striker, and brings his all every single time he steps into the cage.

Johnson has a ton of experience fighting high-level competition and, at 26, he’s in the prime of his career. He’s not much of a finisher and mostly wins by decision, but he wins fights. With renowned coach Matt Hume in his corner, Johnson is going to be hard to beat at flyweight in the UFC.

Dodson (14-5) won Season 14 of TUF as a bantamweight, knocking T.J. Dillashaw in the finale. Since then, Dodson’s dropped down to his naturally more competitive weight of 125 pounds and has looked absolutely fantastic, taking a decision over Tim Elliott at UFC on FOX 3 and scoring a TKO against Jussier Formiga at UFC on FX 5 to earn his title shot against Johnson.

Dodson is one of the fastest fighters in the UFC but will he be faster than “Mighty Mouse”? It’s tough to say, but one thing for sure - Dodson has the power advantage as evidenced by his six career knockouts despite weighing only 125 pounds. If he can connect on Johnson’s chin and put him on the canvass, he can definitely get the stoppage.

Johnson is fast and should be able to avoid most of Dodson’s punches, but it will only takes one punch to finish him. In our opinion, Dodson has to win the fight in the first two rounds or else he’s going to lose a decision to Johnson.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

UFC on FOX

Teixeira vs. Jackson and Johnson v. Dodson
When: Saturday, January 26, 2013
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
Time: 8pm ET
TV: FOX
by Evergreen, MMA Handicapper

The UFC is about as hot as it has been in the last few years with the UFC Heavyweight Title changing hands last month and the latest season on the Ultimate Fighter kicking off with Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen as coaches. The buzz continues this weekend as the 6th installment of the UFC on FOX has a strong card that includes a title bout at 125lbs. between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson. Johnson is the first Flyweight Champion in UFC history and Dodson quickly became a fan favorite in winning his season of TUF while showing a ton of personality.

The best match on the undercard is the bout at 205lbs. between Glover Teixeira and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. This fight could be the last for Rampage in the UFC and has been long in the making after a Jackson injury forced this match off the summer schedule. The UFC seems very high on the prospects of Teixeira and a win would not only symbolically be a changing of the guard but also propel Glover to the upper echelon of the division. Don’t let the non-PPV format make you think these are sub-standard fights. Jackson is one of the most polarizing and interesting draws in all of MMA with Teixeira a potential star in the making and the entire flyweight division is vastly underrated. They may be 5’3” but Dodson and Johnson will go at breakneck speed for the whole 25 minutes and could produce one of the most exciting fights of the year.

Here’s a look at these two fights:

Glover Teixeira (19-2) v. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-10)
Dana White and the UFC really wanted this fight and it should be exciting with a KO likely. Teixeira is a heavy favorite at -325 with Jackson getting some nice value as a +250 dog and that makes for an interesting betting scenario. How much do you make of Rampage’s mindset in what might be his last professional fight? Maybe not so much as he always kind of went out there and competed as if it was his last time in the Octagon but is he motivated to win at this point in his career? Not making weight and losing a three round unanimous decision to Ryan Bader last time out suggests he might be disinterested in anything but his payday. Teixeira has nothing but motivation as he is climbing the ranks and needs a win over a big name to vault him into the conversation at light heavyweight. Jackson is certainly that big name and would be a good win based on the rankings as Sherdog still lists Rampage as the #10 light heavy in MMA.

Glover is riding a 17 fight win streak that dates back to 2006 and while the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt is an adept grappler; he seems to favor his striking to soften his opponents rather than dragging them into a purposeful ground fight. Rampage likes to bang and so seemingly does Glover so it doesn’t take long to figure out why the UFC is looking forward to this match. Throw out Jackson’s 4-3 record since 2008 in part due to his reported health issues and also due to him being a very proud fighter. Rampage would surely like to go out with a KO victory and his hands can produce that with ease. Teixeira has a three inch reach advantage but there won’t be a huge advantage as Jackson is used to being on the short side of the reach game and has never really had trouble getting inside with his counter strike game. Teixeira really should focus on getting this thing to the ground early and often and stay out of range but something tells me that he will try to stand and bang with Jackson, at least until he gets caught. I never really had much love for Rampage past his PRIDE days as I thought he was too one dimensional once the MMA scene got a more well-rounded talent in the pool but I actually like him to win this fight and certainly like the value at +250. It doesn’t take an MMA savant to predict a Jackson win if he can stand and score with Teixeira so the question remains if Glover will let him. I think he will and Rampage hits one more home run in the Octagon.

My Prediction to Win: Jackson by 2nd round KO)

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (16-2-1) v. John “The Magician” Dodson (14-5)
If you long for the days when the UFC was dominated by the likes of Liddell, Couture and Abbott, then this match probably doesn’t do a lot for you. Heck, most people didn’t even know that MMA went below the 155 pound weight class until the UFC absorbed the former WEC roster. The Johnson/Dodson match has all the makings of a classic as each man is essentially the physical mirror of the other with each possessing lighting quick hands and feet as well as a strong overall MMA game. Johnson won the first flyweight strap in the UFC after surviving a two fight elimination against Ian McCall and taking down Joseph Benevidez to earn the title. All of those bouts were hard fought and close on the cards but Johnson emerged the victor and now has a wealth of experience in high level, grind ‘em out fights. Dodson has risen as quickly as any TUF alumnus and the southpaw striker has the heavier hands in this match as well as small edge in overall wrestling experience. The champ is listed as the -225 favorite with Dodson at +175, making this a very close fight when compared to other title bouts on recent cards. Neither man has lost in the UFC with both being able to put their offensive game plan to use in previous wins. Obviously, someone will have to some adjusting on the fly as this one goes on but no matter who has the upper hand, the pace will surely be frenetic and round five shouldn’t look any different than round one as conditioning is never a problem for the flyweights.

Like most bouts in this class, there will be ground and stand-up elements as the fighters look to exploit any offensive advantage they can gain but there is no way this stays on the ground for an extended period of time as neither of these men can be held down for long. If this one turns out to be as high-flying as anticipated, watch for Dodson to have a small edge in the striking as his six KO’s double the total of Johnson. Dodson is the more dynamic striker and has the wrestling background to fall on if he needs to so there is every reason to believe we could see a new champ come Saturday night. It shouldn’t even be viewed as a big upset if Dodson wins as he is the #3 ranked fighter in the division with Johnson in the top spot. You can’t call for a knockout in any fight at 125 but I do think the Magician pulls one out of his hat and gets the belt.

My Pick to Win: Dodson by unanimous decision

[Can'tPickAWinner]

HANDICAPPING KINGS

PJ

AUSTRALIAN OPEN- WTA

1/26 3:30AM Victoria Azarenka vs Na Li
[502] Na Li +125

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Accuscore Soccer

Director’s Football Picks: 5-2, +361 Profit


Last weekend, our expert made only one pick and he got it right. As such, he is now 5-2 the past five weeks with an incredible +361 in profit, just reinforcing his mantra that if he double his money with a pick, it is not worth his money. This weekend, he’s back with another members only picks and a quick look at the fixture list. This week, he likes a match in the German Bundesliga, and he's made his pick.

Members: Log in now to see Director’s Pick
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1. Eintracht Frankfurt vs TSG Hoffenheim: Frankfurt to win at 2.020

First of all, Frankfut is fourth in the table and in position for the Champions League next season and Hoffenheim is third from bottom and on pace for the relegation playoff. Frankfurt lost 3-1 away to Leverkusen, but this is a home match for Frankfurt.

Frankfurt only has one loss at home in nine matches while Hoffenheim has six losses in eight away matches. With odds providing better than even money, this is a no-brainer. Pick the better team at home and double your money. Yes, please!

What does the computer say?

Well, the computer says that Frankfurt has a 64.7 percent chance of winning. The oddsmakers currently only give Frankfurt a 48.5 percent chance, meaning the computer agrees with me that there is value on this match.
European Football Preview: Jan 26, 2013


This weekend features the FA Cup in England, so the Premier League takes a break for the magic of upset, etc. The FA Cup makes for wonderful stories, but it also includes some rather mismatched opponents. Stoke City hosting Manchester City and Manchester United hosting Fulham are the two matches on Saturday that feature Premier League sides battling it out. Both Manchester clubs should walk away unscathed based on their respective opponents’ poor form of late.

All in all, Europe does not provide anything that is worth starving one’s self over in the way of fixtures, but the German Bundesliga does probably feature the best two fixtures of the weekend with Stuttgart hosting German giants Bayern Munich on Sunday. Hamburg also hosts Werder Bremen on Sunday.

In Serie A, a struggling Juventus hosts Genoa after starting slow following the winter break. Juve has only won two of its five fixtures across all competitions. With Andrea Pirlo expected to miss the weekend’s clash, Juve may be exposed on Saturday.

In Spain, Athletic Bilbao hosts Atletico Madrid in what should be an athletically entertaining fixture.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Chicago Sports Connection

STRAIGHT BET Jan 26 NHL [64] CAL FLAMES -120

Calgary has started the season in unremarkable fashion.
Their record 0-3.
But the last two games were tough losses.
3-2 loss @ Vancouver ....5-4 loss VS Anaheim..
CALG has had two days off to prepare for this...EDM has been playing every two days.
CALG has 4 days off after this game...so they will be very hungry for a victory.