12-28-13

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Russell Athletic Bowl betting What bettors need to know

Miami Hurricanes vs. Louisville Cardinals (-3, 57)

Game will be played at Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

RUSSELL ATHLETIC CITRUS BOWL STORYLINES:
1. In what could be quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s final collegiate game, No. 16 Louisville heads to the Sunshine State to take on No. 25 Miami at the Russell Athletic Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The Miami-area native is one of the top quarterback prospects in the NFL draft after finishing the season third in the nation in completion percentage and fifth in quarterback rating. However, despite the potential of being picked in the top 5, Bridgewater has yet to make a decision, and is reportedly still considering returning to Louisville for his senior season according to multiple media outlets.

2. It will be a battle of two Miami natives at the quarterback position, with Bridgewater and Hurricanes quarterback Stephen Morris going at it. Morris has been inconsistent at times, but his 510 yards and five touchdowns were instrumental in the Hurricanes bouncing back from a three-game losing streak with two season-ending wins.

3. This is the first postseason appearance for Miami since the 2010 Sun Bowl. The Hurricanes were bowl eligible each of the last two seasons, but had self-imposed a bowl ban in wake of the Nevin Shapiro scandal.

TV: 6:45 p.m. ET, ESPN

LINE: Louisville has held steady as 3-point faves. The total opened at 55.5 and has been bet up to 57.

WEATHER: There is a 35 percent chance of rain with a six mph wind blowing across the field.

ABOUT MIAMI (9-3, 5-7 ATS): Al Golden deserves credit for avoiding a complete free fall after he lost running back Duke Johnson in a 41-14 defeat at Florida State. The Hurricanes lost their next two, but were able to recover and now still have a shot at the program’s first 10-win season since 2003. In his acceptance speech for the Lombardi Award for Excellence in Coaching, Golden said, “(This team) overcame a lot of adversity over the last three years, and in so doing, they taught us a lot about perseverance and leadership itself and maybe perhaps overall about class.”

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (11-1, 5-7 ATS): It isn’t the BCS bowl many expected in the preseason for the Cardinals, but Louisville is in a bowl for the fourth straight season and has a shot at the first back-to-back bowl wins in school history. Beyond that, Cardinals coach Charlie Strong said he sees the matchup, which becomes a conference game when Louisville joins the ACC next season, as a potential rivalry game. “A lot of the guys have played against each other in ... youth (leagues) and a lot of them have grown up together. There will be a lot of talking going on, we are going to have to manage that talking and make sure it doesn't get out of hand,” Strong told the Orlando Sentinel.

TRENDS:
* Miami is 1-6 ATS in its last seven games overall.
* Louisville is 5-1 ATS in its last six non-conference games.
* Over is 4-0 in Miami's last four games overall.
* Under is 4-1 in Louisville's last five games overall.

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Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl betting What bettors need to know

Michigan Wolverines vs. Kansas State Wildcats (-4.5, 55.5)

Game will be played at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL STORYLINES:
1. Michigan enters the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Dec. 28 losers of four of its last five games, but its latest setback was its most memorable game of the season. The Wolverines opted to go for a two-point conversion and the win after scoring a touchdown in the final seconds against Ohio State, but the attempt failed in their 42-41 loss. They'll get a chance for a bit of redemption against Kansas State at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

2. While Kansas State has won five of its last six games, its struggles in recent bowl games have them perplexed, as the Wildcats enter the contest losers of five straight bowl contests under famed coach Bill Snyder. Kansas State rebounded from a 2-4 start this season and all five of its losses were by 10 points or less.

3. While there doesn't seem to be much doubt that Michigan's Devin Gardner will start against Kansas State, the dual-threat quarterback has been battling turf toe and missed the team's entire first week of practice. Freshman Shane Morris took most of the snaps in Gardner's place.

TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN.

LINE: Kansas State opened as 3-point faves and have jumped up to -4.5. The total has stayed put at 55.5.

WEATHER: It will be partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid 50s.

ABOUT MICHIGAN (7-5, 7-5 ATS): Michigan coach Brady Hoke said he expects Gardner to return for his fifth season next year. Against Kansas State, Gardner will be looking for another fifth-year star, wide receiver Jeremy Gallon, who is 47 yards shy of setting the school's single-season mark for receiving yards and had a conference-record 369 yards receiving against Indiana on Oct. 19. The Wolverines will be making their 43rd all-time bowl appearance (20-22) but they have never faced Kansas State.

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (7-5, 7-5 ATS): The Wildcats spent the 2013 season trying in vain to fill the void left by quarterback Collin Klein. Junior Jake Waters and sophomore Daniel Sams combined for 2,650 yards passing and 1,054 yards on the ground while rotating in the backfield. Both will get the chances against Michigan for a Kansas State offense which averaged 33.4 points but also finished 78th in the nation in passing with 13 interceptions.

TRENDS:
* Michigan is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games following a SU loss.
* Kansas State is 0-5 ATS in its last five bowl games.
* Over is 6-1 in Michigan's last seven bowl games.
* Under is 4-1 in Kansas State's last five neutral site games.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Insider Angles NCAA Football 2013-14 Bowl Previews

Pinstripe Bowl - Rutgers vs. Notre Dame (-14½) - Saturday, December 28, 12:00 Noon ET: Notre Dame may have the talent edge, but the Fighting Irish lost both their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in recent weeks and they have injuries on both lines, missing two starters on the offensive line and NFL draft prospect Louis Nix on the defensive side. That could allow the Scarlett Knights to hang inside this two-touchdown spot as they have a nice running back in Paul James that could attack the middle of the Irish line with Nix sidelined and the Rutgers defense ranks 25th in the country with 32 sacks. Rutgers is 7-2-2 ATS in its last 11 December games.

Belk Bowl - Cincinnati vs. North Carolina (-3) - Saturday, December 28, 3:20 ET: There is a reason that the 6-6 Tar Heels are favored over the 9-3 Bearcats here as Cincinnati faced the easiest schedule in an already weak AAC that ranked just 120th in the nation in SOS. Bearcat quarterback Brendon Kay did not respond well to pressure in the regular season finale vs. Louisville and the Cincinnati offensive line is now tasked with trying to hold off a very physical UNC defensive line spearheaded by top NFL prospect Kareem Martin, who had 11 sacks and 20 tackles for loss this season. The Heels are also starting a dual threat quarterback in Marquise Williams, which Cincinnati is not used to facing in the AAC. North Carolina is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games following a straight up loss.

Russell Athletic Bowl - Miami vs. Louisville (-3) - Saturday, December 28, 6:45 ET: Louisville was nationally ranked all season, but the Cardinals also faced a weak AAC schedule and they were simply not the same after having their nationally title hopes dashed in their only loss vs. Central Florida. Louisville won its last three games by just seven points each, and while one win was against Cincinnati (in overtime), the others were vs. lightly regarded Memphis and Houston. The Hurricanes hit a lull after losing their first game vs. top ranked Florida State, but they recovered in time to win their last two games by double-digits, and the Canes finished second in the country in passing plays of 30 yards or more behind only high-powered Baylor. ACC Bowl underdogs (Miami) are 39-23-2, 62.9 percent ATS since 2000.

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl - Michigan vs. Kansas State (-3½) - Saturday, December 28, 10:15 ET: This is an interesting matchup because both teams could have success passing the ball vs. the opposing secondaries, so this may come down to Michigan having the better quarterback in Devin Gardner, who has only been a full-time quarterback since last season after previously being a favorite target of former Wolverine QB Denard Robinson as a wide receiver. But even with his limited experience, Gardner ended up passing for 2960 yards while completing over 60 percent of his passes with 21 touchdown passes, and he ended the season by throwing for 451 yards and four touchdowns vs. Ohio State. Yes the Michigan pass defense is terrible, but can the Kansas State duo of mediocre quarterbacks Jake Waters and/or Daniel Sams take advantage? Big 12 Bowl favorites (Kansas State) are 26-40-3 ATS since 2000 for a 60.6 percent fade.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

College football weather report Saturday's bowl games

There are four bowl games this Saturday taking place all over the country.

Find out how weather will impact your college football bowl bets this weekend:

NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL

Rutgers Scarlet Knight vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-14, 53.5)
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
It will be clear with temperatures in the mid 40s. There will be a 12 mph wind blowing towards the Northeast end zone.

BELK BOWL

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (-2.5, 56.5)
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
It will be mostly cloudy with a 17 percent chance of rain. Temperatures will be in the low 50s.

RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL

Miami Hurricanes vs. Louisville Cardinals (-3.5, 57)
Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
There is a 30 percent chance of rain with temperatures in the low 70s. There will be a six mph wind blowing across the field.

BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL

Michigan Wolverines vs. Kansas State Wildcats (-5.5, 54.5)
Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
It will be partly cloudy with temperatures in the lows 50s.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Where the action is Saturday's Bowl game line moves

The college football bowl season is in full swing Saturday with four more postseason matchups available for betting. We talk to Mike Perry of Sportsbook about the action coming in on these games and where the odds could end up come kickoff.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Notre Dame - Open: -17, Move: -14
The New Era Pinstripe Bowl is a long way from the BCS National championship for the Fighting Irish, and despite being heavily favored against the defensively challenged Scarlet Knights, the sharps have been backing Rutgers with the large pointspread.

"Despite the fact that Rutgers has only covered one of their past six games, wiseguys seem to like the Scarlet Knights in this spot. Dec. 10th got sharp play on the dog at +17, so we moved to +15.5," Perry. "Sharp action kept coming in on Rutgers during the next week, until we moved to current number of +14 on Dec. 19th."

Belk Bowl: Cincinnati vs. North Carolina - Open: -2, Move: -3
Both the Bearcats and the Tar Heels are hot heading into the Belk Bowl. The Bearcats have won six of seven and are trying to win 10 games in a season for the sixth time in seven years. While the Tar Heels won five of their last six games to become bowl eligible and that had the sharps backing the boys from the ACC.

"Wiseguy play came on the Tar Heels -2 on Dec. 10th, so we moved to -3, where game still stands," Perry said. "This line would probably be higher than Heels -3 but there is big injury concern for North Carolina, as TE Eric Ebron is questionable with a shoulder injury."

Russell Athletic Bowl: Miami vs. Louisville - Open: -2.5, Move: -3.5
Teddy Bridgewater could be playing in his final college game when the Cardinals take on the Hurricanes in the Russell Athletic bowl and both the sharps and public are backing Louisville and the potential No. 1 overall pick in next April's NFL draft.

"The Canes have covered just one of their last seven contests and both a good chunk or wiseguys and the general public are fading them in their bowl game," Perry said. "When we moved to -3 a heavy majority of public money that day was still backing them, so moved to current number of -3.5"

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Michigan vs. Kansas State - Open -3, Move: -6
Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner has officially been ruled out for this game and the Wolverines will be rolling with true freshman Shane Morris under center. Bettors were siding with the Wildcats before the news Michigan would be without its starter came out, so it is no surprise 73 percent of the money is on Kansas State.

"Dec. 10th got sharp bet on Kansas State -3 so we moved them to -3.5. After it was announced Gardner was out the Wildcats went from -3.5 to -5," Perry said. "The line has kept going up in Kansas State's favor, because of fairly heavy action on them."

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J. Clifton

Adds Bowl Game

CINCINATTI + 2 1/2

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DAVE COKIN

Bowl Games

225 Cincinnati +3
227 Miami +3.5
223 Rutgers +14

[Can'tPickAWinner]

DOC SPORTS

5 Unit Play. #228 Take Louisville Cardinals -3.5 over Miami Hurricanes (Russell Athletic Bowl, Saturday 12/28, 6:45 pm ESPN) Mag 7 Game. Nobody gave Louisville a chance last year against Florida in the Sugar Bowl, and I feel that this number is again short this year against another team from Florida. The Cardinals have a major edge at quarterback with Teddy Bridgewater, a likely first-round draft choice if he decides to turn pro after this game. I am just not a fan of Hurricane QB Stephen Morris as he has 12 interceptions on the season against a very weak schedule. Louisville has won three of their last four bowl games (two of them were BCS) and Miami has lost three straight bowl games, including this exact bowl game in 2009. Louisville had a very easy schedule, but they had just one bad half of football, and that kept them out of the BCS. Miami is 1-6 ATS in their last seven bowl games. Louisville is 12-2 ATS in their last 14 games against ACC teams.

3 Unit Play. #230 Take Kansas State Wildcats -4.5 over Michigan Wolverines (Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Saturday, 12/28 10:15 pm ESPN) This game reminds me a lot of Boise State vs. Oregon State as Michigan will likely be without their starting quarterback in Devin Gardner. Without him I expect Michigan to struggle to move the football on offense. Kansas State is not a great team, but they are extremely well coached, and expect them to have a great gameplan to attack Michigan. The Wolverines are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games when allowing 40 or more points in their previous game. Kansas State is 15-5 ATS (1 push) in their last 21 games against teams with a winning record.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

WINNING POINTS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Georgetown* over Florida International by 16
The loss of zippy little guard Raymond Taylor (Florida Atlantic hasn’t been the same
since he bolted from there) hurts FIU. At least they hit the boards well. Anyone that
doesn’t zone Georgetown for 40 minutes is nuts.
GEORGETOWN, 76-59

**PREFERRED
Syracuse* over Villanova by 9
No more neutral refs. At Syracuse, they love to hose people whenever possible, and
now Big Eastie Villanova has to play here as a non-conference entity for the first time
since the creation of time, with Syracuse a member of the ACC. ‘Nova has been flying
high offensively vs. opponents that are basically scrimmaging in non-conference
season. Syracuse will grab the stickshift and grind their gears.
SYRACUSE, 73-64

Duke* over Eastern Michigan by 26
Too much scoring on Duke, not enough scoring on Eastern Michigan. The visitor is
a slowdown, defense-and-rebounding side. When Duke plays somebody like that at
their own level, on the road, they will lose, and we will win. But in this scenario, good
luck to EMU in their effort to maintain their dignity. Coach K will treat this as a First
Round “1 vs. 16” NCAA game.
DUKE, 79-53

***BEST BET
Southern Miss over Rhode Island* by 16
Rhode Island seems to be a not-ready-for-prime-time player, scoring only 68 ppg,
weak in the frontcourt, so-so at guard, poor on three-point shooting and with a 11-
to-14 assist-to-turnover ratio per game. Southern Miss’ only two losses have been at
Louisville and at Western Kentucky – perennial NCAA Tournament programs. Rhode
Island hasn’t come close to winning their own conference – regular season or
Tournament – in a long time and is still in a rebuilding mode in Year Two of coach
Hurley’s tenure.
SOUTHERN MISS, 69-53

Harvard over Fordham* by 8

Illinois over Illinois-Chicago by 16 (at United Center)

Arizona State* over Cal-Irvine by 9

St. John’s* over Columbia by 9 (at Barclay’s Center, Brooklyn)

**PREFERRED
Cincinnati* over Nebraska by 20
A team that struggles to make baskets travels to face Cincinnati and its wicked defense for the first time? Good luck to Nebraska because the Huskers would seem to need it. Actually, why wish them any luck at all? Let them get killed on the offensive boards with one-and-done possessions, then allow plenty of Cincinnati put-backs on the defensive end.
CINCINNATI, 68-48

***BEST BET
George Washington over Hofstra* by 25
First-season Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalic seems to have a hopeless task, given that
the program returned only four players, none of them all-conference or anything close
to it. They haven’t played a lot of games, and their only true point guard has been
injured and out. If he returns, big deal. Who’s Dion Nesmith? Mihalic’s transfers are
from Niagara and Monmouth. GW’s transfers are from Indiana and Villanova. Hello.
Goodnight, and it’s only daytime.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 78-53

Louisville over Kentucky* by 7
The visitor has the zone defense that coach Calipari has feared. Rick Pitino has the
blueprint to beat Kentucky that Calipari laid out for us a few weeks ago.
LOUISVILLE, 74-67

Akron over South Carolina* by 6
You woulda thought that South Carolina had some upside, being in Year Two of Frank
Martin’s Intense Reign of Terror and now three games into the return of senior guard
Bruce Ellington (who plays football). But they are 0-3 since Ellington returned,
against nobody impressive, and are scoring only 68 ppg.
AKRON, 69-63.

BYU over Loyola Marymount* by 3
Recent LMU teams have played better defense than this one. We’ll be anti-BYU again
(despite the Oregon loss) when they play on the road vs. someone with a stronger
defensive profile than these Lions.
BYU, 81-78.

Xavier* over Wake Forest by 12
Wake to host: ‘Please don’t push us around so hard. It hurts.’
XAVIER, 71-59.

Kansas State over Tulane by 15 (at Brooklyn, NY)
Tulane’s 7-footer Tomas Bruha – a tree grows in Brooklyn? Nah. He’s a single-digit,
big stiff. K-State gets more inside production from its 6’7” bush, Thomas Gipson.
KANSAS STATE, 68-53.

Richmond* over Old Dominion by 15
ODU has revenge for a humiliating 80-53 home loss last season. But their roster isn’t
close to resembling what it was during the Blaine Taylor high times that are fading farther away in the rear-view mirror as we speak.
RICHMOND, 71-56.

Kent State* over Cleveland State by 10
Cleveland State has revenge for a 72-55 loss last season, but Kent’s 6’9”, 245 Mark
Henniger could rise from the shadows to become a shooting star in this match-up vs.
a very small foe.
KENT STATE, 77-67.

VCU over Boston College by 17 (at Brooklyn, NY)
Our distaste for Boston College basketball has been expressed here often and we hope
that VCU comes out and plays its “A” game to embarrass these lily-livered, traveling
holiday turkeys. BC is giving up 78.5 ppg.
VCU, 83-66.

South Florida over Bradley* by 2

Missouri over NC State by 2

Pepperdine* over San Diego by 1

Gonzaga* over Santa Clara by 19

Portland* over San Francisco by 6
Interesting to see if Cody Doolin-less USF falls apart or not during conference play.
Head coach Rex Walters says, ‘Oh, no big deal, I like my team,’ and might just be
blowin’ smoke.
PORTLAND, 76-69.

**PREFERRED
Alabama over UCLA* by 3
A 5-6 Alabama team travels a long way off two straight home losses to Xavier and
Wichita State. Actually, those are a pair of rock-like defensive teams. Throw in a recent loss at South Florida, another half-court grind side. UCLA is soft by comparison. ‘We can run the floor!? We love Westwood!’
ALABAMA, 74-71.

***BEST BET
Colorado* over Georgia by 23
Georgia has won five in a row! Against Bums #1 thru #5. This is their first true road
game of the season and Colorado head coach Tad Boyle can probably convince his
Buffs that the ‘Dawgs are as good as the Georgia football team is, and that they’d better be more than ready. Reality is that Georgia can’t beat anyone with a national pulse.
COLORADO, 81-58.

UNLV* over CS Fullerton by 11
Travel out of state is not something that Southern California-located Fullerton normally
handles well. In fact, traveling in-state resulted in a 81-59 loss up north at San
Jose State. But that was when guard Alex Harris was absent. He has since returned.
They actually competed well in a 3-point loss at Nevada last year.
UNLV, 80-69.

Nevada* over Long Beach State by 7

[Can'tPickAWinner]

POINTWISE

COLLEGE KEY RELEASES
GONZAGA over Santa Clara (Sat) RATING: 1
SOUTH FLORIDA over Bradley (Sat) RATING: 2

(12:00) GEORGETOWN 77 - Fla-International 56 (FOX1) _____ _____

(2:00) SYRACUSE 72 - Villanova 68 (CBS) _____ _____

(2:00) DUKE 91 - Eastern Michigan 65 (ESPN2) _____ _____

(2:00) RHODE ISLAND 71 - Southern Mississippi 69 _____ _____

(2:00) Harvard 76 - FORDHAM 70 _____ _____

(2:00) Illinois 83 - ILL-CHICAGO 66 (BIG10) (United Ctr) _____ _____

(2:00) ARIZONA STATE 79 - Cal-Irvine 71 _____ _____

(2:30) St Johns 82 - Columbia 68 (FOX1) (Barclays Ctr) _____ _____

(4:00) CINCINNATI 85 - Nebraska 67 (ESPN2) _____ _____

(4:00) George Washington 76 - HOFSTRA 65 _____ _____

(4:00) Louisville 92 - KENTUCKY 84 (CBS) _____ _____

(4:00) Akron 70 - SOUTH CAROLINA 67 (ESPNU) _____ _____

(4:00) Byu 73 - LOYOLA-MARYMOUNT 72 _____ _____

(5:00) XAVIER 69 - Wake Forest 66 (FOX2) _____ _____

(5:00) Kansas State 74 - Tulane 68 (FOX1) (Brooklyn, NY) _____ _____

(6:00) MASSACHUSETTS 81 - Providence 64 (ESPNU) _____ _____

(6:30) RICHMOND 76 - Old Dominion 65 (NBCS) _____ _____

(7:00) KENT STATE 73 - Cleveland State 70 _____ _____

(7:30) Va Common 69 - Boston College 61 (Brooklyn, NY) _____ _____

(8:00) South Florida 78 - BRADLEY 67 _____ _____

(8:00) NO CAROLINA STATE 76 - Missouri 74 (ESPN2) _____ _____

(8:00) PEPPERDINE 64 - San Diego 58 _____ _____

(9:00) GONZAGA 87 - Santa Clara 55 (ESPNU) _____ _____

(10:00) PORTLAND 80 - San Francisco 67 _____ _____

(10:00) UCLA 75 - Alabama 64 (ESPN2) _____ _____

(10:00) COLORADO 81 - Georgia 62 _____ _____

(10:00) UNLV 72 - Cal-Fullerton 60 _____ _____

(10:00) NEVADA 73 - Long Beach State 63 _____ _____

BEST BETS
MASSACHUSETTS
CLEVELAND ST
VA COMMONWEALTH
SOUTH FLORIDA (2)
GONZAGA (1)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

WINNING POINTS

NBA BASKETBALL

*Boston over Cleveland by 5
The Cavaliers are best avoided on the road where they are 2-12 SU, 4-10 ATS, including getting buried by Boston, 103-86, on Nov. 29. The Cavaliers have lost eight times on the road by 15 or more points and shooting guard Dion Waiters has been dealing with a sore wrist. The Cavaliers have yet to get anything out of Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall draft pick.
BOSTON 99-94.

*Washington over Detroit by 2
Discount their poor showing against the Bucks. The Pistons are 1-5 ATS the last six
times they've played the second of back-to-back games.
WASHINGTON 104-102.

*Indiana over Brooklyn by 9
The Nets are headed for their toughest three-game road swing of the season playing
next at San Antonio and Oklahoma City.
INDIANA 98-89.

New York over *Toronto by 1
Getting Tyson Chandler back is huge for the Knicks. Now they just need to find some
scoring to support Carmelo Anthony. The Raptors were 1-5 SU and ATS in their last
six home games and had a losing record when laying points.
NEW YORK 101-100.

***BEST BET
Charlotte over *Atlanta by 3
After ranking last in defensive efficiency last season, the Bobcats have shot all the way up to rank in the top five in this key category under first-year coach Steve Clifford. Kemba Walker has become a consistent backcourt scoring force and Al Jefferson gives Charlotte an inside go-to-guy. The Bobcats' best role has been as a road 'dog where they have covered the past 10 times! Atlanta remains a talented, but up-and-down squad.
CHARLOTTE 95-92.

*Houston over New Orleans by 8
Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans are back for New Orleans. But the Hornets are playing
without rest and are 5-8 ATS in their first 13 road contests.
HOUSTON 107-99.

Dallas over *Chicago by 3
It's not just Derrick Rose being out. The Bulls can't overcome their constant flow of
other injuries dropping 13 of 17 through this past Tuesday.
DALLAS 98-95.

***BEST BET
Denver over *Memphis by 9
Memphis was 4-9 during its first 13 games without Marc Gasol. The Grizzlies had lost
and failed to cover five of their last six at home through the third weekend of this
month.
DENVER 101-92.

Minnesota over *Milwaukee by 5
Both teams played last night, which gives Minnesota even a bigger edge considering
the Bucks' lack of depth. This is Milwaukee's lone game at Bradley Center during a
six-game span, but the Bucks were 4-10 ATS at home this season and coach Larry
Drew already has used 15 different lineups. It would be huge for Milwaukee if Caron
Butler stayed healthy and Brandon Knight consistently put up big point guard numbers.
MINNESOTA 102-97.

*Phoenix over Philadelphia by 7
Jeff Hornacek is an early candidate for coach of the year. The Suns have a backcourt
edge and a stronger bench. Philadelphia was 2-11 ATS in its last 13 games. No team
has been playing worse defense than the 76ers either.
PHOENIX 105-98.

*Portland over Miami by 1
LaMarcus Aldridge is giving LeBron James a run as the best player this season ranking
in the top eight in scoring and rebounding. The Heat lost at Portland last season
and the Trail Blazers are much improved this season. Statement time for the Trail
Blazers.
PORTLAND 100-99.

*Los Angeles Clippers over Utah by 7
The Jazz hosted the Lakers last night, but have proven to be a solid road value covering eight of their last 12 on the highway through last Sunday while posting straightup road victories against Phoenix, Denver, Sacramento, Orlando and Charlotte.
LA CLIPPERS 107-100.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

POINTWISE

NBA BASKETBALL

(1:05) BOSTON CELTICS 90 - Cleveland Cavaliers 89 _____ _____

(7:05) WASHINGTON WIZARDS 106 - Detroit Pistons 94 _____ _____

(7:05) INDIANA PACERS 113 - Brooklyn Nets 98 _____ _____

(7:05) New York Knicks 102 - TORONTO RAPTORS 101 _____ _____

(7:35) ATLANTA HAWKS 91 - Charlotte Bobcats 87 _____ _____

(8:05) HOUSTON ROCKETS 96 - New Orleans 95 _____ _____

(8:05) Dallas Mavericks 99 - CHICAGO BULLS 88 _____ _____

(8:05) Denver Nuggets 101 - MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 99 _____ _____

(8:35) Minnesota Timberwolves 104 - MILWAUKEE 92 _____ _____

(9:05) PHOENIX SUNS 103 - Philadelphia 76ers 96 _____ _____

(10:05) PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS 103 - Miami Heat 98 _____ _____

(10:35) LA CLIPPERS 113 - Utah Jazz 105 _____ _____

BEST BETS
MINNESOTA (2)
WASHINGTON (4)
DALLAS
PORTLAND

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Spartan

Dime Rutgers

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Chicago Syndicate

CFB
Big Play Cincinnati
Over Rutgers
Over Michigan

NBA
Over Cavs
Grizzlies

CBB
Kentucky
Bradley
Missouri
UCLA
Indiana State
No Iowa

[Can'tPickAWinner]

LA Syndicate

CFB
Big Play Over Michigan
Over Louisville

NBA
Over Suns

CBB
Arizona State
UCLA
New Mexico State