3-4-14

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Burns NHL
9* Carolina vs. San Jose Under 5.5
9* Devils ML
7* St Louis ML

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Bruce Marshall

Baylor - 2

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Vegas Gunners (NBA)
9:05 PM EST - LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS VS. PHOENIX SUNS
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS -4 (-110) - RISK 10 UNITS

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Betting First Look with Marco D'Angelo

CBB
Arizona St @ Oregon
Oregon-7 **Winning by 10 or more.

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Maddux

New Orleans/Lakers over 210.5
Miami Ohio +6.5
Arkansas St.-1.5

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JOE GAVAZZI

CBKB
4* Georgia Tech (+14)
4* Georgetown (+3)
4* Florida St. (-2)

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Las Vegas Pipeline

15* Baylor

10* Michigan

10* Creighton

10* Pacers

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Handicapping this week's mid-major conference tournaments

For some, March Madness doesn’t begin until Selection Sunday. For others, it starts with the big conference tournaments. But for numerous mid-major leagues around the country, March Madness starts this week with conference tournaments kicking off.

Here’s what to watch for in the mid-major conference tournaments beginning this week:

America East – March 8-15

Favorite: Vermont (21-9 SU, 3-3 ATS) – Vermont, an NCAA tournament staple that has a Cinderella moment to its name already, won the regular season title by two games. It will be looking forward to cashing in home-court advantage in the championship to do the conference double.

Upset watch: Albany (15-14 SU, ATS N/A) – Albany is the defending America East Tournament champ and will be looking to defend its title with a string of upsets.


Atlantic Sun – March 4-9

Favorite: Mercer -160 (21-8 SU, 0-2ATS) – Mercer comes into the Atlantic Sun tournament with the regular season title over Florida Gulf Coast and will be trying to avoid watching FGCU win the conference tournament and roll into the NCAA for a second year.

Upset watch: North Florida +7,000 (16-15 SU, 1-2 ATS) – The Osprey earned a 79-76 overtime win on Mercer's home court last week and are peaking at the right time.


Big South – March 5-9

Favorite: Coastal Carolina +280 (18-12 SU, 1-1 ATS) – Coastal Carolina is the winner of the South conference and has a narrow 72-70 non-conference loss to Ole Miss that shows its talent level.

Upset watch: Radford +650 (20-11 SU, 2-1 ATS) – With 20 wins, Radford has the most wins of any team in the Big South despite its 10-6 conference record.


Colonial Athletic Association – March 7-10

Favorite: Delaware +190 (22-9 SU, 14-8-1 ATS) – Delaware is 26th in the nation in scoring and is a sexy pick to be one of the Cinderella schools in the NCAA tournament. First it has to survive the Colonial tournament.

Upset watch: William & Mary +700 (18-11 SU, 15-7-1 ATS) – It’s 17th in the country from downtown and posting a solid 15-7-1 ATS mark. The Tribe are the team outside of 22-9 Delaware and Towson that could make a run in this tournament.


Horizon League – March 4-11

Favorite: Green Bay -210 (24-5 SU, 15-10 ATS) – Leading the way with leading scorer Keifer Sykes, Green Bay is the class of the Horizon League and could be a dangerous seed in the NCAA tournament in a couple of weeks.

Upset watch: Oakland +3,500 (12-19, 10-18 ATS) – Senior Travis Bader owns the NCAA career 3-point record for makes and could be a problem should he heat up this week.


MAAC – March 7-10

Favorite: Iona +165 (20-9, 14-13 ATS) – Iona clinched the regular season Metro title with a big road win over Manhattan over the weekend which edges them as the favorite over the Jaspers.

Upset watch: Canisius +525 (20-11 SU, 18-9 ATS) – While it may have lost out on the Metro regular season title by three games, Canisius hit the 20-win plateau and is in the Top 50 in many offensive categories in addition to a stellar ATS record.


Missouri Valley Conference – March 6-9

Favorite: Wichita State -400 (31-0 SU, 21-6-1 ATS) – Undefeated after the regular season, Wichita State will be looking to avoid being handed their first loss of the year in the conference tournament.

Upset watch: Indiana State +900 (21-9 SU, 11-17 ATS) – The Sycamores are considered the best challenge in the MVC to Wichita State's dominance.


Northeast Conference – March 5-11

Favorite: Robert Morris +110 (19-12 SU, 1-3 ATS) – After winning the 2013 NEC regular season title, Robert Morris failed to win the conference title for the third year after two straight championship game appearances. This year it hopes the fourth time is a charm.

Upset watch: St. Francis +750 (NY) (18-13 SU, 1-1 ATS) – St. Francis has one of the best defenses in the NEC and could be tough to break down during the conference tournament.


Ohio Valley Conference – March 5-8

Favorite: Belmont +110 (23-8 SU, 13-15 ATS) – Belmont always play a tough non-conference schedule and this year has managed to still get 23 wins, winning the OVC East by three games.

Upset watch: Morehead State +500 (19-12 SU, 11-16 ATS) – Always one of the toughest rebounding teams out there, you can never count out the fight of the Morehead State players.


Patriot League – March 3-12

Favorite: Boston University -115 (22-9 SU, 4-3 ATS) – Regular season champs, Boston University has talented all-around guard Maurice Watson Jr. who is averaging 13 points, six assists and two steals per game.

Upset watch: Bucknell +510 (16-13, 2-1 ATS) – Never count out the Bison, who did the conference double last year.


Southern Conference – March 7-10

Favorite: Davidson (19-11, 15-13 ATS) – The Wildcats remain the class of the SoCon and are once again favorites after a regular season title.

Upset watch: Elon (18-13, 11-16-ATS) – Elon handed Davidson its only conference loss this season and will be counting on that experience to prevent the Wildcats from another double.


Summit League – March 8-11

Favorite: North Dakota State (23-6, 11-13 ATS) – The Bison have the best field goal percentage in the nation at 50.1 percent and will be tough to knock off in the tournament. They are consistent as ever, winning seven straight to end the season.

Upset watch: Denver (15-14 SU, 11-13-1 ATS) – Denver is 21st in the nation from behind the 3-point line, and is the last team to knock off the Bison.


West Coast Conference – March 6-11

Favorite: Gonzaga -115 (25-6 SU, 15-13-1 ATS) – They may not be as highly regarded as they were last year, but once the Bulldogs are once again the class of the WCC heading into the tournament after a regular season title.

Upset watch: San Francisco +1,100 (20-10 SU, 15-11 ATS) – The Dons are on a five-game winning streak heading into the WCC tournament and could find a way to knock off favorites Gonzaga and BYU to shock the world and make the NCAA tournament.

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NHL

Tuesday, March 4


Wild acquire G Bryzgalov from Oilers

The Minnesota Wild acquired goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov from the Edmonton Oilers for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, the teams announced Tuesday.

The pick was acquired from Buffalo last season in the trade that brought right winger Jason Pominville to Minnesota.

"Bryzgalov is a quality veteran that adds depth to the goaltending position for our team," Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said in a statement.

The Togliatti, Russia native has appeared in 20 games with Edmonton this season, posting a 5-8-5 record with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. In his NHL career, Bryzgalov has posted a 213-157-50 record, with a .913 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average.


Canucks slumping on the road in New Year

The Vancouver Canucks have been atrocious on the road since the start of the new year. The Canucks are 1-10 on the road since the start of 2014, with their only win coming against the worst home team in the NHL (Edmonton).

The Canucks (+123) will visit the Phoenix Coyotes (-133) Tuesday.


Brodeur expected to start versus Wings Tuesday

Amid a flurry of trade rumors ahead of the NHL's trade deadline, it loos like the New Jersey Devils will give Martin Bordeur the start as the team hosts the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday.

Beat reporter Tom Gulitti tweeted that the veteran netminder would be getting the start on Monday.


Oilers league-worst home record makes them home dogs again

The Edmonton Oilers are a league worst 10-15-3 at home this season and that has consistently made them home dogs. Out of the 28 games the Oilers have played at Rexall Place this season, they have been the dog 18 times.

The Oilers (+104) will increase that total to 19-of-29 home dogs when they host Ottawa (-113) Tuesday.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAAB

Tuesday, March 4


Michigan looks to continue dominance vs. Illinois

The Michigan Wolverines will try to continue their dominance over the Illinois Fighting Illini when the two teams face off Tuesday night.

In the the last six meetings between the two teams the Wolverines are 5-1 straight up and 6-0 against the spread. Michigan is listed as a 2.5-point road fave versus Illinois tonight.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

MLB

Tuesday, March 4


LHP Santana signs with Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles signed free agent left-handed pitcher Johan Santana to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, the team announced Tuesday.

The 34-year-old Santana became a free agent after completing a $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets, who declined a $25 million option and paid a $5.5 million buyout.

Santana is a two-time Cy Young Award winner (2004 and 2006), a four-time All-Star (2005-07 and 2009) and a Gold Glove winner (2007).

Santana missed the 2011 season following shoulder surgery on Sept. 14, 2010, returned to pitch the Mets' first no-hitter on June 1, 2012, then missed last season after an operation on April 2 to repair a re-tear of the anterior capsule muscle in his left shoulder.

Santana is 139-78 with a 3.20 ERA in 360 career games (284 starts) with the Minnesota Twins and Mets since making his debut in 2000.

In a seven-season span from 2004-2010, he made at least 25 starts and posted an ERA of 3.33 or lower in each season, including five seasons with 29 or more starts and a sub-3.00 ERA. In that time, Santana led the majors in ERA (2.87) and strikeouts (1,479) and tied for second in wins (110).

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SBP Original NBA

3/4
509. Los Angeles Clippers -4

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Joe Gavazzi

NBA

10* Miami -1

CBB

10* Detroit +2
10* Northern Colorado +4
10* Marquette +3-
5* Michigan -3
5* Northern Illinois +9
5* Georgia State -2

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Dave Cokin:

525 Ohio +1
542 Ark St -1
546 Prov -2.5
552 Oregon -6

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Best Sports Picks

NBA
3* Indiana Pacers Over 196
3* Phoenix Suns +4

CBB
5* Florida -12
3* Syracuse -14
3* College +2