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Brandon Lang Monday
15-Dime New Mexico State
5-Dime Texas
FREE - Connecticut
15-Dime New Mexico State
5-Dime Texas
FREE - Connecticut
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Re: 2-16-09
BURNS NCAA
APPALACHIAN STATE
Game: College of Charleston vs. Appalachian St. Game Time: 2/16/2009 7:30:00 PM Prediction: Appalachian St. Reason: I'm playing on APPALACHIAN STATE. I successfully played on the College of Charleston back on December 29. The Cougars covered the spread vs. Davidson in that game, losing by four points. More recently, on 2/7, the Cougars went one step further and won outright at Davidson. That was certainly impressive and that has the majority of the betting public believing that they will have no problem with lowly Appalachian State this evening. That's only natural, as one would think that if they could win at Davidson, that they would have little problem with the rest of the teams in this conference. However, a closer look shows that the Cougars have actually been struggling lately. In fact, if we take out the win at Davidson, they're just 2-4 their last six games. That includes a pair of losses vs. Citadel, as we as losses vs. Elon and Western Carolina. The Mountaineers come in off back to back losses of their own, falling on the road vs. both Western Carolina and Citadel. However, both those losses were by five points or less, with the Mountaineers missing the cover by a bucket or less in each of the setbacks. Prior to those losses, Appalachian State defeated Elon by double-digits and had won three of its previous four games, the lone loss coming by two points. In other words, the Mountaineers have been highly competitive in six straight games. That six-game stretch came after coach Houston Fancher had suspended guards Ryann Abraham and Eduardo Bermudez for an "attitude adjustment," although Bermudez has since returned. That move by Fancher sent a message to the players that they needed to work harder and put the team first, or there would be consequences. I feel that the move was effective and I look for the Mountaineers to respond with another big effort this evening. Appalachian State, which lost but covered vs. the Cougars earlier in the season, has gone 6 -3 ATS its last nine in this series. Now, the Mountaineers find themselves in one of their very best roles as they've gone 11-2-1 ATS (9-5 SU) the last 14 times that they were attempting to avenge an earlier road loss. Look for the revenge-minded Mountaineers to come away the victory, improving to 6-1 ATS the last seven times that they faced a team which scores 77 or more points, through 15 or more games of the season. *Best Bet
UNDER uconn/pittsburgh
Game: Pittsburgh vs. Connecticut Game Time: 2/16/2009 7:00:00 PM Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on Pittsburgh and UConn to finish UNDER the total. Both these teams currently rank in the top five in the country, making this a huge game. The Huskies are #1 while the Panthers, who were also #1 for a time, come in at #4. While both teams are fully capable offensively, its their defensive play which makes them so tough to beat. The Huskies come in allowing just 60.5 points per game, including 59.1 here at home. Opponents are hitting only 35.9% of their field goals, when playing here. The Huskies have been particularly dominant defensively lately, allowing an average of only 55.2 points through their past five games, holding opponents to a mere 33.6% shooting during that stretch. Pittsburgh's defensive numbers aren't quite that good. However, they're not that far behind, either. The Panthers are allowing only 62.1 points per game, including just 61.8 in games outside of Pittsburgh. Opposing teams are shooting just 39.1% from the field in those games. While road games vs. weak teams like Depaul and Rutgers have been high-scoring, the Panthers saw their road games against top tier teams Louisville, Georgetown (recent losing streak notwithstanding) and Villanova all stay below the total. Those three games finished with combined scores of 124, 132 and 124. Having held seven straight opponents to 61 points or fewer, it's no real surprise to find out that the Huskies have seen the UNDER go a profitable 6-1 their last seven games. Looking back further and we find the UNDER at 12-3 their last 15 games. These teams last met here last February. That game had an over/under line of 141, yet the teams produced a mere 113 combined points, only 44 in the first half. Look for this evening's game to also prove lower-scoring than many are expecting. *Main Event -
Re: 2-16-09
BURNS HOCKEY
COYOTES
Game: Edmonton Oilers vs. Phoenix Coyotes Game Time: 2/16/2009 9:35:00 PM Prediction: Phoenix Coyotes Reason: I'm playing on PHOENIX. The Coyotes are certainly struggling and it's true that they've had nothing but trouble with the Oilers of late. That should make them extremely desperate tonight and I expect them to respond with a massive effort. Yes, the Oilers did begin their road trip with a victory at LA. However, that was a rather fortunate win as it came in a shootout and the Oilers were outshot by a 41-21 margin. Even with that victory and the Coyotes' recent struggles, note that the Oilers' road record still isn't quite as good as Phoenix's home record. Both teams had yesterday off. While the Coyotes also have the next two days off, Edmonton plays a big game at San Jose, the top team in the West, tomorrow. That's worth noting as the Oilers are 0-4 the last four times that they played the front-end of back to back games. Three of those four losses came by four or goals or more and they came by a combined score of 25-8! The battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference will be an extremely competitive one and Gretzky and the Coyotes know that time is running out. Look for them to get back on track here, earning a very important and badly needed two points. *AnnihilatorComment
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Re: 2-16-09
Dr Bob
No Best Bets today. Opinions on Appalachian State and St. Peter's.
Monday College Opinions
APPALACHIAN STATE (+1) over Charleston
Rotation #510 – 4:30 pm Pacific
Charleston is coming off an upset loss to the Citadel and the Cougars apply to a very negative 34-110-1 ATS situation that is based on that loss. Unfortunately, my ratings favor Charleston by 2 ½ points in this game and I’m not willing to give up the line value to make Appalachian a Best Bet. Charleston has also been pretty good off a loss under coach Bobby Cremins (19-11-1 ATS). The situation, however, is strong enough for me to lean with Appalachian State despite the negative line value.
ST. PETER’S (-2 ½) over Marist
Rotation #514 – 5 pm Pacific
St. Peter’s has improved as the season has progressed and the Peacocks are 10-2-1 ATS since the beginning of January, including consecutive upset wins heading into this game. Marist, meanwhile, lost 8 consecutive games before beating Fairfield in their most recent game, and the Red Foxes are just 2-10 ATS this season when not getting at least 6 points. My ratings using all games this season only favor St. Peter’s by 2 points, but using conference games only would favor the Peacocks by 5 ½ points and I’ll lean with St. Pete’s at -3 or less based on a decent 56-21-3 ATS momentum situation.Comment
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Re: 2-16-09
Larry Ness' 15* TV Game of the Week-CBB
My 15* TV Game of the Week is on Texas A&M at 9:00 ET. Texas had been ranked all season (why not, the team entered this year having averaged 28.7 wins per year over the previous three seasons?), before a three-game losing streak (Jan 31-Feb 7) caused the Longhorns to fall from the top-25. Texas shot just 40.9 percent during its slide, including a poor 29.9 percent on threes. The team has rebounded by beating Okla St 99-74 in Austin and then won at Colorado 85-76 in OT on Saturday (Buffs are 1-9 in Big 12 play). I'm not ready to pronounce that the "Longhorns are back" after those two wins, although they could rejoin the AP top-25 when the poll is released on Monday afternoon. Abrams (17.3) and Mason (6.9-4.1-2.4) form an excellent backcourt duo but both are asked to play too many minutes. Abrams averages 32.2 MPG and Mason, 31.0. Freshman Ward (3.8-2.4) is starting to see some playing time in the backcourt but he's nothing special. Texas has four players in its frontcourt rotation, the 6-7 James (15.5-8.9), the 6-7 Johnson (11.2-5.9), the 6-10 Atchley (5.5-3.7) and coming off the bench, the 6-10 Pittman (8.7-4.3). Pittman's numbers up from 2.8-2.4 LY but there has been no net-gain, as Atchley's numbers are down from 9.5-5.3. A&M was 'rolling' after a Jan 14 win over Baylor at 15-2. However, a brutal three-game stretch (home to Okla, at Kan and at Tex) saw a three-game losing streak. The Aggies rebounded with home wins over Tex Tech and Okla St but enter this game on another three-game losing streak, with losses at Okla, home to Kan St and at Baylor. A&M is now 17-8 and a rather sad 3-7 in Big 12 play. However, the Longhorns will get their attention" and Texas typically brings out the best of them. A&M has the kind of depth that Texas covets. Nine players are part of the rotation, with six getting 22-plus minutes. The 6-9 Davis (10.6-6.2) and the 6-10 Elonu (10.0-7.6) are the team's top-two inside players, with 6-7 swingman Carter (13.3-4.2) coming into this game as the team's leading scorer. Sloan (11.4-3.1-3.7), Holmes (8.6) and Roland (5.7) are the biggest backcourt contributors. Expect A&M to bring its "A-game" tonight, as the Aggies have beaten the Longhorns in their last four visits to College Station, including wins by 100-82 and 80-63 the last two years. TV Game of the Week 15* Texas A&M.
Good Luck...LarryComment
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