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B l a c K W i d o W / B i l L Y o u n G
6* W id ow W is eguy ESPN Thursday Night GAME OF THE MONTH on North Carolina +16.5(-107 at 5dimes)
The Tar Heels and Hokies have played some intense battles the last couple years, and expect the 2009 meeting to be another close one as well. VA Tech beat UNC 17-10 at home in 2007 as an 18.5-point favorite and 20-17 on the road in 2008 as a 3.5-point underdog. The Hokies outscored the Tar Heels 10-0 in the fourth quarter last season to get the win, so you know UNC has a sour taste in their mouth stemming back the past 2 seasons. This is revenge time for UNC who have had a couple disappointing losses this season, most notably their 27-30 loss to Florida State last week where they led 24-6 at one point. This is going to be one of the most hungry teams in Week 9 and they are worth a shot here playing motivated football as a big underdog to Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 10.5 or greater. The Tar Heels are also 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units)in road games after failing to cover the spread in 4 or 5 out of their last 6 games since 1992. UNC can keep this one close because of their defense as they allow just 16.4 points/game and 266 total yards/game. Virginia Tech is actually giving up 19.1 points/game and 317 totals yards/game in comparison. Take UNC and the points.
Spurs playing b2b but not worried this early in season. They took care of New Orleans easy last night, with key players playing limited (reasonable) minutes. No players logged more than 28 minutes. Parker, Duncan & Ginobili played 26, 22 & 23 minutes respectively. Hence, they should have fresh legs again tonight. San Antonio are loaded with new additions Jefferson, McDyess, Blair & Ratliff. Not to mention, their returning class of quality role players (Hill, Mason, Bonner etc). Chicago will have problems matching this depth (SA 2nd unit wins big), plus playing vs. a well coached talented team this early in season. Bulls are going to miss Ben Gordon big-time (20 ppg; go to guy late). Plus, Derick Rose will be limited with an injured ankle (20 minutes max). SA won both meetings by 5+ last season & have won L4 meetings overall, three by 10+ points. Take the Spurs.
The Gobblers have had a little extra time to stew about their 28-23 loss at Georgia Tech, and while I don't see them losing this game outright, I do think this impost is a little "too tall for the call".
North Carolina is the classic example of a team that can't handle being the favorite - 1-3 this season against the spread - but thrives in the underdog role - 7-3 against the spread under Butch Davis.
The Tar Heels have twice come close to knocking off the Hokies under Butch Davis, losing 17-10 at Blacksburg 2 years ago, and losing 20-17 at home last year as the slight favorite.
Virginia Tech is just 3-8 against the spread their last 11 games when favored, and while they have had a few blowouts this year, North Carolina's defense is staunch enough to hold the Hokies within earshot.
North Carolina entered the season with very high expectations, this is their chance to erase last Thursday's flop versus Florida State, and gain back some respectabilty.
I like the Tar Heels plus the points.
10 DIMER - PHILADELPHIA-NY YANKEES OVER (Martinez vs. Burnett)
Last night's UNDER - just barely! - made it a 14-3 UNDER run over the last 17 World Series games played.
I don't think that trend is moving to 15-3, as the New York bats will be quite happy to see their old friend Pedro "Who's your Daddy?" Martinez on the mound for this one, as they were totally dominated by southpaw Cliff Lee last night.
The Yankees will be able to hit Pedro this evening, and conversely we have seen AJ Burnett and his bouts with wildness this October, and tonight should be nothing new against the patient bats of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia has still be OVER the total in 8 of their last 10 road games, and I expect this one to go OVER as well.
Although the spread is sizable, we certainly do not like UNC QB Yates against the Hokies superb defense. The Tar Heels are averaging just 289.3 YPG on the offensive side of the ball and have lost three straight conference games. Yates has a lousy TD:INT ratio of 7:8, which is pretty unacceptable at this level. Since allowing Alabama to run wild in the opener, the VA Tech defense has been dominant, allowing just 317 yards and 19 points per game. Their one weakness is against the run, but note that the Tar Heels have rushed for 39 yards or less as a team in three different games this season. The Carolina defense has also been good, but they absolutely collapsed last Thursday at home vs. Florida State and who knows how they will respond from such a crushing loss? Plus, the Virginia Tech rushing attack of QB Taylor and RB Williams will be the toughest they've faced all season. Since joining the ACC, the Hokies have won all five meetings with the Tar Heels, so they seem to have their number. North Carolina has failed to score more than 17 points in each of the last four meetings. VA Tech has had a couple extra days to prepare (last played on 10/17), is coming off a loss, and is 12-6 ATS coming off a bye. They are also an excellent 14-3 ATS in Thursday night games (9-2 ATS at home) and have won 12 straight home games overall. UNC is just 1-13 SU in ACC road games outside of the Tar Heel State and in their last 16 road games against ranked opponents, the average loss has come by 22.6 PPG. Virginia Tech is our CFB Oddsmaker Mismatch.
The Spurs looked like they are poised to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference this season after destroying New Orleans last night. The Spurs made terrific off-season acquisitions with the additions of Antonio McDyess and Richard Jefferson, as well as drafting DeJuan Blair. However, the biggest difference this season is that the Spurs now have a healthy Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker. Meanwhile, Chicago does not have Ben Gordon this season, as he went to Detroit in the off-season. I think his absence will have an impact early on for the Bulls while they try to get in-sync with a new starting line-up. Derrick Rose is also banged up heading into this game, even though he is expected to start. San Antonio was able to rest their starters in the 4th quarter last night, so the back-to-back games won’t affect them at all, especially since it’s only the second game of the season. San Antonio has also been a good road team over the last few years. I feel that there is a significant difference between the better teams in the Western Conference and the mid-level teams in the Eastern Conference. Look for the Spurs to get a dominant road win tonight.
North Carolina is 7-2 UNDER thier last 9 road games vs. a team with a winning home record and they are 4-1 UNDER their last 5 road games. The Tarheels are 4-1 UNDER as an underdog of 10.5 or higher and they are 4-1 UNDER their last 5 games vs. the Hokies. Virginia Tech is 10-1 UNDER their last 11 Thursday games and they are 18-5 UNDER their last 23 games vs. a team with winning road record. The Hokies are 13-5 UNDER their last 18 home games as a favorite and they are 6-2 UNDER their last 8 games after allowing less than 170 yards passing in their last game. 10* "NO BRAINER" PLAY ON 'UNDER'
Detroit Red Wings vs. Edmonton Oilers
Play: Over 5½
Detroit is 34-16-1 OVER when playing with one day of rest and they are 7-3 OVER their last 10 road games. The Red Wings are 19-9 OVER vs. Northwest Division teams and they are 7-3-1 OVER their last 11 games at Edmonton. The Oilers are 20-6-1 OVER vs. an opponent that scored 5 or more goals in their last game and they are 4-1 OVER when playing with one day of rest. Edmonton is 5-2 OVER after scoring 2 or less goals in their last game and they are 5-2 OVER on Thursday. 10* PLAY ON 'OVER'
When ANY NBA Team played as a +6.5 to +9 Road Underdog - Vs Conference Opponent - Last 5 years - Coming off 1 over - Scored 110 or more points FOR in their last game; the OVER is 26-15-1 for the Road Underdog in this role the last 5 years. Take the Over.
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