Rating: 3 Unit Summit League Play of the Day

The visitor is 8-0 atop the Summit League, and also beat South Dakota State in a hastily scheduled, neutral site, third-game-in-three-nights situation for both sides back on Dec. 12, a game which did not count in the conference standings. Here we are in February for a re-match. South Dakota’s 8-0 was accomplished vs. the bottom four teams in the conference (who are 4-24 combined). The home side watched South Dakota’s Stanley Umide go for 41 points in the game that didn’t really count for much, and is thinking, ‘You only got 11 and 15 points against us last year.” SDS’ second-leading scorer, senior forward Douglas Wilson didn’t play in that game. Consider that South Dakota State is 29-9-1 ATS in their last 39 games following a ATS loss.

Rating: 2 Units

Despite a 3-8 SU mark last 11 against Miami, Washington has compiled a 7-2 spread mark the last 9 against the Heat, including 5 straight covers at American Airlines Arena. That includes the Wizards 103-100 win at Miami on Wednesday night (their 2nd cover in 2 games vs. the Heat this season), when Washington G Bradley Beal scored 32 pts., leading his team to a win despite the fact that Russell Westbrook was rested. Look for another razor-thin, make-and-a-miss decision in this one.

Rating: 2 Units

The Hornets fell to 0-3 vs. the 76ers this young season on Wednesday night. Philly is just not a good match-up for them, as one could easily surmise by envisioning Cody Zeller being posterized by Joel Embiid for 31 minutes. For this, the home dog is rested and catches the Jazz playing the second of back-to-backs, coming out of Atlanta last night. Hot, first-place teams like Jazz can overcome negative situations against habitual also rans like the Hornets. But Charlotte’s Gordon Heyward and LaMelo Ball present some challenges that didn’t exist when the Jazz won here (and home) with rest against the Hornets last season. The Hornets’ new trait of hanging in there in second halves can serve them well against the second of back-to-backers.

Rating: 3 Unit NCAAB Total of the Day

Notes to consider... This one gets re-scheduled for tonight after last Friday’s postponement, which caused some now-familiar re-shuffling of the A-Sun schedule last weekend. The Mad Hatters instead got FGCU and eventually broke a 4-game skid when beating the Eagles on Saturday, which also snapped a 5-game Stetson “under” streak. Prior to that 77-66 win, Stetson was only scoring 63 ppg in its previous six league games, as HC Donnie Jones has a tight rein on his troops, who often rely upon soph G Rob Perry (such as the win over FGCU, when he scored 30). Lipscomb not especially dynamic, either, scoring just 66 ppg its last six A-Sun games

Rating: 2 Units

Indiana just 6-8 SU in their last 14 games, but road wins have been hard to come by for New Orleans, which has dropped 7 of its last 9 on the road SU and failed to cover the last 3. That Pelican record thanks in large part to poor defensive efforts that have also correlated to a 4-0 “over” mark in L4 away from their nest. That being said, Pel F Zion Williamson developing into a force, scoring 26 ppg and shooting 62% over his last 12 games, and he’s receiving ample support from F Brandon Ingram and Gs Eric Bledsoe. Still feel Pacers hold edge and number seems a bit thin with talent like Domantas Sabonis (26 ppg, 11 rpg, 63% L5Gs) and Malcolm Brogdon (22 ppg L13) on board and Jeremy Lamb shooting 45% from beyond the arc and scoring 13 ppg since returning from his ACL rehab.

Rating: 3 Unit Big West Play of the Day

The Fabulous Bakersfield Boys have won four Big West road games and in a fifth, lost in overtime. They’ve also won at Pepperdine by 17 points, a team that beat Cal-Irvine by 15 points. Oh, if it was only that easy, right? The host Anteaters are the Big West’s top dog, never primed to play their best early in the season but usually ready to jump from the starting blocks when the conference light goes on. They’ve been forewarned about the uppityness of this visitor, and just had a seven-game winning streak snapped in overtime at Hawaii over the weekend. At 5-1 in conference to Bakersfield’s 7-3, the Anteaters need to make sure that when the visitor leaves here after tomorrow night, it will make the trip northward still with more losses than Irvine. Consider that Irvine is 20-6-2 ATS in their last 28 home games.

Rating: 2 Units

The home side is off back-to-back road losses at Horizon League leader Cleveland State. The visitor is last in the Horizon League in both offensive and defensive field goal percentage (40.5% shooting, 50.2% shooting allowed). IUPUI is also last in the conference in rebounding margin (-4.8 per game). So, if they miss more than everyone else, and everyone else makes more against them, and they can’t grab enough boards, then this would seem to be a good spot for Green Bay to get back on the winning track, eh?

Rating: 2 Units

Through six Big Sky games, Portland State has the conference’s worst field goal percentage: 37.6%. That’s one of the nation’s worst, too. A habitually strong defensive squad like Montana doesn’t figure to allow them to suddenly start making shots more frequently. PSU’s Assist/Turnover ratio is -4.5.

Rating: 2 Units

Memphis just had its 7-game win streak snapped in Indiana on Tuesday in a 134-116 setback, while Houston similarly is coming off a loss at Oklahoma City last night that ended the Rockets’ 6-game win skein. Houston G John Wall was rested against the Thunder last night, likely in anticipation that he would be good to go against Griz’ PG Ja Morant in this one. Memphis has been missing C Jonas Valanciunas and G Grayson Allen due to Covid protocols for a few games, and Morant almost reinjured his bad ankle on Monday and made just 2 of 10 shots on Tuesday. Feel Houston the more talented club (Wall, Oladipo, Eric Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins all AS-level in their careers and Christian Wood will be there soon).

Rating: 2 Units

Philadelphia is coming off a 118-111 win at Charlotte last night, led by Joel Embiid’s 34 pts., while Portland was off last night. Blazers are 4-1 SU and 4-0-1 against the points the last few years against Philly, but things have changed with the Trail Blazers lineup compromised by injuries, while the maturing Sixers are fighting for the best record in the East. That being said, Philly has yet to cover (0-4) this season playing the 2nd of back-to-back games, despite Sixer trio of Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris each playing in 3 of the 4 chances.

Rating: 2 Units

The Utes suddenly look like a dangerous spoiler in Pac-12 play, continuing their steady improvement and serving notice that they’re not a team you want to underestimate in February by posting a 77-74 upset at Colorado. Arizona has won four of five and has overcome injury-related attrition thanks to the backcourt of transfers James Akinjo (Georgetown) and Terrell Brown (Seattle) in addition to the impressive development of freshmen Bennedict Mathurin and Azuolas Tubelis. Consider that Utah is 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games as an underdog and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games as a home underdog.

Rating: 2 Units

These teams played only once last season. Iowa prevailed at home 85-76 last Feb. 20, surging ahead to a double-digit halftime edge before holding on. The Wesson brothers were the driving force behind last season’s team while this year’s key cogs, forward E.J. Liddell, guard Duane Washington, Jr. and shooter Justin Ahrens all came off the bench. Luka Garza led Iowa with 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting and will likely draw matchups with Kyle Young and Liddell, who will look to find a way to keep Garza from finding a rhythm. Even at home, this should be the toughest test the Hawkeyes have received since its 80-75 loss to Illinois to close out February. The Buckeyes should be a live ‘dog and could win outright.

NCAAB Play of the Day

Heady times for the host Eagles, 10-2 in second place in the OVC, nine straight wins The play of 6’10," 235 freshman Johni Broome has helped them along and he didn’t even play when the Eagles beat these Racers 61-56 on the road last month. It was the only game Broome has missed this season and his teammates shot only 2-for-14 on three-pointers but still came out on top. That’s how good the overall team defense has been. They’ve covered seven in a row and are 13-4 ATS to Murray State’s 5-8-1 ATS.

Rating: 2 Units

After the Celtics concluded their homestand with a 3-point loss to the Lakers, they had two open dates before last night’s opener of a five-game Western road trip at Golden State. The Kings, who won at New Orleans on Monday after being in Florida all last week, are lagging behind the visitor in re-acclimating to the West Coast, which they do coming off the high of a rare, winning road trip (3-1). Sacramento beats Boston occasionally: six times in the last 25 meetings. Occasionally = not often, eh?

Rating: 2 Units

The Wolfpack want to run whenever possible while the ‘Hoos want to slow the game down, so that tug of war should help decide this one. Without Daniels, I don’t see N.C. State having enough firepower to overcome a focused Cavaliers team coming off a loss. Consider that Virginia is 25-10-1 ATS in their last 36 games as a road favorite and 30-13-1 ATS in their last 44 road games.

NBA Play of the Day

The Spurs went 1-1 in Minnesota recently in a back-to-back. They scored 88 points losing the second. Popovich can never seem to get this team to play well in the second night of a back-to-back. He’s always using it as an excuse. It’s like he hates the situations, doesn’t believe they should exist and doesn’t care, turning them into write-offs before games that offer more prep time with more energy on tap. Hey, whatever "spurs" him and his team to victory, right? San Antonio has been home since early last week. They’ve had a day in between the second straight big-margin loss vs. Memphis, and this. With an allegedly "offensive minded" roster, the T’Wolves rank #28 in points per possession

Rating: 2 Units

Rockets are rolling against ordinary opposition since relieving themselves of James Harden. OKC’s -8.3 scoring differential indicates that they are less than ordinary. Their -16.8 scoring differential on their home floor is bizarre, but it is what it is. The 136-106 win by Houston against them on Monday was what it was, including a ***BEST BET winner for us. The handwriting is on the wall. “We have a coachable group, we have a mature group who want what’s best, not just for them but everybody in the group,” Rockets’ head coach Stephen Silas said after Monday’s rout. The OKC group is not a mature group. It’s young and re-building, which is why Billy Donovan wanted out.

Rating: 2 Units

Miami, your Eastern Conference champ of last season, is #13 in the East! You know, we never really thought they were that good, and we’ve noted that they made their big run last season as an underdog. Now, they’re favored way too often. Washington was only one game behind them in the standings when the Wizards took the floor vs. Portland last night, making this a second of back-to-backs, home to road situation against a rested home side. The rested home side has lost six of last seven, nine of last 12.

Rating: 2 Units

Wichita State is 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record, 20-6 ATS in their last 26 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game, and 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall. While Tulane is  1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall, and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog.

Rating: 2 Units

Guess who’s won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the Hawks and Mavericks? It’s Atlanta. Remember, Dallas missed the playoffs, just like Atlanta usually does, three straight seasons before making it last year. If the season ended today, the Mavericks would finish 13th in the West. Their points differential is -2.1. Atlanta, 10-9 and playing with a playoff mandate from the owner, is +3.0 and #6 in the East. Struggling teams usually don’t re-discover their good mojos when they leave home and play on the road. Dallas has dropped six straight, nine of their last 11, four straight at home. The most recent loss was with a full roster after Maxi Kleber was the last guy to finally return from their mandated absences. The Hawks were right there with the Lakers at 98-97 the other night, then endured a 0-16 drought into the fourth quarter. Clint Capela didn’t get much use after he got his third foul with 9:57 left in the second quarter.

Rating: 2 Units

Pitt is coming off Saturday’s lopsided home loss to Notre Dame and is due a bounce-back effort tonight. But unless playing that contrarian angle, hard to construct a persuasive case for the Panthers, still awaiting a real breakthrough for 3rd-year HC Jeff Capel. That seems to be happening at VPI, as Mike Young’s Hokies have moved all of the way up to a No. 16 ranking in the polls after a couple of big efforts last week that included a rousing 65-51 whip of Commonwealth rival Virginia on Saturday. That not only made Cav alums like Brit Hume cringe but also marked a fifth win in six games for Young’s surging side, which has really clamped down on the stop-end in the recent surge, allowing only 58 points per game across those last five wins.

Rating: 2 Units

This visitor has won five straight over tonight’s home favorite, including two games last season. Ben Howland to Eric Musselman, who’s headed Arkansas only for the two most recent defeats against the Bulldogs: ‘I own your program.’ Because they are able to protect the rim, rebound better and contain the tempo

Rating: 2 Units

The Badgers haven’t stopped playing their pack line defense and getting back religiously. They’re still running offense methodically, playing at the slowest pace in the Big Ten. However, concerns over the effectiveness of their defense in 2021 have taken center stage since they just lost 81-71 on Saturday against the same Nittany Lions team they’ll welcome into the Kohl Center on Tuesday night. Although a double-OT win over Indiana skews the following slightly, Wisconsin has surrendered over 70 points in six of its last 10 dating back to a Christmas Day win over Michigan State. It had surrendered no more than 67 over its first eight contests. Teams have figured out that you can push against the Badgers, and Penn State is going to come into Madison quite confident after scoring 50 second-half points in upsetting Wisconsin to close out January

Rating: 2 Units

The Pacers didn’t fall for any of the Grizzlies’ play-dead tricks when they beat them twice within a week last year, 126-114 and 117-104. But the games were played in late November and early December, when Memphis was 6-14 on the way down to 10-19, before they took off in early January on a run that left them with a season-best 28-26 record by mid-February. It’s probably fair to say that the Grizzlies are a different team now than they were when they played Indiana last season. It’s a second of back-to-backs for Memphis off a 29-point win Monday night. They’re 1-0 SU and ATS with no rest (at Brooklyn, off at Cleveland in early Jan.). “We’ve got a lot of depth,” Memphis guard Tyus Jones said after completing the authoritative sweep of San Antonio last night. “You’ve got to use that to your advantage night in and night out. It’s a long season.”

Rating: 2 Units

No Paul George? No problem. Who needs him? No Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Patrick Beverly, no problem? That’s how it’s mostly been for the Clippers on their six-game road trip so far. After losing in Atlanta (winning record), they’ve won in Miami, Orlando and New York (three losers). The Clippers can clinch a winning trip here before playing in Cleveland tomorrow night, but the Nets’ 13-9 record indicates that they are “winners,” for lack of a better term. There’s certainly more scoring talent on the Brooklyn roster than within those Heat, Magic and Knicks rotations.

Rating: 2 Units

A problem with the Magic is that they put up the fifth-most most shots per game (91.3, with San Antonio #1 at 92.3), with the worst Effective Field Goal Percentage (48.8%). They get to the free-throw fewer times than anybody except Phoenix and Memphis. That is quite the inefficient offense! The Orlando Magic know they will need to get off to a better start Tuesday night if they are going to defeat the visiting Toronto Raptors. The Magic trailed 27-15 after shooting 27.8 percent from the field in the first quarter on the way to a 115-102 loss to the Raptors Sunday night at Tampa. To make matters worse for the Magic, Aaron Gordon left the game in the third quarter with a left ankle injury. He was going to be evaluated to determine the severity of the injury. Gordon scored 14 points. Consider that Toronto is 7-0 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

Rating: 2 Units

A 41-28 halftime deficit at Purdue did not deter the Terps from making a comeback try that covered the spread in a 73-70 road loss. They displayed good ball security throughout that game, took more free throws than the home side, two areas that should help them make the not-large margin they’d need to be successful home chalk in the revenge match-up.

Rating: 2 Units

After losing at home to St. John’s on Sunday afternoon, Marquette has matched a season-long three-game losing streak but it does have a win at Creighton and a home win over Wisconsin on its resume, not to mention enough talent to go on a run if everything gels together. The schedule is friendly too, featuring a visit to Seton Hall as the toughest road game and no more matchups with Big East-leading Villanova. Butler comes off a 68-55 home loss to Xavier and is 3-6 over its last nine, scoring 60 or fewer points in each of its setbacks. The Bulldogs shot 5-for-25 from 3-point range at Hinkle Fieldhouse in a blowout loss to the Muskies over the weekend and leading scorers Aaron Thompson and Jair Bolden shot a combined 15-for-45 (33 percent) in last week’s losses, combining for just 33 points over a two-game span.

Rating: 3 Unit Big-12 Play of the Day

Despite playing without leading scorer Austin Reaves and starting guard Alondes Williams because of virus protocols, the Sooners took care of red-hot Alabama at home. But you knew that Alabama would have problems vs. Oklahoma (because it said so, in our paper!). The Red Raiders don’t mind Sooner style and as a familiar Big 12 foe, they’ll know what to do if Reaves and Williams are out again for the visitor. One player out of the three who came off the Sooners’ bench scored points vs. Alabama. The home team is 10-2-1 ATS in the last 13 meetings

Rating: 2 Units

You’re supposed to get better as you get recently absent guys back, but the Mavericks have lost five straight, the last few with Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson back. But when they lost to Phoenix on Saturday, the rather large presence of Kristaps Porzingis was missing (second of back-to-backs, can’t ask a young millionaire to extend himself when the team has lost four straight, no sireee, can’t have that!). Not that the Suns didn’t have their own handicap, with Devin Booker out (he’ll be out again) and Dario Saric failing to make his expected return. Maybe tonight for him?

Rating: 2 Units

The Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans were both showing improvement. Then they both lost Saturday night. Now they'll both try to bounce back when the Kings visit the Pelicans on Monday night. The Kings saw a season-best, three-game winning streak end when Jimmy Butler returned from a 10-game COVID-related absence to lead the host Miami Heat to a last-minute 105-104 victory that ended their five-game losing streak. Consider that Sacramento is 21-8 ATS in their last 29 games as a road underdog. Kings are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Rating: 3 Unit NBA Play of the Day

It doesn’t make much sense, but OKC’s average home-game scoring margin through seven dates at Chesapeake Energy Arena is -14.9, through a 1-6 SU record. Obviously, they haven’t figured out what “We must protect this house!” is all about. Their overall -7.0 scoring differential is the league’s second-lowest next to Minnesota’s -10.5. The re-tooling Rockets, fueled in part by the verbal slights of former teammate James Harden, in part by his very absence (and being able to play basketball again instead of standing around watching him shoot), have won five straight. The vanquished quintet includes nobody going anywhere special in the NBA this season. Add another to the list

Rating: 2 Units

Jimmy Butler returned, played well, better than expected, but still Miami didn’t cover against us on Saturday night. Miami is 2-7-1 ATS since Jan. 16. They have a legitimate right to improve with Butler, Andre Iguadola and Tyler Herro back on the floor, although Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley didn’t play vs. the Kings. So they’re still a little iffy. This is the lone road game in a nine-game stretch for the Hornets, who played the Heat only twice last season: a loss in November.  Consider that Charlotte is 12-4-1 ATS in their last 17 games playing on 1 days rest and 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 games as an underdog.

Rating: 2 Units

Valparaiso is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss. While Evansville is 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 home games, 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win, and 6-2-2 ATS in their last 10 Monday games.

Rating: 2 Units

Sacramento State is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss, 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog. While Eastern Washington is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400. In addition, underdog is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings while the road team is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

Rating: 2 Units

Two Georgia Tech starters – Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe – played all 40 minutes in the home win vs. Florida State on Saturday. Forward Moses Wright played 38 minutes. That much floor time against a deep Seminoles rotation, and coming out with a win, will have probably taken something out of them for this trip, for which Louisville is rested and off a loss, no game since Wednesday.

Rating: 3 Unit CBB Play of the Day

The over is 16-3 in Rebels last 19 Sunday games, 9-4 in Rebels last 13 games following a ATS loss, and 37-18 in Rebels last 55 games following a straight up loss. While the Over is 16-5 in Wolf Pack last 21 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400, 16-6 in Wolf Pack last 22 games as a favorite, and 15-7-1 in Wolf Pack last 23 overall

Rating: 2 Units

You would have thought Joel Embiid to sit at Minnesota after Philly had beaten the Lakers, but there was a day of rest in between and with the T’Wolves playing without both Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid, he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to rack up the points (37) and rebounds (11) against 6’9", 222 Ed Davis and other overmatched fellas. Hopefully, that sets up the 76ers to be overvalued in this next road match-up, for which the home side has Domontas Sabonis to score inside, and Myles Turner to deny some scoring inside, while scoring some himself.

Rating: 2 Units

First game off a pause for Evansville, not the kind of team you’d expect to come out dishing and swishing efficiently off lack of practice time and no games. Consider that Valparaiso is 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games as a favorite and 15-6 ATS in their last 21 games as a road favorite.

Rating: 3 Unit MVC Play of the Day

The Braves of Bradley enter off four straight losses. The Sycamores of Indiana State have won four straight. ‘Oh! Ohhh! It’s two teams headed in opposite directions!’ Ah, not so fast, my friend. Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing gives us the scout: “They’re going to be like a rabid dog in a cage and will be healthy as they weren’t in some of these losses. They’re two-time defending [MVC Tournament] champions for a reason. Elijah Childs is a handful, you can’t guard him with one guy and they’re one of the best defensive teams in the league, mostly man, but some zone. We’re going to have to play our best game of the year.” This, immediately after he suspended senior guard Tobias Howard (20.5 minutes per game) the other day. Therefore, we’ll figure it’s actually two teams about to be headed in directions opposite of their most recent. Consider that Indiana State is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog.

Rating: 3 Unit NBA Play of the Day

Utah has reeled off 11 straight wins, the past two without Donovan Mitchell and Derrick Favors, and at 15-4 own the best record in the NBA. The Jazz will put that streak on the line when they visit the Nuggets for an early afternoon matchup today. Mitchell (concussion protocol) and Favors (lower back soreness) haven't played since last Tuesday but traveled to Denver on Friday while their teammates were completing a two-game home sweep of the Dallas Mavericks. Their status for Sunday is unknown. If one or both can't play, it will be tougher to beat a Nuggets team that has found some footing over the past few weeks, but Utah has played well without them, too. Different players have stepped up in their absence, giving the Jazz a boost against the Mavericks. Consider that Utah is 11-1 ATS in their last 12 games following a straight up win.

Rating: 2 Units

Drexel is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games overall. While James Madison is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 home games and 5-14 ATS in their last 19 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.

Rating: 2 Units

Oh, the Owls are not gonna lose the first home game they play since the death of the program’s long-time head coach John Chaney the other day. No way, Jose. Head coach Aaron McKie played for Chaney. The fact that Tulane is the opponent, and that Tulane has problems putting the ball in the basket, almost guarantees the straight-up victory against a Green Wave team that got on a plane after missing 24 of their first 26 shots at home vs. Houston

Rating: 2 Units

Off a home win against the no-care Lakers, Detroit embarks on a five-game Western trip from which nothing good can possibly come, including two back-to-backs in four different cities that conclude with Utah and the Lakers again (trying, this time, perhaps). This would be the Pistons’ best chance to win one of the five, but the Warriors have been Jekyll-and-Hyde home and road this season so far, with a +5.8 differential here. (Pistons road differential is -6.5.)

Rating: 2 Units

The Heat have done nothing good all week with a handful of key missing persons still out. But remember the ol’ Texas Triangle of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, a hellish trio for visitors to negotiate in the space of four night? The Kings complete a Tarpon Trio here after winning in Orlando and Tampa (Toronto) Wednesday and Friday. Of course, it’s only Orlando, Toronto and Miami, three struggling Eastern Conference teams. Miami has the league’s longest active losing streak (five). Goran Dragic is out, as are Meyers Leonard, Moe Harkless, Chris Silva. Andre Iguadola and Avery Bradley are questionable, as is Jimmy Butler, who has missed nine games and shouldn’t be expected to put a handicapped squad on his back first time out, if he plays at all.

Rating: 3 Unit NBA Play of the Day

Very disappointed about how the Rockets lost the first and fourth quarters badly vs. Portland the other night, but killed them in the second and third, only to have it all add up to a 3-point Houston win with the Rockets laying -4, Portland losing the game but unfortunately covering the spread. We don’t see good things ahead for the Blazers. Thursday’s result – as far as they were and are concerned, unless they’re betting – dropped them from #5 to #8 in the West, exactly the direction we see them headed, especially if they get to the free-throw line only 8 times, as was the case in Houston. The Bulls already beat them in Portland 111-108 without a few players who didn’t make that trip, when now-absent Nurkic and McCollum combined for 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for the Blazers

Rating: 2 Units

Who hesitated with Va. Tech vs. Notre Dame when it was announced that Va. Tech would be missing a starter? Don’t do that! At least, not when they’re playing a nobody like Notre Dame. Against highly ranked Virginia, you can worry about how the Hokies can generate enough offense against good defense. This could get ugly for Virginia Tech considering how well UVa is playing, arriving in town having won seven straight contests. Six of those victories have come by nine or more points.

Rating: 3 Unit Mismatch of the Day

The Governors of AP have three games under their belt since a pause ended. They’re just 1-2 in those games but got a few players back on the floor in the third Thursday night, in which they were a tad unlucky when Belmont – now 11-0 in the OVC – shot 62.7% for the game against them to beat ’em by 5 points. Off two straight home losses and looking at four straight on the road after this, ya’ think maybe they can carry over the effort against the conference’s best team (against whom they put four players in double figures) and bury the last-place team they’ve already beaten on the road by 11 points? Consider that Austin Peay is 20-8-1 ATS in their last 29 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

Rating: 4 Unit MAC Game of the Week

The Golden Flashes of Kent State are one of three MAC teams averaging greater than 80 points per game in league play. The Chippewas of CMU are not one of the three. But they are one of two teams giving up greater than 80 points per game in league play. Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Kent State scored 94 vs. CMU on the road despite a pair of foul-outs by starting forwards Tervell Beck and Justin Hamilton, who were limited to less than they average minutes. CMU allegedly couldn’t put enough guys in uniform to go to Buffalo on Wednesday. This game may or may not be played but the match-up favors the home side when CMU is at full strength, so…

Rating: 2 Units

In Salt Lake City earlier this month, Utah led 37-27 at halftime. They came out of the locker room to watch the Buffs go 15-0 until Utah made its first field goal with 14:11 remaining. “This is a big, physical team,” Utah head coach Larry Krystowiak said afterwards. “They pounded us. We missed block outs.” They’d lost 91-52 here last year, after which he’d said, “It’s a veteran team that’s physical and we got exposed on the level of physicality.” In other words, nothing changed.

Rating: 2 Units

Many folks will crave Morehead because the Eagles are 12-4 ATS, have won eight straight outright, covered the last six in a row and are the top defensive squad in the Ohio Valley. But be careful. Laying as much as they are on the road is uncharted waters for this program, which beat Tennessee Tech by only 57-54 at home three weeks ago and lost by 12 points on this floor last season. Tech returns home off 3- and 9-point losses at Austin Peay and Murray State, programs whose class has been extended through the conference for a much longer duration than semi-upstart Morehead’s. They’ve been home all week awaiting this, while Morehead made a 9-hour trek to get here after Thursday night’s game in Jacksonville, FL, where they shot 59% in the second half.

Rating: 3 Unit CAA Play of the Day

Seventh game off a long pause, 2-4 and off three straight road losses, Towson returns home determined for a much better beginning than the 43-25 deficit they faced at halftime at James Madison on Wednesday night. It was actually the second bad deficit vs. JMU they’ve had at the half, and JMU happens to be leading the CAA in scoring, and in three-point FG% (42.3%). The visiting Tribe hasn’t topped 67 points in any of its last four games, didn’t win any of the four before them scoring between 40 and 73 points. They’re shooting 38.9% overall in CAA play, just 27.1% on three pointers. A far cry from last year’s 46.8% and 33.4% numbers.

Rating: 4 Unit NCAAB Game of the Week

The home side averages 81.7 points per game. RMU’s leading scorer, 6’7”, 210 AJ Bramah, averages 21.5 points per game without making a three-pointer all season. (Nobody else averages more than 9.3.) Wright’s sticky-fingered zone would figure to deny Bramah the ball inside and even if he gets it in there, he’d still be up against a wide body in the home side’s 6’8”, 260 Loudon Love, no slouch on the offensive end himself with a 14.6 points per game average (and 10.3 rebounds). Tanner Holden leads Wright State with 16.9 points per game and four others are averaging 8.7 to 13.7 points per game behind Love, two of them grabbing 6.9 and 6.3 boards per game and Holden, a 6’6” guard, getting 7.7 boards per game. Too much all around for the home side, it would seem. Consider that Wright State is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.

Rating: 3 Unit NBA Play of the Day

Everyone Denver has played lately has been missing key players, Miami being the latest: “That team was missing Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, a lot of their top players,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “I don’t know if we’re as good as we played tonight.” Probably not. Denver is shooting to complete a 5-0 road trip. Who does that? Few do! Heck, the Lakers, who were 10-0 on the road, just lost at Philly. The Nuggets didn’t play here last season, beating the Spurs by 7 at home, by 6 in the Bubble, with San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozen absent for the first meeting and LaMarcus Aldridge absent for the second. As the Nuggets lose the 19.5 minutes they get from injured guard P.J. Dozier per game, the Spurs welcome back point guard Derrick White, who averaged 11.3 points per game and 3.5 assists in his 24.7 minutes last season. Every little bit help

Rating: 2 Units

Fade the Raptors. They’re 6-12 ATS, and playing in Tampa, FL, not Toronto, Canada. They’re all excited that Kyle Lowry just got his 10,000th NBA point, as if that means anything in the standings, where they are currently #11 in the East, (Knicks are #8, Orlando #9, Chicago #10). That’s bad company to be keeping! The Kings were 0-2 vs. Toronto last season but the Raptors were better then, and the margins were only 5 and 4 points.

Rating: 2 Units

Scott Brooks, head coach of the 3-11 SU, 6-8 ATS Wizards: “We know that we’re going to be healthy and everything’s going to be much better when we have our entire group.” Somebody should tell him that they don’t necessarily need Russell Westbrook, who sat the second of back-to-backs Wednesday and should return for this. Five other Wizards were absent Wednesday. Atlanta has no such personnel issues at the moment, could get Rajon Rondo back for this.

Rating: 2 Units

Life is all about second chances, which the Hornets get tonight after dropping the first of this two-games-in-three-nights set to the Pacers, 116-106. Falling behind 36-19 after one quarter (which they did on Wednesday) is for losers, and that’s pretty much what the Hornets have been doing year in and year out for a while, so we can’t expect miracles here. Sabonis faked everyone out and played the other night for Indiana, getting a triple-double in 37 minutes. Some sprain.

Rating: 2 Units

The traveling Hawks of Monmouth are 7-3, third in the MAAC, and looking at eight straight road games to close their regular season, four back-to-backs. Yo-ho. It all starts with their longest possible trip, to the NY-Canadian border where they lost 77-72 last season shooting 6-for-29 on threes and 55.6% at the foul line. Long bus ride, from south central Jersey, eh? The home underdog is 3-1 SU in their wayward outpost.

Rating: 2 Units

New Mexico’s only wins have been against Rice, Our Lady of the Lake, Le Tourneau, Dixie State and San Jose State. Egads! In true MWC road games (their home games have been all over the place, not in The Pit), they are scoring a mere .84 points per possession. One of their problems – and there have been many – is handling opposing bigs. So, it could be a good night to be Fresno State’s 7’, 235 Orlando Robinson (17.5 ppg, 9.1 reb).

Rating: 3 Unit NBA Play of the Day

The Blazers, a mostly lousy defensive team, hit the road after being quite unimpressive splitting their final two home games before this five-game trip. They are missing two key scorers, Jokic and McCollum. The Rockets are playing with a chip on their shoulder following the Harden trade, with three straight wins and John Wall and Danuel House back in the house for a few games each. Center Christian Wood is expected to rejoin them tonight after a multi-game absence. They are intent on proving Harden wrong about being able to contend. The Blazers are in fifth place in the West, but we feel they have ankle weights attached. The Rockets are eleventh, but only two game  behind the Blazers. Time to continue rising and put more water in the Blazers’ leaky boat.

Rating: 2 Units

Izzo wouldn’t have picked this game to come back from a pause if he didn’t think he had some kind of advantage. He’d have found a way to say, ‘Er, no, we can’t play again, yet, because, uhh, we’re not ready. Yes, that’s it.’ Rutgers has never beaten Michigan State since coming into the Big Ten. Earlier this month, Rutgers took points at Michigan St. and lost by considerably more than the spot. They are favored vs. Michigan St. despite never having beaten them.

Rating: 2 Units

St. Johns is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. While Depaul is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win.

Rating: 3 Unit SEC Play of the Day

With five kids averaging double figures and a 7’3” player like Connor Vanover who can step out, take and make three pointers, Arkansas has the potential to turn Kermit Davis’ Ole Miss defenders into Kermit the Frogs. Ole Miss enters off a pair of low-scoring wins (64-46, 61-50) against Mississippi State and Texas A&M, a pair of suspect-shooting grinders who can’t really spread the floor on offense.

Rating: 2 Units

The 14-4 SU Lakers are now 10-0 SU on the road and we were right about Lebron (46 points) planning to have a big-numbers game in Cleveland the other night, even if the SOBs decided to make it interesting and wait until the fourth quarter to win by only 7 points. They’re playing for the road streak, obviously. Philly, 12-6 SU atop the East, rested Joel Embiid the other night because they’re playing to end the road streak of the championship team in a "not in our house!" night, as well as cut the margin between themselves and the Lakers to just 1 game in the overall standings for best record.

Rating: 2 Units

Last year’s Raptors beat Milwaukee in the Bubble when the Bucks weren’t playing so hot, just waiting for the playoffs to start so they could continue to fail to meet expectations, there, too. This year’s Raptors aren’t playing so hot themselves, still sub-.500 SU (7-10), 6-11 ATS. This is the first time they’ll be a home dog in their fake home of Tampa, FL, where they are 3-5 SU. They just love it here! (We kid!).

Rating: 2 Units

Fourth road game in six nights for the Nuggets, who have won the first three, the first two in OT at Phoenix and the third in Dallas by 4. Both sides were missing key players while the Nuggets were pretty much at full strength. Miami returns home from four straight on the road in which a handful of key players like Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Avery Bradley, did not play. "End of the week" is the reported return time for at least two of them. Lucky Nuggets again?

Rating: 2 Units

This particular Cavaliers forecast comes to you with its usual warning under tonight’s circumstance: When favored, the Cavaliers are only 5-10 SU the last two-plus seasons. Sure, Andre Drummond (18-and-10) is playing in Cleveland for Cavaliers for the first time since leaving Cleveland for Detroit. But what did he usually do for Detroit, other than get big numbers in defeat? Pistons led their one prior meeting in Detroit 101-93 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, lost in overtime. Derrick Rose had a horrible game. Have a better one, will ya’?

Rating: 3 Unit ACC Play of the Day

If Virginia Tech would like to remain ranked in the Top 25, then they’ll come out and forget about the 18-point loss at Syracuse in which Syracuse got 64 points of 78 in the lane or at the free-throw line. “We wanted to drive in on their center and make him play defense on Marek [Dolezaj],” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “When we got a mismatch, we got Quincy down in low. That’s what we wanted to do there.”And, they did. Which Notre Dame won’t. The Irish stay out on the perimeter and run their little ball screen for guards like Cormac Ryan, who make 1-for-5 on their threes and don’t rebound anywhere near enough of their misses. Consider that Virginia Tech is 14-2 ATS in their last 16 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Rating: 4 Unit SEC Play of the Day

Tell me can you win yet another ***BEST BET so fine? Tell me, Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ While it may be asking a lot of the Mr. Martin’s Tigers to beat Tennessee-Auburn within four days on the SEC road, they have a team laden with upperclassmen who have become versatile in terms of how they are able to play and compete well. That’s why they’ve been able to win on the road at Arkansas and Tennessee already, two very different kinds of games. Cuonzo is actually “letting them play” this season instead of having his hands on their waistbands all the time. Of course, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers present challenges to Missouri’s defense that Tennessee did not. But Auburn’s defense leaves much to be desired and they are probably a little points-drunk after hanging 109 on five-guard South Carolina on Saturday, a team that couldn’t rebound enough to slow them down.

Rating: 2 Units

Welcome back Saint Louis, finally able to play again. Lucky for them that Dayton has one of the shortest rotations going. If the Flyers could lose to Fordham on the road (and, they did), then they can certainly lose at Saint Louis even though the Billikens spot them lots of recent action. But 10 points to take, when Dayton beat Saint Louis twice last season? That’s something which doesn’t get dangled in front of you every day when the home chalk is at a scheduling disadvantage. Dayton player, on the team’s loss against up-tempo VCU havoc: ‘As bad as it is, it’s over with.’ Yup. New day, can’t wait to get back out there against a foe who’s style is a better matchup for them.

Rating: 2 Units

You can’t help but feel sorry for Washington players who got good news about Westbrook being out for a week, then the bad news that the games he would miss wouldn’t be played. Naturally, as we warned, he came back as soon as the team was cleared to play again at San Antonio on Sunday, where Westbrook was a team-worst -20 plus-minus in only 25 minutes of action. There’s no way the Rockets will shoot as well as they did when Dallas’ overmatched Cauley-Stein was attempting to guard DeMarcus Cousins over the weekend, right? Well, maybe wrong! Washington’s lack of D could allow Houston to at least approach that high level (54.7%). Both sides have prima donna former-player motivation as Westbrook and Wall play for pride against their former teams.

Rating: 2 Units

Games like last night against the Knicks, and this second of back-to-backs vs. OKC, need to be high-priority games for the Blazers right now and moving forward. Because if they can’t beat relative bums like these while Nurkic and McCollum are out, then they will lose contact with the “body of eight” in the Western Conference, where they entered the weekend 8-6 in sixth place overall. But they are only one (1) game out of ninth, 1.5 games out of eleventh, 2.5 games out of twelfth, 3.5 games out of fourteenth and 4.5 games out of last. Asking Lillard to do too much, too soon in a season, can potentially break him down. And then, you could just hand them a ticket to ride in the clown car with Sacramento.

NCAAB Play of the Day

When he was with VCU, Texas Tech’s 6’7” Marcus Santos-Silva wasn’t playing in the paint against many guys like West Virginia’s 6’10” Derek Culver. Away from that advantage-Mountaineers, West Virginia opponents are making only 29.1% of their three-pointers. Huggins’ fellas came off three postponements to get a good tune-up game under their belt at Kansas State on Saturday. “I thought we were a bit rusty offensively, but defensively we stepped up and played one of our best games of the year,” said guard Miles McBride. He had a big game vs. Tech last season and now the rust has been knocked off. Some of that rust may be transferred to the Red Raiders, who’ve had their last two games postponed. Rust never sleeps.

Rating: 2 Units

The Cowboys were good enough to lead Baylor by 4 points after 20 minutes without Cade Cunningham and Rondel Walker. Iowa State hasn’t played since Jan. 9, owns zero (0) wins against real teams (they have 2, vs. Ark-Pine Bluff and Jackson State).

Rating: 2 Units

UNLV’s only wins have been against Kansas State – who gets drilled just about every game -- and New Mexico, who’s also been getting routed as a matter of course and who lost to San Jose State on Saturday. San Jose State! Utah State, they got class at 12-4 and a pair of wins vs. San Diego State. Consider that Utah State is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games, 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall, 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite, 8-1 ATS in their last 9 Monday games, and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS loss.

NBA Play of the Day

The Lakers’ road trip continues with game number three of seven, a home invasion situation for which they were in town yesterday while the Cavaliers were battling in Boston. The Lakers’ current road tally is now 9-0, following up on a strong 2019-20 road season. Cleveland was averaging only 98 points per game until the Nets hit town with the The Three Ball Hogs and the Cavs scored 113 and 125 in regulation. Was that a two-shot deal against defense-less superstars coached by Steve Nash/Mike Dantoni and obsessed with scoring points? The Lakers, despite having Lebron and Lebrow, are more interested in a well-rounded experience. After Anthony Davis snapped out of a recent funk during a 21-point win in his hometown of Chicago (we projected it by 22, sorry for being off), figure Lebron to show up large for his home-area peeps, even if nobody is in the arena. He had 32-14-12 in his re-return to Cleveland in 2018-19, for the 37-45 Lakers team (that was 23-21 at the time, before he got hurt). You see how these guys are operating, right?

Rating: 2 Units

Indiana Pacers first-year coach Nate Bjorkgren will try to gain a split with his former boss and Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse Monday night when the teams complete a two-game set at Indianapolis. The Raptors won the opener of the back-to-back games 107-102 on Sunday afternoon. The Raptors, who have won five of their past six games, were without Kyle Lowry (infected toe) and Pascal Siakam (left knee swelling). Their status for Monday was uncertain. The Pacers have lost three of their past four games. Consider that Toronto is 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games as an underdog.

Rating: 2 Units

The Portland Trail Blazers received an unexpected but welcome break this week, and figure to be fresh and rejuvenated tonight when they host the New York Knicks. Portland's scheduled games on Wednesday and Friday against Memphis were postponed due to COVID-19 issues for the Grizzlies. So, Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts saw an opening to refine some things in practice and tinker with player rotations. It was certainly well-timed after recent injuries to shooting guard CJ McCollum (foot) and big man Jusuf Nurkic (wrist).  Consider that New York is 2-6 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Portland.

Rating: 2 Units

The Bucks have won 9 of the 10 meetings since Mike Budenholzer was canned by the Hawks and hired to coach the Bucks. They have all the continuity here, with Atlanta still trying to put the right pieces around Trae Young, who may not even be the right guy to be putting pieces around. Every now and then he erupts for 43 points and the Hawks beat a bad team, and everyone is like, ‘Trae Young! Superstar! Building a Hawks dynasty!’ Then they lose some games before they beat some other lousy opponent with Young scoring a lot, and the call is revived: ‘Trae Young! Awesome! Hawks on the rise!’ Yawn. The Bucks are off two losses; the Hawks are off three wins. It is time for the invisible forces to adjust the direction of their respective destinies

Rating: 4 Unit NBA Play of the Day

Quadruple-revenge for last year’s 0-4. We’re going to invent a category. It’s called, “Second Half Scoring Margin, This Year Compared to 2019-20.” The Charlotte Hornets are #1 in the NBA in this category. Last season, they were -4.0 per game in second halves. This season, they are +3.1 The +7.1 points change is the largest positive second half scoring differential change in the league. It’s early, the sample is small (eight road games), but it’s a sign that they are better able to bring it in battle. Their road differential in the second half is actually greater than it’s been on their home floor (+4.2 vs. +1.7). Orlando is a losing foe with the NBA’s worst first-half scoring margin: -6.8 per game. It’s the second game back from injury for 6’11” C Cody Zeller, who’s been with the Hornets since the last year in which they were called the Bobcats (eight years ago), so he must be at least somewhat important.

Rating: 2 Units

The down-trending of Notre Dame under Mike Brey seems to coincide with the NCAA shaving time off the shot clock and lengthening the three-point line. If you’re aware of their general style and type of players they tend to recruit, it makes sense that those factors require adjustments in overall philosophy. Why, then, is Notre Dame our side in this spot? Borrow the Syracuse blueprint, Irish. Take your short roster and play 40 minutes of zone defense, praying that the Hurricanes don’t suddenly find the range. Without the zippy Lykes kid to penetrate into the zone, Miami struggles.

Rating: 2 Units

Valparaiso is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 Sunday games, 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 road games, and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. While Illinois State is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss.

Rating: 2 Units

URI is 12-27 ATS in their last 39 Sunday games, 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400, and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record. While Fordham is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games. In addition the underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

Rating: 4 Unit NCAAB Total of the Day

The under is is 7-1 in Hilltoppers last 8 vs. a team with a losing straight up record and 6-2 in Hilltoppers last 8 road games. While the under is 11-3 in Blue Raiders last 14 overall, 7-2 in Blue Raiders last 9 home games, and 13-5 in Blue Raiders last 18 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.

Rating: 2 Units

Toronto is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games as a road underdog. While Indiana is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite, and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games. In addition, Toronto is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings and 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings in Indiana.

Rating: 2 Units

Indiana picked up a much-needed win at No. 4 Iowa by holding the high-scoring Hawkeyes to their lowest point total of the season. The Hoosiers will now look to carry that defensive mindset into this afternoons Big Ten matchup against reeling Rutgers in Bloomington, Ind. Indiana (9-6, 4-4 Big Ten) held Iowa, the Big Ten's top scoring offense at 92.2 points per game entering the game, to 38.1 percent from the field and 21.7 percent (5 of 23) from 3-point range to improve to 1-4 against ranked teams on the season. In beating No. 4 Iowa, Indiana picked up a win against its highest-ranked opponent since knocking off No. 3 North Carolina on Nov. 30, 2016. Consider that Indiana is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

Rating: 2 Units

We’ve been hit with a run of bad luck, losing with deserving winners like underdog Detroit Pistons at Atlanta, Charlotte U. at FAU failing in overtime and the Suns -1 last night also failing in overtime (after they led by 14 points at halftime, after which Devin Booker got hurt). These things happen – right side, wrong breaks -- and the ball will bounce our way again. For the Suns, definitely without Booker tonight, the ball may not bounce their way. They wasted Denver star Jamal Murray’s 0-fer from three-point range last night.

Rating: 3 Unit Inter-Conference Play of the Day

When the Lakers hosted the Bulls recently, they treated it like a practice and won by 2 points. Tonight, they are in position to perform a home invasion as they were in town yesterday while the Bulls were in Charlotte last night, winning against an opponent that made only 7 of 32 three-point baskets (hey, don’t take it if you can’t make it!). For those who don’t already know: Lakers were the best road team in the NBA last season and are currently 8-0 SU on the road. Off the win at Milwaukee, if they’re looking for “something to play for,” then “continued road dominance” is available.

Rating: 4 Unit SEC Play of the Day

‘Can you continue to win our ***BEST BETS on you so fine? Tell me, Cuonzo, Cuonzo, Cuonzo!’ After Tennessee won 73-53 at Mizzou in the SEC season opener, many will be hesitant to back the Tigers on the road in the same match-up. But something’s gone amiss with Tennessee since then, and head coach Rick Barnes is so furious lately about lack of effort, lack of little details and leadership that he promises lineup changes (they’re 10-2 but young, so…). While the Vols will no doubt come out breathing fire off the 26-point loss at Florida, Missouri has a margin for error in the line with some Cuonzo adjustments on the way – possibly getting Mr. Tillmon more involved than he was in the first meeting, after which Martin wasn’t all that disappointed with how the team played. Tennessee made a lot of the baskets Missouri asked them to make, at -2 that day. Now the Vols – with point guard Santiago Vescovi playing hurt and another ball-handler, guard Jaden Springer, still out by all accounts – have to win by much at least 9.

Rating: 4 Unit Ohio Valley Conference Play of the Day

It usually takes Murray State two seasons to lose five Ohio Valley Conference games but here they are at 2-5 after only seven have been played. All the losses have been close, to opponents that are among the top half of the conference. But the Racers blew away bottom-dweller UT-Martin by 22 points recently and Tennessee Tech is a fellow bottom-dweller. Off Thursday’s latest loss, it’s feeding time for the bottom feeder! Tech’s 72-69 loss at Austin Peay on Thursday night came as their host was short-handed off a program pause. They trailed 27-5 early. If they were a good team, we’d say that the 27-5 was an aberration. But they’re not a good team. Consider that the Racers are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games as a home favorite.

Rating: 2 Units

Stan the Man Van Gundy brings the Pelicans to the end of the line… of their six game, five-city road trip that began on Jan. 11, hasn’t had any back-to-backs, but has produced only one win in six games so far. He did it again – Zion Williamson and Steven Adams both starting, playing 34 and 30 minutes piece, and the entire starting lineup was -15 to -25 in the 11-point loss at Utah. The guy did not adjust after the loss in the first of the two-game series. He can get away with doing the wrong thing against the T’Wolves because the head coach of the 3-11 SU home team – that has scored 96, 97, 96, 98 points in four of its last five games and probably won’t have the oft-absent Towns again -- is worse than him.

Rating: 2 Units

The Tide has been just freaking lately with eight straight wins, the last three by a combined 81 points. There will be a drought of some degree to at least slightly offset the aberrational onslaught. You don’t want to be the guy who expects it to come too soon. But on the other hand, you do want to be the guy who projects to come before everybody else. MSU has rim protection up the wazoo with 6’11” Abdul Ado, 6’10” Tolu Smith and 6’9” Javian Davis. It really shouldn’t be easy for the Tide to attack the rim and ramp up the pace

Rating: 4 Unit CBB Total of the Day

The under is 5-1 in Gamecocks last 6 games as an underdog, 11-4 in Gamecocks last 15 Saturday games, 5-2 in Gamecocks last 7 games as a road underdog. While the under is 16-5-1 in Governors last 22 overall, 6-2-1 in Governors last 9 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, and 18-7-1 in Governors last 26 games following a ATS loss.

Rating: 4 Unit CBB Blowout of the Day

Look, things are tough all over the nation but look on the bright side. It’s late January, Duke is unranked, 1-8 ATS, Coach K is already on record as wanting to bail, and they’ve lost two in a row leading into this third straight road game against what is probably the best opponent of the trio. Without the home rout against Bellarmine, Duke would basically have a 73-73 PF/PA average. They’ve lost their one match-up with Louisville in each of the last two season, by 6 points at home last year. Louisville is angried up off two losses, most recently to a Florida State team that has had its number big-time the last few seasons – no big deal there.

Rating: 2 Units

“We just had a lid on the rim early, and I think that affected our defense and we were just flat,” explained visiting head coach Todd Simon after losing 91-67 here on Thursday. SUU trailed 28-9, then 47-27 at halftime. Their record had been 10-2 when they arrived, so you have to think that they can regroup and rebound as they switch sites 288 miles north to their home floor, right?

Rating: 2 Units

Kansas has lost two straight. Therefore, many in the wagering world will be all over them to avoid losing a third consecutive game. Kooky quote from Bill Self: “Saturday’s game’s important, but it’s kind of crap. You lose two in a row and the sky’s falling because there wasn’t a home game in between that you could make sure that didn’t happen.” Interesting. We didn’t know home wins were guaranteed. Anyway, despite playing without senior forward Brady Manek, who is 6’10” but can step outside and knock down three-pointers to help mess up opposing defenses, and also without freshman guard Jalen Hill (16.6 minutes per game), the Sooners held up rather well at KU on Jan. 9, losing 63-59. Manek and Hill returned for their last game and didn’t need to get involved much for the Sooners to beat TCU by 26 points.

Rating: 3 Unit NBA Play of the Day

Suns won in Denver on the second of back-to-back nights on the road Jan. 1, off a win in Utah the night before, when Denver had no games the prior two nights and was coming off a loss. In other words, the Suns were wearing ankle weights, playing with less air in their lungs and less gas in the tank than usual, taking the worst of the “motivational” situation, yet were still able to take care of business in this match-up. Denver continues to be overrated, 5-9 ATS. At 7-7, they really don’t have an impressive win among the seven.

Rating: 2 Units

The Toronto Raptors are not sure whether they will have All-Star Pascal Siakam in the lineup Friday night at their temporary home in Tampa, Fla., when they complete a two-game set against the Miami Heat. Siakam took an awkward fall on a dunk late in the first quarter of the 111-102 loss to the undermanned Heat on Wednesday night and left the game. He returned in the second quarter and finished with 18 points. He did not practice Thursday and his status was uncertain for Friday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Raptors, who will complete a five-game stretch of home games on Friday. Consider that Miami is 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game, and 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win.

Rating: 2 Units

Bad luck losing Pistons plus the points at Atlanta in OT the other night. Whaddya’ gonna do? Houston’s three-point attempt rate of 35.2% in their home loss vs. Phoenix the other night (third straight "L" since celebrating Harden’s departure with a win) was their lowest of the season. John Wall and Danuel House remain out for the Rockets. Houston head coach Steven Silas: "We’re dealing with a lot of different things. But mainly without those guys it’s stagger minutes and try to figure it all out." Hopefully, they won’t figure it out until at least one day from now. "Houston off a straight-up loss" is 30-44-1 ATS the last two-plus seasons (worst in the NBA), could get worse under current conditions.

Rating: 2 Units

Detroit is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games, 7-2 ATS in their last 9 road games vs. a team with a losing home record, 9-3 ATS in their last 12 Friday games, 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400, and 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games as a road underdog. In addition, the road team is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.