Los Angeles comes into tonight

UNLV head coach Lon Kruger is one of the best in the country. Kruger doesn

Saint Louis is a difficult to team to play because of the system they run under head coach Rick Majerus. The Billikens run complex offensive sets that just frustrate opponents into half-court games. And Saint Louis is most effective when they are playing a team that loves to run up and down the court at a frenetic pace. Majerus is too smart of a coach to allow his team to get caught-up in a running game tonight, and he

Since Charlotte changed coaches, the Bobcats have gone 4-2. This team is playing with much more passion and desire under Paul Silas, and the whole team comes into each game with a winning attitude. They are playing at a much faster pace under Silas, and the players really like their new style of play. Charlotte has scored 101 points or more in four of the six games under Silas, and their scoring should continue tonight against a weak Memphis defense that allows 100 points per game on 44.9% shooting on the road this season.

Tonight is also a big revenge game for Charlotte after they were embarrassed in Memphis three weeks ago. The Bobcats lost that game by a whopping 33 points (113-80), and they

After opening the season at just 2-5, Boston College turned things around over the last month of the season. The Eagles went 5-0 down the stretch as their defense was absolutely phenomenal in those games. Boston College held all five of those opponents to just 16 points or less on just an average of 304 yards of total offense per game. Overall, the Eagles defense was fantastic all season as they held their opponents to just 20 points per game on 310 yards of total offense. They allowed an incredible 4.4 yards per play which is one of the best defensive numbers in the country. The fact that they are over a touchdown underdog in this game with defensive numbers like they have is truly astonishing, especially against a non-BCS conference team like Nevada.

The key to Boston College

Missouri St was a much improved team last season as the Bears went 24-12 after winning just 11 games in 2009. They returned their top 7 scorers this season and Missouri St has picked up right where they left off. The Bears are already 12-3 this season and they come into tonight

A few short weeks ago, everybody had Philadelphia penciled in the Super Bowl. But after a pair of back-to-back ugly losses to the Vikings and Cowboys to close their regular season, the Eagles have now become an afterthought. On the other side of the field is now the new flavor of the month. After winning their last two games by a combined scored of 55-20, the Green Bay Packers are now everybody

This is a rematch of last year

St. John

After a not so good year in the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks emerged as the division winner after beating the Rams 16-6 at home last week. Because of that, a 7-9 Seattle team is hosting an 11-5 New Orleans team in a playoff game this afternoon. This game is a rematch from earlier in the season when the Saints beat the Seahawks 34-19 in New Orleans back in mid-November. While the scoreboard looks like a blowout after a 15-point Seattle loss, the Seahawks actually played well in that game.

Seattle had their second best offensive output of the season in that game after they put-up a total of 424 yards of offense. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck played a terrific game as he completed 72.7% (32-44) of his passes for 366 yards. Those passing yards were the most the Saints allowed this season so the Seahawks are quite capable of moving the ball on the New Orleans

Minnesota was feeling really good about their potential going forward heading into their last game against the Bobcats. And the Timberwolves were headed towards a nice win as they held an 8-point lead over Charlotte with just 2 minutes left to play in the game. However, they were forced into overtime and ultimately lost that game by 3 points (108-105). But instead of sulking about it, Minnesota got right back at it in practice and had a spirited team meeting in which head coach Kurt Rambis built his team up by telling them it

Play DELAWARE (-).

This game features two teams that played opposite of what they were expected of coming into this season. Middle Tennessee St finished at just 6-6, but the Blue Raiders were actually the favorite to win the Sun Belt conference this season. But their season started off on the wrong foot after quarterback Dwight Dasher was suspended for the first four games for receiving improper benefits. Middle Tennessee went just 2-2 in those games without Dasher, and when he returned to the field, the team still couldn

Charlotte

Ohio State has numerous distractions heading into this game due to the upcoming suspensions of several players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor. While these players are expected to play in this bowl game, it will still be a distraction in practice and preparation leading up to the game itself. While a great deal of focus will be on Pryor, the best quarterback on the field is actually Arkansas

Play CHARGERS (-).

Play GIANTS (-).

Central Florida went 10-3 this season, but that win/loss record looks a lot better than it actually is. Of their nine wins against FBS competition, all of them came against teams with losing records or a .500 record. Now you can make an argument that Georgia is only 6-6 coming into this game and that Central Florida fits here, but you have to keep in mind the level of competition these two teams faced week in and week out. Conference-USA was abysmal this year while the SEC was once again the best conference in college football. So there is really no comparison, and a 6-6 Georgia team is simply light years better than a 10-3 Central Florida team.

The Knights have three losses this season; they lost to NC State by 7, Kansas St by 4, and Southern Mississippi by 10. All three of those teams made bowl games, but only NC State was able to win their game. Central Florida played one other bowl team, and that was a win over SMU who also lost to Army in their bowl game on Thursday. There

Many may knee-jerk to the Spurs in this game, but we think that may be a big mistake. San Antonio comes into this game as winners of 12 of their last 13 games, and they are facing a Dallas team without their best player, Dirk Nowitzki. The Spurs are also looking for revenge after the Mavericks beat them in San Antonio 103-94 last month. When you combine those factors, the Spurs appear to be the logical choice, but we

The Tar Heels were a possible national title contender before the season began, but the suspension of several key players left UNC short-handed this year. North Carolina still played well and put together a respectable 7-5 SU record despite playing a tough ACC schedule and a good LSU team out of conference. Three of their five losses came by 6 points or less so the Tar Heels were competitive even in defeat this year.

Meanwhile, Tennessee was expected to have a losing record this season and stood just 2-6 SU in early November, but the Volunteers then won their final four games (4-0 SU/ATS) to finish 6-6 SU and barely qualify for this bowl game, however those final four wins came against four opponents that were a combined 13-35 SU on the season. The Vols also benefited from 16 turnovers in those four games, so not only were they playing inferior teams, but they were also on the receiving end of some good fortune.

North Carolina also matches up well in this game as they rely heavily on their passing offense which averages 67.5% completions and 8.3 yards per pass this season (versus opponents that allow just 57.8% and only 7.1 ypp). UNC should have plenty of success thru the air versus a suspect Tennessee secondary that permitted 239 passing yards per game and 7.7 yards per pass versus their 7 bowl opponents this year. Tennessee was also outscored 17-33 on average in those seven games against quality competition, and since we rate North Carolina as the better team, we

These two teams look to be world

Minor bowl games are all about motivation, and not necessarily about playing on the better team. This game is a classic example of that as Maryland is certainly a much better team than East Carolina, but the Pirates have more motivation to play well in this game. The situation at Maryland is a mess as head coach Ralph Friedgen has been forced out after 10 years on the job. The ousting of Friedgen has played out in front of the media, and the whole episode has been nothing but a circus. Friedgen hasn

Missouri comes into this game with a better record than Iowa; the Tigers are 10-2 while the Hawkeyes are just 7-5. But don

Indianapolis has appeared to right their ship with wins in their last two games after the Colts lost four of their previous five games. But let

This is an extremely difficult scheduling spot for Baltimore. The Ravens come in off three consecutive draining games, and now they are being asked to lay points on the road against a divisional team they already beat earlier this season. Three weeks ago, the Ravens played in a tough, physical game and lost in the final minutes to the Steelers. Baltimore then blew a big lead at Houston before winning on a pick-6 in overtime. And then last week they played in a back and forth shootout with New Orleans and held on a for a 6-point win. Those three games had to take something out of the Ravens, and we see this as a terrific spot to play-against Baltimore.

Cleveland comes in off back-to-back losses and losses in four of their last six games. But they have a valid excuse for those losses; Jake Delhomme was playing quarterback as Colt McCoy was too injured to play. McCoy returned last week, and although the Browns lost, they were competitive in a 19-17 loss. Cleveland has played in a lot of close games with McCoy under center, and we expect another one here, especially since they are catching Baltimore in a flat spot in which it

New York was in a good spot last week at Pittsburgh; the Jets were off back-to-back losses and they were catching the Steelers without Troy Polamalu. The Jets won 22-17, but they really weren't too impressive on the field as they only had 276 yards of total offense while allowing Pittsburgh to gain 378 yards of total offense. New York scored just one offensive touchdown and their other touchdown came on an opening kickoff return; they also kicked 2 field goals and got a safety. Their offense has been really struggling over the last four weeks and we expect that to continue here against the stout Bears defense.

Chicago comes in off a blowout win (40-14) at Minnesota, and they should carry over that momentum here. The Bears return home for this game, and after laying an egg (they lost 36-7) in their previous home game against the Patriots, and with this game being their final home game of the season, we expect the Bears to play a tremendous game this afternoon. Chicago has won all 10 of their games this season by 3 points or more, so a win here more than likely results in a pointspread cover. The Bears defense allows just 17 points and 311 yards of offense per game, and since they are facing a New York offense in terrible current form with a quarterback (Mark Sanchez) that is less than 100%, we see Chicago

Dallas

Hawaii will be playing a home game here. And usually you wouldn

This game will be played at the Orleans Casino is Las Vegas so neither team has a home court advantage for tonight. Both teams played yesterday, but Northern Iowa has a couple of edges working in their favor. They played the early game while New Mexico played the night game which gives the Panthers some extra rest. Northern Iowa also played in a slow-paced, half-court game in which they won 67-61. They exerted little energy in that game as they led for double digits in the majority of the game.

New Mexico played in a fast-paced game against Colorado; the Lobos won that game 89-76. They spent a ton of energy going up and down the court in that game while shooting a high percentage from the floor. New Mexico shot 61.2% (30-49) from the field and 41.7% (5-12) from three-point land. They also made 24 of their 28 free throws. That

New Jersey comes into tonight

Utah began the season undefeated at 8-0, but a disheartening 47-7 home loss to TCU crushed their hopes and their season. The Utes were flat in their next game at Notre Dame and they were never in the game and lost 28-3. But they regrouped and managed to win their last two games of the season including their big rivalry game with BYU. That win over the Cougars looks a lot more impressive now that BYU came back and won their bowl game 52-24 over UTEP last Saturday. And that win got Utah

Dayton is a scrappy, veteran team that is just starting to their stride this season. The Flyers have a tendency to get better as the season progresses, and we see that happening again this year. Dayton caught fire in the post-season last year and they went on to win the NIT tournament, so when this team gets on a roll, they have proven to be a tough out.

The Flyers are catching a Seton Hall team at the perfect time. The Pirates lost their leading scorer Jeremy Hazell earlier in the season, and their best player, Herb Pope, is still not at full strength. Pope has been in and out of the lineup, and he really hasn

Kansas St is certainly on our play-against list right now. From our view, this team is one of the most over-hyped, overrated, and over-ranked teams in college basketball. The Wildcats were 9-1 heading into their last game on Saturday against Florida, but their luck ran out as the Gators cruised to a 13-point win (57-44) in that game for us. Despite their 9-2 record, Kansas St has struggled in many of their games against inferior opposition. This team has not won easy, and against strong opposition, we have no problems fading Kansas St.

The Wildcats are taking another big step up in class tonight against UNLV. The Runnin

Dallas came through with an outright win for us last night in Miami, and we

This game will be played at the University of Minnesota

Dallas has been one of the most consistent teams in the league so far this season. The Mavericks are 21-5 including an impressive 8-1 on the road. A key to their success this season has been a phenomenal defense that is allowing only 93 points per game on 43.5% shooting. The Mavericks have held 20 of their 26 opponents to less than 100 points which shows just how good their defense has played this year.

If Dallas

Both of these teams come into this game in bad form; Denver has lost 4 straight games and 8 of their last 9 overall, while Oakland has lost three of their last four games. This is the second meeting of the season; the Raiders waxed the Broncos by 45 points (59-14) back in late October. Believe it or not, Denver was actually a 7-point home favorite in that game. But Oakland could do no wrong in that one and after Denver handed them three turnovers, the game turned into an embarrassing blowout loss on their home field. The rematch today is a game the Broncos have been waiting for, and since they are now over a touchdown underdog, we

Milwaukee is on our play-on list right now, and tonight looks like another good spot to back the Bucks. This team just beat Dallas and came up 2 points shy at San Antonio, and there

Northern Illinois will be playing this game without their head coach Jerry Kill who was hired away by Minnesota. The Huskies will be led by interim head coach Tom Matukewicz who has been the linebackers coach, and a guy the players really respect.

Kansas St may be the most over-hyped, overrated, and over-ranked team in college basketball in recent memory. The Wildcats are 9-1 this year, but they

Utah has alternated wins and losses over their last six games. The Jazz won their last game, a 108-95 home blowout over Golden St. The Jazz covered that game, but it was just their second pointspread win in their last six games after covering their previous 7 games in a row. Tonight

Both teams still have a lot to play for as the 49ers and Chargers are still in the playoff hunt. San Francisco comes in at 5-7 while San Diego comes in at 7-6. The 49ers have alternated wins and losses since coming off their bye week back in mid-November. The Chargers have won five of their last six games to get back into the playoff picture, but they still need to win out and have the Chiefs lose along the way to notch their fifth straight AFC West title.

San Francisco comes in off a 40-21 blowout win over Seattle last week. But that win was thanks in part to the 5 turnovers Seattle handed the 49ers; San Francisco was actually out-gained 361-336 in that win. Alex Smith returned under center and the quarterback played one of his best games in his career after completing 17 of his 27 passes for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns. Smith will find the sledding much tougher tonight against a San Diego defense that shutout the Chiefs last week; the Chargers allow just 19 points and 265 yards of total offense per game.

San Diego comes off their big 31-0 win over Kansas City so they

Milwaukee came through for us on Monday night as they went into Dallas and snapped the Mavericks 12-game winning streak. The Bucks won that game outright 103-99, and there

Atlanta has been a fortunate team ever since their top player, Joe Johnson, left the lineup. Johnson will miss a few months after elbow surgery, and since he leads the Hawks in scoring (17.1 points), assists (5.2), and minutes (35.5), Atlanta really figured to struggle going forward. And not only on the offensive end of the floor, but also the defensive end because Johnson is the leading rebounder among the team's guards (4.1). Johnson is also versatile on defense as he defends point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards.

The Hawks are 5-2 without Johnson on the court, but they

Wright St (5-5) comes in with a better record than Central Michigan (2-6), but that doesn

This is a big game for both teams as there are a lot of playoff implications to it. Baltimore comes in at 8-4, but they need to win in order to keep pace with the teams that won yesterday. Houston comes in at just 5-7, and despite their losing record, they still have an outside shot at the playoffs because their division (AFC South) is so weak. They are only a game out of the division lead, but since the Colts and Jaguars won their games, the Texans also need to win tonight to keep pace with those teams. Since both teams have something to play for, we expect a well-played game by the Ravens and Texans tonight, but we do give the edge to the home team in this match-up.

Baltimore comes off a brutal loss to Pittsburgh; that game was one of the hardest hitting and most physical games of the season to date. The game was a low-scoring defensive struggle, and it was one of those games that take a little bit out of a team, especially when we consider the way the Ravens lost that game. Baltimore held the lead and the ball late, but a sack and fumble for Pittsburgh set them up with a short field and they got the game-winning touchdown. It was such a big game for the Ravens, and when we combine they way they lost and the physicality of the game, we expect them to have a little hangover from that game tonight.

Houston has a nice scheduling edge as they last played 11 days ago on a Thursday night. The extra rest is huge this late in the season, and it

Milwaukee has been a disappointment so far this season; the Bucks come into tonight

Over the last month or so, New England has become the

This is an extremely difficult scheduling spot for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers must take to the road after suffering a heartbreaking last-minute loss to the Falcons last week. The Bucs held a 10-point fourth quarter lead in that game, but they allowed Atlanta to score the final two touchdowns of the game to steal the win. Now the deflated Bucs have to travel once again; this will be their third road game in four weeks and their fifth road game in seven weeks. And for a young team, that

Indiana has played a tough schedule, but the Pacers have held their own and they should hold some value going forward. And that certainly appears to be the case tonight as they are getting a handful of points from a team that they are better than. The Pacers have had their injury issues that have hampered their progression, but they are fully healthy now and they are playing up to their potential. The same cannot be said of the Hawks who are now going through their own issues.

Atlanta is 15-9, but the Hawks are not as good as their record indicates. And it looks like they are going to struggle for some time now that they lost their best player, Joe Johnson, who is out after undergoing elbow surgery. Johnson leads the Hawks in scoring (17.1 points), assists (5.2), and minutes (35.5), and he is also the leading rebounder among the team's guards (4.1). Johnson is also versatile on defense as he defends point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards.

Johnson

This game will be played on the home court of the Utah Jazz (Energy Solutions Arena) and not on BYU

Kansas St may be the most over-hyped, overrated, and over-ranked team in college basketball in recent memory. The Wildcats are 8-1 this year, but they

The Knicks have played some good basketball over the last month. They

These two teams met last year, and that game came right down to the wire. Georgetown squeaked out a 46-45 win as they hit the winning layup with just 6 seconds left to play. And tonight

Both teams come into tonight

This is a heated rivalry game that brings out the best in both teams, and since we view Colorado as the superior team, we expect the Buffaloes to get a solid win and cover tonight. Colorado is a talented team that is certainly capable of playing in the NCAA tournament this year if they play up to their capabilities. Colorado St is a decent team, but they

We played against Cleveland last night and the Sixers came through for us with a 20-point win (117-97). And we

This is a very difficult spot for Purdue. This game against in-state Valparaiso is a much tougher game for them than it appears to be on the surface. Big 10 teams rarely ever schedule games at Valpo; their risk/reward is very minimal. The Crusaders play their home games at the Athletics-Recreation Center which is a small gym that only seats 5,000. And big-name teams like Purdue are not used to playing in such small gyms where the fans are right on top of the action. It

Cleveland just coasted through the first month of the season, waiting for their big showdown game with LeBron and the Heat. That was supposed to be Cleveland

Memphis is in a terrible scheduling spot for this game tonight. The Grizzlies just played in Denver last night and now they must play in a back-to-back to set in Utah which is another game in thin air and altitude. It

This is a huge game that will have playoff implications to it. Not only is the AFC East on the line, but also the #1 seed and home field throughout the playoffs. The winner of tonight

The Clippers are playing some good basketball right now; they are 3-3 SU and 5-1 ATS over their last six games. Prior to this mini streak, the Clippers were just 1-13 and 5-9 ATS which shows just how improved their play has been over the last two weeks. This young team has gelled nicely recently as their offense is averaging 100 points on 47.8% shooting over their last five games. And their defense is also playing better as they

For a 7-win team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers certainly do not get much attention. They

Chicago is in a terrible scheduling spot for this game. The Bears come in off three straight wins as underdogs and now they are laying a handful of points on the road. And laying points hasn

Philadelphia has been a scrappy team this year. The Sixers are a young bunch that has been playing hard for their new head coach Doug Collins. Philadelphia is just 5-13 on the season, but they are covering pointspreads as they are 10-7-1 ATS including 9-5 ATS as an underdog. Five of their games have come against the elite teams in the league so their overall win/loss record isn

This is the MAC Championship game and it will be played at Ford Field in Detroit so neither team has the advantage of their home field. Northern Illinois comes into tonight

This has been the most anticipated game since the summer when LeBron James decided to sign with the Heat. Tonight was circled on every calendar in Cleveland, and this is the Cavs chance to get back at LeBron for leaving. There will be a ton of emotion and energy for this game, and most of it points towards the Cleveland side. This is

These two teams have been going in opposite directions for the last month. Arizona St is 2-2 over their last four games while Arizona is just 1-3 over their last four games. The Sun Devils two losses were both close games; they lost 34-33 at USC and lost 17-13 at home to Stanford. The same cannot be said of Arizona as two of their three losses have come in blowout fashion; they lost 42-17 at Stanford and 48-29 at Oregon. So while Arizona St was very close to BCS bowl-bound Stanford, Arizona was a mile away. And that game alone tells us where these two teams are right now, and it clearly shows that Arizona St is playing the better football.

Arizona St throttled UCLA last week 55-34. The Sun Devils put-up 595 yards of total offense; their second-best output of the season after having 597 yards against Oregon back in late-September. The most impressive thing about last week was quarterback Brock Osweiler who came in after starter Steven Threet left with a concussion. Off the bench, Osweiler completed 75% of his passes (27-36) for 380 yards and 4 touchdown passes. Osweiler should put-up good numbers tonight against an Arizona defense that has allowed an average of 38 points and 476 yards of offense per game over their last three games.

The Wildcats started off the season at 7-1, but that was mainly because of an easy schedule. As their competition got tougher, Arizona

San Antonio is getting a lot of media attention now that they are 15-2 and 8-0 on the road this season. The Spurs have been playing a much different style of basketball this year as they are more willing to play at a faster pace. And that has shown on the scoreboard as the Spurs are averaging 108 points per game which is way above their previous averages. But along with playing fast, tired legs are soon to come. And since San Antonio is one of the oldest teams in the NBA, there will be spots to play-against this team.

Tonight

Dallas has played some good basketball so far this season, and the Mavericks have been on a nice little run recently. They

Xavier has been a team that loves to get up and down the court and play at a fast pace over the last few seasons. Their offense is much more effective when able to get out in transition and get easy buckets. But there

Saint Louis is a difficult to team to play because of the system they run under head coach Rick Majerus. The Billikens run complex offensive sets that just frustrate opponents into half-court games. And Saint Louis is most effective when they are playing a team that loves to run up and down the court at a frenetic pace. Majerus is too smart of a coach to allow his team to get caught-up in a running game tonight, and he

This game is part of the ACC-Big 10 challenge, and will be played on Florida St

Neither team has done much on the field this year; San Francisco and Arizona are just 3-7 coming into tonight

These two teams are heading in opposite directions coming into tonight