Los Angeles won 99-98 last night in Houston. The Lakers actually barely survived to win that game after they scored just 35 total points in the second half. Los Angeles jumped on the Rockets early and took a 36-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Lakers were out-scored 79-63 over the last three quarters and were fortunate to hang on for the win. The Lakers hit 16 three

Cleveland comes into tonight

Charlotte will be a much improved team this season; the Bobcats won just 21 games last year. New head coach Steve Clifford was a terrific hire because of his defensive acumen. Charlotte

Chicago gets a major class relief for tonight

The Clippers lost their season opener to the Lakers as 9.5-point favorites, but they bounced back last night and beat the Warriors 126-115. Los Angeles will be playing on a back-to-back set and teams off spotlight wins often come up short on the road when playing on consecutive nights. The Clippers shot 49.4% from the field and they got to the free throw line a whopping 50 times. Tonight they will be playing a solid defensive team in Sacramento so we do not expect a repeat performance.

Sacramento won their season opener 90-88 over Denver and they had last night off. The Kings

Both teams enter this season with new coaches and new offensive schemes, so this should be a lower scoring game than expected tonight and we get plenty of line value with this high total.

The Kings were a terrible defensive team last season, but they should improve under new head coach Mike Malone who is emphasizing defense this season. The Kings will also have an emotionally charged home crowd after all of the off-season distractions about a possible move to another city. While the defense should be improved, there are still issues on offense and this squad averaged just 44.7% FG last season (versus opponents that allowed 45.2%). Tyreke Evans is gone this season which means the offense will now look to go through big man DeMarcus Cousins more down low.

The Nuggets are known as a fast-paced, running team, however that might not be the case anymore under new coach Brian Shaw. Denver is also short-handed tonight with several key injuries. Forward Danilo Gallinari is out with a knee injury, while forward Kenneth Faried (hamstring) and guard Ty Lawson (groin) are both questionable tonight.

10* Play UNDER (Nuggets/Kings).

These are two teams heading in opposite directions as the Clippers look stronger this season with new head coach Doc Rivers, while the Lakers have become weaker with the loss of Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant. Howard is now playing with Houston, while Bryant remains out with an achilles injury. There are also health issues with Steve Nash who is now the oldest point guard in the league since Jason Kidd retired.

Motivation is a key to handicapping the NBA and the Clippers want to prove they are the superior team now in Los Angeles. This was definitely the case last season when the Clippers went a perfect 4-0 SU/ATS versus the Lakers with three of the four wins coming by double-digit margins. In fact, the Clippers held dominating 19, 16, 28, and 16 point leads in those four games, and this was with both Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard playing. Bryant scored 40, 38, 20, 25 points, while Howard scored 13, 21, 18, 25 in the four head-to-head meetings. However, neither player is in the Lakers' lineup tonight and it is hard to see how they will make up for those 53, 59, 38, 50 combined points from each loss last season.

We get a discounted price tonight because this is considered a Lakers' "home" game, however both teams play in the Staples Center and there is no travel factor for either side, so there is really no home court edge. This was evident last season when the Clippers won their two "road" games versus the Lakers by an average of 17 points per game. The Clippers have finally become the superior team in Los Angeles and they will not miss the opportunity to pound a crippled Lakers team on national TV tonight.

10* Play CLIPPERS (-).

San Antonio played much better in Game 6 than we expected. The Spurs were extremely aggressive in driving the basketball to the rim. San Antonio out-scored Miami 60-36 inside the paint and the Spurs also had 28 free throw attempts. Without that, San Antonio most likely gets blown out in that game as they were terrible in shooting the ball from the perimeter as they only hit 27.8% (5-18) from three-point land. Tim Duncan played a monster game with 30 points and 17 rebounds; he also played over 44 minutes. But Duncan is highly unlikely to repeat that performance tonight, especially since he has scored more than 20 points just once over his last ten games while grabbing 14 rebounds or less in nine of those ten games. San Antonio needs to hit from the outside to win this game, but we do not expect that to happen, especially since Miami

After two Unders in Games 1 and 2, the Over has cashed in the last four games in the NBA Finals. Game 6 needed overtime to go Over the total, and that is the only reason it did. With tonight

The NBA Finals have had three things happen in four of the five games. The teams have alternated wins, the winning team has won by 10 points or more, and the winning team has scored 103 points or more. It

Miami bounced back strong in Game 4 on Thursday night as expected. The Heat tied the series up at 2 games apiece after beating San Antonio by 16 points (109-93). The Heat shot the ball incredibly well in that game as they hit 52.9% (45-85) from the field and 88.2% (15-17) from the free throw line. Miami got big production out of the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. That trio combined to score 85 points on 57.8% (37-64) shooting from the field. But Miami has shown a tendency to regress off big wins in the playoffs, and with San Antonio coming off an ugly, blowout loss, we see some good value in taking the Spurs as a home underdog in this game tonight.

San Antonio is an incredible 42-8 on their home court this season so we expect them to bounce back strong tonight. The Spurs

Miami was terrible in Game 3. The Heat got embarrassed, but we expect them to bounce back strong in Game 4 tonight. Miami

Miami bounced back strong as expected on Sunday night when they tied the series up at one game apiece after beating San Antonio by 19 points (103-84). The Heat shot the ball incredibly well in that game as they hit 49.4% (41-83) from the field and 52.6% (10-19) from three-point land. Miami also got a full team contribution as five players scored 10 points or more. But we expect Miami to be up against it tonight as the series shifts venues to San Antonio with the Spurs coming off an ugly, blowout loss. Miami has lost their last two road playoff games, and both of those losses came after the Heat won in a blowout in their previous game.

San Antonio is actually fortunate to be coming into tonight

The first two games in this series went Under the total, but we expect a higher scoring Game 3 on Tuesday night. Games 1 and 2 both had posted totals of 189.5 and for some reason the oddsmakers have made a 2-point adjustment down. Miami and San Antonio scored 180 points in Game 1; a low-scoring game was expected as Game 1

San Antonio played better than we expected in Game 1, especially since they were coming off a long 9-day layoff. The Spurs figured to be rusty and out of rhythm, and they were for the most part of the first three quarters. San Antonio trailed by 3 points heading into the fourth quarter, but they out-scored Miami 23-16 over the final 12 minutes of the game to steal Game 1. The Spurs simply made the big shots when they needed to, and they came out ahead of what was an ugly played game by both teams. San Antonio will be up against it tonight, and we do not expect the Spurs to make the needed shots, especially since the Heat will bring their

San Antonio unexpectedly swept Memphis is their last series, and in doing so, the Spurs have been off for nine days. Basketball is a game of rhythm, and the extended time off is not a good thing, especially for a veteran team like San Antonio. We saw this exact situation hamper Miami in their two previous series; the Heat lost Game 1 to Chicago after a 7-day layoff and they won Game 1 against Indiana by a single point in overtime after a 6-day layoff. Miami is in complete rhythm right now as they just played a 7-game series against the Pacers. And the fact they played well in their last game makes them more likely to play well tonight; the Heat scored 99 points as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 53 points on 15 of 33 shooting from the field. San Antonio is taking a major step-up in class in this series; beating the depleted Lakers and overachieving Warriors means nothing. They were also fortunate to catch Memphis off back-to-back series upsets after they beat the Clippers and Thunder. The Spurs are now playing a better team in a bad situational spot.

Miami figured to have trouble all series against Indiana because the Pacers are simply a terrible match-up for the Heat. There

The first four games in this series were high-scoring, and because of that, the oddsmakers were forced to inflate the totals in the following games. However, Miami and Indiana have played back-to-back Unders in Games 5 and 6. With tonight being an elimination game, we expect another half-court grinder between the Pacers and Heat. There

Indiana bounced back strong in Game 6 just as we expected. The Pacers won that game easily 91-77, but we expect Indiana to be on the losing end tonight. Indiana has to play this game on the road, and the last time they played the Heat in Miami off a loss, the results were not pretty. The Pacers lost Game 5 by 11 points (90-79) after they allowed Miami to shoot 50.7% (38-75) from the field. Indiana couldn

Miami was flat in the first half of Game 5 as they trailed Indiana 44-40 at the break. But the Heat dominated the final 24 minutes of the game as they out-scored the Pacers 50-35 en route to a 90-79 win. But with Game 6 shifting back to Indiana tonight, we expect a different outcome for Miami, especially since they are not playing off a loss. In this series, Miami is 1-2 SU and 0-3 ATS when playing off a win in their previous game; that lone win came by a single point in overtime. Off a loss, Miami is a perfect 2-0 SU and ATS with those two wins coming by 18 and 11 points. The Heat shot 50.7% (38-75) from the field and 38.9% (7-18) from three-point land in Game 5. But we do not expect a repeat performance tonight, especially since the Pacers play terrific defense at home.

Indiana is in a terrific bounce back spot tonight, especially since they are returning home to play on their strong home court where they are 37-12 this season. When playing at home after losing their previous game on the road, the Pacers are an incredible 15-1 SU this season. Their lone loss came in the final game of the regular season when three starters did not play. Indiana is also 15-1 ATS versus tonight

The first four games in this series were high-scoring, and because of that, the oddsmakers were forced to inflate the Game 5 total a full 4 points from the Game 1 total. We saw a much slower-paced game on Thursday night, and that was expected as Miami won 90-79. We can expect a similar style of play tonight, especially since Indiana is on the brink of elimination. There

The first four games in this series were high-scoring, and because of that, the oddsmakers have inflated tonight

The first three games in this series were high-scoring, and because of that, the oddsmakers have inflated tonight

Miami bounced back strong in Game 3 in Indiana after losing Game 2 at home. The Heat played a perfect game as they scored 114 points after shooting an incredible 54.5% (42-77) from the field and 42.9% (6-14) from three-point land. Miami also hit 85.7% (24-28) from the free throw line. Off that outstanding performance, we don

The first two games in this series were high-scoring, but we expect a totally different outcome in Game 3 on Sunday night. Miami

San Antonio took a commanding 2-0 series lead after surviving overtime and winning Game 2 by 4 points (93-89). The Spurs fell asleep in the fourth quarter as they only scored 9 points with Memphis out-scoring them by 12 points. San Antonio got away with that on their home court, but they can

Indiana blew a golden opportunity to win Game 1 on Wednesday night. The Pacers were in control of that game from the start, and in overtime, they led with just 2 seconds left to play. But they gave up the winning layup to LeBron James which left the Pacers in disbelief. Indiana should not have lost that game, and considering how the game ended, we expect the Pacers to play with a major hangover in tonight

Indiana has played solid basketball all season, and the Pacers figure to give Miami a tough battle in this series. These two teams met in the playoffs last season, and the Heat needed six games to defeat Indiana. The Pacers won two of the first three games in that series before Miami took control; they split the first two games on Miami

Memphis came up short in Game 1 for us, but we have no hesitation in coming right back with the Grizzlies in Game 2. San Antonio won by 22 points (105-83), but that result is not a true indication of how close these two teams really are. In the four regular season meetings between the Grizzlies and Spurs, three of the four games were decided by 4 points or less with two of the games going into overtime. The Grizzlies remain a tough out for the Spurs despite the results in Game 1; Memphis won two of the four meetings and they lost by 4 points in overtime at San Antonio earlier this season. The 105 points allowed by Memphis was out of character, and in fact, the Grizzlies

Memphis lost their first two games of the playoffs in Games 1 and 2 of their series with the Los Angeles Clippers. Since those losses, the Grizzlies have been phenomenal. Memphis is an outstanding 8-1 SU and a perfect 9-0 ATS in their last nine playoff games and this team has shown no signs of slowing down. The Grizzlies are playing outstanding defense as they

New York was desperate in Game 5 after getting down 3-1 in the series. The Knicks played well and won 85-75 to force Game 6 in Indiana tonight. New York was fortunate as well as George Hill was ruled out because of a concussion; Hill averages 14.2 points per game for the Pacers and his absence hindered Indiana

The last two games in Indiana were not similar to the first two games played in New York. Games 3 and 4 were both defensive grinders that saw minimal offensive efficiency as the teams combined to score only 153 and 175 points. Games 1 and 2 were both played with much more pace and those two games had plenty of offense as the teams combined to score 197 and 184 points. Both of those games went Over tonight

After a shocking win in Game 1, Chicago has proceeded to lose the next three games all by double digit margins. The Bulls are simply out-classed by the Heat and they know this series is over. Chicago

The last three games in this series have been quite different than Game 1 which had 256 points scored in San Antonio

Oklahoma City has lost back-to-back games after escaping with a 93-91 win in Game 1. The Thunder

New York bounced back strong in Game 2 as they beat Indiana 105-79 to tie this series up at one game apiece. That game was the complete opposite of Game 1 when the Pacers dominated the Knicks from start to finish in their 102-95 win. The Knicks

San Antonio is fortunate to be coming into tonight

Chicago pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history on Monday night when they beat Miami 93-86 as 12

Memphis controlled Game 1 in Oklahoma City before the Thunder made some clutch plays over the final few minutes to snag victory from defeat and win 93-91. The Grizzlies out-played the Thunder as they made more field goals from the floor (35-33) and hit more shots from beyond the arc (7-5). The difference came at the free throw line as Memphis only hit 58.3% (14-24) of their free throws while Oklahoma City shot 88.0% (22-25) from the line. Memphis is certainly disappointed in losing that game, but there

Chicago comes into tonight

Indiana needed six games to beat Atlanta in their last playoff series. But we

The Nets try to become just the ninth team in NBA playoff history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit. The Bulls had won three games in a row after their incredible triple-overtime win last Saturday, but Chicago has since lost back-to-back games, mainly because of injuries. The Bulls have been without two key starters recently as point guard Kirk Hinrich missed both Games 5 and 6 due to a calf injury, while forward Luol Deng also missed Game 6 on Thursday due to an illness. Deng is Chicago's leading scorer this season with 16.5 points per game and he is doubtful to play in Game 7 tonight. Meanwhile, Hinrich leads the Bulls in assists per game (5.2 apg) and he is questionable tonight. The Bulls are a weaker team without those two key players, and even if one or both plays tonight, they are unlikely to be at full strength.

Chicago's offense was particularly weak down low without Luol Deng on Thursday in Game 6 as the Bulls shot just 41% from two-point range, compared to 46% in all games this season. The game still barely went Over the total by a couple of baskets because Chicago shot 39% from three-point range, however this is less likely to occur again tonight in Game 7 on the road as the Bulls are not a three-point shooting team and average just 33% from beyond the arc in all road games this season. Chicago only attempts 19% of their total shots from three-point range (NBA average is 24%), so Chicago's offense is much weaker without their leading scorer, Luol Deng, getting points near the paint.

Elimination games, and especially Game 7, have a tendency to be lower scoring than normal as both teams focus on defense and the pace of play is a bit slower as well. Chicago prefers to play slow, half court basketball, but the Bulls got caught-up in playing Brooklyn

New York was in full control of this series when they took a commanding 3-0 series into Game 4 in Boston. The Knicks came out sluggish in that game before rallying in the second half to take the game to overtime. They lost and returned home expecting a series-closing win in Game 5. But they lost that game as well. New York returns to Boston tonight for Game 6, and knowing how important this game is, we expect the Knicks to bring their

The last two games in this series did not play out true to form, especially from a style of play perspective relative to Chicago. Game 4 was a wild 3-overtime game in which the teams combined to score a whopping 276 points after the Bulls outlasted the Nets 142-134. Game 5 was another fast-paced, high-scoring game that had a total of 201 points scored when the Nets blew out the Bulls 110-91. Brooklyn

The home team has dominated all four games in this series and we expect that trend to continue in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Indiana won Game 1 by 17 points (107-90) and Game 2 by 15 points (113-98) while Atlanta won Game 3 by 21 points (90-69) and Game 4 by 12 points (102-91). The home team is a perfect 4-0 ATS in this series while the home team is 9-1 SU over the last ten meetings between the Hawks and Pacers. Atlanta was non-competitive in Games 1 and 2 on the road, and playing away from home has been a struggle for this team all season long. The Hawks are just 1-5 SU over their last six road games with their average loss coming by 10.2 points per game. Atlanta scored 102 points in Game 4 which snapped a 5-game skid in which they failed to crack the century mark. They

Memphis has dominated Los Angeles in the last two games just as we expected, and there

Chicago and Brooklyn played in a wild 3-overtime game on Saturday afternoon. The teams combined to score a whopping 276 points after the Bulls outlasted the Nets 142-134. That was a draining game for both teams as Chicago had 4 guys play more than 40 minutes, including 3 guys playing more than 50 minutes. Brooklyn had 5 guys play more than 40 minutes, including 2 guys playing more than 51 minutes. The two teams had to travel and now must wheel-back just over 48 hours later, and we just don

Denver has now lost back-to-back games after winning Game 1 on their home court. The Nuggets had every opportunity to win Game 3 on Friday night; they blew a 12-point halftime lead. Denver is now down 2-1 in this series and tonight

Memphis dominated Los Angeles in Game 3 just as we expected, and we

The first two games of this series set basketball back many years. Game 1 only had 163 total points scored and Game 2 had even less with just 158 points scored. Both teams have shot the ball terribly from the floor. New York shot just 41.3% (64-155) from the field and 36.4% (16-44) from three-point land. Boston shot 39.3% (53-135) from the field and an ugly 25.6% (10-39) from three-point land. Neither team can shoot much worse than they already have, and with tonight

New York comes into tonight

Los Angeles and Memphis played truer to form in Game 2 as the Clippers hit a last second shot to win 93-91. In Game 1 we saw a fluky result when Los Angeles won by 21 points; that final was not a true indication of these two teams. The Clippers are riding high with their 2-0 series lead, but we do not expect them to be too carefree after tonight

Atlanta was never given a fair shot from the opening tip in Game 1. The officials completely ruined that game for them as they called a whopping 26 fouls on the Hawks. Indiana had a +20 (34-14) free throw attempts edge over Atlanta, and their 30 points from the line were 23 points more than the 7 points the Hawks scored from the line. Along with that, Atlanta head coach Larry Drew wasn

Milwaukee got embarrassed in Game 1 as the Bucks lost by 23 points (110-87). They played a terrible game on both ends of the court so the result wasn

Memphis came up short in Game 1 for us, but we have no hesitation in coming right back with the Grizzlies in Game 2. Los Angeles won by 21 points (112-91), but that result is not a true indication of how close these two teams really are. When they played a 7-game series in last year

Chicago was embarrassed in Game 1 as they lost to Brooklyn by 17 points (106-89). But the Bulls have shown an incredible ability to bounce back strong after terrible efforts, and we expect them to do just that tonight in Game 2. When coming off a loss in which they allowed 100 points or more, Chicago is 10-6 SU and 12-3-1 ATS this season versus tonight

This series between Houston and Oklahoma City figures to be played with little defensive intensity. The Rockets and Thunder are two of the fastest paced teams in the NBA, and we expect them to play up-tempo basketball from start to finish. These two teams played three times this season and the winning team scored 120 points or more in all three games. Houston and Oklahoma City played in games that saw 218, 218, and 241 points scored. And it should be noted that Houston was in terrible scheduling spots for all three games, including two back-to-back sets and traveling on game day after attending a memorial service for head coach Kevin McHale

This series is a rematch from last year

New York just won an all important game over Indiana last night. The Knicks clinched the #2 seed with that win which makes tonight

This is a very important game for San Antonio and Los Angeles. The Spurs are fighting the Thunder for the #1 seed in the West, and the Lakers are trying to hold off Utah for the #8 and final spot in the playoffs. The dynamic of this game changed dramatically when Kobe Bryant was lost for the season in Los Angeles

This is an important game between Los Angeles and Memphis as these two teams are battling for playoff positioning. The winner of this game will likely get the all important #4 seed in the West which will give them home court advantage. That means we will get tighter play from both teams which will lead to a low-scoring game. The Clippers have won four consecutive games as their defense has really picked up the intensity. They

Oklahoma City got an important win last night at Golden State as they continue to battle San Antonio for the #1 seed in the West. The Thunder beat the Warriors 116-97 after shooting 50.6% (42-83) from the field and 44.4% (12-27) from three-point land. Oklahoma City also hit 87.0% (20-23) of their free throws. They played a perfect game, but they

The last time a team came into Chicago on a long winning streak they left with a loss. Miami was on a 27-game winning streak when they lost to the Bulls 101-97. The Knicks will attempt to do what Miami couldn

This is a very important game for San Antonio and Denver. The Spurs are fighting the Thunder for the #1 seed in the West, and after last night

Oklahoma City and Utah still have a lot left to play for as the regular season winds down. The Thunder have a shot at the #1 seed as they are battling San Antonio for that top spot. The Jazz are fighting for the final playoff spot with the Lakers so every game going forward is of utmost importance to them. Oklahoma City comes in off a spotlight showcase game against the Knicks on Sunday afternoon. That game played out like a pickup game with zero defense as the Knicks won 125-120. We expect a totally different game tonight in Utah, especially since the Thunder lost that game at home. Prior to that high-scoring game, Oklahoma City had played seven of their previous eight games Under the total as their defense held six of their eight opponents to 90 points or less. The Thunder have held the Jazz to 97 points or less in six of the last seven meetings so they have a history of playing good defense against tonight

Michigan had scored 71 points or more in all of their tournament games prior to scoring only 61 points on Syracuse in their last game. Despite winning that game, we saw proof of something we knew going into the game against Syracuse. We used the Under in that game because Michigan is not a half-court offense, and they simply struggle to generate points against strong defensive teams. The Wolverines hit some lucky long-range three

Memphis comes in off a tough loss in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Friday night. The Grizzlies lost that game 86-84, but they were playing against the ref

Michigan comes in off an impressive offensive display of basketball against one of the best defenses in the country. The Wolverines scored 79 points on Florida after they shot 46.2% (30-65) from the field and an incredible 52.6% (10-19) from three-point land. Michigan has scored 71 points or more in all 4 of their tournament games, but we do not expect them to light-up the scoreboard tonight. Michigan is not a half-court offense, and the Wolverines will be facing a strong Syracuse defense that is tough to crack without experience playing against it. The Wolverines will be involved in a slow tempo game, and that style of play just doesn

Wichita State has been quite impressive in their first four tournament games. The Shockers blew out a good Pittsburgh team by 18 points (73-55), and they followed that up with a 76-70 win over a very good Saint Louis team. Wichita State then manhandled La Salle while cruising to an easy 72-58 win. The Shockers led Ohio State by 20 points for the majority of the second half in their last game before winning 70-66. Of the four remaining teams, Wichita State has played the toughest opponents to reach the Final Four according to my power ratings. And it just so happens that Louisville has played the weakest opponents on their way to Atlanta. The Cardinals score 55% of their points from 2-point range, but Wichita State matches-up extremely well as the Shockers allow a tournament-best 47% of their points to come from 2-point range. This will be the first game in this tournament in which the Cardinals actually face a tough match-up.

Louisville has been the best team in this tournament and there

This is an important game between Memphis and Los Angeles as these two teams are battling for playoff positioning. The Grizzlies are definitely in the playoffs, but they want the #3 seed and they need to match the Clippers and Nuggets game for game. The Lakers are fighting for the #8 spot with the Jazz and they also need to match win for win with Utah. That means we will get tighter play from both teams which will lead to a low-scoring game. Memphis comes into this game playing some outstanding defense. The Grizzlies have held their last four opponents to 94 points or less and an average of just 86.5 points per game. They

This is an important game between Chicago and Brooklyn as these two teams are battling for the fourth seed in the playoffs. The Bulls hold a 2-1 season edge so this game is of utmost importance to the Nets. Chicago comes into this game with a slew of injuries with the latest casualty being Taj Gibson. The Bulls have little offensive firepower right now, and they can

Golden State played two weeks ago at New Orleans and the Warriors cruised to a 93-72 win. There was little offensive production in that game from the Hornets, but they were playing without point guard Eric Gordon because that game came on the second night of a back-to-back set. His presence on the court makes a significant difference for their offense so the fact he did not play in that game cannot be overlooked. Gordon will play tonight against the Warriors, and we expect a much better offensive output by the Hornets. This will be their first road game since March 17th, and since they

Iowa opened as a 2-point favorite over Maryland but money quickly came in on the Hawkeyes moving this line up 1

San Antonio inexplicably lost at home last night to the Miami Heat as 9

Duke

Michigan is extremely lucky to be playing in this game this afternoon. The Wolverines were dominated by Kansas on Friday night as they trailed by double digits for the majority of that game. Michigan trailed by 14 points with less than 7 minutes to play, and thanks to Kansas

Memphis comes into tonight

Wichita State has been quite impressive in their first three tournament games. The Shockers blew out a good Pittsburgh team by 18 points (73-55), and they followed that up with a 76-70 win over a very good Saint Louis team. Wichita State then manhandled La Salle in their last game while cruising to an easy 72-58 win. The Shockers used very little energy in that game so they will be fresh for tonight

Syracuse comes into today

Florida Gulf Coast has been the talk of the NCAA tournament after upsetting Georgetown and San Diego State. The Eagles are the first #15 seed to make the Sweet 16, so it was easy for the media and public to jump on the bandwagon. However, beating Georgetown and San Diego State was not that impressive since both of those teams had serious flaws and they were simply mediocre teams. Georgetown has now been eliminated by a double-digit seed in five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, while San Diego State came from an overrated Mountain West Conference that went just 2-5 SU in the NCAA Tournament this year. Florida Gulf Coast will now be taking a major step-up in class tonight against Florida; the highest rated team in my power ratings. On the surface, the pointspread may look high, but keep in mind Florida Gulf Coast closed as a 14-point underdog against Georgetown, and a 7

Atlanta will be playing their fourth consecutive road game tonight before playing at home tomorrow night against Orlando. The Hawks have played all three of their recent road games Over the total, and they

Michigan had the luxury of playing two virtual home games so far in this tournament. The Wolverines played in nearby Auburn Hills, and they had a massive home crowd advantage against South Dakota State and VCU. The location helped Michigan greatly because they are a very young team without much experience. It also didn

Oregon has been quite impressive so far in this tournament. The Ducks beat two very good teams in Oklahoma State (68-55) and Saint Louis (74-57). The most surprising thing about Oregon in those two games was the play of their defense. They held their two opponents to a combined 39.0% (41-105) shooting from the field and 21.1% (8-38) shooting from three-point land. Oregon

Syracuse comes into tonight

Arizona was quite impressive in their first two tournament games. The Wildcats blew out a very good Belmont team by 17 points (81-64), and they followed that up with a 23-point win (74-51) over Harvard. The biggest weakness for Arizona coming into this tournament was their weak 3-point defense. But the Wildcats stopped that leak in a big way as they held Belmont and Harvard to just 28.9% (13-45) shooting from beyond the arc. That

Marquette was terribly over-seeded at #3 for this tournament, and we saw this team get extremely lucky in their first two games. The Golden Eagles trailed throughout their game against Davidson, and they hit a last-second layup to win. Marquette was in a dog fight with Butler before pulling that game out 74-72. The Golden Eagles went 23-8 during the regular season, but the majority of those wins came on their strong home court where they went a perfect 16-0. Marquette went just 5-6 in true road games and 2-2 on neutral courts; 4-2 now after winning two games in this tournament. Marquette played 8 tournament teams away from home during the regular season and they did not beat a single team in regulation time. And that trend continued with their two, last-second wins over Davidson and Butler.

Miami won in a blowout in their first tournament game as they beat Pacific 78-49. But the Hurricanes were in a battle with Illinois after Miami shot the ball poorly in that game. The Hurricanes hit just 40.0% (22-55) from the field and 36.0% (9-25) from three-point land in their 63-59 win. We expect Miami to play much better tonight, and their best game lays over Marquette

Los Angeles was in a good spot last night for their game in Dallas. The Clippers went into that game with two full days of rest, and it was their first game of a 4-game road trip. They beat Dallas handily in their previous two matchups, but the Clippers came up short in their 109-102 overtime loss. Chris Paul played after being a game-time decision with a knee injury; he was on the court for more than 39 minutes. In fact, six players were on the court for more than 30 minutes which means they will be a little fatigued for tonight

Memphis comes into tonight

Maryland has played a lot of games lately, and the Terrapins may hit the wall tonight. Coming into tonight

New York is playing some good basketball right now. The Knicks have won four straight games as their offense has picked up the pace. They are averaging 101 points per game over their last four ballgames; the Knicks averaged just 82 points per game in their previous four games. New York has shot incredibly well during their recent games as they hit 51.2% (151-295) from the field. The Knicks were able to play at their preferred fast-pace in those games, and they

Denver is matching win for win with Miami; the Nuggets come into tonight

Miami won again last night to push their winning streak up to 26 games. The Heat played without Dwyane Wade last night and they beat Charlotte 109-77. Miami shot incredibly well as they hit 50% (38-76) from the field and 43.3% (13-30) from three-point land. They also hit 20 of their 23 free throws. But tonight they are in a difficult scheduling spot as they are playing on back-to-back nights with this also being their third game in four nights. Miami plays at Chicago on Wednesday night, and have to believe they see that game as more of a challenge than tonight. Miami is just 2-7 ATS as a double digit favorite during their current winning streak, and they

Illinois is a mediocre team at best and their 23-12 record speaks to that. Yes, they did play in the ultra-tough Big 10, but the Illini were thoroughly out-played and they are the only team to be playing in this tournament that had a negative efficiency margin in conference play. Illinois was able to advance because they were facing another weak team in Colorado, and that game came right down to the final few minutes. Illinois needs to play at a quick pace while making a lot of three

Minnesota has been up and down all season long, and their inconsistency has plagued them all year. The Gophers came into their NCAA tournament game on Friday on a 3-game losing streak and as losers of 11 of their previous 16 games. Minnesota took advantage of an ill-prepared UCLA team and won 83-63. UCLA will fire their head coach after that poor showing so we

Charlotte has had a dreadful season as they come into tonight

North Carolina got a pretty easy opponent on Friday as the Tar Heels were never threatened in their 78-71 win over Villanova. But their competition takes a major jump in class here with Kansas, and we expect North Carolina

California beat UNLV 64-61 on Thursday night, not because of how good they played, but rather more like how bad UNLV played. The Rebels were completely unprepared for that game and they shot just 32.2% (19-59) from the field and 30.0% (6-20) from three point land. California is a 2-man team with Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs; they scored 32 of California

Sacramento played Denver a little less than three weeks ago and the Kings lost at home 120-113. They were competitive in three of the four quarters which is a good sign for tonight

Memphis continues to fly well under the radar; the Tigers come into today

Oklahoma is a very experienced team that returned 86% of their possessions and 83% of their minutes from last season. Head coach Lon Kruger is in his second full season at Oklahoma and the Sooners played up to their expectations this season. Oklahoma comes into tonight

Northwestern State had a pretty good season as the Demons went 23-8 overall and 17-3 in the Southland conference. However, they played the fourth weakest non-conference schedule of all the NCAA tournament teams and the three teams below them have already lost. Northwestern State plays at an extremely fast pace, but they will be unable to control the tempo in this game. Florida plays the opposite way as the Gators play at slow pace and their style will dictate this game. The Demons