Memphis is in a brutal scheduling spot for tonight

Philadelphia and Miami both come into tonight

Kansas survived yet another game on Saturday night when they beat Ohio State 64-62. The Jayhawks trailed by 13 points on five separate occasions in that game and they took their first lead of the game with just over 2 minutes left to play. Their win was more of a function of Ohio State

Minnesota is finally feeling the loss of point guard Ricky Rubio. The Timberwolves were able to be competitive when they first lost Rubio to a season-ending knee injury, but they

Kansas has not played good basketball in three of their four tournament games, especially their offense. Kansas shot just 38.6% (68-176) from the field in their first three tournament games. And that is concerning since they faced three of the worst defensive teams in the entire NCAA tournament. Kansas scored 65, 63, and 60 points in those three games despite facing defenses that allowed an average of 1.00 points per possession. Kansas

With a trip to the National Championship game on the line, we expect a slow, half-court game tonight between Ohio St and Kansas. Ohio St allows just 59.7 points per game on 40.6% shooting form the field and 32.6% shooting from three-point land. Kansas allows just 61.6 points per game on 38% shooting from the field and 33.7% shooting from three-point land. Those strong defensive units match-up well with the opposing offenses, especially out on the perimeter. Neither team relies heavily on scoring from three-point land as only 20.1% of the points scored by Ohio St come from beyond the arc and only 23.7% of the points scored by Kansas come from downtown. Without much scoring from three-point land, it

Both teams played last night and their results were very different. Atlanta played at home against the Knicks, and they won that game 100-90. Philadelphia played at Washington, and they were blown out by the Wizards 97-76 as an 8-point road favorite. Off different results, we expect Philadelphia to be more focused on tonight

Louisville is playing some of the best basketball of any team remaining in the tournament. The Cardinals have been on a major role since the Big East conference tournament when they won four games in four nights to take home the title. Louisville has won and covered the pointspread in 8 consecutive games, and there

Sacramento

This total is priced based on last year

Dallas beat Miami in the NBA Finals last season to win the championship. And they won the final game on Miami

Both teams got hot just at the right time; Stanford has won six of their last seven games while Minnesota has also won six of their last seven games. The teams took opposite paths to reach New York in this tournament. The Cardinal was fortunate enough to play all three of their tournament games on their home court so they weren

Phoenix lost 107-100 at home last night to San Antonio. That loss was the Suns

San Antonio is in a terrible scheduling spot for tonight

Minnesota fooled us a couple of times in this tournament as we failed to accept their reversal of form. The Golden Gophers struggled during the regular season, but ever since the Big 10 conference tournament, this team has played terrific basketball. Minnesota is 5-1 over their last six games with their only loss coming in overtime to Michigan by 4 points. The Golden Gophers have also covered the pointspread in seven consecutive games with five straight underdog wins. Minnesota

Massachusetts has been playing some terrific basketball since the beginning of March. The Minutemen have won six of their seven games this month while covering the pointspread in five of those games, including a 4-1 ATS record as an underdog. The most impressive part of their run is the fact that they

Milwaukee has drastically changed their style of play since trading for Monta Ellis.

Kansas was in a prime spot on Friday night to blowout NC State. But the Jayhawks failed to do that, and to us, that

Baylor survived yet another game on Friday night when they beat Xavier 75-70. The Bears are more talented than Xavier, yet they let them hang around to the end which shows that the Bears simply get by on their raw talent alone. They are not well-coached in our opinion as Scott Drew doesn

San Antonio is not in a good scheduling spot for this game tonight. The Spurs beat their in-state rival last night; San Antonio beat Dallas by 17 points (104-87). Off that big win, San Antonio must now travel and play on a back-to-back set with this game also being the middle game of a 3 games in 3 nights set as the Spurs return home to host Philadelphia tomorrow night. San Antonio

After watching these two teams play on Thursday night, we are not that surprised that Ohio St is the favorite in this game. The Buckeyes were more impressive in their 81-66 blowout win over Cincinnati than the Orange was in their 64-63 survival win over Wisconsin. However, Syracuse had the much more difficult match-up against a very good Wisconsin team. Syracuse does not like to play slow, half-court basketball and they were simply facing a difficult opponent. Yet they still won the game, and to us, that was more impressive than Ohio St

With a trip to the Final Four on the line, we expect a slow, half-court game tonight between Ohio St and Syracuse. Neither team plays at a fast pace anyway, and since both the Buckeyes and Orange posses strong defenses, we

Louisville is playing some of the best basketball of any team remaining in the tournament. The Cardinals have been on a major role since the Big East conference tournament when they won four games in four nights to take home the title. Louisville has won and covered the pointspread in 7 consecutive games, and there

NC State is playing with house money. The Wolfpack were extremely fortunate to get an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament; their narrow loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament got them in. But in reality, this team does not belong in this tournament, and the fact that they are still playing is sort of unbelievable. They beat a flawed San Diego St team in their opening game after shooting 58.5% (31-53) from the field, and then they beat an over-seeded Georgetown team despite shooting just 37% (20-54) from the field. NC State is not a deep team at all as they play just a 7-man rotation with their two reserves playing right around 15 minutes each per game. Their short rotation was able to survive their first two opponents because both of them are slow, half-court teams. That will not be the case tonight against an up-tempo Kansas team that should run NC State right out of the gym.

Kansas has had tough match-ups in their first two games. They had to face Detroit in their first game, and the Titans were an extremely strong 15-seed. Kansas then had to face an experienced Purdue team that was one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country this season. The Boilermakers hit 44.4% (8-18) from three-point land in that game, but Kansas was able to overcome it and sneak by with a 63-60 win. The Jayhawks finally get an easy opponent, and their superiority will show throughout this game. The way to beat Kansas is by hitting three

Ohio has been impressive in both of their tournament games; the Bobcats beat Michigan 65-60 as 5

Xavier has a ton of experience playing this deep into the tournament; the Musketeers are playing in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time over the last five years. And while Xavier was probably a questionable at-large bid, they

Cincinnati has played ultra-competitive basketball all season as 8 of their 10 losses have come by 7 points or less, including four losses by 4 points or less. Cincinnati is a few plays away from having an outstanding record, and they played the last half of the season with a tournament mentality.

Louisville is playing some of the best basketball of any team remaining in the tournament. The Cardinals have been on a major role since the Big East conference tournament when they won four games in four nights to take home the title. Louisville has won and covered the pointspread in 6 consecutive games, and there

Wisconsin continues to fly well under the radar in this tournament. The Badgers own one of the best defensive teams in the country; they allow just 52.9 points per game on 38.5% shooting from the field and 28.8% from three-point land. Only 20.1% of the points allowed by Wisconsin

Minnesota comes into tonight

Minnesota has won two road games in the NIT so far, but we expect their mini win streak to stop tonight. The Gophers were one of the worst teams in the Big 10 this season; Minnesota struggled to score points and their defense was easy to score upon. We view their two wins over La Salle and Miami (Fla) as aberrations; the Gophers

Oklahoma City comes into tonight

Wyoming has played terrific basketball this season; the Cowboys come into tonight

Middle Tennessee St was the overwhelming favorite to win the Sun Belt tournament, but the Blue Raiders lost in their first game as a 10-point favorite. That loss prevented them from making the NCAA tournament, and so they continue their season in the NIT. The Blue Raiders beat Marshall at home in the opening round, but now they must travel to

Princeton has the exact profile we look for when backing a lower-tier conference team in a tournament game. The Tigers play at a very slow pace which allows them to hang around in games where they are the less talented team. Princeton has held 29 of their 31 opponents this year to less than 70 points in regulation time, and that fact alone makes them a dangerous underdog in this pointspread range. Princeton

Lehigh comes in off their big

Lehigh and Xavier both like to get up and down the court while playing an up-tempo style of basketball. Of the remaining teams in the NCAA tournament, only North Carolina and Marquette play at a faster pace than the Mountain Hawks and Musketeers. Lehigh plays an average of 69.2 possessions per game while Xavier plays 68.9 possessions per game. Both teams are more effective when they are allowed to get out and score easy baskets in transition. Lehigh was able to do that in their game against Duke as they scored 75 points; they also got to the free throw line a whopping 37 times which shows just how aggressive they play on offense. Xavier was unable to play a fast game against slow and methodical Notre Dame; the Irish were the fifth slowest team in the country this season playing just 60.8 possessions per game. Xavier will welcome the quicker pace tonight with open arms.

Xavier

Both teams come in off underdog wins on Friday. Ohio beat Michigan 65-60 as 5

These two teams just played on Tuesday night with Orlando winning 104-98 in overtime. Tonight

Saint Louis came through for us on Friday when they defeated Memphis 61-54 as a 3-point underdog. We have no hesitation in taking the Billikens once again, even against top-seeded Michigan State. We like Saint Louis in this game for similar reasons, especially since they are 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 likes to get out in transition. Michigan State is that type of team, but the Spartans will be forced to grind this game out on both ends of the court which will make it extremely difficult for them to win this game by a big margin.

Michigan State also has a terrific tournament coach in Tom Izzo. This game will be a chess match between the two tacticians, but since Saint Louis is getting a decent amount of points, we see some tremendous value with the Billikens, especially since they are 3-0 ATS as an underdog this season. Majerus is too smart of a coach to allow his team to get caught-up in a running game today, and he

Iowa State had a terrific season and the Cyclones notched an easy win (77-64) over Connecticut on Thursday night. But their season will end tonight as Kentucky simply has way too much offense and defense for Iowa State to be competitive. The Cyclones

Vanderbilt won and covered on Thursday after beating Harvard 79-70. The Commodores had a tremendous amount of success from beyond the arc in that game as they shot 44.4% (8-18) from three-point land. Vanderbilt also got to the free throw line a whopping 30 times (just 14 for Harvard), and they hit 21 of those attempts. In all, Vanderbilt scored 45 of their 79 points from the free throw line and from beyond the arc. That is not going to happen tonight against a Wisconsin team that does not foul often and guards the three-point line very well. Vanderbilt

Murray St won their game by 17 points (58-41) on Thursday over Colorado State despite not playing a good game at all. The Racers shot just 39.2% (20-51) from the field and 29.4% (5-17) from three-point land. Murray St also hit just 50% (13-26) from the free throw line. Despite the bad play, they still won the game in hand. Murray St is a very good team, and knowing that they played well below their ability in their last game sets them up very well for this game against Marquette. The Racers do not play at a fast pace, and their strong play in the half court bodes well for them in this match-up. Murray St

Miami has been a team playing at a fast pace all season. They are averaging 102.5 points per game while shooting an incredible 48.3% from the field and 39.4% from three-point land. The Heat come into tonight

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

Belmont was everybody

St. Bonaventure stole a bid when they won three games in three days to take the A-10 conference tournament. However, their run in that tournament wasn

Virginia has had a tremendous season, but the Cavaliers stumbled down the stretch as they lost three of their last four games and six of their last ten games overall. However, the majority of those losses were close, and in fact, an incredible seven of their nine losses this season have come by 3 points or less. Virginia

Phoenix won again last night as the Suns beat the Jazz 120-111. That win was Phoenix

South Dakota State is a sneaky good team that should give Baylor all they can handle. The Jackrabbits went 27-7 this season and they were a profitable 18-7-1 ATS in their lined games. South Dakota State also has one of the best players in the country that you

Harvard has the exact profile we look for when backing a lower-tier conference team in the NCAA tournament. The Crimson play at a very slow pace and that allows them to hang around in games where they are the less talented team. Harvard has won 87% (26-4) of their games this season, including a 46-41 win over Florida State who is a #3 seed in this tournament. Harvard has held all 30 of their opponents to 70 points or less this season, and that fact alone makes them a dangerous underdog in this pointspread range. The Crimson also knock down their free-throws; they hit 75% from the line. Harvard

Davidson had a terrific season as they went 25-7 and won the Southern conference tournament to earn the automatic NCAA bid. This program is no stranger to the tournament, and head coach Bob McKillop is tremendous. Davidson returned 7 of their top 8 scorers from last season, and the Wildcats

Philadelphia

The pointspread on this game is based more on the conference affiliation and the name on the front of the jerseys, and not on the merits of the two teams. The Big 10 has been hailed the best conference in college basketball this season. But the league is top heavy, and a team like Minnesota is getting respect, not because of their on-court play, but because of the conference they played in. Minnesota was one of the worst teams in the Big 10 this season; the Gophers struggled to score points and their defense was easy to score upon. Minnesota just played in two overtime games in the Big 10 conference tournament and now they must travel to Philadelphia and take on a pretty good La Salle team.

La Salle played in the underrated A-10 this season. The conference was strong across the board, and the Explorers had a positive efficiency margin. La Salle also plays on a very strong home court where they went 14-2 this season with their two losses coming against Temple in overtime and Saint Louis; those two teams are in the NCAA tournament. La Salle

Both of these teams had legitimate chances to make the NCAA tournament, but they both came up short in their conference tournaments. Middle Tennessee St was the overwhelming favorite to win the Sun Belt tournament, but the Blue Raiders lost in their first game as a 10-point favorite. Marshall made a deep run in the CUSA tournament and they made it to the final before getting blown out by 26 points (83-57) by Memphis. That deep run by the Thundering Herd took a lot out of them, and with a quick turnaround game on the road, Marshall is in a terrible scheduling spot for this game. Marshall will be playing their fifth game over the last seven days, and since they played a triple overtime game during that stretch, the Herd should be gassed in the second half of this game, especially against a fresh Middle Tennessee St team.

Middle Tennessee St hasn

This will be the third meeting of the season between Miami and Orlando. The teams have split the series so far with each team winning on their home court. Miami

This game between Washington and San Antonio has a rare scheduling dynamic to it, especially considering this year

The Big 10 conference tournament worked out well as the two best teams in the league are playing for the title this afternoon. This game will be the third meeting of the season; the teams split the series with the road team winning both games. Michigan State won 58-48 at Ohio State one month ago and the Buckeyes avenged that loss with a 72-70 win over the Spartans last Sunday. The dynamic of today

This is the third meeting of the season between these two teams; Kentucky won at home 83-74 and at Vanderbilt 69-63. Both games were close and competitive, and we expect a similar game this afternoon. Vanderbilt is an extremely dangerous opponent for any team as they have experience, depth, and they can the shoot the ball from anywhere on the court, especially from three-point range. Those are key ingredients a team must have when playing for an upset and Vanderbilt excels in all three areas. Vanderbilt matches up very well against Kentucky because they are big and athletic in the front court and big in the back court. Not many teams can say that when playing the Wildcats, but Vanderbilt can.

Kentucky is the most talented team in the country, but because of that they have to pay a pointspread tax in almost every one of their games. The Wildcats have dropped two straight games ATS in this tournament, and they are just 2-5 ATS over their last seven games overall. Vanderbilt has covered the pointspread in both of their tournament games, and they

Vanderbilt and Kentucky will be playing for the third time this season. The Wildcats won the first two meetings; they won at home 83-74 and at Vanderbilt 69-63. Kentucky

Philadelphia is a fast-break team that can score on any defense. The Sixers

Louisville lost four of their last six games to close the regular season. The reason they did was their slumping offense that scored 57 points or less in five of those six games. Prior to that, the Cardinals had won six straight games because they were pushing the pace and scoring points; they scored 73 points or more in five games during their 6-game winning streak. And coming into this tournament, they wanted to push the pace and get back to their preferred style of basketball.

Memphis is playing terrific basketball right now. The Grizzlies have won five consecutive games and nine of their last ten games overall. But one of their recent losses came against Phoenix, and it was the Grizzlies first loss of the season against a losing team. Memphis is 12-1 against teams with losing records, and they view tonight

The Big 12 tournament final was almost certain to get two of the three best teams in the league. Baylor and Missouri made it while Kansas was the odd team out after losing to the Bears last night. This game will be the third meeting of the season; Missouri won both meetings. The Tigers won 89-88 at Baylor back in mid-January and they won 72-57 on their home court last month. The dynamic of tonight

Georgia comes in off a 71-61 upset win over Mississippi State last night. The Bulldogs were a 5-point underdog in that game against an underachieving team, but tonight they are only getting two points more against the second best team in the SEC. Aside from Kentucky, the Commodores have the most talented team in the league and they

Mississippi played last night and the Rebels notched a 68-54 win over Auburn. But that win is nothing to brag about since Auburn was terrible this season and they were also dealing with the news about a point-shaving scandal involving their starting point guard a couple of days ago. Auburn was ripe for the picking, and the Rebels took advantage. Tonight

The last two games between Utah and Philadelphia were high-scoring affairs with 219 and 201 points scored. We expect a similar game tonight, especially since the Jazz and Sixers have made lineup changes to improve their offenses. Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin has shifted Gordon Hawyard to the second unit after he started every game this season for the Jazz. The move was to improve the second unit

This is a rematch game from just four days ago; Stanford won that game 75-70. In fact, this will be the third meeting between Stanford and California this season; the Golden Bears won the first game 69-59. California was in a terrible scheduling spot for their last game at Stanford as it was their third straight road game and they were also playing the Cardinal in their last home game of the season. Despite all the negatives they were up against, California still played a very good game as they out-rebounded and got to the free throw line eight more times. Those are two areas in which teams lose their way when in terrible situational spots, but the fact that California did not and actually won those areas is an extremely positive sign for tonight

Oklahoma State played last night and the Cowboys got an easy 76-60 win over Texas Tech. However, the Red Raiders are the worst team in the Big 12 and Oklahoma State

This will be the third meeting of the season between these two teams with Southern Miss owning a 2-0 record against East Carolina; they are also 8-2 ATS in this series versus today

Memphis is playing terrific basketball right now. The Grizzlies have won four consecutive games and eight of their last nine games overall. Included in their recent wins was a 104-103 home victory over Golden State. That final score was a lot closer than the game actually was as Memphis held an 18-point lead at one point before the Warriors made a big run to get back into the game. The Grizzlies shot 50.7% (37-73) from the field in that game and they also got to the free throw line 38 times. They scored 44 points in the paint compared to just 22 points in the paint for Golden State. And they also had 15 fast break points to just 6 fast break points for the Warriors. So despite it being a one point game, Memphis dominated that game in every facet, and we can expect more of the same tonight.

Golden State returns home from a 5-game, post All-Star break East Coast road trip. The Warriors played terrible basketball as they went just 2-3 SU as their offense scored 85 points or less in four of the five games. Tonight will be Golden State

New York comes into tonight

Despite their 17-20 record, the Phoenix Suns are quietly playing some good basketball right now. Since the All-Star break, the Suns are a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS while averaging 93.7 points per game on offense and allowing just 87 points per game on defense. Phoenix was also playing good basketball before the break as they went 6-6 SU with four of their six losses coming by 7 points or less. Phoenix hasn

Seton Hall will be playing their second game in as many nights after waxing Providence 79-47 in the first round of the Big East tournament. The Pirates

This isn

The WCC tournament is set up for the best teams to make the final, and that

Chicago is one of the best teams in the NBA; the Bulls come into this game with a terrific 30-8 record. But 6 of their 8 losses have come on the road, including a 98-82 loss at Philadelphia back in early February. Chicago does not match-up well with the Sixers as they

This is a rematch game from late January when California beat Stanford at home 69-59. Even though they lost, Stanford

Virginia comes in off a terrible home loss to Florida State in their last game. The Cavaliers were in a terrific scheduling spot for that game, and they held a 10-point lead with just over three minutes left to play. But they collapsed down the stretch and got out-scored 16-3 by the Seminoles and lost that game 63-60 on a last-second three. That type of loss will leave Virginia with a hangover, and since they already beat Maryland by 27 points this season (71-44), we do not expect much intensity out of the Cavaliers in this game this afternoon. Virginia also has a thin roster (just 8 scholarship players):

Kentucky is the most talented team in the country, there

Indiana has played just one game since the All-Star break; New Orleans has played three games. The Pacers have the much fresher legs coming into tonight

This is a rematch game from three weeks ago when Baylor beat Iowa State 79-64 on their home court. The Bears were in a terrific situation for that game as they came in off back-to-back blowout losses to the two best teams in the Big 12; they lost at home to Kansas 68-54 and they lost at Missouri 72-57. Baylor was catching Iowa State off a 23-point win over Texas A&M after they came off a road loss at Oklahoma State. Everything was lined up for Baylor to get a solid win in that game, and they did just that. But the roles are reversed for tonight

Louisville was on a 6-game winning streak heading into their game against Syracuse back on February 13th; the Cardinals lost that game at home 52-51. Since that game, Louisville has alternated wins and losses in their last four games. They come into this game off an ugly 58-51 home loss to South Florida on Wednesday night. Head coach Rick Pitino has said that he will alter the lineup for this game because he was unhappy with the effort of his players on the defensive end of the court. That projected move caught the attention of the players, and reports have indicated that Louisville is sitting on a big effort. Overall, the Cardinals do play outstanding defense as they hold opponents to just 62 points per game on 37.8% shooting from the field and 32.2% shooting from three-point land. Louisville has held 23 of their 30 opponents to less than 70 points this season, and a low-scoring, half-court game is not what Syracuse wants.

Syracuse comes into today

Georgetown comes in with an impressive 22-6 record, but the Hoyas have played an extremely easy schedule as of late; 10 of their last 12 opponents represent the bottom half of the Big East. On the road, Georgetown has struggled this season and they are just 1-3 SU away from home their last four tries, including two losses by 12 points or more. Their overall numbers take a major dip on the road, especially their defense. Overall, Georgetown allows 58 points per game on 38.3% shooting from the field and 27.8% shooting from three-point land. On the road, those numbers fall to 65 points per game on 41.9% shooting from the field and 29.7% shooting from three-point land. Their offense also struggles to score consistently; they

If you just look at these two teams at face value, then you may be inclined to think that Southern Mississippi is the superior team. The Golden Eagles come into today

This is a conference tournament game being played in St. Louis and not on the home floor of any team. The Missouri Valley is a top heavy conference with the two best teams way ahead of the others. Wichita State and Creighton were the two best teams in this league all season, and we can expect that to show once again in this tournament. Creighton went a terrific 25-5 during the regular season, including a 14-4 record in conference play. Their offense is spectacular as the Bluejays average 79.7 points per game on 50.8% shooting from the field and 42.8% shooting from three-point land. Creighton

Memphis is a good team that comes into tonight

The All-Star break did not come at a good time for Miami. The Heat were on a roll prior to the break; they won eight consecutive games all by 12 points or more. Their offense was incredible in those games as they scored 102 points or more in seven of the eight games. However, the All-Star break disrupted their momentum, and Miami

This is a rematch game from early February when Florida State beat Virginia 58-55. But the Seminoles were playing much better basketball back then as they came into that game on a 6-game winning streak. Things are different tonight as Florida State comes into this game on a 2-game losing streak. The Seminoles

UNLV comes into tonight

Marquette comes in off a draining comeback win at West Virginia in their last game. The Golden Eagles trailed that game by 19 points in the second half but they rallied for the improbable 61-60 win. What

This is a rematch game from mid-January when Buffalo beat Akron 82-70. The Bulls were coming off a 2-game road losing streak while the Zips came into that game on a 4-game winning streak with three of their wins coming on the road. That was a terrible spot for Akron and a terrific spot for Buffalo, and the Bulls took advantage as they brought their best effort and won the game. Tonight

The All-Star break did not come at a good time for Oklahoma City. The Thunder took an NBA best 27-7 record with them into the break. Oklahoma City was on a 5-game winning streak in which their offense was playing spectacular basketball as they averaged 111 points per game on 48.7% shooting from the field and 35.2% shooting from three-point land in those five games. But all five of those games came on their home court, and the All-Star break disrupted their momentum. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook did not get any rest over the break because they both played in the All-Star game. And those two guys make up the majority of the Thunder

The SEC is a top-heavy basketball conference this season. Kentucky is the best team in the league, and then Florida and Vanderbilt make-up the second tier with everybody else filling out the rest. This will be the second meeting of the season between the Gators and Commodores; Florida won at home 73-65 earlier this month. With tonight

The All-Star break came at the perfect time for a team like Toronto. The Raptors needed some time off to rest and get healthier in order to get some of their players back on the court. Toronto has been off since last Wednesday, and the time off has allowed Linas Kleiza

Notre Dame has seemingly come out of nowhere this season. The Irish were supposed to be in a down year, a rebuilding season after losing a lot of their key personnel from last year

The oddsmakers incorrectly priced this game when they opened the East as a 1-point favorite as sharp money immediately came in on the East and we certainly agree with that move. The Eastern Conference has the better overall teams in the NBA this season, and they certainly have a better roster than the Western Conference in this game.

The East has a formidable starting five with familiarity as the Miami Heat is represented by LeBron James and Dwayne Wade; the other three starters are Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard. The East also has a powerful second unit that knows each other real well since there are two Celtics on the roster in Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. Their second unit also features another player from the Heat, Chris Bosh, and another guy from the Bulls in Luol Deng. Not only that, but the East will also be coached by Chicago

This is a rematch game from early January when California beat Colorado at home 57-50. Even though they lost, Colorado

Wisconsin has been more inconsistent this season than they

If you just look at these two teams at face value, then you may be inclined to think that Central Florida is the superior team. The Knights come into tonight