Clippers -8.5

The Los Angeles Clippers host the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. Los Angeles is coming off a 112-100 win over Denver, while Boston beat Brooklyn their last time out, 93-76.

The Clippers are in the midst of giving the Lakers a run for the spot of Los Angeles

BYU -19.5

The BYU Cougars have historically been a very good team at home. BYU has put beat downs on a whole lot of teams on their home floor. The Marriott Center is a terrific environment for basketball.

Northern Arizona is in the weak Big Sky Conference, and they are one of the worst teams in that league. Northern Arizona has been blasted on the road several times this year.

In their last game they were beaten 98-51 by Colorado.

NAU has many problems, but the worst of their problems is that they play terrible defense. Opponents get easy looks right around the rim far too often.

Colorado actually shot 67% from the floor in their win over the Lumberjacks last game.

BYU has a lot of interior strength, and that should be a big problem for Northern Arizona here. Brandon Davies and Tyler Haws are two stars for the Cougars, and they should put up big numbers in this one.

Both of them are averaging 20 points per game this year.

BYU is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 against the Big Sky Conference. Northern Arizona is 0-6 ATS in their last 6 against the West Coast Conference.

Take BYU -19 as a 7* play.

Magic -1.5

The Orlando Magic host the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday. Orlando lost to Utah their last time out, 97-93, while New Orleans is coming off an 81-75 loss to Indiana.

Orlando has won four of their last six games, and is coming off a last minute loss to Utah in which they had a chance to tie the game from the charity stripe in the closing moments of the game. The team

Jazz +10

The Miami Heat host the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. Miami is coming off a 110-95 win over Dallas, while Utah lost to Indiana their last time out, 104-84.

We've faded the Heat on several occasions this season and have had a lot of success doing so. We recommended the Warriors last week and they not only covered an 8-point spread, but won the game outright.

The Heat are a heavily backed public team and that leads to less than favorable lines for them. The team has covered the spread in five of their last six games and it is about time for the books to take some of that money back.

Utah has had a couple nights off to prepare for this game, and you can be sure they won

George Mason +5.5

George Mason and Richmond will square off in an intrastate battle Saturday afternoon. These two teams don

Wake Forest -1

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons aren

Evansville +12

The Butler Bulldogs picked up a historic victory against the Indiana Hoosiers last weekend. Butler was able to knock off the #1 ranked Hoosiers in a raucous environment.

You have to assume that there will be a little bit of a letdown in this one for Butler.

Evansville is a middle of the line Missouri Valley team. The Purple Aces have a star in guard Colt Ryan.

Ryan will definitely be one of the best players on the floor in this matchup.

I expect him to be able to break down the Butler defense and get open looks for himself and his teammates. Evansville only lost by 7 at Colorado State earlier this year.

Colorado State is a quality team who has a good chance of making the NCAA Tournament this year.

The public is pounding Butler in early betting in this one.

I think this is a situation where the public ends up being on the wrong side. Evansville is 21-9-1 ATS in their last 31 games.

Take Evansville Saturday as a 7* Play.

Montana -2

The Sacramento State Hornets host the Montana Grizzlies on Friday. The Grizzlies won each of the meetings between these teams last season, including a 29-point win at home.

Montana defeated Northern Arizona 62-56 to open their Big Sky schedule. The Grizzlies won the Conference championship a year ago, and entered the season as the favorites to do so again. The team finished 15-1 inside the conference last season, and are clearly the team to beat again this year.

Senior guard Will Cherry led the team in scoring a year ago. He missed the first seven games of the season but returned for the last two, and is ready to return to a bigger role. Cherry made his first start of the year and saw 35 minutes of floor time against Northern Arizona.

Sacramento State is getting a lot of credit in this game for having a better record than Montana, but their schedule has been far more favorable. Their first Big Sky win came against a bad Montana State team, and they

BYU +7.5

The BYU Cougars have a lot of experience on this year

Bulls +6.5

The New York Knicks host the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Chicago won the first meeting between these teams on December 8th, 93-85.

Without Derrick Rose to lead the offense, Tom Thibodeau has his Bulls playing phenomenally at the defensive end of the court. The team allows only 90.3 pointS per game on 42.4 percent shooting, with each mark ranking second best in the NBA.

Chicago has been competitive in all of their games this year, losing by double-digits only once. The team has been stellar on the glass. Both Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah recorded double-doubles in the December 8th meeting with New York.

The public loves the Knicks, and their 11-1 record at home is only feeding that. The team gets less than favorable lines to begin with as a public team.

They are 7-9 ATS in their last 16 games despite playing relatively well in those games. A large part of the reason for that is because the team has taken a step back at the defensive end of the court recently.

Before facing a struggling Brooklyn team on Wednesday, the Knicks had allowed an average of 106.0 points in their last four home games.

The Bulls are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games, and have won six of eight games overall. Take Chicago.

7* Play on Chicago Bulls +6.5

Portland State -7.5

The Portland State Vikings host the Idaho State Bengals on Thursday. The Vikings won each of their meetings with the Bengals last season by double-digits.

The Vikings are just 2-5, but don

Montana -1

Northern Arizona simply isn

Hawks +6.5

The Atlanta Hawks host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. These teams met in Oklahoma City in November with Atlanta winning, 104-95.

The Hawks are 8-4 at home, but just 3-8 ATS at Philips Arena. The oddsmakers are over-compensating here by giving Atlanta this many points in a home game.

Atlanta won the previous meeting and Josh Smith didn't even play in that game. Smith is coming off a performance against Washington in which he racked up 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Serge Ibaka was a force against San Antonio, scoring a career-high 25 points, but Smith is one of the few players that can match his physicality and athleticism.

The public is happy to back Oklahoma City as they ride a hot streak, winning 18 of 20, but Atlanta is at the top of their game as well, winning 12 of 15. For the Thunder, this game is sandwiched in between a meeting with San Antonio and a Thursday night showdown with division rival Minnesota.

Motivation could be a factor here, and Atlanta

Illinois St. +4.5

The Illinois State Redbirds have proven they are a very solid team on multiple occasions this year. Illinois State led Louisville for almost the entire game, and they only lost to the Cardinals by three on the road.

Louisville is a top five team. Illinois State also beat a very solid Drexel team on the road.

The Missouri Valley Conference continues to be one of the best smaller conferences in the nation.

Illinois State has the play makers to win the Missouri Valley Conference this year, or at least be in contention for it all the way to the end.

Dayton is a pretty good team, but they haven

NC State -7

Stanford has a decent team, but I don

8* Play on Chicago Bulls -1.5

Write-up coming shortly.

Oregon -13

The Oregon Ducks are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the PAC 12 this year. The Ducks have some impressive wins already this year. Most impressive was their win over UNLV on the road.

The Runnin

Rockets +1.5

The Houston Rockets host the Boston Celtics on Friday. Houston is coming off a 99-93 win over Washington, while Boston lost their last game to Dallas, 117-115.

James Harden scored 31 points in his return to the lineup for the Rockets on Wednesday after a one-game absence. Harden represents a tough matchup for the aging Celtics, and they

UCF -5

Old Dominion has been a quality team in the CAA most years in the recent past, but the Monarchs have really hit the skids the past two years.

Last year

Warriors +9.5

The Miami Heat host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Miami is coming off a 101-92 win over Atlanta, while Golden State beat Charlotte their last time out, 104-96.

The Warriors enter this game on a roll having won four straight and will look to make a statement against the defending champion Heat. Mark Jackson finally has the team playing some defense, while still scoring an average of 99.7 points per game. Even without Andrew Bogut for most of the year, the Warriors rank fifth in the NBA in rebounding. That makes them a tough matchup for the Heat who rank 29th in rebounding and allow 99.6 points per game, the ninth highest total in the NBA.

The Heat have struggled as of late, dropping consecutive games last week and failing to cover the spread in five of their last eight games. It

Atlanta -4

The Atlanta Hawks are coming off a loss to the Miami Heat. Miami looked very good in that one, and losing to the defending champs is never a bad loss.

Before that game, Atlanta had a ton of momentum.

Orlando has been on a long five-game road trip. Often you

Bulls +3

The Chicago Bulls host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. Chicago is coming off a 93-85 win over New York, while Los Angeles beat Toronto their last time out, 102-83.

The Bulls have been heating up lately, winning five of their last six games. Not surprisingly for a Tom Thibodeau coached team they

76ers +1

The Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics on Friday. This game is the front-end of a home-and-home between these teams that will see them play in Boston on Saturday.

This is right around the time of year that the 76ers round into form. Under Doug Collins, the team is 16-5 ATS in the month of December. These teams met three times last season, with the home team notching a double-digit victory in each contest. Including last year

Timberwolves +6.5

The Boston Celtics host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Boston lost their last game to Milwaukee, 91-88, while Minnesota beat up on Philadelphia last night, 105-88.

Minnesota parlayed their highest-scoring 1st quarter of the season into a large lead against Philadelphia on Tuesday night, allowing the team to empty their bench. The team scored 57 points off the bench with everyone except Louis Amundson getting on the scoresheet, so fatigue won

Wizards +11

The Washington Wizards host the Miami Heat on Tuesday. Washington dropped their last game, 107-82 to New York, while Miami beat Brooklyn their last time out, 102-89.

Washington has been surprisingly effective against Miami and their Big-3, winning the last two meetings, and they appear to have a chance to make some noise against them again. The Wizards catch the Heat at a favourable time as Miami is between games against Eastern Conference leaders Brooklyn and New York. The Wizards are 4-1 ATS as underdogs of eight or more points this season and with the home crowd behind them they should put up a solid effort against the Heat.

Miami has a perfect 8-0 record at home, but they

Raptors +11

The Denver Nuggets host the Toronto Raptors on Monday night. The Nuggets lost their last game to the Lakers, 122-103, while the Raptors won their last time out, beating the Suns, 101-97.

Toronto has struggled to start the season, but they actually pose a tough matchup for a good Denver team. The Raptors attempt the eighth most three pointers in the league, while Denver ranks third-worst defensively at defending the three this season, after finishing dead last in the category a season ago. They allowed the Lakers to connect on 17 of their three-point attempts on Friday. Also, Denver has relied on a heavy presence on the offensive glass to create second-chance opportunities, leading the NBA with 15.0 offensive rebounds per game, but the Raptors have defended the glass well, allowing the second fewest offensive rebounds per game in the NBA.

Denver is coming off a miserable road trip in which they went 0-3. This home game is just a blip on the radar as they

Indiana +1

The Sacramento Kings host the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Indiana won the first meeting between these teams on November 3rd, 106-98.

This game will be Indiana