Tennessee is a very strong team but Arkansas is much better than most bettors realize. These were both top 10 teams in this year's preseason rankings. Public perception is providing us with a very generous line on a talented and live underdog.

The Razorbacks have under-achieved but they have turned the corner. They won their last game and have 2 wins their last 3 games. The Razorbacks are 9-4 SU at home and 38-9 here the last 3 years. They are 11-1 SU their last 12 home games where the total is 150 to 154.5

The Volunters are 6-5 on the road, only 3-8 against the spread. They are 8-13-1 versus the spread their last 22 tries, in a road game where the total is 150 to 154.5. They are off a loss to the Aggies and have dropped 2 of their last 4.

The Razorbacks have beaten the Volunteers the last few meetings here and they are 10-3 the last 13 here. In a game they could end up winning outright, let's grab all those points! **SEC GOY**

South Carolina is one of the bigger surprises of the season. Picked to finish in the basement, or at least near the bottom, of the competitive SEC Conference, the Gamecocks have thrived. They won't sneak up on the Tigers though and Auburn is a double-figure favorite for a reason.

When the Tigers win, they win big. Their last 6 victories have all come by at least 14 points. They have beaten the Gamecocks 6 straight times, the last 5 of those all came by greater than 10 points. The Tigers are 10-5, both straight-up and against the spread, their last 15 off a conference loss. They are also 5-0 versus the spread the past 5x that they home favorites of 9.5 to 12 points. This will be another cakewalk.

They say that an elephant never forgets. Apparently a "Wolf Pack" rarely does either. Nevada is an exemplary 79-50 against the spread its last 129 lined games, when playing with road revenge. That includes a 15-7 against the spread record when playing with revenge from a road loss of 20 or more points. Think the Wolf Pack remember last month's 89-55 throttling at New Mexico? You better believe it!

Since that beating, the Wolf Pack have won 3 straight, both straight up and versus the pointspread. The Lobos have dropped 2 of their last 3. They've been underdogs twice this season and came up short in both instances. Lay the small number!

I've now played on the Milwaukee Bucks twice in a row. The Bucks crushed Charlotte on the weekend and they dominated Denver last night. Tonight's game presents a far greater challenge.

Last night's win was a big one. The Bucks were home underdogs against the world champions and they served notice that they deserved more respect than that. That's exactly the type of win that a team can experience a let down from. The Bucks are 3-8 straight up and against the spread their last 11 tries, when off a SU win as an underdog.

The Heat have won 4 of their last 6 and both losses came by 8 or less. They are 5-1-1 ATS after playing 3 or more consecutive home games. Take the points!

Time will tell but I believe that they've got the wrong team favored in this one. I love a good home underdog as much as the next guy. The problem is Texas Tech isn't even a home underdog. The Red Raiders are laying points against a top 5 Kansas team. Short-handed or not, the Jayhawks are still the stronger team.

The Jayhawks are battling through some adversity as they are short-handed. The statuses of McDowell and McCuller are both up in the air. Important players that make the Jayhawks better. They just beat Baylor without them though, the defense elevating and delivering a peak performance.

The Red Raiders have battled illness themselves and are also coming off a strong defensive game. They are only 11-19 ATS their last 30 tries, after allowing 60 or less. Kansas is already 2-0 ATS as an underdog. The Jayhawks have beaten the Raiders 8 of the last 9 times and 3 of the last 4 meetings were decided by 2 buckets or less. Grab the points.

The Bucks are back. I won with them when they throttled Charlotte in their last game. Charlotte is weak and it allowed Doc Rivers' team the opportunity to work through some of their issues and restore their confidence. The 36 point blowout victory followed by 2 days of rest was exactly that they needed.

Doc Rivers said this after the last game: "I thought we set a tone defensively. We were flying around tonight. Our energy was high." Now the Bucks will get a chance to host the defending champions. The timing couldn't be better. The Nuggets just lost their last game by 29 points. They are 7-13-1 against the spread, as road favorites.

The Nuggets beat the Bucks in Denver this season, just as they did last year. Last season, the Bucks beat them here at Milwaukee. Tonight, they will do it again.

Villanova's strong homecourt defense will make the difference in this afternoon's game against the Seton Hall Pirates. Seton Hall allows 69.4 points per road game. The Wildcats only permit 63.9 points per home game. Visiting teams average less than 30 first half points and hit just 40% of their field goals.

The Wildcats are 6-1 against the spread when the O|U line was in the 130 to 139.5 range. The Wildcats are 2-0 ATS when playing a home game with an total of 130 to 134.5. They are also 5-2 ATS their last 7 as home favorites of 3.5 to 6 points.

The Wildcats lost a close one at Xavier last game but they pounded Providence in their last home game. They will bounce back with another big home win.

Wright State is one of the fastest teams in the country. The Raiders can run visiting teams right out of the building. They average 87.7 points per home game and 88.8 points a game in Horizon League play. They connect on a very high 56.4% of their field goals, in this building.

Oakland struggles against top level competition. The Golden Grizzlies are 1-3 against the spread their last 4 against teams with a winning record. That brings them to 8-14-1 ATS their last 23 tries, when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games.

These teams will face each other again on February 25th, at Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies will have a chance in that one but not today. The Raiders are 9-3 SU and 7-5-1 ATS their last 13 as a host in the series. Unable to contend with the pace, the Golden Grizzlies aren't going to know what hit them!

Off their upset win at North Carolina, my feeling is that the Tigers are ripe for a letdown on Saturday afternoon. Clemson is 1-3 straight up and against the spread, when coming off a win over an ACC rival. They are also 5-9 ATS when off a SU win overall.

The ACC is always difficult but the Orange have also played some strong non-conference opponents like Gonzaga, Tennessee and Oregon. Clemson won't scare them. There have been some issues on the road but the Orange are 11-1 at home. The only time that they were home underdogs, the Orange smashed NC State by 12 points.

This has long been a strong role for Syracuse. The Orange are 14-5, both SU and ATS, as home underdogs of 3 or less, or pick. Grab the points.

The Milwaukee Bucks played last night but that won't save the Charlotte Hornets from the beating which is coming their way. The Bucks won this season's earlier meeting by 31. Charlotte definitely hasn't gotten any better since then and is walking into a hornet's next.

The coaching change to Doc Rivers hasn't paid immediate dividends for Milwaukee. The Bucks have now lost 3 straight games and 5 of their last 6. To be fair, 5 of those games were on the road and last night's was against a top level team from the West, the one with the most road wins of any team in the NBA. Clearly, this is a big drop in class.

Charlotte lost at Detroit back on January 24th. That marked the first loss of the Hornets' current 9-game losing streak. Seven of their last 8 have come and the Hornets still couldn't get a win. The only road game over that time resulted in a 20-point loss.

The Bucks next 2 games come against the defending NBA champions and the defending Eastern Conference champions, Denver and Miami. After that, the Bucks go on the road again. Rivers knows his team needs a big win and that he needs one, too. He will make sure that that the Bucks don't squander this opportunity.

This is splendid value. We get Hawaii at home, playing with revenge and we don't even have to lay any points. Hawaii is 31-15 at home the last 3 seasons. Uc San Diego is 15-25 on the road.

This is no easy place to play and that's not just because of the travel factor. The Warriors 12-6 straight up their last 18 off a loss, won their last home game by 10 points. They allow only 66 points a game here. It was 365 days ago that they beat UC San Diego here by 7 points. Home court will reign supreme and the Warriors will win again tonight!

The Bulls have the talent edge and are healthier. They've got plenty of their own injuries though and they're on the road. They're also the type of team that the Grizzlies can outwork.

When they're at their best, the Bulls can be quite good. They beat Minnesota last game. That was at Chicago. They are only 9-15 on the road. They've got Orlando on deck and the Magic beat them twice. A look-ahead spot past Memphis. The Grizzlies are 20-5 against the spread their last 25 against teams from the Central. Grab the points.

The Bulldogs lost to St. Mary's last game. They're going to be in a bad mood. Portland is showing up at a bad moment. Not that there's ever a good time for the Pilots to play here. They last played here one year ago and they lost by 40. The score was 61-28 by halftime and 115-75 by the end of the game.

The Pilots are off a couple of wins but those were at home and came against Pacific and Pepperdine. They are 4-10 against the spread their last 14 against winning teams. They are also 4-10 ATS their last 14, when off a conference win. Long-term, that is an ugly role for the Pilots. They are 45-74, not counting pushes and non-lined games, their last 119 tries, off a conference win. Lay the points in what will be another 30+ point rout.

The Wizards may not be a very good team but this is a case of the Cavaliers laying "too many points." Everyone is high on Cleveland right now and down on Washington. That's led to the Wizards catching double-digits at home. They're bad but they're not "that bad." The Cavaliers weren't even laying this many points for the 2 games at Cleveland.

Washington is off a blowout loss to Phoenix. The Wizards last 3 games against Eastern Conference opposition have been a lot closer though, an 8 point loss to Miami, a 14-point win over Detroit and a 4-point loss to New York. The Wizards are also 12-9 against the spread off a loss of 10 or more points and 11-6 ATS after allowing 130 or more.

The Cavaliers are 16-24-2 ATS their last 42 tries when up against a losing team in the 2nd half of the season. Washington is well rested and has tomorrow off. Cleveland faces Brooklyn tomorrow. Let's take what the books are offering and cash in with the big points on the home underdog Wizards.

Canisius is off a bad loss and has struggled of late. That has led to a nice underdog line against an inferior opponent. The Golden Griffins also struggled to start last season. But by February, they turned things around. They're 12-5 against the spread their last 17 in February. This team is fully capable of doing the same and it starts tonight.

The Golden Griffins beat the Purple Eagles handily at Canisius last season. The game at Niagara was decided by just 3 points. Niagara has lost 2 of its last 3 home games. All 3 were decided by 6 or less. Canisius is 25-13 against the spread the last 2 years against winning teams and has an excellent chance of winning this game outright. Grab the points.

Both teams have been playing great but this one sets up nicely for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers are 9-5 against the spread and 11-3 straight up when the total was 230 or more. The Cavaliers are also 10-6-1 ats when in a revenge situation.

Sacramento is at the end of a very long road trip. This will be the Kings' 7th straight road game. They last played at home on January 22nd. It's only natural for them to be thinking about getting home.

Cleveland embarks on a road trip after this and will want to make sure to win at home tonight. Off 5 straight wins and with a 13-1 record their last 4 games, the Cavaliers are the hottest team in the NBA. The defense has been dominating and they keep it rolling on Monday!

The Trail Blazers hung with the champions for most of Friday's game but they will not be able to do do twice in a row. There was still some question about Jokic's health before Friday but the Denver big man dominated and is fully ready to go for this one.

The Trail Blazers may have covered 48 hours ago but they are still 14-26-1 against the spread in divisional game the past 2 years.

Portland was practically patting itself on the back for losing by only 12 on Friday. Denver will demonstrate its dominance from the opening tip tonight. The Nuggets are simply much stronger at both ends of the floor. A win of greater than 15 points is expected!

Give me Gonzaga at home in this battle of West Coast Conference heavyweights. These are the top 2 teams in the conference every year. The Bulldogs get more attention but the Gaels are also consistently very strong. This year is no different. Gonzaga is currently in a better place.

The Gaels have had trouble in consecutive games. Hosting back to back lightweights, they were favored by 16.5 and 13.5 points. They struggled with those bad teams though and won each game by only 5 points. Last game, they beat Santa Clara 82-77. That level of play won't cut it tonight.

The Bulldogs were favored by 14.5 points last game, roughly the same that St. Mary's was for its game. Unlike the Gaels, Gonzaga won by 34 points. That confidence building blowout is going to serve them well tonight!

The Gaels are only 5-11-1 against the spread their last 17 tries, after scoring 80 or more points. The Bulldogs are 7-3 ATS their last 10 tries, when facing a team which allows 64 or fewer points, through at least 15 games of the season. Gonzaga won by 26 last March in the WCC Tournament and by 9 in last season's regular season game here. Lay the points!

With both teams off a game last night, its important to know how these teams typically handle playing 2 games in 2 days. A quick look shows that Golden State tends to do a much better job than Atlanta.

The Warriors are 5-3 against the spread, when playing 2 games in 2 days. Upon closer examination, we find that they are 3-0 ATS when playing a road game after also playing on the road on the previous day.

The Hawks, 1-13 against the spread after a non-conference games, are 1-7 against the spread when playing 2 games in 2 days, 0-2 ATS when playing a home game after playing at home the previous day.

The Warriors had an easier time last night than the Hawks. They are 6-1 ATS off a win by 10 points or more. Give me the points.

Most assume the Huskies are unbeatable. The reality is that St John's has a better home record than UConn has a road record. The Red Storm score more points at home than the Huskies do on the road. The Red Storm also allows fewer points at home than Uconn does on the road. St. Johns outscores teams here by a 80 to 64.5 average. UConn outscores teams on the road by a 75.6 to 70.2 average.

Remember that St. John's nearly upset the Huskies at Connecticut. The Red Storm lost by only 4. They beat Villanova by 20 their last game here. That same Villanova team almost beat UConn.

The Red Storm are 4-2 against the spread as underdogs. The Huskies are 2-4 against the spread their last 6 road game with an total in the 145 to 149.5 range. Take the points!

Great setup for the Heat. After a long stretch of pointspread futility, they answered with a win and cover last game. Now they are off a win, had a day off and have tomorrow off. Better yet, they get to take on one of the weakest teams in the NBA.

Though they've managed 6 wins on the road, the Wizards have the worst home record in basketball. They are 3-19 here, 7-15 against the pointspread. Visiting teams outscore them by an average of 10.6 points.

This has been a profitable venue for Miami for years. The Heat are 37-16-2 against the spread their last 55 trips here. Expect them to win convincingly.

Hofstra already handled the Seawolves at Stony Brook. They will absolutely do so again in tonight's rematch at the David S. Mack Sports Complex. Both clubs are strong at home. Both have struggled on the road. Hofstra has won 8 of the last 9 meetings. The last game here saw the Pride win by a 79-58 score.

The projected tempo will not help the Seawolves. They are 2-8 straight up and against the pointspread their last 10 tries when on the road with a total of 140 to 144.5.

Off a 81-78 loss at Monmouth, the Pride are going to be bringing it. They are 10-6-1 ATS their past 17 tries when off a game where they allowed 80 or more. They've won each of their last 2 home games by more than 8 and they will win this one by more than 8 as well. ***CAA GOY***

Charlotte isn't a good team. Bad teams can still be profitable, if you back them at the right time. This is one of those times. Charlotte is rested and facing a mediocre Chicago team which lost against Toronto less than 24 hours ago.

Chicago is only 3-5 straight up and against the pointspread when playing 2 games in 2 days. The last time that the Bulls were in that situation, the team that they were playing (San Antonio) was in the same boat. No advantage. The previous time, when up against a rested team, the Bulls lost by 16. They are 1-3 against the spread when playing a road game after playing at home the previous day. The win was the previously mentioned Spurs game.

The Bulls have beaten them 3 times already this season. The Hornets want to avoid a sweep. Chicago is only 8-15 on the road. Grab the points!

Seeing Xavier laying such a short number at home, many are going to be quick to back the Musketeers. As tempting as that may seem, the Red Storm are currently the better team.

Xavier coach Miller acknowledged at the beginning of the season that his team had gone through a lot of changes and said not to judge them for the first few months. He had hoped that by February and March his team would be peaking. The Musketeers aren't quite there yet, as they just lost their last 2 games by a combined 53 points.

The Red Storm had their way with the Musketeers last month. They are 4-1 against the spread as underdogs. They score us an upset in this one!

Records are the same but only overall. The home/road splits will strongly work in Kent State's favor. The Golden Flashes average 82.2 points per home game. The RedHawks average 70 points on the road. Last time Miami was off a MAC win, it followed it up with a 16 point blowout loss.

Kent State is 3-0 SU and 2-1 against the spread the past 3 meetings. Two double-digit wins. The closer game was at Miami. Flashes have beaten Miami 19 of last 23 times here. They have always been one of the better teams in the conference and this year will end up no different. They remind the RedHawks and their doubters of that tonight.

Nice win for the Magic over Phoenix yesterday. Defeating Dallas on the second leg of a 2 games in 2 nights situation will be much harder. The Mavericks have owned the Magic here for years and beat them by 9 here last season.

The Magic have only 2 wins in 9 tries when playing 2 games in 2 days. They just lost by 27 points at Cleveland less than a week ago, after beating Miami the previous day. The time before in that situation, they lost by 12.

Playing their 2nd game in 2 days, the Mavericks lost their last game. They since had yesterday off. Refreshed, they bounce back and handle their business, moving to 17-11 against the spread, as favorites.

New Orleans just got humiliated and will want to respond with a better effort. New Orleans won both meetings last season. The Privateers have thrived at the betting window as road underdogs in this range the last few seasons. the Cardinals arent used to being home favorites of this size latel but it hasn't been a good role for them over many years.

Lamar scores a lot but also gives up a lot. New Orleans is 30-14 against the spread its last 44 lined games when facing teams which average 77 or more points, after at least 15 games have been played.

NO is 6-1 SU the past 7 meetings. Grab the big points!

When taking points with an underdog, I first need to believe that my team has a legitimate chance to win the game outright. North Dakota checks that box. The Fighting Hawks have perhaps the top front-court in the Summit Conference. Coming into the season, they were projected by some to finish #2 in the conference, behind South Dakota State. St. Thomas was 3rd.

Though the Fighting Hawks may well win the game, they don't need to. This is a big number and we can still cash with a close loss. Two of the Tommies' last 4 games have been decided by 1 point.

The Fighting Hawks have a score to settle. They circled this game after the Tommies embarrassed them on December 29th. They are 9-6 against the spread their last 15, when playing with revenge. Off 3 straight double-digit wins, the Fighting Hawks are playing much better than they were for the earlier meeting. They are 9-2 ATS their last 11 off a conference win and they will bring their best tonight. **Summit Conf GOY**

Nebraska is 1-4 straight up and against the spread on the road. The Huskers are 0-2 (SU and ATS) on the road when the total was in the 140 to 144.5 range. Going back, Nebraska is 10-18 ATS its last 28 on the road. In their game here one year ago, the Huskers lost 82-63.

The Terrapins are off an important win at Iowa. They are 3-0 against the spread when off a Big Ten victory. A win over Penn State was followed by a 40 point blowout of Alcorn State. A win over Michigan was followed by a win at Illinois. The win over Illinois was followed by a cover at Northwestern. The Terrrapins will move to 4-0 ATS off a conference win by hammering the Huskers!

Tough losses, the kind that come at the buzzer, or which feature a blown lead, can be tough for college teams to overcome. Southern Indiana lost a tough one 2 games ago, falling 77-75 to Arkansas Little Rock. After letting that one get away, the Screaming Eagles lost their next game by 11. They are still 9-6 against the spread as underdogs and they will be ready to respond today.

The Leathernecks are off a tough loss of their own. They blew a lead and fell 58-57 to Tennessee State. Just as it was difficult for the Screaming Eagles to bounce back from their tough loss, it will be the same for the Leathernecks. They are only 39-111 straight up the past 150 times that they were off a conference loss, an awful 56-88 against the spread in those games. Western Illinois only scores 63 points a game on the road and that won't be enough.

The Knicks are stepping up in class level. With the exception of a game against Dallas, which they lost, the Knicks have been facing some weak opposition for weeks. Opponents included Washington, Portland, Memphis, Orlando, Houston, Washington (again) Toronto and Brooklyn. The defending champions are on a different level. The Knicks are 7-14 against the spread against winning teams.

A small pointspread means that that a victory should also result in pointspread cover. The Nuggets have won 29 of 40 straight up when favored. They have won 3 in a row and this will make 4 straight.

Two evenly matched teams and we get points with one on its home floor. The Blue Devils have the better record but that doesn't mean that they are more talented. The Knights can still take things to another level. Who can forget their upset of Purdue in the NCAA Tournament last year.

The Blue Devils are 0-2 against the spread the last few seasons as road favorites of 3 or less. Both losses came outright. The Knights are 7-1 against the spread the past 8 times that they faced an opponent with a winning record after 15 or more games. They are also 5-1 ATS when playing with 5 or 6 day's rest in between games. I will take the points but I don't expect to need them.

Portland fought really hard in last night's loss at Oklahoma City. The Trail Blazers lost by only 2 points. Great effort but it will catch up to them tonight!

The Rockets are 16-7 at home, both against the spread and straight up. They allow only 107 points per game here. Portland allows 118 on the road. The Rockets are also a very respectable 9-4 ATS (69.2%) as favorites.

The Rockets had the last 2 days off. My belief is that they will come in fresh and they will dominate this game from start to finish.

The Shockers are badly in need of a victory. They will be pleased to see East Carolina. Off 3 straight defeats, the Pirates are struggling nearly as much as they are.

As bad as things look on the surface, Wichita State hasn't played terribly. Let's look at the losing streak. They beat Southern Illinois on 12/16. The next 2 games were versus Kansas and Kansas State. Losing them wasn't too bad. A loss against North Texas to start 2024 wasn't very impressive. Since then, three of four games have been on the road and the only home game was against Memphis. Two games ago, they gave a strong FAU team a good fight and last game they nearly won at South Florida. This is a team on the cusp of breaking out.

The Pirates are 0-2 against the spread as road underdogs of 3.5 to 6 points. They are 19-31 their last 50 as road underdogs of 3.5 to 6 points. They score 64 points a game on the road. The Shockers score 76 at home. Don't be shocked when Wichita snaps its losing streak with a big win!

Give me the points with the home underdog Nets! The Nets are 12-6-2 against the spread at home. The Knicks are 6-10 against the spread, when off a double-digit win.

The Knicks have won 3 straight games. They are only 2-4 against the spread after winning their previous 3. The Nets lost to the Clippers to close out their trip. They pounded the Lakers before that though. Two of their last 3 losses have been by 2 points or less.

The Knicks won here last month but the Nets have still won 4 of the past 5 meetings here. Nets get some payback by upsetting the Knicks on Tuesday!

Even at neutral site, I'd expect the Golden Lions to win tonight's game. This isn't a neutral site. WE get the game in Pine Bluff, at H.O. Clemmons Arena. That favors the Golden Lions. They are only 2-7 on the road but they're 5-3 at home. The Wildcats also prefer they're home cooking. They're 6-1 in home games but 2-6 on the road. Despite these records, we don't have to worry about laying a big pointspread.

These teams met twice the last 2 seasons. Arkansas Pine Bluff won both. The Golden Lions won 77-71 at Daytona Beach last year and 69-63 at Pine Bluff in 2022.

The Wildcats are only 2-6-1 against the spread the last 8 times that they were road underdogs of 3 or less, or pick'em. They score only 63 points a game on the road and the Lions are scoring 93 a game at home. Go with Arkansas Pine Bluff. ***SWAC GOY***

Both teams are off consecutive blowout losses. That's OK for Memphis but the Raptors demand better. Despite dealing away some of their top players with the hope of improving in the future, this organization still has pride and expects to compete. Currently extremely depleted, Memphis is a team they can handle. The Raptors beat the Grizzlies last month and now they catch them at home.

The Raptors are much healthier than Memphis. The Grizzlies' injury list is long and filled with their best players. Take the injured Memphis players and put them up against the team which will take the court tonight and my money is on the injured players.

The Raptors are 4-1, both straight up and against the spread, after scoring 100 or less. They will blow out the Grizzlies tonight.

Homecourt is a big difference maker for these teams. Michigan State is 10-2 at home but 0-3 on the road. Maryland is 2-4 on the road but 9-1 at home.

Michigan State is off a win but didn't exactly impress. Tom Izzo said as much: "We won a game but we did not progress, and I was disappointed."

Fifth-year guard Jahmir Young has been unstoppable for the Terrapins. He's off a 36-point effort on Wednesday and has scored at least 20 points in six of his last seven games. "Maryland coach Kevin Willard said this of Young: "Jahmir was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal."

Young will have another big day, leading Maryland to an upset on Sunday afternoon.

UConn is a great team, fully deserving of a high national ranking. The Huskies aren't unbeatable though and may not stay #1 after this. Though they seemingly haven't missed a beat since winning the National Championship, the Huskies did lose 3 of their top 6 scorers to the NBA. Those losses will finally be felt today.

The Wildcats could easily have a better record. They already have losses of 1, 2 and 4 points. Off a disappointing game at Marquette, they will bring their A-Game today. Coach Neptune said this after the loss: "We can't use anything as an excuse. Once you get on the floor with another team ... you got to get it done. Period. There's no excuses."

Defense makes a difference. The Wildcats, 2-1 against the spread and straight-up as underdogs, only allow 62.9 points per game at home. Visiting teams hit 40.5% of their field goals. The Huskies allow 70.9 points a game on the road. The teams hosting them hit 43.7% of their field goals. Their only time as a home underdog resulted in an 83-81 win over UNC.

The Wildcats are 8-1 SU and 6-3 ATS when playing with 3 or more day's rest between games. Off the loss to Marquette on 1/15, they bounce back big tonight!

The Buckeyes have struggled in Big Ten Conference play but a visit from the Nittany Lions will fix that. The Buckeyes already lost at Penn State last month and they will not let this team sweep them.

Penn State has been fine at home and is off a win over Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions are 1-7 on the road though and theyv'e been outscored by an average of 85.7 to 75.4

The Buckeyes have also strugged on the road but they are 8-2 at home and have outscored teams by a 76.4 to 63.2 average score here. Homecourt makes the difference with the Buckeyes avenging last month's loss with a blowout victory of their own.

Miami won the first two games of the season series but the third meeting comes at the wrong time. The Hawks are showing some real signs of snapping out of their season long funk. They're off back to back victories and have won 3 of their last 5 games. The Heat just got destroyed by a short-handed Toronto team. In their previous game, they only beat Brooklyn by 1 point.

Games here are usually quite close between these teams. Five of Atlanta's last 6 visits here have been decided by 10 or less. The only exception was an 11 point win by the Hawks. The Hawks average 120.9 points a game. Miami averages 111.5. The Heat are only 7-11-1 against the spread against losing teams. Grab the points.

VCU won 27 games and went to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Rams lost a lot from that team including their coach. They did keep four players and they brought in excellent replacements. Off back-to-back road wins, they are starting to gel. This is still a high quality team.

The Billikens lost a lot from last season. Six of their top 7 scorers are gone from last year. They would tell you differently but they are essentially rebuilding this year.

The Billikens, 9-14 against the spread their last 23 as road dogs in the 6 to 9.5 range, are 1-7 on the road this season. They've been outscored by an average score of 80.2 to 68.6. The Rams will add to the Billikens road woes with a blowout victory!

The Tigers will take care of their instate rivals. The Tigers are 4-1 against the spread their last 5 tries as a home favorite in the 6 to 9.5 range. Over that time, the Golden Eagles are 1-3 against the spread in 4 tries as a road underdog in the 6 to 9.5 range.

The home team won big in both meetings last year. The Tigers earned a 67-53 victory here after winning 80-64 here, the year before. This season, State is 7-1 at home and Tech is 2-7 on the road. It'll be another blowout win for the home team.

Line should be higher. Nevada is a good team but still not quite in the class of San Diego State. The Wolf Pack lost by 8, at home, against Boise last game. Their previous 2 conference games came against Air Force and Fresno. Neither of those teams is very good. Now they go on the road to take on a high quality program like SDSU.

The Aztecs won their first 3 MWC games (now 36-9 L45 against MWC) but lost at New Mexico State last game. Both their home conference games have been double-digit wins. They are 6-2 against the spread (7-1 straight up) the past 8 times that they were off a MWC loss. The home team won by 9 in both games last season. The Aztecs will bounce back with a blowout win.

The Cavaliers have built up their recent run against weak opposition. Their last 5 games have come against Washington, (twice) San Antonio, Brooklyn and Chicago. The Wizards and Spurs are both 7-32 and the Nets and Bulls are both below .500. Before that, they faced the Raptors and the. Bucks and lost both games. The Cavaliers limited Chicago to 91 but are only 2-4 against the spread after allowing 100 or less.

The Bucks are healthier than the Cavaliers. The Bucks are also fresh. They've had the past 2 days off, after playing 4 straight at home. They are 18-8-1 their last 27 against the spread (24-3 straight up) after playing their previous 3 at home and they will improve on that streak tonight.

The Thunder beat up the Clippers at OKC just before Christmas. This time, the Clippers catch them on their home floor. That's a big deal. the Clippers are only 9-10 on the road but they're 16-4 at home. The Thunder are 16-5 at home and 11-7 on the road.

The Clippers were playing their second game in two nights for the first game. OKC was rested. The shoe is on the other foot now. The Clippers are rested and the Thunder played yesterday.

The Clippers are 5-1 against the spread their past 6 tries when off an upset loss. They win big tonight.

This is too many points for SMU to be giving Temple. The Owls have some shortcomings but the Mustangs dont have all the pieces to fully take advantage. The Mustangs are 0-5 against the number their last five tries, as a home favorite in the -12.5 to -15 pointspread range.

Off a loss at North Texas, the Owls will be going all out for a win. They are 11-6 against the spread their last 17 tries, when off a conference loss.

Six straight meetings have been decided by 11 points or less. The last time Temple was here it was a 1-point game. Give me the points.

It hasn't caught up to them yet but Haliburton's absence is going to hurt the Pacers today. He's an elite player and Indiana won't be able to keep up without him.

The Pacers play some very high-scoring games. Fine by Denver. The Nuggets are 23-15-1 against the spread their last 39 home games with a total set at 230 or greater.

One of those wins came here one year ago against the Pacers. The Nuggets were favored by 9 and they won by 23. This will be another blowout.

I'm always happy to take points in a game where I like the underdog to win outright. Though new to this conference, the Flames are an experienced team which is used to winning. They won 27 games last year and brought back a lot of that squad. Off a bad upset loss, we will see them bounce back and be at their best for this afternoon's showdown.

The Bulldogs have been playing a lot of road games and it will catch up with them against an inspired Liberty team. They are 3-5 against the spread their last 8 as home favorites between 3.5 and 6 points and 10-17 ATS after playing three or more consecutive games on the road.

Liberty is 5-1 straight up and against the spread when the total was in the 130s. The Flames are also 4-0 ATS their last 4 road games with a total in the 130 to 134.5 range. Grab the points. ***CUSA GOY***

Long Beach State is a good team but the Gauchos are even better. UC Santa Barbara went to the NCAA Tournament for the 2nd time in 3 years last season. They swept LBSU along the way. UC Santa Barbara allows 73 points, LBSU allows more than 77. The Gauchos are 6-1 their last 7 against teams which allow 77 or more points and they're 18-5 their last 23, when playing with 1 or less day's rest in between games. Off a loss last game, LBSU is 18-19 its past 37 road games. Over that time, the Gauchos are 29-8 here in Santa Barbara. Homecourt in their favor, this will be win #30. ***BIG WEST GOY***

I believe Binghampton is the better team. So, getting points is a bonus. The Bearcats fell behind Bryant in their last game but showed a lot of fight to get back and make it a game. Albany isn't nearly as strong as Bryant. The Great Danes have dropped 4 of their last 7 and their last 2 games were both decided by 6 or less. Binghampton has taken 3 of the last 4 in the series and the only win for Albany came by one. Grab the points!

Nevada won its last game but saw its pointspread winning streak come to an end. The Wolf Pack will now face a far more difficult opponent. The Broncos are 16-101 against the number the past 2 years as underdogs. Nevada is 1-3 ATS its past 4 home games when the total was in the 140 to 144.5 range. The Broncos won by 15 the last time these teams met. The prev. 3 meetings were all decided by 6 or less. The previous 2 meetings, including the last one here, were both decided by only 2 points. This one gets decided at the buzzer once again. Grab the points.

Tyrese Haliburton has been responsible for a great deal of Indiana's success this season. He's been so good that he's a top 10 player in terms of the MVP race. The Pacers won't have their superstar tonight though and the Hawks will hurt them because of it. Haliburton is out with a hamstring strain. The Pacers are going to realize just how much they rely on Haliburton tonight. They hammered the Hawks 150-116 a week ago at Indiana and now they will feel like what its like to be on the other side. The Hawks have wins over the Thunder and the 76ers in their last 2 home games. They haven't had many blowout wins but this will be one of them. Lay the points.

This is simply too many points to be giving UCLA. The Bruins last 9 games have all been decided by single-digits. They may not be winning many but they aren't losing by much.

The Utes are off back-to-back losses and before that was a 5-point win. They are 0-1 against the spread off a Pac-12 loss this season and 6-20 ATS in that spot the last 3 years. Over that span, the Utes have won only 4 of their last 19 January games, going 6-13 against the number.

UCLA is 7-2 against the spread its last 9 road games when the total ranged from 135 to 139.5. The Bruins won by 7 here last season and this will be another close one. Grab the points. ***PAC 12 GOM***

The Timberwolves are walking into a hornet's nest. Minnesota had an easy time with Orlando last night. Revenge-minded Boston presents a far more difficult challenge.

The Wolves are 0-2 against the spread when playing their 2nd game in 2 days. The only time that they played a road game after playing the previous day, they lost by 18!

Boston, 8-2 SU its last 10 in a revenge spot, hasn't forgotten a 114-109 loss early in the season. The Celtics are also still angry about a 133-131 loss at Indiana on Monday. They're 9-1 against the spread the past 10 tries, after allowing 130 or more points in their previous game. The Celtics beat this team by 12 here last season and this will be another double-digit win. ***REVENGE GOM***

Navy was favored for both but these teams split a pair of games last season. Holy Cross returned a lot more from last year's team than Navy did. The Midshipmen lost a lot, as last year's senior class was a special one. In fact, their top 5 scorers from last year are all gone.

Navy coach Ed DeChellis acknowledged it would be challenging before the season: "It's going to be a major transition."

Facing a hungry and undervalued Holy Cross team, Navy will feel those losses. The Crusaders lack some size but Navy doesn't have the team to take advantage.

The Midshipmen are off a loss to Army and they are only 4-9 against the spread their last 13 tries, when off a Patriot League loss. Holy Cross has played a lot of road games but won its last home game decisively. Navy is 0-6 on the road. Grab the points! ***PATRIOT LEAGUE GOY***

These were the two worst teams in the Horizon League last year. The Phoenix have been better than the Jaguars so far overall. Not if we look at the home/away splits though. IUPUI is 4-3 at home. Wisconsin Green Bay is 3-7 on the road. Two of those 3 road wins came by 2 points or less.

IUPUI hammered this team 68-53 last season. It was the Jaguars best win of the season. That result will inspire confidence on Wednesday afternoon. Off a cover at Youngstown State, the Jaguars are 27-18 against the spread their last 45 conference games. Give me the big points.

I played against BYU last game. The Cougars came crashing back to earth with a bad home loss to Cincinnati. Apparently, life in the Big 12 isn't going to be quite the cakewalk that some BYU fans had started to envision. Still licking their wounds, the Cougars are now up against a better team.

The Bears spent non-conference play battling teams like Auburn, Florida, Duke and Michigan State. They began Big 12 play with a 5-point win at Oklahoma State. The Bears are 9-2 against the spread as favorites and will add another win to that record tonight.

For a game which will likely be decided at the buzzer, this is too many points. The Cowboys are off a 5-point loss to Baylor. Prior to that, they'd won 5 straight games. Their only other loss since the start of December came by 2 points.

The Red Raiders are on a nice winning streak and are off an impressive win over Texas. The victories before Texas were against inferior opposition though and the upset over the rival Longhorns will have them ripe for a letdown.

The last 3 meetings were all won by 3 or fewer points. Scores of 71-68, 71-68 and 52-51. OSU won all three. Grab the points.

I had a big play on the Bearcats in their upset of BYU. Off that big road win, I'll now fade them as favorites against an arguably more talented team than the one they were just double-digit underdogs against.

The Bearcats are 6-13-1 against the spread the last 20 times that they were off a conference win. The Longhorns are 9-5-1 ATS in the same time span, when off a Big 12 defeat. This game will come down to the wire. Grab the points!

These teams are both off close losses last night. The Suns fell by 6 to Memphis. The Clippers lost by 3 against the Lakers. This will be the second meeting in less than a week. The Clippers won at Phoenix, on 1/3.

The Suns are better than the Clippers when playing their 2nd game in 2 days. They're 4-1 SU in that situation this season, 20-11 their past 31. The Clippers are 2-3 SU in that situation this season, just 13-21 the past 34.

The only time that the Suns lost a back-to-back spot was a very competitive game. They lost by 4 at Brooklyn. The 4 wins came by 56 combined points.

The Suns aren't going to want to lose twice in a week to this team. They will continue their success when playing 2 games in 2 days. ***PACIFIC DIV GOM***

In this battle of the Cardinals, I'm grabbing the points with visitors. Don't read too much into the non-conference records. Incarnate Ward won a couple of games with no line but has been an underdog in all 12 lined games. It was. a fairly challenging schedule and they won't be intimidated tonight.

Lamar is 0-5 straight-up the past 5 times it was off a conference win. Lamar is also 0-5 against the spread the past 5 times it was a home favorite in the 6.5 to 9 range.

The road team won both meetings last year. IW won by 6 here last January. Both teams played Saturday. Lamar is 1-19 straight up the past 20 times it was in that spot. IW is 15-5 against the spread the past 20 lined tries when playing with 1 or 0 day's rest in between games. So far, they have won by 9 and lost by 2 in that situation this season. Grab the points! ***SOUTHLAND GOY***

The Mustangs are off a 65-54 win. That was at home against Charlotte though. They're just 4-11-2 against the spread their last 17 tries after allowing 60 or less.

The Tigers are 4-2-1 against the spread the past 7 tried as home favorites of -6.5 to -9 points. The Tigers are also 14-5-2 ATS their last 21 tries against teams which allow 64 or fewer points.

The Tigers won 2 meetings in 2023 by 19 and 15 points. They will again be too much for the Mustangs to handle! ***AAC GOM***

This line is too big. BYU has a good team and brings a top 25 ranking into tonight's game. The Cougars do have a quality win over SD State and they did blow out Arizona State. They also lost to Utah and the rest of the schedule has been soft. I don't think all that much of Arizona State and the victory over the Aztecs was by single-digits.

To put it another way, I'm not convinced the Cougars are as good as their ranking suggests. Conference play is here, the Cougars' first Big 12 game. They're hosting a solid and competitive Cincinnati team. Importantly, BYU will miss Fousseyni Traore in this game, an important player who played a key role in the victories over ASU and SDSU.

The Bearcats are 11-2. Only one loss came by more than 5 points. They won't make BYU's Big 12 debut easy. Grab the points! ***BIG 12 GOY***

Both teams got trounced yesterday. Bad luck for Utah. The Jazz will now encounter an angry Philadelphia team. That will be too much for the overmatched visitors.

It doesn't help that Utah played on 1/3. That makes this the 3rd game in 4 days for the Jazz. That's not the case for Philadelphia. Before yesterday, the 76ers last played on the 2nd. This will be Philadelphia's 3rd game in 2024 but Utah's 4th. That extra game will be noticed and felt in the legs.

The Jazz are soft on defense and the 76ers are 21-9 against the number their last 30 tries against teams which allow 116 or more points per game. This will be a wipeout. ***WEEKEND WIPEOUT***

Don't be fooled by the Gamecocks. South Carolina has built up a strong record in non-conference play. The majority of those were weak or mediocre opponents. Now that SEC action is here, the Gamecocks will start to struggle. They were 4-14 in SEC play last year.

The Bulldogs have also built up their record against less than elite opposition. They're the real deal though. They returned all 5 starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team. That same group of Bulldogs won by 15 here last January.

Already 7-0 against the spread against teams with a winning record, Mississippi State will cover this small number. ***EARLY RISER***

Two teams at opposite ends of the MAC Conference spectrum. The Akron Zips won 22 games last seaon and they are the clear favorite to win the MAC this season. Put simply, the Zips are loaded.

Bowling Green was 5-13 in MAC play last year and 11-20 overall. With only 1 returning starter and a 1st year coach, the Falcons are likely going to struggle again.

Playing at home, the Falcons just gave up 90 points to Eastern Michigan. Playing on the road against a much better team and they may easily give up even more. Akron is 5-0 at home, outscoring teams 87 to 59.4. The Zips won last year's game here by 14 and this will be an even bigger blowout. ***MAC GOY***

The Atlanta Hawks are starting to play winning basketball. They closed out 2023 with a road win at Washington and they began 2024 with a victory over a strong OKC club.

This may be a difficult spot for the Indiana Pacers. They are off back-to-back games against division rival Milwaukee. Also, starting tomorrow, they play Boston twice in a row. With this game stuck in the middle, the Hawks could easily get overlooked. Indiana is 15-27 against the spread its last 42, when off a division game, 2-8 ATS the last 10 tries.

The Hawks won here last January and have taken 3 of their last 4 visits. They score the upset in this one! ***ROAD WARRIOR***

Minnesota picked the wrong time to visit! The Wolverines have failed to cover 3 straight games and they are a perfect 6-0 against the spread their last 6 in that situation.

The Gophers are 0-3 against the spread their last 3 tries as a road underdog of 6.5 to 9 points. They are 19-41 ATS their last 60 in that role!

The Gophers are also 1-6 ATS and 0-7 straight up the past 7 times that they played a road game where the total ranged from 150 to 154.5.

The Wolverines believe they are improved from last year and will show it against the worst team in the conference. They won last year's 2 games by an average of 9.5 points and this will be an even bigger win! ***BIG TEN GOY***

Sacred Heart is projected to be among the top teams in the Northeast Conference. Saint Francis is considered to be among the worst.

The Red Flash have dropped 3 of 4 games, the only victory coming at home and by 2 points. They are 2-7 against the spread their last 9 as road underdogs of 6.5 to 9 points.

Sacred Heart is 2-0, straight-up and against the spread, the last 2 times it hosted Saint Francis. Last year's game here was close but this one will not be. The Pioneers are off back-to-back big victories, winning by 10 and 29 points. They are ready to start conference play with a bang. Lay the points! ***EARLY RISER***

The Mountain West Conference is loaded. These teams are at opposite ends of it. The Aztecs are loaded again after winning 32 games last year. The Bulldogs lost 20 games last year and are destined for another challenging season.

The Aztecs closed 2023 with 4 straight wins. The last 3 all came by double-digits, including a road win at Gonzaga. They are 6-0 at home and they have momentum heading into the new year and Conference play.

The Bulldogs lost by 20 the last time that they were up against a top level opponent. They don't have the athletes or depth to compete against SDSU for the whole game. Fresno State starting point guard Isaiah Hill missed last game with a hand injury and is questionable. If he can't go, or if he's less than 100%, it will hurt the Bulldogs even more. Either way, they are in trouble.

The Aztecs are 24-17 against the spread in MWC play the last 2 seasons and they will start this year with a blowout. ***MWC GOY**

This will be the 5th meeting, due to an extra in-season-tournament game, and the second already in 2024. Indiana won at Milwaukee on New Year's Day and has taken 3 of 4 overall. Though the Bucks can't win the season series, they will bounce back with a big win tonight.

The Pacers are 14-27 ATS their last 41 off a division game, 1-8 ATS this season.

The Bucks are 26-16 ATS the past 42 times that they were off an upset loss. They are also 4-0 ATS last 4 with home revenge. Lay the points. ***ROAD WARRIOR***

The Pelicans enter 2024 playing better basketball than the Nets. Brooklyn has dropped 3 straight. The Nets lost those games by 44 points. New Orleans is off back-to-back wins. The Pelicans won those games by 27 points.

Homecourt matters to both clubs. The Pelicans are 11-7 at home, both straight-up and against the spread. The Nets are only 6-10 on the road, 7-9 against the number.

The Nets' problem on the road stems from the fact that they don't play defense. They allow more than 120 points a game away from Brooklyn. The Pelicans are 28-14 SU and 23-19 ATS their last 42 against teams that allow 116 or more points. They add to those numbers with a blowout win on Tuesday! ***SLAM DUNK***

Southern Illinois comes off a great season but the Salukis lost their 2 best scorers from that team. Though they've fared pretty well lately, Belmont presents a more difficult matchup. The Bruins are always one of the better teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. This year will be no different.

Jones and Domask scored 30 of SIU's 63 points in last year's meeting. Both are gone and they will be missed.

Since a blowout loss at Arizona, Belmont is 7-2, winning 7 of the past 8. Both losses came by single-digits.

SIU just played before the new year and Belmont comes in rested. The Bruins are 3-1 (straight up and ATS) the past 4 times that they played with 7 or more day's rest in between games. In a close game, where the underdog Bruins have a great chance at the outright win, give me the points! ***MVC GOY**

This is the 4th meeting. The first two saw Indiana win 126-124 (at Indiana) and 128-119. The second of those was the Eastern Finals for the In-Season-Tournament, in Las Vegas. That loss didn't sit very well with the Bucks. With the third meeting being played at Milwaukee, they beat up the Pacers 140-126.

The Pacers have won 3 straight for the 3rd time this season. Each previous time they lost their next game. Each defeat came by 9 or more.

The Pacers are 7-9 ATS against winning teams. The Bucks are 8-4 ATS against winning teams. Lay the points with Milwaukee! **CENTRAL GOM**

This game will not be close. UT Arlington is 0-6 against the spread the past six tries as a road underdog of 15.5 to 18 points. Texas is 3-0 ATS its last 3 tries as a home favorite of 15.5 to 18 points.

Texas allows 55 points per game at home. UT-Arlington allows 81 ppg on the road.

The Mavericks are off consecutive double-digit defeats. The Longhorns are off a 35-point domination, their 4th straight victory. Last meeting saw the Longhorns win by 20. They'll win by even more than that Monday afternoon. ***CBB CAKEWALK***

The setup favors the home team. New Orleans had yesterday off. The Lakers, playing on Lebron's birthday, lost an emotional battle at Minnesota. That will give New Orleans an advantage.

The Pelicans got Larry Nance back last game and he makes them better. Coach Green said this about Nance's return: "Having Larry back was huge for us. That's the Larry we're all accustomed to seeing, and credit to him, he worked his tail off to get himself ready to come in and play and be who he is to this team."

The Lakers blew out the Pelicans in the in-season tournament and now New Orleans gets even. ***Weekend Wipeout***

Both teams began conference play with a loss. Idaho State lost by 8 to Montana State. Montana lost by 30 to Weber State. The Wildcats are a strong team. So, the loss wasn't totally unexpected. The 30-point blowout was. It will have the Grizzlies confidence shaken. Weber State shot very well and also outscored Montana by double-digits in the paint.

Idaho State coach Looney has been here 4 years and believes that this is his most talented team. They badly want to avoid an 0-2 start in Big Sky play and are catching the Grizzlies at the right time. Not only is Montana off the 30-point loss but the Grizzlies are playing their 4th straight on the road. That's tough during the holiday season.

The Bengals played a fairly tough non-conf. schedule and it should help them now that conference play is here. They're "coming to play" today and I think they have a real shot at the outright victory. Grab the points. ***BIG SKY GOY***

To these teams, home-court really matters. Little Rock is 6-3 at home but 1-3 on the road. Tennessee St is 5-1 at home but 1-5 on the road. The Tigers outscore visiting teams 84.5 to 67.3. The Trojans are 0-2 against the spread as away underdogs. They get outscored 81 to 75 on the road.

Last season, UALR won by 12 at Little Rock but the Tigers won by 25 when they played at Nashville. That game was also the final day of the calendar year, as it was played on New Year's Eve.

Tennessee State won 18 games last season. Little Rock only brought back 1 starter from last year's 10-21 team. The Trojans won't be ready for the Tigers on Saturday afternoon. ***Ohio Valley GOM***

These rivals almost always play close games against each other. The last three meetings were all ultra close. Stanford won by 1 and Arizona State won by 4 points, twice.

Six of the last 7 meetings have been decided by 5 or less. The lone exception was a 9-point ASU win. That allows you to conclude that none of the last 7 meetings have resulted in Stanford wins of greater than 5. An even closer look shows that Stanford only won 2 of those 7 games and that both of the victories were by 3 or less.

Stanford may have closed the gap on Arizona State a little but not enough to lay this many points. The Sun Devils won 23 games last year and went to the NCAA Tournament. Stanford was 14-19.

The Sun Devils thrive in this role. They are 5-0 against the spread the last 5 tries when they were road underdogs of 3.5 to 6. I'll take the points! ***PAC 12 GOY***

San Antonio won here last night. Portland won't let it happen again. Last night's game was over before it started. The Spurs were up 38-14 by the end of the first quarter. The Trail Blazers will get off to a better start tonight.

San Antonio's star rookie Victor Wembanyama had 30 points, six rebounds, six assists and seven blocks last night. He won't play tonight.

The Trail Blazers are 3-0 against the spread the last 3x they played 2 games in 2 days. The Spurs last 3 tries in a b2b spot all resulted in double-digit losses. They are 5-14-1 ATS their last 20 when playing 2 games in 2 days.

The Trail Blazers have a long road trip after this game. They can't afford to get swept by the Spurs. Portland wins big! ***REVENGE GOW***

Homecourt will make a big difference for this Horizon League battle. Last season, the Golden Grizzlies won by 3 at Oakland but the Vikings won by 16 in the game at Cleveland State. The Golden Grizzlies started out covering the spread every game but have cooled off. They got destroyed in their last 2 games and are 1-4 their last 5. That's straight up and against the spread. The Vikings started slowly but have since caught fire. They are off back to back big wins and have covered the spread in 4 straight. Grizzlies are 2-4 against the spread last 6 when playing with 7 or more day's rest. The Vikings play 4 of their next 5 on the road and will protect their homecourt on Thursday. ***Horizon League GOM***

The Thunder have payback on their minds from a close loss at Minnesota last month. They are 10-5, straight-up and against the spread, at home. They outscore teams by 7 points a game here. Minnesota is 4-6-1 against the spread in road games with a total of 220 or more. The strength of the Timberwolves is their defense but the Thunders are 29-13-2 against the spread their last 34 against teams which allow 108 or fewer points. The Thunder are also 24-10-1 against the spread the past 35 times that they played with 2 days off in between games. Lay the short number. ***Div. Dominator***

Give me the points with the Warriors. Warriors lost by 3 points here in November and GSW is 55-38 against the spread in the revenge role last few years. Last 2 meetings have both been decided by 3 or less. Warriors are 5-2 against the spread last 7 visits here. Nuggets have won 4 in a row but they failed to cover the last game which brought them to 1-7 ATS after 3 or more straight wins. They are 18-34 against the spread their last 52 in that situation. In another close encounter, Warriors will move to 4-1 against the spread when off a win by 10 or more. **Western Conf GOM**

Arizona is really good. People don't realize that FAU may be even better. Every bit as good, at least. The teams were ranked #14 and #15 in the preseason rankings, the Owls holding the 1-spot lead. Arizona is now up to #4 which gives FAU a very rare chance at such a high-profile matchup. FAU coach Dusty May said: "We wanted to play it in the worst way for a lot of reasons. National television. Our guys wanted to be challenged. They love the challenge. And we felt our program was at a point where we needed these games to elevate even more than a Final Four run." FAU brought everyone back from last year's Final 4 team. Arizona returned only 1 starter from the team that lost in the NCAA 1st rd. Give me the points! ***SUPER FIGHT****

I backed the Warriors in their last game. They beat Boston outright. That makes 3 straight wins. They are hot and playing some of their best basketball ahead of tomorrow's game against Portland and their Christmas Day showdown in Denver. The Warriors, 29-16 against the spread their last 45 home games with a total of 230 or more, had the last 2 days off. The Wizards gave everything they had last night, earning a 1-point win at Portland. At the end of a road trip, they will be exhausted tonight. Last 2 times that the Wizards played 2 games in 2 days, they lost by 40 combined points. This will be another wipeout. ***NBA SUPER SMASH***

This game will be played at Enterprise Center, in St. Louis. Illinois is 0-2 against the spread last 2 times it was a neutral court favorite of 6.5 to 9 points. Missouri is 2-0 against the spread as a neutral court underdog of 6.5 to 9 points. One of those games occurred on this very day, at this very venue, last year. Illinois was favored by 6.5 points for that December 22nd, 2022 game. Playing in front of a packed house, Missouri won by 22! At one point, the Tigers went on a 41-15 run. The Illini are only 4-9 against the spread their last 13 on a neutral court. All the Tigers' losses have been close. Give me the points. ***CBB UNDERDOG GOW***

This is it! The Pistons Christmas wish will be answered. In their final home game before the holiday, the Pistons get to face a Utah team which is terrible on the road and which is playing in a back-to-back situation. Well-rested and happy to be back home, the Pistons will extend a 13-8-1 against the spread record, after playing their previous 3 games on the road. Detroit covered the spread last game and has shown signs of fighting, despite playing much better teams than Utah. The Jazz are 2-13 on the road. This will be their 6th game in 9 days. Stop the presses. Detroit wins a game! ***Underdog GOY***

Iowa has a lot of advantages in this game. Better athletes all over the floor. The Hawkeyes are at home where they are 25-15 against the spread their last 40. Their guests are 16-22 against the spread, on the road, during that time period. Off 3 straight losses, the Hawkeyes got right with an 88-52 wipeout of Florida A@M last game. This is every bit as much of a mismatch. The Hawkeyes are averaging 95.8 points per home game and UMBC is conceding 86.4 points per road game. Iowa will put up a massive number and win going away. ***WED. WIPEOUT***

This is the first meeting of the season between these Atlantic Division rivals. The home team won all 4 meetings last season. The Knicks won by 24 and 18 points at Madison Square Garden. The Nets prevailed by 7 and 27 points when they where the host. Both teams were recently on the road against Western Conference opposition. Off 3 straight losses to close their trip, the Nets are going to be going all out to stop their losing streak. The only previous occasion where they lost 3 in a row saw the Nets respond with a 15 point win over Miami. The Knicks are 1-2 against the spread off an upset win. The Nets are 10-2-1 against the spread at home, 4-0 ATS at home when the total was 230 or more. Brooklyn gets it done! ***ATLANTIC DIV GOM***

Boston is good but this is too many points. The Celtics aren't as strong on the road as they are at home. Warriors are better at home. The Celtics were favored here last season but the Warriors won by 16. They also lost by only 3 at Boston. Warriors are 66-45 against the spread at home last 2 years. Celtics are already 0-2 against Western Conference opponents. They will have a difficult time again tonight. Grab the points! ***Underdog GOW***

This is too many points for a team like Bowling Green to be laying. The Falcons were 11-20 last season and they brought back only 1 starter. The Falcons have won 6 of their last 9 games but only 2 of those wins came by more than 10 points. The Pirates score 83 points a game and the Falcons are only 6-14 against the spread their last 20 against teams which score 77 or more. Hampton is 8-2 against the spread the past 10 times that it was a road underdog of 9.5 to 12 points. Grab the points! ***EARLY RISER***

Strong spot for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland scored 127 in Saturday's 8-point win over Atlanta. The Cavaliers had Sunday off. Not so for the Rockets. They played at Milwaukee on Sunday. The last time that the Rockets played 2 games in 2 days saw them lose by 10. The Cavaliers won by 17 points and by 18 points in last season's 2 games with the Rockets. Even dealing with some injuries, the Cavaliers, 4-1-2 against the spread in December, will win big again on Monday. ***NBA GOW***

The Spurs are off a rare victory. That win came against a tired and injured Laker team which was without 3 starters and which was playing its 3rd road game in 4 nights. The only other time that the Spurs won by double-figures, they lost and failed to cover against Toronto in their next game. Popovich's team will have trouble against a rested Pelicans team which is playing its best. New Orleans has won the last 6 meetings with the Spurs, including a 121-106 win 2.5 weeks ago. Valanciunas had 29 points and 13 rebounds in leading the Pelicans to a 3rd straight victory on Friday. They won big here both meetings last year and will be too much for the Spurs to handle again this afternoon. ***Super Smash***

The Knicks beat the Clippers 111-97 on November 6th, at MSG. They pulled away in the second half and spoiled the debut of James Harden. Six weeks later, the Clippers will have their revenge. The Clippers have won 6 straight games and they are 4-1 against the spread their last 5. They didn't play on Friday. The Knicks played last night at Phoenix. The Knicks are 2-3 against the spread when playing the second of back to backs. The Clippers won by 11 last meeting here. Look for NY to fall to 3-8 against the spread against winning teams. ***Revenge GOM***

These teams met in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. TCU won a thriller. Arizona State would like to avenge that loss but its not going to happen. At less than perfect health, the Sun Devils aren't going to enjoy tonight's visit to Dickies Arena. Having already been blown out 77-49 by BYU, the Sun Devils are 0-3 their last 3 games against Big 12 competition. TCU takes care of business in December. The Horned Frogs are 9-4 against the spread in 13 tries in the month of December, 12-1 straight up in those games. They are also 6-2 against the spread the past 8 times that they played with 5 or 6 day's rest. This one won't be close. ***Weekend Wipeout***

This is a case of too many points, given the scheduling situation. The 76ers just destroyed the Pistons at Detroit. They will be over-confident tonight. With a Saturday road game to follow, they will take it easy late in the game. The Pistons are 2-0 against the spread when they were road underdogs of 12.5 or more points. They play with 2x revenge and will play with a chip on their shoulder. This season's first meeting was close, the 76ers winning by 8. This will be too. Grab the big points. ***Eastern Conf GOW***

I won with the over when these teams faced each other earlier this month. This time, the play is on Portland. The Jazz won yesterday but have dropped all 4 games when playing 2 games in 2 days. Their 3 road games in that situation all lost by double-figures. One of those was a 16 point setback at Portland. The Jazz are only 1-11 on the road overall, the worst road record in the league. The Trail Blazers are 9-5-1 against the spread their last 15 in a revenge situation. Lay the small number and look for a big win for the home team. ***Northwest Div GOM***

Give me the points with Furman. The Paladins were the best team in the Southern Conference last season and advanced to the NCAA second round. The Paladins are 4-1 against the spread the last 5 times that they were road underdogs of 6.5 to 9 points. The Paladins are also 9-4 against the spread the last 13 tries after allowing 60 or less. Off a 30-point loss, the Green Wave are only 9-19 against the spread their last 28 games outside of their conference. Grab the points! ***Road Warrior***

The Aggies blew out the Broncos at Utah State last year. Two totally different teams will face each other tonight but Santa Clara hasn't forgotten. The Broncos are a brilliant 18-9-1 against the spread their last 28 as underdogs, 13 of those resulting in outright victories. They already won outright at Stanford and beat Oregon. In both cases, they were getting points. The Aggies replaced every starter from last year's NCAA tournament team, as well as their coach. They are 9-14 against the spread their last 23 on the road, 0-2 this season. Give me the points. ***Underdog GOM***