Sports Picks & Predictions

There was no line in this game as of this writing due to the LeBron James situation as he has been getting rest here and there but he is likely a go here as he was off just two games back. We won with the Cavaliers last night as they rolled over Brooklyn as they were coming off a home loss as well as playing with revenge from a loss to the Nets a week prior. Cleveland is trying to hold off Toronto in the Eastern Conference as the lead is two and a half games and while the remaining schedule is not easy, it is far from difficult as it will be favored in all the rest of the games. The Hawks had a four-game winning streak snapped in Toronto on Wednesday but the Hawks continue to play at a high level as they are now 12-3 over their last 15 games and have moved back into first place in the Southeast Division. However, they are up by just one game so they need to bounce back here in the first game of a four-game homestand. There is some extra incentive here as well. The Hawks were swept by Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals last season and lost the first meeting in Cleveland by 12 points this season so this marks the first home game against Cleveland since then so they have had this one circled for a while. 10* (508) Atlanta Hawks

Playoff positioning is on the line for both teams as Boston is stuck in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference while Portland is sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference and is chasing Memphis for fifth place as it trails the Grizzlies by two games. More importantly, the Blazers are also just two games out of ninth place so the final games of the regular season are more important for them at this point. Portland has won two straight games and they were two unimpressive victories over Sacramento and Philadelphia which actually sets the Blazers up in a good situation tonight. Portland has won 14 of its last 16 games at home to move to 24-12 on the season. The Celtics lost at the Clippers on Monday which snapped a four-game winning streak which came on the heels of a four-game losing streak so they have been pretty inconsistent of late. Going bac, the Celtics are 2-12 ATS in their last 14 road games against teams with a winning home record while the Blazers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (712) Portland Trailblazers

This is a big number to be backing but it is well worth it and there is actually some value in it. The Cavaliers are coming off a loss at home against Houston on Tuesday as LeBron James sat which snapped a modest three-game home winning streak. It was just the seventh home loss on the season for Cleveland and it has yet to lose consecutive games at home so this is a good bounce back opportunity. The Cavaliers are now only two games up on Toronto in the Eastern Conference so there is little room for error. This is also a revenge game as Cleveland lost in Brooklyn last Thursday as it fell by nine points after getting outscored in the fourth quarter by 12 points. The Cavaliers were favored by 9.5 points in that game and are now favored by just five points more despite the change in venue and that is where the value comes into play. The Nets have dropped two straight games, both on the road where they are now 7-29 on the season. They have failed to cover their last five games on the highway and while Cleveland has played down to the class of competition many times, there is a lot more at stake tonight. 10* (704) Cleveland Cavaliers

Phoenix and Milwaukee are two teams that will not be part of the postseason but the Bucks were playing very well up until they hit a rugged part of their schedule where they faced five straight teams that are currently in playoff spots and they dropped all of those games. Now they welcome Phoenix which puts them in a good spot to bounce back and Milwaukee has had three days off since the last defeat which helps the situation even more. The Suns have been on a losing streak of their own as they have dropped three straight games and going back, they are just 3-8 over their last 11 games. They have struggled on the road all season as they are just 7-30 away from home while covering just eight of their last 30 on the highway. The Bucks are 8-4 ATS this season as favorites of fewer than eight points while going 4-1 ATS in their last five games against teams with a losing straight up record. Meanwhile, the Suns are 8-24 ATS in their last 32 games against teams with a losing straight up record. 10* (508) Milwaukee Bucks

We lost with Toronto on Monday as it fell down early against Oklahoma City and could not recover. The Raptors have now lost three of their last four games with two of those coming on the road in addition to the loss against the Thunder. Toronto is still 28-9 at home and has lost consecutive home games only once this season and Golden St. was involved the first time. The Raptors have already clinched a playoff spot but are just two and a half games behind Cleveland for first place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta is five games behind Toronto despite winning four straight and nine of its last 10 games. The Hawks have been playing very well on the road with four straight victories but because of that and the overall run, the line is lower than it should be. The last Hawks loss on the road came right here where they were getting 3.5 points. Toronto is 10-5 ATS this season as a favorite of fewer than four points while going 13-4 ATS at home against winning teams. 10* (502) Toronto Raptors

Toronto returns home following a disappointing 1-2 roadtrip and now sits 2.5 games behind Cleveland in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are one of only five teams in the NBA that have just single-digit losses at home and they are still getting points tonight which is a role they have been perfect in thus far. Toronto is 4-0 ATS this season as a home underdog, winning three of those outright against San Antonio and Cleveland twice with the lone outright loss coming against Golden St. by just three points. Oklahoma City takes to the highway after a three-game homestand sweep which included a win over the resting Spurs on Saturday so that can be tossed out. Overall, the Thunder have won seven straight games including three in a row on the road but they have covered just nine of 18 games this season as road favorites. They have struggled all season, going just 5-10 ATS on the road against teams with a winning record while the Raptors are 13-3 ATS at home against winning teams while going 6-0 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a winning road record. Additionally, the Thunder are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points. 10* (734) Toronto Raptors

This game was off the board because the injury reports had both James Harden and Paul George on them but both played last night and are probable tonight. The Rockets are coming off an upset win at home over Toronto which kept them tied with Utah for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Now they hit the road for a quick two-game trek as they look to improve their 16-21 road record but both games are difficult with the Cavaliers on deck. Indiana meanwhile is coming off a loss at Brooklyn last night which snapped a two-game winning streak. The Pacers are also tied for seventh place so keeping hold of their homecourt is important especially with the next three games taking place here. The Pacers are 16-8 ATS as favorites in this price range this season and they are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a straight up loss. Meanwhile, the Rockets are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following a straight up win while going 0-4 ATS in their last four games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. 10* (706) Indiana Pacers

Both Atlanta and Detroit are coming off wins last night and it is the Pistons that have the edge here with no travel taking place. The Hawks won at home over Milwaukee to retain a half-game lead over Miami in the Southeast Division and also to remain in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. This is the third time this season Atlanta has played back-to-back games with the first being at home and the second coming on the road and it failed to win and cover the first two. The Pistons are in a fight with Chicago for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference and thanks to five straight wins, they have a two-game lead over the Bulls and are now actually tied with Indiana for seventh place. Detroit has won all five of these games at home where it is 24-12 on the season and playing with no rest is no issue. The Pistons are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games playing with no rest and have won seven of eight games this season when playing a back-to-back with the second game taking place at home. 10* (508) Detroit Pistons

The Pac 12 has gotten a bad rap in the NCAA Tournament thus far and justifiably so as five teams lost in the first round and Utah was sent packing in the second round. Oregon though has been the exception and has been living up to its No. 1 seed following a 14-point romp over Duke on Thursday. The Ducks won the Pac 12 with a 14-4 record, then won the Pac 12 Tournament, including an 88-57 rout of Utah in the title game. Oklahoma is the more popular team simply because people have seen them more and because it has one of the best players in the country in Buddy Hield. We won with the Sooners Thursday against Texas A&M but the challenge will be a lot more difficult here. The Ducks were not great against the three-ball in conference play, but through three games in the tournament, Oregon hasn't let an opponent shoot better than 31 percent from long range. While Oregon is not familiar to many, the Ducks played the nation's second-toughest schedule, according to ESPN, and led the nation with 22 wins against teams in the top 100 of the ESPN RPI index. The Ducks are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games against teams with a winning straight up record while the Sooners are 5-17 ATS in their last 22 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (524) Oregon Ducks

Lakers wins have been few and far between this season but they are in a good spot tonight heading home to face the Nuggets. Los Angeles lost at Phoenix on Wednesday which came after a seven-game homestand and while it was not a winning one, it was a very respectable one. The Lakers went 3-4 in those games which included a win over Golden St., one loss coming against Cleveland and the other three losses coming by single digits. Denver is in the rare role of a road favorite which is just the second time this season that it has been laying points on the highway. The first came at Philadelphia where it pushed as a three-point chalk and the second game resulted in a loss at Brooklyn. The Nuggets are 13-23 on the road and while that is better than the Lakers home record, it is not by much which does not warrant another road favorite situation. Denver is banged up with Danilo Gallinari still on the shelf and Kenneth Faried not even close to 100 percent and possibly out once again tonight. Going back, the Lakers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points. 10* (866) Los Angeles Lakers

Notre Dame took care of Michigan in the first round on Friday and then escaped Stephen F. Austin on Sunday thanks to a late comeback and the game winning shot with under two seconds remaining. The Irish made the run last year into the Elite Eight and narrowly lost to Kentucky by a bucket and while this team is not considered as strong, they have an excellent matchup here to get back to the Elite Eight for a second straight season. Head coach Mike Brey has a lot to do with the success of these overachievers as it is no accident they are one of the most efficient teams in the country year in and year out. Wisconsin is coming off a very impressive win over Xavier to advance to the Sweet 16 but it was a game that could go either way. The Badgers won it on a 22-foot shot as time expired which capped a nine-point comeback with 6:19 remaining. Prior to that, they won an ugly game against Pittsburgh and that game shows the value here as Notre Dame is favored by the same amount the Panthers were and the Irish are ranked 19 spots higher in the RPI. Wisconsin is shooting just 42.6 percent on the season including 39 percent their last five games so the Irish have a huge edge in that department. Wisconsin will hang around for a while but the Irish will be able to comfortably pull away and head back to another Elite Eight. 10* (872) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The ACC has been the talk of the tournament as the conference placed six teams into the Sweet 16 and Virginia is near the top of the list. The Cavaliers are the top seed in the Midwest Region and caught pretty big breaks with Michigan St. and Utah, the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds respectively, losing last week. They do match up on Friday with the team they were supposed to face and they have some pretty significant advantages. Virginia is one of the most complete teams in the country on both ends of the floor and they simply wear the opposition down. Iowa St. is solid but it did not close the season very well and caught a huge break when Purdie blew a huge lead against Arkansas-Little Rock and lost giving the Cyclones an easy second round matchup. The Cyclones are ranked No. 23 in the RPI and No. 16 in the Pomeroy rankings, but they are only 2-8 against the RPI top 25 and 3-8 against the top 27 teams in the Pomeroy rankings. They are not a good rebounding team as they are ranked No. 121 in adjusted defensive rebounding and they do not force turnovers as they are ranked No. 161 in adjusted turnover rate. Virginia is much better in both categories and they are very important categories. The Cyclones are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win while the Cavaliers are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (874) Virginia Cavaliers

We played on Portland last night which resulted in a push or a loss depending on the line and now the Blazers hit the road trailing Memphis by four games for fifth place in the Western Conference. Portland is just 15-23 on the road and it has really struggled of late, losing seven of its last eight games on the highway. The Blazers are now in the wrong place at the wrong time as the Clippers are back home following a loss last night in Golden St. That defeat concluded a disappointing five-game roadtrip where they went just 1-4 and are now ahead of Memphis by just three games for fourth place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles has covered just once in its last eight games and there should be some extra motivation heading home as it got hammered by Cleveland in its last game at the Staples Center by 16 points. The Clippers are laying a decent number here and they are 15-7 ATS in their 22 games this season as favorites of fewer than six points. Additionally, the Clippers are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games following a road trip of seven or more days while the Blazers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a straight up win. 10* (810) Los Angeles Clippers

Maryland has been the more inconsistent of these two teams of late as it is just 5-5 over its last 10 games but three of those losses came by five points or less, another came at Indiana in its last home game of the season and the other was a home game against Wisconsin where they just did not show up. Maryland shot 1-for-18 on three-pointers which is an NCAA tournament record for futility by a winning team but still beat Hawaii 73-60 on Sunday on the strength of a defense-induced 19-2 run. Kansas has won 16 straight games which is a big reason that this is the biggest line of all the Sweet 16 games. The Jayhawks are the overall No. 1 seed for a reason but this is a tough matchup for them as they do not have edges up top or down low like they have had many times this season. The Terrapins are extremely talented and for much of the season, they dealt with the pressure of fulfilling high expectations. Now playing the role of underdog, that pressure is off and when they compete at a high level, they are one of the best teams in the country. That makes this number very appealing considering it is very strong when betting an underdog that has every chance to win outright. 10* (811) Maryland Terrapins

Cleveland is coming off a win over Milwaukee last night to make it two straight victories and now hits the road in what should be a very uninspired situation. The Cavaliers have struggled all season in these spots as they are 3-12 ATS on the road against teams with a losing record. Here is a very interesting stat and one that brings up how favorable the Cavaliers schedule has been this season compared to the rest of the NBA. Playing with no rest happens a lot in the NBA and while Cleveland has had its share of back-to-back situations, this is the first time this season it goes from a home game to an away game with no rest, the only team in the NBA that has yet to do this. The combined record of all the other teams in the league in this scenario are 48-87. Brooklyn has lost three straight games but we won with the Nets in their last game on Tuesday as they stayed within the number against Charlotte. Going back, the Nets are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against teams with a winning straight up record while the Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a straight up win. 10* (804) Brooklyn Nets

Texas A&M is very fortunate to even be here as it rallied from a 12-point deficit with 44 seconds remaining to force overtime and then won in double-overtime. The Aggies suffered through a four-game losing skid to open February but have won 10 of their last 11 games but only seven of those wins came against teams that are in the round of 64. That is not taking away for what they have done this season but playing in the weak SEC has had a lot to do with that. While that latest comeback is all the talk, getting down by 12 points against a much weaker team should be the bigger concern. The Sooners nearly blew a big lead against VCU but held on for a four-point victory to reach the Sweet 16 for a second straight season. While Oklahoma is all about Buddy Hield, the Sooners are more balanced than people may think. Hield, Ryan Spangler, Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodard have started 102 consecutive games together. All four averaged double digit points this season and all have scored at least 1,000 career points. The fact that Oklahoma has failed to cover seven straight games is giving us a very good number. The Sooners have been overvalued on many occasions this season but this is not one of those. 10* (818) Oklahoma Sooners

This is another situation of immediate revenge and this one entails home revenge. Portland is looking to avenge an overtime loss at Dallas on Sunday as it let a double-digit loss slip away and ended up losing by 12 points. That dropped their lead over Dallas to just a half-game for sixth place in the Western Conference as the bottom section of the playoff picture is extremely tight. Only a game and a half separates sixth place and ninth place so games are becoming more and more important and holding serve on home court is huge. The Blazers are 21-12 at home including wins in 13 of their last 16. This is just their third home game since late February as 11 of their last 13 games overall have come on the road. Dallas picked up a much needed win but it might be too little, too late for the Mavericks as they are struggling and are now without Chandler Parsons for the rest of the season. They have lost seven of their last nine games and are just 3-7 in their last 10 road games while going back, the Mavericks are 8-21-1 ATS in their last 30 road games against teams with a winning home record. Meanwhile, the Blazers are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points. 10* (774) Portland Trailblazers

Houston and Utah are both fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and being separated by just a half-game, this is just like a playoff game. We won with Utah on Monday as it won in Milwaukee which made it five wins in six games for the Jazz following a rare road win. They are just 12-23 away from home this season and going to Houston will not help improve that record as they have dropped six straight meetings in Houston. The Rockets are coming off a two-game roadtrip at Atlanta and Oklahoma City, both resulting in losses. The loss to the Thunder came last night by just four points so while it was a tough loss, they can build from it and need to take advantage of their home floor. Houston is the team with the half-game lead so upping it to a game and a half is big considering the Jazz are at Oklahoma City tomorrow which could easily result in another loss. While Utah has struggled here, it has also struggled against the better teams overall as it is 3-13 ATS in its last 16 road games against teams with a winning home record. The Rockets are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. 10* (764) Houston Rockets

Revenge can be overstated at times but situations like this can dispel that since it is pretty immediate. The Hawks lost at home against Washington on Monday by 15 points which snapped a five-game winning streak and with the Miami Heat win last night, they are now a half-game back in the Southeast Division. Atlanta now wants to avenge that loss and most likely will vault back into first place since the Heat are at San Antonio tonight. Going back, Atlanta is 10-3 over its last 13 games which includes four wins in its last five road games so winning on the road is not an issue especially considering they have covered five of the last six meetings here. The Wizards now have a five-game winning streak of their own and they are quietly moving back into the playoff picture, trailing Detroit and Chicago by just a game and a half for the final playoff spot. Washington is just 19-17 at home which is better than just four other teams in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following a double-digit loss at home while going 5-1 ATS in their last six road games against teams with a winning home record. Meanwhile, the Wizards are 1-5 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a winning road record. 10* (751) Atlanta Hawks

Florida has been the surprise of the NIT thus far as the Gators came in as a No. 2 seed but were forced to hit the road because the O'Connell Center is undergoing renovations. They easily defeated North Florida last Tuesday and then travelled to Ohio St. on Sunday and defeated the Buckeyes by eight points. Now they have to hit the road again with their overall 6-8 record on the highway into a very tough environment for their sixth consecutive game away from home. George Washington easily defeated No. 1 seed Monmouth on Monday and because of the Florida situation, it will be back in Washington for its final home game of the season so the environment will be a big advantage. On the line Wednesday will be the 23-game home winning streak against non-conference competition. The Colonials were a perfect 8-0 at home in non-conference play this year, plus the First Round NIT win over Hofstra. The last loss came at the hands of Kansas St. on Dec. 8, 2012. Despite the win Sunday, the Gators are 9-24-2 ATS in their last 35 games following a straight up win while going 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games against teams with a winning straight up record. George Washington has won 18 of 22 games as a favorite this season. 10* (776) George Washington Colonials

Charlotte picked up a win last night that was seemly going the other way after just the first period. The Spurs led the Hornets 28-7 after one quarter, limiting them to just 14.3 percent shooting from the field and has a chance to put the game away but Charlotte would not quit. It was its biggest comeback win of the season but while the momentum of that comeback and the fact it was against one of the best teams in the NBA is big, it provides a huge letdown opportunity. The Hornets have had great energy at home but they are just 13-19 on the road and this is just the third road game the entire month of March as 10 of 12 games have been at home. The Nets have lost two straight games and eight of their last 10 as the recent schedule has been brutal. It has been the opposite of Charlotte as Brooklyn has played 11 of its last 13 games on the highway and it was surprisingly competitive in a majority of those games despite posting a 7-27 record on the road. The Nets are not a whole lot better at home but they matchup pretty close to the Hornets road record and it is the home/road splits that provide the value here. The late line is due to the status of Brook Lopez who is questionable but should suit up as he was able to practice on Monday. The Nets are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points. 10* (652) Brooklyn Nets

A pair of regular season conference champions square off tonight as St. Mary's heads to Valparaiso with the winner heading to New York for the NIT Semifinals. The Gaels struggled to put away New Mexico St. in their first round game as the disappointment of not getting into the NCAA Tournament may have been lingering. They bounced back with an easy win over Georgia and now hit the road where they have been very solid this season with a 7-3 record. Valparaiso has cruised to wins in both of its games but now faces one of its tougher tests of the season. The Crusaders have lost only once at home this season but this marks the best team to come and visit the Athletics-Recreation Center. St. Mary's finished the regular season with a 6-2 record against teams ranked among the top 100 in the NCAA RPI while Valparaiso went just 3-3 against similar teams. Going back, the Gaels are 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games following an ATS win while going 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games against teams with a winning home record. Meanwhile the Crusaders are just 2-7 ATS in their last nine games following a straight up win while going 1-4 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (659) St. Mary's Gaels

San Diego St. easily defeated IPFW in the first round of the NIT after getting snubbed by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Often times, you see teams come out flat in the NIT after feeling the disappointment of getting left out of the big tournament but that is not the case for the Aztecs which are out to prove how good they are. A big win against a major-conference team would be more proof the Aztecs deserved a spot in the NCAA tournament. Should South Carolina win tonight, this would make it the final home game of the season for San Diego St .as it would have to travel to the higher seeded Gamecocks. The Huskies survived Long Beach St. at home as they won by five points after trailing by 10 points early in the second half. Washington has dropped five straight games on the road and overall it is 3-6 on the highway. Those three wins came against non-postseason teams by just 10 points combined and one of those came in overtime at Washington St. which finished 1-17 in the Pac 12. This will be the biggest test of the year for the Huskies offense, because the Aztecs play defense better than anyone in the Pac 12 and better than most in the nation as they lead the country in effective defensive field goal percentage and are second in adjusted defensive efficiency. 10* (624) San Diego St. Aztecs

We played against San Antonio in its game previous to playing Golden St. and we are going to play against the Spurs following their victory Saturday night over the Warriors. That victory concluded a five-game homestand where the Spurs are now 35-0 on the season and while they are a very solid road team, the road/home splits with Charlotte does not justify this line. The Spurs have gone 10-4 over their last 14 road games but only three of those victories came against teams currently sitting in a playoff position. The Hornets are coming off a home loss against Denver on Saturday which snapped a two-game win streak. They have been playing exceptional as they are 15-4 over their last 19 games which has propelled them to sixth place in the Eastern Conference and they trail Atlanta by just a game and a half in the Southeast Division. Charlotte is 15-8 ATS this season as an underdog of fewer than eight points and it has lost consecutive games only twice since early January, going 7-1 in its last eight games following a defeat. Additionally, the Hornets are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of greater than .600 while the Spurs are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games following a straight up win. 10* (606) Charlotte Hornets

Northern Iowa takes on its second consecutive team from Texas after an incredible victory on Friday against the Longhorns. Many will be against the Panthers here based on a letdown but this is a very solid team that is peaking at the right time. Northern Iowa was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference behind Wichita St. but a 1-6 slump in the early part of the conference season doomed that. The Panthers did not quit however as they went 12-1 over their final 13 games including a pair of wins over the Shockers and the lone defeat coming by just three points on the road. The Aggies ran away from Green Bay in their opener as they went over 90 points for the first time since early January. The challenge gets tougher here though as the Panthers are much better defensively than the Phoenix and they have allowed just 58 ppg on 38.7 percent shooting over their last five games. Additionally, Northern Iowa is shooting 75.4 percent from the charity stripe which is 17th in the country. 10* (719) Northern Iowa Panthers

This line came out late due to the uncertain status of Gordon Hayward in the game last night but he came back after missing two games with a foot injury and he is good to go again tonight. He had a rough game Saturday as he managed only nine points in the loss at Chicago which snapped a four-game losing streak for the Jazz. They have had their share of struggles on the road this season but most of that has come against the top teams as 14 of 23 road losses have come against teams currently in playoff positions. Milwaukee is not part of that group and while the Bucks have won four of their last five games, two came against lowly Brooklyn and New Orleans while the last victory came against the injury riddled Grizzlies. Milwaukee has played well at home but it is just 7-12 ATS this season on its home floor against winning teams while going just 12-17 ATS this season following a win. Additionally, the Bucks are 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games against the Western Conference while the Jazz are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against teams with a losing straight up record and 15-6-1 ATS in their last 22 games playing on no rest. 10* (709) Utah Jazz

Iowa survived a scare from Temple in the first round as the Hawkeyes needed overtime to advance. This line opened at 5 but it has risen as the public is not backing Iowa considering they have gone 1-8 ATS over their last nine games but they definitely present a challenge to Villanova because of the offense. Villanova took some time to take out UNC-Asheville but eventually pulled away for a 30-point win on Friday. The Wildcats are 25-1 this season when holding opponents under 70 points but Iowa averages 77.9 ppg and the Wildcats tournament struggles are pretty known as they are 0-6 in their last six tournament games against teams not seeded 15th or 16th. Beyond its three-point shooting prowess, Iowa prides itself on avoiding turnovers as the Hawkeyes are eight in the nation in offensive turnover percentage. Going back, the Wildcats are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win and on the season, Iowa is 3-0 ATS ion this price range as an underdog. 10* (713) Iowa Hawkeyes

North Carolina is one of two teams, with Kansas being the other, that has the most public backing to win the national championship and while the Tar Heels are a clear favorite, they should be in for a test here. They came out flat against Florida Gulf Coast but used an early second half run to pull away to survive the scare. North Carolina is just 5-5 this season against the top 50 from the ESPN Power Index and while Providence has only two wins against the same teams, it is an extremely dangerous team that is getting a huge number. The Friars are fortunate to be here for sure coming off a last second win over USC but when they play to their potential, they can beat anyone. The offense is led by Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil and the duo can create some problems for a Tar Heels defense that has struggled at times, case in point on Thursday when they allowed the Eagles to shoot 60 percent from the floor in the first half. 10* (525) Providence Friars

This is another example of the wrong team being favored because of the name. Gonzaga snuck into the NCAA Tournament because of the win in the WCC Tournament as it was a bubble team prior to that which its No. 11 seed attests to. The Bulldogs took care of Seton Hall in their first game which was a surprise based on how much they won by but when the Pirates best player goes 4-24 from the floor including 0-10 from long range, that will happen. Utah is one of just two of the seven Pac 12 teams left in the tournament and this line may have something to do with the perception of the conference being overrated. The Utes are extremely tough though and have one of the best players in the country in Jakob Poeltl who is a very difficult matchup down low. They won 19 games against the top 100 this season which is close to the most in the country while Gonzaga has just five against similar opposition. 10* (534) Utah Utes

There is certainly a lot of incentive for both sides tonight as the Warriors and Spurs are fighting for the top spot in the Western Conference. This is the second meeting this season and the Spurs should be pretty motivated after losing by 30 points in the first meeting back in January. They have been unbeatable at home, going a perfect 34-0 but this is obviously the biggest challenge thus far. The Warriors defeated Dallas last night as they pulled away late after a game that was competitive for a while. Golden St. once again showed its advantage behind the arc as it shot over 57 percent from long range and while the success will be difficult to repeat here, they will take it on. The Spurs have the revenge angle but Golden St. has a little more in the tank as it has lost 32 straight regular season matchups in San Antonio with this being by far the best Warriors team to visit. This is just the third time this season that Golden St. has been the underdog and in the first two instances, at Cleveland and at Houston, it came out on top both times. The Spurs are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win while the Warriors are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (517) Golden St. Warriors

It is not too common to see a No. 11 seed be favored in its first two games (not counting the play in game where it was also favored) of the NCAA Tournament but that is the case for Wichita St. The Shockers closed as a one-point favorite against Arizona and have opened as a bucket favorite against Miami and that seems to be an overadjusted line. This is a very solid team that was underseeded and Wichita St. looked every bit as a team that can make a long run into the tournament but it gets a much tougher matchup here. Miami had to shake off a pesky Buffalo team as it won by seven points it won by seven points as a 14-point favorite. The Hurricanes are a tough matchup for most teams and are the sleeping giants when they play to their potential. Line value plays a big role this time of year and clearly, the wrong team is getting the points. 10* (522) Miami Hurricanes

Northern Iowa was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference behind Wichita St. but a 1-6 surge in the early part of the conference season doomed that. The Panthers did not quit however as they went 12-1 over their final 13 games including a pair of wins over the Shockers and the lone defeat coming by just three points on the road. The Panthers used to be a powerhouse in this conference and after a couple of off years, they seem to be back and are peaking at the right time. Shaka Smart did a great job at Texas this season and he brings in a lot of tournament experience. The Longhorns struggled shooting the ball this season as they hit just 43.2 percent for the season including only 40.4 percent over their last five games. They are also very average at the free throw line while that is a place that Northern Iowa excels. Texas will have Cameron Ridley for this game after he saw two minutes of action against Baylor in the Big XII Tournament. His minutes will go up after he missed two months of action but how effective he will be is definitely a question. The Panthers are 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (831) Northern Iowa Panthers

There is obviously a big difference between the Big XII Conference and the Southland Conference as far as talent goes but when a team cruises through the regular season with an 18-0 record and wins its two tournament games by 58 points combined, that gap is narrowed. That was the case for Stephen F. Austin as it is now 59-1 over the last three seasons in the Southland Conference and is making its third straight NCAA Tournament experience. The Lumberjacks defeated VCU in the first round two years ago and lost by just seven points against Utah last season. They pressure the ball very well as they force 17.5 turnovers per game and have a very similar style to that of West Virginia. The Mountaineers are very similar in that they also force a lot of turnovers to create easy baskets but facing a team like their own is not a good matchup in the first round. This is very similar to that VCU game with both having similar styles and the Lumberjacks winning outright as six-point underdogs. Stephen F. Austin shoots the ball well, has a 1.50 assist/turnover ratio and has a big edge at the free throw line. 10* (821) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

The Cavaliers won against Dallas in their last game on Wednesday as they took down the Mavericks by a point while resting LeBron James. They now hit the road where they are still solid but not nearly as good as they are at home and the situation is not in their favor tonight. Cleveland heads to Miami tomorrow night which presents us with a solid possibility of a lookahead spot. The Cavaliers are just 10-17 ATS this season as road favorites and they have really struggled in trying to play at a high level against the lesser teams as they are just 3-11 ATS this season on the road against teams with a losing record. Orlando lost at Charlotte on Wednesday to fall to 11-22 on the road and while they are not overly dominant at home, the Magic are 18-15 and that is after a 0-2 start. They are 10-6 ATS as underdogs of five or more points which correlates to them playing well against the better teams and that is proven with the fact the Magic are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. There is also some revenge on the table for today as Orlando looks to avoid the four-game season sweep after losing the first three games by 14, 35 and 25 points. 10* (804) Orlando Magic

Wisconsin made a huge run to get into the NCAA Tournament as it won 11 of 12 games following a 1-4 start in the Big Ten. The Badgers were pretty much left for dead after a rough overall start and the retiring of head coach Bo Ryan but they stayed on course with a huge turnaround. A one-point home victory over Michigan St. was the turning point and while there were some other solid wins, most of the victories over the surge were against the bottom teams in the Big Ten. A loss to Nebraska in their first Big Ten Tournament game put them in question even more. Pittsburgh did not finish the season nearly as strong and got its way into the NCAA Tournament thanks to a one-point win over Syracuse in the ACC Tournament and it was a bad shot by Orange away from playing in the NIT. But even though the Panthers will not go very far, they have a matchup edge that cannot be ignored. Pittsburgh's excellence in crashing the offensive glass is a huge advantage and it has dominated teams that have trouble on the boards and Wisconsin fits that profile. The Panthers remain one of the best in the country, collecting 37.4 percent of their own misses. Additionally, Pittsburgh has been a little more predictable and did not suffer as many bad losses as the Badgers did. 10* (835) Pittsburgh Panthers

Temple had an exceptional season as it won the outright AAC regular season title but did not make much noise in the conference tournament as it was ousted by eventual champion Connecticut. Still, the Owls are a dangerous team that are guard heavy and take great care of the ball as they are ranked second in the country in turnover rate. They are an average shooting team but that can be negated by the fact they get to take more shots because of the limited number of turnovers. They own seven wins against top 100 teams. Iowa was atop the Big Ten at one point with a 10-1 record but limped in with a 2-5 finish and then lost in its first tournament game against Illinois. The Hawkeyes are a very streaky shooting team and that is not good against a solid Temple defense that has held opponents to just 41.2 percent over its last five games and 41.7 percent on the season. This is by far the biggest spread of all of the 7/10 matchups and it does not have a lot of basis in it being that way. The Owls are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (819) Temple Owls

Oregon St. was a surprise to some to make the NCAA Tournament as it was right on the bubble but it is ranked No. 29 in the ESPN Power Index thanks to 12 wins against top 100 teams. The Beavers finished 9-9 in the Pac 12 during the regular season and after easily defeating Arizona St. in the tournament, they lost to California which was a very close game until the end. Those nine wins were the most since 1992-93 so it shows what a special season it was. A lot of this is due to senior Gary Payton Jr. who made first team All-Pac 12 and has won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. VCU finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Ten but was unable to win the conference tournament as it fell to St. Joes by 13 points in the championship game. The Rams used to be known for their tenacious pressing defense which is not the same anymore. Many will argue that the Beavers are overseeded here as a No. 7 but that is right in line with that power index referenced earlier. That brings in the question of the pointspread where the Rams are the only No. 10 seed that is favored showing significant value for the Beavers. 10* (828) Oregon St. Beavers

This is the fourth and final matchup on Thursday coming from Raleigh with Providence and USC meeting for the first time since 1972. Both teams started the season red hot but cooled off once their respective conference seasons began but it is Providence that comes in as the hotter of the two teams. The Friars had won four straight games prior to being ousted in the Big East Tournament by Villanova by eight points in a game that was close until the final few minutes. Providence has point guard Kris Dunn, a probable NBA lottery pick, who averages 16.0 ppg and 6.4 apg and forward Ben Bentil, who averages 21.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg. The Trojans went just 3-7 over their last 10 games which included a loss to Utah in the Pac 12 Tournament. USC was awesome at home this season with a 16-2 record but it struggled on the highway, going just 5-10 in away and neutral court games. One key factor that the Friars possess if this is a close game is the fact they are the much better free throw shooting team and especially of late as they have a 75 percent to 64 percent edge over the last five games. Additionally, Providence is 8-3 ATS away from home against winning teams while USC is just 3-9 ATS in the same situation. 10* (727) Providence Friars

Portland has had two days off to stew over a loss at Oklahoma City on Monday as it was blasted by 34 points by allowing the Thunder to shoot 59 percent from the floor. The Blazers have now lost five straight games on the road and that is certainly playing into this number but they have been a great bounce back team this season, going 21-12 ATS following a loss. Even stronger is the fact they are 6-0 ATS in their last six games following a double-digit loss. The Spurs have won four straight games following a loss at Indiana 10 days ago which includes three home wins where they are a perfect 33-0 on the season. That too is playing into the number but this is not the ideal spot. While keeping pace with Golden St. is the goal, which it trails by four games in the Western Conference, San Antonio faces the Warriors on Saturday so the lookahead to that game is a definite possibility. No one as of yet has been ruled out for the Spurs tonight but a late scratch is always a possibility which would help for sure. While the Blazers have been great off losses, the Spurs are just 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a straight up win. 10* (713) Portland Trailblazers

Fresno St. and Utah will face each other in the Midwest Region in the first night game from the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Bulldogs enter this game as one of the hottest teams in the country as they have won nine straight games including three games in three days to capture the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Even as hot as they are, they needed the title to get into the Big Dance and the win over the Aztecs was impressive. They held San Diego St. to only 42 percent shooting, they pulled out 11 steals, and senior guard and conference player of the year Marvelle Harris scored a team-high 18 points. Fresno St. ranks among the best in the nation in steals. Utah is a solid sleeper to make a Final Four run and the Utes had won nine straight games before getting blown out by Oregon in the Pac 12 championship. Utah does a lot of things right and it possesses one of the best big men in the country in Jakob Poeltl. The Utes committed 20 turnovers against Oregon in that championship game and that plays right into the hands of the Bulldogs and this line makes it even more inviting for the red hot Bulldogs. 10* (745) Fresno St. Bulldogs

Iona and Iowa St. meet in the first game from Denver on Thursday and I feel this one has upset potential. The Gaels are a perennial strong team from the MAAC and while they were not the best this season, they were close. They finished one game behind Monmouth but they defeated the Hawks in the MAAC Championship to grab the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Iona comes in riding an eight-game winning streak and while it comes from the much weaker conference, it has the game and the right matchup to stay within reach here. Iowa St. opened the season 9-0 but struggled after that by going just 12-11 after that including a pair of losses heading into the tournament. Granted, the Cyclones come out of the rugged Big XII Conference and they lost a lot of tight games but because of their pace, they will be in for a fight here. Iona is No. 31 on KenPom.com in ppg (79.6), 60th in adjusted offense (110.4) and 44th in adjusted tempo (72.4) while Iowa St. is 15th, 3rd and 54th in those categories. The bench is a factor also as drawing a game at high altitude against a running team might not be the ideal situation for a short-benched Iowa St. team. 10* (743) Iona Gaels

Connecticut and Colorado face off in the South Region in the first game from Des Moines on Thursday. The Huskies made a big run in the AAC Tournament as they won three games in three days to capture the title. It almost never happened however as Connecticut needed a half-court shot into what eventually was a four-overtime win over Cincinnati. That victory kept the Huskies out of the NIT as they were clearly a bubble team and while they bring in momentum, they have a very tough matchup here. Colorado lost to Arizona in the Pac 12 Tournament quarters and while it is 3-2 over its last five games, it includes a big win over Arizona and close two-point loss at Utah. The Buffaloes covered all five of those games and despite the higher seed here, they are getting a very attractive number. The Buffaloes are one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, and that is a huge advantage in this one because Connecticut does not rebound the ball well, ranking 152nd in the nation. The Pac 12 got seven teams into the NCAA Tournament and while some of those will be fades, Colorado comes from the much stronger conference and that will show here. 10* (736) Colorado Buffaloes

The first day of the NCAA Tournament starts off with UNC-Wilmington taking on Duke in the West Region from Providence. The Seahawks won both the CAA regular season and conference tournament and come in as a dangerous No. 13 seed. They possess a guard-heavy lineup that likes to push the pace and has the firepower to keep up with Duke on the offensive end. While they have not been to the tournament since 2006, they are coached by former Louisville assistant Kevin Keatts so he has the knowledge of playing on the big stage. It has been a down year for the defending national champion Blue Devils and while another big run is not out of the question, they are far from dangerous and have struggled in these spots in recent years as they lost to Mercer in 2014 and Lehigh in 2012. Duke has made the NCAA tournament 32 times but this is just the fourth time the Blue Devils have been lower than a No. 3 seed under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. The loss of Amile Jefferson early in the season was a big blow for Duke down low so we will again see it push the pace but that is not an advantage in this matchup. 10* (723) UNC-Wilmington Seahawks

While the Clippers remain contenders in the Western Conference to make a possible something happen against Golden St. come playoff time, they sure did not look it last night in San Antonio. Los Angeles lost by 21 points against one of the other contenders as it got outscored by 20 points in the fourth quarter so a quick regroup needs to happen tonight. The Clippers have dropped two straight as they also fell at home against Cleveland by 24 points on Sunday so a bounceback is even more important. This is the first time since before Christmas that the Clippers have lost consecutive games and they are now 10-1 since then following a defeat so getting points here against what has been an average Houston team is even more attractive. The Rockets are coming off a blowout victory against Memphis, which has been depleted by injuries, and they are on a solid run of winning four of their last five games but are facing the Clippers at the wrong time. Houston is just 10-16 ATS this season as a home favorite and going back, the Rockets are 0-6 ATS in their last six games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game. 10* (613) Los Angeles Clippers

Tulsa was a surprise entrant into the NCAA Tournament by many and the public does not like this team in the First Four matchup on Wednesday as Michigan is the biggest consensus on the board in all NCAA Tournament games. While there may have been other teams that deserved consideration over Tulsa, this is a very solid team that will be out to prove the naysayers wrong. The Golden Hurricane are ranked No. 1 in the nation in experience, according to kenpom.com, as seven of their top nine players in their rotation are seniors. They have exceptional guard play even though they do not shoot the long ball very well but that has been a problem for Michigan of late as well. The Wolverines are pretty fortunate to be here as well and no one is really taking that into consideration. They needed a run in the Big Ten Tournament and got it thanks to an overtime win over Northwestern and a last second win over Indiana. A loss in either of those would have likely sent Michigan to the NIT but now everyone is already penciling the Wolverines into the matchup with Notre Dame on Friday. The Golden Hurricane are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Wolverines are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (621) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

One great situation in the NBA is playing on teams that are coming off bad losses and Detroit more than fits. The Pistons are coming off a 43-point loss against Washington which was their worst loss in 22 years and even worse it came in a nationally televised game on ESPN. The Pistons concluded their four-game trip with a 2-2 record and now head to the Palace for a much-needed nine-game home stand. The two losses on the trip resulted in the most points allowed in regulation this season and after getting called out by head coach Stan Van Gundy, it is safe to say we will see a full out effort tonight. Atlanta has won two straight games, both of which came at home, and going back it is on a solid 5-1 run. The Hawks are a game behind Miami in the Southeast Division and currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference but this is a bigger game for Detroit which is on the outside looking in as it trails Chicago by percentage points for eighth place. The Pistons are 14-5 both straight up and against the number as home favorites this season. 10* (610) Detroit Pistons

The Celtics lost last night in Indiana which made it two straight losses, a rarity of late for Boston. This was just the second time since mid-January that Boston has lost consecutive games and you have to go all the way back to early January to find more than two straight defeats. The Celtics other loss prior to last night came at home against Houston which snapped a 14-game home winning streak so this is a team chomping at the bit to return to its winning ways. Oklahoma City won its last game, a 34-point romp over Portland at home which snapped a two-game slide. The Thunder have been very inconsistent as since the All Star Break, they are just 5-8 which includes a 3-4 record on the road. All three of those wins came against losing teams and they have struggled on the highway against the better teams, going 3-10 ATS against teams with a winning record. Oklahoma City is 7-15-2 ATS this season as a road favorite while the Celtics are 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (608) Boston Celtics

Two underachieving teams square off Tuesday in one of the First Four games as Vanderbilt and Wichita St. meet with the winner to face Arizona on Thursday. While both underachieved, they were for different reasons. The Shockers were hit hard by injuries early in the season as they opened just 5-5 after being ranked in the preseason top ten. They are healthy once again and have gone 19-3 over their last 22 games and only an overtime loss in the MVC Semifinals prevented this game from happening. Still, the experience will play a big part as will excellent guard play. Vanderbilt was expected to contend for the SEC title and while it showed signs of being a powerful team, it was too consistent overall. The Commodores have a great frontcourt but they rely on the three-pointer too much and against a very strong Shockers perimeter defense, that will pose to be a problem. The Shockers are 4-0 ATS in their last four games following a straight up loss while the Commodores are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (546) Wichita St. Shockers

Florida hits the road to take the short trip to Jacksonville in the first round of the NIT and it clearly has the biggest disadvantage of all of the better seeded teams of this tournament. The Gators are a No. 2 seed in the tournament while the Ospreys are a No. 7 seed. However, the Ospreys will host the game because the O'Connell Center is undergoing renovations. Florida went 4-8 on the road this season but they come in as a big road favorite mainly because it is from a power conference playing against a lower-tiered conference but the SEC was not good once again this season. North Florida won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title but lost in the conference championship to Florida Gulf Coast to get relegated to the NIT. This is a big game for the Ospreys as they get a rare home game against a power conference and we have seen many times in the NIT how energized their environments can be. Florida head coach Mike White said Monday it's unclear whether center John Egbunu will even travel with the Gators as he has an injured ligament in his thumb. 10* (558) North Florida Ospreys

Toronto lost at home last night to the Bulls as it failed to pick up ground on the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference as it is now 2.5 games back for the top position. The Raptors completed a 5-2 homestand and while they hit the road for the first time in a while. They have been solid on the highway with a 17-13 record and they have covered 10 of 15 games against teams with losing records. Milwaukee has won three straight games as it continues to hang around in the playoff picture, sitting five games behind Chicago for the No. 8 seed but there are also two other teams in front of it. The Bucks are just 17-33 as underdogs this season and are 7-10 ATS at home against winning teams. Milwaukee is just 8-16 against the top ten teams in the NBA and three of those losses have come against Toronto so while revenge is a factor, the Raptors have big matchup edges. We do not like going with road chalk nor do we like taking big public consensus plays but sometimes the situation calls for it and this is one of those. Toronto is 9-2 over its last 11 games following a loss and with games against Indiana and Boston up next, this is a pretty big game. 10* (537) Toronto Raptors

This line came out late due to the questionable status of Washington guard Bradley Beal. It has been a bad stretch for the Wizards as they have dropped their last five games but four of those have come on the road and the lone home loss was by just a point against Indiana. Going back prior to that, Washington had won six straight home games and the spot is a good one tonight to snap the losing skid. The Wizards are now in tenth place in the Eastern Conference and are sitting 3.5 games out of the playoff picture and the team they are chasing is the Pistons. Detroit won in Philadelphia on Sunday to make it three wins in its last four games and going back further, it has won seven of 10 games following a five-game losing streak of its own. The Pistons have struggled on the road as they are 15-21 and are 1-5 ATS in their last six road games against teams with a losing home record while the Wizards are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games. 10* (502) Washington Wizards

Dallas is in the midst of a very tough stretch right now as a loss on Saturday made it five straight defeats. The Mavericks are still tied with Houston for seventh place in the Western Conference and with Utah winning again, they are just two games away from ninth place. The bad stretch is giving them value however as they hit the road and while the record is just 14-17 on the highway, they have been more competitive than not as the last three road games have all gone into overtime. Charlotte has been surging as it has won seven straight games, covering six of those, and is tied for fifth place in the Eastern Conference and is just a half-game behind Miami for fourth place. The Hornets have been getting the job done at home with eight straight victories but they are getting the opposite treatment with lines being overadjusted. They are favored by just two points fewer here than they were against New Orleans despite the Pelicans being 8.5 games worse than Dallas. The Mavericks are 6-2 ATS this season as single-digit underdogs of six or more points. 10* (503) Dallas Mavericks

While the blowout victory may actually take some people off of Texas A&M today, that win was huge for the Aggies in this tournament round. It got ugly early which allowed only four players to log more than 20 minutes on the floor and with this being the third game in three days, that is a big edge. Kentucky trailed early and often and eventually took its lead over Georgia midway past the second half while pulling away late for the cover. The Wildcats have now covered four straight games which is one fewer than Texas A&M and despite the poll rankings and power rankings, they come in as a bigger than expected favorite simply because it is Kentucky. This is the second largest amount of points that the Aggies have gotten all season as their previous biggest pointspread was getting 4.5 points against Gonzaga in a game they won. They were arguably the best team in the conference from start to finish and that will show here. Texas A&M is 11-2 this season following a victory while going 5-0 ATS in its last five games against winning teams. 10* (884) Texas A&M Aggies

Villanova survived a temporary scare from Providence yesterday and it was fortunate that Ben Bentil was not even a factor as he fouled out midway through the second half and scored just three points which came after a 38-point effort against Butler the previous day. The Wildcats secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament win or lose here and while winning the Big East Tournament championship is still the goal, winning by this much is a stretch. They are clearly the best team in the conference but Seton Hall is playing some of the best basketball in the Big East right now. The Pirates have won 11 of their last 13 games following a tough two-game stretch where they dropped back-to-back games against Villanova and Xavier. While they lost both meetings this season against the Wildcats, both were more competitive than expected which we should see again today. The Pirates are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Wildcats are 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a straight up win. 10* (743) Seton Hall Pirates

Connecticut survived an epic four-overtime game yesterday against Cincinnati that included a half-court buzzer-beater and those extra minutes will be a factor. The Huskies needed that game badly as they were on the outside looking in for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament but they are now one of the last four teams in so while a win here cements the berth, a loss is not going to kill them. Temple had a much easier game Friday as it took out South Florida by 17 points to make it four straight wins. Aside from a 19-point loss at Tulsa, the Owls have been exceptional by going 144 over their last 18 games with two of the other losses coming by five combined points and the other coming against Villanova. The defeated Connecticut in both of the regular season meetings and while beating a team three times is difficult, the matchup is in their favor as is the situation of the games that took place yesterday. Connecticut is just 2-5 ATS in its last seven games against winning teams while Temple 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games against teams above .500. 10* (740) Temple Owls

*2:05 ET start* Indiana is coming off a very impressive win over San Antonio in its last game but it will be hard to carry any momentum forward from that as the Pacers have had four days off since that victory. Rest is good in this league but too much rest can be a problem and Indiana is heading to Dallas at the wrong time. The Mavericks are struggling with losses in four straight games, three of which have come at home. Dallas is now tied with Houston for seventh place in the Western Conference and is just three games up on Utah which is sitting in ninth place following its win over Washington last night. After today, Dallas hits the road to face the surging Hornets and the Cavaliers on Monday and Wednesday so this has turned into a very big game. Indiana won the first meeting at home by 26 points so the Mavericks will be out to avenge that loss and despite that win, the Pacers are just 8-18 ATS against the Western Conference this season. Additionally, the Pacers are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win. 10* (702) Dallas Mavericks

We won with LSU yesterday as it pulled away from Tennessee in a game that was close throughout and as mentioned, the road to the NCAA Tournament is still not horrible. The Tigers have to win out and his is a very winnable game despite what the line may be suggesting. Texas A&M also won a game that was tight as the Aggies took advantage of Florida that was ice cold from long range, going just 3-19 from beyond the arc. They have now won seven straight games which is a big part in the size of this number. LSU and Texas A&M split their regular season series with both teams winning on their home floor but looking at those lines shows the value that the Tigers are getting here. While LSU is known for having one of the best players in the nation in Ben Simmons, the balance on this team is huge and it showed yesterday with all five starters scoring in double figures. Expect a closer than anticipated game today. 10* (725) LSU Tigers

Many teams are still fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives and one of those is Tulsa. Despite a 12-6 record and a tie for third place in the AAC, the Golden Hurricane are on the outside looking in. A lack of quality wins may be to blame but they have victories over Wichita St., Connecticut, SMU, Cincinnati and Temple so there are plenty of good victories. The issue is not bad losses either as five of those defeats came against the five teams at the top of the conference with the sixth loss coming on the road against Memphis setting up a big payback spot to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Memphis has once again disappointed as the elite days are a thing of the past. The Tigers finished 8-10 in the AAC and has some very bad losses along the way. This will be the second straight season missing the NCAA Tournament and while Memphis is coming off a win last time out, it was against lowly East Carolina and the Tigers are 4-11 ATS this season following a victory. 10* (544) Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Minnesota is coming off a pair of losses against Charlotte and San Antonio as it hits the road to take on another surging opponent. Surging may not be the right word for Oklahoma City at this point but it has won two straight games following a brutal 2-6 run coming out of the All Star break. We won with the Thunder in their last game as they defeated the Clippers by 12 points in a revenge game from a week prior where they blew a 22-point lead. We could certainly see a letdown from the payback victory and on top of that, they travel to San Antonio for the primetime ABC game tomorrow night. Getting up for the below average Timberwolves will be difficult to do but you can expect to see Minnesota get up for Oklahoma City as it has been a Thunder punching bag for a while now with 10 consecutive losses in this series. The Timberwolves have excelled in these situations this season as they are 11-3 ATS on the road against teams with a winning record and have covered four straight when getting double-digits. Going back, the Thunder are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a straight up win while going 1-6 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win of more than 10 points. 10* (509) Minnesota Timberwolves

Villanova took the Big East Conference regular season championship by two games and is in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament which it will probably get win or lose this tournament. The Wildcats easily took care of Georgetown yesterday for their fourth straight victory but the Hoyas have been playing horrible and now they catch a team that could be peaking at the right time. Additionally, they are favored by only 2.5 fewer points here and that line adjustment does not make sense. Providence defeated a very solid Butler team Thursday without much of a problem which was also its fourth straight win following a tough 1-5 stretch. The Friars are a tough matchup this time of year with a strong high/low game and should again give Villanova fits. The teams split the season series and if not for Providence not being able to find the hoop in the first half of the second matchup, a sweep could have been in order. Providence is 7-3 ATS this season away from home against winning teams while the Wildcats are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS win. 10* (565) Providence Friars

LSU is not getting into the NCAA Tournament unless it wins the SEC Tournament and things got a little easier for the Tigers for that to happen. It looked as though they were going to have a tough matchup with Vanderbilt but the Commodores lost to Tennessee yesterday and possibly played themselves out of the big dance. Now, LSU gets to play Tennessee and a win here gets it a step closer to what would not be an unconceivable run. The Volunteers have won their first two games here after an awful ending to the regular season where they dropped four straight and six of seven. While they shot pretty poor yesterday, they committed only six turnovers and a repeat of that is not going to happen. The Tigers closed the regular season with a brutal loss at Kentucky but have new life and going back, the Tigers are 16-7-1 ATS in their last 24 games following a straight up loss while the Volunteers are 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine games following a straight up win. 10* (548) LSU Tigers

Dayton has the best RPI in the Atlantic Ten Conference but now is the time that it needs to step up its games. The Flyers have not been playing very well as they are 3-3 over their last six games with two wins coming in overtime and the other coming by just a single point. That victory happened to come against Richmond but it was on the road and this is a great position for Dayton as it is 10-3 on the highway this season. The Spiders are well down in the conference RPI following an unimpressive win over Fordham on Thursday. That snapped a two-game slide but they are still just 2-5 over their last seven games but are still getting a relatively small number here. A big reason for this is due to the fact Dayton has not covered a game since February 6th, going 0-7-1 ATS over that stretch and this is a streak we love going against. Despite not cashing tickets of late, Dayton is a perfect 3-0 ATS as a favorite in this price range and expect that to continue Friday. 10* (530) Dayton Flyers

Michigan picked up a big win over Northwestern yesterday in overtime in what was a must win situation for the Wolverines. While many think they are now in the NCAA Tournament, I think they are still in need of one more victory to be assured of an at-large berth. This is a great opportunity for a quality victory over an overrated team. Typically, the regular season winner of the Big Ten is up for No. 1 seed discussions but that is not the case here. Indiana pull off a surprise with the regular season championship but right now it is being projected as a No. 3 seed and a reason for that is due to a soft schedule. The Hoosiers played the second easiest Big Ten schedule behind Illinois and the feeling is they are overpriced here. Plus, you take the Hoosiers way from their home court where they went 17-0, they become a much less dominating team. Additionally, the Hoosiers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following an ATS win. 10* (521) Michigan Wolverines

Seton Hall is playing some of the best basketball in the Big East Conference as it has won nine of its last 11 games with both losses coming against Butler. Of the Pirates other conference losses, two came against Villanova, another came against Xavier while the last came against Creighton at home by 15 points in its biggest conference loss of the entire season. Seton Hall came out of nowhere this year and after the meltdown at the end of last year, not much was expected of the Pirates this season but they have definitely been a surprise. They own the third best RPI in the conference and can enhance their NCAA Tournament seeding with a big tournament run. Creighton meanwhile had a good season after a disaster from a season ago where it went just 4-14 in the conference. The Bluejays improved by five games but that is still not enough for a legitimate shot at a tournament bid. They would have to win this tournament and that will not be happening. Creighton is just 3-9 against the top 50 and while a win over Seton Hall was one of those, that was a fluke as the Pirates were just 15-28 from the free throw line. 10* (732) Seton Hall Pirates

Phoenix was riding a two-game winning streak heading into last night but got thumped at home against the Knicks by 31 points and the Suns hit the road again where it has struggled this season. However, the two previous wins came on the highway and this is another winnable game so we will be grabbing the generous pointspread here. Injuries have hurt this team all season long but they Suns are on the cusp of getting a big player back. Brandon Knight has not played since January 19th with a groin injury and he is getting closer to his return which could take place tonight after missing again last night even though he was listed as probable. Denver has been playing well as it is 3-1 over its last four games, all games taking place at home where the Nuggets are also 3-1 against the number in those games. This is a team that cannot be trusted laying a number this big as they are 1-4 ATS this season as favorites with the lone cover coming by just 1.5 points. Denver has won only eight of 25 games following a victory this season and taking a step down in class is not a good thing as the Nuggets are 14-35-2 ATS in their last 51 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than .400. Meanwhile, the Suns are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home. 10* (705) Phoenix Suns

Alabama had snuck into the NCAA Tournament conversation with wins in six of its last eight games while going on a 7-3 run following a 1-5 start in the SEC. Two of the recent three losses have come on the road at South Carolina and Kentucky so those are considered quality losses but a defeat at home against Mississippi St. really hurt the Tide. That was a bad spot however as Alabama was coming off a pair of road upsets at Florida and LSU and a home upset over Texas A&M. A loss to Arkansas dropped the Tide back out of the at-large conversation so now they need a huge run in the SEC Tournament. Mississippi was never in the conversation despite a winning conference record because of a poor RPI that was not helped by playing the easiest schedule in the conference. Both teams were great at home and average on the road and we are getting value with the Tide because of five straight cover losses. Despite that, the Tide are 21-8 ATS in their last 29 games following an ATS loss while going 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (753) Alabama Crimson Tide

Georgia Tech survived round two of the ACC Tournament as it erased an 18-point second half deficit to force overtime and eventually take out Clemson. The Yellow Jackets could be in for a letdown as is often typical but I do not think it happens here as they are a very tough out and could make some noise the next couple days if they catch some breaks. Georgia Tech is not an easy team to take out in tournament play as it possesses both inside and outside strength on both ends of the floor and getting a line this big is just icing on the cake. Virginia has been playing exceptional right now as it has won 11 of its last 13 games with the two losses coming on the road by a combined four points. The Cavaliers are in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and they are certainly deserving of it but this is not a great matchup. They are at a big disadvantage on the boards and that was evident in the first meeting this season at Georgia Tech as they were outboarded by 13 in their upset loss. While Virginia has been on a roll, the Yellow Jackets have won six of their last seven games with the lone loss coming at Louisville by only three points. 10* (721) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Arizona is not having a typical Arizona season and a lot of that can be due to some injuries that took place but the Wildcats are definitely still vulnerable. They are a very hefty favorite here and a big reason for that is based on name alone and that cannot be taken into consideration during this time of year. Granted, Arizona is a top 25 team while Colorado is not but opinion polls are meaningless. Based on power rankings, Arizona is No. 25 and Colorado is No. 31 according to the ESPN Daily RPI report and that does not equate to a spread this big. The Wildcats went just 3-6 against the top 50 while the Buffaloes went 4-8 which is not that much better but again diffuses the size of this number. Arizona lost in Boulder last month which is definitely an angle for revenge but avenging losses this time of year is overrated based on other factors. A big one for Colorado is that it could use one more quality victory to ensure an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. While it is in, other tournament upsets could still come into play. The Wildcats are 0-4 ATS in their last four games against team with a winning percentage above .600 while the Buffaloes are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win. 10* (775) Colorado Buffaloes

Florida has played itself out of the NCAA Tournament but since it is the fifth team out at this point, the Gators can play their way right back in. they were looking good up until a four-game losing streak sent them reeling. The losses were against South Carolina, Vanderbilt, LSU and Kentucky and while they all count as quality defeats, even one win out of those would have them in much better position. An early exit cannot happen and while a win over Missouri to end the regular season was far from a quality victory, at least it provided some much needed momentum heading to Nashville. Arkansas ended the season just the opposite way as it had a four-game winning streak heading into the regular season finale but got crushed at home against South Carolina. Two of those wins came on the road but it is hard to ignore the fact that the Razorbacks went just 3-11 away from home this season. The Gators will have to face Texas A&M on Friday, which is the No. 1 seed, so going 2-0 could be enough to vault them up barring any sort of major upsets here or in other tournament championships. 10* (750) Florida Gators

Oregon St. is sitting right on the bubble for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament as right now it is the first team out despite a 6-3 record over its last nine games. A 9-9 record within the conference could have something to do with it but a .500 record in the conference this season is not that bad considering how strong it has been. One thing in their favor is that the Beavers possess three wins against top 25 teams which is tied for the most with three other teams including Oregon and Utah. Additionally, Oregon St. has not forgotten the 18-point loss at Arizona St. earlier this season so despite a 5-13 Pac 12 record, it will not be taking the Sun Devils lightly. Arizona St. opened the season 10-3 after non-conference action but it was all downhill after that as it lost six of its first seven games in the Pac 12 and it could never recover. The Sun Devils only won once away from home in the conference and that was a victory at 1-17 Washington St. so asking them to win on a neutral floor is a tall task. Going back, the Beavers are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 games against teams with a losing straight up record while the Sun Devils are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage above .600. 10* (546) Oregon St. Beavers

This is a pivotal game for Oklahoma City due to the criticisms it has been getting for losing to really good teams while blowing leads in doing so. The Thunder lost down the stretch against Golden St. for a second time and in-between those was a 22-point blown lead against these Clippers exactly one week ago. They have now dropped six of their last nine games and while it can be argued that they have played six of those games on the road, the three home games have all resulted in losses which makes this game even that much bigger. Oklahoma City is still a very solid 25-8 at home and it will certainly be out for revenge here. The Clippers defeated Dallas on the road two nights ago and they have been a very strong road team as their 20-10 record is third best in the NBA. The problem in this spot as they are just 3-6 on the road when getting points in contrast to going 17-4 when playing as a road favorite. Additionally, the Clippers are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games following an ATS win while the Thunder are 27-9-2 ATS in their last 38 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (512) Oklahoma City Thunder

The Pac 12 is stronger than it has been in years and it can send as many as seven teams to the NCAA Tournament. One of those takes place in this matchup as USC takes on rival UCLA in the first round of the Pac 12 Tournament. This is essentially a must win game for the Trojans as they are one of the last few teams in and with all of the upsets taking place in other tournaments, teams like Valparaiso and Monmouth could slide in front of USC should the Trojans lose in the first round. They have defeated the Bruins twice this season and while defeating a team three times is tough, they have a solid matchup advantage here. UCLA comes in riding a four-game losing skid as the season has completely unraveled. Only half of their six conference wins have come against teams that will be playing in the NCAA Tournament so wins over Kentucky and Gonzaga early in the season mean little now. Bryce Alford is listed as questionable due to a jaw injury but if he goes, he will not be at 100 percent. UCLA is just 8-16 ATS this season against teams with a winning record while USC has won 17 of 22 games this season as a favorite. UCLA will not back down but the Trojans have too much on the line to let this slip away. 10* (544) USC Trojans

Dallas has lost three straight games, including two at home, and is now just a game and a half ahead of Houston for seventh place in the Western Conference. The Mavericks are now a half-game behind Portland for sixth place which is an important spot as that seed avoids both Golden St. and San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. But the fact of the matter is that the Mavericks just need to pick up a victory and they are catching a solid number here based on the recent skid. Detroit meanwhile is coming off a victory at home against Portland by 20 points to move eight games over .500 at home but on the road, the Pistons are seven games under .500 while going 10-20 over their last 30 games on the highway. The Pistons are 2-6 ATS in their last eight road games while the Mavericks are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points. Dallas has won 22 of 30 games this season when favored showing it has defeated the vast majority of teams it should be defeating while covering five of seven games in this price range. 10* (510) Dallas Mavericks

Charlotte has won four straight games to move to six games over .500 to remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. It has been a great turnaround from a dreadful 4-14 run in December and January but this is not an elite team but the line is reflecting that the Hornets are just that. They have rarely been favored by this many points and when so, it has been against worse teams than the Pelicans. New Orleans has been an underdog of nine or more points nine times this season and the list of the opposing teams is petty elite. San Antonio twice, Oklahoma City twice, Golden St., Cleveland, Los Angeles, Toronto and Atlanta. Granted, Atlanta does not fit but that was way back in November when it was thought the Hawks were elite like last season. Basically, Charlotte does not fit into this list despite what is considered a nice season. New Orleans defeated Sacramento in its last game to snap a four-game skid but it is important to note than it covered all three games as an underdog and is 4-1 ATS in its last five games when getting points. 10* (503) New Orleans Pelicans

It is pretty safe to say that Minnesota has tossed in the towel this season. After a pair of wins over Maryland and Rutgers at home, the Golden Gophers suspended three players for the rest of the season including leading scorer Nate Mason and they have dropped their last three games by 13, 13 and 23 points. The last one came at Rutgers which gave the Scarlet Knights their first conference win of the season and that is nearly impossible to recover from. Now Minnesota heads into the Big Ten Tournament where it has won just one game away from home which happened to come against Missouri St. all the way back in November. It has been a disappointing season for Illinois which record just five conference wins but the Illini had a lot of close calls. Two losses came in overtime while two others came by just a bucket so they were a lot closer to a .500 record than many may think. Additionally, Illinois has had solid wins over Yale, UAB and Purdue and a pair of close nonconference losses against Notre Dame and Providence. The Illini took care of Minnesota in both meetings this season and in this spot, a third should not be an issue. The Golden Gophers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record while the Illini are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games against teams with a losing straight up record. 10* (554) Illinois Fighting Illini

Laying points on the road in not usually a way to go but when the situation calls for it, we can take advantage. Orlando is coming off a hard fought effort last night in Golden St. as it lost by six points but it was more of a hard fought comeback as the game was not close until the very end. While it was a disappointing loss, the Magic were not expected to compete, let alone win, so they can carry some positive momentum into Tuesday. The Lakers meanwhile beat that same Warriors team the previous day as they won by 17 points as a 17.5-point underdog. It was the biggest upset in over two decades so if there is ever a letdown situation, this is it. Los Angeles is just 3-9 this season following a victory including a 2-8 record when it won that first game as an underdog. Even worse, the Lakers are a meager 4-25 this season coming off a cover win. Going back further, the Lakers are 8-22-1 ATS in their last 31 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points while the Magic have won six of their last seven games following a loss. Additionally, Orlando is 11-2 ATS this season when laying fewer than five points. 10* (711) Orlando Magic

The Summit League Championship is a rematch of the title game from last season and South Dakota St. will be out for some revenge. The Jackrabbits nearly did not make it here tonight however as they snuck out a one-point win over Denver in what was nearly an epic letdown. South Dakota St. was up by eight at halftime but the Pioneers started the second half on a 23-2 run with the two points that the Jackrabbits scored coming from the free throw line. They then survived a missed free throw with no time left to advance and will be out to avenge a one-point defeat to North Dakota St. in this same arena nearly one year ago. The Bison pulled off the upset last night against IUPU - Ft. Wayne as they came back from a 15-point halftime deficit thanks to converting a layup with four seconds remaining to them their only lead of the game. South Dakota St. has won five straight games and two huge factors have been its rebounding dominance and the fact it has hit 84.9 percent from the free throw line over that stretch. Despite the win last night, the Bison are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against teams with a winning percentage above .600 while the Jackrabbits are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following an ATS loss. 10* (736) South Dakota St. Jackrabbits

Of the eight teams that are playing in the first round of the MAC Tournament, Toledo is the best of the bunch so the fact it comes in as a small road favorite or a pickem should be no surprise. The Rockets finished the regular season with an 8-10 record no thanks to a 0-3 finish while also losing five of their last six games. Those final three defeats came by a total of just 12 points with the last one coming at home against Eastern Michigan on Friday which sets up an immediate revenge situation. The Eagles evened their record at 9-9 in the conference thanks to two straight wins to end the season and grab one of the first round home games. They defeated Toledo twice this season, both coming over their final five regular season games but both were close and defeating a team three times in a season is never an easy task. While Eastern Michigan is 13-3 at home, four of those wins came against non-Division I teams which definitely hurts its overall rankings and numbers. That leaves the Eagles just 13-14 against everyone else and Toledo is 7-1 ATS this season when playing against teams with a losing record. According to the power rankings, Toledo is the second best team in the MAC and it moves on to Cleveland. 10* (523) Toledo Rockets

After suffering a pair of losses on the road, the Cavaliers have run off three straight wins at home and are now three games ahead of Toronto for first place in the Eastern Conference. They are coming off a big win over Boston on Saturday as they won by 17 points after trailing by as many as 18 points and they look to make it four straight before embarking on a four-game west coast roadtrip. Memphis had a three-game winning streak snapped with a loss yesterday and going back, the Grizzlies are 5-2 over their last seven games with both defeats coming against Phoenix of all teams. The Grizzlies are still 12 games over .500 overall as they sit in fifth place in the Western Conference. They have had some struggles on the road but sit just a game under .500 overall and this is the first time this season that Memphis is getting double-digits. One factor that led to the loss against the Suns yesterday is the possible lookahead to this game as the Grizzlies have had this one circled since their opening game this season when they lost at home to the Cavaliers by 30 points. The Cavaliers are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a losing road record while the Grizzlies are 8-1 ATS in their last nine games following a straight up loss. 10* (503) Memphis Grizzlies

Typically, we do not look at road favorites but the Mavericks are in a great spot today as they look to bounce back from a bad home loss against Sacramento on Thursday. Dallas is now 33-29 on the season and sit a half-game ahead of Portland for sixth place in the Western Conference making every game at the point of the season matter a great deal. The Mavericks have been a solid team when laying points as they are 22-7 as favorites including a perfect 6-0 when laying points on the road. Additionally, they have won 18 of 28 games coming off a loss. Denver lost on Friday at home against the lowly Nets which was its sixth loss over its last eight games. The Nuggets are 1-4 at home over this stretch with the only home victory coming against the 12-51 Lakers and they are seven games under .500 at home on the season. Dallas only has nine wins against the top 16 teams in the league which is the fewest of any team ranked in the top 25 but the Mavericks are 24-7 against everyone else. They are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against teams with a winning percentage below .400 while going back, the Nuggets are 20-42-3 ATS in their last 65 home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (827) Dallas Mavericks

Indiana captured the Big Ten Conference regular season title with its win at Iowa earlier this week so while the Hoosiers are playing their final home game, there is little on the line. The Hoosiers have won four straight games including that victory over the Hawkeyes and they head back home where they are undefeated yet overvalued here. Indiana has been favored in every Big Ten home game this season but this is its biggest test as the only other two home games against elite opposition were with Iowa and Purdue. Indiana is actually favored by more here against what is a much better team than those other two opponents. Maryland has played the second toughest schedule in the conference, compared to the second easiest for Indiana, and the Terrapins are an undervalued team at this point. In their six losses, they have either been favored or have been underdogs by fewer than what they are getting here. A No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament is also on the line and going in with a win is a big thing. The Terrapins are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600 and the outright win is far from out of the question here. 10* (879) Maryland Terrapins

Chicago returns home after dropping a pair of games in Florida to stretch its losing streak to four games and falling back to .500 on the season. It has been a very turbulent season for the Bulls which are now outside of the playoff standings and are in desperate need of a quality win. The Bulls will receive a big boost tonight as Jimmy Butler will return to the lineup after missing 11 games with a knee injury. His absence was definitely felt as the went 3-8, including the game in which he strained his left knee, in Denver on Feb. 18. Houston is also having an up and down season but is coming off a win at home against New Orleans. Since a five-game winning streak at the start of January, the Rockets have gone just 9-11 over their last 20 games and have gone only 3-6 following a victory. They are 4-7 on the road over this stretch and two of those wins came against lowly Phoenix and while Chicago has been slumping, it is still a solid 19-11 at home while winning five of nine games outright as a home underdog. The Rockets are just 6-14 ATS against the Eastern Conference this season and they find themselves in another very tough spot tonight. 10* (514) Chicago Bulls

This is a play on DAYTON for our Saturday Star Attraction. Dayton has won 34 of its last 37 games at UD Arena, including 20 of 22 in Atlantic 10 action. This year Dayton is 13-3 and showcases victories over Top 100 programs George Washington, Davidson, Alabama and William & Mary. Those two home losses happened to come in their two most recent home games and going back, the Flyers have not lost three consecutive home games since January 2014. A win here gets them into at least a share of the regular season A-!0 Title and they are at full capacity which is key as they are 10-0 this season with their full roster. VCU can take the conference outright with a victory here but the Rams are just 5-3 over their last eight games and that includes a 1-2 record on the road with bad losses at Massachusetts and George Mason. Even though they lead the conference, they are just fourth in RPI ranking with Dayton leading the way and the strength of its home floor, especially coming off two losses and this being Senior Night, will show here. The Flyers have not covered a game since February 6th and that is giving us a good number with excellent value. 10* (626) Dayton Flyers

This is a play on USC for our Pac 12 Game of the Year. Oregon can wrap up the Pac 12 title with a win on Saturday but this is one of the toughest road tasks it will have encountered in conference play. The Ducks have won four straight games following a victory at UCLA on Wednesday which moved them up to 4-5 on the road for the season. We played against Oregon on Wednesday and UCLA failed to put up the expected fight and while the Ducks own a solid win over Arizona on the road, USC is 16-1 at home with the lone defeat coming against Utah which is also still fighting for the Pac 12 Championship. The Trojans have had a remarkable turnaround as many will forget that they went just 3-15 in the conference last season and are already six games better than that this year. USC is going to make the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens here or in the Pac 12 Tournament but the goal now is to enhance its seeding while winning its final home game on Senior Day. Going back, the Trojans are 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 home games and a win here means another cover as well. 10* (572) USC Trojans

This is a play on DAVIDSON for our Saturday Enforcer. We have backed the Wildcats a few times on their home floor this season and it has proved once again to be a tough place for opponents to come into and win. Davidson is 14-1 at home with the lone defeat coming against VCU in January and now playing their final regular season home game will provide a great opportunity to roll into the postseason. The Wildcats are coming off a pair of losses but those were on the road and a win here gets them to 10-8 in the conference which will be good for either a No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the upcoming Atlantic Ten Tournament. George Washington is still fighting for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament as it is currently the seventh team out and a loss or a win here will not make a difference as it will need a big run in the A-10 Tournament. The Colonials have been a solid road team but have not been overly dominating and they only own one victory within the conference against a team with a winning record. The Wildcats are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a loss. 10* (560) Davidson Wildcats

Texas Tech is the seventh team from the Big XII that is currently in line for an NCAA Tournament bid but a loss here will drastically hurt that. The Red Raiders have been the surprise of the conference and while their 8-9 record may not seem too solid, they own some quality wins. They own seven wins against top 100 teams including four against top 25 teams and they have pulled off an 18-11 overall record by playing the top ranked schedule in the nation according to the ESPN power index. Texas Tech has gotten the job done at home for the most part as it is 13-3 with the losses coming against Kansas, Baylor and West Virginia, the latter two coming by three and four points respectively. Kansas St. does not fall into the same class as the Wildcats are 5-12 in the Big XII and the spot here is a great one to go against them as they are coming off a 25-point win against TCU in their final home game of the regular season on Senior Night. They have won only two road games this season and have failed to cover their last five games following a win. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games against teams with a losing road record. 10* (558) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Xavier pulled off a home upset against Villanova two games back and talks of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament started but that quickly went away as four days later, the Musketeers lost at Seton Hall. A Big East Tournament Championship could get them that top seed still but this game means a lot for a couple reasons. Obviously it wants to go into the tournament with some momentum and the Musketeers have been seething since that loss to the Pirates as they have been off since then. Additionally, they will be out for payback following a 14-point loss at Creighton last month. The Bluejays have had a decent season as they are 18-12 overall including 9-8 in the conference but they have really struggled on the road. They are 4-7 but three of those wins have come against St. Johns, DePaul and Marquette, three of the four worst teams in the conference. Creighton has dropped four of its last five games away from home and while it is getting a big number, the Bluejays are 1-4 ATS when underdogs of five or more points. Meanwhile, the Musketeers are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games against teams with a winning straight up record. 10* (552) Xavier Musketeers

West Virginia and Baylor are part of seven teams from the conference that will be heading to the NCAA Tournament. The home floor has been huge in the Big XII this season as of those seven teams, only one has more than three losses at home. That team is Baylor which may seem that its home court is not the strongest but it only has four losses and all against quality opponents. West Virginia certainly fits that category but it has not fared well on the highway as it is 4-0 against the teams not going to the NCAA Tournament and 2-4 against those that are. The Mountaineers won the first meeting between these two teams at home back in early February which sets up a solid revenge situation for the Bears in their final home game of the season. The Mountaineers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a straight up win of more than 20 points while the Bears are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss. The huge comeback they had against Oklahoma in their last games, despite it resulting in a two-point loss, will provide excellent momentum for this one. 10* (556) Baylor Bears

This is a play on TENNESSEE for our Saturday Afternoon Dominator. It was a hugely disappointing season for Tennessee as it will miss the postseason once again unless it can run the table at the SEC Tournament. The Volunteers have lost three straight games to fall to 6-11 in the conference but two of those were on the road against NCAA Tournament bound teams. Despite the struggles, they have been pretty solid at home with a 12-3 record which includes quality wins against Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina and Florida. We won with Mississippi on Wednesday but the Rebels were at home in a revenge game against rival Mississippi St. and they have struggled on the road. Mississippi is 2-6 on the SEC highway with the wins coming against 5-12 Auburn and 3-14 Missouri. Granted Tennessee is not a lot better but as mentioned, playing at home is a different story. The Volunteers have covered four of their last five here and on the season, they are 6-3 ATS at home against teams with a winning record. While the SEC Tournament is important, this is arguably the biggest game for the Volunteers in a while. 10* (528) Tennessee Volunteers

A rare Big XII game takes place Friday with Texas travelling to Oklahoma St. to take on the Cowboys in the regular season finale for both sides. The Longhorns are coming off an embarrassing 30-point loss at home against Kansas so while there is no bye for any of the top six teams in the upcoming Big XII Tournament, they will be out to end the season with a win heading into the postseason. They have been excellent in this spot all season, going 8-2 in its 10 games following a loss. Oklahoma St. already knows its postseason schedule so winning or losing this game means little with the lone goal being trying to win its final home game of the season. The Cowboys are locked into the No. 9 seed in the Big XII Tournament and they will face Kansas St. in the first round on Wednesday. While Oklahoma St. is 11-5 against teams ranked outside the top 50, it is just 1-13 against top 50 teams which makes that one win over Kansas being more and more of a headscratcher as time goes on. The injury list is huge as the Cowboys played their last game without the services of four regular starters - Jawun Evans, Phil Forte, Jeffrey Carroll and Leyton Hammonds. Those four players combined for 120 career starts and 44.8 ppg this season. Evans and Forte are ruled out while Carroll and Hammonds are questionable. Going back, the Longhorns are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games following a double-digit loss at home while the Cowboys are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss. 10* (861) Texas Longhorns

Cleveland is getting a lot of bad press right now, some toward the chemistry of the team and some toward the coaching change that took place. Since opening with two wins right after the All Star break, the Cavaliers are just 2-3 since then and it was the last loss where the criticisms came out and that was a 14-point loss at Washington. Granted, LeBron James sat that game out but it was the second loss this season against the Wizards with the first coming at home back on December 1st so there will be some double revenge in play on Friday. Washington has backed up that win over Cleveland with a pair of victories to make it four straight overall and while the Cavaliers win was a quality one, two of the others came against the woeful Sixers. Washington is just 6-18 this season against teams ranked within the top ten and while a third of those came against the opponent on Friday, this spot is a very poor one. The Wizards are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game while the Cavaliers are 3-1 ATS this season when playing with three or more days of rest. 10* (832) Cleveland Cavaliers

We played against Portland on Wednesday in Boston and the Blazers had their three-game winning streak snapped. The Blazers were in a horrible spot as they were playing their fourth game in five nights and it looked as though the fatigue set in during the second half when they were outscored 30-12. Now with a day off and plenty of motivation, we can expect a solid rebound here. Portland is still 14-3 over its last 17 games and one of those losses took place at home against Toronto and while we do not typically play road revenge, it is definitely in play here. The Raptors bounced back from a loss in Detroit at the end of February with a home win over Utah on Wednesday which was the first of a seven-game homestand so this is a great chance to extend their lead in the Atlantic Division over Boston. While Toronto has excelled at home against winning teams, it is not in a good spot with Portland coming off that loss as the Blazers have covered their last five games following a defeat and they are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. 10* (827) Portland Trailblazers

Boston won for us the other night, making it 12 straight home wins for the Celtics to remain 4.5 games behind Toronto in the Atlantic Division and by the look of this spread, making it 13 straight at home should not be a problem. But coming off that win and asking to lay a big price may be too much to ask for especially with a game at Cleveland on Saturday night. This is the third time this season Boston has had a homestand of three or more games and the Celtics have gone on to lose the final games in each of the first two times. As bad as New York has been this season and especially of late, one would expect them to roll over again here but this is a pretty big rivalry and despite the rough last couple years, the Knicks tend to play Boston very tough. New York has won just twice in its last 13 games but the linesmakers are certainly taking that into consideration with this number. The Knicks are 5-1 ATS this season when getting nine or more points and 14-5 ATS when getting six or more points so they do step it up against the better competition. 10* (829) New York Knicks

Stanford is on a decent roll right now as it has won four of its last five games to move to 8-8 in the Pac 12 which shows how much it struggled early in the season. The Cardinal have only two road wins in the conference however and on the season overall, the host has gone 18-7 in 25 games not counting neutral court games. They are coming off their final regular season home game where they defeated UCLA but they could very well be back there playing in one of the lesser postseason tournaments. Arizona St. has struggled under Bobby Hurley in his first season as it is now a game under .500 overall including just a 4-12 record in the conference. The Sun Devils have lost four straight games but the last three have come on the road and while they are not dominant at home, a 10-5 record is still pretty solid. The three recent road losses were all by double-digits but all came against teams that will be going to the NCAA Tournament. Arizona St. suffered a tough two-point loss at Stanford back in January which brings up the second instance this season playing a revenge home game following a rad defeat and the first resulted in a win over USC. The Sun Devils are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games against teams with a losing road record while the Cardinal are 3-13 ATS in their last 16 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (552) Arizona St. Sun Devils

San Antonio is coming off a victory last night at home against the Pistons which made it six consecutive victories to move to 51-9 on the season. The Spurs would normally be getting all of the attention with that record but the Warriors are taking center stage and that is probably what San Antonio actually prefers. The win last night clinched a playoff berth and with this being the second of back-to-back games involving travel, it would not be a surprise to see a possible scratch or two tonight. We are not banking on it but it is possible so wagering this one early is a safe bet. Additionally, all starters have played in the two most recent back-to-back sets so this could be the time to rest. New Orleans is coming off a loss last night which was its second straight defeat as the inconsistent season continues. The Pelicans now return home where they have been playing well, going 9-4 over their last 13 games and on the season they have won five of nine games outright as home underdogs. As crazy as it sounds, New Orleans is just six games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference so there is still plenty to play for. The Pelicans have had the Spurs number at home, covering nine of the last 10 meetings here while going 22-10 ATS in their last 32 home games against teams with a winning road record. Meanwhile, the Spurs are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning percentage below .400. 10* (504) New Orleans Pelicans

Rice had its four-game winning streak snapped at Louisiana Tech on Saturday and the Owls are doing their best to get back to .500 in the conference after a 1-6 start. They have gone 6-3 since then with two of those losses coming against the Bulldogs, which are 11-5 in the conference, and the other this Charlotte team on the road. That is important not for just the loss itself but it was a 29-point loss which is by far their biggest defeat of the season. Rice is 5-2 at home in C-USA with both losses coming against 11-5 teams. Charlotte is 8-8 which is a game ahead of the Owls following a pair of home wins last week against UTEP and UTSA. The 49ers are 4-7 on the road which is somewhat respectable but only two of those were C-USA victories, one coming against 5-11 Southern Mississippi. As mentioned, Charlotte destroyed Rice in the first meeting this season and while that can be a matter of big matchup advantages, it makes for a huge motivator going the other way. One big advantage for the Owls here is free throw shooting as they are shooting 77.8 percent at home while Charlotte is hitting just 59.7 percent on the road and that can be the difference with a line that is this minimal especially if there is the chance of a close game late. We should see a huge effort from Rice tonight. 10* (528) Rice Owls

We won with Georgia last Saturday as it used a 12-1 run late in the game to pull away from Mississippi to square its SEC record to 8-8 in the conference but it is too little, too late. The Bulldogs opened the season 7-3 but they have struggled within the conference closing out the better teams in the SEC and having success against the teams they should be beating. Georgia is 2-11 against RPI top 100 teams and 13-1 against teams below that which is not a body of work that gets any consideration for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. South Carolina has dropped out of the rankings as a 15-0 start has been followed up by an 8-6 run over its last 14 games. The Gamecocks have lost consecutive games only twice this season and the only occasion was a road loss in the second game following a home loss against Kentucky. That is the only loss at home for South Carolina and this game is its final home game of the season as four seniors will be honored. Revenge is in play following a 13-point loss at Georgia last month and the Gamecocks are 2-0 in revenge games this season, winning by 14 and 26 points. Going back, they are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games against teams with a winning straight up record. The Gamecocks are projected as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament so they can ill afford to lose a game like this as it could hurt a great deal. 10* (516) South Carolina Gamecocks

It has been a very disappointing season for UCLA which is now just one game over .500 overall and 6-10 in the Pac 12. The Bruins have dropped two straight games, both coming on the road, and the one positive aspect this season has been their play on their home court where they are 11-4. They were beaten badly by USC here but the other two conference losses came by just a bucket apiece against Washington and Utah. On the flip side, they own impressive home wins against Kentucky and Arizona and while this will be another test, they are more than capable of pulling it off. Oregon has been the most consistent team in the conference with a 12-4 record but all four of those loses have been on the road where the Ducks are just 3-5 compared to 18-0 at home. The home team has won seven straight Oregon games with the last three coming during a three-game homestand. The Ducks do own very impressive road wins at Arizona and Utah but they are coming off their final home game of the season and catch a UCLA team out for revenge from a 14-point loss in Eugene. Despite the struggles, the Bruins are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a straight up loss and they are a perfect 2-0 straight up and ATS as home underdogs this season. 10* (758) UCLA Bruins

We tossed around going against Portland last night and smartly held off to wait until tonight. The Blazers won their third straight game and are now 14-2 over their last 16 games but tonight finds them in a tough situation and one they have not seen over this stretch. This is only the second time they have played back-to-back games and both have come on this current roadtrip which makes this their fourth game in five nights. Portland has won six straight road games which is very impressive but now it catches the best home team on a run over this span. Boston has won 11 straight games at home including the first three on this current homestand as it now trails Toronto by just 4.5 games in the Atlantic Division and has a 1.5-game lead on Miami for third place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Both of these teams are in the top ten in power rankings which is not good for Portland as it has only four wins against top ten teams which is tied for third fewest in the NBA, leading only the Lakers and Sixers and tied with the Pelicans. Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last five games against teams with a winning straight up record while the Blazers are 4-13-1 ATS in their last 18 road games against teams with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. 10* (706) Boston Celtics

Notre Dame is coming off a three-game roadtrip where it went a disappointing 1-2 to fall to 10-6 in the ACC which has it in a tie for fifth place and the goal is to move up into the fourth spot. That could very well happen with a sweep of its final two regular season games with both of those coming at home where it is 13-1 on the season. The lone loss came against Pittsburgh in their home conference opener and since then, have beaten the likes of North Carolina and Louisville since then. A nine-point loss at Miami last month should have them extra motivated here. Miami is coming off a pair of big home wins against Virginia and Louisville to move to 12-4 in the ACC. The Hurricanes close with two straight road games where they are just 3-4 in the conference with all three of those victories coming against losing teams. Three of the four losses came against teams with a winning record and all by at least eight points. They will again be without junior Ja'Quan Newton, one of four double-digit scorers, as he has been suspended for the final three regular season games. The Fighting Irish are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six games following a ATS loss while the Hurricanes are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games against teams with a winning home record. 10* (728) Notre Dame Fighting Irish