Sports Picks & Predictions

4 Unit Play. #616 Take TCU over Tulsa (7 pm CBS Sports Network) Tulsa is no longer any good in college basketball and should not be laying points against anybody on the road. TCU has a better win/loss record than does Tulsa and a higher RPI as well. The Golden Hurricanes do not have a quality win on the season and will not have one after today either. Tulsa is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games. TCU is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against teams from Conference USA.

10 Unit Play. #605 Take Oregon State over Washington State (6 pm ROOT) PAC-12 Game of the Year. Both teams got blown out on Thursday but the Beavers game against Washington was a little deceiving since they cut the lead to just 3 points with around three minutes to play. Washington State was non-competitive against a so-so Oregon team and I fully believe Oregon State is a better team than Oregon. They also have the best player on the floor in Jared Cunningham and I do not believe that the Cougars will have an answer for him. Oregon State holds a 162-120 advantage in the all-time series.
Washington State lost their two best players from last year to early entry into the draft and they have yet to settle on a rotation for this season. Their best player is Faisal Aden but he has been injured (concussion) and since returning is only playing around 21 minutes per game. That will not be enough to beat a quality team like Oregon State, as they already have wins against Texas and took Vanderbilt to the wire. Oregon State needs this win to avoid having their season come apart. They have visions of making the NCAA or NIT postseason and cannot afford a sweep at the hands to two so-so Washington schools. The Beavers are 8-2 ATS (1 push) in their last 11 games. The Cougars are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games.

4 Unit Play. #580 Take California over UCLA (4 pm FSN) UCLA is solid on defense and terrible on offense. If Stanford could have made anything down the stretch they would have beaten UCLA by 12 points and now the Bruins travel to Berkeley to play a better California team. UCLA kicked off Reeves Nelson and that made it even tougher for this team to score points on a consistent basis. Whenever the line is below double digits against a good team, you must consider fading the Bruins. UCLA is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. California has recovered 6 of their last 7 home games.

4 Unit Play. #545 Take Louisville over Kentucky (12 pm CBS) This is just too many points to be laying in this Bluegrass Battle in Lexington, KY. I am always skeptical of laying double digits in noon eastern start games and that is again the case today, especially since Louisville has talent. Players just do not seem to have the legs for early tips. Louisville is 37-18 ATS (1 push) in their last 56 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.

2 Unit Play. #854 Take Seton Hall over West Virginia (9 pm ESPN 2) Granted there is a coaching mismatch in this game; however, the Mountaineers lost most of their scoring punch from the last couple of years and I do not believe that they will be able to finish in the top half of the Big East this season. Seton Hall is well on their way to an NCAA tournament bid as they are currently ranked 6th in the RPI ranking. Both teams have star players but I like the supporting cast of the Pirates better than I do the Mountaineers. This is an important game for the Hall, as they do not want to start 0-2 in conference play. West Virginia is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Friday games. Seton Hall is 9-3 ATS in their last 12 home games.

4 Unit Play. #564 Take Evansville over Southern Illinois (8 pm MVC-TV) The Salukis return from Hawaii over the Christmas Holiday to open up MVC play with a tough road games against Evansville. We fully expect a hangover effect to be present in this game. Remember when Duke came back from Hawaii and got blown out by Ohio State? It would not surprise me if a similar situation occurred tonight. Southern Illinois is just 3-7 on the year and currently has an RPI ranking of 318. The teams split the series last year with the Purple Aces winning by 17 points in Evansville. That is how we expect this game to go. Southern Illinois is 4-12 ATS (1 push) in their last 17 MVC games. Evansville is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 MVC games.
Best of Luck

4 Unit Play. #769 Take New Mexico over New Mexico State (9 pm ESPN 3) This is a rare non-conference rematch between these in-state rivals, as the Aggies look for the season sweep against the Lobos. New Mexico will have revenge on their minds, as they gave away the first meeting blowing a 9 point lead. I really like this New Mexico team and they have been playing great basketball at the moment. They are 5-1 in road/neutral site games this season and already have wins at USC and at Oklahoma State (Oklahoma City). The Lobos lead the all-time series between the in-state foes by a count of 112-95. New Mexico has the three best players on the floor and that will be enough to earn the victory on Wednesday night. New Mexico is 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite. New Mexico State is 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of less than 6.5 points.

4 Unit Play. #755 Take Buffalo over Temple (7 pm) The Owls are always a tough team to beat at home, but this team has been plagued by injuries and poor shooting by Juan Fernandez. The Bulls won the most recent meeting in 2008 by a score of 83-73, which means Buffalo has now won two straight over Temple. Buffalo has an impressive win on the season at Dayton and I fully expect this game to be played in the sixties giving us a great chance for a cash, as we are getting close to double digits. Buffalo has covered 8 of their last 9 games against A-10 opponents. Temple has covered just 1 of their last 5 home games.

4 Unit Play. #743 Take Oklahoma State over SMU (6:30 pm ESPN U) This is an important game for Oklahoma State to right the ship, as they have not performed well but have played a brutal schedule to open the season. The Cowboys hold a 19-6 series lead over the Mustangs and the RPI is a great indicate of how good these teams are. SMU is 7-4 on the season but their RPI is 263 meaning they have not beaten anybody of significance. Oklahoma State has an RPI of 105 and will be able to put away this weak Mustangs team tonight at American Airlines Center. The Cowboys are 38-15-2 ATS in their last 55 games as a favorite. SMU is 5-20-1 ATS in their last 26 neutral site games.

4 Unit Play. #548 Take Over in Wisconsin @ Nebraska (9 pm ESPN 2) It is not too often that you see a total this low in college basketball and we feel that this will be a close game and both teams will reach the fifty point mark in scoring. That will put us in great position to win this bet with the over. Both teams average over 66 points per game and the Cornhuskers have some experience and weapons that can penetrate this strong Wisconsin defense. 119 points were scored in the last meeting between these two teams and that is about where we expect this final to end up as well. Wisconsin has gone over the posted total in 6 of their last 8 Big Ten games. Nebraska has gone over the posted total in 6 of their last 8 games. We will not worry if Wisconsin can cover this spread and just collect with the over.

4 Unit Play. #764 Take Over in Baylor vs. West Virginia (9 pm ESPN 2) The Bears are a force and in my opinion they are one of the best teams in the country. They have a variety of ways they can beat you and have a rotation that is 10 deep. Both teams can light up the scoreboard averaging over 76 points per game. There is no way West Virginia will be able to keep Baylor under 70 points and thus this sets up a great play with the over. West Virginia may have the best player on the floor in Kevin Jones and Baylor does not play great defense so I would not surprise me if he went off as well. Wet Virginia has gone over the posted total in 5 of their last 7 games against Big XII teams.

4 Unit Play. #622 Take Utah State over Kent State (10 pm) This is the match-up some have been waiting for in the Athletes in Action Classic in Logan, UT. Both teams are 2-0 in this tournament but the Aggies will won the trophy since they only invite teams that they are capable of beating. The Aggies are now 42-1 all-time in tournaments they are hosting after handling Saint Peter's 72-47 on Wednesday night. The lead the all-time series with Akron 2-0 and have a distinct advantage since they were able to rest their starters in the second half after a blowout victory against Peacocks. The Golden Flashes are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.

4 Unit Play. #568 Take Wisconsin Green Bay over Idaho (8 pm) You can throw the records out and simply look at the RPI rankings between these two teams. Idaho is 7-5 on the season and they have an RPI ranking of 240. Green Bay is 5-6 on the season and they are an RPI ranking of 84. The Phoenix have played a brutal schedule thus far but they are 5-0 at the Resch Center this season. Also throw in the fact that Idaho is coming off an overtime loss two days ago against Wright State and I do not think they will have much energy left for this game. Green Bay is 8-3 ATS in their last games when they are favored to win.

4 Unit Play. #564 Take Georgetown over Memphis (7 pm ESPN) This is actually a rematch from earlier in the season and I have always believe that in the rematch, generally the better team wins in more convincing fashion. Memphis is just not a good match-up for Georgetown, as the Hoyas are strong on defensive and the undisciplined Tigers will have trouble scoring points on a consistent basis. Georgetown is 6-0 on the season at the Verizon Center and all six wins have come by double digits and tonight will be no different. Memphis is 0-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 5 games against Big East teams. Georgetown is 34-16-1 ATS in their last 51 non-conference games.

4 Unit Play. #760 Take Ole Miss over Middle Tennessee State (9 pm CSS) The Blue Raiders are a solid mid-major team, but they will not be able to beat the Rebels in Southaven tonight at the DeSoto Civic Center. Ole Miss holds a 3-2 series edge over Middle Tennessee State and should have the home crowd behind them this evening. The Rebels are coming off a tough setback against Southern Miss on Saturday and they are eager to put that game behind them and expect them to take out their frustration on the Blue Raiders tonight. MTSU did beat UCLA but despite that they are still ranked 133 in the RPI.

4 Unit Play. #756 Take DePaul over Cal Poly (8:30 pm) This is just another case of the line being way too low considering this is a BCS Conference team playing a small mid-major on their home floor. This is a much improved Blue Demon team and they will enter this game having won four straight games against teams similar to Cal Poly. The Mustangs do not venture away from the west coast very often and they are basically taking this game for a paycheck. Expect the press of DePaul to eventually wear them down and give us the victory. The Blue Demons are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 non-conference games.

4 Unit Play. #749 Take UL Monroe over Indiana State (7 pm WTWO) ULM has won just one game on the season but looking at the box scores they have not been getting blown out in too many of those games. Just two of their 11 losses have come by more than twenty points and none of them have occurred since 11/16. On the other end of the spectrum, the Sycamores have only scored 70 points one time since 11/15. I believe that they will have to do this in order to cover this number tonight at the Hulman Center. Indiana State plays a slower paced game and averages 65.9 and they allow 61.4 points for their opponents. The Warhawks are 4-1ATS (1 push) in their last 6 road games. The Sycamores are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 13.0 or more points. This is a 12-point victory for the home team and we will collect with the underdog.

10 Unit Play. #572 Take Utah State over UT Arlington (10 pm) The Aggies have gotten off to a rough start this season, but they have been a traditional powerhouse at home and we expect them to win their third straight home game tonight against the Mavericks. The Aggies are 40-1 all-time in tournaments they are hosting and that should tell you that they only invite teams that they are capable of beating by double digits. The Aggies are 5-2 ATS (1 push) in their last 8 home games and this team has too much tradition to not make a sure before WAC play starts.
Best of Luck

4 Unit Play. #762 Take Arizona State over Southern Miss (10 pm FSN) The Sun Devils have got to be an angry bunch and Coach Herb Sendek is clearly on the hot seat after a slow start this year and a couple of lackluster performances the last couple of years. They are coming off a home loss to Northern Arizona on Saturday and you can bet they are ready to take the floor to avenge that loss on Monday. The Golden Eagles have played well this season and they also played on Saturday and won against an in-state opponent buy making this long flight out west will be tough to overcome in just two days. Arizona State is 12-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 17 games as a home underdog. Getting points with a BCS team at home against a mid-major is just too good to pass up.

2 Unit Play. #843 Take Yale over Rhode Island (2 pm COX) it is hard to believe that Yale would be favored on the road in this game since Rhode Island traditionally has a solid team, but that is not the case this year. The Rams have not won a game since 11/25 and I believe that the Bulldogs are the second best team in the Ivy behind Harvard. Yale holds a narrow 6-5 advantage in the all-time series. Yale is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite. Rhode Island is 0-8 ATS in their last 8 Sunday games. This line is way too low and we will attack it in a big way Sunday afternoon.

Best of Luck

10 Unit Play. #613 Take New Mexico over Oklahoma State (10:30 pm ESPN 2) Top College Basketball Play of the Day. Granted this game is being played in Oklahoma City giving the Cowboys somewhat of an edge with regards to the home crowd, but I cannot overlook the fact that New Mexico has the three best players on the floor. This is a strong Lobos teams led by Drew Gordon, Kendall Williams, and Tony Snell they have experience which is something that the Pokes lack. Oklahoma State is 0-3 this season in neutral site games and they were not very competitive in any of those games despite the final score being somewhat close in two of them. In all three games they were down double digits and that will again by the case with this contest. The Lobos are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Big 12 teams. The Pokes are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 Saturday games. Expect a lot of turnovers in this game but in the end the Lobos will have too much. New Mexico has already won at Arizona State and at USC and they have a major edge in talent tonight.

4 Unit Play. #574 Take Illinois over UNLV (5 pm Big Ten Network) Granted UNLV beat North Carolina but this line is way off the mark. This is a defacto home game for the Fighting Illini and they will remain undefeated with a convincing victory against the Rebels on Saturday afternoon. I have said it before and will say it again, this Illinois team is much better since they got rid of the 4 lifers that could only shoot jump shots. This team plays much more together and they seem to really like each other. UNLV got destroyed by Wisconsin and Wichita State on the road this season and struggled to put away Santa Barbara. Teams coming east do not perform at their best (most times) and that will again be the case today. UNLV is 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog. Illinois is 4-0 ATS (1 push) in their last 5 Saturday games.

4 Unit Play. #567 Take Memphis over Louisville (4 pm CBS) I am just not sold on this Louisville team, as they have played a home heavy schedule with 8 of their 9 victories comes at the KFC Yum! Center. There only road game was at Butler, a mid-major program that is struggling at the moment. The have only played one good team on the season and Vanderbilt had them on the ropes leading most of the second half before losing by two points in overtime. On the other side of the spectrum, the Tigers have challenged themselves this season and will not be intimidated by heading into Louisville. Memphis has the athletes to match-up with Louisville at all positions and this game will go right down to the wire. The Tigers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog. Louisville is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against teams with a winning record.

4 Unit Play. #555 Take Baylor over BYU (2 pm BYU.tv) On paper this is a complete mismatch, as the Bears have much better athletes than do the Cougars. But one has to respect the home court edge that the Cougars having playing at the Marriot Center and thus you have what is essentially a pick

3 Unit Play. #844 Take Washington over Santa Barbara (10 pm ROOT Sports) The Huskies have played a difficult schedule thus far in 2011 and they are ready for some home cooking against a mid-major to fatten up your records. The Gauchos are not the type of mid-major program to threaten this Huskies team tonight. They did play well against UNLV, but struggled to put away some poor mid-major teams like San Diego. Washington has won both meetings in this series and will complete the trifecta tonight by double-digits. The Huskies have also proven to be a strong offensive squad, averaging a robust 80.4 ppg and 47% shooting from the field. Santa Barbara is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog. Washington is 10-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 15 non-conference games.

4 Unit Play. #762 Take UCLA over Eastern Washington (10:30 pm FSN) We have went against the Eagles twice already this season and both times were double digit victories and we fully expect to complete the trifecta on Wednesday behind the Bruins. UCLA dismissed Reeves Nelson off of the team last week and I fully believe that this is an addition by subtraction situation. The Eagles are 0-2 against PAC-12 teams this season losing by 8 points at Oregon and 26 points at Washington State. They do not play much defense and this should allow the Bruins to reach the eighties in points and thus we able to cover this big number. UCLA has won 74 of 86 match-up in this rivalry.

4 Unit Play. #542 Take Over in Wisconsin @ Wisconsin-Milwaukee (8 pm local) The Cell will be packed tonight, as the Badgers head into Milwaukee to play the Panthers. Both teams are sporting records of 8-2 and both play a similar style of offense, as Rob Jeter is a former player and assistant coach for Bo Ryan. We will bite on this low total, as we expect both teams to reach at least 55 points putting us in good position to collect with the over. Wisconsin scores over 68 points per game and Milwaukee scores 65 points per game. Both teams can shoot it well from long range and that will allow the total to increase at a higher rate than usually. I also believe that this game will not be a blowout and thus some fouling will occur at the end of this game to propel the total score over the posted total. The Over is 12-4 in Panthers last 16 games as a home underdog. We will not worry if the Badgers can cover this spread and just collect with the over.

3 Unit Play Take #741 Fordham over Sienna (7:00pm est): No way a crap team like Sienna should be favored by this many points. Just not seeing this at all as my numbers actually rate Fordham slightly better than Sienna right now. Fordham is on the uptick as a program as their looks to be some decent improvement from this 7 win team from last season. This is head coach Tom Pecora's second season and this is the time when things really start to click for a team with a new head coach. Pecora has added some freshman who have joined the Rams and have contributed a lot so far. They also bring back some talent with the top rebounder in the A-10 conference the last two season's returning and four starters overall back from last year's team. It's also big this time of year to find teams who are getting guys back to their lineups who might have missed early season action for whatever reasons. These are hidden gems if you can find a team like this as they are usually underrated by the oddsmakers. If all reports are tru Fordham looks like they may be one of those teams themselves as highly touted freshman guard Jeff Short got hurt just before the season began and had to miss out on the start of this 2011-2012 season. The Rams have slowly brought Short into action going from just three minutes of play his first game back to now playing Short 22 minutes in their last game. If healthy, Short should now be up to speed for Fordham and could be a big addition to their team.

Sienna is just 6-19-2 ATS their last 27 home games entering this contest tonight as a mid-sized favorite. The Saints were once a strong program a few years back but look like they have really taken some steps backwards of late. They also return a second year head coach behind the bench in Mike Buonaguro. In his first season as head coach last year Sienna's win total dropped by more than half from the previous year (27 wins to 13). No way this team is better than that team they had last year either as they lost the MAAC Player of the Year in Ryan Rossiter along with another top player in Clarence Jackson to graduation. To make matters even worse point guard Rakeem Brookins got hurt just before the season and is now out for the entire year. This is a huge loss for Sienna who is now relying on lots of young players.

The only reason Sienna is favored here is based on their past reputation combined with Fordham's ugly loss a few games back to Manhattan but that Manhattan defeat wasn't nearly as bad as it looks now with the way Manhattan is playing this season and especially of late. Fordham can keep this game close. Take Fordham and the points here.

2 Unit Play. #860 Take Cal State Fullerton over Eastern Washington (6 pm) The Titans come from a better conference and laying just a field goal with them on Sunday night is too good to pass up. Cal State Fullerton has won 3 of the 4 lifetime meetings with the Eagles and will enter this game with loads of confidence having won two straight games included a 31-point victory over Utah on Wednesday night. They have not been at home since 11/26 and expect them to enjoy some home cooking tonight at Titan Gym. The Eagles are 5-13 ATS in their last 18 games as a road underdog of 6.5 points or less. The Titans have covered 4 of their last 6 games (1 push).

4 Unit Play. #620 Take Gonzaga over Michigan State (9 pm ESPN 2) This is an important game for the Zags, as they need a marquee non-conference win on the season to ensure that they will receive an at-large berth should they not win their conference tournament. I just believe that they match up really well with Michigan State and I feel that the Spartans will not have an answer for Robert Sacre inside. Match that with the Bulldogs shooting guards and Michigan State will lose this game by double-digits at the Kennel. Michigan State is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog of 6.5 points or less. Gonzaga is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 Saturday games.

4 Unit Play. #566 Take Kansas over Ohio State (3:15 pm ESPN) The Buckeyes have looked dominating thus far in the season, but they have played all 8 games in Columbus and this is a major test going into Fhog Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas has won 46 straight games at home over non-conference opponents and getting around a field goal with them today is too good to pass up. Ohio State has the best played on the floor in Jared Sullinger best he did not play in their last game and is hampered by back spasms. He is listed as probable for this game but I do not expect him to be at 100%.
The Jayhawks hold a 5-3 series advantage and their home crowd has been waiting all week for this game. Both of Jayhawks losses have come against top ten team in neutral site game, but having the home crowd behind them today will propel them to a victory. Ohio State lost a ton of talent from their squad last year and they will not be getting all of the calls from the officials like they have in the previous eight games. The Buckeyes struggled last season in true road games against mediocre teams like Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern, and Iowa. They lost true road games at Wisconsin and Purdue and thus is this not a great road team. Ohio State is 1-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 6 games against Big 12 opponents. Kansas is 6-1 ATS (1 push) in their last 8 Saturday games. Kansas needs a marquee win and they get it this Saturday in Lawrence.

10 Unit Play. #559 Take Oklahoma State over Pittsburgh (2:30 pm ESPN) Top College Basketball Game of the Day. Pittsburgh is not good enough to be laying this many points to a BCS Conference team on a neutral site. They will be without their second best player in Tray Woodall and losing their point guard will be tough to overcome.
The Cowboys are a young team and with freshman you never know what you will be getting night in and night out but they came alive in the second half on Wednesday for a nice road win at Missouri State. They also have experience playing at Madison Square Garden, as this will be their third game this year in New York City. OSU is 18-11 all-time at Madison Square Garden and 4-1 straight-up against ranked teams. I expect this to be a low scoring game that goes down to the wire giving us the cash with whoever comes out on top. The Panther are 0-3 ATS (1 push) in their last four games against Big 12 teams.

4 Unit Play. #546 Take Detroit over Western Michigan (7:30 pm) I like this Detroit team and feel that they are a better team than what their record would indicate. They already have some shaky losses but appeared to have righted the ship in their last outing with a convincing win over St. Johns in which they led the entire second half. Expect two straight victories, as they now face a Western Michigan team that has yet to record a victory on the season against a division one school. Five of their six losses have come over tonight

4 Unit Play. #765 Take DePaul over Loyola Chicago (8 pm) Apparently DePaul would like to become a member of the Horizon League, as this is their second straight game against Horizon League competition. The Blue Demons did not perform well against Milwaukee on Monday losing by double-digits at the All-State Arena and it is important that they right the ship tonight, as their season is starting to slip away. Luckily for them, The Ramblers are the worst team in the Horizon League and are just 1-6 on the season. Their lone win on the season came against Fordham and five of their six losses have come by double-digits. The Blue Demons are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a road favorite. The Ramblers are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games against teams with a winning record.

4 Unit Play. #541 Take Massachusetts over East Carolina (7 pm) The Pirates have just one victory on the season against a division 1 team (Appalachian State) and remarkably they have played three games this season against non-division 1 teams. I like this UMASS team and they have challenged themselves during the non-conference portion of the season and will knock out the Pirates tonight at Minges Coliseum. UMASS is 4-1 in their last 5 games as a favorite. ECU is 6-15 ATS (1 push) in their last 22 home games. The Minutemen come from a better conference have more playmakers and that will be enough to earn the victory tonight in Greenville, NC.

10 Unit Play. #855 Take Baylor over Northwestern (4 pm Big Ten Network) Non-Conference Game of the Year

2 Unit Play. #845 Take Virginia Commonwealth over Georgia Washington (2:30 pm Versus) This game is being played in DC, but it is not on the home floor of the Colonials and thus we will side with the better team in VCU. We all know the run that the Rams made last year in the NCAA Tournament and they do return three starters off of that team that is expected to challenge for the Colonial title again in 2011. George Washington has a new coach and a new system and expect them to struggle early on in the season.

10 Unit Play. #668 Take Memphis over Austin Peay (8:30 pm CSS) Top Game of the Day. Despite being ranked high at the start of the season, the Tigers have not performed well this season but they are coming off a blowout win against Jackson State on Monday and this is another get well game tonight at the FedEx Forum. The Governors have not won a game this season and have been blown out by California, Oral Roberts, and Middle Tennessee State. Memphis owns a commanding 16-4 advantage in the all-time series with Austin Peay, and the Tigers have won each of the last five meetings. The Tigers are playing outstanding defense and the Governors will struggle to reach 55 points in this game. Austin Peay is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 road games. Memphis gets well and we collect big in the process as well.

4 Unit Play. #656 Take Washington State over Eastern Washington (6:30 pm ROOT) This is the type of game that we have pounded on all season long with the BCS team pounding the mid-major team at home and getting a big boast from the refs. The Cougars have dominated Eastern Washington through the years, posting a 53-11 mark against the Eagles, while also winning the last three matchups. State lost their best player from last year in Klay Thompson, but they still have talent and this is an important game for Coach Ken Bone, as they have not performed well this season. The Eagles are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 road games when they are an underdog of 6.5 points or less.

4 Unit Play. #595 Take Pittsburgh over Tennessee (5:15 pm ESPN) Despite falling apart in the NCAA Tournament year after year, the Panthers always seem to start off the season on a high note and today they should have no problem taking down a Volunteer team in Knoxville. Pittsburgh will also have revenge on their minds, since Tennessee beat them last year in the Steel City. Aston Gibbs is back for this game and he is far and away the best player on the floor. Pittsburgh is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games. Tennessee is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games against teams with a winning record.

4 Unit Play. #574 Take Illinois over Gonzaga (3:15 pm ESPN 2) This will be the Bulldogs first trip out of the Northwest this season and although they have some good name wins already, most of their victories are against rebuilding teams. I really like this young Illinois team and fell that they have improved since getting rid of their jump shooting seniors from last year. The Illini have had just one close game this year and this game is being played in Champaign (not Chicago) giving them a major edge. Illinois has covered 4 of their last 5 home games.

5 Unit Play. #554 Take Butler over Valparaiso (2 pm My-IndyTV) The Horizon League has begun and each team has played a conference game with the exception of these two teams. Valpo is a little sister to Butler and despite massive losses in the off-season the Bulldogs will take care of business at Hinkle Fieldhouse and win this game by double digits. Butler holds a 67-33 edge in the all-time series and they have the far superior coach in Brad Stevens. The Crusaders are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Horizon League games. The Bulldogs are 22-8 ATS (2 pushes) in their last 32 games against teams with a winning record.

4 Unit Play. #847 Take Auburn over Seton Hall (9 pm ESPN U) The Pirates are not good enough to be laying this many points against a BCS Conference team. The Tigers are 4-0, but that is a little deceiving since they have not played anybody of significance as of yet. But that being said, they do return four starters and they will only get better under second year head coach Tony Barbee. The Hall is also off to a nice start on the season at 5-1, but they lost their only tough game on the season to Northwestern in Charleston, SC. Their most recent home games they struggled to put away Yale and St. Peters and will have a similar hardship tonight against the Tigers. Auburn is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games. Seton hall is 8-19 ATS in their last 27 games following a victory. This one will go down to the wire and we will earn the victory with whoever comes out on top.

Best of Luck

4 Unit Play. #562 Take DePaul over Mississippi (9 pm ESPN U) We will continue to pound Blue Demons with these low lines, especially since they put forth a good effort in Orlando and now they are ready for some home cooking tonight against an average Ole Miss team. The Rebels have faced one other Big East team this season and they got blasted by Marquette and DePaul is a very similar team to Marquette (poor man

10 Unit Play. #783 Take Virginia Tech over Minnesota (9:15 pm ESPN 2) These are two similar teams and the Gophers are favored because of their coach and they are playing at the Barn, a traditional tough spot to play. But that is all that the Gophers have going for them, as their best player (Trevor Mbakwe) just suffered a season ending injury (torn ACL). He was the heart and soul of this team and there is no way they will be able to fill this void. Furthermore, there other big man, Ralph Sampson is hampered by injuries as well and is not doing anything thus far in the season (5.8 points & 3.7 rebounds). He was a double-figure scorer last year and something is not right with him this season. This team folded down the stretch with injuries last year and they appear to be heading down a similar path. Some of their wins are deceiving, as Indiana State lead for most of the game on 11/25 before a late run by the Gophers allowed them to get the victory and Fairfield was nip and tuck with them as well before Ed Hightower (famous ref) took over the game.
As for the Hokies, they lost some key components off of their team last year, but they are finally playing a non-conference schedule that is NCAA tournament quality. They held their own in New York last weekend beating Oklahoma State in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate (they led the entire second half). This is an important road victory for them and will give them a marquee name victory. Minnesota is 4-13 in their last 17 games at the Barn. Virginia Tech wins this game straight-up and getting points in best icing on the cake.
Best of Luck

3 Unit Play. #758 Take Indiana over NC State (7:15 pm) I would like rate this play as strong as our Non-Conference GOY, but Indiana has played a pretty soft schedule thus far and I am still on sold on their defense. But they have a coach in his fourth year and NC State has a coach in his about his fourth week. Indiana has a ton on offensive punch and that will be enough to earn the victory in this contest. NC State played pretty well in New Jersey against Vanderbilt and Texas but in reality those are not very impress wins, since Vandy is without Festus Ezeli and Texas is in a rebuilding year. All six of Indiana

10 Unit Play. #563 Take Duke over Ohio State (9:30 pm ESPN) This is the marquee game of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and both teams are ranked in the top three in country and both teams are undefeated. This is a match-up of inside versus outside, as the Buckeyes have a beast in the middle with Jared Sullinger, but the Blue Devils have a trio of great guards and five people averaging double figures. Ohio State has good guards as well, but I just do not believe Aaron Kraft and William Buford will be able to dominate in this game like they have in others. The Buckeyes could not put away Florida and Duke has much more balance than do the Gators. Duke is seldom this big on and underdog and they usually rise to the occasion. Duke has only lost one time in the ACC

4 Unit Play. #748 Take Vanderbilt over Xavier (7 pm ESPN 2) Memorial Gymnasium is always a tough place to play and the Musketeers will get all that they can handle tonight. Xavier is 4-0 on the season, but they do not have any quality wins, as Georgia is way down after making the NCAA Tournament last year. The Commodores return their entire starting line-up from last year, but there big man Festus Ezeli is out and thus the line is low where we can attack it. The Musketeers are 2-9 ATS (1 push) in their last 12 non-conference games. The Commodores are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against Atlantic -10 teams.

4 Unit Play. #556 Take DePaul over Arizona State (2 pm ESPN U) The Sun Devils are not a good team and Coach Herb Sendek is clearly on the hot seat. Things are moving one way in Tempe and things are moving the polar opposite in Chicago as Oliver Purnell returns four starters and his players are getting familiar with his system since this is his second year. Arizona State just does not have enough offense to keep this game close, as the Blue Demons have played well in both of their games at the Old Spice Classic at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. DePaul is shooting over 50% from the field and his two players averaging over 19 points per game. Arizona State is 7-19 ATS in their last 26 non-conference games. DePaul is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 neutral site games. DePaul has much better athletes and that will be the difference in the 5th place game.

6 Unit Play. #768 Take Connecticut over Florida State (2 pm Versus) We will yet again ride Connecticut in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. This will be a struggle to score points, as both teams have big bodies but I like the perimeter players for the Huskies much better than I do for the Seminoles. UCONN was up 17 points yesterday before they laid down and died against UCF and you can bet Coach Calhoun will let them hear about it today. UCONN also will get a boost from Ryan Boatright, as his suspension is over and he will give the Huskies another guard on the perimeter. He is a true point guard and it is just what this team needs. UCONN is 11-4 ATS in their last 15 non-conference games. The first team to fifty points might win this game but the Huskies have the better scoring team and that will allow them to emerge victorious on Saturday at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Best of Luck - Doc's Sports.

10 Unit Play. #617 Take New Mexico State over Southern Miss (11:59 pm FCS) I am a big fan of this Aggie team and feel that they are the team to beat in the WAC Conference this season. They are 4-0 this season and only one of those victory came at the Pan American Center. They already have a couple of quality wins on the season against UTEP and New Mexico (at the PIT) and I expect them to cruise past the Golden Eagles tonight in Anchorage, AK. New Mexico State has won three of the four meetings in this series. The Golden Eagles have not been home for quite some time and they do not have a quality win on the season. They were beaten by a mediocre Denver team and they struggle to put away a bad UC Irvine team, a team that is expected to finish eight out of nine teams in the Big West. The Aggies return four starters off last year

4 Unit Play. #754 Take Connecticut over UNC Ashville (7 pm) This is just not a good match-up for the Bulldogs, as they do not play much defense and allow and score a lot of points. This will have trouble scoring points tonight, as UCONN is the 3rd best team in the nation when it comes to rebounding. The Huskies lost Kemba Walker, but they had a loaded freshman class last year led by Jeremy Lamb and won the Maui Invitational last year and they are the clear favorites to win the Battle 4 Atlantis this season. UCONN is 11-2 ATS in their last 13 non-conference games.
Best of Luck

4 Unit Play. #566 Take Duke over Kansas (10 pm ESPN) It is the finals of the Maui Invitational and it features two traditional powers in Kansas and Duke. The Blue Devils just do not lose at this tournament as they are 14-0 all-time and will be looking for their fifth championship. Both teams lost a lot to graduation but the Devils have reloaded much better than what Kansas has. Duke played outstanding in the semi-finals against a good Michigan team shooting 57% from the field. They have great guards and I do not believe that Kansas can come close to matching them on the perimeter. Duke will be at a disadvantage in the paint, but look for them to double down and make Kansas beat them from long range. Duke is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games against Big XII teams. Kansas is just 3-7 ATS (1 push) in their last 11 games against teams with a winning record.

10 Unit Play. #782 Take Illinois over Richmond (9:30 pm CBS College Sports) Getting rid of Demetri McCamey and all the jump shooting seniors from last year is actually a blessing for Illinois, as they have become a better team with their young guards and expect them have much more balance this season. This team has a loaded recruiting class and great guard play and expect them to pick apart Richmond tonight at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.
Richmond suffered even more damaging losses to graduation than did Illinois with all-everything player Kevin Anderson now playing in France. They were beaten soundly in their only road game of the season by a mediocre Davidson team and I expect them to lose by double-digits tonight against Illinois. The Spiders will have trouble scoring points this season and playing hard defense just will not get the job done on a consistent basis in the loaded A-10 this season. Illinois is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Tuesday games. Lay the wood with the better team and watch your money grow.
Best of Luck

4 Unit Play. #576 Take Texas over NC State (5:30 pm ESPN 3) The Longhorns find themselves in the consolation game of the Ticket City Classic tonight at ISOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. The Horns got lit up by Jared Cunningham on Saturday but I do not see any player on this NC State roster that will be able to do that. NC State has a new coach in Mark Gottfried and a new system to learn. Also their best shooter, Scott Wood is out with an ankle injury and that will make this team one-dimensional. NC State is 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games as an underdog. Texas is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against ACC teams. Texas is an NCAA Tournament team and they cannot afford to drop two games to bad teams in this tournament. They make a statement tonight and we collect big in the process as well.

4 Unit Play. #772 Take Over in St. Joseph

10 Unit Play. #562 Take Over in Hawaii vs. Gonzaga (9 pm Root Sports) The Zags again appear to be loaded on offense and they have lit up the scoreboard thus far having averaged 83 points per game. They have a great inside out game with Kevin Pangos and Robert Sacre and this gives them the ability to beat you from long range or get to the free throw line.

The Warriors are expected to do some damage this year in the WAC especially with a strong backcourt led by Zane Johnson. He shot over 40% from long range last year and should get some open looks since Gonzaga is not a strong defensive team like they were in the past decade. The Warriors have gone over the posted total in 12 of their last 13 games. Gonzaga has went over the posted total in 4 straight games. I also do not believe that Gonzaga will be able to blow out the Warriors meaning some fouling will occur at the end of them game to get this total into the 150s. We go north of the Border for a strong cash on Saturday night!

4 Unit Play. #756 Take Arizona State over New Mexico (8:30 pm FSN) The Sun Devils are coming off an embarrassing loss to Pepperdine at home but this team usually bounces back well when hat occurred. The same can be said for New Mexico, as they suffered a loss to New Mexico State at the Pit this week as well. Therefore getting this many points with the home squad is too good to pass up, as I expect Arizona State to win this one straight-up! The Sun Devils have the best player on the floor in Trent Lockett and expect ASU to exert their style of play and keep this game in the sixties. New Mexico is 1-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 6 non-conference games. Arizona State is 10-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 15 home games when they are the underdog.

4 Unit Play. #572 Take Minnesota over Fairfield (7 pm Big Ten Network) Minnesota has decimated by injuries last year and this is an important season for Coach Tubby Smith as he needs to right the ship and get back into the NCAA Tournament. They should be able to accomplish this behind Trevor Mbakwe and a strong new crop of recruits. The Gophers have opened up with a soft schedule and won both of their first two games by double digits. Tonight should be no different against the Stags, as they already lost to a bad Providence team and do not have the bodies to match-up in this game. Fairfield has not shot it well from long range this season and they will have to shot it extremely well to stay in this game with the Golden Gophers. The Stags are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games. This is just a classic case of the home team getting all the calls from the refs and the visitor just making the trip to collect a check. Minnesota takes this game and we collect big in the process as well!

4 Unit Play. #755 Take Indiana over Evansville (8 pm ESPN 3) This is a critical year for Coach Tom Crean, as I believe that he needs to make the NCAA Tournament this year in order to keep the faithful in Bloomington happy. He has the team that can do it with four returning starters and an excellent recruiting class. Evansville did beat Butler in overtime on Saturday and that is a good thing for us in this game as it kept the line lower than what it should be. Butler lost most of their scoring punch from last year with Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack and this new team will be lucky to make the NCAA Tournament in 2012. That fact is that beating Butler on your home floor this year is not that great of a win. Indiana is a perfect 7-0 against Evansville in the all-time series and beat them by 13 points last year in Bloomington. This will be the second game at the brand new Ford Center and expect a strong crowd from Indiana fans as they want to check out the new arena. Indiana has to make sure Colt Ryan does not beat them, but the balance of the Hoosiers will eventually wear down the Purple Aces. Indiana has covered 4 of their last 5 games against Missouri Valley Conference teams.

4 Unit Play. #608 Take California over Austin Peay (10 pm ESPN 2) Mid-major teams that travel cross country usually do so just for the paycheck and fully expect to get blown out and hosed (refs) playing in a hostile environment. California has looked good so far compiling two blowout victories at Haas Pavilion and expect them to complete the trifecta tonight against Austin Peay. Peay was blown out in their first road game of the season against Middle Tennessee State and things will certainly get worse tonight in Berkeley. The Bears return four starters and this team will make the NCAA Tournament. The Governors are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games. The Golden Bears are 17-5 ATS in their last 22 games when they are a favorite of 7.0 to 12.5 points. Both trends hold true tonight, as the Bears blank the Governors and we collect big in the process as well!

4 Unit Play. #792 Take Western Kentucky over Tennessee State (8 pm) We will side with the Hilltoppers tonight when they take on the Tigers tonight at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY. The Hilltoppers are coming off a disappointing season in 2010 but they did have a strong recruiting class that basically saved the job on Coach Ken McDonald. This is a must win game for the coach, as they do not want to drop two straight games at home. The Tigers got blown out on Friday by Saint Louis and I did not see anything good they could take away from that game that will allow them to stay in this game for 40 minutes. TSU is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog. WKU is 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference.
Best of Luck

3 Unit Play. #742 Take Massachusetts over Northeastern (7 pm WBIN) The Minutemen open the season with three cupcakes before their non-conference schedule gets much tougher. It is important that they go 3-0 with these games and expect them to take care of business tonight against Northeastern at Mullins Center. UMass leads the all-time series with Northeastern, 34-17. The last meeting came in 2006, with UMass winning 79-56. The Huskies were pushed to overtime in their first game of the season and I believe that will have a carryover effect in this game. Northeastern is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Atlantic-10 teams. UMass is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games at the Mullins Center when they are the favorite.

2 Unit Play Take #748 'under' in Duquesne/Arizona (9:00pm est): Not feeling it all with this Arizona squad this season. They are obviously way down with the loss of D-Will to the NBA. This knocks them back quite a few pegs and this will take some getting use to for the new look Wildcats. To avoid a drop off this season they are going to have to pick things up on the defensive end of the floor and I expect that to be the case and we seen quite a bit of that in their first game of the season as they held a decent shooting Valparaiso team to just 40% from the floor and 5-20 from three point land, which was a non-typical sloppy job of taking care of the ball and poor shooting game from a Valpo program that prides itself on playing good sound basketball.

Their head coach Sean Miller said again after the game his teams ins't that good right now and are in no way a top twenty team like they are currently ranked. His feelings are based on the fact they are losing a lot from last season offensively without Williams and the loss of their point guard also coming into this year.

Lastly their first game had a frantic ending with tons of free throws and three pointers and somehow it found it's way up and over the total because of all the late scoring. No way that one should have went 'over' and if the Crusaders decide to call it quits than that game falls a solid 5-10 points short of the number. The good news is this will add nice value to the total tonight as the stat geeks only see the final score of that game and punch in the final numbers to come up with tonight's total in this one. The bottom line is if that game plays out like it should have and the game goes 'under' than this total here probably sits around 140-143 or so tonight. We will take it.

2-Unit Play. #745. Take Liberty over Texas A&M (Wednesday @ 8pm est). Liberty actually finished 2nd in the Big South Conference last year after being predicted to finish well below that. This is a team that did exceptionally well under their now third year coach Dale Layer who understands that expectations are high and he is excited about this season. Liberty returns the Big South player of the year, the Big South coach of the year in Layer and a nice core of players that understand Layer's system. Texas A&M is a solid team but note that it might take them sometime to get used to the system that is being employed there with their returning and several new players. I like Liberty's unison with respect to their returning players and the system they run as I think they can stay competitive in a half-court type of contest which both teams enjoy. This is also the hands down biggest public fade on the board as well and we get the fade with a good Liberty team that will play hard until the final buzzer on a very big line here. The Flames of Liberty are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 13 points or greater. Note that coach Billy Kennedy is fighting an early form of Parkinson's disease and his assistant coaches will run the team for this game. I like Liberty to hang tough on the big line here as of course, I do think Texas A&M wins this game, but I do think Liberty will be able to hang tough most of the way and just stay below the cutoff.

2 Unit Play Take #742 Mississippi State over Akron (7:00pm est): I really like this Mississippi St team this year. They added a JUCO player to their starting lineup and all he did in his first game as a Bulldog is lead his team with a double-double in their win over Eastern Kentucky Monday night. Add in the fact they say most teams show their greatest improvements between game one and game two of a season in any sport, as now that the first game jitters and cobwebs are out of the way and a coach also knows so much more about his team.

Many aren't talking about the huge possibility that freshman point guard Deville Smith could play in this one tonight. Smith didn't go in game one the other night but it looks like he may playing tonight in this one. This would be huge for the Bulldogs as Smith led them in Europe this summer when MSU went there for a few exhibition games. He should be a big time contributor when he starts playing. That's two big time added faces to a Mississippi State club that looks like it has a pretty good team coming into this season.

No doubt Akron has a decent mid-major program but that is just what it is, mid-major. When they played top 60 teams last year they were manhandled, losing all four games by an average of 12.5 points per contest and at least eight points in each of those games. Now they are losing their two starting guards, which is always a tough loss for any program to deal with early on.

All in all expecting Mississippi State to clean some things up tonight and get the win. Play MSU to win and cover this one.

1 Unit Play. #602 Take Connecticut over Butler (Monday 9:23 pm CBS) Hard to go real big on this game since both teams have been cash cows over the last month of the season. The Huskies have won nine straight games since the Big East Tournament started and the Bulldogs have won 14 straight games since a surprising loss to Youngstown State. The Penguins were ranked 295th in the RPI this season and that is a loss I just cannot believe happened to Butler. But both teams have certainly righted the ship after some shaky performance during the middle portion of the season and with that being said, I just believe that Connecticut has better players. This is certainly true at the top with Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, as I believe Butler will have no answer for either of them. Butler has played only one team in Florida that was able to punish them with an inside out game and Gators had them on the ropes but could not put them away due to the fact they could not make an outside shot. That will not be the case on Monday and thus I expect the Huskies to build up a double-digit lead and some point in this game. Butler is very feisty and will never give up and it would not surprise me if they make a late run, but in the end, they are still a mid-major and this type of team just does not win it all in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies are 20-6 ATS in their last 26 neutral site games. The Bulldogs are just 1-4 ATS (1 push) in their last 6 Monday games. Coach Calhoun moves into elite status with his 3rd National Championship and we collect in the process as well.

10 Unit Play. #814 Take Connecticut over Kentucky (Saturday 8:50 pm CBS) Was there any doubt that CBS was going to make this the late game of the two on Saturday? This game features two powerhouse programs with suspect coaches that have been known to bend the rules on occasion. Both teams are very young, but we will side with the best player on the floor and that would be Kemba Walker. The Huskies have been on a remarkable run of late winning 9 straight games in postseason. The Huskies have already beaten the Wildcats once this season by 17 points and getting points with them today is too good to pass up. In that game Jeremy Lamb was not really a factor but that will not be the case tonight, as he has really come on as the season has progressed. UCONN was really on the ropes against Arizona where the Wildcats had a major edge in support since the game was played in Anaheim and they were able to pull it out. That is how I see tonight

6 Unit Play. #762 Take Colorado over Alabama (Tuesday 9:30 pm ESPN) The nightcap of the NIT Semi-Finals features two teams that believe they should have been selected to the NCAA Tournament. Both teams had home games to reach New York but we will side with the better team from the better conference on Tuesday. Alabama does not have the guards to match-up with the Buffaloes and I just believe that Colorado will be able to outscore their way to a victory since Alabama does not shot many three pointers and at times they really struggle to score points. The Buffaloes are 5-2 in their last 7 neutral site games when they are an underdog. The Crimson Tide are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games. Play the underdog and more talented team on Tuesday, as Colorad0 wins this game straight-up and getting points is just icing on the cake.

10 Unit Play. #720 Take North Carolina over Kentucky (Sunday 4:55 pm CBS) We have used both of these teams in the NCAA Tournament a couple of times and that included two victories with them in the Sweet 16. Just feel that the experience of North Carolina will be the difference in this game, as it has been over a decade since Kentucky has made the Final Four. I like Roy Williams in this situation and feel he will have his team prepared to make the Final Four. Really question if Kentucky can get up for this game in less than 48 hours after such an emotional victory over Ohio State in which few people (we were one of them) gave them a shot. North Carolina has already beaten Kentucky once this season and we fully expect them to complete the quinella on Sunday, as the last Final Four spot is filled. Kentucky

2 Unit Play. #516 Take Connecticut over Arizona (Saturday 7 pm CBS) We have used Connecticut as a selection in their last four games, losing the first two and winning the last two and see no reason to jump off the bandwagon today in Anaheim, CA. The Wildcats are coming off an impressive victory over Duke and I just do not believe that can get revved up against after such an emotional performance. Connecticut is a much better defensive team than Duke and they have the bodies to slow down Derrick Williams. UCONN also has the best player on the floor in Kemba Walker who really came on after a slow start against San Diego. UCONN has had great success when playing out West (winning two championships) and that will continue on Saturday.

10 Unit Play. #514 Take Florida over Butler (Saturday 4:30 pm CBS) The Bulldogs really went in the tank during the second half of their game against Wisconsin and had to hang on for dear life despite being up by 20 points in the second half. I do not expect them to have many leads in this game, as the Gators will march onto the Final Four in Houston with a victory on Saturday in the Elite Eight. Florida has better players than Butler and unlike Wisconsin, they have an inside out presence that Butler will struggle to handle. This is the first skilled team Butler will face in the NCAA Tournament, the other three teams were strong but not skilled like the Gators. Florida is 13-3 ATS in their last 16 NCAA Tournament games. Billy the Kid and company return to the Final Four and we collect big in the process as well.

4 Unit Play. #879 Take Kentucky over Ohio State (Friday 9:45 pm CBS) The Buckeyes were a No. 1 seed last year with a dominating player in Evan Turner and got bounced in the Sweet by an SEC team and it would not surprise me if that would happen again tonight in Newark. Kentucky is young but they are talented and they have the bodies to match-up with Sullinger inside without having to double team him. That is what is needed to compete with Ohio State since they are deadly from long range. The Wildcats have really turned it on over the last month of the season winning 8 straight games since an overtime loss on February 23rd, 2011. Ohio State will now face a team that they cannot overpower and it will be interesting to see how they act down the stretch in a close game. Kentucky is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Big Ten teams. Ohio State is 5-11 ATS in their last 16 NCAA Tournament games when they are the favorite.

4 Unit Play. #882 Take Kansas over Richmond (Friday 7:25 pm TBS) The Jayhawks have to be smiling after seeing their region of the bracket fall apart and it appears that they will have a smooth trip to the Final Four and may not even get a high seeded team until the National Championship Game. Richmond got a break as well with Louisville going down in the opening round and instead of facing the Cardinals they got to play the Morehead State Eagles. To be honest, Richmond just cannot match-up with Kansas inside the paint especially with the Morris twins over the course of a 40 minute game, Kansas will eventually wear them down. The Jayhawks have covered 4 straight games against Atlantic-10 teams. Kansas moves onto the Elite Eight and we collect in the process as well.

10 Unit Play. #878 Take North Carolina over Marquette (Friday 7:15 pm CBS) The Golden Eagles give you everything they got and they have already cashed for us twice this season but I believe that they will get bounced in the Sweet 16 by the more talented Tar Heels. Marquette does not shoot it well enough from long range on a consistent basis to threaten this Tar Heels team and they will be grossly undersized in this match-up. Syracuse had a chance to put away the game in the second half but kept making stupid turnovers against Marquette and allowed them to hang around and eventually win the game. The Golden Eagles have 14 losses on the season and they have only won three games in a row once this season since Big East play started. North Carolina is 10-3 ATS in their last 13 NCAA Tournament games.

5 Unit Play. #808 Take Wisconsin over Butler (Thursday 9:57 pm TBS) I must admit I am a little surprised that the number is this high and think it will go down before tip-off, but that being said the Badgers are a bigger and more complete team than the Bulldogs. Butler is a great tournament team but they did not have a very good regular season and Sheldon Mack did not make many jump shots until the tournament started. I do not believe that he can stay hot for another game and the Badgers have Jordan Taylor coming off one of the worst shooting performances in his career. Look for a big bounce-back from him in New Orleans on Thursday night. Butler is a poor man

10 Unit Play. #809 Take Connecticut over San Diego State (Thursday 7:15 pm CBS) On paper this appears to be the most competitive game of the night with the Huskies having to do battle with San Diego State in Anaheim, CA. I thought if Connecticut was going to get tripped up it would have come last week since they were coming off a week in which they won five games in five days. But they are for real (even though the Big East is not) and have the best player on the floor in Kemba Walker. Both teams have big bodies so much of the Aztecs advantage inside will be neutralized. Temple gave a blueprint on how to shut down the Aztecs offense holding them to 54 points during regulation. While it is an advantage with the games being played in Anaheim for SDSU, they do not travel that well and Coach Steve Fischer has never impressed me much as a coach that gets the most out of his players. The Huskies are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 NCAA Tournament games. The recent performance of the UCONN Huskies will continue as we collect big in the process as well.

4 Unit Play. #678 Take Over in Northwestern @ Washington State (11 pm ESPN 2) The Cougars were dealt another major blow when the suspension of DeAngelo Castro for the game tonight and that should open up the middle for the Wildcats to have a clear path to the basket and thus increase the scoring. Northwestern is averaging 72 points on the season and that sets up a strong play with the over. The over is 16-5 ATS in the Wildcats last 21 road games. Washington State has gone over in 7 of their last 10 games.

4 Unit Play. #784 Take Creighton over Central Florida (8 pm HD Net) Talk about a dramatic fall this season for the UCF Golden Knights. Earlier this season they were undefeated and ranked in the top-25 but they have won just 7 of their last 18 games and could not even make the NIT. This will be their first road game in the CBS Tournament and I expect them to get knocked off since Creighton is a tough team to beat in Omaha. The Blue Jays have a major edge inside the paint and that will be something that the Knights will not be able to overcome. UCF has covered just 5 of their last 20 games (1 push). Creighton is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games when they are the favorite.

4 Unit Play. #658 Take Over in College of Charleston @ Wichita State (7 pm ESPN 2) A trip to New York is on the line on when the Cougars do battle with the Shockers tonight at Koch Arena in Wichita, KS. Wichita State is averaging 77

4 Unit Play. #667 Take Buffalo over Iona (7:30 pm) I have been a fan of this Bulls team all season long and getting this many points with them against Iona is too good to pass up. The two New York schools have met seven times prior, with Buffalo holding a 4-3 all-time advantage. Buffalo plays real good defense by holding opponents to under 65 points per game. Buffalo is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games against MAAC teams. This game goes down to the wire and we will collect with whoever comes out on top.

4 Unit Play. #620 Take Over in Oklahoma State @ Washington State (11:30 pm ESPN 2) Both teams like to push the ball up and down the court and that sets up a strong play with the over tonight in Pullman. The Cowboys average 68 points per game and I expect them to lose but score at least that many points tonight. Washington State has averaged 86 points per game in their last two outings and expect them to come close to reaching 80 points tonight. I do not expect a blowout and there will be some fouling at the end of the game to propel the total points as well. Wazzou has gone over the posted total in 7 of their last 9 games.

4 Unit Play. #630 Take Oregon over Duquesne (10 pm HD Net) The Ducks have a major edge since this game is being played in Eugene and that should also give them an edge in officiating since they get to pick who they want. The Dukes will be making their second straight trip to out west and that will eventually catch up with them and it will be tonight. Expect an up and down game on Monday but the Ducks have some talent and it is important to play well under first year Coach Dana Altman. Duquesne has covered just 1 of their last 7 games overall.

4 Unit Play. #616 Take Over in Missouri State over Miami (7 pm ESPN) This is second rate postseason tournament and games tend to open up much more and coaches have a more laid back philosophy in the NIT. Missouri State scored 89 points in their first game and Miami scored 85 points and I expect both teams to reach at least the seventies setting up a strong play for the over. Missouri State has gone over the posted total in 7 straight road games. Miami has gone over the posted total is 4 of their last 5 home games.

10 Unit Play. #725 Take Marquette over Syracuse (Sunday 7:45 pm Tru TV) NCAA Tournament Game of the Year. It is hard to lay points with anybody in this tournament thus far and we will follow that philosophy again on Sunday during the evening hours when two Big East teams are set to do battle in round two of the NCAA Tournament. This is the second time conference teams have squared off and like Connecticut beating Cincinnati for the second straight time, I expect a similar result with Marquette beating Syracuse for the second straight time. Syracuse has not been the same team over the second half of the season and they accumulated most of their Big East wins by playing bottom feeder teams down the stretch. They got to face Georgetown with Chris Wright and struggled to beat Villanova, Rutgers, and St. Johns.

Marquette may have played their best game of the season on Friday against a good Xavier team. They won that game by double-digits and most of their games this season have gone down to the wire. I really believe that the Golden Eagles are the more aggressive team and they will do whatever it takes to stay in this game for 40 minutes. Syracuse usually has a big advantage playing teams in the second game of the weekend since many are not familiar with their match-up zone. That will not be the case today, as the Golden Eagles are a conference team and they have seen it numerous times. The Golden Eagles do not really have a big man and that will offset much of the purpose of the Syracuse zone. Marquette is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games as an underdog. This one will be decided by three points or less and getting points makes this the proper side to play.

1-Unit Play. Take #720 Duke (-12.5) over Michigan (2:45 p.m., Sunday, March 20)
Yeah, I wouldn't want to piss off Coach K. The Duke players would pretty much throw themselves in traffic for their coach. And you know that he was pretty pissed off about last week's ?Fab Five? documentary. So even though some of the players in this game might night even have been born when those Duke-Michigan games were being played they will be asked to settle a score. Duke is going to pummel a just-happy-to-be-here Michigan team and I think they will do it in the name of Duke basketball. This normally is a situation where I would be all over the Wolverines. But with the added motivation that they have here I think the Blue Devils are a solid pick.

10 Unit Play. #540 Take Hawaii over San Francisco (Sunday 1 am) Old faithful for us this season has been a play on Hawaii at home during the late night hours. Once again we expect to wake up the next morning with a Warrior victory straight-up and against the spread. Hawaii has not lost a home game since January 30th and I image that the Dons are just upbeat about going on a vacation to the islands and they could care less about this game in a third rate tournament. The Warriors are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.

4 Unit Play. #520 Take Connecticut over Cincinnati (Saturday 9:40 pm TBS) The Huskies have made me eat crow in their last two games by beating Louisville and Bucknell and covering the spread as well. Now they are around a field goal favorite in their second round (technically third) against a fellow Big East opponent in Cincinnati. The Huskies have already beaten the Bearcats once this season in Cincinnati by 8 points. I see them having a much easier time on Saturday night and that will allow them to complete the season sweep. UCONN is playing at an outstanding level at the moment led by their All-American Kemba Walker and his young but talented supporting cast. Cincinnati also did not receive much of a test in their opening game, as Missouri laid down and went over 9 minutes without scoring a basket from the end of the first half into the second half. The Bearcats struggle against good teams and I expect UCONN to pull away late and win this game comfortable and thus advance to the Sweet 16. UCONN is 17-5 ATS in their last 22 neutral site games. Cincinnati is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 NCAA Tournament games.

4 Unit Play. #528 Take Wisconsin over Kansas State (Saturday 8:40 pm TNT) On paper this appears to be the most competitive game of the night as this is a 4/5 battle. The Badgers broke out of their funk against Belmont on Thursday and dominated the last 25 minutes to earn the victory. The Wildcats had a much tougher battle with Utah State but they were able to prevail as well. Both teams have upperclassman leading the way but I like the shooting of Wisconsin much better than I do the shooting for Kansas State. The Badgers have five guys that can shoot the three and I do not believe that the Wildcats will be able to match-up at all five positions on the count. Wisconsin is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against Big XII teams. Kansas State is just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.

5 Unit Play. #523 Take Gonzaga over BYU (Saturday 7:45 pm CBS) There is a reason why the 11th seed is the favorite over the 3rd seed. That is because BYU has not been the same team since Brandon Davies was suspended and they will be bounced in this game even if Jimmer Fredette goes off. Talk about the good fortune that the Bulldogs have had during this NCAA Tournament. They get to play St. John

5 Unit Play. #855 Take Illinois over UNLV (Friday 9:20 pm TBS) The Illini have too much talent and too many seniors for this team to go out one and done in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Illinois will likely have a big lead at some point in this game only to give it back but this time I expect them to hold on and pull it out in the final minutes. UNLV struggled to beat good teams this year in the MWC going 0-5 against BYU and San Diego State. The Big 10 is much more deeper this season than the Mountain West Conference and thus the Illini will be better prepared for this game. Illinois is 3-1 ATS (1 push) in their last five games when they are an underdog. UNLV is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.

10 Unit Play. #839 Take Marquette over Xavier (Friday 7:25 pm Tru TV) Getting points with Marquette is usually gold, as they have a knack of taking every game they play down to the wire and I would not expect anything different in this game against Xavier. I really believe that the Musketeers were a much better team one year ago when they had Jordan Crawford to offset Tu Holloway at the guard position. Crawford is now in the NBA and Xavier has not been able to fill that void. The Atlantic-10 had a bunch of bad teams at the bottom this season and that allowed Xavier, Temple, and Richmond all to produce impressive conference records. Xavier got bounced in the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament by a bad Dayton team and I fully expect them to be one and done this season in the NCAA Tournament. Marquette has the guards to match-up with Xavier and I like the athleticism of their big man better. Marquette is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games as an underdog. Xavier is 1-7 ATS (1 push) in their last 9 non-conference games.

4 Unit Play. #835 Take Villanova over George Mason (Friday 2:10 pm TNT) Everybody is down on this Villanova team since they will enter the NCAA Tournament on a low note having lost five straight games. But that being said, four of those losses came against NCAA Tournament teams and they still do have two talented guards that will be able to do damage against the Patriots. George Mason had an outstanding season in the CAA and some people are even picking them to make a return trip to the final four. I am not one of them and feel that the Big East team will be able to muscle around this CAA team. Villanova has covered 7 of their last 10 games against teams from the CAA. Villanova wins an NCAA Tournament game to salvage their season.

4 Unit Play. #844 Take Texas A & M over Florida State (Friday 4:10 pm TBS) I am just not a big fan of the Seminoles this season and believe their Coach Leonard Hamilton has a knack for losing big games. Florida State has been bounced in round one of the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years despite being the higher seed but that will not be the case today since Aggies are the 7th seed. Yes all signs point to Chris Singleton being back but I really question how effective he can be since the Aggies really get after you on defense. Florida State is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games. Texas A & M has covered 8 of their last 11 NCAA Tournament games.

4 Unit Play. #729 Take Gonzaga over St. Johns (Thursday 9:45 pm CBS) The Johnnies have had a remarkable turnaround this season under first year coach Steve Lavin but now they must make the long trip west to Denver to play a team that will have a major edge with supporters. The Red Storm suffered a major injury during the Big East Tournament when D.J. Kennedy went down with an injury and he will not be back for this game. Gonzaga has not lost a game since February 5th and they are poised to make a deep run in this tournament. Gonzaga has the big bodies to match-up with the Red Storm inside and the guards do not mistakes, since John Stockton

4 Unit Play. #738 Take Wisconsin over Belmont (Thursday 7:25 pm Tru TV) This game features a common upset pick for many people filling out brackets, but Wisconsin still has a major edge inside and I expect them to control the pace of this game. If Wisconsin can get up early, they will win this game by double-digits. Belmont is not the same type of team as Cornell was last year when they dominated the Badgers. Belmont has never won an NCAA Tournament game (0-3) and they were blown out by at least 25 points in two of those games. Wisconsin has won at least one game four straight years in the NCAA Tournament and getting them at this low of a number is too good to pass up. The Badgers cannot wait to take the floor after they scored just 33 points in their last outing. Wisconsin is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 following an ATS loss. Belmont is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a SU win of more than 20 points.

4 Unit Play. #715 Take Bucknell over Connecticut (Thursday 7:20 pm TNT) The Huskies pulled off a remarkable run last week in New York becoming the first team to win five games in five days to earn the automatic bid from the Big East Conference. Now they are on the road in Washington D.C. set to take on the Bucknell Bison, a team that went 13-1 in the Patriot League and won ten straight games overall. Getting double digits with this team is too good to pass up. The Bison won NCAA Tournament games the last two years they have made it, as they beat Kansas in 2005 and Arkansas in 2006. The Huskies are still a very young team and if Kemba Walker does not go off, I do not see them blowing out the Bison. Fatigue will also be a factor, as Bucknell will be the fresher team having not played since March 11th. Connecticut is just 5-13 ATS in their last 18 Thursday games. Play the underdog, as this game will go down to the wire, with the Bison putting a major scare into the Huskies.

4 Unit Play. #721 Take Old Dominion over Butler (Thursday 12:40 pm Tru TV) The Monarchs played the early game last year and came from behind to beat Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I see them having a much easier time with Butler today, as the runner-ups from last year will be a quick one and done in 2011. The name Butler still means something and because of that we have a line that we can now attack. The Bulldogs lost five teams this year in the Horizon League and that includes two against UW-Milwaukee, one against Youngstown State, and one against Wright State. Old Dominion has won nine straight games and is really hitting their stride at the right moment. This is a team that is capable of making a deep run into the NCAA Tournament and it will start today with a victory over Butler. The Monarchs are 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall.

5 Unit Play. #562 Take Valparaiso over Iona (8 pm FCS) Getting the Crusaders as a pick

4 Unit Play. #631 Take Florida Atlantic over Miami (7:30 pm ESPN 3) This battle of Miami will be much closer than what the experts believe, as FAU is getting undervalued here by a couple of points. The Owls had a good regular season going 13-3 in the Sun Belt Conference before being bounced out of the conference tournament as the top seed. The Hurricanes like to keep the scoring in the sixties and thus it will be hard for them to cover a double-digit spread. Miami is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games. Florida Atlantic is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against teams with a winning record.