2-5-14

[Can'tPickAWinner]

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Game of the Day: Heat at Clippers

Miami Heat at Los Angeles Clippers (-1.5, 210)

Miami hasn’t notched a road win over the Los Angeles Clippers during the LeBron James era and takes another shot when the Heat visit the Staples Center on Wednesday. Miami is 0-3 in Los Angeles against the Clippers since James joined the squad and has lost five straight visits overall. The Clippers have played surprisingly well since point guard Chris Paul suffered a shoulder injury, going 12-5 without one of the league’s top players.

Miami has won five of its last six games after securing a 102-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons behind 30 points and 10 rebounds from guard Dwyane Wade. The game against the Clippers is the first of a six-game road trip and the Heat don’t play at home again until Feb. 23. Los Angeles is beginning a five-game road trip after playing nine of its last 11 on the road. The Clippers fell 116-115 to Denver on Monday when Nuggets guard Randy Foye connected on a last-second 30-footer.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Sun Sports (Miami), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)

LINE HISTORY: The Clippers opened as 2-point home faves but have been bet down to -1.5. The total is 210.

COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Heat (-14.5) - Clippers (-12.3) + Home Court (-3.0) = Clippers -0.8

KEY INJURIES: Heat: N/A. Clippers: Chris Paul (Out, Shoulder)

WHAT SHARPS SAY: "The first thing that jumps out to me in this matchup is that the home team is a perfect 10-0 SU the past five seasons, including Miami's home win in November this season." Covers Expert Steve Merril.

WHY BET THE HEAT (34-13): Wade was 13-of-19 shooting in his stellar game against the Pistons and has put together solid back-to-back outings. Wade had 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting against the New York Knicks two days earlier as the balky knees that recently caused him to miss four straight games have calmed down. “The rest did him well,” center Chris Bosh said after the win over the Pistons. “He has a lot of spring in his legs. When he plays well, we’re a tough team to beat.”

WHY BET THE CLIPPERS (34-17): Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers will be watching how his team performs against the Heat as he once again stated his own team isn’t “elite” as the contest approached. “We can be a good team the way we are playing, but if you’re going to be elite, you’re going to have to have something of a standard defensively,” Rivers said. “We’re working on it.” The Clippers have the fourth-best record in the Western Conference and forward Blake Griffin has been carrying the club with nine consecutive 20-point outings, averaging 27.2 points during the hot streak.

TRENDS:

* Home team is 15-5-1 ATS in the last 21 meetings.
* Over is 14-5 in the last 19 meetings.
* Heat are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.
* Over is 7-2 in Clippers last nine vs. Eastern Conference.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Wizards 'D' wrangling west during ATS, under run
By BRIAN COVERT

The Washington Wizards are above .500 for the first time in five years. Surprisingly this comes largely in thanks to a recent run against the most unlikely of opponents: the Western Conference.

The Wiz are 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS in their last six against the NBA’s richer cousins including back-to-back SU and ATS wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trailblazers.

"Give Washington credit," Portland coach Terry Stotts said after Portland’s 100-90 loss in Washington Monday as 5-point favorites. "They are playing well, they've beaten some good teams, and they are playing with a lot of confidence."

Now with four of the team’s next five games versus western opponents – San Antonio, Sacramento, Memphis, and Houston - backers are hoping they can continue this solid streak. One handicapper isn’t holding out too much hope though.

“Washington caught some Western teams in terrible scheduling spots,” says Covers Expert Steve Merril. “I actually played on the Wizards against the Clippers who were coming home off long east coast trip and then against OKC with the Thunder coming off back-to-back high profile games.”

To the Wiz’s credit they have some impressive victories largely because of an improved defense, holding the likes of Portland, Golden State, and Phoenix along with OKC - four of the best 11 offenses in the league - under 88 points.

Given this it’s not surprising the Wiz have covered as well as seeing the under hit in all four. Now with the Spurs, Kings, and Rockets - all top 15 offenses – coming up it would seem the ATS and under runs may just continue. After all, oddsmakers may still be underestimating the Wizards having made them favorites in only two games versus the west this season (home games versus the Mavericks and Lakers) and only posting three totals under 200 points over their last 10.

Yet, despite this, Merril is still skeptical the Wiz can continue their hot streak.

“The defensive numbers are skewed because the opponents were in bad spots," says Merril. “It’s just too small of a sample to be confident in backing the Wizards as a strong defensive team all of a sudden.”

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Oddsmakers bearish on Grizzlies under run
By BRIAN COVERT

It seems Memphis – located just south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi Rivers and the home of the Memphis Grizzlies – is the perfect meeting point for NBA under bettors.

“Memphis has been an under team for years,” says Covers Expert Teddy Covers. “They almost never push the tempo, don't take or make many three point shots, and they play staunch defense. “

Lately this has been played out to an extreme with Memphis’ commitment to their combo of stout defense and a halfcourt offense seeing the under hit in nine of the team’s last 10 games.

During this streak, the Grizz are holding opponents to a remarkable 85.7 points per game. To put it in perspective, this number is 10 points below the team’s season average and nearly five points better than Indiana’s 90.3 points which is the best defense in the game. Meanwhile their 92.8 points is more than two points below their average offensive output.

Despite this, it seems the books have yet to account for this trend with oddsmakers setting a total under 185 points only once. Coincidentally, this game, a 99-90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on a 180.5-point total, was the only time the over hit on this streak.

“The fact they've only had one total of 185 or less during this entire span is a big part of the 9-1 run,” says Covers. “That won't be the case long term because they've faced a litany of high scoring over teams in the last two weeks -- Houston twice, Portland, Milwaukee, Sacramento, and OKC.”

Now, with five games coming up before the All-Star break against solid but less dynamic offensive competition, Covers believes those totals will drop providing an opportunity for the trend to swing towards the over.

“All NBA totals are set by computer algorithms that factor pace along with offensive and defensive efficiency numbers for both teams,” explains Covers. “As the computer’s formulas adjust to this current run of unders, the Grizzlies’ totals will start dropping and those 185+ numbers will be relics of a bygone opportunity.”

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Big 12: Land of the over?
By CHASE RUTTIG

A recent trend has developed in the Big 12 as the conference has shown a strong swing in games going over the total since conference play has began. Dating back to January, the Big 12 has seen a 25-18 O/U record, which means that 58 percent of Big 12 games have gone over the total since the beginning of conference play. And Big 12 bettors have cashed in on the Over in five of the last seven conference games, heading into Tuesday.

With only Kansas State along with cellar dwellers Texas Tech and TCU having sub.500 O/U records, it appears to be the majority of high scoring teams has contributed into high scoring games in the Big 12. Not surprisingly all seven of those teams with over.500 Over records are also currently averaging 75 points per game or more.

Covers Expert Will Rogers explains that the short term trend will end eventually, but points to the high offensive efficiency totals of Big 12 teams as explanation for the recent trend.

"Like any short-term trend, it will even itself out," said Rogers. "The totals will go up and the Unders will start coming in." Rogers also points to Monday's card as an example. "Remember that Monday's Iowa State-Oklahoma State game went to triple overtime." The game was 75-75 at the end of regulation, meaning its what I call a "false Over" as the total for the contest closed at 159.5 points."

"On the flip side, a majority of the teams in the Big 12 do rank highly in terms of offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions), so it's not like the scoring will stop," Rogers suggests. "Bettors should pay close attention to those totals and if they start to go up for the individual teams, then look to the Under."

For the time being, the trend of overs in the Big 12 is something for bettors to keep an eye on, but once the trend is addressed by the linesmakers, it might be time to go the other way and explore the under. With the high scoring in the Big 12, the conference might just be destined to be one of the highest scoring in the nation for the rest of the season, which is something that linesmakers should be considering for the rest of the season.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAAB: Exposing the Top 25

Each week throughout the college basketball season, Jesse Schule will dissect the new Top 25 rankings, looking for betting value. He'll showcase the most overrated team, along with the most underrated ranked team, and an unranked squad that he feels should be in the Top 25.

Most Underrated Top 25 Team - Kansas Jayhawks (16-5 SU, 10-10-1 ATS)

The Jayhawks fell a couple of slots down to eighth in the AP Top 25 this week, coming off a loss to the Longhorns in Texas. Kansas had won seven straight prior to that loss, and six of those seven games were against teams that have spent time in the Top 25 this season.

Andrew Wiggins did not look sharp against the Longhorns, but the freshmen scored a career high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting in a win over Iowa State in his previous start. Wiggins and the Jayhawks are just starting to find their stride, and they will attempt to bounce back on Tuesday on the road at Baylor.

Most Overrated Top 25 Team - Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-6 SU, 8-10 ATS)

The Cowboys are reeling, losers of three in a row, and back-to-back games at home. Making matters worse, they have parted ways with freshman guard Stevie Clark, after his second arrest in less than a month. While he made a significant contribution averaging 5.3 points and 2.7 assists in 16 games, it's the distraction to the team that will likely hurt the most.

Leading scorer Marcus Smart has been ice cold from the perimeter over his last five games, hitting just 4-of-33 (12 percent) of his three point attempts. With three of their next four games on the road, and two of those against ranked opponents, things could get worse before they get better.

Unranked Team That Should Be Ranked - California Golden Bears (15-7 SU, 11-10 ATS)

You have to give Cal credit for their upset over the Wildcats, handing Arizona it's first defeat of the season. The Golden Bears have been holding their own in the Pac-12, with a 6-3 conference record. They will host Stanford at home on Wednesday, before heading out on the road to take on the Huskies and Cougars in Washington State next week. None of the games will be easy, but Cal did win consecutive road games in Oregon a few weeks back, and if they do it again in Washington, you will see the Golden Bears crack the Top 25.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Pointwise

WICHITA STATE over Indiana St (Wed) RATING: 3
BOWLING GREEN over Toledo (Wed) RATING: 4

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 NCCA SCORES
(6:30) MICHIGAN 69 - Nebraska 59 (BIG10)
(7:00) VIRGINIA 83 - Boston College 54 (ESPN2)
(7:00) Oklahoma 68 - WEST VIRGINIA 66 (ESPNU)
(7:00) NORTHEASTERN 62 - Hofstra 61
(7:00) DELAWARE 70 - Charleston 65
(7:00) RICHMOND 79 - St Bonaventure 73
(7:00) Dayton 66 - GEORGE MASON 65
(7:00) MASSACHUSETTS 74 - LaSalle 66 (CBSC)
(7:00) William & Mary 75 - NC-WILMINGTON 78
(7:00) ST JOSEPHS 70 - Saint Louis 69
(7:00) BUFFALO 72 - Ball State 61
(7:00) Eastern Michigan 73 - AKRON 70
(7:00) CENTRAL FLORIDA 58 - South Florida 53 (ESPNN)
(7:00) TOLEDO 69 - Bowling Green 64
(7:00) GEORGE WASHINGTON 86 - Duquesne 66
(7:00) Kent State 73 - CENTRAL MICHIGAN 67
(7:00) Ohio U 62 - WESTERN MICHIGAN 60
(7:00) Pittsburgh 76 - MIAMI-FLORIDA 69
(7:00) WRIGHT STATE 72 - Youngstown State 62
(7:30) SOUTH CAROLINA 79 - Auburn 66
(8:00) ARKANSAS 80 - Alabama 64
(8:00) VANDERBILT 66 - Tennessee 65
(8:00) WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY 84 - Illinois-Chicago 59
(8:00) ILLINOIS STATE 67 - Northern Iowa 61
(8:00) EVANSVILLE 73 - Missouri State 64
(8:00) Wichita State 89 - INDIANA STATE 75
(8:30) PURDUE 81- Minnesota 72 (BIG10)
(9:00) CALIFORNIA 68 - Stanford 60 (ESPN2)
(9:00) Louisville 85 - HOUSTON 66 (ESPNU)
(9:00) FLORIDA STATE 89 - Virginia Tech 59
(9:00) TEXAS A&M 82 - Mississippi State 62
(9:00) UTAH STATE 74 - Nevada 65
(9:00) AIR FORCE 67 - Fresno State 57
(9:15) BOISE STATE 70 - San Diego State 66 (CBSC)
(9:30) COLORADO 72 - Washington State 52
(11:00) GONZAGA 81 - Portland 65
(11:00) Unlv 62 - COLORADO STATE 57
(11:00) NEW MEXICO 69 - Wyoming 64 (ESPNU)

BEST BETS: VIRGINIA, HOFSTRA, EASTERN MICHIGAN, BOWLING GRN,
ARKANSAS, EVANSVILLE, WICHITA STATE, PURDUE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 NBA SCORES
(7:05) Boston Celtics 108 - PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 99
(7:05) LA Lakers 103 - CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 98
(7:05) San Antonio Spurs 95 - WASHINGTON 91
(7:35) Portland Trailblazers 121 - NEW YORK 101
(8:05) Detroit Pistons 95 - ORLANDO MAGIC 89 (ESPN)
(8:05) OKLAHOMA CITY 118 - Minnesota T'Wolves 108
(8:05) Dallas Mavericks 102 - MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 95
(8:05) HOUSTON ROCKETS 121 - Phoenix Suns 104
(8:05) Atlanta Hawks 99 - NEW ORLEANS 94
(9:05) DENVER NUGGETS 105 - Milwaukee Bucks 104
(10:05) Toronto Raptors 108 - SACRAMENTO KINGS 107
(10:35) LA CLIPPERS 114 - Miami Heat 104 (ESPN)
BEST BETS: BOSTON, LA LAKERS, HOUSTON (1), LA CLIPPERS (2)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NBA

Hot teams
-- Wizards won three of last four games, are over .500 for first time since October 31, 2009.
-- Suns won seven of their last nine games. Houston won six of eight.
-- Memphis won six of its last seven games (5-2 vs spread). Mavericks won three of their last four.
-- Hawks won three of their last four road games.
-- Thunder won 11 of its last 12 games (10-2 vs spread). Timberwolves won six of their last nine games.
-- Raptors won four of their last five games.
-- Miami won five of its last six games. Clippers won five of last seven.

Cold Teams
-- Lakers lost last seven games, covered one of last five. Cleveland is 0-5 in last five games, both SU/ATS.
-- Celtics lost seven of their last nine games. 76ers lost six of last seven.
-- Spurs are 4-5 in last nine games, but did win last two.
-- Pistons lost five of their last seven games. Orlando lost seven of nine.
-- Knicks lost seven of last eleven games. Portland lost three of last four.
-- New Orleans lost four of its last six home games.
-- Denver lost five of its last eight games. Bucks lost six of their last seven games (10-15 vs spread on road).
-- Kings lost seven of their last eight games.

Series records
-- Lakers lost last three visits to Cleveland by 6-5-6 points.
-- Celtics lost three of last four visits to Philadelphia.
-- Spurs won 10 in row vs Wizards; last four here were all by 11+.
-- Pistons won three of last four games with Orlando.
-- Knicks lost last three games with Portland by 5-15-11 points.
-- Suns won five of their last seven games with Houston.
-- Grizzlies won seven of last ten games with Dallas.
-- Hawks lost three of last four visits to New Orleans.
-- Thunder won 16 of its last 18 games with Minnesota.
-- Nuggets won their last six games vs Milwaukee (5-1 vs spread).
-- Kings won five of last seven games with Toronto.
-- Home side won last ten Miami-Clipper games.

Totals
-- Nine of last eleven Laker games went over the total.
-- Six of last eight Boston games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 6-3 in last nine games for both Wizards/Spurs.
-- Five of last six Orlando games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 5-1-1 in last seven Portland games; eight of last ten Knick games went over.
-- Four of last five Houston games stayed under total.
-- Four of last five Dallas games went over the total; nine of last ten Memphis games stayed under
-- Eight of last ten Atlanta games went over the total; four of last five Pelican games stayed under.
-- Four of last five Minnesota games stayed under total.
-- Five of last six Milwaukee games went over the total.
-- Last four Sacramento games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 14-9 in Clipper home games this season.

Back to backs
-- Lakers are 5-6 vs spread if they played night before, 3-2 if they lost.
-- Phoenix is 3-2 vs spread if it lost the night before.
-- Hawks are 2-5 vs spread on road if they played at home nite before.
-- Minnesota is 3-4 vs spread if it won the night before.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NHL

Hot teams
-- Penguins won five of their last seven games.
-- Dallas Stars won five of their last seven games.

Cold teams
-- Sabres lost eight of their last ten games.
-- Blackhawks lost five of their last seven games. Anaheim lost three of last four.
-- San Jose lost four of its last five games.

Totals
-- Under is 4-0-1 in last five Pittsburgh games. Over is 7-2-1 in Buffalo's last ten.
-- Under is 3-1 in last four games for both Anaheim/Chicago.
-- Under is 3-1-1 in last five Dallas games.

Series records
-- Penguins won 11 of last 15 games with Buffalo.
-- Ducks won five of their last six games with Chicago.
-- Dallas Stars won four of last six with San Jose; teams split pair of SOs this season.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Cappers Access

Michigan -13
Oklahoma +2
Stanford +3.5

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Hockey Crusher
Chicago Blackhawks +106 over Anaheim Ducks
(System Record: 64-2, lost last game)
Overall Record: 64-49-1

Basketball Crusher
Phoenix Suns +7.5 over Houston
(System Record: 44-5, won last 2 games)
Overall Record: 44-53-2

Soccer Crusher
Cabofriense RJ + Bangu UNDER 2.5 - Brazil (pending)
Botafogo RJ + Deportivo Quito UNDER 2.5
This match is happening in Conmebol
(System Record: 520-18, lost last game)
Overall Record: 520-446-75

Here are the rest of his hockey and basketball plays for today...


Hockey
Pittsburgh Penguins -1.5 over Buffalo
Dallas Stars +181 over San Jose
Dallas Stars + San Jose UNDER 5.5


Basketball
Minnesota Timberwolves +9 over OKC
Detroit Pistons -2.5 over Orlando
Portland Trail Blazers -2 over New York

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NHL Top 6: Teams affected by the winter break

The NHL regular season goes into hibernation after this weekend as the best players in the world head to Sochi, Russia to take part in the 2014 Olympic tournament.

A handful of teams have to be thrilled at the prospect of putting the season on pause for a while. The combination of injuries and poor play has left some clubs in shambles as they sputter toward the final pre-break weekend. Conversely, several teams will be sad to see their momentum halted by the hiatus.

Here are three teams happy to have the time off, along with three that would rather play on:

Cold Teams

Los Angeles Kings

The 2012 Stanley Cup champions may want to use the two weeks off to search for their missing offense. Los Angeles heads into Thursday's action in utter disarray, having scored just six goals in its previous seven games. The lengthy dry spell has dropped the Kings to second-last in the NHL in average offense (2.2 goals per game), as several of their big guns have misfired mightily since the beginning of the new year. Los Angeles entertains Columbus on Thursday.


New York Islanders

The Islanders may have finally run out of gas after showing glimpses of brilliance for most of the season. The offense bottomed out in 2-1 and 4-1 losses to the rival Rangers while the defense and goaltending have been disappointingly porous of late, surrendering 21 goals over the course of their five-game losing streak. Things won't get any easier for New York in its final stretch prior to the break, with a game in Washington followed by home dates against the red-hot Calgary Flames and dangerous Colorado Avalanche.


Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens fans find themselves in a quandary as they prepare for the regular season to shut down. Their team has stumbled to a 6-8-3 mark since late-December, but one of the culprits behind the team's struggles - netminder Carey Price - probably isn't going to get any time to rest. Price has been tabbed as one of Team Canada's three netminders and should draw at least one starting assignment in Russia. The Canadiens have a busy final week ahead, hosting the Flames and Vancouver Canucks before facing the surging Carolina Hurricanes.


Hot Teams

Calgary Flames

It's just the Flames' luck that they enjoy their hottest stretch of the season just as the calendar shifts to Olympic time. The Flames are riding a five-game winning streak coming into the week and, while it may not be enough to move them back into the playoff picture, it should help the confidence level of a roster featuring a number of young impact players. The perfect homestand included impressive victories over west powers Chicago and San Jose, providing plenty of momentum heading into this week's trip through Montreal, Long Island and Philadelphia.


Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto has been one of the NHL's hottest teams since mid-January, earning wins in nine of its last 11 contests - including a perfect three-game homestand in which the Maple Leafs eked past Tampa Bay before defeating Florida and Ottawa by identical 6-3 scores. The offense has been rolling along at its best pace of the season, scoring at least three goals in nine of the past 10 games to take plenty of pressure off the defense and goaltending. The Maple Leafs wrap up their pre-Olympic schedule with games in Florida and Tampa and a home game against Vancouver.


Winnipeg Jets

Continuing the theme of Canadian teams playing well as the Olympic hiatus approaches, the Jets have been one of the league's most pleasant surprises since switching head coaches. Paul Maurice has lit a fire under the Winnipeg players, taking over for the departed Claude Noel and leading the Jets to an 8-2-0 record in his tenure. Winnipeg is excelling at both ends of the ice and has wins over Anaheim and Chicago to its credit over that stretch. The Jets' pre-break schedule features road games in Carolina, Washington and St. Louis.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NHL Top 6: Teams affected by the winter break

The NHL regular season goes into hibernation after this weekend as the best players in the world head to Sochi, Russia to take part in the 2014 Olympic tournament.

A handful of teams have to be thrilled at the prospect of putting the season on pause for a while. The combination of injuries and poor play has left some clubs in shambles as they sputter toward the final pre-break weekend. Conversely, several teams will be sad to see their momentum halted by the hiatus.

Here are three teams happy to have the time off, along with three that would rather play on:

Cold Teams

Los Angeles Kings

The 2012 Stanley Cup champions may want to use the two weeks off to search for their missing offense. Los Angeles heads into Thursday's action in utter disarray, having scored just six goals in its previous seven games. The lengthy dry spell has dropped the Kings to second-last in the NHL in average offense (2.2 goals per game), as several of their big guns have misfired mightily since the beginning of the new year. Los Angeles entertains Columbus on Thursday.


New York Islanders

The Islanders may have finally run out of gas after showing glimpses of brilliance for most of the season. The offense bottomed out in 2-1 and 4-1 losses to the rival Rangers while the defense and goaltending have been disappointingly porous of late, surrendering 21 goals over the course of their five-game losing streak. Things won't get any easier for New York in its final stretch prior to the break, with a game in Washington followed by home dates against the red-hot Calgary Flames and dangerous Colorado Avalanche.


Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens fans find themselves in a quandary as they prepare for the regular season to shut down. Their team has stumbled to a 6-8-3 mark since late-December, but one of the culprits behind the team's struggles - netminder Carey Price - probably isn't going to get any time to rest. Price has been tabbed as one of Team Canada's three netminders and should draw at least one starting assignment in Russia. The Canadiens have a busy final week ahead, hosting the Flames and Vancouver Canucks before facing the surging Carolina Hurricanes.


Hot Teams

Calgary Flames

It's just the Flames' luck that they enjoy their hottest stretch of the season just as the calendar shifts to Olympic time. The Flames are riding a five-game winning streak coming into the week and, while it may not be enough to move them back into the playoff picture, it should help the confidence level of a roster featuring a number of young impact players. The perfect homestand included impressive victories over west powers Chicago and San Jose, providing plenty of momentum heading into this week's trip through Montreal, Long Island and Philadelphia.


Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto has been one of the NHL's hottest teams since mid-January, earning wins in nine of its last 11 contests - including a perfect three-game homestand in which the Maple Leafs eked past Tampa Bay before defeating Florida and Ottawa by identical 6-3 scores. The offense has been rolling along at its best pace of the season, scoring at least three goals in nine of the past 10 games to take plenty of pressure off the defense and goaltending. The Maple Leafs wrap up their pre-Olympic schedule with games in Florida and Tampa and a home game against Vancouver.


Winnipeg Jets

Continuing the theme of Canadian teams playing well as the Olympic hiatus approaches, the Jets have been one of the league's most pleasant surprises since switching head coaches. Paul Maurice has lit a fire under the Winnipeg players, taking over for the departed Claude Noel and leading the Jets to an 8-2-0 record in his tenure. Winnipeg is excelling at both ends of the ice and has wins over Anaheim and Chicago to its credit over that stretch. The Jets' pre-break schedule features road games in Carolina, Washington and St. Louis.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

NCAAB

Wednesday, February 5

Nebraska won three of last four games, covered last six; they're 3-0 as a road underdog, with road losses by 10-6-4 points. Michigan (-5.5) won 71-70 in Lincoln Jan 9, despite going 3-9 on foul line; they shot 75.8% (25-33) inside arc in winning third in row against the Huskers by 16-15-1 point. Wolverines are 3-1 as home favorites, winning by 23-13-8-9 in Crisler Arena. Big Dozen double digit home favorite are 7-7 vs spread.

Oklahoma swept West Virginia LY, by 10-13 points; Sooners won four of last five games overall, are 4-1 as road underdogs- dogs are 7-2 vs the spread in their league games. West Virginia won three of last four games, winning last two home games by 6-10 points, after losing first two. Six of their nine league games were decided by 6 or less points. Big X home teams are 2-5 vs spread in games where spread was less than 4 points.

Third game in five nights for Delaware squad that won its last 11 games but is down two starters; Blue Hens are 2-3 as home favorite, with four of five CAA home wins by 7 or less points. CAA home favorites of 6 or less points are 4-14 vs spread. Charleston is 1-3 on CAA road, losing by 4-2-11 points; they're 1-5 vs spread in last six games, 1-1 as road dogs. Cougars allow opponents to shoot just 42.1% inside arc.

LaSalle/UMass both lost three of last four games; Explorers are 0-5 vs spread in their last five games, 1-2 on A-13 road, losing by 15-22 points. Minutemen are 17-4, 4-3 in league, have one A-13 win by more than five points. LaSalle won three in row, seven of last eight games with UMass, winning last four here by 9-11-21-7 points. Atlantic 13 home favorites of 7+ points are 8-11 against the spread.

St Joe's has almost no depth due to injuries; its bench played total of 34 minutes in last two games, tough wins over Dayton/UMass. Hawks lost last seven games with Saint Louis, dropping last four here by 11-9-4-12 points. A-13 favorites are 10-4 vs spread in games where spread was 3 or less points. Billikens are 7-0 in A-13 but got taken to OT by winless George Mason in last game; was that a red flag?

Akron was 10-19 from arc in 78-68 (+3.5) win at Eastern Michigan two weeks ago, its fourth win in row over Eagles by 14-30-8-10. Zips won three of last four games, are 1-2 as home favorites, winning at home by 7-27 points, with loss to Toledo. MAC single home favorites are 8-15 vs spread. EMU lost three of last four games, is 0-2 as road underdog in MAC, with road losses by 10-4 points.

Road team is 8-0 vs spread in Miami's ACC games; Hurricanes are 0-3 as home underdogs, losing by 1-10-21-11 points at home. Pitt is 2-3 in last five games after losing at home to Duke/Virginia last week; Panthers are 2-0-1 as road favorites, with road wins by 12-7-1-4 points. Miami's only two conference wins were on road at UNC/Ga Tech. ACC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 4-7 vs spread.

Vanderbilt won its last three games, allowing 52.7 ppg; Commodores are 2-2 at home in SEC, losing to Kentucky/Ole Miss. Tennessee won three of last four games, is 4-1-1 vs spread in its last six; Vols are 2-2 on SEC road, with all four games decided by 8+ points. SEC home underdogs of 5 or less points are 9-3-1 vs spread. Tennessee won five of its last six vs Vandy, winning last three meetings by 7-11-12 points.

Wichita State (-11) held Indiana State to 35.5% inside arc in 68-48 home win Jan 18, its second win in row vs ISU after five losses. Shockers are 23-0, 3-1 as Valley road favorite, winning away games in conference by 15-3-15-17 points. MVC home underdogs of 6 or less points are 7-4-1 vs spread. Sycamores won three of last four games, are 4-0 at home in Valley- they're 1-1 as MVC dogs. Wichita one of two unbeatens in US.

California (+6.5) won 69-62 at Stanford Jan 2, its first win on Farm in four tries; Cardinal was 10-20 on foul line. Bears are 7-4 in last 11 series games, winning three of last four here- they upset #1 Arizona Saturday, snapping 3-game skid. Cal is 2-1 as home favorite, winning by 26-21-2 in Haas Pavilion, with loss to ASU. Stanford is 5-2 in last seven games. Pac-12 home teams are 15-9 in games where spread was 5 or less points.

San Diego State won its last 18 games since 69-60 loss to Arizona back on Nov 14; Aztecs (-6.5) beat Boise State 69-66 Jan 8 after jumping out to 26-8 lead- they're 6-1 vs Boise in MW play, with six of seven games decided by 6 or less points. Eliorraga got hurt Saturday, only played 10 minutes- he is a glue guy for Broncos. Mountain West home teams are 10-7 vs spread in games with spread of 4 or less points.

Portland (+8.5) ended 0-24 skid vs Gonzaga by beating them 82-73 at home Jan 9, making 8-14 from arc in game Zags never led. Portland lost its last 10 visits here, with seven of last eight by 17+ points. Gonzaga is 4-2 as WCC home favorite, with five of six wins by 14+ points- they've won last six games overall (4-2 vs spread). Portland is 2-3 in its last five games overall. WCC double digit home favorites are 5-6 vs spread.

New Mexico won seven in row, 14 of last 15 games with Wyoming, last of which was 72-69 in OT (-3.5) in Laramie Jan 8. Cowboys lost last 10 visits to The Pit, last six by 10+, but they've won five of last six games overall, are 2-1 as road underdogs- none of their three (5-3) MW losses are by more than 5 points. Lobos won last five games (4-1 vs spread). Mountain West double digit home favorites are 5-9 against spread.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Paul Leiner

100* Twolves / Thunder Over 207.5

100* Tennessee -4.5

50* Richmond -2.5