2-25-15

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ROBERT FERRINGO (NBA)

8-Unit Play. Take #704 Boston (-10) over New York (7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
The Celtics will be home for the first time since obtaining Isaiah Thomas from the Suns just before the trade deadline. The dynamic point guard hasn’t missed a beat in the two games since and had a very nice performance against his former team Phoenix on Monday.. With Thomas running the show the Starting five for Beantown is so much better than what Derek Fisher is trotting out there it should be a crime. Boston may be 21-33 but they play hard every night and have a distinct advantage this evening against a dreadful Knicks team. New York dropped their 7th straight on Sunday when they got shellacked by Lebron and company 101-83. This version of the Knicks will need to win 11 games the rest of the way to avoid a franchise worst record. They are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 overall and haven’t been in many of the games they have covered this season. The C’s are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and have been one of the best teams against the spread all year with a 30-24 record. It really just comes down to the fact that the Celtics and their organization seem to have a plan in place for what they are doing as a franchise and the New York Knicks are about as dysfunctional as they come top to bottom. Take the Celtics and lay the points. Boston 108-90.

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Steel City Cappers

CBB

Indiana -3

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Kelso

tcu

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RIVER CITY SHARPS

3 Units – South Dakota (-3.5)

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Strike Points Sports

7-Unit Play. Take #714 Houston (-3) over Los Angeles Clippers (8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
Houston is one of the best home teams in the NBA. The are an absolute covering machine when they get to play in their home gym, going 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games. The Rockets are a solid matchup for the Clippers and they have the scorers to match the pace of the Clip Joint. Even more important is the play of Terrance Jones. Jones has really come into his own as of late playing well offensively and on the backboard, which will be big in this game. The Clippers are coming in to this game off a tough, tough loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Rockets also have a bit of revenge on their minds as the Clippers embarrased Houston in LA, just before the break 110-95. Even after losing by 15 in the previous matchup, Las Vegas has the Rockets pegged as 3.5-point favorites, and I agree. The favorite is the play in this one as they are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings between the two teams.


3-Unit Play. Take #721 Memphis (-7) over Sacramento (10 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
The Grizzlies have become my pick to win the NBA title. At this point in the season I feel that they are the most undervalued, and best team in the league. I am interested to see the Thunder with KD healthy, and all the new additions, but until that point, I feel that the Grizz are the best the NBA has to offer. Their pieces fit together perfectly, and the Kings won't be albe to keep up. Memphis has the size necessary to slow down DeMarcus Cousins, and they have the length on the wings to slow up Rudy Gay. Memphis is 4-1 ATS in their last five games in Sacramento and the road team is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings between the two teams.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Dr Bob

3* UCLA
2* Clippers
1* George Mason
1* Mississippi State

Opinion - Brooklyn -2½
Opinion - Detroit +4½
Opinion - South Dakota -3½

[Can'tPickAWinner]

JASON SHARPE (CBB)

Wednesday February 25th 2015

4 Unit Play Take #796 California -1 over Oregon (11:00pm est):

The California Bears were rolling at five straight wins when they went into very tough Utah two games ago. The Bears were no match for the Utes who own one of the top home court advantages in all of CBB. Though it looks like a bad loss for the Bears with the 15 point margin of defeat, it was actually the closest any Pac-12 team has come to beating Utah this year in a Utah home game. Cal then went into Stanford the following game and loss to a desperate team who had two straight losses and is considered to be on the bubble.

Oregon pulled off their big upset of the season last Sunday as they beat Utah at home. The win was the 17th home victory for the Ducks in 19 home games thus far this season. Things are much different though when Oregon hits the road as they come into this game just 2-4 away from home this season. Their closest road loss has been by 8 points while one of their two road wins came in overtime by a point and the other was at USC who is one of the worst teams in the Pac-12 this year.

Take California here.

3 Unit Play Take #758 Rhode Island -3 over Davidson (7:00pm est):

This is a match-up nightmare for Davidson as the Wildcats live and die by the three point shot. Their problem they encounter here is Rhode Island is as good as it gets when it comes to defending the long range shot. The Rams defense not only allow a very low percentage to be made from beyond the arc, their also one of the best when it comes to even allowing many of these shots in a game. Rhode Island has been dominant at home this season as well losing just once to VCU in a close game they should have won.

Davidson is just 4-3 on the road in conference play this season with all three defeats coming by more than this spread here. The Wildcats are a streaky team who play much better at home and home is where their headed for their next two games after this one. Those next two games are probably two games that their more concerned with winning.

Take Rhode Island.

3 Unit Play Take #789 ‘over’ 122 Fresno State/Wyoming (9:30pm est):

Fresno State started their season without their top offensive weapon in Cezar Guerrero. He came back ten games ago and since then the Bulldogs have went above the total in seven of those ten contests. They come into this game off their highest combined scoring game of the season last time out, 164 points versus Utah State.

The Wyoming Cowboys have been without their top offensive guy as well now for a few games in Larry Nance but the senior is expected back here in this one. Even if he doesn’t go these two teams should be able to get above this number as Wyoming has went ‘over’ the total in each of their last four games coming into this one.

Play ‘over’ in this game. Big NBA play tonight as I release my NBA Game of the Year, an 8 unit monster sized selection that I love. The bigger story though tonight is I go for my record 12th straight winner in pro hoops action, a personal high for me in my 7 year sports betting career. Don’t miss out on this huge play winner.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

ROBERT FERRINGO (CBB)

1-Unit Play. Take #730 Wake Forest (+7.5) over Virginia (7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
I think that this is a decent spot for Wake. To say Virginia is banged up is an understatement. They are still without Justin Anderson and now point guard London Perrantes is questionable because of a concussion. Malcolm Brogdon was bloodied up last game in that collision with Perrantes as well and these guys are just limping to the finish. Wake has proven that it can play the top teams in the ACC tough, losing by just one point to Virginia on Feb. 14, beating Miami and N.C. State, and posting tight losses at Syracuse (by 3) and against Duke (by 8) and Louisville (by 9). Dan Manning has this team playing with a lot of confidence and I think they can make this one a game.

1-Unit Play. Take #733 Indiana (-2) over Northwestern (7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
Indiana is just a whole lot better than Northwestern. I know this line looks like a trap. But that’s the only reason that this isn’t a bigger play. I am going to bite on Indiana because I think that this line is more a reflection of their struggles in Evanston (they are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 trips to Northwestern) than it is really an objective number on this matchup. Indiana can score in a lot of different ways and the Wildcats don’t have the size on the inside to keep them away from the basket. Indiana is a different team now that forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea is back from injury and I think they keep streaking. JerShon Cobb is doubtful for tonight and even though Northwestern has seemed to play better without him I just don’t think they can beat a team like Indiana without all guns blazing.

2-Unit Play. Take #737 Valparaiso (-4.5) over Detroit (7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
This line is just too short for this Valparaiso team. This team is tops in the Horizon League and I think they are going to win (deservedly) the conference title. Detroit is really reliant on just one guy, Juwan Howard. But Valparaiso has too many guys that can beat opponents and they have already shown that they can go on the road and get W’s. They’ve won of their last five on the road and are 4-1 ATS in those games. The road team has won five of six (and seven of nine) in this series so home court hasn’t accounted for a ton. Detroit is just 4-17 ATS in mid-week games and that speaks to their sketchiness. We’ll roll with the Crusaders here.

1-Unit Play. Take #743 Youngstown State (+10.5) over Oakland (7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
Nobody is betting Youngstown State today – I mean nobody. But this line quivered just enough, dropping from +11 to +10.5, to set off my alarms. Oakland is 17-8 ATS on the season. But that’s only because they were supposed to stink this year and didn’t. They have jumped a very low bar. But now they are facing inflated lines and I think they will get tripped up by it. They have their season finale on Saturday at Wisconsin-Green Bay and they could get caught looking ahead to that game. Youngstown State is awful. But they have shown up at random times. They only lost to Green Bay by one and they were tough at Wright State and Detroit. Also, in some of their bigger losses they were close to this number: losing by 13 at Cleveland State, by 15 against Valpo, etc. So they aren’t as far off as they may seem. I just think that this is a solid value play against an overrated opponent.

1-Unit Play. Take #747 VCU (-2) over Richmond (7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
The Rams are red hot right now. I still think their long-term value is depleted since the loss of Briante Weber, their point guard and one of the best defenders in the country. But right now they are on a rush and they are playing with a purpose. I am not a big fan of this Richmond team as it is pretty much a one-man show. Also, this game kind of fits into today’s theme of revenge, as Richmond stunned the Rams in the first meeting this year. But that game was one in which Weber blew out his knee. It took the Rams time to adjust and get over the shock. But they are focused and revenge-minded tonight and I think that they will find a way to win this game by 4-5 points.

2-Unit Play. Take #759 Central Florida (+16) over Cincinnati (7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
I don’t like Cincinnati in this role of monster favorite. Central Florida has some big guys and they shoot a ton of 3-pointers. Those types of teams can be boom or bust. But I think they can cause Cincy some problems. Central Florida is just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games so the books are starting to shade lines their way. Cincinnati is just 1-4 ATs and watching them they just haven’t been playing that well. They’ve only scored over 60 points onnce in the last four games and they haven’t topped 63 points in their last seven games (all of February). That means that Central Florida just need to get to 50 in order to have a chance in this one. I think they can do that. If the Bearcats go out and blast this team by 18 or 20 then so be it. But I just don’t think the Bearcats are really all that good and I think they are coming back to earth after playing over their heads for most of the season.

1-Unit Play. Take #761 Texas Tech (+10) over TCU (8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
I was on the TCU bandwagon this year long before anyone was on the TCU bandwagon. But even I have to scratch my head at this one. The Horned Frogs have won about one Big 12 league game this decade and now they are laying double-digits? TCU is 25-52 ATS in their last 77 home games – a ridiculous stat – and the Red Raiders actually have revenge for a 20-point beating they took earlier this year. The road team is 8-1 ATS in this series and Tech has been playing better than their record indicates. They lost in OT to Oklahoma and by just five to Baylor the game before that. TCU is coming off a big game in Lawrence and it is harder than people think for a team to shift the mentality of big underdog to big favorite. I hate saying this: but I’ll put some trust in Tubby tonight.

2-Unit Play. Take #772 Illinois State (-9.5) over Southern Illinois (8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
Here we have another revenge game. Southern Illinois has only beaten two teams in the past two months: Bradley and Illinois State. How the hell they beat ISU the first time is beyond me. But I don’t see them doing it again. Southern Illinois only shoots about 39 percent from the field on the road and Illinois State is one of the top defensive teams in The Valley, only allowing opponents to shoot about 39 percent in their gym. Illinois State is just 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games. But that is completely misleading. They played five home games in that stretch. They dominated three of them against Loyola (by 7; but were up 10 with two minutes left), Evansville (by 26) and Missouri State (by 10). The other two games were against Wichita State and Northern Iowa – two Top 15 teams. They lost by 6 and by 1, missing the spread by just one point in each game. The Salukis are just getting bombed left and right. They hate their coach and they are devoid of talent. I see this one settling around 66-48 and I like the ‘under’ in this game as well.

These following picks are System Plays and I don’t write up system plays:

1-Unit Play. Take #763 Tulane (+11) over Tulsa (8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)

1-Unit Play. Take #775 San Jose State (+25) over Colorado State (9 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)

1-Unit Play. Take #779 Georgia (+5.5) over Mississippi (9 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)

1-Unit Play. Take #787 Illinois (+7) over Iowa (9 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)

1-Unit Play. Take #794 UCLA (-10) over Washington (11 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)

1-Unit Play. Take #796 California (Pk) over Oregon (11 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)

[Can'tPickAWinner]

INDIAN COWBOY (CBB)

3-unit play. #725. Take Over 130 Umass vs St Joseph’s (Wednesday @ 7pm est)
We are working on the new video feature to be released tomorrow so no write up today detailed writeup as usual tomorrow. But you should see a great active underdog and an over for this contest as that is why you see the line going down for the underdog

[Can'tPickAWinner]

ALLEN EASTMAN (CBB)

7-Unit Play. Take #733 Indiana (-1.5) over Northwestern (7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25)
The Hoosiers are going to win this game in a blowout. They are by far the better team in this game and Northwestern is still struggling under Chris Collins. There is a heavy reverse line movement on this game and the sharps like Northwestern. But not this sharp. The road team has won three straight in this series and four of five so home court advantage doesn’t count for much when these two meet. Indiana has won three of the last four meetings and Northwestern is a solid 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings. But that is because Indiana has been favored by 13, 12 and 8.5 points in the last few meetings. That’s not the case tonight. Indiana just beat Rutgers by 30 points on the road so they can win outside of Bloomington. Northwestern has won three straight games. But I don’t see them putting together a longer streak. This team had lost 10 straight before this modest streak so they were due for some wins. The Hoosiers are just 4-17 ATS in the last 21 meetings and just never seem to play well in Evanston. But that is going to change tonight. Their past woes are why this line is so small. But this team is much different from Indiana teams from years past. They are much better than Northwestern and I see them pulling away late in the second half. It won’t be a blowout but it will be an Indiana win and a nice score for yours truly. Take the Hoosiers.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

OC Dooley

2 Units Magic +3.5

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vegaslinereader

Cbb

Wake+8
Drake-1
Bradley+3

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Greg Shaker

2* USC – Over 147.5

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Scott Spreitzer

Valpo -4.5

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Mike Davis CBB
7-Unit Play. Take #774 Northern Iowa -12 over Evansville (Wednesday, February 25th at 9:00 p.m.)

My spreadsheet has UNI winning this game by a final score of 71-49. The key components in this matchup are: home court advantage, revenge, defensive efficiency & senior night
UNI has two losses this season: one at VCU in OT and one at Evansville. They get an opportunity for revenge tonight vs the Purple Aces. Last year, UNI defeated Evansville twice -- once by 14 points and once by 27 points. Tonight is Senior Night at the McLeod Center and the UNI faithful will say goodbye to several seniors including Seth Tuttle, who is a candidate for player of the year in the entire country. Tuttle has led this group to a great regular season and I look for him and his teammates to have a great last home game tonight. The defense Northern Iowa plays is as good as anyone in the country not named Kentucky. They have held their last two opponents to 39 points each! They held Evansville to 52 points on their home court earlier this season. Unfortunately, they only scored 49 points in that matchup. Having said that, the offense will be ready tonight as the McLeod Center will be hopping. I look for UNI to get off to a quick start and never look back. Tuttle will have a huge game on both ends of the court and Northern Iowa's seniors will go out with a bang!
Take Northern Iowa.