WINNING POINTS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
**PREFERRED
Georgia Tech* over Dayton by 18
Tech head coach Brian Gregory invites his former team into his ACC digs. Dayton
needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat IPFW, home, in their season-opener.
Gregory to self: ?Say, I picked a good year to invite them over, huh??
GEORGIA TECH, 70-52
Illinois-Chicago* over Northwestern by 1
SMU* over Texas State by 9
Xavier* over Miami-OH by 17
Wichita State over Tulsa* by 5
Valparaiso over Evansville* by 1
BYU* over Iowa State by 7
ISU isn?t the best defensive team around. Not by a longshot. A true road game against
an opponent that knows how to put the ball in the basket is not the best situation for
them.
BYU, 78-71.
Fresno State* over Cal Poly-SLO by 5
Pepperdine* over San Jose State by 12
After playing three nights in a row at DeKalb, IL, San Jose must go out on the road
again to face a stranger. And, they?re not a good team.
PEPPERDINE, 75-63.
WINNING POINTS
PRO BASKETBALL
Brooklyn over *Charlotte by 4
The Nets are loaded with savvy veterans so they don't figure to lose against the
Bobcats, but Kemba Walker and Co. could exploit Brooklyn's lack of athleticism on
the perimeter.
BROOKLYN 96-92.
*Cleveland over Washington by 3
Washington isn't a good road team and is playing for the second consecutive night,
but until big men Anderson Varejao and Andrew Bynum are at 100 percent the
Cavaliers aren't worth backing as chalk. Cleveland was 2-5-1 ATS the past eight times
as home chalk through this past Thursday.
CLEVELAND 98-95.
Indiana over *New York by 6
The Pacers were giving up an NBA-low 85.3 points per game. Their physical front
line, anchored by 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert, can take advantage of the Knicks missing Tyson Chandler and lacking sufficient backcourt scoring.
INDIANA 92-86.
Miami over *Orlando by 6
The Magic play much better at home. Just ask the Hornets, Nets and Clippers. The
Magic defeated those three teams during their first three home games by an average of 16.3 points.
MIAMI 97-91.
*Philadelphia over Toronto by 3
Rudy Gay isn't shooting well, DeMar DeRozan remains inconsistent and center Jonas
Valanciunas has been disappointing. There has been nothing disappointing for the
76ers in going 4-3 SU and 5-2 ATS so far.
PHILADELPHIA 98-95.
*Atlanta over Detroit by 4
Quietly the Pistons have gone 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 road contests through Nov.
10. It's homecoming for Josh Smith, who surely won't lack for motivation.
ATLANTA 101-97.
**PREFERRED
*Milwaukee over Portland by 10
The Bucks have won and covered the past two times hosting Portland and draw the
Trail Blazers, who are not known for their bench strength, playing on the road for the
fourth time in six days.
MILWAUKEE 100-90.
*Minnesota over Los Angeles Clippers by 5
This is the team's second meeting in nine days. The Clippers were leading the league
in scoring through the second weekend of this month, but ranked 28th in defense
yielding 106.3 points a game. Minnesota was giving up an average of six fewer points
per game.
MINNESOTA 109-104.
*New Orleans over Utah by 8
Just one week ago the team's met in Salt Lake City. The youthful Jazz are short of confidence off to the worst start of any team.
NEW ORLEANS 98-90.
*San Antonio over Boston by 16
Tony Parker should have plenty of room to maneuver against the Celtics' unimposing
front line and without injured point guard Rajon Rondo to bother him. San Antonio
was 36-15-2 ATS versus Eastern Conference foes through November 9.
SAN ANTONIO 104-88.
*Phoenix over Sacramento by 6
Sacramento just hosted the Suns last night. Phoenix was 3-0-1 ATS in its last four
home games through Nov. 9. The Suns should get a boost when starting point guard
Goran Dragic returns to the lineup from an ankle injury.
PHOENIX 104-98.
**PREFERRED
Houston over *Dallas by 12
Despite committing 23 turnovers, the Rockets still beat the Mavericks, 113-105, at
home on Nov. 1 in a game that was far more lopsided than the final score. The
Mavericks couldn't contain Dwight Howard on the boards nor match up against
James Harden.
HOUSTON 118-106.
*Golden State over Memphis by 3
The Warriors need to contain Memphis' strong front line something they didn't do in
a 108-90 road loss 11 days ago when the Grizzlies outscored them, 54-18, in the paint.
GOLDEN STATE 104-101.