BURNS (NBA) (CBB)
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B. burns' #1 NBA Total of the Week (31-8 L39 NBA Totals!)
I'm playing on the Lakers and Jazz to finish UNDER the total.
These teams have played a pair of high-scoring games against each other already this season. While those results have helped cause tonight's number to be even higher than it was for either of the first two meetings, I'm expecting a much lower-scoring contest. The Jazz managed only 90 points last time out, combining with Dallas for 189. That result brought the UNDER to 7-2 their last nine games. The Lakers come off a high-scoring game. However, that wasn't a typical day or a typical opponent as the game came on Christmas Day and the opponent was Phoenix, the highest-scoring team in the league. Including the Phoenix result, the Lakers have still seen the UNDER go 5-3 their past eight games. Note that the the other two of those games which finished "over" both had combined scores of 207 points or less. In other words, both those games would have still fallen beneath tonight's larger number. While Kobe and co. can certainly put up the points, the Jazz have been playing low-scoring games when matched up against high-scoring teams. In fact, the UNDER is 9-3 the last 12 times that Utah faced a team which averages 99 or more points per game. Looking at the last 20 times that the Jazz traveled here and we find that the over/under lines ranged from a low of 182 to a high of only 205.5. Look for tonight's final combined score to stay below tonight's bigger number, with the UNDER improving to 6-2 when the Jazz have played on a Friday night this season. *Total of the Week
B. burns' 2-Game NBA/CBB Friday POWER Report
This 2-Game card includes a play on SOUTHERN ILLINOIS and a play on the OVER in the Suns/Clippers game.
(fyi, ness is on butler)
I'm playing on SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. Butler has gotten off to another impressive start this season. However, this is no ordinary venue. The Bulldogs were beaten by the Salukis at Butler last season. Tonight, in their first game following Christmas, they travel to the SIU Arena where the Salukis are an awesome 82-4 since the start of the 2001-02, posting a 35-3 mark against non-conference opponents. That includes a 16-1 mark the last 17 here with the lone loss coming vs. an Indiana squad which was ranked #15 at the time. In their most recent game here, the Salukis knocked off a solid Western Kentucky team by 10 points. Their previous home game came against #25 St. Mary's and the Salukis won by 15. Despite those victories and their extremely impressive home record in recent years, the Salukis find themselves listed as very slight underdogs. That's worth mentioning as we find the Bulldogs at a money-burning 9-16 ATS (10-15 SU) the last 25 times that they were listed as road favroites of three points or less (or pick'em) including a 2-4 SU/ATS mark in that role the past two seasons. On the other hand, the Salukis are a perfect 4-0 ATS the last four times they were listed as underdogs of four points or less, winning all four games outright. Look for them to continue their homecourt dominance tonight, improving to 8-0 SU/ATS the last eight times that they played a home "lined" game on a Friday Night. *Friday Night Blowout
I'm playing on the Suns and Clippers to finish OVER the total. These teams played a relatively low-scoring game last night. However, that was at LA where the Clippers were able to slow things down, not that it did them much good! With tonight's game at Phoenix and with the teams playing back to back games, I expect the Suns to really push the tempo. Prior to last night's 196 combined points, the Suns had seen their previous three games average a whopping 225 points, each of them producing a minimum of 213. For the season, their home games are averaging 213.8 points. Note that the Suns have seen the OVER go 10-7 the last 17 times that they played the second of back to back games. The most recent two times they played a home game, after playing the previous night, resulted in combined scores of 228 and 217. Meanwhile, we find the OVER at 3-0 the last three times that the Clippers played the second of back to back games and a highly profitable 7-1 the last eight times that they played a road game, following a game the previous night. While the last series meeting here in Phoenix slipped below the total (finished with 207) the OVER remains a profitable 11-5 the last 16 times that the Clippers traveled to Phoenix. I'm expecting another high-scoring affair this evening with the OVER improving to 4-1 the last five times the Suns were listed as home favorites of 12.5 or more points. *Friday Night Shootout
