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ANIMALS
Monday premium card....
5* Providence -1 1/2
4* Providence 'OVER' 152
4* Creighton -3 1/2
3* Colorado +3 1/2
3* Houston Rockets -7 1/2
92 days 'til NCAA title game on April 5th.
Good luck guys, Mark
Nine games into the 2003-04 season and the Texas Longhorns are playing their first true road game. The last time Texas was outside of Austin was a neutral court game against Duke in which they were pounded 89-61. This team also lost to Arizona 91-83 on a neutral floor. There other seven games were all played on their campus site. Coach Barnes returns to his former team for the first time after coaching at Providence until 1994. Texas comes off Friday?s 99-79 win over Texas Arlington in a game in which SR forward Brandon Mouton did not play because of a knee injury. Mouton, who averaged almost 15 points a game last year, is expected back in the lineup tonight. Texas beat Providence by 20 points last year in Austin (68-4. You can be certain all five returning starters for the Friars remember that game. It?s never easy going into Virginia especially if you are an out-of-conference team. But Providence destroyed the Cavaliers in Charlottesville 84-69 on Saturday with a 50-point 2nd half. The Friars made 32-of-55 from the floor and 9-of-21 from beyond the arc. They held Virginia to 26-of-70 from the field. Remember Providence has already defeated Illinois by 19 on a neutral floor this year. Texas is 1-9 ATS on the road since 1997 when coming off a home victory in which they scored at least 85 points. Although Abdul Mills has missed his last two games for Providence, the Friars should be used to playing without their leading scorer from 2001-02 after he sat out all of last season with injury. Mills is officially listed as questionable. I?ll take Providence here as Texas plays little or no defense as they displayed against Duke and Arizona this year allowing an average of 90 per game. Ryan Gomes of the Friars should dominate in the paint. It?s payback time for Providence after their most lopsided defeat of the 2002-03 season in Austin last year. 5* BEST BET Friars.
I?ll take Providence and Texas to easily go ?OVER? this posted total. The Friars are averaging 75 points per game at home this season and come off a 50-point 2nd half at Virginia on Saturday. In that game Providence made 32-of-55 from the field and connected on nine three-pointers. Arizona allowed Duke and Arizona an average of 90 points per contest in their two games away from Austin this year and both on neutral floors. The Horns are averaging 92 points per game this year and both of these clubs like to run up and down the floor. Since 1997 the Longhorns have played 10 road games following a home win in which they scored 85 or more points. Those 10 opponents have averaged 84 points a game against the Texas defense. 4* 'OVER'.
Bradley?s 10-point win over lowly Indiana State is nothing to brag about. But Creighton recently traveled to both Wyoming and Fresno State and beat the Cowboys and Bulldogs outright on two very hostile environments. That is the kind of result that gets ?The Animals? attention. The Blue Jays have won the last five meetings in this series by a combined 73 points including a 23-point verdict the last time these two foes met. Bradley was dealt a huge loss recently with the foot injury to Phillip Gilbert, who is expected to miss at least four weeks. Gilbert is the leading active scorer in the Missouri Valley Conference and averaged 19 points a game last year. Look at it like this: Creighton whipped Bradley by an average of 15 points per game in the last five meetings with Gilbert in the lineup. Can?t they win by at least four points without him? With a 9-0 start to the 2003-04 season, obviously Creighton has made the adjustment to playing without Kyle Korver. I know Bradley is 8-1 ATS this year but that helps us get better line value here and I still believe the Braves are a pretender. Converting just 38 and 36 percent against Indiana State and UNLV in their last two games is an embarrassment for Bradley. No compassion from Creighton tonight. 4* Blue Jays.
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It?s just not going to be easy for Kansas in 2003-04. The adjustment of playing with a new coach and without Hinrich and Collison while the erratic Wayne Simien returns to form makes for a yo-yo effect for the Jayhawks. This team could certainly return as a terror in another month but it will be difficult in these early Big 12 road games and especially against an experienced team like Colorado. I suspect Kansas is favored here more on tradition rather than reality. I highly doubt Coach Williams would have allowed his team to lose at Nevada Reno like Self did on December 21st. Williams would have had his team firing on all cylinders in their next meaningful game. Instead Kansas barely edged Villanova 86-79 at home last Friday. Colorado beat Kansas 60-59 on this floor last year with Williams, Hinrich, and Collison and handed the Jayhawks just one of two conference defeats (14-2). Center David Harrison and forward Michel Morandais are back and you can be sure the Buffaloes really want this game badly. Colorado made some big strides last year with a 20-win season and was extremely tough in Boulder. Coming off two embarrassing home defeats to Utah and Richmond should certainly inspire the Buffaloes tonight. A two-hour film session followed the Richmond defeat. Kansas gets respect for winning 12 straight conference openers but I?ll take the points with the Buffaloes here. 3* Colorado.
Golden State is a nightmare on the road as the proved with consecutive 18-point defeat to Eastern Conference opponents (New Jersey and Washington). The last time they were on the highway in the Western Conference was at Denver which resulted in a 24-point blowout defeat. This Houston defense is downright scary. On Saturday they set a franchise-record for fewest points allowed when they held Utah to 63. Houston is 35-7 SU in this series winning 16 of 22 at home with the Warriors. Tonight is the 4th consecutive road game for Golden State while Houston is at home for the 4th straight contest. The Warriors might be sick and tired of the road. Since December 9th, 10 of their 14 games played have been away from home. The Rockets have limited five of their last six opponents to 37 percent or less accuracy from the field. They are 8-1 ATS the last three years following three or more consecutive games yielding 90 points or less. 3* Houston.
ANIMALS
Monday premium card....
5* Providence -1 1/2
4* Providence 'OVER' 152
4* Creighton -3 1/2
3* Colorado +3 1/2
3* Houston Rockets -7 1/2
92 days 'til NCAA title game on April 5th.
Good luck guys, Mark
Nine games into the 2003-04 season and the Texas Longhorns are playing their first true road game. The last time Texas was outside of Austin was a neutral court game against Duke in which they were pounded 89-61. This team also lost to Arizona 91-83 on a neutral floor. There other seven games were all played on their campus site. Coach Barnes returns to his former team for the first time after coaching at Providence until 1994. Texas comes off Friday?s 99-79 win over Texas Arlington in a game in which SR forward Brandon Mouton did not play because of a knee injury. Mouton, who averaged almost 15 points a game last year, is expected back in the lineup tonight. Texas beat Providence by 20 points last year in Austin (68-4. You can be certain all five returning starters for the Friars remember that game. It?s never easy going into Virginia especially if you are an out-of-conference team. But Providence destroyed the Cavaliers in Charlottesville 84-69 on Saturday with a 50-point 2nd half. The Friars made 32-of-55 from the floor and 9-of-21 from beyond the arc. They held Virginia to 26-of-70 from the field. Remember Providence has already defeated Illinois by 19 on a neutral floor this year. Texas is 1-9 ATS on the road since 1997 when coming off a home victory in which they scored at least 85 points. Although Abdul Mills has missed his last two games for Providence, the Friars should be used to playing without their leading scorer from 2001-02 after he sat out all of last season with injury. Mills is officially listed as questionable. I?ll take Providence here as Texas plays little or no defense as they displayed against Duke and Arizona this year allowing an average of 90 per game. Ryan Gomes of the Friars should dominate in the paint. It?s payback time for Providence after their most lopsided defeat of the 2002-03 season in Austin last year. 5* BEST BET Friars.
I?ll take Providence and Texas to easily go ?OVER? this posted total. The Friars are averaging 75 points per game at home this season and come off a 50-point 2nd half at Virginia on Saturday. In that game Providence made 32-of-55 from the field and connected on nine three-pointers. Arizona allowed Duke and Arizona an average of 90 points per contest in their two games away from Austin this year and both on neutral floors. The Horns are averaging 92 points per game this year and both of these clubs like to run up and down the floor. Since 1997 the Longhorns have played 10 road games following a home win in which they scored 85 or more points. Those 10 opponents have averaged 84 points a game against the Texas defense. 4* 'OVER'.
Bradley?s 10-point win over lowly Indiana State is nothing to brag about. But Creighton recently traveled to both Wyoming and Fresno State and beat the Cowboys and Bulldogs outright on two very hostile environments. That is the kind of result that gets ?The Animals? attention. The Blue Jays have won the last five meetings in this series by a combined 73 points including a 23-point verdict the last time these two foes met. Bradley was dealt a huge loss recently with the foot injury to Phillip Gilbert, who is expected to miss at least four weeks. Gilbert is the leading active scorer in the Missouri Valley Conference and averaged 19 points a game last year. Look at it like this: Creighton whipped Bradley by an average of 15 points per game in the last five meetings with Gilbert in the lineup. Can?t they win by at least four points without him? With a 9-0 start to the 2003-04 season, obviously Creighton has made the adjustment to playing without Kyle Korver. I know Bradley is 8-1 ATS this year but that helps us get better line value here and I still believe the Braves are a pretender. Converting just 38 and 36 percent against Indiana State and UNLV in their last two games is an embarrassment for Bradley. No compassion from Creighton tonight. 4* Blue Jays.
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It?s just not going to be easy for Kansas in 2003-04. The adjustment of playing with a new coach and without Hinrich and Collison while the erratic Wayne Simien returns to form makes for a yo-yo effect for the Jayhawks. This team could certainly return as a terror in another month but it will be difficult in these early Big 12 road games and especially against an experienced team like Colorado. I suspect Kansas is favored here more on tradition rather than reality. I highly doubt Coach Williams would have allowed his team to lose at Nevada Reno like Self did on December 21st. Williams would have had his team firing on all cylinders in their next meaningful game. Instead Kansas barely edged Villanova 86-79 at home last Friday. Colorado beat Kansas 60-59 on this floor last year with Williams, Hinrich, and Collison and handed the Jayhawks just one of two conference defeats (14-2). Center David Harrison and forward Michel Morandais are back and you can be sure the Buffaloes really want this game badly. Colorado made some big strides last year with a 20-win season and was extremely tough in Boulder. Coming off two embarrassing home defeats to Utah and Richmond should certainly inspire the Buffaloes tonight. A two-hour film session followed the Richmond defeat. Kansas gets respect for winning 12 straight conference openers but I?ll take the points with the Buffaloes here. 3* Colorado.
Golden State is a nightmare on the road as the proved with consecutive 18-point defeat to Eastern Conference opponents (New Jersey and Washington). The last time they were on the highway in the Western Conference was at Denver which resulted in a 24-point blowout defeat. This Houston defense is downright scary. On Saturday they set a franchise-record for fewest points allowed when they held Utah to 63. Houston is 35-7 SU in this series winning 16 of 22 at home with the Warriors. Tonight is the 4th consecutive road game for Golden State while Houston is at home for the 4th straight contest. The Warriors might be sick and tired of the road. Since December 9th, 10 of their 14 games played have been away from home. The Rockets have limited five of their last six opponents to 37 percent or less accuracy from the field. They are 8-1 ATS the last three years following three or more consecutive games yielding 90 points or less. 3* Houston.
