Jimmy The Moose comp
Game: Philadelphia Flyers at Toronto Maple Leafs Mar 11 2008 7:35PM
Prediction: Philadelphia Flyers
Reason: The Flyers have won 5 of their last 7 games while the Leafs have lost 3 of their last 5. The Flyers are 5-1 in their last 6 games played with 2 days to rest between games. The Flyers are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. team's with a losing record. The Maple Leafs are 0-9 in their last 9 vs. Atlantic Division opponents. Toronto is 4-10 in their last 14 games played on Tuesday's. The Flyers have won the last 2 meetings between the clubs. Play on the Philadelphia Flyers +.
Michael Cannon
Portland at MINNESOTA (+2)
Take Minnesota as the small home dog tonight over Portland.
The Timberwolves have been idle since Saturday and this is their lone home matchup during a six-game span. That should be enough for them to bring a maximum effort tonight.
Portland is playing its fourth game in five days, so the fatigue factor should come into play.
The Timberwolves can rely on Al Jefferson to provide the scoring and rebounding, as he's posted over 40 double-doubles this season.
Take Minnesota as the small home chalk to get it done over Portland.
3♦ MINNESOTA
Dave Cokin
(555) POR Trail Blazers
(556) MIN T'wolves
Take "(555) POR Trail Blazers"
Portland seems to be getting its second wind to some extent. The Blazers dropped one at Cleveland last night, but they've been a decent spread run the last couple weeks. Minnesota has yet to win three straight all season, so they're in a fade spot here and the spread is certainly not an issue. I'll offer up the Blazers as small road chalk.
Jim Feist
(559) MEM Grizzlies
(560) PHX Suns
Take "(560) PHX Suns"
Forget about the Timberwolves and Heat -- Memphis is the worst team in the NBA. GM Chris Wallace takes the nod as worst GM in game after that awful trade of Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown. Talk about pulling the rug out from under your team! The Grizzlies are playing like they know management doesn?t care, 1-10 SU/ATS the last 11 games. They were a dog of 9 or more in 7 of those games and still got routed. Memphis plays no defense, which will be a huge problem against this uptempo Phoenix attack. The Suns are looking to rip off some easy wins, still under criticism after the Shaq trade. It won?t be hard to blow out this Memphis team. Play the Suns!
THE SPORTS ADVISORS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
(at Mobile, Ala.)
Middle Tennessee St. (18-14, 16-10-2 ATS) vs. Western Kentucky (26-6, 16-12 ATS)
Middle Tennessee State (14-7, 15-6 ATS in conference) advanced to the Sun Belt Conference tournament final by stunning top-seeded South Alabama 82-73 as an 11?-point underdog in Monday night?s semifinal matchup, recording its fourth consecutive wins (3-1 ATS). The Blue Raiders, who scored narrow victories over Louisiana-Monroe (74-69) and Troy (65-59) in the opening rounds of this tourney, are on a 10-3 SU and ATS roll, all in league play.
Shortly after Middle Tennessee finished off its upset of South Alabama, No. 2 seed Western Kentucky (18-2, 10-10 ATS in conference) took the floor at Mitchell Center Arena and dusted Arkansas-Little Rock 70-55, cashing as a nine-point chalk. The Hilltoppers have won five in a row and 16 of their last 17. They?re also on a 4-0 ATS run, all as a favorite.
These teams faced off twice in the regular season, with Western Kentucky winning both contests and Middle Tennessee covering the spread in each outing. The Hilltoppers prevailed 62-51 as a 15?-point home favorite on Jan. 2 and 71-66 as a 6?-point road chalk on Feb. 16.
Middle Tennessee has won six of its last eight on the highway (5-3 ATS) and is 2-1 SU (2-0-1 ATS) on neutral courts. Also, the Blue Raiders are 7-2 ATS in their last nine as an underdog.
Western Kentucky is 5-0 ATS at neutral sites this season (3-2 SU), with the two outright losses coming against Top 25 foes Tennessee (88-82) and Gonzaga (74-71). Also, the Hilltoppers enter this contest having won nine consecutive games on the highway (7-2 ATS).
The under is 13-6 in Western Kentucky?s last 19 contests, all in Sun Belt action. Also, both series meetings with Middle Tennessee this year stayed low.
ATS ADVANTAGE:WESTERN KENTUCKY and UNDER
HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
(at Indianapolis)
Cleveland State (21-11, 17-11 ATS) vs. (12) Butler (28-3, 15-13-2 ATS)
After getting a bye through the first round of the Horizon League tournament, top-seeded Butler (17-2, 6-11-2 ATS in conference) ripped Illinois-Chicago 66-50 as a 10-point favorite to reach the tournament championship game for the second straight year. The Bulldogs have won 12 consecutive Horizon League games (5-6-1 ATS) since losing at Cleveland State on Jan. 17.
Cleveland State (13-6, 12-7 ATS in conference) has won four in a row of seven of eight, including Saturday?s 78-73 victory over Valparaiso in the Horizon League semis. The Vikings have cashed in seven straight games, which comes on the heels of an 0-6 ATS slump.
A month after the Vikings upset Butler in Cleveland, the Bulldogs got revenge in a 51-46 home victory. However, they failed to cash as a 12-point underdog, falling to 3-6 ATS in the last nine meetings against Cleveland State. Still, the home team has cashed in eight of the last 11 battles.
The Horizon League tournament is being played on Butler?s home court, Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where the Bulldogs are 14-1 (8-7 ATS), including 10-0 in conference play, but just 4-6 ATS. Meanwhile, the Vikings are 5-5 in conference road games, going 6-4 ATS, including 4-0 ATS in the last four.
The under is 10-5 in Cleveland State?s last 15 overall, 4-0 in its last four on the road, 4-1 in Butler?s last five Horizon League outings and 8-2 in the last 10 series meetings.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
THE SPORTS ADVISORS
NBA
Utah (42-22, 35-29 ATS) at Chicago (25-38, 28-35 ATS)
The red-hot Jazz put a five-game SU and ATS winning streak on the line when they invade the United Center to battle the slumping Bulls.
Utah destroyed Denver 132-105 as a six-point home favorite on Saturday. The Jazz are averaging 118.4 points per game and giving up just 100.2 during their five-game winning streak, with three of the wins coming by margins of 27, 29 and 21 points.
The Bulls return home after a pair of road losses at Boston on Friday (116-93) and Detroit on Sunday (116-109), falling to 5-9 in their last 14 games. However, the Bulls cashed as a nine-point underdog at the Pistons, moving to 12-6 ATS in their last 18 contests. Also on the bright side for Chicago: It hasn?t lost three in a row since the end of December, a stretch of 37 games.
These teams met a month ago in Utah, and the Jazz rolled to a 97-87 victory, but the Bulls got the cash as a 12-point road underdog. Utah has won the last four in a row (2-2 ATS) in this series, while the underdog is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 and the visitor is 4-1 ATS in the last five.
The Jazz are on positive ATS streaks of 4-1 against the Central Division and 9-0 following a double-digit victory. But they?re 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games when playing on exactly two days? rest, and despite their current 3-0 ATS run on the highway, they?re still only 14-19 SU and ATS as a visitor.
Chicago is on pointspread runs of 13-3 after a SU loss, 4-1 at home, 4-0 against the Northwest Division, 8-2 against the Western Conference and 10-3 when playing on one day of rest.
The over is 5-2-1 in Utah?s last eight overall, 8-2-1 in Chicago?s last 11 (4-0 in the last four), 8-3 in Chicago?s last 11 against the Northwest Division.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
Toronto (34-28, 33-28-1 ATS) at L.A. Lakers (44-19, 39-22-1 ATS)
The Lakers will attempt to rebound from Sunday?s stunning home loss to the Kings when they host the shorthanded Raptors at Staples Center
Kobe Bryant missed a game-winning fall-away jumper at the buzzer Sunday night, as Los Angeles fell 114-113 to Sacramento as a hefty 13?-point home favorite. The loss ended a six-game home winning streak for the Lakers, but they?re still 16-3 in their last 19 outings and 16-5 ATS in their last 21.
Toronto held off the Sonics 114-106 on Sunday at home, but failed to cover as a 12-point home favorite. That ended an astonishing string in which the straight-up winner had covered the pointspread in 35 consecutive Raptors games. Still, the winner is 57-4-1 ATS when Toronto plays this season, including 26-3-1 ATS in road games.
Since All-Star center Chris Bosh went down with a knee injury on Feb. 29 in Indiana, the Raptors are just 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS).
The Lakers? current 16-3 SU run began with a 121-101 rout of the Raptors as a 6 ?-point road underdog back on Feb. 1. L.A. is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings (6-2-2 ATS), including 4-1 ATS at home. During this 10-game stretch, the SU winner is 8-0-2 ATS and the favorite is 6-2-2 ATS.
In addition to their 16-5 over ATS streak, the Lakers sport positive pointspread runs of 10-1 against the Eastern Conference, 4-0 against Atlantic Division foes, 8-1 on Tuesdays, 5-1-1 following a non-cover and 9-3 when playing on one day of rest. However, Los Angeles has alternated ATS wins and losses in its last six at Staples Center and is 17-12 ATS at home this season (22-8 SU).
Toronto is mired in ATS funks of 1-6 against the Pacific Division, 0-4 on Tuesdays, 0-5 when playing on one day of rest and 0-4 after scoring 100 points or more in the previous game.
The over is on runs of 4-1 for the Lakers overall, 4-1 for the Lakers against the Atlantic Division, 5-2 for the Lakers on Tuesdays, 18-8 for the Raptors overall, 4-0 for the Raptors against the Pacific Division and 6-2 for the Raptors on Tuesday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. LAKERS and OVER
Gator's NBA/CBB 70% Report
Tuesday: Play Over NBA road teams where the total is greater than or equal to 200 after going over the total by more than 12 points in two consecutive games, with a winning percentage of between 45-55% on the season
40-14 Over since 1996 (74.1%)
PLAY: Toronto / LAL OVER 212
WINNERS EDGE-3/11/08
NBA:
Utah Jazz - 4 , 3 units
CBB:
Cleveland St. + 10 , 2 units
Louisiana Tech + 6 , 1 unit
Michael Cannon (16-5 top play run)
Tuesday's Plays...
20 Dime ?
CLEVELAND STATE
Take the points with Cleveland State tonight in the Horizon League Championship over Butler.
I know Butler is nationally ranked and they?ve already got their ticket punched to the big dance. But this Cleveland State team has given the Bulldogs everything they could handle in the first two meetings, and there?s no reason to think they won?t tonight with a chance at an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
The Vikings have won seven of their last eight games, going 8-0 ATS. They?ve split their two meetings with the Bulldogs this year, winning 56-52 at home back in January and losing 51-46 at Butler in February as a 12-point dog.
Cleveland State has been executing the little things all season long for coach Gary Waters. Vikings guard Cedric Jackson has outplayed his Bulldog counterparts, Mike Green and A. J. Graves in both meetings and Cleveland State could have pulled off the regular season sweep had they shot better than the 31 percent from the floor in the second meeting.
Take the points with Cleveland State as they stay within the number tonight and give Butler a scare for the league crown.
5 Dime ?
SAN JOSE STATE
Lay the points with San Jose State over Louisiana Tech in the first round of the WAC tournament.
Granted this isn?t North Carolina versus Duke, but I?ll side with a San Jose State team that has a decided advantage on the boards over La. Tech.
Now, La. Tech has won two straight, but I don?t like their prospects of winning a third straight based on the fact that Bulldog coach Kerry Rupp has shortened his bench to a seven-man rotation. These kids are not only going to have to play disciplined, but they?re going to have to duplicate strong numbers from the field that haven?t been there all year.
Like Kyle Gibson?s 28-point performance last time out or Tech hitting 10 shots from beyond the arc, as was the case in last Saturday?s win over these very same San Jose State Spartans.
What is most likely to happen is the big rebounding margin San Jose State enjoyed in that loss, when the Spartans held a 46-21 advantage, which will allow them to hold the Bulldogs to too many one-and-out possessions.
Take San Jose State minus the points as they grab the win and cover.
ATS Consultants
Newsletter Plays
Tuesday, March 11
Hoops
Utah over Chicago 91-80 Preferred Play
Hockey
over in the Chicago/Detroit game Preferred Play
Anaheim over Phoenix Preferred Play
BIG AL
At 10:05 pm, our selection is on the Memphis Grizzlies plus the points over Phoenix. On Sunday, the Suns temporarily righted their sinking ship when they upset the Spurs 94-87 as a 1.5-point home dog. But that win might mask serious problems which currently confront the Suns. By trading away its best wing defender (Shawn Marion) for an aging, immobile Shaquille O'Neal, the Suns have morphed into a poor defensive ballclub, notwithstanding their performance on Sunday. But prior to that win, Phoenix had dropped six of nine games, and had surrendered an AVERAGE of 123 points in those six losses. Now, off that upset win, the Suns fall into a nasty 25% ATS system which goes against home faves off outright wins as a home underdog, if they are matched up against a foe off a straight-up loss. The Grizzlies got Mike Miller back in the line-up two games back, and that's key, as Memphis was 0-8 without the sharpshooter in its lineup. Miller leads Memphis in Field-Goal percentage (51.1 percent) and rebounds (6.5), and three-point shooting (43.5%), so it wasn't surprising that Memphis snapped its nine-game losing streak with a 100-93 win over New Jersey in his first game back. The pointspread here is an overlay, and we'll take advantage of the inflated line and grab the points with the Grizzlies. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie
