Michael Cannon
10 Dime ?
FLORIDA
Take the Gators minus the points tonight when they take on Massachusetts in the NIT semi finals at Madison Square Garden.
The young Gators have responded to coach Billy Donovan calling them out after a late season collapse. Donovan banned the players from its multi-million dollar practice facility and barred them from wearing anything with the Gators logo.
The move evidently worked, because Florida has responded by winning the first two rounds in convincing fashion and a double-digit victory at Arizona State in the quarterfinals.
U Mass is an experienced team, but I don?t think they?ll be able to keep Florida?s Nick Calathes under wraps tonight. The 6-6 freshman notched a triple-double in the Gators win over Creighton and he has recorded 20 assists and only five turnovers in the last two games.
But this game is going to be decided in the paint, and it?s here the Gators have a decided advantage.
U Mass has 7-foot Luke Bonner, but he?s not a threat inside to score.
Florida counters with 6-10 Marreese Speights, who has averaged 16 ppg on 67 percent shooting over the last nine games.
Take Florida minus the points as they grab the win and cover.
MISSISSIPPI
Take Mississippi as the small dog tonight over Ohio State.
The wrong team is favored here in my opinion.
Mississippi has been on a late-season surge; having gone 6-2 SU in its last eight and with a couple of bounces could be on an 8-0 SU run.
The fast-paced Rebels are a balanced unit, with five starters averaging between nine and 16 ppg. Their road win over Virginia Tech was convincing on many counts, not the least of which was the 43-19 advantage the Rebels had on the boards over the Hokies.
I expect the Ole Miss frontcourt to outplay the Buckeyes unit, which doesn?t play as physical as the Rebels.
Mississippi is a perfect 17-0 SU in non-conference games this year and I expect that mark to improve to 18-0 after tonight.
Take the points with Mississippi, but they should grab the outright win.
5 Dime ?
BLUE JAYS (With Halladay as listed pitcher)
Take the Blue Jays as the underdog tonight over the Yankees.
It?s hard to pass up Toronto at a plus return when Roy Halladay is pitching, regardless of the opponent.
The fact that it?s the Yankees makes this a bit of a reach, but Halladay hasn?t exactly been intimidated by the Pinstripes in his career.
The right-hander is 10-4 lifetime with a 2.99 ERA in 24 games against the Yankees. What?s more, he?s 4-0 with a 1.77 ERA in his last eight starts against New York, which hasn?t beaten him since September 2004.
The Yankees will counter with Chien-Ming Wang, who was destroyed in the playoffs last year against Cleveland, going 0-2 with a 19.06 ERA in two games.
You have to wonder about Wang?s mental state after that disappointment, and going against Halladay only reduces his margin for error in this game.
Take Toronto at the plus return as they grab the road win.
CELTICS
Take the Celtics as the road chalk tonight over the Bulls.
Boston has been the league?s best road team both SU and ATS. They are coming off three straight 20+-point wins and they are 12-3 ATS over their last 15 games.
The Celtics have dominated the Bulls this year, winning all three matchups by an average of 19.7 points.
The Bulls are just 6-20 ATS in their last 26 against the NBA Atlantic, while the Celtics are 7-1 ATS in their last eight against the NBA Central.
Take the Celtics minus the number as they grab the road win and cover.
10 Dime ?
FLORIDA
Take the Gators minus the points tonight when they take on Massachusetts in the NIT semi finals at Madison Square Garden.
The young Gators have responded to coach Billy Donovan calling them out after a late season collapse. Donovan banned the players from its multi-million dollar practice facility and barred them from wearing anything with the Gators logo.
The move evidently worked, because Florida has responded by winning the first two rounds in convincing fashion and a double-digit victory at Arizona State in the quarterfinals.
U Mass is an experienced team, but I don?t think they?ll be able to keep Florida?s Nick Calathes under wraps tonight. The 6-6 freshman notched a triple-double in the Gators win over Creighton and he has recorded 20 assists and only five turnovers in the last two games.
But this game is going to be decided in the paint, and it?s here the Gators have a decided advantage.
U Mass has 7-foot Luke Bonner, but he?s not a threat inside to score.
Florida counters with 6-10 Marreese Speights, who has averaged 16 ppg on 67 percent shooting over the last nine games.
Take Florida minus the points as they grab the win and cover.
MISSISSIPPI
Take Mississippi as the small dog tonight over Ohio State.
The wrong team is favored here in my opinion.
Mississippi has been on a late-season surge; having gone 6-2 SU in its last eight and with a couple of bounces could be on an 8-0 SU run.
The fast-paced Rebels are a balanced unit, with five starters averaging between nine and 16 ppg. Their road win over Virginia Tech was convincing on many counts, not the least of which was the 43-19 advantage the Rebels had on the boards over the Hokies.
I expect the Ole Miss frontcourt to outplay the Buckeyes unit, which doesn?t play as physical as the Rebels.
Mississippi is a perfect 17-0 SU in non-conference games this year and I expect that mark to improve to 18-0 after tonight.
Take the points with Mississippi, but they should grab the outright win.
5 Dime ?
BLUE JAYS (With Halladay as listed pitcher)
Take the Blue Jays as the underdog tonight over the Yankees.
It?s hard to pass up Toronto at a plus return when Roy Halladay is pitching, regardless of the opponent.
The fact that it?s the Yankees makes this a bit of a reach, but Halladay hasn?t exactly been intimidated by the Pinstripes in his career.
The right-hander is 10-4 lifetime with a 2.99 ERA in 24 games against the Yankees. What?s more, he?s 4-0 with a 1.77 ERA in his last eight starts against New York, which hasn?t beaten him since September 2004.
The Yankees will counter with Chien-Ming Wang, who was destroyed in the playoffs last year against Cleveland, going 0-2 with a 19.06 ERA in two games.
You have to wonder about Wang?s mental state after that disappointment, and going against Halladay only reduces his margin for error in this game.
Take Toronto at the plus return as they grab the road win.
CELTICS
Take the Celtics as the road chalk tonight over the Bulls.
Boston has been the league?s best road team both SU and ATS. They are coming off three straight 20+-point wins and they are 12-3 ATS over their last 15 games.
The Celtics have dominated the Bulls this year, winning all three matchups by an average of 19.7 points.
The Bulls are just 6-20 ATS in their last 26 against the NBA Atlantic, while the Celtics are 7-1 ATS in their last eight against the NBA Central.
Take the Celtics minus the number as they grab the road win and cover.
