WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
ATL at ORL 07:00 PM
ATL -6.0
+500
WAS at IND 07:30 PM
WAS +1.0
O 226.0
+500 +500
BK at NY 07:30 PM
NY -4.5
+500
DET at BOS 07:30 PM
BOS -12.0
+500
SA at OKC 08:00 PM
OKC +7.5
+500
POR at MEM 08:00 PM
MEM -11.5
+500
TOR at MIN 08:00 PM
TOR -2.5
+500
SAC at CHI 08:00 PM
SAC +6.0
O 232.5
+500 +500
HOU at PHO 09:00 PM
HOU +15.5
O 234.0
+500 +500
UTA at LAL 10:00 PM
LAL +4.5
+500
DEN at GS 10:00 PM
DEN +5.5
O 225.0
+500 +500
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
ATL at ORL 07:00 PM
ATL -6.0
+500
WAS at IND 07:30 PM
WAS +1.0
O 226.0
+500 +500
BK at NY 07:30 PM
NY -4.5
+500
DET at BOS 07:30 PM
BOS -12.0
+500
SA at OKC 08:00 PM
OKC +7.5
+500
POR at MEM 08:00 PM
MEM -11.5
+500
TOR at MIN 08:00 PM
TOR -2.5
+500
SAC at CHI 08:00 PM
SAC +6.0
O 232.5
+500 +500
HOU at PHO 09:00 PM
HOU +15.5
O 234.0
+500 +500
UTA at LAL 10:00 PM
LAL +4.5
+500
DEN at GS 10:00 PM
DEN +5.5
O 225.0
+500 +500
Armadillo Sports
Thursday’s 6-pack
— Texas Tech 83, Baylor 73— Baylor is 6-5 in its last 11 games, after a 15-0 start.
— Rutgers 70, Illinois 59— Rutgers won last four games, giving up 62.8 ppg.
— Pitt 76, North Carolina 67— Bad loss for UNC, a bubble team.
— UNLV 60, Fresno State 57— Rebels allowed 59.7 ppg in last three wins.
— UConn 70, Seton Hall 65— Pirates are only 6-8 in Big East play.
— Miami 70, Louisville 63— Cardinals have lost 7 in row, 10 of last 11 games.
Quote of the Day
“You have to be honest with people- brutally honest. You have to tell them the truth about their performance, you have to tell it to them face-to-face, and you have to tell it to them over and over again. Sometimes the truth will be painful, and sometimes saying it will lead to an uncomfortable confrontation. So be it.”
Bill Parcells
Thursday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, where Robert Redford plays OF for the New York Knights, what famous actor was the manager of the Knights?
Wednesday’s quiz
Aaron Rodgers played his college football for the Cal Bears.
Tuesday’s quiz
Bob Huggins is best known for coaching Cincinnati/West Virginia; in between those two stops, he coached Kansas State for one season.
******************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
13) Definition of a bad day: Sunday, a gambler placed $1M on the Rams over 13.5 points in the first half (+115). Rams botched the snap on the extra point after their second TD- they didn’t score again that quarter, led 13-10 at the half. Under by half a point.
Guy lost $869,500 because they botched the snap on a PAT, only time they did it all season.
12) Definition of a good day: last fall, Juan Soto turned down a 13-year. $350M contract offer from the Washington Nationals. Soto can’t be a free agent for another three years; if he waits until then for a new contract, he’ll be expecting to break the bank then.
11) Speaking of the Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman retired this week, after a 16-year career; he hit 284 homers in his career, helped Washington win the 2019 World Series.
10) Used to discuss/argue with a friend of mine, what makes a QB great?
I thought about this a lot; concluded that lot of the things that make a QB great are things you and I cannot see, its behind the scenes stuff.
— Is the QB a good teammate? Do his teammate believe in him?
— Does he do a little extra on study/prep work?
Texas basketball coach Chris Beard says “3:30 guys don’t win championships” His point is that players improve the most with the work they do before/after practices.
— Physical skills are obviously important; toughness is probably more important.
— When the offense gets in the huddle, 80-yards from the game-winning score, do his teammates believe that QB will lead them to a score? That seems to be the biggest thing.
Arizona Cardinals/Kyler Murray are having problems; it is unclear what they are exactly, but Murray’s body language during games isn’t good. You don’t seem him talking to teammates on the sideline very much. The QB is a leader, but the other players won’t follow unless they believe in the leader.
9) In college basketball, I think a team should have to finish at least .500 in their league to make the NCAA Tournament; you lose more than you win in league play, how do you get to compete for a national title?
1992 Iowa State Cyclones finished 5-9 in the Big 8, was still a 10-seed in March Madness, the worst conference record for any at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.
8) Three weeks to go in the Big Sky regular season, only one team has less than four losses; Montana State leads at 12-2, two games ahead of Weber State/Southern Utah/Northern Colorado. Going to be a very good conference tournament.
7) NFL teams that could have a new starting quarterback next year:
— Houston
— Washington
— Tampa Bay
— San Francisco
— Pittsburgh
— Indianapolis
— Denver
Deshaun Watson will be the first domino that causes the other ones to start falling.
6) We talked on Monday about Brycen Hopkins catching four passes for 47 yards in the Super Bowl, after being the Rams’ fifth tight end to play this season. Turns out that Hopkins’ dad is Brad Hopkins, who played against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV for Tennessee.
Brad Hopkins played offensive tackle for 13 years with the Oilers/Titans.
5) This season in the NFL, there were an average of 11.8 penalties per game, for 102.1 yards. During the playoffs, penalties dropped to 9.4 per game, for 75.4 yards.
4) Super Bowl TV ratings were up 14% this year from last year.
3) NFL is very good at staying in the spotlight; March 3-6, the rookie combine will be on the NFL Network, in primetime. If you like to watch guys run the 40-yard dash or do shuttle drills, you’ll enjoy watching that.
2) Cincinnati Bearcats gave football coach Luke Fickiell $5M a year thru 2028; Cincinnati is moving up to the Big X, with Texas/Oklahoma moving to the SEC.
1) I went to college at UAlbany, spent lost of time in the campus center there, where there used to be lot of protests. Various things, some more serious than others. I was more interested in watching game shows in the TV lounge, but there were a lot of protests.
Prices in the vending machines were lower than most places; when they tried to raise the prices once, a protest happened. Politicial issues, protests. Labor issues, protests. You get the idea.
One day I’m walking past a protest and it occurred to me; there was a core of people who seemed to be at all of these protests, like they were professional protestors, so from that point on, always looked for those people and sure enough, most times they were there.
Wonder what the going rate was for being a protestor?
Thursday’s 6-pack
— Texas Tech 83, Baylor 73— Baylor is 6-5 in its last 11 games, after a 15-0 start.
— Rutgers 70, Illinois 59— Rutgers won last four games, giving up 62.8 ppg.
— Pitt 76, North Carolina 67— Bad loss for UNC, a bubble team.
— UNLV 60, Fresno State 57— Rebels allowed 59.7 ppg in last three wins.
— UConn 70, Seton Hall 65— Pirates are only 6-8 in Big East play.
— Miami 70, Louisville 63— Cardinals have lost 7 in row, 10 of last 11 games.
Quote of the Day
“You have to be honest with people- brutally honest. You have to tell them the truth about their performance, you have to tell it to them face-to-face, and you have to tell it to them over and over again. Sometimes the truth will be painful, and sometimes saying it will lead to an uncomfortable confrontation. So be it.”
Bill Parcells
Thursday’s quiz
In the movie The Natural, where Robert Redford plays OF for the New York Knights, what famous actor was the manager of the Knights?
Wednesday’s quiz
Aaron Rodgers played his college football for the Cal Bears.
Tuesday’s quiz
Bob Huggins is best known for coaching Cincinnati/West Virginia; in between those two stops, he coached Kansas State for one season.
******************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
13) Definition of a bad day: Sunday, a gambler placed $1M on the Rams over 13.5 points in the first half (+115). Rams botched the snap on the extra point after their second TD- they didn’t score again that quarter, led 13-10 at the half. Under by half a point.
Guy lost $869,500 because they botched the snap on a PAT, only time they did it all season.
12) Definition of a good day: last fall, Juan Soto turned down a 13-year. $350M contract offer from the Washington Nationals. Soto can’t be a free agent for another three years; if he waits until then for a new contract, he’ll be expecting to break the bank then.
11) Speaking of the Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman retired this week, after a 16-year career; he hit 284 homers in his career, helped Washington win the 2019 World Series.
10) Used to discuss/argue with a friend of mine, what makes a QB great?
I thought about this a lot; concluded that lot of the things that make a QB great are things you and I cannot see, its behind the scenes stuff.
— Is the QB a good teammate? Do his teammate believe in him?
— Does he do a little extra on study/prep work?
Texas basketball coach Chris Beard says “3:30 guys don’t win championships” His point is that players improve the most with the work they do before/after practices.
— Physical skills are obviously important; toughness is probably more important.
— When the offense gets in the huddle, 80-yards from the game-winning score, do his teammates believe that QB will lead them to a score? That seems to be the biggest thing.
Arizona Cardinals/Kyler Murray are having problems; it is unclear what they are exactly, but Murray’s body language during games isn’t good. You don’t seem him talking to teammates on the sideline very much. The QB is a leader, but the other players won’t follow unless they believe in the leader.
9) In college basketball, I think a team should have to finish at least .500 in their league to make the NCAA Tournament; you lose more than you win in league play, how do you get to compete for a national title?
1992 Iowa State Cyclones finished 5-9 in the Big 8, was still a 10-seed in March Madness, the worst conference record for any at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.
8) Three weeks to go in the Big Sky regular season, only one team has less than four losses; Montana State leads at 12-2, two games ahead of Weber State/Southern Utah/Northern Colorado. Going to be a very good conference tournament.
7) NFL teams that could have a new starting quarterback next year:
— Houston
— Washington
— Tampa Bay
— San Francisco
— Pittsburgh
— Indianapolis
— Denver
Deshaun Watson will be the first domino that causes the other ones to start falling.
6) We talked on Monday about Brycen Hopkins catching four passes for 47 yards in the Super Bowl, after being the Rams’ fifth tight end to play this season. Turns out that Hopkins’ dad is Brad Hopkins, who played against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV for Tennessee.
Brad Hopkins played offensive tackle for 13 years with the Oilers/Titans.
5) This season in the NFL, there were an average of 11.8 penalties per game, for 102.1 yards. During the playoffs, penalties dropped to 9.4 per game, for 75.4 yards.
4) Super Bowl TV ratings were up 14% this year from last year.
3) NFL is very good at staying in the spotlight; March 3-6, the rookie combine will be on the NFL Network, in primetime. If you like to watch guys run the 40-yard dash or do shuttle drills, you’ll enjoy watching that.
2) Cincinnati Bearcats gave football coach Luke Fickiell $5M a year thru 2028; Cincinnati is moving up to the Big X, with Texas/Oklahoma moving to the SEC.
1) I went to college at UAlbany, spent lost of time in the campus center there, where there used to be lot of protests. Various things, some more serious than others. I was more interested in watching game shows in the TV lounge, but there were a lot of protests.
Prices in the vending machines were lower than most places; when they tried to raise the prices once, a protest happened. Politicial issues, protests. Labor issues, protests. You get the idea.
One day I’m walking past a protest and it occurred to me; there was a core of people who seemed to be at all of these protests, like they were professional protestors, so from that point on, always looked for those people and sure enough, most times they were there.
Wonder what the going rate was for being a protestor?
MIAMI is 14-2 ATS (11.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
BROOKLYN is 126-95 ATS (21.5 Units) when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days since 1996.
DALLAS are 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) revenging a same season loss vs opponent in the current season.
PHILADELPHIA is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) in road games versus teams who make 14 or more 3 point shots/game on the season over the last 2 sesons.
HOUSTON is 23-44 ATS (-25.4 Units) in the second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
NBA
Thursday, February 17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Miami @ Charlotte
Miami
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Miami is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Charlotte's last 7 games when playing Miami
Washington @ Brooklyn
Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games
Brooklyn
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Brooklyn's last 6 games
Brooklyn is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Washington
Dallas @ New Orleans
Dallas
Dallas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
New Orleans
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New Orleans's last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans's last 7 games at home
Philadelphia @ Milwaukee
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Philadelphia is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games
Milwaukee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Houston @ LA Clippers
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
LA Clippers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
LA Clippers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BROOKLYN is 126-95 ATS (21.5 Units) when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days since 1996.
DALLAS are 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) revenging a same season loss vs opponent in the current season.
PHILADELPHIA is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) in road games versus teams who make 14 or more 3 point shots/game on the season over the last 2 sesons.
HOUSTON is 23-44 ATS (-25.4 Units) in the second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
NBA
Thursday, February 17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miami @ Charlotte
Miami
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Miami is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Charlotte's last 7 games when playing Miami
Washington @ Brooklyn
Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games
Brooklyn
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Brooklyn's last 6 games
Brooklyn is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Washington
Dallas @ New Orleans
Dallas
Dallas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
New Orleans
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New Orleans's last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans's last 7 games at home
Philadelphia @ Milwaukee
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Philadelphia is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games
Milwaukee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Houston @ LA Clippers
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
LA Clippers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
LA Clippers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sixers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games.
The Bucks are 5-1 ATS in their last six matchups against Philadelphia.
The Sixers are 9-2 SU in their last 11 road games.
The total has gone OVER in six straight Bucks' games.
The total has gone OVER in eight of the last 12 matchups between Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
The Bucks are 5-1 ATS in their last six matchups against Philadelphia.
The Sixers are 9-2 SU in their last 11 road games.
The total has gone OVER in six straight Bucks' games.
The total has gone OVER in eight of the last 12 matchups between Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
NBA All-Star Game odds
Despite his role in bringing Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, books continue to favor LeBron James' GM skills over those of Kevin Durant, billing Team LeBron as a 6-point favorite for this year's game.
The 2022 All-Star Game will once again be using the Elam Ending, shifting the game's dynamic — likely for the better — in the fourth quarter.
Team Point Spread Moneyline Total
Team LeBron -6 -255 O 319.5 (-110)
Team Durant +6 +210 U 319.5 (-110)
NBA All-Star Game MVP odds
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a monster effort in a blowout win for Team LeBron last year, dropping 35 points en route to an MVP performance.
Books are tabbing the Greek Freak as the pregame favorite again this season, just as he's also surging up the NBA MVP odds board.
Player Odds to win All-Star MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo +380
Joel Embiid +600
LeBron James +650
Stephen Curry +750
Ja Morant +850
Luka Doncic +1,400
DeMar DeRozan +1,400
Nikola Jokic +1,900
Jayson Tatum +1,900
Trae Young +2,300
Devin Booker +2,300
LaMelo Ball +2,300
Darius Garland +2,900
Jimmy Butler +3,300
Fred VanVleet +3,400
Donovan Mitchell +3,400
Chris Paul +3,400
Zach LaVine +5,500
Andrew Wiggins +6,000
Khris Middleton +9,500
Karl-Anthony Towns +9,500
Rudy Gobert +9,500
Dejounte Murray +9,500
Jarrett Allen +9,500
NBA Slam Dunk Contest odds
The Slam Dunk Contest could struggle again this season to recapture the magic of past duels like Jordan-Wilkins, LaVine-Gordon, and Vince-Nobody. Explosive Rockets rookie Jalen Green leads a lackluster field, which hopefully has a few surprises in store for fans and bettors.
Player Odds to win Slam Dunk Contest
Jalen Green +140
Obi Toppin +175
Cole Anthony +325
Juan Toscano-Anderson +500
NBA 3-Point Contest odds
Always a fun sweat on All-Star Saturday Night, the 3-Point Contest looks to be wide open this year, as books have Nets mircrowave scorer Patty Mills and Raptors first-time All-Star Fred VanVleet as narrow co-favorites over a tightly-packed field.
Player Odds to win 3-Point Contest
Patty Mills +440
Fred VanVleet +440
Trae Young +490
Desmond Bane +550
Zach LaVine +600
Luke Kennard +600
CJ McCollum +950
Karl-Anthony Towns +1,200
NBA Skills Challenge odds
With a new format this season, the NBA Skills Challenge will provide an interesting dynamic for bettors, and pit three teams of various players against each other in an array of challenges, as opposed to the obstacle-course style setup of years past. Not surprisingly, the much more fluid Team Rookies is billed as an odds-on favorite.
Team Odds to win Skills Challenge
Team Rookies -165
Team Cavs +240
Team Antetokounmpo +390
Despite his role in bringing Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, books continue to favor LeBron James' GM skills over those of Kevin Durant, billing Team LeBron as a 6-point favorite for this year's game.
The 2022 All-Star Game will once again be using the Elam Ending, shifting the game's dynamic — likely for the better — in the fourth quarter.
Team Point Spread Moneyline Total
Team LeBron -6 -255 O 319.5 (-110)
Team Durant +6 +210 U 319.5 (-110)
NBA All-Star Game MVP odds
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a monster effort in a blowout win for Team LeBron last year, dropping 35 points en route to an MVP performance.
Books are tabbing the Greek Freak as the pregame favorite again this season, just as he's also surging up the NBA MVP odds board.
Player Odds to win All-Star MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo +380
Joel Embiid +600
LeBron James +650
Stephen Curry +750
Ja Morant +850
Luka Doncic +1,400
DeMar DeRozan +1,400
Nikola Jokic +1,900
Jayson Tatum +1,900
Trae Young +2,300
Devin Booker +2,300
LaMelo Ball +2,300
Darius Garland +2,900
Jimmy Butler +3,300
Fred VanVleet +3,400
Donovan Mitchell +3,400
Chris Paul +3,400
Zach LaVine +5,500
Andrew Wiggins +6,000
Khris Middleton +9,500
Karl-Anthony Towns +9,500
Rudy Gobert +9,500
Dejounte Murray +9,500
Jarrett Allen +9,500
NBA Slam Dunk Contest odds
The Slam Dunk Contest could struggle again this season to recapture the magic of past duels like Jordan-Wilkins, LaVine-Gordon, and Vince-Nobody. Explosive Rockets rookie Jalen Green leads a lackluster field, which hopefully has a few surprises in store for fans and bettors.
Player Odds to win Slam Dunk Contest
Jalen Green +140
Obi Toppin +175
Cole Anthony +325
Juan Toscano-Anderson +500
NBA 3-Point Contest odds
Always a fun sweat on All-Star Saturday Night, the 3-Point Contest looks to be wide open this year, as books have Nets mircrowave scorer Patty Mills and Raptors first-time All-Star Fred VanVleet as narrow co-favorites over a tightly-packed field.
Player Odds to win 3-Point Contest
Patty Mills +440
Fred VanVleet +440
Trae Young +490
Desmond Bane +550
Zach LaVine +600
Luke Kennard +600
CJ McCollum +950
Karl-Anthony Towns +1,200
NBA Skills Challenge odds
With a new format this season, the NBA Skills Challenge will provide an interesting dynamic for bettors, and pit three teams of various players against each other in an array of challenges, as opposed to the obstacle-course style setup of years past. Not surprisingly, the much more fluid Team Rookies is billed as an odds-on favorite.
Team Odds to win Skills Challenge
Team Rookies -165
Team Cavs +240
Team Antetokounmpo +390
FEBRUARY BEST BETS & OPINIONS
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
02/17/2022...............5-5-0...........50.00% ..................-2.50
02/16/2022...............8-7-0...........53.33% .................+1.50
02/15/2022...............4-3-1...........56.25% .................+3.50
02/11/2022...............2-2-1...........50.00% ..................-1.00
02/07/2022...............3-3-0............50.00%..................-1.50
02/04/2022...............9-8-1............52.94%.................+1.00
02/03/2022...............5-7-0............41.67%.................-13.50
02/02/2022...............7-8-2............47.06%...................-9.00
02/01/2022...............8-6-0............57.14%..................+7.00
TOTALS..................51-49-5............51.00%%...............-14.50
BEST BETS:
02/17/2022.............3-3-0..............50.00%.................-1.50
02/16/2022.............5-4-0..............55.55%.................+3.00
02/15/2022.............4-2-1..............66.66%.................+9.00
02/11/2022.............2-2-1..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/07/2022.............2-2-0..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/04/2022.............6 -5-0.............54.54%..................+2.50
02/03/2022.............3 -4 -0............42.85%...................-7.00
02/02/2022............12-11-0............52.17%...................-0.50
02/01/2022...............5-4-0.............55.55%.................+3.00
TOTALS..................42-37-0............53.16%..................+ 6.50
UPDATED 02/18/22
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
02/17/2022...............5-5-0...........50.00% ..................-2.50
02/16/2022...............8-7-0...........53.33% .................+1.50
02/15/2022...............4-3-1...........56.25% .................+3.50
02/11/2022...............2-2-1...........50.00% ..................-1.00
02/07/2022...............3-3-0............50.00%..................-1.50
02/04/2022...............9-8-1............52.94%.................+1.00
02/03/2022...............5-7-0............41.67%.................-13.50
02/02/2022...............7-8-2............47.06%...................-9.00
02/01/2022...............8-6-0............57.14%..................+7.00
TOTALS..................51-49-5............51.00%%...............-14.50
BEST BETS:
02/17/2022.............3-3-0..............50.00%.................-1.50
02/16/2022.............5-4-0..............55.55%.................+3.00
02/15/2022.............4-2-1..............66.66%.................+9.00
02/11/2022.............2-2-1..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/07/2022.............2-2-0..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/04/2022.............6 -5-0.............54.54%..................+2.50
02/03/2022.............3 -4 -0............42.85%...................-7.00
02/02/2022............12-11-0............52.17%...................-0.50
02/01/2022...............5-4-0.............55.55%.................+3.00
TOTALS..................42-37-0............53.16%..................+ 6.50
UPDATED 02/18/22
Armadillo Sports
Thursday’s 6-pack
Some teams that get highest %age of their points on 3-point shots:
46.6%— VMI
45.4%— Furman
44.2%— Detroit
42.7%— Citadel
42.6%— St Thomas
42.2%— Western Carolina
Quote of the Day
“I’m here to serve, and to be acknowledged for serving is very much appreciated.”
Michigan assistant coach Phil Martelli, who is filling in as head coach during Juwan Howard’s suspension
Thursday’s quiz
Lakers won the NBA title in Magic Johnson’s rookie season; who was the first coach Johnson played for in the NBA?
Wednesday’s quiz
When Michael Jordan played minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons, Terry Francona was the Barons’ skipper.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the 1950’s, Detroit Lions won three NFL titles; they had a QB who wore number 22, Bobby Layne.
**********************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..
13) If major league baseball cancels games because of the lockout, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer will lose $267,489.71 for every Mets game that is cancelled. Monday is apparently when they would start cancelling games. What a mess.
— Texas SS Corey Seager would lose $200,617.28 a game
— Players earning the major league minimum of $570,500 would lose $3,521.60/game.
Maybe this is part of the problem; Scherzer will make $267,489.71 a game, while rookies will earn $570,500 for the whole season.
Expensive work stoppage; my big question is this: Who are the decision makers on each side? If someone speaks up in a meeting and suggests a compromise, will they be listened to?
Someone is going to have to give in here, or they’ll kill their golden goose, and I’ll be doing my NFL handicapping in April/May, which is not ideal.
12) Chicago Cubs own their TV network, Marquee Sports; what the hell are they going to show if there are no games played? Both sides have a lot to lose; time to get a deal done.
11) Providence 99, Xavier 92, OT:
— Wild game; seven players played 44:00+.
— Providence made 14-29 on arc, needed three OT’s to win.
— Xavier has now lost five of last six games, is 7-9 in Big East.
— Friars are 23-3, but their last three wins were all in overtime.
If you were waiting to watch the Wyoming-Colorado State game, you were out of luck; when CBS Sports Network finally got to that game, Rams led 50-44 with 7:00 left to play. Colorado State wound up winning, 61-55.
10) ACC basketball tournament is in Brooklyn in couple weeks; in my humble opinion, the ACC tournament should always be in North Carolina. There aren’t any ACC teams in the New York City area; this is nonsensical.
9) Kentucky 71, LSU 66
— Kentucky wins another game without its two best guards.
— LSU led 31-23 at halftime.
— Tigers shot 38.7% inside the arc, Kentucky 56.8%
8) Middle Tennessee State is 20-7 this season; they’ve won 11 of their last 12 games, are ranked #97 by KenPom. Blue Raiders started this season ranked #285, so an excellent coaching job by Nick McDevitt and his staff. Middle Tennessee is 19-5-1 ATS this season.
7) Creighton G Ryan Nembhard will have surgery on his right wrist, is out for the year; he hurt the wrist at St John’s Wednesday. Nembhard started every game this year; this is a big loss for the 19-8 Bluejays, who won their last six games.
6) Minnesota Vikings’ coach Kevin O’Connell named Wes Phillips their new OC; he is Wade Phillips’ son, grandson of former Oilers coach Bum Phillips.
Super Bowl champ Rams have now lost at least three of their assistants from this past season; last spring, they lost seven assistants, so lot of turnover on Sean McVay’s staff.
5) Georgia Bulldogs won the college football national title; they’ve lost four assistant coaches since then, so Kirby Smart will be rebuilding his staff too.
There is a growing thing amongst coaches that college recruiting has become overwhelming, a 24/7/365 type thing, maybe more important than actual X’s/O’s coaching. You see a guy like Liam Coen go from OC at Kentucky to OC with the Rams, and that probably plays into it.
4) Oklahoma State’s baseball team has a couple of assistant coaches with impressive resumes, former big leaguers Matt Holliday/Robin Ventura. Holliday’s brother Josh is the head coach for the Cowboys.
There was a time when Holliday’s father was Oklahoma State’s coach, but he got fired and was replaced by Frank Anderson. At the time, Anderson’s son Brett Anderson was on the A’s, and so was Matt Holliday, which had to be a little awkward.
3) Watching Law and Order this afternoon and the judge is Morty from Meatballs, the old movie where Bill Murray is a camp counselor. Morty ran the camp; the counselors put his bed (with him in it) on a raft in the pond where the camp was. Somehow he graduated to being a judge. Go figure.
2) Enough with all the Bracketology guessing; every network has a guy who says, “If Team A wins this game, they’re a 6-seed, or Team B is off the bubble with a loss here”
These are all just educated guesses; let’s wait until March 13, and see the bracket for real.
1) Oregon swept their LA trip this season, beating USC/UCLA, two great wins, but at the time, there were no fans allowed in those arenas, so to me, those wins aren’t as impressive as road wins where there was crowd noise to deal with. To me, Oregon might be a little over-seeded when the brackets come out.
Thursday’s 6-pack
Some teams that get highest %age of their points on 3-point shots:
46.6%— VMI
45.4%— Furman
44.2%— Detroit
42.7%— Citadel
42.6%— St Thomas
42.2%— Western Carolina
Quote of the Day
“I’m here to serve, and to be acknowledged for serving is very much appreciated.”
Michigan assistant coach Phil Martelli, who is filling in as head coach during Juwan Howard’s suspension
Thursday’s quiz
Lakers won the NBA title in Magic Johnson’s rookie season; who was the first coach Johnson played for in the NBA?
Wednesday’s quiz
When Michael Jordan played minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons, Terry Francona was the Barons’ skipper.
Tuesday’s quiz
In the 1950’s, Detroit Lions won three NFL titles; they had a QB who wore number 22, Bobby Layne.
**********************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..
13) If major league baseball cancels games because of the lockout, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer will lose $267,489.71 for every Mets game that is cancelled. Monday is apparently when they would start cancelling games. What a mess.
— Texas SS Corey Seager would lose $200,617.28 a game
— Players earning the major league minimum of $570,500 would lose $3,521.60/game.
Maybe this is part of the problem; Scherzer will make $267,489.71 a game, while rookies will earn $570,500 for the whole season.
Expensive work stoppage; my big question is this: Who are the decision makers on each side? If someone speaks up in a meeting and suggests a compromise, will they be listened to?
Someone is going to have to give in here, or they’ll kill their golden goose, and I’ll be doing my NFL handicapping in April/May, which is not ideal.
12) Chicago Cubs own their TV network, Marquee Sports; what the hell are they going to show if there are no games played? Both sides have a lot to lose; time to get a deal done.
11) Providence 99, Xavier 92, OT:
— Wild game; seven players played 44:00+.
— Providence made 14-29 on arc, needed three OT’s to win.
— Xavier has now lost five of last six games, is 7-9 in Big East.
— Friars are 23-3, but their last three wins were all in overtime.
If you were waiting to watch the Wyoming-Colorado State game, you were out of luck; when CBS Sports Network finally got to that game, Rams led 50-44 with 7:00 left to play. Colorado State wound up winning, 61-55.
10) ACC basketball tournament is in Brooklyn in couple weeks; in my humble opinion, the ACC tournament should always be in North Carolina. There aren’t any ACC teams in the New York City area; this is nonsensical.
9) Kentucky 71, LSU 66
— Kentucky wins another game without its two best guards.
— LSU led 31-23 at halftime.
— Tigers shot 38.7% inside the arc, Kentucky 56.8%
8) Middle Tennessee State is 20-7 this season; they’ve won 11 of their last 12 games, are ranked #97 by KenPom. Blue Raiders started this season ranked #285, so an excellent coaching job by Nick McDevitt and his staff. Middle Tennessee is 19-5-1 ATS this season.
7) Creighton G Ryan Nembhard will have surgery on his right wrist, is out for the year; he hurt the wrist at St John’s Wednesday. Nembhard started every game this year; this is a big loss for the 19-8 Bluejays, who won their last six games.
6) Minnesota Vikings’ coach Kevin O’Connell named Wes Phillips their new OC; he is Wade Phillips’ son, grandson of former Oilers coach Bum Phillips.
Super Bowl champ Rams have now lost at least three of their assistants from this past season; last spring, they lost seven assistants, so lot of turnover on Sean McVay’s staff.
5) Georgia Bulldogs won the college football national title; they’ve lost four assistant coaches since then, so Kirby Smart will be rebuilding his staff too.
There is a growing thing amongst coaches that college recruiting has become overwhelming, a 24/7/365 type thing, maybe more important than actual X’s/O’s coaching. You see a guy like Liam Coen go from OC at Kentucky to OC with the Rams, and that probably plays into it.
4) Oklahoma State’s baseball team has a couple of assistant coaches with impressive resumes, former big leaguers Matt Holliday/Robin Ventura. Holliday’s brother Josh is the head coach for the Cowboys.
There was a time when Holliday’s father was Oklahoma State’s coach, but he got fired and was replaced by Frank Anderson. At the time, Anderson’s son Brett Anderson was on the A’s, and so was Matt Holliday, which had to be a little awkward.
3) Watching Law and Order this afternoon and the judge is Morty from Meatballs, the old movie where Bill Murray is a camp counselor. Morty ran the camp; the counselors put his bed (with him in it) on a raft in the pond where the camp was. Somehow he graduated to being a judge. Go figure.
2) Enough with all the Bracketology guessing; every network has a guy who says, “If Team A wins this game, they’re a 6-seed, or Team B is off the bubble with a loss here”
These are all just educated guesses; let’s wait until March 13, and see the bracket for real.
1) Oregon swept their LA trip this season, beating USC/UCLA, two great wins, but at the time, there were no fans allowed in those arenas, so to me, those wins aren’t as impressive as road wins where there was crowd noise to deal with. To me, Oregon might be a little over-seeded when the brackets come out.
BROOKLYN is 3-14 ATS (-12.4 Units) in home games versus good passing teams, averaging >=23 assists/game in the current season.
ATLANTA is 10-36 ATS (-29.6 Units) in road games as a dog of 3.5 to 9.5 in the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) when playing 4 or less games in 10 days in the current season.
MINNESOTA is 13-4 ATS (8.6 Units) revenging a road loss vs opponent in the current season.
GOLDEN STATE is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=13 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season in the current season.
DENVER is 145-103 ATS (31.7 Units) versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=13 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
ATLANTA is 10-36 ATS (-29.6 Units) in road games as a dog of 3.5 to 9.5 in the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) when playing 4 or less games in 10 days in the current season.
MINNESOTA is 13-4 ATS (8.6 Units) revenging a road loss vs opponent in the current season.
GOLDEN STATE is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=13 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season in the current season.
DENVER is 145-103 ATS (31.7 Units) versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=13 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
NBA
Thursday, February 24
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Trend Report
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Cleveland @ Detroit
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Cleveland's last 12 games when playing Detroit
Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Detroit's last 12 games when playing Cleveland
Boston @ Brooklyn
Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Boston is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Boston
Brooklyn is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Boston
Atlanta @ Chicago
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Atlanta's last 20 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Memphis @ Minnesota
Memphis
Memphis is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Memphis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota
Minnesota is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 6 games
Phoenix @ Oklahoma City
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Phoenix is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games on the road
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 16-1 SU in its last 17 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Oklahoma City is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Denver @ Sacramento
Denver
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver's last 5 games when playing Sacramento
Denver is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Sacramento
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing Denver
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Sacramento's last 7 games
Golden State @ Portland
Golden State
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Golden State's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Golden State's last 5 games when playing Portland
Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland's last 5 games when playing Golden State
Portland is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 24
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland @ Detroit
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Cleveland's last 12 games when playing Detroit
Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Detroit's last 12 games when playing Cleveland
Boston @ Brooklyn
Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Boston is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Boston
Brooklyn is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Boston
Atlanta @ Chicago
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Atlanta's last 20 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Memphis @ Minnesota
Memphis
Memphis is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Memphis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota
Minnesota is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 6 games
Phoenix @ Oklahoma City
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Phoenix is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games on the road
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 16-1 SU in its last 17 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Oklahoma City is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Denver @ Sacramento
Denver
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver's last 5 games when playing Sacramento
Denver is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Sacramento
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing Denver
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Sacramento's last 7 games
Golden State @ Portland
Golden State
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Golden State's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Golden State's last 5 games when playing Portland
Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland's last 5 games when playing Golden State
Portland is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Celtics are 4-2 ATS in their last six games.
The Nets are 8-2 ATS in their last ten matchups against Boston.
The total has gone UNDER in nine of the last 13 Celtics' games.
The total has gone OVER in six of the last seven Nets' games.
The Nets are 3-17 ATS in their last 20 home games.
The total has gone OVER in five of the last six matchups between Boston and Brooklyn.
The Celtics are 9-1 SU in their last ten games.
The Hawks are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games.
The Bulls are 10-5 ATS in their last 15 matchups against Atlanta.
The total has gone OVER in fourof the last five Hawks' games.
The Bulls are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.
The total has gone OVER in nine of the last 12 Bulls' games.
The Warriors are 0-5 ATS in their last five games.
The Blazers are 4-8 SU in their last 12 matchups against Golden State.
The total has gone OVER in four of the last five Warriors' games.
The Blazers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games.
The total has gone UNDER in six of the last nine Blazers' games.
The total has gone UNDER in four of the last five matchups between Portland and Golden State.
The Nets are 8-2 ATS in their last ten matchups against Boston.
The total has gone UNDER in nine of the last 13 Celtics' games.
The total has gone OVER in six of the last seven Nets' games.
The Nets are 3-17 ATS in their last 20 home games.
The total has gone OVER in five of the last six matchups between Boston and Brooklyn.
The Celtics are 9-1 SU in their last ten games.
The Hawks are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games.
The Bulls are 10-5 ATS in their last 15 matchups against Atlanta.
The total has gone OVER in fourof the last five Hawks' games.
The Bulls are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.
The total has gone OVER in nine of the last 12 Bulls' games.
The Warriors are 0-5 ATS in their last five games.
The Blazers are 4-8 SU in their last 12 matchups against Golden State.
The total has gone OVER in four of the last five Warriors' games.
The Blazers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games.
The total has gone UNDER in six of the last nine Blazers' games.
The total has gone UNDER in four of the last five matchups between Portland and Golden State.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
CLE at DET 07:00 PM
CLE -9.0
U 210.5
+500 +500
BOS at BK 07:30 PM
BOS -6.5
U 213.0
+500 +500
PHO at OKC 08:00 PM
OKC +10.0
O 215.0
+500 +500
MEM at MIN 08:00 PM
MEM -2.5
U 239.0
+500 +500
ATL at CHI 08:00 PM
CHI -3.5
U 234.5
+500 +500
GS at POR 10:00 PM
POR +8.5
O 223.5
+500 +500
DEN at SAC 10:00 PM
SAC +4.5
O 231.0
+500 +500
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
CLE at DET 07:00 PM
CLE -9.0
U 210.5
+500 +500
BOS at BK 07:30 PM
BOS -6.5
U 213.0
+500 +500
PHO at OKC 08:00 PM
OKC +10.0
O 215.0
+500 +500
MEM at MIN 08:00 PM
MEM -2.5
U 239.0
+500 +500
ATL at CHI 08:00 PM
CHI -3.5
U 234.5
+500 +500
GS at POR 10:00 PM
POR +8.5
O 223.5
+500 +500
DEN at SAC 10:00 PM
SAC +4.5
O 231.0
+500 +500
FEBRUARY BEST BETS & OPINIONS
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
02/24/2022...............8-6-0...........57.14%..................+7.00
02/17/2022...............5-5-0...........50.00% ..................-2.50
02/16/2022...............8-7-0...........53.33% .................+1.50
02/15/2022...............4-3-1...........56.25% .................+3.50
02/11/2022...............2-2-1...........50.00% ..................-1.00
02/07/2022...............3-3-0............50.00%..................-1.50
02/04/2022...............9-8-1............52.94%.................+1.00
02/03/2022...............5-7-0............41.67%.................-13.50
02/02/2022...............7-8-2............47.06%...................-9.00
02/01/2022...............8-6-0............57.14%..................+7.00
TOTALS..................59-55-5............51.75%%...............-7.50
BEST BETS:
02/24/2022.............6-4-0..............60.00%.................+8.00
02/17/2022.............3-3-0..............50.00%.................- 1.50
02/16/2022.............5-4-0..............55.55%.................+3.00
02/15/2022.............4-2-1..............66.66%.................+9.00
02/11/2022.............2-2-1..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/07/2022.............2-2-0..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/04/2022.............6 -5-0.............54.54%..................+2.50
02/03/2022.............3 -4 -0............42.85%...................-7.00
02/02/2022............12-11-0............52.17%...................-0.50
02/01/2022...............5-4-0.............55.55%.................+3.00
TOTALS..................48-41-0............55.05%..................+14.50
UPDATED 02/24/22
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
02/24/2022...............8-6-0...........57.14%..................+7.00
02/17/2022...............5-5-0...........50.00% ..................-2.50
02/16/2022...............8-7-0...........53.33% .................+1.50
02/15/2022...............4-3-1...........56.25% .................+3.50
02/11/2022...............2-2-1...........50.00% ..................-1.00
02/07/2022...............3-3-0............50.00%..................-1.50
02/04/2022...............9-8-1............52.94%.................+1.00
02/03/2022...............5-7-0............41.67%.................-13.50
02/02/2022...............7-8-2............47.06%...................-9.00
02/01/2022...............8-6-0............57.14%..................+7.00
TOTALS..................59-55-5............51.75%%...............-7.50
BEST BETS:
02/24/2022.............6-4-0..............60.00%.................+8.00
02/17/2022.............3-3-0..............50.00%.................- 1.50
02/16/2022.............5-4-0..............55.55%.................+3.00
02/15/2022.............4-2-1..............66.66%.................+9.00
02/11/2022.............2-2-1..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/07/2022.............2-2-0..............50.00%..................-1.00
02/04/2022.............6 -5-0.............54.54%..................+2.50
02/03/2022.............3 -4 -0............42.85%...................-7.00
02/02/2022............12-11-0............52.17%...................-0.50
02/01/2022...............5-4-0.............55.55%.................+3.00
TOTALS..................48-41-0............55.05%..................+14.50
UPDATED 02/24/22
Armadillo Sports
Friday’s 6-pack
Teams that force turnovers the highest %gae of time:
3) VCU
4) LSU
5) Iowa State
7) Texas A&M
10) Texas
11) Tennessee
Quote of the Day
“It’s history. We’re witnessing history. What we are witnessing right now is something people are going to remember for a long time.”
Bulls’ F Ayo Dosunmu, talking about teammate DeMar DeRozan, who scored 35+ points for the 8th straight game Thursday. Only six other players have ever done that.
Friday’s quiz
When Syracuse won the NCAA Tournament in 2003, who did they beat in the final?
Thursday’s quiz
Lakers won the NBA title in Magic Johnson’s rookie season; Jack McKinney was the first coach Johnson played for in the NBA. McKinney got hurt riding a bike when the Lakers were 10-4; Paul Westhead took over the team after that.
Wednesday’s quiz
When Michael Jordan played minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons, Terry Francona was the Barons’ skipper.
******************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….
13) Conference tournaments start next week in the mid-majors; this will be the first time in three years we have a normal March Madness.
Should be an interesting three weeks coming up, one of my favorite times of the year. No dominant team; the #1 team is a mid-major (Gonzaga), Arizona is experience team #356 and Auburn is a football school with a great player (Jabari Smith)- they have two losses in OT, a third loss by one point. If you put “Kentucky” on their uniforms, they’d probably be the favorite.
12) Oregon 68, UCLA 63:
— Bruins star Johnny Juzang got hurt again, played only 11:00.
— UCLA split its last eight games.
— Oregon wins on Nike founder Phil Knight’s 85th birthday
11) USC 94, Oregon State 91, 2OT:
— Beavers are the best 3-23 team in the history of the world.
— Davis scored 31 for Oregon State, only 2nd time this year he scored 20+ points.
— Beavers were only 12-22 on the foul line.
— USC point guard Ellis sat this game out (ankle)
10) Murray State 76, Belmont 43:
— Two best teams in OVC; Belmont was 5-25 on arc, 2-4 on line.
— Murray sweeps season series by 22-33 points, but meeting #3 will probably be in OVC tourney and that’ll be the one that decides who goes to the NCAA Tournament (Murray could still get in with a loss)
9) South Dakota State 106, Oral Roberts 102 OT:
— Same situation here; two of three best teams in Summit League.
— Oral Roberts led by 13 in first half.
— Luke Appel scored 41 points; looks like he came off the bench.
8) There are rumors that Troy Aikman is bolting FOX for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, which would be interesting.
— Would Joe Buck go to ESPN with Aikman?
— If so, would Buck get a gig on Sunday Night Baseball?
— Who will replace Aikman on FOX?
7) Back in 1983, this was Virginia’s coaching staff; lot of good coaches.
— Head coach Terry Holland won 418 games
— Jeff Jones has 532 wins (and counting)
— Dave Odom won 406 games
— Jim Larranaga has 689 wins (and counting)
— Seth Greenberg won 383 games.
6) Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan has a cap number of $48,662,500 next year, highest in NFL history. Right now, Ryan takes up 23.4% of the Falcons’ salary cap space for 2022- if Atlanta were to release him, they would save $8,137,500 in cap space, but they wouldn’t have a QB, either.
5) Nebraska is 21-65 in basketball the last three years, 6-49 in conference games, but they’ll bring coach Fred Hoiberg back next season- they would’ve had to pay him $18.5M to go away.
Hoiberg went 115-56 in five years at Iowa State before trying his hand in the NBA with Chicago; he thrived at Iowa State by bringing in transfers, but now everyone does that.
4) Ohio State 86, Illinois 83:
— Ohio State led by 16 with 5:58 left, hung on for dear life.
— Buckeyes outscored Illinois 26-11 on foul line.
— Illinois led game 21-8 early on.
3) Gonzaga 89, San Francisco 73:
— USF beat Davidson, UAB, two solid mid-majors; Arizona State’s resurgence could help the Dons- they beat ASU 66-65 in December.
— Dons are 1-5 against BYU-Saint Mary’s-Gonzaga; they need a good WCC tournament.
2) Fullerton 66, Irvine 64— Anteaters’ loss puts Long Beach State atop Big West standings with three games left. Irvine led this game by 10 with 6:42 left.
1) Life has peaks and valleys, for sure; Rams win the Super Bowl 12 days ago, a great night for Sean McVay, but now this week all hell breaks loose in the Ukraine. McVay is getting married this summer to Veronika Khomyn, who is from the Ukraine— her family is still there.
Has to be horrible to turn the TV on and see your homeland invaded by hostile forces. My prayers are with the Ukranian people; hopefully this mess will come to a peaceful end soon.
Friday’s 6-pack
Teams that force turnovers the highest %gae of time:
3) VCU
4) LSU
5) Iowa State
7) Texas A&M
10) Texas
11) Tennessee
Quote of the Day
“It’s history. We’re witnessing history. What we are witnessing right now is something people are going to remember for a long time.”
Bulls’ F Ayo Dosunmu, talking about teammate DeMar DeRozan, who scored 35+ points for the 8th straight game Thursday. Only six other players have ever done that.
Friday’s quiz
When Syracuse won the NCAA Tournament in 2003, who did they beat in the final?
Thursday’s quiz
Lakers won the NBA title in Magic Johnson’s rookie season; Jack McKinney was the first coach Johnson played for in the NBA. McKinney got hurt riding a bike when the Lakers were 10-4; Paul Westhead took over the team after that.
Wednesday’s quiz
When Michael Jordan played minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons, Terry Francona was the Barons’ skipper.
******************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….
13) Conference tournaments start next week in the mid-majors; this will be the first time in three years we have a normal March Madness.
Should be an interesting three weeks coming up, one of my favorite times of the year. No dominant team; the #1 team is a mid-major (Gonzaga), Arizona is experience team #356 and Auburn is a football school with a great player (Jabari Smith)- they have two losses in OT, a third loss by one point. If you put “Kentucky” on their uniforms, they’d probably be the favorite.
12) Oregon 68, UCLA 63:
— Bruins star Johnny Juzang got hurt again, played only 11:00.
— UCLA split its last eight games.
— Oregon wins on Nike founder Phil Knight’s 85th birthday
11) USC 94, Oregon State 91, 2OT:
— Beavers are the best 3-23 team in the history of the world.
— Davis scored 31 for Oregon State, only 2nd time this year he scored 20+ points.
— Beavers were only 12-22 on the foul line.
— USC point guard Ellis sat this game out (ankle)
10) Murray State 76, Belmont 43:
— Two best teams in OVC; Belmont was 5-25 on arc, 2-4 on line.
— Murray sweeps season series by 22-33 points, but meeting #3 will probably be in OVC tourney and that’ll be the one that decides who goes to the NCAA Tournament (Murray could still get in with a loss)
9) South Dakota State 106, Oral Roberts 102 OT:
— Same situation here; two of three best teams in Summit League.
— Oral Roberts led by 13 in first half.
— Luke Appel scored 41 points; looks like he came off the bench.
8) There are rumors that Troy Aikman is bolting FOX for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, which would be interesting.
— Would Joe Buck go to ESPN with Aikman?
— If so, would Buck get a gig on Sunday Night Baseball?
— Who will replace Aikman on FOX?
7) Back in 1983, this was Virginia’s coaching staff; lot of good coaches.
— Head coach Terry Holland won 418 games
— Jeff Jones has 532 wins (and counting)
— Dave Odom won 406 games
— Jim Larranaga has 689 wins (and counting)
— Seth Greenberg won 383 games.
6) Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan has a cap number of $48,662,500 next year, highest in NFL history. Right now, Ryan takes up 23.4% of the Falcons’ salary cap space for 2022- if Atlanta were to release him, they would save $8,137,500 in cap space, but they wouldn’t have a QB, either.
5) Nebraska is 21-65 in basketball the last three years, 6-49 in conference games, but they’ll bring coach Fred Hoiberg back next season- they would’ve had to pay him $18.5M to go away.
Hoiberg went 115-56 in five years at Iowa State before trying his hand in the NBA with Chicago; he thrived at Iowa State by bringing in transfers, but now everyone does that.
4) Ohio State 86, Illinois 83:
— Ohio State led by 16 with 5:58 left, hung on for dear life.
— Buckeyes outscored Illinois 26-11 on foul line.
— Illinois led game 21-8 early on.
3) Gonzaga 89, San Francisco 73:
— USF beat Davidson, UAB, two solid mid-majors; Arizona State’s resurgence could help the Dons- they beat ASU 66-65 in December.
— Dons are 1-5 against BYU-Saint Mary’s-Gonzaga; they need a good WCC tournament.
2) Fullerton 66, Irvine 64— Anteaters’ loss puts Long Beach State atop Big West standings with three games left. Irvine led this game by 10 with 6:42 left.
1) Life has peaks and valleys, for sure; Rams win the Super Bowl 12 days ago, a great night for Sean McVay, but now this week all hell breaks loose in the Ukraine. McVay is getting married this summer to Veronika Khomyn, who is from the Ukraine— her family is still there.
Has to be horrible to turn the TV on and see your homeland invaded by hostile forces. My prayers are with the Ukranian people; hopefully this mess will come to a peaceful end soon.
HOUSTON is 6-20 ATS (-16 Units) after 7 or more consecutive losses in the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 6-25 ATS (-21.5 Units) in home games in the second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) when playing 6 or less games in 14 days in the current season.
MIAMI is 14-3 ATS (10.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS are 11-1 ATS (9.9 Units) revenging a same season loss vs opponent in the current season.
PHOENIX is 12-2 ATS (9.8 Units) when playing 6 or less games in 14 days in the current season.
LA LAKERS are 19-41 ATS (-26.1 Units) in home games after playing a home game in the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 6-25 ATS (-21.5 Units) in home games in the second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 10-2 ATS (7.8 Units) when playing 6 or less games in 14 days in the current season.
MIAMI is 14-3 ATS (10.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS are 11-1 ATS (9.9 Units) revenging a same season loss vs opponent in the current season.
PHOENIX is 12-2 ATS (9.8 Units) when playing 6 or less games in 14 days in the current season.
LA LAKERS are 19-41 ATS (-26.1 Units) in home games after playing a home game in the last 3 seasons.
