Drew Gordon
Utah (pk) at MIAMI
Say what you will about Utah being on an extended road trip, and blah blah blah, but fact of the matter is the Jazz will take care of business in South Florida this afternoon and here's why:
In case you haven't noticed the Jazz have been playing excellent ball of late, winners of 12 straight before their loss at the Hawks in their last one. Although the line on this contest is bit fishy, I'm not ready to play against this Utah team just yet, they've been too damn good over the last month. The Heat meanwhile, have been anything but consistent. True, they beat the Celtics in their last one (without Garnett or Rondo), but they also barely scrapped by Chicago in the game prior, so let's not get too carried away with this barely above average Eastern Conference team.
These two teams played only one other time this season, with Miami getting the 93-89 outright win in Salt Lake back in December. Don't think for a second the Jazz have forgotten that contest, as Utah has only lost 6 games at home this season, and now its payback time! Not to mention, the Jazz were without Boozer in that one, and while Millsap proved to be a competent replacement, the Jazz are so much deeper when they have Boozer in the lineup and Millsap coming off the bench.
Finally, while the Jazz's road record is nothing to write home about (15-16 ATS), its important to note the Heat have been a piss-poor bet at home this season, going just 15-18-1 ATS at American Airlines Arena. With Utah finally healthy, and playing some of its best ball of the season, look for them to return the favor with a solid road win this afternoon in Miami. In the end, its Utah's deep frontcourt thats the difference, as Okur takes O'Neal outside (and away from the basket), while Boozer and company pound the ball inside.
Take Utah over Miami in this NBA match up.
2♦ UTAH
Ohio State vs. Michigan State -7' at Indianapolis
Nice win by the Buckeyes yesterday against Wisconsin, but this is where the winning stops, as they match up against a Spartans team that not only has plenty to play for, but is playing extremely well of late. With all the upsets that happened yesterday, all of a sudden a # 1 seed in the Mayhem is a possibilty, so rest-assured, coach Izzo will have his boys playing HARD in this one, and that's bad news for Ohio State-backers!
Speaking of recent play, leave it up to Tom Izzo to have his team peaking at precisely the right time, winners of 6 in a row SU (4-2 ATS)! They won and covered vs Minnesota yesterday 64-56, and I expect more of the same today. How have they done it? The way you'd expect, on defense, allowing 57 ppg on 39% shooting over their last 5 games! Ohio State's defense has been solid, but they're still allowing a relatively generous 43% shooting over the same 5-game span.
The real difference here is in the paint, where Morgan and Suton can and will own this OSU frontline. Dallas Lauderdale is a decent player, but he's going to get gobbled alive by the Michigan State frontcourt. We all know the Spartans are an excellent rebounding team, and if you do not have the size to match up, you're in BIG trouble. This holds true once again this afternoon, just like it did in both meetings this season!
Looking over their two match ups this season, we learned two things: A. The Spartans frontcort owned the Buckeyes, as mentioned above. And B. Even when the Buckeyes were at home, and shot 54%, they still lost by 11 points, wondering why? Because they simply could not stop the Michigan State offense, led by Kalin Lucas. Spartans shot 49% in Columbus, and I expect another strong shooting effort this afternoon against a beatable Ohio State D. Lay the points, as Izzo and his troops come in focused and ready for this contest.
Take Michigan State over Ohio State in this college hoops match up.
2♦ MICHIGAN STATE
