ASA HOOPS - 1 NBA pick + 3 CBB picks on Saturday
#511/512 ASA 3* PLAY ON Over 229.5 Points - Indiana Pacers @ Phoenix Suns, Saturday at 9:10 PM ET
The Pacers are coming off a game in altitude in Denver last night and also playing their 3rd game in four nights. The Pacers don’t play any defense as they give up 1.151-points per possession which is the 23rd worst number in the NBA. Indiana has allowed over 130 points in 3 of their last four games and 126+ in all four. The Suns are one of the slower paced teams in the league ranking 8th slowest but they are better than average or 14th in offensive efficiency (1.144PPP). Phoenix has slipped defensively themselves this season. Last year the Suns owned the 3rd best defensive efficiency rating allowing 1.074 points per possession. This season they currently sit 14th in the league allowing 1.139PPP. Phoenix just faced the Nets and the two teams combined for 229 total points. Brooklyn doesn’t play near as fast as the Pacers who average 101.3 possessions per game which is 5th fastest. This O/U number is barely higher than the league average and we expect it to get there with ease tonight.
#632 ASA 3* PLAY ON Ohio State -3 over Iowa, Saturday at 2 PM ET
Talk about a must win home game. The Buckeyes started the Big 10 season with a 2-0 record but they’ve since lost 5 consecutive conference games. Every one of those 5 losses was by 7 points or less with 4 coming by 3 points or fewer. Iowa, on the other hand, has won 4 straight but 3 of those have come at home. Prior to their 4 game Big 10 winning streak they had back to back road losses @ Penn State and @ Nebraska. The Hawkeyes are just 2-3 in games away from home (road/neutral) and in true road game they are shooting just 39% as a team. Meanwhile, at home OSU is winning by an average score of 80-60 while shooting 50% as a team. Despite their 2-5 Big 10 record compared to Iowa’s 4-3 league mark, the Buckeyes have been the better shooting team (79th nationally in eFG% compared to 105th for Iowa) and MUCH better defensively with the 23rd best eFG% in the nation compared to Iowa’s 188th. Just a few weeks ago OSU was -2 at home vs Purdue the nation’s #3 ranked team (lost by 2) and now they are laying only a few points more vs Iowa in a must win spot with their next 2 games @ Illinois and @ Indiana. Lay the small number with the Buckeyes.
#670 ASA 4* PLAY ON Penn State -8.5 over Nebraska, Saturday at 2:15 PM ET
PSU has dropped 3 of their last 4 games to fall to 3-4 in Big 10 play. This team is solid and now in must win mode at home vs one of the conference’s worst teams. Nebraska is improved over previous seasons, but they are still ranked as the 2nd worst team in the Big 10 ahead of only Minnesota. The Huskers are coming off a big home upset vs Ohio State and now are on the road where they are 1-3 in league play with their only win coming @ Minnesota (by far the worst team in the Big 10) by 2 points in OT. Nebraska’s other 3 conference road losses have come by margins of 16, 18, and 18 points. PSU is 9-1 at home this year with their only loss coming at the hands of Michigan State. The Nittany Lions 2 home conference wins have come vs Indiana & Iowa, and their 9 home wins have come by an average of 16 PPG. PSU is one of the better shooting teams in the country ranking 26th in adjusted offensive efficiency, 13th in eFG% and 6th in 3 point FG%. At home they make nearly 50% of their shots and 42% of their 3-pointers. The Lions also turn the ball over just 13% of the time which is #1 nationally limiting opponents extra possessions. With Nebraska averaging only 60 PPG on the road this year, we’re not sure they can keep up with Penn State in a must win spot at home. Lay it.
#696 ASA 6* PLAY ON Bradley -8 over Belmont, Saturday at 4 PM ET
Bradley currently sits at 6-3 in the Missouri Valley which is good for 3rd place but they are the best team in the conference by nearly every key metric. They rank #1 in MVC play in adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency. The Braves are truly one of the top defensive teams in the country this year allowing just 60 PPG (16th nationally) with opponents making only 39% of their shots (24th). This is a huge home game for the Braves who sit one game behind conference newcomer Belmont. The Bruins are tied for 1st place with Southern Illinois at 7-2. They’ve also played the easiest conference schedule thus far and they are 2-2 on the road in league play. Their 2 conference road wins came @ Valpo and @ Illinois Chicago, 2 of the 3 worst teams in the MVC. Their other 2 road games ended in an 18 point loss @ Southern Illinois and a 10 point loss @ Illinois State. This is a revenger for Bradley who lost @ Belmont in late December blowing a 9 point lead with under 10 minutes remaining in the game in the 3 point loss. The Braves have been fantastic at home with a 10-0 mark winning by an average score of 82-54! Their closest margin of victory at home this year had been 13 points. They have not lost ATS at home this season with their average cover coming by +15 PPG. The Braves have 7 losses on the season, all on the road, and 5 of them have come vs top 100 teams. By comparison, Belmont has played only 1 top 100 team this entire season, and that was Bradley, a game we discussed earlier. We’ll lay it with Bradley at home in revenge mode facing a Belmont team that has played a light schedule to date.