Dave Cokin's Pick Pack
NCAA Basketball Daily Picks
Premium Plays
Matchup: Tulsa at Central Florida
Time: 7:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Central Florida (+2.5 -110)
Line Source: PINNACLE
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
Tulsa is a better team than Central Florida, but the scheduling dynamics are huge for the home team tonight. UCF has been very good at home all season, but they had a disastrous outing against Houston a few games back. The Knights followed that up with a second straight shabby performance, but they appeared to get it back together last game against UTEP. UCF lost that game, but only by five and I see them now getting back to where they were prior to the Houston debacle. Now it's Tulsa that fits the profile of a team likely to throw in a clunker. The Golden Hurricane have had a very solid year, but they just got kikked at Memphis in what was a very big game and they're in a huge potential hangover spot. The home team has won all five meetings between these two teams and the situation favors the host tonight. I'll take the points with Central Florida.
Member Plays
Matchup: UCLA at Arizona
Time: 1:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: UCLA (-4.0 -110)
Line Source: HILTON
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
I have to admit I'm surprised by how well Arizona has hung in, as I thought the Wildcats were a candidate to pack it in early with the pre-season turmoil and what amounts to a lame duck coaching staff. That said, they're still a limited team as they have very little depth and I just can't see them matching up with UCLA. The Bruins have been sharp lately, and don't be misled by the narrow loss to Arizona State. I thought UCLA was flat out jobbed by the officiating late in that game, and that may actually work to our advantage here. No doubt in my mind the Bruins take the court focused and mite ticked off to boot and that's a combo Arizona cannot counter. Lay the spot with UCLA.
Matchup: Creighton at Southern Illinois
Time: 5:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Creighton (-2.5 -110)
Line Source: ATLANTIS
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
It's been a rough year for Southern Illinois. The Salukis got off to a terrible start thanks to their horrific shooting, and just when they finally seemed to get on track, they lost their floor leader to injury. SIU just got trampled at Northern Iowa and they look like major fade material right now. Creighton has hit their stride and the Bluejays will be gunning for their sixth straight win here. I see them getting it without that much resistance and I'm therefore more than happy to lay a very small spot with the Creighton side.
Matchup: Tennessee State at Austin Peay
Time: 7:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Austin Peay (-12.5 -110)
Line Source: ATLANTIS
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
Tennessee State is a mess right now. They unceremoniously dumped their veteran coach last week, and while they did manage a road win at Jacksonville State on Monday, this is basically a rudderless ship right now. Austin Peay has not been a big margin team this year, but the Governors are winning, and now find themselves just one game off the top in OVC. The national TV cameras will fire up the crowd and I feel there's good reason to fade the road team in their current state of affairs. Lay the spot with Austin Peay.
Guaranteed Plays
Matchup: Niagara at Fairfield
Time: 9:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Niagara (-5.0 -110)
Line Source: ATLANTIS
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
Niagara was just about my favorite team early in the season as I notched several winners with the Purple Eagles. I got off them when they hit a bit of a funk early in the conference season, but Niagara is clearly back on the beam once again. The Eagles have won six in a row coming into play tonight, and they've covered each of their last five outings. Fairfield has shown lots of guts in playing through injuries and off the court issues, but now Nero is having more back problems, so in effect the Stags have lost almost all their key talent for one reason or another. I think they have to be gassed at this point and the fact that Niagara is a dynamite 10-1 as road chalk of six points or fewer sure doesn't hurt the cause. Let's ride the hot team again with another play on Niagara to notch the win and cover.
NCAA Basketball Daily Picks
Premium Plays
Matchup: Tulsa at Central Florida
Time: 7:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Central Florida (+2.5 -110)
Line Source: PINNACLE
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
Tulsa is a better team than Central Florida, but the scheduling dynamics are huge for the home team tonight. UCF has been very good at home all season, but they had a disastrous outing against Houston a few games back. The Knights followed that up with a second straight shabby performance, but they appeared to get it back together last game against UTEP. UCF lost that game, but only by five and I see them now getting back to where they were prior to the Houston debacle. Now it's Tulsa that fits the profile of a team likely to throw in a clunker. The Golden Hurricane have had a very solid year, but they just got kikked at Memphis in what was a very big game and they're in a huge potential hangover spot. The home team has won all five meetings between these two teams and the situation favors the host tonight. I'll take the points with Central Florida.
Member Plays
Matchup: UCLA at Arizona
Time: 1:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: UCLA (-4.0 -110)
Line Source: HILTON
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
I have to admit I'm surprised by how well Arizona has hung in, as I thought the Wildcats were a candidate to pack it in early with the pre-season turmoil and what amounts to a lame duck coaching staff. That said, they're still a limited team as they have very little depth and I just can't see them matching up with UCLA. The Bruins have been sharp lately, and don't be misled by the narrow loss to Arizona State. I thought UCLA was flat out jobbed by the officiating late in that game, and that may actually work to our advantage here. No doubt in my mind the Bruins take the court focused and mite ticked off to boot and that's a combo Arizona cannot counter. Lay the spot with UCLA.
Matchup: Creighton at Southern Illinois
Time: 5:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Creighton (-2.5 -110)
Line Source: ATLANTIS
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
It's been a rough year for Southern Illinois. The Salukis got off to a terrible start thanks to their horrific shooting, and just when they finally seemed to get on track, they lost their floor leader to injury. SIU just got trampled at Northern Iowa and they look like major fade material right now. Creighton has hit their stride and the Bluejays will be gunning for their sixth straight win here. I see them getting it without that much resistance and I'm therefore more than happy to lay a very small spot with the Creighton side.
Matchup: Tennessee State at Austin Peay
Time: 7:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Austin Peay (-12.5 -110)
Line Source: ATLANTIS
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
Tennessee State is a mess right now. They unceremoniously dumped their veteran coach last week, and while they did manage a road win at Jacksonville State on Monday, this is basically a rudderless ship right now. Austin Peay has not been a big margin team this year, but the Governors are winning, and now find themselves just one game off the top in OVC. The national TV cameras will fire up the crowd and I feel there's good reason to fade the road team in their current state of affairs. Lay the spot with Austin Peay.
Guaranteed Plays
Matchup: Niagara at Fairfield
Time: 9:00 PM EDT (Sat)
Play: Niagara (-5.0 -110)
Line Source: ATLANTIS
Posted on: February 14, 2009 @ 3:14:15 AM EST
Niagara was just about my favorite team early in the season as I notched several winners with the Purple Eagles. I got off them when they hit a bit of a funk early in the conference season, but Niagara is clearly back on the beam once again. The Eagles have won six in a row coming into play tonight, and they've covered each of their last five outings. Fairfield has shown lots of guts in playing through injuries and off the court issues, but now Nero is having more back problems, so in effect the Stags have lost almost all their key talent for one reason or another. I think they have to be gassed at this point and the fact that Niagara is a dynamite 10-1 as road chalk of six points or fewer sure doesn't hurt the cause. Let's ride the hot team again with another play on Niagara to notch the win and cover.
