NHL POWER INDEX
Philadelphia (-108) even with N.Y. Rangers* (+108)
New Jersey* (-112) even with San Jose (+112)
Florida* (-101) even with Washington (+101)
Detroit* (-213) 1½ over Colorado (+213)
Buffalo* (-169) 1 over Carolina (+169)
Anaheim* (-164) 1 over Atlanta (+164)
Vancouver* (-128) ½ over Montreal (+128)
Philadelphia (-108) even with N.Y. Rangers* (+108)
New Jersey* (-112) even with San Jose (+112)
Florida* (-101) even with Washington (+101)
Detroit* (-213) 1½ over Colorado (+213)
Buffalo* (-169) 1 over Carolina (+169)
Anaheim* (-164) 1 over Atlanta (+164)
Vancouver* (-128) ½ over Montreal (+128)
TONY WESTON
We’re coming at it again tonight as we’re delivering with some more college hoops action as we’re switching gears and headed to Big Ten country where we’re taking Illinois on the road at Indiana.
While you might be a little scared off by what Illinois has been doing, or hasn’t been doing, lately, don’t worry, because one of their biggest huckleberries over the last few years has been the Hoosiers.
First, Indiana is absolutely horrible. The Hoosiers are 6-17 SU this season and remarkably 9-8 ATS. They’ve been a .500 team over their last eight games, going 4-4 ATS, however, they’re only 1-7 SU in that stretch, losing, on average, 72-62.
But what’s most important in this game is what these two do when they play each other. In their last seven games the Illini are 5-1 ATS against the Hoosiers. Things were looking so bad when they hooked up earlier this year that their game in Illinois wasn’t even lined. And the Illini went on to administer a humiliating 76-45 loss to the Hoosiers on Jan. 10.
Things won’t have changed much after tonight and the Illini will deliver a similar result as they get over easy on their Big Ten rival. Take Illinois easily on the road in this one.
3♦ ILLINOIS (on a 1♦ - 5♦ Scale)
We’re coming at it again tonight as we’re delivering with some more college hoops action as we’re switching gears and headed to Big Ten country where we’re taking Illinois on the road at Indiana.
While you might be a little scared off by what Illinois has been doing, or hasn’t been doing, lately, don’t worry, because one of their biggest huckleberries over the last few years has been the Hoosiers.
First, Indiana is absolutely horrible. The Hoosiers are 6-17 SU this season and remarkably 9-8 ATS. They’ve been a .500 team over their last eight games, going 4-4 ATS, however, they’re only 1-7 SU in that stretch, losing, on average, 72-62.
But what’s most important in this game is what these two do when they play each other. In their last seven games the Illini are 5-1 ATS against the Hoosiers. Things were looking so bad when they hooked up earlier this year that their game in Illinois wasn’t even lined. And the Illini went on to administer a humiliating 76-45 loss to the Hoosiers on Jan. 10.
Things won’t have changed much after tonight and the Illini will deliver a similar result as they get over easy on their Big Ten rival. Take Illinois easily on the road in this one.
3♦ ILLINOIS (on a 1♦ - 5♦ Scale)
DCI
NCAAB
America East Conference
ALBANY 61, New Hampshire 57
VERMONT 73, Stony Brook 60
Atlantic 10 Conference
Temple 76, DUQUESNE 73
Atlantic Coast Conference
Clemson 81, VIRGINIA 70
Duke 79, BOSTON COLLEGE 72
North Carolina 90, MIAMI (FLA.) 78
Big East Conference
LOUISVILLE 79, DePaul 53
NOTRE DAME 76, South Florida 64
Big Ten Conference
Illinois 65, INDIANA 53
NORTHWESTERN 60, Michigan 57
Colonial Athletic Association
DREXEL 67, Towson 56
Horizon League
BUTLER 73, Loyola (Chicago) 44
VALPARAISO 60, Uic 58
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
MANHATTAN 67, Rider 66
Mid-American Conference
Akron 71, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 54
BOWLING GREEN STATE 66, Eastern Michigan 48
Buffalo 56, BALL STATE 51
Missouri Valley Conference
Illinois State 63, DRAKE 62
Pacific-10 Conference
ARIZONA STATE 65, Usc 59
NCAAB
America East Conference
ALBANY 61, New Hampshire 57
VERMONT 73, Stony Brook 60
Atlantic 10 Conference
Temple 76, DUQUESNE 73
Atlantic Coast Conference
Clemson 81, VIRGINIA 70
Duke 79, BOSTON COLLEGE 72
North Carolina 90, MIAMI (FLA.) 78
Big East Conference
LOUISVILLE 79, DePaul 53
NOTRE DAME 76, South Florida 64
Big Ten Conference
Illinois 65, INDIANA 53
NORTHWESTERN 60, Michigan 57
Colonial Athletic Association
DREXEL 67, Towson 56
Horizon League
BUTLER 73, Loyola (Chicago) 44
VALPARAISO 60, Uic 58
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
MANHATTAN 67, Rider 66
Mid-American Conference
Akron 71, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 54
BOWLING GREEN STATE 66, Eastern Michigan 48
Buffalo 56, BALL STATE 51
Missouri Valley Conference
Illinois State 63, DRAKE 62
Pacific-10 Conference
ARIZONA STATE 65, Usc 59
Totals 4 U
Southern California @ Arizona State
Southern California (15-7, 6-4 PAC 10) The Trojans were overmatched from the gate last Saturday by UCLA’s defense, heading into the break with a 21-44 deficit, before finally falling at Pauley Pavilion 60-76 in a game Tim Floyd’s (78-44 in 4th season at Los Angeles) crew committed 23 turnovers. Before you write this unit off, though, consider the Bruins are crushing everyone right now and USC had previously banked 3 consecutive big wins over Washington State, Stanford, and California. Possibly a bigger issue is the dislocated finger suffered in that game by Wooden Award Candidate 6’9” 225 junior F Taj Gibson (14.3p, 10.0r) just prior to halftime. X-rays were negative and we expect Gibson (.574 field, conference-best 63 blocks) to go but keep an eye on his mitts when the Trojan travel to Arizona Thursday night. Size across the board (36.7 rebounds vs. 31.1 for opponents) is the major feature of this squad with 6’5” junior guard Daniel Hackett (11.2p, 3.9r, 5.0a) and Dwight Lewis (15.5p, 3.1r, 1.5a) manning the backcourt and capable deep threats (combined 57 of 151) for a team that has only attempted 264 shots from behind the arc all season. In the swing is 6’7” 220 G/F DeMar DeRozan (12.5p, 5.2r, 1.1a) and joining Gibson on the blocks is a super garbage man in 6’7” 230 freshman F Leonard Washington (7.3p, 4.9r) who is healthy again after missing 5 games to injury. Coach Floyd generally plays only about 7 deep but his contributing bench players also bring the beef with 6’10” 225 senior F Keith Wilkinson (3.5p, 3.1r, 1.3a) a veteran that can be relied on for productive minutes and 6’10” 220 freshman F Nikola Vucevic (2.5p, 2.3r) a talented youngster still growing into his body that has shown flashes of a fine future. In the PAC 10 there are few nights off and USC has run the gauntlet pretty well, managing a 5-3 mark over their last 8 opponents that currently sport a 133-51 combined record, and their 7 losses have come to teams sitting at 122-40. By the numbers Southern California scores 68.9 points per game (.470 field, .314 from 3-point) while a stacked schedule to average 62.2 points per game (.396 field, .334 from 3-point) and hold a 3-6 mark away from the Galen Center.
Arizona State (18-5, 7-4 PAC 10) The Sun Devils overcame a poor shooting performance (16 of 42) Saturday in Corvallis with smothering defense to top the Beavers 49-38 to complete last week’s road sweep over Oregon and Oregon State. 6’1” junior PG Derek Glasser (7.1p, 2.3r, 4.9a) was held out of that contest after taking a scary fall last week at Oregon from a hard pick. The diagnosis was a neck sprain and he should return this week but keep an eye out for Glasser Thursday night when the Devils host UCLA Thursday night. In his place 6’2” sophomore Jamelle McMillan (4.5p, 2.0r, 1.9a) made the most of his 2nd start this season with 14 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 5 steals with his father, former NBA star and current Portland Trailblazers coach Nate McMillan, in attendance. Guard play drives Coach Herb Sendek’s (47-40 in 3rd season at Tempe) philosophy and he has super personnel this season’s attempt for a back to back 20-win season. 6’5” sophomore G James Harden (21.9p, 5.4r, 4.0a, 42 steals) not only leads the conference in scoring and steals per game but is a dynamite shooter from behind the arc with 40 makes in 108 attempts and is our selection for the nation’s best all-around young player. Yes, at Arizona State! Swingman 6’6” 205 sophomore G/F Rihards Kuksiks (10.4p, 3.9r, 1.1a) is also a marksman with 59 makes behind the arc in 127 tries and 6’3” sophomore G Ty Abbott (7.0p, 4.2r, 1.8a) rounds out the backcourt. The Sun Devils don’t have a ton of capable players to man the blocks but the guy they do is pure warrior. 6’9” 240 senior F Jeff Pendergraph (13.7p, 7.9r, 1.0a) has superb body control and leads the NCAA in shooting percentage at a whopping 67.6% with 127 buckets in 188 shots. Other than McMillan, the only other notable bench contributor is 6’3” junior G Jerren Shipp (3.5p, 2.1r, 1.0a) – brother of UCLA’s Josh whom he will face Thursday night. By the numbers Arizona State scores 70.2 points (.480 field, .355 from 3-point) per game while allowing only 58.4 (.401 field, .322 from 3-point) to opponents and hold an 8-2 record at Wells Fargo Arena.
SELECTION: The Sun Devils play on the perimeter is as good as any squad in the country - both on offense where they boast the conference’s best assist/turnover ratio at 1.33 and have nailed 182 of 513 shots from downtown and on defense where they heist 6.4 steals per game. A season advantage on the boards of 32.0 to 28.9 per game is enough to hold their own against the Trojans and a free throw edge of 74.1% versus just 67.1% for USC seals the deal. Take Arizona State.
Southern California @ Arizona State
Southern California (15-7, 6-4 PAC 10) The Trojans were overmatched from the gate last Saturday by UCLA’s defense, heading into the break with a 21-44 deficit, before finally falling at Pauley Pavilion 60-76 in a game Tim Floyd’s (78-44 in 4th season at Los Angeles) crew committed 23 turnovers. Before you write this unit off, though, consider the Bruins are crushing everyone right now and USC had previously banked 3 consecutive big wins over Washington State, Stanford, and California. Possibly a bigger issue is the dislocated finger suffered in that game by Wooden Award Candidate 6’9” 225 junior F Taj Gibson (14.3p, 10.0r) just prior to halftime. X-rays were negative and we expect Gibson (.574 field, conference-best 63 blocks) to go but keep an eye on his mitts when the Trojan travel to Arizona Thursday night. Size across the board (36.7 rebounds vs. 31.1 for opponents) is the major feature of this squad with 6’5” junior guard Daniel Hackett (11.2p, 3.9r, 5.0a) and Dwight Lewis (15.5p, 3.1r, 1.5a) manning the backcourt and capable deep threats (combined 57 of 151) for a team that has only attempted 264 shots from behind the arc all season. In the swing is 6’7” 220 G/F DeMar DeRozan (12.5p, 5.2r, 1.1a) and joining Gibson on the blocks is a super garbage man in 6’7” 230 freshman F Leonard Washington (7.3p, 4.9r) who is healthy again after missing 5 games to injury. Coach Floyd generally plays only about 7 deep but his contributing bench players also bring the beef with 6’10” 225 senior F Keith Wilkinson (3.5p, 3.1r, 1.3a) a veteran that can be relied on for productive minutes and 6’10” 220 freshman F Nikola Vucevic (2.5p, 2.3r) a talented youngster still growing into his body that has shown flashes of a fine future. In the PAC 10 there are few nights off and USC has run the gauntlet pretty well, managing a 5-3 mark over their last 8 opponents that currently sport a 133-51 combined record, and their 7 losses have come to teams sitting at 122-40. By the numbers Southern California scores 68.9 points per game (.470 field, .314 from 3-point) while a stacked schedule to average 62.2 points per game (.396 field, .334 from 3-point) and hold a 3-6 mark away from the Galen Center.
Arizona State (18-5, 7-4 PAC 10) The Sun Devils overcame a poor shooting performance (16 of 42) Saturday in Corvallis with smothering defense to top the Beavers 49-38 to complete last week’s road sweep over Oregon and Oregon State. 6’1” junior PG Derek Glasser (7.1p, 2.3r, 4.9a) was held out of that contest after taking a scary fall last week at Oregon from a hard pick. The diagnosis was a neck sprain and he should return this week but keep an eye out for Glasser Thursday night when the Devils host UCLA Thursday night. In his place 6’2” sophomore Jamelle McMillan (4.5p, 2.0r, 1.9a) made the most of his 2nd start this season with 14 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 5 steals with his father, former NBA star and current Portland Trailblazers coach Nate McMillan, in attendance. Guard play drives Coach Herb Sendek’s (47-40 in 3rd season at Tempe) philosophy and he has super personnel this season’s attempt for a back to back 20-win season. 6’5” sophomore G James Harden (21.9p, 5.4r, 4.0a, 42 steals) not only leads the conference in scoring and steals per game but is a dynamite shooter from behind the arc with 40 makes in 108 attempts and is our selection for the nation’s best all-around young player. Yes, at Arizona State! Swingman 6’6” 205 sophomore G/F Rihards Kuksiks (10.4p, 3.9r, 1.1a) is also a marksman with 59 makes behind the arc in 127 tries and 6’3” sophomore G Ty Abbott (7.0p, 4.2r, 1.8a) rounds out the backcourt. The Sun Devils don’t have a ton of capable players to man the blocks but the guy they do is pure warrior. 6’9” 240 senior F Jeff Pendergraph (13.7p, 7.9r, 1.0a) has superb body control and leads the NCAA in shooting percentage at a whopping 67.6% with 127 buckets in 188 shots. Other than McMillan, the only other notable bench contributor is 6’3” junior G Jerren Shipp (3.5p, 2.1r, 1.0a) – brother of UCLA’s Josh whom he will face Thursday night. By the numbers Arizona State scores 70.2 points (.480 field, .355 from 3-point) per game while allowing only 58.4 (.401 field, .322 from 3-point) to opponents and hold an 8-2 record at Wells Fargo Arena.
SELECTION: The Sun Devils play on the perimeter is as good as any squad in the country - both on offense where they boast the conference’s best assist/turnover ratio at 1.33 and have nailed 182 of 513 shots from downtown and on defense where they heist 6.4 steals per game. A season advantage on the boards of 32.0 to 28.9 per game is enough to hold their own against the Trojans and a free throw edge of 74.1% versus just 67.1% for USC seals the deal. Take Arizona State.
<TABLE id=ctl00_MainContent_SportsPickDetailsListing_gvwProducts style="BORDER-RIGHT: #565656 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #565656 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #565656 1px solid; WIDTH: 99%; COLOR: black; BORDER-BOTTOM: #565656 1px solid" cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 border=0><TBODY><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fae5c3"><TD style="WIDTH: 20%">SUNDAY'S BEST LOCKS FOR NCAA HOOPS
Guys, Just want to contribute...Great job on this forum!! (1) is BEST BET and it goes up from there...
Ferrall has been money....
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 65%">SCOTT FERRALL PREMIUMBEST BETS IN ( )
ILLINOIS -10 to Indiana--I don't care they are in Bloomington (6)
ILLINOIS -10 to Indiana--I don't care they are in Bloomington (6)
CLEMSON -8.5 to Virginia (5)
BUTLER -18.5 to Loyola-Chicago (1)
NOTRE DAME -13.5 to South Florida (2)
DUQUESNE +1.5 from Temple--the game is in Pittsburgh, so I'm on the Dukes (4)
VALPO -1.5 to Illinois Chicago (3)
BC +7 from Duke (7)
Guys, Just want to contribute...Great job on this forum!! (1) is BEST BET and it goes up from there...
Ferrall has been money....
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The VSE Sunday Hoops Power Plays are:
VSE Power Plays
10* Take Clemson (-8) over Virginia (NCAA Power Play)
Virginia
• 2-10 ATS coming off a road loss the last 2 seasons
• 2-11 ATS in home games when playing their 2nd game in a week
--5* Take Bowling Green (-14) over E. Michigan (NCAA Bonus Play)
VSE Power Plays
10* Take Clemson (-8) over Virginia (NCAA Power Play)
Virginia
• 2-10 ATS coming off a road loss the last 2 seasons
• 2-11 ATS in home games when playing their 2nd game in a week
--5* Take Bowling Green (-14) over E. Michigan (NCAA Bonus Play)
Winning Angle Plays for Sunday
NCAA
Play Duke (-7) over Boston College* (Top NCAA Play)
Duke has won 18 of the last 21 games as a favorite and they have also won 10 of the last 12 games when the total posted is between 140 and 149.5 points. Duke is averaging over 78 points a game this season.
Play North Carolina (-8.5) over Miami* (Bonus NCAA Play)
North Carolina has won 8 consecutive games and they have also won 8 consecutive road games when the total posted is between 160 and 169.5 points. North Carolina is averaging over 92 points a game this season.
NCAA
Play Duke (-7) over Boston College* (Top NCAA Play)
Duke has won 18 of the last 21 games as a favorite and they have also won 10 of the last 12 games when the total posted is between 140 and 149.5 points. Duke is averaging over 78 points a game this season.
Play North Carolina (-8.5) over Miami* (Bonus NCAA Play)
North Carolina has won 8 consecutive games and they have also won 8 consecutive road games when the total posted is between 160 and 169.5 points. North Carolina is averaging over 92 points a game this season.
Vegas Experts
Duke at Boston College
We do look for the Dookies to bounce back with a victory on Sunday, but covering this sizable number is a different story altogether. Remember, Boston College went into Chapel Hill and beat North Carolina. While the Blue Devils are off three straight ATS losses, BC is off back-to-back SU losses, so this game is crucial to the hosts as well. They are 10-2 ATS at home after playing their previous game as a home dog. Take the points.
Play on: Duke
Duke at Boston College
We do look for the Dookies to bounce back with a victory on Sunday, but covering this sizable number is a different story altogether. Remember, Boston College went into Chapel Hill and beat North Carolina. While the Blue Devils are off three straight ATS losses, BC is off back-to-back SU losses, so this game is crucial to the hosts as well. They are 10-2 ATS at home after playing their previous game as a home dog. Take the points.
Play on: Duke
