SPORTS WAGERS
ST. JOHN’S +8½ over Duke
For the first time since early September there is no football games to wager on so the masses will have to turn to basketball to parlay their Super Bowl selection onto. The action really heats up this week leading up to the Championship game and the books have to be especially sharp. The Dukies always attract a lot of public interest and they come into this game ranked #3 in the country with a 16-1 record. The Blue Devils are not only winning but they’ve been whacking every team they play recently. Duke’s last four wins have been by 16, 14, 24 and 16 points respectively, all against ACC opponents. What that does, combined with their immense popularity, is create an inflated line on them. However, the ACC is not that strong this season and might just be the worst “big conference” in the land. The Dukies are the only ranked team in the ACC. Now they’ll step out of conference and play a team from the wickedly powerful Big East. The Big East is populated by seven ranked teams and that doesn’t include Cincinnati or Marquette, two clubs that could also be ranked and nobody would blink an eye. The Johnny’s are 4-5 in that conference and they already have wins over Notre Dame and against a Hoyas team that went into Villanova yesterday and beat them. The Red Storm is not going to attract many today but they’re very capable of pulling off the upset or staying well within this margin. The bottom line is that if you wager on the Dukies today, you’re going to pay a big premium to do so and that never comes recommended. Overlay. Play: St. John’s +8½ (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).
Dayton +8 over DUQUESNE
The Duquesne Dukes are 6-0 in the A-10 and they deserve to be. This team is no fluke and this could be the year they make the dance. They shoot well, they rebound well and they’re #1 in the country in assists per game. The Dayton Flyers are just 3-3 in the conference but don’t ever count this team out. The Flyers’ résumé is better than most people might think. They’re 5-5 against the RPI top-100. Many NCAA bound teams from the big-boy conferences haven’t played nearly that many games against the top-100 and some don’t have quite as good a record. With a schedule like that and a strong record the Flyers could very well earn a spot as one of the many at-large teams. This game is huge for the visitor and they’re going to have to show more passion on the road than they’ve shown thus far. The records and RPI’s to date are as follows: Dayton 15-6, RPI 76 —the Dukes 14-5, RPI 89. The RPI is a great measuring stick to determine which teams are imposters and which are not. This deep into the season it would appear that there’s really not a lot that separates these two. Wait, check that, we’re taking back 7½ big points. Play: Dayton +8 (Risking 2.04 units to win 2).
ST. JOHN’S +8½ over Duke
For the first time since early September there is no football games to wager on so the masses will have to turn to basketball to parlay their Super Bowl selection onto. The action really heats up this week leading up to the Championship game and the books have to be especially sharp. The Dukies always attract a lot of public interest and they come into this game ranked #3 in the country with a 16-1 record. The Blue Devils are not only winning but they’ve been whacking every team they play recently. Duke’s last four wins have been by 16, 14, 24 and 16 points respectively, all against ACC opponents. What that does, combined with their immense popularity, is create an inflated line on them. However, the ACC is not that strong this season and might just be the worst “big conference” in the land. The Dukies are the only ranked team in the ACC. Now they’ll step out of conference and play a team from the wickedly powerful Big East. The Big East is populated by seven ranked teams and that doesn’t include Cincinnati or Marquette, two clubs that could also be ranked and nobody would blink an eye. The Johnny’s are 4-5 in that conference and they already have wins over Notre Dame and against a Hoyas team that went into Villanova yesterday and beat them. The Red Storm is not going to attract many today but they’re very capable of pulling off the upset or staying well within this margin. The bottom line is that if you wager on the Dukies today, you’re going to pay a big premium to do so and that never comes recommended. Overlay. Play: St. John’s +8½ (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).
Dayton +8 over DUQUESNE
The Duquesne Dukes are 6-0 in the A-10 and they deserve to be. This team is no fluke and this could be the year they make the dance. They shoot well, they rebound well and they’re #1 in the country in assists per game. The Dayton Flyers are just 3-3 in the conference but don’t ever count this team out. The Flyers’ résumé is better than most people might think. They’re 5-5 against the RPI top-100. Many NCAA bound teams from the big-boy conferences haven’t played nearly that many games against the top-100 and some don’t have quite as good a record. With a schedule like that and a strong record the Flyers could very well earn a spot as one of the many at-large teams. This game is huge for the visitor and they’re going to have to show more passion on the road than they’ve shown thus far. The records and RPI’s to date are as follows: Dayton 15-6, RPI 76 —the Dukes 14-5, RPI 89. The RPI is a great measuring stick to determine which teams are imposters and which are not. This deep into the season it would appear that there’s really not a lot that separates these two. Wait, check that, we’re taking back 7½ big points. Play: Dayton +8 (Risking 2.04 units to win 2).
hno:. Mr canadianrookie:lolBIG: is their rx shill.
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