THE SPORTS ADVISORS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Eastern Michigan (0-8, 3-5 ATS) at Northern Illinois (5-3 SU and ATS)
Eastern Michigan looks for that elusive first win of the season when it visits Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Ill., for a Mid-American Conference West Division matchup with Northern Illinois.
The Eagles got drilled at Arkansas on Saturday, falling 63-27 but cashing as a 37-point underdog. Eastern Michigan has lost by 12 points or more in six of its eight games this season with the closest contest coming at home on Oct. 24 when it fell 29-27 as a 2½-point home underdog against then-winless Ball State. Eastern Michigan, which has lost 23 of its last 27 games against Division I-A opponents, averages just 16.9 points and 275.6 total yards per game and its defense gives up a 37.4 points and 423.1 yards per game, including a staggering 277.1 rushing yards per outing (6.4 yards per carry).
While Eastern Michigan struggles to stop the run, Northern Illinois has one of the nation’s better rushing attacks, averaging 206 ypg on the ground (4.8 ypc). In Saturday’s 27-10 win over Akron as an 11-point home favorite, Northern Illinois RB Chad Spann had 21 carries for 125 yards and two TDs and QB DeMarcus Grady rushed 20 times for 109 yards.
Northern Illinois went to Eastern Michigan and pitched a shutout a season ago, winning 37-0 as a five-point favorite as the visitor improved to 8-0 ATS in this series since 2001. The Huskies have won seven of the last eight in this annual rivalry game (4-4 ATS), but the one loss came at home in 2007 when the Eagles prevailed 21-19 as a 13-point underdog. In fact, Eastern Michigan has cashed in each of its last four trips to Northern Illinois.
Eastern Michigan is on ATS slides of 2-7 after a spread-cover and 1-5 on turf. Northern Illinois is 9-4-1 ATS in its last 15 November games and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 against teams with a losing record, but the Huskies are on ATS slides of 4-11 as a home favorite, 2-5 after a spread-cover and 2-5 after a straight-up win.
The Eagles are on “over” runs of 4-1 on the road, 5-1 in November games and 5-2 following a spread-cover. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois is on a plethora of “under” streaks that include 33-16-2 overall, 12-3-1 at home, 11-5-1 as a favorite, 18-7-1 in Mid-American contests and 8-3-1 in November games. In this rivalry, the under has been the play in each of the last five clashes.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
Miami, Ohio (1-8, 4-5 ATS) at Temple (6-2, 6-1 ATS)
Miami snapped a 13-game losing streak on Saturday and now looks to snap Temple’s six-game winning streak when the Redhawks travel to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for this Mid-American Conference East Division showdown.
Miami stunned Toledo 31-24 as a five-point home underdog on Saturday, its fourth spread-cover in the last five contests. The Redhawks average just 13.8 points a game – third-fewest in all of Division I-A – and 329.3 total yards per game, including just 73.7 rushing ypg. Defensively, Miami yields 33.2 points on 379.2 total yards per contest (182.2 rushing ypg). Miami’s offense has come a long way lately, though, putting up 53 points in the last two contests after scoring a total of 71 points in the first seven games, including opening the season with back-to-back shutout losses to Kentucky (42-0) and Boise State (48-0).
Temple has rattled off six-straight wins (5-1 ATS), including a 27-24 victory at Navy on Saturday, upsetting the Middies as a 6½-point favorite. The Owls have been dominant since a 31-6 loss at Penn State on Sept. 19, allowing 24 points or fewer in every game during their win streak.
Temple has already become bowl-eligible and leads the MAC East Division by one-half game over Kent State and Ohio. Meanwhile Miami sits just a game out of the cellar, currently occupied by Akron (1-7).
The Owls have upset Miami the last two years, winning 28-10 as a seven-point road pup last year and 24-17 as a 6½-point road underdog in 2007.
Miami has cashed in four of its last five overall, but otherwise the Redhawks are on ATS slides of 1-5 on the road, 1-6 in November, 0-5 after a straight-up win and 1-5 as a road ‘dog. Temple is on ATS slides of 1-4-1 at home against losing teams and 0-3-1 ATS when playing on Thursday, but the Owls are 4-1 ATS in their last five overall and 17-8 ATS in their last 25 against a winning teams.
The Redhawks have gone “over” the total in 10 of 14 November games and five of seven conference contests, but their “under” streaks consist of 4-1 overall, 7-0 against winning teams and 4-1 as an underdog. Temple is on “under” runs that include 13-5 in MAC games, 9-3 at home and 9-3 against losing teams. In this series, the “under” has cashed in each of their three meetings since 2005.
ATS ADVANTAGE: TEMPLE and UNDER
(22) Virginia Tech (5-3, 3-5 ATS) at East Carolina (5-3, 3-4 ATS)
The Hokies look to snap a rare two-game losing streak when they travel to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, N.C., for a non-conference showdown with East Carolina.
Virginia Tech opened the season with a 10-point loss to Alabama at a neutral site in Georgia, then ripped off five straight wins (3-2 ATS), including a huge 48-14 rout of Boston College on Oct. 10, to get back into the national title discussion. Then the Hokies proceeded to lose 28-23 at Georgia Tech as a 3½-point favorites, followed by last Thursday’s 20-17 home loss to North Carolina as a 14½-point home chalk.
East Carolina has jumped to the top of the Conference USA East Division standings by winning four of its last five contests (3-2 ATS), including back-to-back wins over Rice (49-13 as an 18½-point home favorite on Oct. 17) and Memphis (38-19 as a six-point road chalk on Oct. 27). During their 4-1 SU run, the Pirates have been doing it with defense, yielding less than 20 points in all four wins (15.8 ppg in those four contests).
The Pirates rushed for a season-high 275 yards in their victory over Memphis last Tuesday, boosting its per-game rushing average to 149.4 yards.
The Hokies, who haven’t dropped three straight games since the end of the 2003 season, have got QB Tyrod Taylor completing 56 percent of his throws for 1,315 yards, nine TDs and three INTs. Last week against North Carolina, he was sacked three times and had his six-game streak of tossing at least one TD pass snapped. Freshman RB Ryan Williams has rushed for 930 yards and 10 TDs, but his late fumble led to North Carolina’s game-winning field goal a week ago.
Last season, the Pirates ran over Virginia Tech, rushing for 158 yards in a stunning 27-22 opening-weekend upset of the Hokies in Greenville as a nine-point home underdog, snapping Virginia Tech’s six-game winning streak in this rivalry. East Carolina has cashed in each of the last two meetings after the Hokies had covered in four straight from 1994-2007.
The Hokies are on ATS slides of 3-10 in non-conference action and 2-5 on the road, but they are on positive ATS streaks of 11-5 as a road favorite, 15-5 on Thursdays, 8-2 in November and 4-1 following a non-cover. Virginia Tech had alternated spread-covers in eight straight games prior to last week’s ATS setback versus North Carolina. East Carolina is on pointspread slides of 6-13 overall, 1-5 against ACC teams and 0-5 in non-conference games, but it is on ATS runs of 7-3 at home, 7-3 as an underdog and 8-1 as a ‘dog of more than 10 points.
Virginia Tech is on “under” streaks of 11-0 on Thursday, 4-0 in November, 4-1 against winning teams and 5-2 after a SU loss. The Pirates have stayed below the total in six of seven November games, but they’ve topped the number in five of six against the ACC, five straight non-conference games and seven of 10 as an underdog.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
NBA
Chicago (2-2, 1-3 ATS) at Cleveland (3-2, 2-3 ATS)
The Bulls try again for their first road victory of the season, but it doesn’t figure to come easy as they travel to Quicken Loans Arena for a Midwest Division clash with the surging Cavaliers.
Chicago overcame a terrible first quarter against the Bucks on Tuesday, rallying from a 25-13 deficit to post an 83-81 victory. However, the Bulls never threatened to cover as an 8½-point home favorite, their third straight non-cover since opening the season with a 92-85 victory as a three-point home underdog. Going back to last year’s opening-round playoff series against Boston, Chicago has dropped five straight road games (2-3 ATS).
Cleveland tipped off the season with a 95-89 home loss to Boston as a five-point favorite, followed the next night by a shocking 101-91 setback at Toronto as a seven-point road chalk. Since then, however, LeBron James has guided his troops to three consecutive double-digit wins, including Tuesday’s 102-90 victory, barely cashing as an 11½-point home favorite. Since an 11-0 ATS run that spanned the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs, the Cavaliers have gone 12 straight games without consecutive spread-covers.
Cleveland took the season series from Chicago last year, going 3-1 SU and ATS, winning the first three games by an average of 16 ppg (3-0 ATS) before dropping a 102-93 overtime decision in Chicago as a 7½-point favorite. The host has won and covered the last four in a row and Cleveland is 9-2 SU and ATS in the last 11 clashes with the Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena. Finally, the SU winner has cashed in each of the last 25 series meetings in this rivalry going back to 2003.
The Bulls have failed to cover in five of six overall dating to last year’s playoff series against the Celtics, with all five non-covers coming against Eastern Conference teams. However, Chicago is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 on Thursday and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 against the Central Division.
Cleveland is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games overall (2-8-1 ATS versus Eastern Conference foes), but otherwise the Cavaliers are on pointspread surges of 37-17 at home, 5-0 against Central Division rivals and 10-2-1 after a spread-cover.
The Bulls have topped the total in five of their last six road games, but the under is 6-2 in their last eight on Thursday and 3-1-1 in their last five divisional contests. Meanwhile, the over is 5-2 in Cleveland’s last seven at home and 5-0 in its last five on Thursday, but otherwise the Cavaliers are on “under” stretches of 4-0 overall, 12-4 against the Central Division and 9-3 after a SU win.
Finally, five of the last seven Bulls-Cavaliers battles have hurdled the posted total, including the last three in Cleveland.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CLEVELAND
San Antonio (2-1 SU and ATS) at Utah (1-3 SU and ATS)
The Spurs return to the court for the first time in five days as they travel to Salt Lake City for a battle with the slumping Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.
San Antonio has been idle since Saturday’s 113-94 rout of Sacramento, cashing as a hefty 16½-point favorite. The Spurs posted a near-identical score in their first game (113-96 over New Orleans), but in their lone road contest, they fell 92-85 at Chicago as a three-point favorite. Going back to the regular season last spring, San Antonio has held 22 of 28 opponents to less than 100 points.
Utah’s week got off to a horrendous start, as it blew a halftime lead to the Rockets on Monday, losing 113-96 as an eight-point home chalk, then went to Dallas on Tuesday and got outscored 44-18 in the fourth quarter, falling 96-85 as a 6½-point underdog. The Jazz’s only victory this season came at home against the Clippers, a 111-98 win as a nine-point home favorite. Dating back to March 31, Utah has lost 14 of 17 SU and is 6-15 ATS in its last 21 (3-6 ATS at home).
The Spurs swept the three-game season-series from Utah last year and is 4-0 SU and ATS in the last four meetings. The home team has won seven of the last eight head-to-head clashes both SU and ATS, and the host has covered in 18 of the last 23 meetings, with the Jazz going 5-2 SU and ATS the last seven times they’ve entertained San Antonio. Additionally, the favorite is on a 21-7 ATS roll in this rivalry, and the SU winner is 20-0 ATS in the last 20 meetings going back to April 2005.
San Antonio is in ATS slumps of 1-4 on the road, 2-5 against Northwest Division teams, 0-4 after a SU win, 0-7 after a non-cover and 3-13-1 following a double-digit win. Utah’s negative pointspread trends including 6-15 overall, 4-10 at home, 0-4 against the Southwest Division and 6-14 versus the Western Conference. On the flip side, the Jazz are 4-1 ATS in their last five on Thursday and 5-1 ATS in their last six when playing after one day of rest.
The Spurs carry “over” trends of 4-1 overall, 4-0 against the Western Conference and 8-3-1 versus the Northwest Division, but four of their last five roadies have stayed low. Utah is on “over” stretches of 13-6 overall and 4-1 against the Southwest Division, but the under is 13-4 in Utah’s last 17 at home and 4-1 in its last five on Thursday. Lastly, the last four Jazz-Spurs contests have gone over the posted total.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UTAH and OVER
></o
