Matt Rivers has a free pick Northwestern plus the points in collegiate basketball.
Almost across-the-board sportsbooks have <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1:State><st1
lace>Illinois</st1lace></st1:State> laying seven.
<st1:State><st1lace>Illinois</st1lace></st1:State> at home is superior to Northwestern and I guess should prevail today but why not take a stab on the improving Wildcats who have broken into the top 25?
At 10-1 Bill Carmody’s team is on complete fire in the early going and they have done this all without their main man in Kevin Coble. Michael Thompson and John Shurna have stepped up in a major way and this team right now is pretty legitimate. I’m not saying they will win here and improve to 11-1 legitimate but they could and getting blown out to a good, but far from great, <st1:State><st1lace>Illinois</st1lace></st1:State> team just should not happen either.
The ‘Cats have won 9 in a row according to the college basketball match-ups and have beaten quality enough foes in Notre Dame, <st1lace><st1:City>Stanford</st1:City>, <st1:State>Iowa</st1:State></st1lace> State and NC State. Illinois may be better than most of those four but not by much as Bruce Weber’s team showed in that poor loss at Georgia to a still bad Bulldogs squad as the 9 point chalk. In the last game they were fully outclassed by <st1:State><st1lace>Missouri</st1lace></st1:State> and don’t exactly have much momentum coming into this thing.
The bottom line is that Illinois is laying too many points to a Northwestern team that is still underrated despite proving they are a ton better than in the past.
Don’t be shocked to see a competitive game that comes down to the bitter end. Again Matt Rivers says take Northwestern +7. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
Almost across-the-board sportsbooks have <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1:State><st1lace>Illinois</st1lace></st1:State> laying seven. <st1:State><st1
lace>Illinois</st1lace></st1:State> at home is superior to Northwestern and I guess should prevail today but why not take a stab on the improving Wildcats who have broken into the top 25?At 10-1 Bill Carmody’s team is on complete fire in the early going and they have done this all without their main man in Kevin Coble. Michael Thompson and John Shurna have stepped up in a major way and this team right now is pretty legitimate. I’m not saying they will win here and improve to 11-1 legitimate but they could and getting blown out to a good, but far from great, <st1:State><st1
lace>Illinois</st1lace></st1:State> team just should not happen either. The ‘Cats have won 9 in a row according to the college basketball match-ups and have beaten quality enough foes in Notre Dame, <st1
lace><st1:City>Stanford</st1:City>, <st1:State>Iowa</st1:State></st1lace> State and NC State. Illinois may be better than most of those four but not by much as Bruce Weber’s team showed in that poor loss at Georgia to a still bad Bulldogs squad as the 9 point chalk. In the last game they were fully outclassed by <st1:State><st1lace>Missouri</st1lace></st1:State> and don’t exactly have much momentum coming into this thing.The bottom line is that Illinois is laying too many points to a Northwestern team that is still underrated despite proving they are a ton better than in the past.
Don’t be shocked to see a competitive game that comes down to the bitter end. Again Matt Rivers says take Northwestern +7. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o>Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons
PHOENIX SUNS -1.5
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]An impressive 86-77 win at Orlando on Christmas Day without Paul Pierce(notes) improved the Celtics to 13-1 on the road, but they found a pair of unexpected hurdles on the West Coast leg of their trip.
After blowing a three-point lead in the final 10 seconds and losing 92-90 on a buzzer-beater to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night, the Celtics coughed up a 16-point first-quarter lead in a 103-99 defeat to lowly Golden State on Monday.
I believe that Boston is going to suffer another "letdown" this evening, following a very similar pattern to their road swing at this time last year; Boston is just 2-5 ATS its last seven overall and just 2-4 ATS is last six on the road.
On the other side of the court: Before facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, Phoenix (20-12) had lost three of four, including its first two home defeats. But the Suns erased any bad feelings with a 118-103 win over the reigning NBA champions.
Alvin Gentry had been upset after the Suns allowed a season-high in points in a 132-127 loss at Golden State on Saturday, but his team held the Lakers to 43.5 % shooting.
Remember, Phoenix always plays tough in front of the home town crowd; 4-2 ATS its last six at the US Airways Center.
Bottom line: No need to overanalyze this one; Phoenix has the home-court advantage and is coming off a big victory while the Celtics are a road-weary and injury riddled team that desperately needs to get back to friendly confines to regroup; look for PHOENIX to move to 8-5 ATS this season in non-conference games and for Boston to fall to 1-6 ATS this year off an upset loss as a favorite!
*9* SUNS.[/FONT]
PHOENIX SUNS -1.5
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]An impressive 86-77 win at Orlando on Christmas Day without Paul Pierce(notes) improved the Celtics to 13-1 on the road, but they found a pair of unexpected hurdles on the West Coast leg of their trip.
After blowing a three-point lead in the final 10 seconds and losing 92-90 on a buzzer-beater to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night, the Celtics coughed up a 16-point first-quarter lead in a 103-99 defeat to lowly Golden State on Monday.
I believe that Boston is going to suffer another "letdown" this evening, following a very similar pattern to their road swing at this time last year; Boston is just 2-5 ATS its last seven overall and just 2-4 ATS is last six on the road.
On the other side of the court: Before facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, Phoenix (20-12) had lost three of four, including its first two home defeats. But the Suns erased any bad feelings with a 118-103 win over the reigning NBA champions.
Alvin Gentry had been upset after the Suns allowed a season-high in points in a 132-127 loss at Golden State on Saturday, but his team held the Lakers to 43.5 % shooting.
Remember, Phoenix always plays tough in front of the home town crowd; 4-2 ATS its last six at the US Airways Center.
Bottom line: No need to overanalyze this one; Phoenix has the home-court advantage and is coming off a big victory while the Celtics are a road-weary and injury riddled team that desperately needs to get back to friendly confines to regroup; look for PHOENIX to move to 8-5 ATS this season in non-conference games and for Boston to fall to 1-6 ATS this year off an upset loss as a favorite!
*9* SUNS.[/FONT]
Tony George
NEBRASKA +1
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bottom line, Nebraska’s Suh a 1 man wrecking crew who almost alone de-railed the entire BCS series with Nebraska almost beating Texas (actually they did) and losing the Big 12 championship by 1 point. The PAC 10 is overrated and the Mountain West went 2-0 against them and a so so USC team managed to beat a weak ACC team in BC. The starting QB, RB and WR for the Wildcats are all not 100%. That is not good news against the best front 4 in college football on defense who just held high octane Texas to 13 points. Nebraska offense takes some heat and QB Lee is average at best, but funny thing is they average only 4 ppg less on offense that Arizona. Nebraska lost to Virginia Tech by a point, and Texas by a point, and were division champs, and are the better team. Pellini will have them sky high here…defense wins big games, Huskers win by 7.
Play 1 Unit on Nebraska[/FONT]
NEBRASKA +1
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bottom line, Nebraska’s Suh a 1 man wrecking crew who almost alone de-railed the entire BCS series with Nebraska almost beating Texas (actually they did) and losing the Big 12 championship by 1 point. The PAC 10 is overrated and the Mountain West went 2-0 against them and a so so USC team managed to beat a weak ACC team in BC. The starting QB, RB and WR for the Wildcats are all not 100%. That is not good news against the best front 4 in college football on defense who just held high octane Texas to 13 points. Nebraska offense takes some heat and QB Lee is average at best, but funny thing is they average only 4 ppg less on offense that Arizona. Nebraska lost to Virginia Tech by a point, and Texas by a point, and were division champs, and are the better team. Pellini will have them sky high here…defense wins big games, Huskers win by 7.
Play 1 Unit on Nebraska[/FONT]
Mike Lineback
Hawks/Cavaliers UNDER 193
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We'll back the Under for the same reasons we backed the Under last night. Teams' are Under this number in 5 straight meetings and 7 of their L8 contests. And haven't even sniffed this number their L4 meetings. Cleveland are 4th in the league in points allowed (93.9) & a close second to the Lakers in field goal % allowed (43%). And, in particular, have stepped up their suffocating defensive in 4 of their L5 games. They held Atlanta to a near low in season scoring, Houston to their worst offensive output of season, and held both Phoenix & Lakers to their 2nd worst offensive outputs of season. Last night's game wasn't looking good after both teams' combined for 107 points in first half. Cav's shot 64%; Hawks 51%. But, then Cleveland turned up the defensive intensity in the 2nd H, holding Atlanta to 33 points, and only 10 points in the 4th Q, after shutting them out for the first 9 minutes of the quarter. Very impressive!! Both teams' should have tired legs after playing last night (high energy game) and the familiarity factor comes into play, which also supports our Under play. In addition, Cleveland are playing a tired schedule, playing their 7th game (5 on road) in 11 days.' Take the UNDER.[/FONT]
Hawks/Cavaliers UNDER 193
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We'll back the Under for the same reasons we backed the Under last night. Teams' are Under this number in 5 straight meetings and 7 of their L8 contests. And haven't even sniffed this number their L4 meetings. Cleveland are 4th in the league in points allowed (93.9) & a close second to the Lakers in field goal % allowed (43%). And, in particular, have stepped up their suffocating defensive in 4 of their L5 games. They held Atlanta to a near low in season scoring, Houston to their worst offensive output of season, and held both Phoenix & Lakers to their 2nd worst offensive outputs of season. Last night's game wasn't looking good after both teams' combined for 107 points in first half. Cav's shot 64%; Hawks 51%. But, then Cleveland turned up the defensive intensity in the 2nd H, holding Atlanta to 33 points, and only 10 points in the 4th Q, after shutting them out for the first 9 minutes of the quarter. Very impressive!! Both teams' should have tired legs after playing last night (high energy game) and the familiarity factor comes into play, which also supports our Under play. In addition, Cleveland are playing a tired schedule, playing their 7th game (5 on road) in 11 days.' Take the UNDER.[/FONT]
Evan Altemus
Nebraska/Arizona UNDER 41
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This game features two defensive minded coaches, as well as teams that have played great defense all season. Each team was at or near the top of almost every defensive statistic this season in their conference. In addition, Nebraska’s offense has been absolutely anemic this season. They have really struggled to do anything against opposing defenses, even teams with less than stellar defensive units. However, Bo Pelini’s defense has been absolutely dominant, which is why they are in this bowl game. Arizona’s offense struggled at times this season, and I expect them to struggle against a very stout Nebraska rush defense. Mike Stoops, head coach of Arizona, is great at developing defensive schemes to stop opposing offenses, and I expect him and his team to have no problem shutting down Nebraska’s weak offense. Look for this game to be very low scoring.
3 UNIT SELECTION UNDER.[/FONT]
Nebraska/Arizona UNDER 41
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This game features two defensive minded coaches, as well as teams that have played great defense all season. Each team was at or near the top of almost every defensive statistic this season in their conference. In addition, Nebraska’s offense has been absolutely anemic this season. They have really struggled to do anything against opposing defenses, even teams with less than stellar defensive units. However, Bo Pelini’s defense has been absolutely dominant, which is why they are in this bowl game. Arizona’s offense struggled at times this season, and I expect them to struggle against a very stout Nebraska rush defense. Mike Stoops, head coach of Arizona, is great at developing defensive schemes to stop opposing offenses, and I expect him and his team to have no problem shutting down Nebraska’s weak offense. Look for this game to be very low scoring.
3 UNIT SELECTION UNDER.[/FONT]
Bob Balfe
BOWLING GREEN +1
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Idaho will be playing in their home state and should have a slight advantage as far as the crowd goes. Both teams have great offenses, but Idaho has no defense at all. In addition, their confidence level is definitely low, as they were losers of three straight down the stretch (and barely squeezed into this bowl game). Bowling Green has a great passing game and have recently established their running game as well. The Falcons are the more balanced team here and should get a big bowl win today. Take Bowling Green.[/FONT]
BOWLING GREEN +1
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Idaho will be playing in their home state and should have a slight advantage as far as the crowd goes. Both teams have great offenses, but Idaho has no defense at all. In addition, their confidence level is definitely low, as they were losers of three straight down the stretch (and barely squeezed into this bowl game). Bowling Green has a great passing game and have recently established their running game as well. The Falcons are the more balanced team here and should get a big bowl win today. Take Bowling Green.[/FONT]
Rocketman
TCU -2
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TCU is scoring 80 points per game at home this year. Horned Frogs are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite of 0.5-6.5. TCU is 13-4 ATS in home games versus teams who make 8 or more 3 point shots/game on the season since 1997. TCU Coach Christian is 43-20 ATS when playing only their 2nd game in 8 days in all games he has coached since 1997. TCU Coach Christian is 42-20 ATS versus teams who average 33 or less rebounds/game on the season in all games he has coached since 1997. We'll play TCU for 3 units tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky.[/FONT]
TCU -2
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TCU is scoring 80 points per game at home this year. Horned Frogs are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite of 0.5-6.5. TCU is 13-4 ATS in home games versus teams who make 8 or more 3 point shots/game on the season since 1997. TCU Coach Christian is 43-20 ATS when playing only their 2nd game in 8 days in all games he has coached since 1997. TCU Coach Christian is 42-20 ATS versus teams who average 33 or less rebounds/game on the season in all games he has coached since 1997. We'll play TCU for 3 units tonight! Thanks and good luck, Rocky.[/FONT]
Lenny Del Genio
NEBRASKA -3[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
The Pac 10 got a off to a bad start to the bowl season with Oregon State and Cal each losing in blowout fashion to Mountain West Conference teams Utah and UCLA. However, the conference has since rallied with victories by USC and UCLA last night. We look for them to revert back in tonight's Holiday Bowl between Nebraska and Arizona. The oddsmakers clearly were incorrect in setting the line here as Nebraska was quickly bet to the role of favorite, a move by the public that we cannot disagree with. The key to this game will be the Cornhuskers defense, which ranks #2 in scoring, #3 in pass efficiency and #3 in sacks. You could make the arguement that like the Pac 10, the Big 12 had a down year, but Nebraska's D stepped up the most when it faced the best competition. In six games vs. bowl opponents, they allowed just 14 PPG, 254.7 YPG and seven touchdowns. Obviously, Ndamukong Suh is the key and he'll use this stage as a way to assure himself of being the #1 choice in next April's NFL Draft. Arizona QB Nick Foles is not all that mobile and is prone to making costly errors. The Wildcats D allowed 32+ points four times this season. RB Grigsby is not expected to play. Nebraska is our 20* CFB Bowl Game of the Month. [/FONT]
NEBRASKA -3[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
The Pac 10 got a off to a bad start to the bowl season with Oregon State and Cal each losing in blowout fashion to Mountain West Conference teams Utah and UCLA. However, the conference has since rallied with victories by USC and UCLA last night. We look for them to revert back in tonight's Holiday Bowl between Nebraska and Arizona. The oddsmakers clearly were incorrect in setting the line here as Nebraska was quickly bet to the role of favorite, a move by the public that we cannot disagree with. The key to this game will be the Cornhuskers defense, which ranks #2 in scoring, #3 in pass efficiency and #3 in sacks. You could make the arguement that like the Pac 10, the Big 12 had a down year, but Nebraska's D stepped up the most when it faced the best competition. In six games vs. bowl opponents, they allowed just 14 PPG, 254.7 YPG and seven touchdowns. Obviously, Ndamukong Suh is the key and he'll use this stage as a way to assure himself of being the #1 choice in next April's NFL Draft. Arizona QB Nick Foles is not all that mobile and is prone to making costly errors. The Wildcats D allowed 32+ points four times this season. RB Grigsby is not expected to play. Nebraska is our 20* CFB Bowl Game of the Month. [/FONT]
