COVERS - PICK 'N' ROLL
(Tracking Started On 2/22/2011)
5-4-0 (NBA)
5-4-0 (NCAA HOOPS)
THURSDAY 3/3/2011
NBA
Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz (-3.5)
Both the Nuggets and Jazz have undergone major changes over the last couple of weeks, though that's about the only thing the two clubs have in common.
The Jazz have won just once over their first seven games under Tyrone Corbin since Jerry Sloan rode off into the sunset, covering just twice over that span. Plus, the club is now trying to adjust after superstar point guard Deron Williams was shipped to New Jersey, leaving the reins to Devin Harris.
"Despite the fact we're losing games, we're playing way better basketball right now,” forward Andrei Kirilenko told reporters. “We basically started from scratch. We lost coach [Jerry Sloan] first, we lost Deron. Right now, we start building again. So we're playing better, but we're not happy with the result."
Of course, Denver knows all about that following its facelift. The difference is George Karl is getting the most out of versatile lineup. The Nuggets head into this one playing the second of a back-to-back, but the more this club team plays right now, the quicker it will come together.
Pick: Denver
NCAA
St. John’s Red Storm at Seton Hall Pirates (2)
St. John’s has made a habit of putting Top 25 teams to shame all year and now has an opportunity to earn a double-bye in next weekend’s Big East Tournament with two wins to close out the regular season.
And considering the Red Storm’s track record so far this year, you have to like their chances against the Pirates and then home to South Florida on Saturday. That said, they aren’t taking these last two tests lightly.
"These games are actually harder," St. John's senior forward Justin Burrell said. "You see when a team that, for the lack of a better word, is supposed to win the game, those games are sometimes close, because teams overlook them, or don't come out with the same intensity. So we're paying attention, focusing in on Seton Hall and making sure we go out and get a victory."
The Red Storm will be up against history on Thursday – they haven’t won at Seton Hall in 13 years. Still, St. John’s is a class above the Pirates and has too much motivation to slip up now.
Pick: St. John’s
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