College Basketball:
Kansas State/TCU – TCU without Mike Miles has been all over the place, beating West Virginia but losing to Miss St and Oklahoma St. Plus, we don’t even know if Eddie Lampikn is playing. Kansas State dropped their last two to Kansas and Texas and they need this one. The obvious pick is K State, but I don’t want to bet against TCU. A top tier Big 12 game and any of these that TCU can get will be HUGE.
Indiana/Rutgers – Home revenge is very real and that favors the Hoosiers. Grab ML and get out of here. Starting to think that Rutgers is nothing special when not playing @ Home or in MSG.
UConn/Marquette – Marquette has a clear case to be a top ten team but UConn wants to get back to that status. As of late, the Huskies have only been able to beat the bottom of the Big East but they wind up as -4 favorites here. Like the game above, grabbing ML and getting out of here.
Auburn/Texas A&M – A very important game for SEC standings as well as the tournament bubble. Auburn is showing positive momentum after a close game in Knoxville but we have to remember that this A&M team beat Auburn by 16 earlier in the season. Is away revenge real? Both teams coming off blowout wins at Home vs Georgia. Interesting stuff
UNC/Wake – Away revenge for Carolina. UNC seems to be back in the conversation but the still don’t have any good wins. This would be a good start after a bit of a let down @ Duke. I’m all over the Tar Heels.
N.C. State/Virginia – Virginia might mess around and win the ACC and a win like this is exactly how that will happen. NC State is a tournament team right now and has done a lot of good, but Virginia is getting close to the 1 seed convo. Coming off a loss @ Va Tech we aren’t concerned because that team is ascending.
St. John’s/Butler – This game will be very important for Big East Twitter. Red Storm fans are in the gutter after only getting a 2 point win vs Georgetown out of their last five outings. Still, it seems like Butler has rolled over for everyone. Hard to see St. John’s losing but I know it’s very possible.
Arkansas/Kentucky – Sometimes you want to write the story before it happens. I want to think Kentucky gets back on track here. ML is a great play. Arkansas has been competitive in all environments but this is a different Wildcats team with Savir Wheeler coming off the bench.
Michigan State/Maryland – Definitely a game of the day candidate. Maryland is playing great basketball and a home win vs IU was exactly what the Terrapins needed to comfortably get back in the tournament field. Michigan State let me down with a loss in Madison Square Garden to Rutgers but they have to be thought of as undervalued right now. They have lost 5 out of 7 but only one of those games was at home and every loss came to a Kenpom Top 25 team!! Tough Stuff. Lean Sparty ML.
NBA Basketball:
Knicks/Magic – Taking the bait today because all logic says this is easy. New York is riding high after beating Philly and they don’t play again until Friday. They will be present for this game. With lines like OKC/GS last night we know that Vegas is getting it wrong sometimes and this is another good spot. Orlando just grinded out a win in Charlotte.
Hawks/Pels – Love my Pelicans but they owe us some money. 10 straight losses is as much of a future opportunity as it is tough times. This is where we get Pets PK at home and make money. The Hawks are playing better especially on the road but I think New Orleans is back to competing with everyone now that BI is getting things going.
Brooklyn/Phoenix – A trade deadline game. What is coming for these squads? Book coming back and Cam Thomas playing like an All-Star are interesting distractions. I trust this Suns team nowadays, and I’m hoping they play better defense than the Clippers did last night. A Nets back to back will help Phoenix as this game progresses and ML seems safe.
Bulls/Grizzlies – Grab Memphis ML and look away. Chicago played yesterday and we love the ML angle vs a team on a back to back just like PHX above. Still, I get a weird “Bulls game” feeling where this is closer than it should be.
Nuggets/T-Wolves – Denver just rested everyone and rolled over for Minnesota, now they get the win @ Home. This is a lock and Kyle Anderson potentially out for the Wolves only emphasizes that.
Lakers/Thunder – No plays. Does LeBron play? Does he break the record? What I’m looking for here is a Lakers win without him. Save him for Milwaukee and Golden State and let this be Anthony Davis’ team tonight.
Busy Tuesday..
ML Tier 1 – Denver Nuggets
ML Tier 2 – Virginia, Indiana, Phoenix Suns, Kentucky
ML Tier 3 – UConn, Memphis Grizzlies
Plays – UNC PK, Pels PK, Knicks -1,
Leans – St. John’s -1.5, Michigan State ML
West Coast Hoops 