Pick 'n' Roll: Today's best NBA bets

Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards (2, 199.5)

Both of these teams were active in the trade market the week of the deadline.

The Bulls added two valuable scorers off the bench (Hakim Warrick and Flip Murray) and all it cost them was a shooting guard who lost his stroke (John Salmons) and a knucklehead who regularly pissed off the coaching staff (Tyrus Thomas).

Chicago, with all of its new players in the lineup, cruised to a blowout win over the Sixers on Saturday. The Bulls notched 26 assists compared to just four turnovers, good for franchise record for fewest TO’s in a game.

''I was pleased with the way they shared the ball,'' coach Vinny Del Negro told the Chicago Sun-Times. ''Our ball movement was as good as it has been all year. The new guys are getting a feel for everything. We did a good job defensively. They're a difficult team to contain.''

The Wizards have become more competitive since Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were shipped out of town. As Covers Expert Ted Sevransky pointed out in his weekly hoops column, Washington’s new lineup is just as – and maybe even more – potent offensively.

The Bulls have been a great bet on the road since January but they should have their hands full against the new-look Wizards.

Pick: Washington


Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks (-1, 206)

It didn’t take long for Knicks fans to fall in love with their newest starting shooting guard. Tracy McGrady told reporters shortly after the trade to New York was official that he wanted to stay with the club beyond this season and would take a pay cut to make that happen.

Then he went out Saturday night and posted 26 points on 10 of 17 shooting in a losing effort against the Thunder. Some fans wonder whether the Knicks can be respectable the rest of the year with McGrady leading the charge.

It’s probably best not to get too excited, Knicks fans.

While McGrady can still fill the hoop he’s not a player who can carry a team. Remember, this is the 2010 version of T-Mac, not the 2002 one.

The Bucks continue to rack up ATS wins and a big part of that has been their defensive effort. Expect Milwaukee to slow the pace at MSG on Monday.

Pick: Under

Jim Feist - 10* College Inner Circle Club Winner - Monday

CB (719) GEORGIA SOUTHERN at (720) SAMFORD
Take: (719) GEORGIA SOUTHERN (10* Inner Circle)

Reason: Neither of these clubs will be confused with the Southern Conference elite as both occupy the bottom rungs of the conference. However, the cash is just as green with these teams too and Georgia Southern has been pretty decent to bettors. The Eagles put a big scare into division leading Wofford on Saturday coming from a double-digit deficit to force OT. However, the Eagles dropped the game in OT to Wofford, 82-76. Still, the Eagles have covered four of their last five games and seven of their last nine. Meanwhile, Samford plays its final home game of the season tonight. The Bulldogs snapped a six game home losing streak with a win over Chattanooga on Saturday, 60-54. Unlike Ga Southern, the Bulldogs haven't done well against the number, covering just three times in their last 12 attempts. Samford is averaging a conference low of just 57.7 points per game this season though they allow a conference best 59.3 points per game on defense. It's going to be tough for a team that averages just about 60 points a game to cover a double-digit spread here on Monday, even though they play such good defense. Georgia Southern has already proved they can cover spreads while Samford's lack of offense has resulted in their inability to cover as a chalk. While we don't see any way Ga Southern can win this one straight up, the 10 points is just too much for Samford to cover.

Billy Coleman

5* GOM - Chicago -2.0
3* Indiana +9.5

Free Play - Utah -6.0

SPORTS ADVISORS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

(8) West Virginia (21-5, 11-14 ATS) at UConn (16-11, 11-14 ATS)
The Mountaineers, currently third in the Big East, travel to Hartford, Conn., for a key conference matchup with UConn.
After dropping two in a row, West Virginia went to Providence on Wednesday and scored an 88-74 win, cashing as a 7½-point favorite, and then followed it up with Saturday’s 75-63 Saturday win over Seton Hall, barely covering as an 11½-point home chalk. The Mountaineers have been lighting up the scoreboard lately, averaging 82.4 points a game over their last five, more than seven points more than their season average of 75.2.
UConn suffered through a 1-5 stretch (SU and ATS), but have rebounded to win back-to-back road games, including last Monday’s 84-75 upset victory at Villanova as a 9½-point pup. That was followed by Saturday’s 76-58 triumph at Rutgers as a six-point road favorite. The Huskies failed to score more than 69 points in a game during their ugly 1-5 SU and ATS slump, but have averaged 80 ppg since. At home, UConn tightens up the defense, limiting the opposition to 38 percent shooting.
The Huskies have dominated this series, winning eight of the last 10 (7-3 ATS), including last year’s 61-55 victory as a 3½-point underdog in Morgantown, W.Va., the only meeting last season.
The Mountaineers have gone just 2-5 ATS in their last seven after a spread-cover, while the Huskies are on positive ATS runs of 7-1 after a straight-up win and 4-1 at home against teams with winning road records.
West Virginia has stayed below the total in seven of nine after a spread-cover, but topped the posted price in four of five overall and eight of 11 on the highway. UConn is on “over” runs of 4-0 on Mondays, 24-10 at home against teams with winning road records and 4-1 against teams with winning records, but it is on “under” streaks of 4-1 overall and 5-2 at home.
In this series, the “over” has been the play in four of the last five clashes.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UCONN and OVER


Oklahoma (13-13, 8-15 ATS) at (1) Kansas (26-1, 10-13-1)
The struggling Sooners make the trek to Allen Fieldhouse for a meeting with top-ranked Kansas, which sits alone in first place in the Big 12 and is in search of its 13th straight win overall and 58th straight home victory.
Oklahoma has dropped four in a row (SU and ATS) and failed to win or cover in seven of its last nine overall. On Saturday, the Sooners were destroyed at home by No. 7 Kansas State, falling 83-68 as a 5½-point home ‘dog after trailing by just two points at halftime. Oklahoma is just 2-11 away from home this season and 0-6 when visiting Big 12 rivals (1-5 ATS).
While they’ve been producing wins, the Jayhawks have been falling short at the betting window, going just 1-6 ATS in their last seven overall, including Saturday when they failed to cover the 21-point spread in a 94-74 home win over Colorado. Kansas averages 87.5 points per game on 49.9 percent shooting inside Allen Fieldhouse while limiting the opposition to just 61.8 points and 36.2 percent shooting. The Jayhawks’ 57-game home court winning streak is the longest in the nation and five shy of a school record.
Kansas has won five straight in this rivalry (3-2 ATS), including an 87-78 road win a year ago as a two-point pup. Last time these two met in Lawrence was 2008 when the Jayhawks scored a 30-point blowout, 85-55, cashing easily as 15-point favorites.
Not only have the Sooners struggled to post victories, they haven’t had much luck at the betting window lately either, as they’re currently on ATS slides of 15-36-3 on the road, 0-4 in Big 12 action, 1-5 after a non-cover and 1-6 against teams with winning records. Kansas is 16-5 ATS in its last 21 Monday contests, but from there it is on ATS skids of 1-6 overall (all in the Big 12) and 1-4 at home.
Oklahoma has topped the total in four of five Monday games, but stayed below the posted number in four of five on the road and seven of 11 overall (all in the Big 12). The Jayhawks are on “under” streaks of 7-3 at home, 35-16 after a straight-up win, 6-1 on Monday and 13-3 at home against teams with losing records.
Finally, the “under” is 6-2 in the last eight series clashes inside Allen Fieldhouse.


ATS ADVANTAGE: KANSAS and UNDER


NBA

Atlanta (34-20, 33-21 ATS) at Utah (36-19, 34-18-3 ATS)
The red-hot Jazz will try to extend their winning streak to five when the Hawks conclude a four-game West Coast road trip with a stop at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.
Atlanta comes in off a 108-104 loss to Golden State on Sunday, falling as a five-point road chalk. The Hawks, who blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead last night, have now lost three of their last four games (SU and ATS) and two straight on this road trip. Atlanta is just 13-14 as a visitor this season but despite Sunday’s result, it has cashed in 15 of those 27 contests.
Utah made it four consecutive SU and ATS wins on Sunday with a come-from-behind 93-89 overtime victory in Portland, cashing as a 1½-point underdog. The Jazz trailed by 25 points in the third quarter but held the Blazers to 10 fourth-quarter points and tied it at the buzzer on a put-back shot from Carlos Boozer. Utah is perfect since the All-Star break and has won 16 of its last 18 overall, going a sizzling 13-2-3 ATS.
Atlanta scored a 96-83 win over Utah in December, cashing as a six-point home favorite. The home team has won six straight in this series and eight of 10 dating back to 2005. The Hawks have cashed in four of the last five meetings, but they are just 1-6 ATS in their last seven visits to Salt Lake City. The favorite is riding a 13-3 ATS run in the last 16 series clashes.
The Hawks are on ATS slides of 0-4 as a road ‘dog and 0-4 on the second night of a back-to-back, but they are on positive pointspread streaks of 6-2-2 on Monday, 8-3-1 against Northwest Division teams and 20-8-1 when catching five to 10½-points. Utah, which now has the best pointspread record in the NBA, is on a plethora of positive ATS runs, including 20-6-3 overall, 15-5-2 at home, 20-7-2 as a favorite, 13-3-1 against Eastern Conference teams and 5-1-1 on the second night of a back-to-back.
For Atlanta, the “under” is on streaks of 10-3 on Monday, 3-1-1 as a road ‘dog and 4-0 against teams with a winning record. The Jazz have topped the total in six of eight on Monday, but they are on “under” streaks of 4-0 overall and 4-0 as a favorite. In this series, the under has been the play in four straight clashes overall, with the last six in a row in Utah staying low.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UTAH

KyleBalesSports

Sharp Play - Georgia Southern +9.5

BIG AL's BOUNCE-BACK 18-0 ATS NCAA WINNER!

Matchup: Oklahoma at Kansas
Pick: OKLAHOMA +22 (-110)

Analysis: At 9 pm, our selection is on the Oklahoma Sooners + the points over Kansas. The Jayhawks continue to roll along, with 57 straight home wins, including a 20-point victory over Colorado on Saturday. But Bill Self's men failed to cover the spread (again) in that game, and that extended the dismal pointspread performance of #1-ranked teams in College Basketball over the last few years. Indeed, dating back to January of 2009, #1-ranked College Basketball teams are a horrific 2-21 ATS off a conference win! And if our #1-ranked squad is favored by 2 or more points, our 2-21 stat moves to 0-18 ATS since January 14, 2009! With those kind of numbers, it's hard not to back the Oklahoma Sooners here -- even though they'll once again be without Willie Warren, who will miss tonight's game due to an ankle injury. But guard Tommy Mason-Griffin and forward Andrew Fitzgerald have picked up the scoring slack in Warren's absence. Mason-Griffin has led Oklahoma in scoring in seven of the past nine games. He led the Sooners on Saturday with 16 points against Kansas State, while Fitzgerald matched his season-high of 14 points vs. the Wildcats. And Oklahoma has actually had a lot of success vs. #1-ranked teams in its history, going 7-8, with three of those victories coming against Kansas, most recently in the 2002 Big 12 tournament. Look for a much closer game than expected tonight. Take the points with the Sooners. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

Don Wallace Sports
Chicago -2.5
Atlanta +5

Arthur Ralph Sports
401 - 287 run 59 %

Free Play Mon Milw Bucks + 1 1/2

DCI

Season
Straight Up: 3255-1059 (.755)
ATS: 1371-1368 (.501)
ATS Vary Units: 3820-3903 (.495)
Over/Under: 1201-1213 (.498)
Over/Under Vary Units: 1787-1784 (.500)

Big 12 Conference
KANSAS 89, Oklahoma 65
Big East Conference
West Virginia 73, CONNECTICUT 71
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
BETHUNE-COOKMAN 60, Howard 55
DELAWARE STATE 63, Coppin State 50
Hampton vs. FLORIDA A&M: TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Morgan State 74, UMES 63
NORFOLK STATE 74, South Carolina State 73
Southern Conference
Appalachian State 80, ELON 73
Davidson 75, CHATTANOOGA 70
SAMFORD 70, Georgia Southern 62
Southwestern Athletic Conference
ALABAMA A&M 79, Alcorn State 62
ALABAMA STATE 73, Southern 55
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 67, Texas Southern 61
Prairie View A&M 63, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 61
Non-Conference
JAMES MADISON 81, Longwood 72
NORTH CAROLINA A&T 69, Winston-Salem State 59
SAN JOSE STATE 87, Seattle 79

DCI

Over/Under: 400-418 (.489)
Chicago 100, WASHINGTON 98
Milwaukee 103, NEW YORK 102
DALLAS 109, Indiana 99
UTAH 102, Atlanta 94
Charlotte 95, L.A. CLIPPERS 93

KBHOOPS

5* West Virginia -1 -120 **POD**
5* Utah Jazz -5.5 **POD**

Cappers Access

UConn

Bulls

Spartan

Double Dime Release - UCONN +2.0

Single Dime Release - NYK -1.0

Nick Parsons

8* Hawks/Jazz UNDER 197

For a number of different reasons I believe the value in this contest is on the "under":

The Hawks will have a tough task Monday night if they hope to end their 15-game losing streak at Utah, which can grab a share of the Northwest Division lead with a fifth consecutive win.

Atlanta (34-20) was on the opposite side of a big comeback Sunday, blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter advantage in a 108-104 loss at Golden State, and the Hawks hope they’re not headed in the wrong direction after dropping three of four.

“We just fell apart,” Hawks point guard Mike Bibby said. “We’re up 20 points. A team of our caliber shouldn’t lose that game. It happened, but we can’t let it happen too much.”

I expect this team to play with a concerted effort on the defensive end tonight.

It's important to note that Atlanta has in fact seen the total go "under" the posted number in 14 of 26 games this year when playing against a team with a winning record.

On the other side of the court: A 25-point second-half deficit couldn’t derail the short-handed Jazz, who beat Portland 93-89 in overtime Sunday for their 17th win in 19 games, putting an exclamation mark on a trip that included victories at Houston and New Orleans.

Even though Utah (36-19) shot below 40 percent from the field Sunday for the first time since a 91-89 loss at Memphis on Jan. 8, the Jazz have still hit 50.9 percent of their shots during the 17-2 stretch since that defeat, vaulting up the standings to third place in the Western Conference.

It's interesting to note though that Utah has seen the total go "under" the posted number in 17 of 29 games this season vs. good offensive teams that score 99 plus points per contest.

Bottom line: In fact, in five of these teams last six matchups against each other, regardless of location, the total has gone "under" the posted number; when taking all of the above into account, the sharp money in this one is indeed on the UNDER!

Jim Hurley

Pacers
Kansas
Elon

Bob Balfe

Bulls/Wizards Over 199

The Chicago Bulls have been displaying inconsistency problems all season, however one thing is certain: they are not a good basketball team, especially on the road, against sub-par teams. They face off in Washington tonight as slight favorites against a Wizards squad who is trying to adapt to the absence of two of their best players (Jamison and Butler), The Wizards are now a young team in rebuilding mode and a lot of guys are trying to secure quality playing time for next year. Randy Foye is one of my favorite players in this league and highly underrated. He will definitely prove his worth to Washington throughout the remainder of the season. With that being said, look for Washington to implement a risky, "nothing-to-lose" style of play. Both teams should reach over 100 points tonight. Look for Rose and Foye to have really good games. Take the over.

Uconn +2.5 over West Virginia

This game in particular can be broken down into two areas: desperation and home-court advantage. When you have a good team that has been forgotten about all year and battled through a lot of diversity from the coaching staff down to the players, at home, as underdogs against the 7th ranked team in the nation, after beating a #1 Texas team and beating Villanova in their own house, and still receiving no respect, it is a must bet. Although the public might be on our side tonight, I can not see players like Dyson or Walker letting a team come into their house and win. UCONN will absolutely get a bid to the NCAA tournament with a win tonight. Butler will definitely pose as a threat offensively, but UCONN should execute an inspired game tonight and come away with the victory at home, in a very loud stadium and pumped out teammates. It is the best game on the board tonight. Take UCONN.

Craig Davis

30-Indiana Pacers
20-Uconn

Insider Sports Report

4* Dallas Mavericks
3* Uconn

Teddy June

10* Uconn