Roll em out !

Steve Budin

25 DIME

BAYLOR -2.5

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

Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves (+3.5, 210)

After a convincing home win over Toronto on Monday, where both Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin dropped in 28 points, it appeared the Rockets were back on track.

“We played as a team,” Brooks said after the game. “We played good, especially on the defensive end. I think we all are just getting used to playing with each other.”

But then the surging Sacto Kings invaded H-Town and dropped the Rocks 84-81 on Wednesday. The mood wasn’t as peppy after that game with the loss putting Houston’s record at 2-5 since the Martin trade.

"We've just been so up and down," coach Rick Adelman said. "It's hard to figure out why we're that way. ... Somehow you gotta put a streak together."

Rockets bettors are as confused as Adelman at this point. After losing three straight, Houston has flip-flopped ATS wins and are clearly a volatile, not-to-be-trusted team right now.

Pick: Timberwolves


Indiana Pacers at Phoenix Suns (-12.5, 221)

Since Robin Lopez entered the starting lineup, the Suns have actually been playing a little bit of defense.

That defensive production all stems from a rebound increase of nearly six rebounds per game, which mostly comes from Lopez’s 7-foot frame cleaning up the glass.

Since the start of February, Phoenix is on a 10-5 over/under run as the public and oddsmakers clearly look to the team’s 106.1 ppg surrendered - the third-worst mark in the league. But during those 15 games, the Suns have held opponent scoring totals to six points fewer.

The Pacers are a beaten team right now with only Danny Granger creating offense, and he isn’t even right in the head these days. In its last four road games, Indiana has posted a paltry 92.5 ppg.

Pick: Under

Ice picks: Today's best NHL bets

Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins (-215, 5.5)

It was about this time last season that the Pittsburgh Penguins found their stride en route to a Stanley Cup championship run. Pittsburgh closed the regular season winning 18 of its final 24 games and rolled into the postseason hotter than the sun.

The Penguins could have another streak starting to smolder after winning back-to-back games following the Olympic break. They recently knocked off the New York Rangers, taking a 5-4 overtime victory with the help of star Evgeni Malkin Thursday night. The Russian forward netted the game-winning goal, lifting him to 22 goals on the season and extending his point streak to 15 games.

"That's a pretty good example of how we want to play the game," coach Dan Bylsma told reporters after Thursday’s win. "You'd like to tilt the ice so it's 70/30 and wear teams down. The feeling in our dressing room was (winning) was going to be inevitable."

Pittsburgh carries that momentum into the weekend. It’s won the past four contests with the Stars, dating back to 2004, and outscoring Dallas 16-5 during that span. The Penguins most recent win over the Stars came last March, when Malkin scored a goal and added two assists in a 4-1 victory.

Pick: Pittsburgh


St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche (-130, 5.5)

The Colorado Avalanche are hoping the Rocky Mountain high continues in the second half of the season.

The Avs opened the post-Olympic break schedule with back-to-back road losses, falling to Anaheim and Phoenix earlier this week. Now, Colorado is back in the Pepsi Center for the next three games, trying to improve on its already stellar 20-9-1-1 record at home this year.

In Denver, the Avalanche allow just 2.25 goals per game – half a goal less than when playing the role of visitor. They also score an average of three goals per home game while netting 2.6 goals per game on the road.

Colorado has already flexed its home-ice dominance against the Blues this season, knocking off St. Louis 5-2 in the Pepsi Center back on February 8.

Pick: Colorado

BOBBY VALENTINO
Saturday 6th Mountain West Game of the Year

30 DIME: AIR FORCE FALCONS

BRANDON LANG

Saturday's Selections .... NOTE:

30 DIME - ARIZONA WILDCATS

Revenge is Arizona's today on senior day as the Wildcats get payback for a 56-50 loss at Southern Cal on New Year's Eve.$ This game has meaning for the 'Cats in terms of seeding for the upcoming Pac-10 tournament plus a potential NIT bid. But for the Trojans, who are not eligible for post-season play, this is the end of the line. And they're carrying a four-game losing streak into Tucson following Thursday's 59-54 loss at Arizona State, which was preceded by losses at home to Oregon State (49-44) and Oregon (54-44) plus a 51-47 loss at Washington State. Their offensive has averaged just a shade over 47 points during the skid. On the other hand, Arizona snared a road win at Stanford last Saturday on a last-second shot and then rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat UCLA at home on Thursday 78-73.

Again - my complete analysis available by 10:00 A.M. Eastern in the morning.

FREE PICK - BAYLOR

Primetime Sports Advisors

25 Cuse under 145.5
25 Baylor -2.5
25 Mississippi -1.5
Free Nova

KELSO

50 units Maryland -4.5
15 units Vanderbilt -10.5
10 units Cal -6
5 units Colorado -4.5

Larry Ness

10* CBB Conf. GAME OF THE YEAR!
At 9:05 ET my *10* Conf-USA "GOY" is on UAB.

UTEP is already the Conference USA regular season champion and will make a final performance tonight in the Don Haskins Center, taking on a very good (and dangerous) and somewhat desperate UAB club; the No. 24 Miners (No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll) are 23-5, 14-1 in conference play. UAB, coming off a costly loss to Memphis, is 23-6 and 11-4; suffice to say I expect a rebound. And do not forget the last time these two teams met, UTEP edged then-No. 25 UAB 74-65 in double-overtime back on Jan. 30 in Birmingham, Ala.; UAB will also be playing with the "revenge" this evening. Also note that UAB is in fact 7-1 SU its last eight on the road overall. Elijah Millsap is fifth in Conference USA in scoring (16.1 points per game) and leads C-USA in rebounding (9.3 rebounds per game). Aaron Johnson is fourth in the league in assists (4.9). Howard Crawford (12.4) and Jamarr Sanders (10.7) also average in double-figure scoring for the Blazers. These teams have ridden their defense to this point in the season. UAB is second in the conference in scoring defense, giving up just 61.4. UTEP is fifth, giving up only 64.6 points a game. The Miners are tied with Marshall for the league lead in field goal percentage defense (38.9) and UAB is fifth (41.2). UTEP leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.9) and UAB is fourth (31.1) (note: UTEP is a poor 2-7 ATS its last nine at home). With so much at stake for UAB, I look for the Blazers to keep this one close down the stretch; grab the points.

Larry Ness

CBB MORNING MASSACRE
At 12:00 ET my 8* Morning Massacre is on Villanova.

The tenth ranked West Virginia Mountaineers pay a visit to the No. 9 Villanova Wildcats at noon. Villanova will be looking to continue to build momentum; after losing to Syracuse in embarrassing fashion last Saturday, the Wildcats were able to avoid a huge letdown in Cincy. Although it almost blew a 16-point lead, the Wildcats prevailed with a 77-73 win. After the victory, 'Nova head coach Jay Wright said; “Hey, it was a tough loss (at Syracuse). It didn’t kill us, but it was a tough loss. And what you get to recover from that is being at Cincinnati against a team that’s hungry and tough and physical.” (note: Villanova is 10-4 ATS its last 14 in front of the home town crowd). West Virginia comes into this game tied for place in the Big East standings with Pittsburgh. Although its won four of its last five, I believe Da'Sean Butler will struggle against the Wildcats tenacious defines (note: West Virginia is in fact a poor 3-6 SU its last nine on the road vs. the Wildcats). G Scottie Reynolds, Villanova's sharpshooter and team captain is putting up 18.9 points per game this season, tops on the squad. He has been the picture of consistency over the last month and a half of action, as he has scored at least 15 points in each of his L/11 games and has only failed to reach that number six times all season. I don't think home court advantage can be overlooked in this case; lay the points.

Larry Ness

10* CBB Total Of The Month!
At 9:00 ET my *10* CBB TOM is on UNC/Duke "over".

Lately, Duke has been unbeatable at Cameron - except when North Carolina makes the eight-mile trip up Tobacco Road to renew college basketball's fiercest rivalry. The Blue Devils are one win away from their 15th perfect finish at home and would set a school record with their 17th home victory. Duke hasn't beaten the Tar Heels in Durham since 2005 - before North Carolina fifth-year senior Marcus Ginyard arrived along with eventual national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough in 2005-06. "There's no question that it's something that we're very proud of," Ginyard said. "But again, you've just got to get back to remembering why we were so successful there." North Carolina had two constants during its four-game winning streak from 2006-09: Hansbrough and Danny Green, two of the only four players to beat Coach K four straight times on the court that now bears his name. Those seniors - plus standout guards Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington - departed after winning a national title, and the players who stuck around have spent a difficult season absorbing their share of lumps, though they have won two straight to stay above .500 (note: Duke actually beat UNC 64-54 on its home floor back on Feb 10th). Duke dropped a hard fought, 79-72, decision at Maryland on Wednesday. Nolan Smith led the way with 20 points, while Jon Scheyer added 19 points. Brian Zoubek paced the Blue Devils with 13 rebounds, including six offensive boards. The loss snapped Duke’s season-best eight-game win streak. Make no mistake though, Duke wants to punish this team while its down; a win by the Blue Devils, who hold the tiebreaker advantage with Maryland, would give them their 12th regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week's ACC tournament. The Terrapins face Virginia, which is one game out of the ACC's cellar, in their finale (note: Duke soared over the total in its last game by 15 points). Expect both teams to leave everything on the floor and for this total to sail well "over" the posted number.

Larry Ness

CBB PERFECT STORM!
At 4:00 ET, my 9* Perfect Storm is on Coastal Carolina.

Gregg Marshall came to Wintrhop prior to the the 1998-99 season and from that season through 2006-07 took the Eagles to seven NCAA berths in nine years. In his final season (2006-07) his Eagles finally broke through, beating Notre Dame 74-64 in the NCAA's first round. Marshall left after that year for Wichita State with Randy Peele taking over. Wintrhop would win 22 games in Peele's first season (2007-08) and an eighth Big South tourney title and NCAA appearance for the Eagles in 10 years but last year's team fell to 11-19. Five starters returned this year and while Winthrop improved, it entered this year's Big South tourney at a modest 16-13 overall and with the third seed at 12-6. However, the Eagles are back in the Big South championship game after beating Liberty and then last year's regular season and tourney champ Radford 61-46 on Thursday. The Eagles have size in 6-9 St Bonny transfer Morgan (9.5-4.6) and 6-10 senior Buechert (6.0-6.5) plus a solid small forward in 6-5 senior Robinson (8.0-6.3). The backcourt is young, led by sophomore Middleton (10.4-3.3-3.0) and freshman Dreher (6.1). Middleton's been the star with 42 points in Winthrop's two tourney wins but here the Eagles meet a better team and one on a mission. Coastal Carolina's heyday was back in the late-80s, early-90s when the school won four Big South regular season titles and made two NCAA appearances (1991 and 1993). From 1993-94 through last year (16 years), the Chanticleers (great nickname) had just two winning seasons, including the first two of current head coach Cliff Ellis (24-35). However, Ellis can coach. He led South Alabama to two NCAA berths, Clemson to three (including the Clemson's first-ever ACC first-place regular season title in 1990) and Auburn to three NCAA berths, winning national coach-of-the-year in 1999 at Auburn when his Tigers won 29 games and captured the school’s first SEC championship in 40 years. Coastal Carolina won the Big South this year at 15-3, adding tourney wins over VMI and NC-Asheville to enter this game at 28-5 overall (Ellis now owns 664 all-time wins). Coastal Carolina lacks Winthrop's height but 6-5 senior Harris (14.8-9.8) has 28 points and 27 rebounds in the team's first two tourney wins with 6-7 JUCO transfer Gray (14.3-4.8) adding 37 points. The 6-6 Johnson (8.2-3.3) and 6-8 freshman McLaurin (3.2-5.0) give the Chants plenty of muscle up front. The backcourt features senior Edwards (12.2-4.2) plus freshman Greenwood (9.0-3.3 APG) and Nieman (6.3-3.2). This is the school's biggest game in almost two decades and the Chants get to play at home where they are 16-1 this year, outscoring opponents on average 76.3-to-59.5 PPG. That includes a 57-47 win over Winthrop (5-11 SU on the road TY) back on January 2.

Larry Ness

Weekend WIPEOUT WINNER! NBA
At 7:30 ET my 8* Weekend WIPEOUT WINNER is on the New York Knicks.

The Nets (6-55) are on pace for the worst record in N.B.A. history (9-73). The Knicks (21-40) are headed for their third straight 50-loss season. If they pooled their victories today, a merged Nets-Knicks team would have only the 21st-best record in the league. At the present rate, they will produce 36 victories and 128 losses this season, for a .221 winning percentage, their worst combined record since the Nets joined the N.B.A. in 1976. (The previous low came in 1986-87, when the Knicks and Nets each went 24-58, for a .293 percentage.) They will meet Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, for the final time this season, with the Knicks holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. There are no bragging rights to be gained, only humiliation to be avoided. The Knicks are one of five teams to lose to the Nets and do not want to join Charlotte, the only one to lose to the Nets twice. For the Nets, every defeat nudges them closer to the infamous 9-73 record compiled by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73. New Jersey has only allowed 98.6 points per game of late, but as has been the case all season, the offense hasn’t been there to push it over the top. The Nets’ 97-87 loss to Orlando on Friday marked the 30th time they’ve failed to score 90 (note: New Jersey is 0-4 ATS this season as a road dog of 6 1/2 to 9 points). The Knicks have a first-time All-Star at forward, David Lee, and promising young players in Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. They expected to at least match their 32-50 record of last season, which now seems impossible. New York’s 102-96 loss at Toronto on Friday was its 11th in 13 games and its 20th in 26. The Raptors, who were without Bosh after he was hospitalized with severe stomach pains, became the fifth team in six games to shoot better than 50 percent against the Knicks (note: New York is in fact 3-1 ATS as a home favourite of 6 1/2 to 9 points). This will be the third straight year that neither team makes the playoffs, the longest drought that the New York area has experienced. At this point in the season home-court advantage can't be overlooked and I expect the Knicks to play with a concerted effort on their home floor and after a sub-par performance; lay the points.

Wayne Root

Perfect Play - South Florida
No Limit Game of the Year - Missouri
Billionaire - Dayton
Millionaire - Mississippi St
Vegas Legend - Louisville

ATS Lock Club

7* Georgia Tech, Bradley
6* Villanova
5* Towson State, Rutgers
4* New Mexico St

Craig Davis

40 Dime – UTEP
20 Dime – VILLANOVA

UTEP --- Gotta side with the hometown Miners in this one and I have absolutely no faith in the Blazers right now, especially after watching them struggle vs. Memphis the other night. Yes, I backed UAB that night and thought I was on the right side for several reasons... I was wrong. But one thing I learned about UAB... if they aren't playing "lights out" defense, they're going to struggle, especially on the road.

UAB isn't necessarily built to score a ton of points like in past seasons, and playing a team like UAB that can score in bunches could spell trouble if they get hot. The Blazers have scored 53 and 59 points in their last two road outings vs. Central Florida and Southern Miss and although I have seen them score a bunch more than that on a few occasions, the normal road output is around 67 PPG. I'll tell you right now... if the Blazers plan on scoring 67 points tonight, they better make sure they play their best defensive game of the year because it's going to take a lot more than 67 points to cover this six-point line.

Many critics to this selection will point to the fact UTEP is just 2-7 ATS in their last 9 home games, but what you might forget is the fact that the Miners have been asked to cover double digits in six of those nine, and three of those double digit lines were over 20. They're winning a lot of games right now, so it's unfair to criticize their ATS home record given those numbers... that would be tough for anyone to do. And let's keep in mind, UTEP has won 13 straight games and they seem to get better each time they take the floor. They went to Southern Miss and won, they went to Marshall and won, they went to Tulsa and won... they even went to UAB and won (by 9 in overtime). This team is as hot as any team in the country and with this being senior night in front of a sellout crowd, I can't imagine anything but their best effort.

Again, I'm just not all that impressed with UAB, especially away from home, and the way they finished their last game against Memphis was really telling. On average, UTEP outscores their opponents by more than 12 PPG, but I expect the team and the crowd to be a little more "juiced up" tonight. And no, I'm not worried that the Miners have already wrapped up the conference regular season title... they want to win this game and win is big. UTEP's biggest downfall lately has been allowing too high of a three-point percentage to their opponents, but that's not a problem at home where they allow less than 30% from behind the arc. I like UTEP big tonight at home.

VILLANOVA --- Despite some ugly play from the 'Cats over the past few weeks, this team still actually has a chance to get a #1 seed out west in the Big Dance. With a strong showing today and a solid showing in the conference tournament, Villanova could put themselves in a position to earn a #1 seed. Remember, a few weeks ago these guys were a lock for a #1 seed, so it's really not too far-fetched of an idea. Honestly, both of these teams are very good and could be deserving of a top seed, but when it comes down to it, I think the lack of solid free throw shooting from the Mounties will lead to their ultimate demise.

The Mountaineers shoot just 69% from the stripe and they seem to get worse when the game is on the line. Remember, they let Pittsburgh back in a game they had no business getting back into because of West Virginia's horrible free throw shooting in the final minute. Let's also keep in mind WVU is not a good ATS team, covering just 12 times in 28 games and just 6 of 14 on the road. Villanova, on the other hand, has covered 8 of 12 lined home games and they need this game a whole heck of a lot more than West Virginia does. When the Philly crowd gets into it, the Wildcats play at a different level, and having proven they can already beat this team on the road, I have no doubts they get the job done again today with a small Vegas line sitting in front of them. Take 'Nova minus the small impost.

Michael Cannon

30* 549 Syracuse Pick
10* 533 Northwestern -5
10* 532 Penn State +6

Bobby Maxwell

600* 566 Colorado -4.5
100* 521 Texas A&M -3.5

Insider Sports Report

5* Maryland
4* Syracuse
3* Kansas