matchup
Clippers vs Grizzlies Free Pick April 29, 2012
The NBA’s second season started April 28 with 16 teams and all with the same goal, winning the NBA title. One opening round series that looks to be a great matchup is the Los Angeles Clippers versus the Memphis Grizzlies. The Clippers were ahead of Memphis in the playoff race right up until the last game of the regular season. However, Memphis was able to slide past the Clippers into fourth place and take home court advantage away from Los Angeles.
The series gets under way on April 29 in Memphis. The Clippers were 40-26 on the season, but ended the season losing their last two games and were 6-4 SU over their last ten games. On the road, the Clippers were 16-17 on the year. Los Angeles will rely on two key figures in their lineup, Blake Griffin their leading scorer and leading rebounder and Chris Paul their leader in assists and second leading scorer. Paul may be slowed a bit by a sore groin and that could hurt the Clippers.
The Grizzlies finished the season 41-25. They come into the playoffs having won six straight games and were 8-2 SU over the last 10 games of the season. Memphis will rely on Rudy Gay for their scoring and Marc Gasol to clear the boards. Mike Conley runs the offense as their assist leader and leads the team in steals.
Head to head the teams are completely even 5-5 SU and ATS in the last 10. The games between the teams are usually defensive struggles and that is evidenced in the point total. In the last ten games between the two teams, the total has been UNDER 8 times and OVER 2 times.
The teams met three times this past season. The Clippers were 2-1 SU and ATS in those three matchups. The total ended UNDER in all three games between the two teams this season.
The current line has Memphis as 5 ½-point favorites with the line sitting at 184. Smart money takes the Clippers plus the points in a game that will end UNDER.
Magic vs Grizzlies Free Game April 26, 2012
The Orlando Magic faces off against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 26 to end their NBA regular season. Both teams are headed to the playoffs. Orlando is in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference and will be playing against the Indiana Pacers in the first round. The Memphis Grizzlies are currently in the fifth spot in the Western Conference, but have a chance to move into the fourth spot for home court advantage. Regardless if they succeed, they will be playing in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Magic is 36-28 on the season and is trying to get used to playing without their best player, Dwight Howard. Howard had season ending back surgery last week. He was the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. He was also the team’s best defensive player. The Grizzlies have had a fine second half of the season and overall are 40-25. They have won five straight games and 8 of their last 10 to have the same record as the Clippers.
The Magic also have three other players injured. Hedo Turkoglu is out indefinitely with a face injury and both Earl Clark and Jameer Nelson are day to day. The Grizzlies are without Quincy Pondexter who is day to day with a sore knee.
Head to head the teams are even 5-5 SU in their last 10 game played. The Grizzlies hold a 6-4 ATS edge in those same 10 games. Scoring totals for the head to head matchup is usually low as the total has been UNDER in 8 of the last 10 head to head games between the Magic and Grizzlies. This season the two teams have not played one another and in their last matchup over a year ago, the Grizzlies go the better of the Magic 100-97.
This game will see the Grizzlies trying to win home court advantage, while the Magic try to rest for their first round series against the Pacers. Take the Grizzlies in this game with the score ending UNDER.
Kentucky vs. Iowa State Free Pick
Kentucky
The NCAA tournament will have a number of intriguing matchups Friday March 17. One great second round matchup will see the Iowa State Cyclones face the nation’s number one team the Kentucky Wildcats. The game will tip off Friday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
Iowa State won their first round game against Connecticut 77-64. They beat the Huskies to cover a 1 ½ point underdog spread. Kentucky was an easy winner against Western Kentucky on Thursday night 81-66 in their first round matchup. The Wildcats failed to cover their 26 ½ point favorite spread, but were ahead at times by 30 points and the reserves could not keep that lead.
Iowa State has an overall record of 23-10 SU and they are 20-9 ATS this season. Kentucky has a record of 33-2 SU and is just 13-21 ATS. One reason their record ATS is so bad is they have faced very large favorite spreads and have not held the lead late in games when their reserves come into the game to finish up.
Iowa State is 3-2 SU over their last five games. They lost to Texas in the Big 12 season ending tournament and righted the ship with their first round game against the Huskies of Connecticut. Kentucky is 4-1 SU over their last five games. They lost to Vanderbilt in the SEC Championship game to end the season. They returned four days later however, to beat Western Kentucky handily. The two schools have not met head to head of recent.
The game should be close until mid way through the second half when Kentucky’s size and dominating play of Anthony Davis will take over. The Wildcats will wear the Cyclones down and will win this game SU and the total will be OVER. Kentucky will not be looking beyond the Cyclones and an upset will not be in the cards.
NBA Basketball Pick: N.Y. Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns
- NY Knicks
West meets East in a showdown Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden as the Phoenix Suns visit the New York Knicks. The Suns are just 4-8 overall this season while the Knicks are around the .500 mark at 6-7. The Suns are led by Marcin Gortat who is averaging a team high 14.3 points per game. He is also leading the team in rebounding with 8.4 per contest. Perennial All-Pro Steve Nash is leading the team with just over 10 assists per game.
The Knicks are led in scoring by Carmelo Anthony who is lighting the hoops up scoring 26 per game. Tyson Chandler leads the Knicks in rebounding with 10 per contest and Anthony leads the team in assists with 4.3 per contest. The only player out of the lineup for both teams is veteran guard Baron Davis who is out indefinitely for the Suns with a back injury.
The Suns this season are 5-7 ATS while the Knicks are only 3-10 ATS. Head to head Phoenix has won 7 of the last 10 games SU and the Knicks are 6-4 ATS the spread in the last 10 games between the two teams. The score has been OVER in 6 of the last 10 games the two have played against each other.
The Suns are 0-4 SU in their last four games while the Knicks are 2-3 SU over their last five games. The Suns are also 0-4 ATS the spread in their last four games. The Knicks on the other hand are just 1-4 ATS in their last five games.
Against Eastern conference teams the Suns are 1-3 SU in their last four games and 1-3 ATS in their last four games. The Knicks are 1-4 SU against Western Conference teams in their last four games and 1-4 ATS in those same five games. Take the Knicks here. Bet it now at JustBet, an A+ Rated Sportsbook.
NFL Week 17: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
- Romo looks to win in Dallas
There is only one game in Week 17 that features a playoff spot on the line or a postseason sitting home for both teams: Sunday night’s Dallas at New York Giants matchup, as the winner claims the NFC East title.
New York and Dallas are both 8-7, so the winner will earn the No. 4 seed and a home matchup with Detroit or Atlanta next weekend. The loser is eliminated, and a tie would give the crown to the Giants thanks to their 37-34 road victory over the Cowboys on Dec. 11.
The Giants won a wild game against the Jets in Week 16, which made the Cowboys/Eagles matchup meaningless. But Cowboys QB Tony Romo injured his hand early in that game. Although he’s missed practice time, he’s expected to play Sunday. The teams met in Week 14, with New York squeaking out a narrow victory in a game in which good defense was difficult to come by (954 total yards, 71 points).
Romo has been magnificent this season, throwing 29 touchdowns and just nine interceptions with a career-best 102.2 passer rating — the league’s fourth-best mark. He was bypassed for the Pro Bowl, however, in favor of the Giants’ Eli Manning.
Manning is enjoying a stellar year with a career-high 4,587 passing yards — the NFL’s fourth-highest total. He owns the league’s second-best fourth-quarter passer rating at 107.5, guiding the Giants to come-from-behind victories in the final period five times. His most recent comeback was in the first meeting with Dallas. Manning threw for 400 yards and led the Giants to two touchdowns in the final 3:14 to rally them from a 34-22 deficit.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride did an excellent job of proving LT David Diehl help working against OLB DeMarcus Ware with the Giants playing from behind without handcuffing the passing game in the first meeting. The Giants would love to establish a solid ground game early, giving Manning more security, and one-on-one matchups, working off play-action.
Romo has not traditionally played well in games of this magnitude, but he must step up with these rivals often squaring off in shootouts. Romo would be helped tremendously if RB Felix Jones is fully recovered from his hamstring injury and can contribute early. It will help if his O-line can slow down Pro Bowl DE Jason Pierre-Paul, who dominated in the previous matchup with eight tackles, two sacks (one for a safety), a forced fumble and a blocked FG that secured the win.
SA Take: This is a battle that has many implictions. But everything seems to point to Dallas going up to NY and pulling off the upset to us. Add three points in there and we are on Dallas +3 tonight.
Florida vs. Arizona College Basketball
- Florida Basketball
The best matchup in college basketball on Wednesday night is easily in Gainesville, Fla., when the No. 12 Gators host Arizona in a matchup of the Pac-10 and SEC regular-season champions from a season ago. Both clubs have high NCAA Tournament expectations this season. The Gators are slight college basketball bets favorites on WagerWeb.com. This game is at 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
Arizona (6-2) was in the Top 25 to start the season but losses to Mississippi State and San Diego State – two very good teams – dropped the Cats out. They have since won two straight, beating Northern Arizona 53-39 on Saturday for their 28th straight win over their in-state rivals.
Florida (5-2) has already played two Top-5 teams this year, losing by 7 at Ohio State and by 4 at Syracuse in the Gators’ last game on Dec. 2. UF, which entered that game shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc and was averaging 12 3-pointers a game, was just 9-for-26 from long range. Kenny Boynton led the team with 22 points. Five UF players averages in double-figures, led by Boynton’s 19.0 ppg average. Patric Young leads Florida with a 7.3 rebounds per game average.
The Gators will get a key player back for this one. Junior forward Erik Murphy, who missed the past three games with a knee injury, is expected to play. Murphy was averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds before he bruised his knee and aggravated a slightly torn meniscus he already had from high school. Murphy’s return adds size inside and another outside shooter. The Gators were outrebounded 40-33 in the loss at Syracuse on Friday, clearly missing Murphy’s inside presence.
This is UA’s first trip to the state of Florida since the 2009 NCAA Tournament’s first/second rounds in Miami. This game is the third meeting of the two schools with the teams split at one win apiece. Arizona won the first meeting, 75-71, on Nov. 9, 2001, in New York City and Florida captured the next, 78-77, on Nov. 28, 2003, in Springfield, Mass.
SA Take: We are taking Arizona +11
C-USA Championship Game: Southern Miss (10-2) at Houston (12-0)
- Case Keenum QB
Much more than the Conference USA Championship is on the line Saturday afternoon for No. 6 Houston, as the Cougars will land in their first BCS bowl game with a win at home over Southern Miss – it’s also expected to be the final home game for UH coach Kevin Sumlin, who has been targeted by schools such as Arizona State, Texas A&M and UCLA. Houston is a 14-point college football bets favorite on WagerWeb.com.
One year removed from a 5-7 season marred by an early season-ending knee injury to star quarterback Case Keenum, Houston joins top-ranked LSU as the only undefeated teams in the country. Making its third C-USA title game appearance, the Cougars have a chance to earn their first-ever BCS bid with a win and become the first team from the league to play in the Bowl Championship Series.
Southern Miss has a very good offense that averages 34.1 points per game. The offense is led by Austin Davis. The senior quarterback has thrown for 3,052 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. He has thrown a touchdown pass in 11 straight games. The Golden Eagles have the top rushing attack in the conference as well with an average of 207.8 yards per game on the ground.
Looking for their first C-USA title since beating Southern Mississippi 34-20 in the 2006 conference championship game, the Cougars lead the nation in total offense (613.3 yards per game), scoring (52.7 points per game) and passing yards (449.7 per game).
Keenum, the NCAA career leader in passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense, has completed 73.2 percent of his passes this season for 4,726 yards, with 43 TDs and just three interceptions. He was 44 of 54 for 559 yards with five TDs and an interception in his only previous game against the Golden Eagles, a 50-43 home win in 2009. Keenum needs 274 yards passing to become the first player in FBS history with three 5,000-yard seasons.
The Golden Eagles may have the best defense Houston has seen all season, ranking 26th overall (338.4 yards per game) and 25th in scoring (20.5 points per game). Southern Miss also has a school-record seven interception returns for touchdowns this season.
The Golden Eagles have lost three straight games at Robertson Stadium, including a 34-20 loss to the Cougars in the 2006 conference championship game. Southern Miss will be the first top-25 opponent at Robertson Stadium since 2008 (No. 25 Tulsa).
Sportsbook Advisor Take: We are all on Southern Miss. We love the way they have played all year and realize this is the chance to really do something nationally for these guys. Hosuton is a good football team. S. Miss is a good team as well and has a lot of charater. They may or may not win but we like getting the 13-14 points.
MAC Championship Game: Northern Illinois (9-3) vs. Ohio (9-3)
The first conference championship game of the weekend kicks off Friday night at 7 Eastern from Ford Field in Detroit when Northern Illinois and Ohio University meet. The Huskies, who have won seven games in a row, are 3.5-point college football bets favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Both teams are looking for redemption as Ohio lost to Central Michigan in the 2009 title game and Northern Illinois lost to Miami (Ohio) in the championship game last season, falling 26-21 on a touchdown with 33 seconds remaining.
The best player on the field will be NIU QB Chandler Harnish, who was named the MAC MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. The senior ranks 15th in the country and third in the MAC in rushing yards per game with 112.6 and averages 7.9 yards per carry with 1,351 yards on 172 runs. Harnish also ranks 15th in the country in passing efficiency with a 154.36 mark as he is completing 63 percent (203-of-322) of his passes for 2,692 yards with 23 touchdowns and four interceptions.
He has accounted for 34 total touchdowns in 2011 with 23 passing and 11 rushing, and his rushing yardage total ranks fourth among the list of 10 players that have passed for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 in a single season all-time. He has run for 100 or more yards in each of the Huskies’ last four games and six times overall with a career best of 229 yards on the ground versus Western Michigan (Oct. 15).
A four-year starter, Harnish has totaled 2,955 career rushing yards and 8,420 career passing yards and needs only 45 rushing yards to become only the third quarterback in FBS history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 8,000 yards in a career.
Ohio U landed a league-high 11 players on the all-MAC team. QB Tyler Tettleton was named to the All-MAC third team. He has set 11 single season school records in his first season as a starter. He has accounted for 34 touchdowns (26 passing; 8 rushing) and he is also one of just seven quarterbacks nationally that have thrown 26-or-more touchdowns and seven interceptions or less.
A win over Northern Illinois would give the Bobcats’ first-ever Mid-American Conference Championship game title. The Bobcats rank third in the MAC in total offense (461.0) and fourth in total defense (351.1).
Friday night’s game will mark the 19th meeting between the two teams. The series is tied at nine wins apiece. The first time the two teams met was back on Nov. 23, 1968 with Ohio earning a 28-12 victory in Athens, Ohio. The last meeting took place on Nov. 21, 2009 in Athens, Ohio. In that contest, Ohio defeated Northern Illinois 38-31.
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Sportsbook Advisor Pick: Frank Solich is the man and has a great program at Ohio. We like them getting the points.
No. 6 Oregon Ducks at No. 3 Stanford Cardinal
It’s probably the biggest regular-season game in Stanford history on Saturday night – ESPN GameDay makes its first visit to the Farm – when the Cardinal look to keep their national title hopes alive against Oregon, with the winner pretty much assured of representing the Pac-12 North in the inaugural conference title game (Stanford is officially in with a win). The Cardinal are 3-point college football betting favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Just as the world was watching the SEC showdown last week, the eyes of the football nation turn to the West Coast this week. Stanford’s balanced offensive attack, led by quarterback Andrew Luck, squares off with the speedy Ducks, who are looking to join a cast of one-loss teams that believe they have a shot at the title game. Either outcome will send ripples across the BCS standings.
Oregon’s season began on a sour note, as the club was beaten by a still- unbeaten LSU team, 40-27. Since then, however, Chip Kelly’s crew has been downright dominant, winning eight games in a row by 14 or more points. Last weekend, the Ducks beat a solid Washington squad on the road by a 34-17 final, and that solid offensive output actually marked Oregon’s lowest point total in any game during the current win streak. The Ducks have now won 18 straight conference games, dating to a 2009 road loss to Stanford.
Last week, Stanford extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 17 games with a 38-13 romp over Oregon State. The Cardinal are now 9-0, marking the best start for the program since 1951.
The Ducks and Cardinal lead the Pac-12 and also rank among the Top 10 in the nation in almost every major offensive category. The staggering statistics are the kind usually reserved for video games, producing similar results despite the differences.
Stanford averages 48 points and Oregon 46 points, good for third- and fifth-best in the country, respectively. The Ducks have averaged 510.67 yards per game (seventh) to Stanford’s 505.78 yards (eighth), with Oregon gaining slightly more on the ground and the Cardinal racking up more in the air.
Oregon has dominated this series in recent seasons with the exception of Stanford’s win in 2009, the last conference loss for the Ducks. Oregon had won seven straight against the Cardinal before the loss two years ago, and then the Ducks bounced back to win last year. Oregon has won three of its last four at Stanford. Oregon has faced S Luck in each of the past two seasons, and he has combined to throw for 592 yards and four touchdowns. He was 12-for-20 for 251 yards and two touchdowns in 2009 and then went 29-for-46 for 341 yards and two touchdowns last year. Oregon has never won a road game against a top-five team. Stanford has not lost at home since the 2009 season. The Cardinal would clinch a berth in the Pac-12 title game with a win and would also clinch home-field advantage in that championship game. Stanford is riding a 17-game winning streak, the longest in the country. Its last loss was to Oregon last season. by Wagerweb.com
We like Stanford -3. They have been steamrolling teams all season and Oregon has that nasty loss on their record. This is a chance to prove to the country that Andrew Luck is all that he is cracked up to be. (Sportsbook Advisor)
