Time for Lift off on Monday

Brought the truck back around to the winning side with 2-1 day and I warned Paul Buck Pitt might be in trouble. Today we have a super NHL trend that will bring a smile to hockey bettors face. The Best System is in the MAC at 28-6 and I have several weekend observations. Good Luck

What I thought today- It was quite a weekend in basketball for the sports bettor to take in the action and learn a great deal about the teams they were wagering on. You could make a case Georgetown has as good a three main players in guards Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and center Greg Monroe, as there is in college basketball. No question a number of others teams are more complete than the Hoyas, however when all three of these players are on, as Duke found out, G-Town is very good. The Blue Devils looked very tired and did an unusually poor job in transition defense. When Duke is getting beat, they are not receiving any contributions in the paint.

Louisville outscored West Virginia 71-46 in the middle 32+ minutes of their game against West Virginia and covered. However, they trailed 13-0 after the first three minutes of the contest and the Mountaineers used an 18-4 closing salvo to win 77-74. Credit coach Bob Huggins for using 1-3-1 zone defense in last four minutes plus to prevent the Cardinals from scoring. Louisville also got “homered” on brutal call with seconds remaining, which should have given them the ball back under their own basket.

In watching Baylor and Texas, it really appeared the Bears were the better team in upsetting the Longhorns in Austin. The Texas guards just don’t offer enough offensively unless you count turnovers and excessive dribbling as positives. One positive for coach Rick Barnes, Texas played with defensive intensity in the second half of this contest, something not witnessed in a couple of weeks. For the oddity of the weekend, Baylor’s Ekpe Udoh was 0-10 shooting in regulation play with no points and he scored the Bears first seven points in OT.

Kentucky went from seven point favorites all the way to 9.5 early Saturday afternoon before the marketplace settled on 8.5. It didn’t matter as the Wildcats were awesome on defense against Vanderbilt and DeMarcus Cousins showed he is going to be a tremendous NBA talent, probably after this his freshman season.

The Kansas and Kansas State’s contest lived up to all the billing with overtime thriller. The Jayhawks can turn to several different players in the context of a game and find a way to win. K-State is so aggressive, especially on the offensive glass. Coach Frank Martin might have played the final minute differently given more time to think about, taking what seemed to be an unnecessary calculated risk. Glad I was off that game, as the last second heave by the Wildcats was either a heart-breaking spread loss or cause for lucky celebration with Kansas State catching four points.

Illinois is not mentally strong and are a bad favorite play. Watched Pacific for about 25 minutes, they look like a good bet the rest of the way in the Big West as single digit favorites, which won’t be often. Couldn’t help but be impressed with Cornell. The Big Red wasn’t on TV, however the humiliated Harvard 86-50 on their own home floor. Cornell is 18-3 and 13-3 ATS and their only losses have come to Seton Hall, Syracuse and they realistically could have been then and now No. 1 Kansas in Lawrence, losing by five.

Go figure, North Carolina is 13-8, as is Connecticut, after both were upset this weekend. There is still time to improve record, but right now neither looks like they belong in NCAA Tournament and they are a combined 14-23-1 ATS.

It was lost on me why PGA Tour players were outraged Phil Mickelson used an old Ping wedge that technically could be deemed illegal, but was “grandfathered” in under the rules of golf and thus is 100 percent legal. Having worked in the golf business for a long time, I’m well aware that many professional golfers are not that much different than those that setup NASCAR rigs. In other words, you make the rules and I’ll take them as possibly as close as I can without “breaking the law”. Mickelson was playing by the rules and if he could get a slight edge on his competitors don’t blame him, blame the golfers that didn’t keep an old wedge around that was over 20 years old. Trust me, though these golfers are as honorable as any athletes in sports, if their golf balls went one foot past the number of feet per second rule on compression, very few would not use golf balls deemed “illegal”.

On Twitter at: www.twitter.com/3Dailywinners

Free Basketball System -1) Play On home favorites of 10 or more points like Bowling Green after scoring 55 points or less, against opponent after scoring 60 points or less three straight games. The Falcons are in 28-6 ATS winning situation at 82.4 percent.

Free Hockey Trend - 2) The most humorous NHL game tonight is Edmonton and Carolina, as each team has combined angles of 0-22 going against each other. Instead we’ll say to watch Anaheim, who is 9-1 against the money line in road games after two consecutive non-conference games over the last three seasons.

Free Basketball Pick -3) Ron is the newest member of the Left Coast Connection and he sees a tired and flat Lakers club in Memphis tonight and is backing the Grizz.

Note- If you prefer to have this sent to you daily instead of having to visit the site, sign up for our FREE mailing list on the right.

Making a Case for Betting Good College Hoops Teams

Last week I wrote an article about an easy method to handicapping the National Basketball Association. It is so easy, you don’t even have to be smarter than a fifth grader to do it (I have to give one of my favorite TV shows a free plug in a round about way). Speaking of the Jeff Foxworthy-hosted show on Fox, Friday’s at 8:00, my favorite question I have seen a contestant answer incorrectly was “What ocean is named after India”? Not quite as easy of question as “What state is named after the Mississippi River, but very close. The poor guy, I believe he was an accountant from Toledo, had used up all of his “lifelines” of help so he was stuck coming up with the answer himself. After a considerable amount of thinking coupled with stammering, he responded with “the Bay of Bombay”. How would you like that guy doing your taxes?

Regarding the NBA handicapping article, I had some readers question me if this simplistic method I wrote about was also good for handicapping college basketball games. If you didn’t see the article, the basic premise was to place your bets on teams with winning straight-up records as compared to losing teams. There was a distinct correlation of cashing tickets by sticking to teams with the better straight-up record and staying away from the bottom dwellers.

In college hoops, with having over 200 regularly lined-teams playing 25 to 40 games a season, I went about looking at this methodology a little differently than how I did it for the NBA with its 30 teams. I wanted to keep it very basic but needed to keep the qualifying data set somewhat small.

I felt a good way to reduce risk would be to take a look at teams who have covered the point spread at a good rate over each of the past four years and see if I can uncover any gems that will help me win. While I do believe in longer-term views as for uncovering trends and tendencies, I do also believe that each sport evolves and changes from year to year.

I went to the StatFox website where they have the best collection and history of college basketball statistics that I have ever seen available on the Internet. If you have never been to the StatFox website and you love statistics, you will be making this site a regular stop when you see what’s available. And, even more importantly, the numbers are sortable. They don’t just put up the top 25 or the top fifty in a category, they have all lined teams with virtually any statistic you would want to follow. Statfox.com is one of the best tools any handicapper can utilize no matter what sport they are handicapping. And the greatest thing about it, the StatFox site is entirely free!

I went to the team report page and sorted the teams by their ATS winning percentage. I eliminated teams that did not play a full season of lined games, ones with a point spread every week. You often have a Texas State or Alcorn State that plays just a few lined games against large non-conference schools every year. There is no point in having their statistics skew the results.

I then looked at teams that covered the point spread at least 60% of the time for the entire season. I did this for the past four years. There were a total of 134 teams that qualified at that rate. The number each year was very constant, between 30 and 36 each year. In 2004-05, of the 34 teams on the 60% list, 25 had winning records and nine had a season below .500, then a 28-6 mark in 2005-06 of over .500 teams, and followed by a 30-6 tally for the 2006-07 season. Last year there was a drop-off to only 30 teams total that had an ATS record of 60% or better. Of those 30teams, 23 had winning records. The total for all four years was 28 teams out of 134, just 20.9%, had losing records but still covered 60% or better of their games against the number.
We have talked about betting on teams that win straight-up at a good rate. How about finding teams to bet against? Let’s go back four seasons and see what we can find.

I looked at teams that did not cover at least 40% of their games for the season. Over the four years analyzed, 122 teams in total did not reach our Mendoza line. Of those 122 money-burning teams, only 26 of them had winning records for the season, a paltry 17.6%. Just like in betting on teams with winning records can help you be profitable in your wagering endeavors, betting against teams that have below .500 records can put money in your pocket, also.

Out of curiosity, I took another way to look at this concept. How do very high percentage winning teams do against the point spread? I trekked back to the StatFox team report page, sorted the teams by straight-up winning percentage each of the past four years. I looked at teams that won 75% or better of their games.

Would you believe that 85% of these high-quality teams had .500 or better ATS records? I was surprised the number would be that high. Combined over the four-year span, there were 107 teams that won 75% of their games. Again, these are only regularly-lined teams. Last year there were 27 qualifying squads with only 4 losing ATS marks. In the 2006-07 campaign, not one out of 24 teams had a losing ATS record and only one, Memphis, had a .500 mark covering the number. Three seasons ago it was 6 teams with a below .500 ATS out of 26 at 75% or better. And in 2005-06 saw 28 high-quality teams and just 6 with losing ATS tallies.

Granted, nobody can see in the future to know with 100% accuracy what teams are going to win 75%+ of their games, or for that matter, even have a winning or losing year. However, at this time of the season you should have a very good idea of teams with that potential.

In trying to come up with things that could sink this generalized method of handicapping, my first thought was how do “public teams” do ATS. These are teams with a strong national following, sterling reputation, and who are usually high-quality teams winning year after year. Last year I looked at what I consider the top five “public teams”: North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, UCLA, and Kentucky.

I could find nothing over the past several years that uncovered a high degree of point spread profits betting against them. Last year all five teams had winning ATS scores combining for a 98-70 mark, 58.3%. In fact, I unearthed more profitable spots than negative ones, such as North Carolina since 2000 is 55-24, 69.6 %, as a home double-digit favorite below 30 points.

Well, need to run. My favorite television show is starting. Tonight’s contestant is a dentist from Denver. I want to see how he does in Fifth Grade American History.

Jim Kruger of Vegas Sports Authority is frequent contributor.

ACC/Big Ten Challenge

The Big Ten jetted to 1-0 lead with Wisconsin taking down Virginia Tech 74-72 yesterday and based on the previous results of this event, they better relish it while they can. Tonight five more games will be played, with Duke at Purdue being the showcase contest. If and it is a really big if, the Big Ten wants a realistic chance to finally win The Challenge, they have to hold serve as home favorites tonight, being favored in three of the five games on their home court. All lines courtesy of Bookmaker.com.

Ohio State at Miami-FL (-8) ESPN 7:00E

The Hurricanes are in the group of teams right behind North Carolina and Duke, trying to make noise this season in the ACC. Miami is 4-1 (2-1 ATS), with only loss coming to second-ranked Connecticut 76-63. Guard Jack McClinton is the team’s leading scorer and catalyst from a team that welcomed back four starters and is 11-1 ATS in non-conference action.

Ohio State (3-0, 2-1 ATS) held Samford to 22 points, not for the half, but for the game. They will be tested more severely today, against what might be the best perimeter shooting team in the ACC. The Buckeyes have had to rebuild for the second straight season and have wing David Lighty and F Evan Turner to fall back on. Ohio State has another very good freshman class; however this will be their first road adventure, though in the past this has not been a problem with 14-5 ATS mark after playing two consecutive games as a home favorite.

Ohio State is 2-5 in this challenge and Miami 0-2, but the edge has to go veteran Canes at home with 10-2 ATS record after playing a home game.

Iowa at Boston College (-8) ESPNU 7:00E

Boston College (4-2, 4-1 ATS) fell behind Purdue by 19-points in New York and rallied to within seven before losing. They came from behind to beat UAB in the NIT third place game 83-77 as three-point underdogs. G Tyrese Rice is what makes these Eagles fly and B.C. is 14-4 ATS after three consecutive non-conference games.

Second year coach Frank Lickliter has thrown three freshman into the fray, seeing this as his future and thus far they have responded well with 6-1 (3-1 ATS) record, including 65-63 upset of Kansas State, despite shooting 36.4 percent. Sophomore point guard Jeff Peterson has been an early stabilizer and the Hawkeyes have shot the ball well early at 49.8 percent. Iowa doesn’t appear to be in a favorable situation, but could cover the number if they play physical with Rice like St. Louis did in holding him to six points.

Iowa, like most Big Ten teams has losing record in this event at 2-5 and Boston College is 0-2 in their previous tries.

Clemson at Illinois (-2) ESPN2 7:30E

Coach Bruce Weber's Fighting Illini take a 6-0 (3-1) record into ACC/Big Ten Challenge battle with fellow unbeaten Clemson (7-0, 2-3 ATS). Illinois has been a surprise, vanquishing Vanderbilt on the road and beating Kent State and Tulsa in San Padre Tournament. Contributions are coming from all top seven players, but the big improvement has come from PG Chester Frazier, who has astonishing 42-to-9 assist-to-turnover ratio. Illinois had one of the best home court edges for years but is only 4-12 ATS since the beginning of last season.

Clemson is a sparking 7-2 in this conference challenge and has returned seven of top 10 players from NCAA Tournament team. K.C. Rivers makes this team flow and Raymond Sykes has brought the energy to the Tigers, with Trevor Booker being a force inside. Clemson is 6-15 ATS after playing a road game over the last three seasons.

This is one of the swing games the ACC has invariably won in this Challenge and how Illinois handles the Clemson pressure defense will directly relate to the outcome.

Duke at Purdue (-2) ESPN 9:00E

Duke (7-0, 4-3 ATS) has a perfect 9-0 record in this battle between well-known conferences and they face an engaging test. The Blue Devils are still perimeter oriented, with any number of players capable of beating opponent off the dribble taking the ball to the rim. Duke is at its best when the leading scorer is to be determined in a game, whether it is Kyle Singler, Lance Thomas or Gerald Henderson. The Dukies are 14-7 after a blowout win by 20 points or more.

Purdue (5-1, 3-2 ATS) is a mere 2-5 in The Challenge, with both wins coming at home. The Boilermakers are coming off disappointing loss to Oklahoma in the NIT final, losing in overtime 87-82, in a game they led almost from start to finish. E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel are the stars of Purdue; nevertheless this is a solid basketball team that plays very good defense and has answers on the offensive end. The Boilers have won 13 in a row at Mackey Arena (10-3 ATS) and are 9-1 ATS as a home favorite of six points or less or pick over the last three seasons.

Duke has to be considered dangerous in this position, yet Purdue is angry off a loss and rabid crowd could make it challenging on the Blue Devils.

Virginia at Minnesota (-7) ESPN2 9:30E

The first full night off ACC/Big Ten action concludes at The Barn in Minnesota. The Golden Gophers (6-0, 2-2 ATS) are a youthful bunch, having lost top three scorers from a year ago. Coach Tubby Smith made up a schedule of home games versus beatable opponents, with this being one of the more engaging encounters. Minnesota has had their share of early season injuries in the frontcourt, leaving PG Al Nolen to soldier the load. Coach Smith hopes good shooting fortune continues, being 10-0 ATS after a game where they made 60 percent of their shots or better.

Virginia (3-2, 1-1 ATS) has been sluggish to start a new campaign, due to lack of defense. Teams are shooting 47.4 percent against the Cavaliers, as coach Dave Leitao continues to tinker with his lineup, using five different combinations in five games. Hard to determine what Virginia will do off it worst performance in loss to Liberty and best effort in narrow defeat to Syracuse 73-70 as 16-point underdogs. After years of being a laughable road team (34-57 ATS as road underdogs), Virginia is 11-6 against the spread the last few seasons.

With two inexperienced squads, count this as another swing game.

Early Football Line Moves

For the Early Line Moves, we seek out the earliest lines and compare them on late Tuesday nights numbers to see what the so-called Line Movers do. Last week in college football these plays were ordinary 3-3 on the sides and 3-5 in college totals. This makes season record 45-30-2, 60 percent on sides and 32-23, 58.1 percent on Totals in CFB. In the NFL, they were 1-0 on sides bringing the record to 12-9, 57.1 percent. On the Totals they were quality 2-1 (11-3-1 the last month) making the updated figure 17-11-1, 60.7 percent. Enjoy reading and closely follow these numbers for wagering portfolio.

College Sides
TCU +1 to -2 Lost
Nevada +2 to -1 Winner
Duke -5.5 to -3.5
South Carolina -11 to -13
Boise State -31.5 to -34
Oklahoma -25 to -27.5
Nebraska +2 to -1
Texas -24 to -27
USC -18.5 to -21

College Totals
Pur/Mich St. 49 to 50
Illini/W. Mich 63 to 60
N.C. State/Duke 47 to 49
OK St./TT 73.5 to 69
Army/Rice 61 to 58
ISU/Colo 53 to 50
K-State/Misso 74 to 70
Kan/Neb 69 to 64
OSU/UCLA 52.5 to 49
Bay/Tex 66 to 62.5
Ark St/FIU 51 to 48

NFL Sides
Balt -2 to Pick

NFL Totals
GB/Minn 48 to 46
NYG/Phil 45 to 43.5