Half Season NHL Report

The National Hockey League will soon be taking a break due to the Olympics and with most at or past the halfway point of the season, determined this would be a good time to check in wagering aspects of all the teams. We’ll blend the team thoughts along with betting units for each team to create a perspective.

Eastern Conference

New Jersey (41-12, +17 units) The Devils have rekindled the magic, thanks to a group of hard-working players who rededicated themselves to playing New Jersey hockey and the front office replenished the depth. The Devils come at teams in waves and goalie Martin Brodeur is as sharp as ever. New Jersey’s 15-5 road record speaks to mindset.

Buffalo (28-16, +6.7 units) Buffalo was one of the first teams to adjust to the rule changes a few seasons ago, having faster players that could really work. They never got beyond being a good regular season team, however this season a case could be made presently that net-minder Ryan Miller is the league MVP for team on the rise again. This club is solid wager.

Washington (27-17, +3.2 units) Top scoring team in the league, led by Alex Ovechkin who is playing like a man on a mission. Goaltending is very suspect, which makes them a so-so bet for a top flight squad.

Pittsburgh (28-19, -0.7 units) The defending Stanley Cup champions have not been known for big first half efforts since they became elite team. They are burdened with inflated money lines, making each lost costly and they will go thru the motions for a stretch of games. They were four seed last year and won it all, will likely settle in same area and look to save energy for playoff run.

Montreal (22-25, -1.9 units) Fans of the Canadiens yearn for the days of the up and down the ice high-flyers. This team is in the bottom 15 percent of goals scored per game and goalies Jaroslav Halak or Carey Price essentially have to stand on their heads most night to give Montreal a chance.

Florida (18-27, -2.9 units) No name team that hasn’t make the postseason since 2000. The only reason they are a halfway decent wager is because they are almost .500 on the road, receiving heavy numbers from oddsmakers.

N.Y. Islanders (19-27, -3.5 units) The Eastern Conference is not stuffed with many good hockey teams, which is why the Isles still have a opportunity at the playoffs. To have any chance, the Islanders have to improve -26 goal differential.

Ottawa (22-24, -4.9 units) The Senators have hung in their despite losing their best scorer from last season and crummy goaltending. Credit coach Cory Clouston for keeping this afloat. Watch carefully however, this team could go south with more holes than Dunkin Donuts.
Atlanta (19-25,-5.9 units) Nothing like a nine-game losing streak to ruin what was shaping up to be a good first half of the season the Thrashers. It’s hard to tell what is worse right now, the defense or the goaltending.

N.Y. Rangers (22-23, -6.1 units) Think the Rangers have trouble scoring? Since Nov. 24, the Blueshirts have scored more than three goals three times (22 games). If Marian Gaborik were to get injured, the Rangers would likely be on a two goals max limit. Doesn’t goalie Henrik Lundqvist really deserve this?

Philadelphia (22-22, -6.3 units) Easily the most disappointing team in the East. Continual non-efforts cost John Stevens his coaching job and things haven’t improved much. Talented squad mired in mediocrity makes this a “stay away” from wager unless they collectively decide to play.

Boston (22-22, -7.3 units) If the Bruins had a consistent attack to light the lamp, they would be a super wager, since defensively they are among the best. For the most part they just pepper the net with mediocre shot attempts that high school goalie could stop and waste defensive efforts most nights, making them unsafe bet.

Tampa Bay (17-27, -7.9 units) Lousy record doesn’t tell the whole story. The Lightning is 2-10 in OT, including unlucky 0-6 in shootouts. If Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis start playing up to capabilities, this becomes dangerous play on team in hunt for playoff berth.

Toronto (15-31, -16.1 units) The Maple Leafs needed eight games to register initial victory and five more contests to reach two wins. Who has the league’s worst penalty killing outfit and allows the most goals, you don’t have to read the Hockey News to figure that out.

Carolina (13-31, -16.5 units) Did this team really win the Stanley Cup three and half years ago and make the East Finals last season! There had been talk this team was running on fumes last year, turns out to be true.

Western Conference

Nashville (27-19, +10 units) The biggest surprise for hockey bettors is the play of the Predators. Nashville doesn’t score a lot of goals, however receives contributions from a smorgasbord of players. Back-stops Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis are like a dependable restaurant, good every time and there is no apparent reason why Nashville can’t keep winning and building bankrolls.

Colorado (26-21, +8.7 units) First year coach Joe Sacco deserves all the credit for molding this young squad into cohesive unit, with most experts seeing them in the Northwest Division basement by now. Not certain the youngsters can hold it together for the second half, more likely a play on-play against team depending on the streak.

Chicago (31-15, +7.5 units) Blackhawks fans can hardly believe their eyes; they have one of the best teams in the NHL after years of spendthrift ways. Chicago has exciting young talented snipers, a stingy defense and the best penalty kill unit in the game. Stanley Cup contender without injuries.

Phoenix (26-20, +7.0 units) Let’s get this straight, this team was in bankruptcy court, hired their present coach one week before the season started, while presumably headed for relocation and only four teams have more points than the Coyotes! Now it makes sense. If Shane Doan can start playing as well as netminder Ilya Bryzgalov, this might be another Miracle on Ice.

Los Angeles (25-21, +3.7 units) The Kings have suffered key injuries to some of its veteran players and still produced a winning record. With these players close to 100 percent, Los Angeles could match their early season success the rest of the way.

Vancouver (27-19, +3.3 units) The Olympics are in Vancouver, which could ruin a good season for the Canucks. Starting at the end of this month, Vancouver has to play eight road games before the break, after the Olympics, six more road games for a total of FOURTEEN straight games away from home. They are 9-11 on the road thus far.

San Jose (29-17, +1.8 units) From talent perspective, the best team in the West and probably the NHL. The problem is the Sharks are boring to bet. Heavy money lines mean soft wins and losses are like beaten eaten by sharks. Similar to New York Yankees, play on when in hot streak to show a profit before the losses hit.

Minnesota (23-23, +1.2 units) Minnesota’s 3-9 start really put them behind the curve and they have rebounded nicely to be .500. Distinct wagering qualities about the Wild - 15-7 at home and 8-16 on the road.

Calgary (26-20, -0.5 units) Jarome Iginla leads two good scoring lines for Calgary who has been somewhat forgotten in the Northwest Division with the play of Colorado. Miikka Kiprusoff is having his best year in net since the lockout and the Flames should be a consistent team in the second half.

Anaheim (20-26, -5.9 units) Too many personnel losses on the blue line have robbed this team of what used to be a reliable defense. The goaltending has been below average, complicating the situation. Even the ability to score is no help from a team that was this close to being in the Stanley Cup Finals last June.

Detroit (23-21, -6.9 units) Perhaps no team has been bitten by the injury bug to its most important players than the Red Wings. If most everyone can come back healthy by March, Detroit suddenly becomes a club nobody wants to face and could string a number of wins together at a fairer value for bettors.

Dallas (19-26, -7.9 units) Dallas is ordinary at best, picking up points in overtime losses, which only helps on the puck line at +1.5. Nothing points to rally or slipping further into the abyss, just continued triviality.

St. Louis (18-26, -8.9 units) It looks like the Blues second half surge from a season ago was a mirage and coach Andy Murray was recently jettisoned. With one of the poorer offenses around, this club is like a bad stock, dump it.

Edmonton (16-28, -11.2 units) What’s the best same to sum up Oilers? Inferior at home with 9-14 mark and rotten on the road with 7-14 record. Oh yea, one more thing, one of the worst defenses in the NHL. That about sums up Edmonton.

Columbus (18-29, -13.5 units) Columbus made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season and has followed up that joyous occasion by stinking up the joint at almost every turn. Even the home ice has yellow tint.

Tuesday's Top Info

A mildly disappointing 1-2 day, has us yearning for more today. Found a college basketball system that is 85.2 percent in the Missouri Valley. The Top Trend is flat out perfect and involves the big game of tonight. Good Luck

What I thought today - What a remarkable comeback by Villanova last night at Louisville, down 17 points in the first half, as they stormed backed to win 92-84 as 3.5-point underdogs. It was not an easy game to watch with 44 turnovers, 67 fouls and 94 free throws (not a misprint). Scottie Reynolds showed ample “onions” scoring 30 of his 36 points in the second half, as Nova moved to 8-1 and 6-3 ATS away from home this season. I also read where Brandon Lange said he wasn’t worried when Villanova was down by 17, because he knew Reynolds would bail them out. Oh here, let me adjustment my 20-20 reading glasses after the outcome.

If you had Oklahoma like I did last night, you wished you could have shot all the free throws that would have had the Sooners winning in regulation. They made 2 of last eight before overtime (including the front end of two 1 and 1’s). Fortunately they pulled thru, but obviously are not a fundamentally sound basketball team.

Here’s a shocker, Mark McGwire took steroids, really? Still trying to figure out why ESPN acted like they were caught off guard by McGwire finally coming clean. This was about as shocking as Sarah Palin going to work for Fox News.

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

Free Basketball System -1) PLAY ON a road team like Missouri State, involving two excellent free throw shooting teams (73% or higher), with our team an average rebounding team (+/-3 reb/game) against a poor rebounding team (-3 to -6 reb/game). This stout system is 23-4 ATS, 85.2 percent the last five years.

Free Basketball Trend-2) The San Antonio Spurs are 8-0 ATS versus up-tempo teams averaging 83 or more shots a game this season.

Free Basketball Pick -3) Slick Rick has Florida handing Kentucky their first loss.

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Best Bets in College Basketball

College basketball has evolved into conference play and a number of teams have gaudy records, some are of value and others not. In the sports wagering game of cat and mouse, spread wins and losses supersede conventional win/loss numbers, as team’s heavy one way or the other draw the scrutiny of those setting the lines. Let’s face it, understanding information is the key to winning consistently, along with an instinct to spot a winner based on various factors. Here we will look at a number of the top winning college basketball teams covering the spread and if they are a good or bad bet going deeper into the season.

St. Mary’s (14-2, 13-2 ATS)

The Gaels lost a ton of talent from last year’s squad, including the brilliant Paddy Mills and figured to finish no better than third place in what could a down year for the West Coast Conference. It was fairly easy to make the argument that St. Mary’s was burned by the NCAA after being snubbed with 28-7 record, primarily because Mills suffered hand injury and the team faltered because of that down the stretch. Players like center Omar Samhan vowed to make sure that wouldn’t happen again and has kept his word thus far. It would be incorrect to call the Gaels schedule imposing; nevertheless, they’ve faced teams that at least deserved to have a spread in virtually every contest. St. Mary’s is a patient offensive team, shooting almost 50 percent and works the ball around for good shoots in coach Randy Bennett’s offense. Defensively, the Gaels are adequate in holding opponents to around 42 percent shooting and as usual are lights out at tiny McKeon Pavilion (3,500 capacity) with 8-1 and 7-1 ATS record. St. Mary’s notoriety mostly comes from playing Gonzaga; oddsmakers won’t pay a great deal of attention to them as long as they don’t enter the Top 25 or make a lot of headlines. Should be able to secure a fair price on the Gaels in the coming weeks.

Texas (15-0, 8-3 ATS)

Coach Rick Barnes Longhorns are very deserving of high ranking and for a club this high on the charts, have covered an abnormal amount of games. In trying to understand why, Texas has faced an exceptional non-conference slate, which has presented less inflated numbers that would correlate with top-notch status. The Longhorns have proven they have the skill and depth to override opposing teams. This has been particularly true against teams that compete with Texas for 25-30 minutes, then players that could start for most of the Horns opponents, overwhelm them down the stretch as these bench players and fresher starters are able to play their game against worn out foe. Texas is 8-3 ATS as favorite, but is not lock they appear. Coach Barnes has to get after his guys from time to time, since they are so skilled on offense; they kept caught up in making buckets instead of defending the basket. Most of the time they will be able to overcome this and cover inflated numbers, but as was the case in the Arkansas road conflict, they surrendered 48 first half points and never was close to covering the 14-point spread due to lack of defensive intensity.

Kansas State (13-2, 7-3 ATS)

The Manhattan ‘Cats were supposed to be good, but not this good! Though Bob Huggins stay was just one season, he made an indelible mark on the program and coach Frank Martin continued right where Huggins left off. Kansas State’s depth allows Martin to sit any player who is not going all out on the floor. Martin wants his players like a Motorhead CD, aggressive on offense, defense and crashing the boards. The Wildcats are blessed with an exceptional backcourt. Shooting guard Jacob Pullen can scorch the nylon and really heat up beyond the arc. Denis Clemente pushes the ball with his blazing speed for easy layups or passes for spot up three’s by teammates. K-State lacks that one consistent scorer in the paint, nonetheless junior Curtis Kelly and Luis Colon have played better this season. Kansas State will see inflated numbers at Bramlage Coliseum, however are still worth consideration if opponent is weak defensively (44 percent shooting percentage or higher). On the road, taking the purple clad ‘Cats as underdogs is good wager, as long as the opposing team has an average or less backcourt, which Clemente and Pullen could run roughshod on. This team feeds on emotion and is 11-2 and 6-2 ATS after a victory.

Oregon State (7-8, 8-2 ATS)

At the beginning of 2010, the general appearance is coach Craig Robinson, might be having a better first quarter than is brother in law (The President) in the court of public opinion. The Oregon State head man might be carrying a small container of Tums in sport jacket, as his Beavers have played nine of 15 games decided by eight or fewer points. Robinson, in his second year, is working on upgrading the talent in Corvallis, but until then has decided that playing defense is the best way for his team to have a chance to win. It’s nothing fancy for Orange and Black, focusing on playing positional defense, not getting beat off the bounce and helping out when necessary. Despite a 2-4 SU record as an underdog, Oregon State has hung tough, losing by just 1.2 points per game in that role and sporting a busy 6-0 ATS record. With the Pac-10 languishing this season, the Beavers catching points looks like an opportune wager.

Villanova (11-1, 11-4 ATS)

College basketball is a guard-oriented sport, since it is much easier to find players that can be dynamic at 6’3 or less than it is to find a 6’10 big man. Coach Jay Wright has always understood this and recruited accordingly. That doesn’t mean Wright wants a one-trick pony in backcourt, his players have to be versatile performers offensively and defensively and willing to track down rebounds. Villanova’s quick getaway has been fueled by persistent defensive pressure, keeping foes right around 40 percent shooting and Scottie Reynolds directs an offense NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson would be proud, having many gears, including sticking it on the floor. Studying the patterns of the Wildcats against the spread the last several years, oddsmakers have had a real beat on Nova. They seldom cover by more than four or five points, which is coach Wright’s style of play. The Wildcats are 12-1 and 9-4 ATS as chalk and have been superb when playing with three or more days off with 8-1 and 7-1 ATS mark. Big East play tends to grind up most teams, keeping them around .500 against the number. For the short term, as long as Villanova continues to play great defense, they have to be considered a play on team as a favorite or dog.

Northern Iowa (14-1, 11-3 ATS)

Subtract the head-scratching loss to DePaul in the second game of the season; the Panthers are on track for a truly special campaign. Northern Iowa returned nine players that accounted for 91.7 percent of its scoring from team that tied for first in the Missouri Valley and won the conference tournament to earn NCAA berth. The Panthers aren’t going to mesmerize opponents with blazing speed; however they will carve them up a like turkey with the conference’s best inside duo, accurate outside shooters and a team that doesn’t make mistakes. 7’1, 290 pound Jordan Eglseder is turning into dominant beast, as he and Adam Koch control the paint. The perimeter players feature a cast of sharp shooters, with the Panthers hovering around 40 percent all season from three-point range. With all the veterans on this team, they are unaffected by outside surroundings and just goes about their business of winning basketball games. This team started the year with three goals, win the Valley regular reason and postseason tournament to earn higher seed and get to at least the Sweet 16. Would not recommend betting against them.

The Detroit Pistons –WTF Happened?

It was just over two decades ago the “Bad Boys” ruled the NBA. Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Ric Mahorn, Vinnie “ The Microwave” Johnson, John Salley, Dennis Rodman and a quiet unassuming Joe Dumars. They were led by coach Chuck Daly and won back to back NBA titles in 1989-90. The rest of the 90’s were spent tearing down an aging club and it wasn’t until Dumars was hired as the team's president of basketball operations, that fortunes started to return to past glory.

Dumars, through wise drafting, assembled a talented squad and found the right coach in Larry Brown to lead them to another championship in 2004 and they lost in the Finals to San Antonio in 2005.

Now this. After starting 11-12 in the subordinate Central Division, Detroit has lost 13 games in a row, which is one off the team record of a double baker’s dozen. Productive scorers Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon have all missed time during the skid, leaving Detroit’s offense sputtering.

The Pistons are like a four year car that has never had an oil change. In losing this many games in a row, not once have they broken 100 points. Detroit’s average loss has been a dastardly 14.4 points per game, low-lighted by losing at Chicago last night by 33. This streak is even leaving New Jersey players wondering what is going on in MoTown. Oddsmakers appear to be equally as stunned not being able to find the right number on these misfiring Pistons, having covered one time during this horrendous stretch.

“You’re not going to get confidence from fooling yourself or trying to psyche up your ego,” Gordon said. “You’ve got to go out there and play basketball. That’s how you get your confidence right - by going out there every night, playing as hard as you can and playing the right way.”

With three road wins in 18 contests (7-10-1 ATS), help could be on the way, as Detroit travels to plays the Washington Bullets, whoops, Wizards. Despite brandishing guns in the locker room, Washington has not been all that tough with 12-23 record (13-21 ATS). Gilbert (Magnum Force) Arenas had a silencer put on gun collection by the NBA, being suspended indefinitely by the league for bringing guns to the Verizon Center and related incidents.

This leaves the Bullets (screwed up again) without their leading scorer. Unlike Detroit, Washington has scored over 100 points in their last two games, splitting the pair, however is 4-15 ATS after registering triple digits two or straight games over the last two seasons.

Bookmaker.com has made Washington 5.5-point favorites, with total of 197. This might be great news for Detroit since the Wizards are 6-18 ATS as a home favorite since last season. The Pistons confidence should be improved since they have won four in a row over Washington (3-1 ATS). Detroit is 8-1 OVER in road games versus offensive teams scoring 99 or more points a game this season, unfortunately, that is not a good thing, since they have lost by over 11 points an outing.

Lucky fans in these two cities can watch this encounter starting 7:00 Eastern and Pistons fans should take heart, since the all-time record for consecutive losses is actually 21, ending the 1979-80 season with 14 defeats and starting the next year with seven more.

College Hoops Televised Tilts

The World Wide Leader is back open for business with its regular college basketball weekday assortment. Tuesday’s the last several seasons has meant Big Ten and SEC hoops and that is the case again this campaign. Purdue is off initial defeat of the season and returns home to take on Ohio State who is back at full strength. Kentucky is one of the two remaining unbeaten teams and heads south to chilly Florida, where the trips have been left them numbingly cold.

A teaching moment for Purdue coaches

The Boilermakers have rarely been outworked for long stretches in any game this season until they faced the Wisconsin Badgers. Purdue (14-1, 8-7 ATS) has a Midwestern blue-collar identity, but didn’t bring that same ethic to Madison and were beaten by the Badgers 73-66. Coming into tonight’s matchup, coach Matt Painter was succinct.

“We have to have a better effort than we had in Madison the other night,” Painter said on Monday. “They simply just whipped us. Wasn’t happy with the rebounding, wasn’t happy with the effort. … We’ve just got too many people watching.” The Boilermakers are 15-6 ATS after playing a road game over the last three seasons.

Ohio State (11-5, 7-9 ATS) has stumbled to start the Big Ten season, losing three of first four (all on the road). The Buckeyes were rolling along to start the season when their best player, Evan Turner, fell and broke two bones in his lower back on Dec. 5. Turner returned last week and he and his team is trying to get back into prior groove, winning against Indiana (79-54) and losing at Minnesota (73-62) last Saturday. “We’re trying to get our mojo back a little bit,” Turner said.

Ohio State has covered just one of their last eight games and is a 9.5-point underdog at Purdue. For Big Ten bettors this is not the worst news as the Buckeyes are 6-2 ATS as seven to 12.5-point underdogs and are 8-1 ATS in road games on Tuesday nights over the last three seasons. Purdue will look to commence with another winning streak and is 14-3 ATS at home after a conference game since 2007.

Tipoff is at 7:00 Eastern.

No. 2 and trying harder

Kentucky (16-0, 7-7 ATS) is off to its best start since starting 23-0 44 years ago and fans of Big Blue are ecstatic with their play and #2 ranking. The basketball world knows about guard John Wall, but other freshmen like forward DeMarcus Cousins are improving game by game, shifting the responsibility away from Wall and freeing junior Patrick Patterson, who is averaging nearly a double-double on the season. Kentucky travels into Gator country after slipping by Georgia 76-68 as 19.5-point favorites and are 8-1 ATS off a no-cover where the team won straight up as a favorite over the last three seasons.

The Gators 8-0 start is looking like a no money down Florida land contract, simply too good to be true, with a series of losses. Coach Billy Donovan has publicly stated his team needs gumption and willingness to fight thru adversity. Florida (11-4, 5-5 ATS) has floundered because of poor perimeter shooting, an inability to keep opponents off the offensive boards and careless turnovers. While losing to Syracuse was no disgrace, close defeats to Richmond and South Alabama showed a lack of spirit and determination for a squad that is 37-14 ATS versus teams connecting on 48 percent or more of their shot attempts.

Bookmaker.com has Kentucky as 3.5-point favorites with total of 142 and they are 16-6 ATS after playing three consecutive home games. Florida comes in off a loss to Vanderbilt and is 5-14 ATS after a game where they made 13 or more three-point shots. The Gators have won five straight at the O'Connell Center over Kentucky, covering the number four times. The action starts at 9 Eastern.

Back in the saddle again

After a very long and unexpected break, time to regroup and move ahead.

We start with a NBA system that is outstanding 24-3 ATS, only question I have is quick turnaround revenge for the home team. A strong play against Top Trend in college hoops in the WAC and Sal has Free NBA play. Good Luck

What I learned yesterday- The NFL Wild Card round produced three outright underdog winners along with all four games going Over the total. As Steve Makinen of StatFox uncovered, teams that won the regular season matchup in Week 17 are 6-5 and 5-5-1 ATS in the Wild Card round. Most compelling was the fact the OVER is now 10-1 in return games.

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

Free Basketball System -1) PLAY ON road teams like Atlanta scoring 103 or more points game on the season, after trailing in their previous game by 20 or more points at the half. This NBA system is scintillating 24-3 ATS, 88.9 percent.

Free Basketball Trend-2) Fresno State is 2-11 ATS in home games off a home win over the last three seasons.

Free Basketball Pick -3) Sal has been burning up the nets in the NBA and has the Hornets to win in Philly.

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Big Monday is Back

With football relegated to weekends the rest of the season, college basketball is back on the front burner. That means a dose of Big East and Big 12 hoops for the next couple of months and wagering opportunities from two of the best conferences in the collegiate game. We start this Monday with a “Whiteout” in Louisville and “Bedlam” bash in Norman. Get Ready!

Cardinal red is white

Louisville (12-4, 5-6 ATS) spent the early part of the season learning to play without its two best players from a year ago and coach Rick Pitino has added responsibility with their hard work and maturity. He’s brought back different full-court defenses, that have man-to-man principles in the half court and the players love it. Guards Preston Knowles and Edgar Sosa are embracing the challenge and Samardo Samuels has become more dominant. The Cardinals are on 18-6 ATS run in Big East action the last two years.

The last couple of years, Louisville has added a special night when everyone in the arena wears white t-shirts, for the whiteout-effect and coach Rick Pitino has joined in the festivities wearing a pure white suit with a red tie, which led to coining the phrase “respect the suit”. The Cardinals have won seven of eight, including a non-cover over St. John’s 75-68 Saturday. Louisville is 23-12 ATS off a win against a conference rival over the last three seasons.

After squeaking by Marquette twice in eight days by a total of four points, once beaten Villanova (14-1, 10-4 ATS) lands in Kentucky. The Wildcats have a number of ways to attack teams with its marvelous guard contingent and should not be vastly affected by the different types of presses Louisville likes to use. Few guards in the country have been through the wars like Scottie Reynolds and his team is 13-3 ATS vs. good offensive clubs averaging 77 or more points per game. Coach Jay Wright’s concern is defensive intensity, where he has seen unnecessary lapses.

When asked about having his team readiness to play after nipping Marquette 78-76 Saturday, Wright said. “We’ll be fired up to play”.

DiamondSportsbook.com has the Cardinals as three-point favorites, with total of 155. Villanova is averaging 84.3 points per game and Louisville is 5-15 ATS versus offensive teams -scoring 84 or more points game. The Wildcats have to contend with the Cards various defenses and are 6-16 ATS after four straight games committing 14 or less turnovers.

These teams have split six engagements the last 12 years with the ‘Ville 5-1 ATS.

Bedlam to reign

Oklahoma (9-6, 4-8 ATS) figured to have problems with the departure of All-American Blake Griffin, but not to this extreme. The Sooners have lost five games by double digits and the last three have been a nightmare, being destroyed by 15, 24 and 31 respectively. Oklahoma brought in a number of new recruits that were supposed to blend with talented returnees like guard Willie Warren, but as coach Jeff Capel said about his underperforming squad, “Talent is overrated,”.

The Sooners are 0-6 ATS off a spread loss and defensive effort has been the biggest culprit. In their last three blowouts, they have allowed opposing teams to shoot 55.8 percent. Maybe a battle with in-state rival will stir their hearts.

Oklahoma State (13-2, 6-2-1 ATS) started Big 12 play with bang, burying then No.22 Texas Tech 81-52 two nights ago. James Anderson led the way with 28 points and they have done a superb job protecting the ball with just over 11 turnovers a game, which is on pace to break a school record. The Cowboys are averaging 75.1 points per game this season and are 10-1 ATS when they score 75 to 80 points in a game over the last two seasons.

Oklahoma State opened as a one-point favorite, with total of 146. The Cowboys have covered 10 of last 11 league games and are 13-5 UNDER after two or more consecutive wins. Oklahoma has taken nine of last 12 meetings at home, with 5-7 ATS mark and is 12-3 OVER in all home games over the last two seasons.

The Sooners are dismal 4-9-1 ATS in last 14 Big Monday’s.

NBA Monday Systems

A rather large NBA card in available to start another work week. As has become the custom on this day of the week, we bring you some of the very best professional basketball systems to consider for your wagering pleasure. Numbers from Diamondportsbook.com.

Toronto at Indiana (-1.5, 217)

The Pacers and Raptors are two teams that don’t pay strict attention to defense, ranking 24th and 26th respectively in points allowed. Tonight give the edge to Toronto since home teams averaging 98 to 102 points per game facing a club that allows over 102 PPG, after two straight contests where both teams scored 100 points or more, are 15-39 ATS.

Atlanta at Boston (-3.5, 192)

The Atlanta Hawks defeated Boston at home this past Friday 93-85 as four-point favorites. The next night Atlanta was abysmal in Orlando, losing by 32 points. Though it’s a tough road rematch for the Hawks, visiting teams scoring 103 or more points a game, trailing by 20 or more points in last contest are 24-3 ATS, 88.9 percent in following encounter.

Milwaukee at Phoenix (-8.5, 211)

The Bucks are on a treacherous Western Conference six-game road trip, against the Lakers last night they were mauled 95-77. They play tonight in downtown Phoenix, which will be there third game in four days. Teams in that situation with a win percentage of 40 to 49 percent, facing a club with a winning record and a total of at least 210, are 25-6 OVER the last five seasons.

Miami at Utah (-7.5, 192)

The Utah Jazz is having a mediocre season by their standards at 20-17, yet have managed to cover their last three contests. Miami is actually doing a little worse overall at 18-17, which tonight’s matchup plays into a total system. When a squad has successfully covered the spread in two or more games, in a matchup involving two marginal winning teams (51 to 60 win percentage), with the total between 190 and 199.5, the UNDER is 45-17 since 2005.

Minnesota at Denver (-13, 216)

On Nov. 29, Minnesota marched into Denver and handed the Nuggets a 106-100 loss as 14.5-point underdogs. That is just one of three home losses for Denver, who is off heartbreaking two-point defeat at Sacramento Saturday. Check the total tonight as teams revenging a straight up loss vs. opponent as a favorite of seven or more, off a close road loss of three points or less, are 28-7 UNDER since 1996.

Cleveland at Golden State (+5, 215.5)

The Cavaliers (29-10) are playing their third road game in four nights and are 15-7 and 14-8 ATS as visitors. Though Golden State prefers to score with no semblance of defensive structure, play the UNDER when the total is 200 or higher, with teams like Cleveland playing their third road game in five days or less. with a winning percentage of 60-75 percent. (60-27)

Packers at Cardinals Wagering Outlook

The Packers had not faced Arizona at any time in over three seasons, now they will be making a third trip to the desert in just over four months and a second in two weeks. Green Bay assaulted Arizona 33-7 in Week 17, as both teams came into that game with very different mindsets.

The Cardinals played with little ambition and the game plan had about as much flavor as diet dressing. Coach Ken Whisenhunt was down this road a season ago and feels he has the right pulse on his more veteran team and decided to take his lumps and live to fight a bigger battle in the week ahead.

Coach Mike McCarthy has a younger team, playing its best football of the season and chose a more aggressive stance, having his club play with more vibe. Green Bay took what Arizona was willing to give and built up 33-0 lead before calling off the dogs.

In the last wild card game of the weekend, we’ll see what approach was correct.

This will be the only matchup of the wild card team having the better record and the Packers are torrid, having won seven of eight (7-0-1 ATS). Green Bay’s running game offers more than enough to keep any defense honest and the blocking downfield has been spectacular, with Ryan Grant ripping off long touchdown runs despite slightly above average speed. The Pack is 20-7-1 ATS on the road the last several seasons.

Aaron Rodgers is seeing the field well, finding second and third receivers without holding onto the ball, which was his penchant earlier. Finding the long ball with home run hitter Greg Jennings opened up the field and TE Jermichael Finley is proving to be a tough matchup for every opponent.

In the second half of the year, DC Dom Capers 3-4 defense gelled. The players started to play instinctively instead of reacting and the blitzing of linebackers Nick Barnett and Clay Matthews really paid dividends. Charles Woodson proved to be the best all-around cornerback in football and will receive plenty of support for Defensive Player of the Year, for a team that is 8-0 ATS as a visitor when their defense forces two turnovers since 2007.

For Arizona it starts with attitude, can they once again just “turn the switch” and play great football. Over the last two years in the most meaningful games they have been able do so. On defense, they will have to super aggressive, forcing Rodgers to get rid of the ball quicker than he wants and play more press coverage in the secondary, since all four starters have good hands and have played corner at some point in their careers. DT Darnell Dockett has to control the middle of the defense like he is capable of doing so, making Packers one dimensional. The Cards are 8-1 ATS vs. good passing teams averaging seven or more passing yards per attempt over the last two seasons.

On offense, Kurt Warner has to protect the ball and be accurate. Establish Larry Fitzgerald first in the passing game and find the mismatches against a thinned out Green Bay secondary like Pittsburgh did when they threw for over 500 yards. At some point in the first quarter, get the running game cranked up, to keep the linebackers honest and play their positions, instead of heading up field all the time. The Cards are 13-4 ATS against teams who force 2.5 or more turnovers a contest.

Arizona opened as 2.5-point home favorites at DiamondSportsbook.com and has been bet down to two-point underdogs, with total at 47.5. They are 18-6 ATS in home games off a home loss and 18-5 OVER after scoring 15 or less points. The Packers are playing with supreme confidence and are 12-3 ATS after allowing 14 points or less and 15-2 OVER with four or more consecutive wins against the spread.

Ravens at Patriots Betting Matchup

The Baltimore Ravens, off a pair of playoffs wins a year ago, head into New England believing they can at least match that total. The Ravens are not concerned about New England being 8-0 (4-3-1 ATS) in home playoff games during the Tom Brady era. They view this as opportunity because of advantages they see for themselves.

Start with Baltimore was fifth in rushing at 137.9 yards per game and the Patriots were a pedestrian 23rd in allowing 4.4 yards per carry. Ray Rice and Willis McGahee have both gotten hot and New England has been forced to “junk-up” its defense to increase productivity in recent weeks with mixed results.

Though the Ravens secondary finished eighth in passing defense, their cornerbacks are beatable. Fortunately for them, they will have one less weapon to deal with in Wes Welker, done for the season. That means the Baltimore can focus their attention on Randy Moss. Baltimore is 6-2 ATS in road playoff games.

New England is in the postseason again after winning their seventh AFC East title in nine years, though not the team of prior seasons. The Patriots were perfect at Gillette Stadium this season (5-3 ATS), which included a hard-fought 27-21 win in Week 4 over Baltimore.

With Welker out, the underneath role falls to rookie Julian Edelman to be the slot receiver. Though Edelman has been productive when called upon this season, he lacks the skill and savvy of Welker. Having played quarterback in college, he doesn’t have the experience to find seams and read coverage’s as well. Expect the New England game plan to include screens to running backs and more throws to the tight ends to make up for Welker’s loss. The Pats are 23-5 ATS playing against a marginal winning team (51 to 60 win percentage).

Bill Belicheck’s defense gave up 144 yards rushing to Houston last week, but run stoppers Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren had the week off and should be refresher. In the last five weeks, the Patriots have been generating a better pass rush off the edges; particularly from LB Tully Banta-Cain. Derrick Burgess had a good game last week for the Pats; expect to see more of him since Joe Flacco is not always quick to feel the pressure from the perimeter.

DiamondSportsbook.com has the Brady Bunch as 3.5-point favorites, with total of 43.5. The Patriots are 21-7-1 ATS following a SU loss and are is 17-6 UNDER in playoff games. Achieving a semblance of offensive balance will be crucial and quick hitting plays running off-tackle.

Baltimore is 21-9 ATS after gaining 175 or more rushing yards last game and the offensive line has been mowing down the opposition to the tune of 211.7 yards the last month. If they move the pile on New England, they can exploit an untrustworthy New England secondary. With journeyman Leigh Bodden their best cover guy, even an ordinary pass-catching contingent like the Ravens can do damage.

The Birds are 11-3 OVER as a road underdog of seven points or less.

Eagles vs. Cowboys Betting Matchup

The Dallas Cowboys have exorcised one devilish dilemma, winning in December and will look to make it two in a row, trying to find a way to emerge victorious in the postseason. To do so, Dallas will have to trip up Philadelphia for a third consecutive time this season.

The Cowboys swept the regular-season series for the first time since 2005 from the Eagles, and Tony Romo continued his stellar play down the stretch, throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Over his last six games, Romo has thrown for 1,859 yards and 11 scores with just two interceptions.

Philadelphia was thought to be a real threat in the NFC riding a six game winning streak. But as last week pointed out, if the Eagles offense doesn’t keep changing numbers on the scoreboard, they are in trouble. Philly’s defense has become a conundrum, yielding 20 or more points in seven of last nine games, after surrendering that many points just once in their first seven outings.

Andy Reid’s offense has scored only 16 points in two games against Dallas this season, which suggests the Cowboys D is way ahead of Donovan McNabb and the rest of the offense. Philadelphia played tight last week with multiple dropped passes and once again they were too quick to drop the running game (10 carries) after averaging over 28 rush attempts during winning streak. The Eagles are 14-4 ATS in road games revenging a road loss against opponent.

History is on Philadelphia’s side when it comes to the postseason and production. Since 2000, Philadelphia has advanced to the playoffs seven times (6-1 ATS) and won each of its seven opening games.

The last time Dallas won a playoff game, “Independence Day” was the top movie grossing movie back in 1996. The Cowboys defense finished second in the league in points allowed at 15.6 and has better than that in the last nine weeks giving up 13.2. Dallas took full advantage of Nick Cole as he moved from guard to center for injured Jamaal Jackson. Cole will need help in stopping NT Jay Ratliff, which frees up Cowboys inside linebackers in A-gaps for run blitzes.

Bookmaker.com has Dallas one-point heavier favorite than a week ago at four, with total at 45. The Cowboys are 6-2 ATS off a win and Romo will look to exploit Eagles linebackers who have trouble keeping track of tight ends. The Boys are 6-1 UNDER as chalk.

Philadelphia is undersized defensively and must find a way to shed blocks quicker. The offense has to find rhythm expediently, which blends the run with the pass. If these two factors are found, Eagles can pull surprise and improve on 7-0 ATS record as road dogs of 3.5 to 10-points.

Philly is 10-4 ATS in Dallas and they are 7-2-1 UNDER in last 10 playoff games.

Jets vs. Bengals Betting Matchup

All the NFL analysts on television and radio keep saying the same thing don’t read too much into the New York Jets clocking Cincinnati 37-0 last week. The Jets had to win and the Bengals had nothing to play for blah, blah, blah. In theory that makes sense, but is losing by such a horrific score ever a good thing, especially when you have to play the same team again the next week?

The motivation angle works that Cincinnati will be more fired up after being throttled and will be back on home field before adoring fans and bring full playbook as opposed to Cliff Notes version they used last week.

There are a number of troubling signs for Bengals fans despite the dismissal. Cincinnati is 3-4 in its last seven games and has covered the spread just one time. They have scored more than 20 points just twice since November and one of those was 23 against Detroit, not exactly newsworthy. Say what you will about playing possum, but after allowing 257 yards on the ground to the Jets, Cincy is 4-15 ATS after surrendering 200 or more rushing yards last game.

Cincinnati has lost four defensive starters since the Week 3 of the season and they plainly are not as good as they were earlier in the year. Carson Palmer has really only played one outstanding game the second half of the season, when he threw for 293 net yards at San Diego. Granted the focus has been running the ball more, nonetheless the loss of Chris Henry as a player has impacted the passing game tremendously.

The Jets defense ranked No.1 in total defense and Darrelle Revis had a special year at corner. He certainly has the ability to take away the Bengals top receiver, Chad Ochocinco. As Coach Rex Ryan pointed out, New York at least in theory is built for the playoffs. They feature a strong defense with top-rated running game at 172.2 yards per game, led by Thomas Jones and are 12-2 ATS when their defense allows 150 or less net passing yards.

Coach Ryan made no specific reference to quarterback Mark Sanchez and for good reason, since he is realistically their top liability coming into the game. Undoubtedly, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will do everything he can to protect his rookie signal, but will have to deal with Cincinnati’s run blitzes on early downs after going totally vanilla a week ago.

Sanchez will be forced to complete slant passes or quick outs against solid Bengals corners Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall. The Jets traded for Braylon Edwards during the season and it is his time to be a difference-maker. The Flyboys are 6-2 ATS on the road vs. teams with winning home records.

The Bengals, making just their second postseason appearance in 19 years, may not stick around long, unless the running game clicks and Palmer starts completing some passes. Expect Cincinnati to run crossing routes to either free up Ochocinco or create space for other pass-catchers to be a factor. The Bengals offensive line has to bring it and create lanes for Cedric Benson.

Bookmaker.com has Cincinnati favored by 2.5-points with total of 33.5. The Cats are 0-7 ATS as favorites this season and 0-8 ATS vs. good defensive teams who give up 17 or less points a game the last three years. New York is hardly a picture of prosperity with 2-10 ATS record after two straight wins by 10 or more points; however are 8-3 ATS as road dogs catching three or fewer points.

The home team has covered the last four meetings and Cincy is 9-0 UNDER as a home favorite.

College Basketball Weekend Action and Note

I just want to thankk everyone that dropped by the last 10 days, things have been sparce around 3Daily Winners. I had a horrible cold and have not done anything besides work. No betting, no anything. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and got the drugs I needed to finally break this. I running well behind on many things, but should be back to normal by Monday and might even have stuff for the weekend besides the NFC Wild Card games. Again thanks.

The conference action goes into high gear this weekend, this a number of super matchups that immediately will have an impact on league play throughout the country. Saturday will showcase contests from the Big East, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and the Mountain West to name a few. On Sunday, after getting a real scare from Cornell, top-ranked Kansas travels to Knoxville for late afternoon matchup with Tennessee. Lines from Bookmaker.com

Saturday, Jan. 9

Connecticut at Georgetown (-5, 132) 12:00E ESPN

The Huskies (11-3, 4-7-1 ATS) are slowly growing as a team. The offense and defense are not quite to coach Jim Calhoun’s standards, however he’s finding more than enough to build on. Early in the season Calhoun was sometimes frustrated by different player’s efforts, that is no longer the case as he is instead more concerned with the execution. Kemba Walker and Stanley Robinson in particular have been playing well and the UConn team shooting percentage has been rising to present 46.5 percent, running the offense more precisely. Connecticut is 15-6 ATS in January the last few years.

Georgetown (11-2, 5-4 ATS) will be among the teams with the least amount of depth in the Big East, with only nine true scholarship players on the roster along with walk-ons. The Hoyas have a solid seven man rotation which can matchup with almost any team they will face in the league. The issue becomes when they incur foul trouble, suffer an injury that could take a player down for a number of games or if poor performance leaves coach John Thompson III seeking other answers. G-Town has been notoriously poor home team the last few seasons and is 9-21 ATS on home court over the last three seasons.

Since 1997, Connecticut is 4-2 SU and ATS at Georgetown with the total also 4-2 Over.

Purdue at Wisconsin (+1.5,125) 1:30E BTN

Among the couple of different Purdue logos’ floating around is a train with the name built into the black and gold logo. This turns out to be a very apt description of the Boilermakers (14-0, 8-6 ATS) basketball team, as they have steamrolled the competition for the most part this campaign. With the shooting eye still not always in focus, coach Matt Painter’s club has focused on two of his staples, defense and rebounding. Purdue players are so attentive to passing angles they clog the passing lanes like rush hour traffic and are ferocious rebounders, which is particularly important against a club like Wisconsin. The Boilers are 4-10 ATS after a spread cover.

In making preseason prognostications it is impossible to know how certain players will react in college, negatively or positively from year to year. Badgers forward Jon Leuer grew 10 inches in high school and the last 12 months his weight and agility have caught up to his size and he now ranks in the Top 10 in the conference in at least a half dozen categories. This helps explain why Wisconsin (12-3, 8-5 ATS) has been so productive with guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon running the show. The Badgers normally have low turnover figures which should limit Purdue’s scoring chances and Wisky is 25-8 ATS at home versus teams scoring 77 or more points a game.

The Boilermakers have won and covered four straight over Wisconsin including last two in Madison.

Duke at Georgia Tech (+7, 145) 2:00E ESPN

To this point of the season, this is a different Duke team then in the last few seasons under coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils (13-1, 9-4 ATS) still have a great deal panache from the perimeter, however this season Brian Zoubek and the other Duke front court players have given them more production in the paint area and they can negate some other strength’s of opponents. This gives Coach K more options against bigger teams instead of having to play small, which has been the case in recent years. The Dukies are a stellar 63-34 ATS in January.

After falling to Florida State in ACC lid-lifter, Georgia Tech (11-3, 6-3 ATS) returns to conference play with three challenging conflicts starting with Duke. Coach Paul Hewitt brought in a sensational freshmen class and has played four of them extensively, often starting three of them. The Yellow Jackets have been buzzing around on defense, holding opponents to sensational 35.9 percent shooting, which has helped them to fast start. Against teams like Duke, Georgia Tech has to put the ball in the basket with greater consistency to improve on 30-14 ATS record home underdog or pick.

Duke is 10-1 and 8-3 ATS at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in last 11 visits.

Kansas State at Missouri (-5,158) 2:00E ESPN2

On the first of December, coach Frank Martin called out his talented squad, after narrowly defeating Fort Hays State, from the lower regions of collegiate basketball. Accepting responsibility, Kansas State players has been bulldozer, knocking down everything in its path, against pretty descent non-conference competition. Big 12 plays commences for K-State (13-1, 7-2 ATS) at a rugged venue in Columbia. Junior guard Jacob Pullen is among the scoring leaders in the conference, but he is receiving plenty of help from the likes Denis Clemente and others. The Wildcats are creating more turnovers than Pillsbury and are 15-3 ATS after leading their last two games by 10 or more points at the half.

The Missouri players could get arrested with all the thefts of the basketball they have had this season. The Tigers (12-3, 5-4 ATS) have had at least 10 steals in 13 different contests thanks to players like Zaire Taylor, Kim English and Keith Ramsey. Their quickness and understanding of coach Mike Anderson pressure defense makes this a dangerous club even if the baseline players are still trying to win jobs. The Tigers are 9-2 ATS at home vs. teams outscoring their opponents by four or more points a game over the last two seasons.

Missouri has mastered Kansas State at home with 10 wins in last 12 attempts, but is only .500 ATS.

UNLV at New Mexico (-4, 145) 4:00E VERSUS

This will be the close of three stern encounters for UNLV (12-3, 9-4 ATS), having lost the last two to USC and BYU. The Rebels go 11 deep and expect coach Lon Kruger to tighten that number down to nine. Though UNLV has played good defense, the beleif is the continual shuffling of players has at times caused offensive stagnation, with players not getting the ball where they can be most effective. Followers of the program see this team improving on offense, if they run patterned plays and get to the free throw lane. The Rebels are just 1-6 ATS in last seven conference clashes.

New Mexico (14-2, 10-5 ATS) has played better than anticipated, and the same five players have started every game. The Lobos have been outstanding in valuing possession of the ball, committing the fewest turnovers in the Mountain West. Point guard Dairese Gary has a ridiculous 5-to-1 assist/turnover margin and JC transfer Darington Hobson has shown a superb all-around game. New Mexico is 31-12 ATS at The Pit the last three seasons.

The Lobos are 6-3 and 3-5-1 ATS hosting UNLV since 2001.

West Virginia at Notre Dame (+5, 147) 8:00E ESPNU

Notre Dame (13-3, 5-4-1 ATS) plays mostly zone defensive trying to hide defensive deficiencies and for the most part does a pretty solid job in holding opposing teams to 70.7 points per game. West Virginia (12-1, 5-7 ATS) recently had 26 consecutive game streak snapped scoring 70 or more points, however is 49-1 SU under coach Bob Huggins when shooting a higher field-goal percentage than its opponent. Despite incredible depth, the Mountaineers have a lot of walking wounded and would prefer to stay away from shootout with the Irish since they are 0-9 ATS when they allow 75 to 80 points in a game.

Everyone knows the Notre Dame basketball team does their best work at home and this is their chance to at least grab a little national attention, tying to upset West Virginia. Notre Dame has worked to piece together a representative club for league play and would be near the bottom of the Big East without seniors Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson, the stalwarts of the program. Coach Mike Brey will need tremendous performances from this dynamic duo, with the role players stepping up. It about shooting for Notre Dame, who is 13-0 ATS when they make 47 to 53 percent of shot attempts.

West Virginia is 0-8 and 3-5 ATS at South Bend the last 13 years.

Sunday, Jan. 10

Kansas at Tennessee (+6,151) 4:30E CBS

To date Kansas (14-0, 6-5 ATS) has been right on schedule as the nation’s best team, and the schedule had failed to bring the necessary tests to assure the Jayhawks are cohesive on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes, until Cornell contest. Kansas may be 23-8 ATS playing against a team with a winning record over the last two seasons, but playing in Knoxville with its fans is a demanding task. The emergence of Xavier Henry has overshadowed the personal problems Cole Aldrich has been dealing with family matters. This is precisely the kind of contest vets like Aldrich and guard Sherron Collins have to shine.

The Volunteers (11-2, 5-5 ATS) are 19-5 ATS as a home underdog or pick and master motivator Bruce Pearl will have his squad geeked. He’ll have to with four suspended players, including All-SEC performer Tyler Smith. The four were arrested on drug and weapons charges following a traffic stop after their 66-59 victory over the Tigers on New Year’s Eve. Tennessee has not been knocking down long distance shoots with any regularity (33.7) and it’s hard to imagine they clip Kansas without the three-ball swishing thru the nets. Pearl will look to Wayne Chism, J.P. Prince, and Scotty Hopson to pick up the scoring slack for suspended players and hope Renaldo Woolridge can fill is admirably for Smith.

Top notch test for both teams, with Kansas 17-3 ATS vs. good defensive teams allowing 42 percent or less since last year.

GMAC Bowl Preview

Quick, without looking it up, name the four bowl matchups that pitted two conference champions against one another. If you guessed Rose, Fiesta, BCS and the GMAC, advance to next page to collect your prize. (Sorry not really) Actually this bowl is full of surprises, some good and some not so good.

The GMAC Bowl has produced the most lopsided games of any bowls in recent years, as favorites are on an incredible 7-0 SU and ATS run, winning by an average margin of 30.3 points per game, despite what looked like occasionally fairly competitive games.

MAC champion Central Michigan (11-2, 8-3-1 ATS) hopes that trend continues as the favorite. The 2009 Chippewas were dominant as evidenced by the 33.2-to-17.2 scoring differential. CMU is led by Dan LeFevour, the greatest player in MAC history. Find that last statement too strong, not when you consider these numbers - 12,510 passing career yards, 101 passing touchdowns, running for almost 3,000 yards (2,936) and personally crossing the goal line 46 times. Most importantly, Central Michigan has won the league title in three of the four seasons LeFevour has been on the Mt. Pleasant campus. How important was he to the program, in the prior seven seasons the Chippewas were 26-51.

Like CMU, Troy (Sun Belt champion) won their conference for the third time in four years and comes in with a 9-3 SU and 8-4 ATS mark. The Trojans quarterback fortunes changed for the better last year, when transfer Levi Brown was called upon due to injury and ineffectiveness of the two signal callers ahead of him and all he has done is lead Troy to back to back outright conference crowns.

At first glance, Central Michigan falling from a four-point favorite to 2.5 at Sportsbook.com doesn’t seem to hold water. Among Troy’s losses is one at Bowling Green 31-14 in the season opener, whom the Chippewas whipped 24-10 as nine-point road favorites later in the season. By the same token can any MAC team be taken seriously in a bowl game having lost all nine matchups the last two years (0-8-1 ATS)? In search of a positive, when the MAC faces another non-BCS conference in a bowl game, the favorite is 13-1-1 ATS.

Central Michigan players are dealing with a coach leaving as Butch Jones continues taking Brian Kelly leftovers (Kelly was at CMU) and moved on to Cincinnati. That leaves Steve Stripling as the interim head coach and lame ducks are 1-2 this bowl season (though Florida State situation was different). Don’t look for this to be a big deal, as this senior class went thru this as freshmen and they are moving on themselves and are going to be more interested in winning than worrying about a coach leaving. The Chips are 6-0 ATS when the line is +3 to -3 over the last three seasons, winning by more than 10 points per game.

The Troy defensive front seven is going to have to be effective in containing LeFevour since its secondary is below average. The Trojans are athletic enough with DE Cameron Sheffield and LB Boris (where’s Natasha?) Lee to keep CMU quarterback from roaming around. Brown will have to outplay LeFevour and he should have time to pass since Central Michigan doesn’t generate much of pass rush. Troy often feeds on momentum and is 8-0 ATS after gaining 450 or more total yards in two consecutive games.

The Trojans have played in three prior bowl games with 1-2 SU and ATS, including 3-0 going OVER the total. CMU is 1-4 all-time as a bowler and is 2-1 ATS.

With the total at 63 consider this, Troy is 9-1 OVER as an underdog and Central Michigan is 6-0 UNDER away from home after one or more consecutive straight up wins this season. ESPN has the coverage starting at 7 Eastern.

3DW Line – Central Michigan by 7

A Nice Pair of College Hoops Matchups

Two games really stand out in college basketball this Wednesday, one a conference matchup between Top 25 teams and the other a sharp non-conference clash which is a measuring stick for both combatants. Wisconsin has emerged as a possible surprise player in the Big Ten and travels to Michigan State. It seems to happen every year, if Syracuse gets off to a fast start, sometime in January they hit a slump of not playing well. Off their first loss of the season at home against Pittsburgh 82-72, The Orangemen will look to keep this to an isolated incident, getting ready for Memphis.

Wisconsin at Michigan State 6:30E BTN

It’s not that Tom Izzo has given up preaching defense; he just has more skilled offensive players and has built his team around their strengths. Michigan State (11-3, 4-9 ATS) is averaging 82.4 points per game, powered by guard Kalin Lucas. The Spartans have the athletes to quickly cash in on turnovers, jetting down the floor for easy scores. Michigan State blasted a good Northwestern squad 91-70 on the road as five-point favorites and is giving 5.5-points to Wisconsin according to DiamondSportsbook.com. Sparty is 11-1 ATS roll as a home favorite by 6.5 or less.

At this point it should come as no surprise; Bo Ryan is a great coach for the Badgers. Wisconsin (8-4 ATS) is never given enough credit, since it lacks the type of big time recruits normally associated with Top 25 programs. Instead, Ryan gets the type of players he feels that have the right work ethic and in his view can get better with hard work through their careers in Madison. Trevon Hughes and Jon Leuer are perfect examples of Ryan’s way of thinking, as each has been a big part of Wisconsin’s 12-2 start and lofty ranking this season. The Badgers are well-suited by physical basketball and are 31-14 ATS versus teams who average 40 or more rebounds a game.
Michigan State has won seven straight conference home openers and is 8-2 and 5-5 ATS against Wisky at home.

Memphis at Syracuse 7:00E ESPN2

Coming into the season, Memphis (10-3, 3-5 ATS) didn’t look like they had the size to be a good rebounding team and it was going to be more dependent on guards to fight for a rebounds that were below the rim. This has largely proven to be true, but the 73-72 loss to Massachusetts brought it home, being outrebounded 44-24. In a one-point defeat, losing 21-4 in second chance points was immense. “I had trouble sleeping, because we gave this game away. -said Roburt Sallie. We’ll see what Memphis learned against Syracuse and see if they improve on 41-23 ATS record as a road underdog or pick.

Syracuse (13-1, 7-3 ATS) lost a large amount of talent, played its toughest non-conference schedule in years and has everyone rethinking how good the Orangemen can really be. Iowa State transfer Wes Johnson has been a cyclone for coach Jim Boehiem leading the Orange in just about everything, including unselfishness. Syracuse observers have marveled how willing this team is to share the ball, with guards Scoop Jardine and Andy Rautins each averaging more than five assists per game. With Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku fighting for every rebound, the Orange has a definite advantage in this contest. Boehiem’s bunch is at their best when score 75-80 points. (43-23 ATS)

Even with the loss to Pittsburgh, Syracuse is still 12-4 ATS as a home favorite in last 16 tries and is favored by nine-points with total of 146.5. Memphis hasn’t covered the spread since Dec. 9 and they might have difficulty doing so again as their outside shooting in fair at best, which is a big challenge against the Orangemen’s zone defense.

Orange Bowl Preview

This year’s Orange Bowl is so absurdly easy as what to watch for it barely needs to be acknowledged, however when scenarios like this occur, often the some other side of the story ends up what really determines the winner. Georgia Tech’s option offense is a sight to behold, ranking 11th in total offense, at 307 yards per game against teams that only surrendered 156 yards per contest on the ground.

Iowa was a sturdy defensive squad all season, allowing just 15.5 points per game and was ranked 11th in total defense in the country. On the year the Hawkeyes conceded just 3.5 yards per carry and fundamentally squeezed the life out of most offenses, never allowing more than 28 points in single game.

This is where many people has chosen to focus their attention and unquestionably it will be important, especially if it one-sided for their team. Nevertheless, when the Iowa has the ball and how Georgia Tech defends them will be equally as important.

Ricky Stanzi is expected back at quarterback for Iowa, after missing last two and half contests with injury. If you Goggled the term - winning ugly- you would get a Hawkeyes team picture. Stanzi threw just one more touchdown than interception on the season (15 vs. 14), but always seemed to play his best in the final 30 minutes. The Hawkeyes have underrated pass catchers like TE Tony Moeaki and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, who led team in receptions. If Stanzi can get started, Iowa could move to 6-0 ATS after allowing 17 or fewer points like they did against Minnesota in 12-0 whitewashing.

Georgia Tech’s defense was strictly average against teams that didn’t run the ball well like Iowa; they for the most part held them in check. With the Hawkeyes running backs healed and ready to go, it’s impossible to overlook the fact the Yellow Jackets were gouged for 662 yards on the ground their last two games. Iowa might well come out with short passing attack, to loosen up the linebackers from Georgia Tech, before plowing ahead with the running game to test their mettle. Coach Paul Johnson’s club is 15-6 ATS on a grass field over the last two seasons.

All right, I can tell by the look on your face you are not buying this thought process. You are betting this game on one factor either way. Iowa holds Georgia Tech to 200 or less yards rushing and pulls the upset or the Yellow Jackets wear down the Hawkeyes with the constant thumping of the option and makes them jelly-legged and armed like they’ve been shoveling snow for four hours straight.

Iowa (10-2, 7-4 ATS) has been a sound bowl team, going 7-3 ATS in its last 10 and underdogs are 8-2 ATS in those games. The Hawkeyes are on the receiving end of 5.5-points at Bookmaker.com and have to attack the option. Defensive ends on either side have to work up-field to disrupt, but not getting out of position. The linebackers have to play assignment football and not run to QB Josh Nesbitt, otherwise any of the other speedy backs will go the distance. Iowa is 21-5 ATS versus rushing teams averaging 200 or more rushing yards a game.

Coach Johnson’s team lost twice and when they did they gained 205 and 95 yards on the ground, far below their average. Kirk Ferentz’s team really limited the opponent’s passing in holding them to 60 yards below their average at 165 YPG. Georgia Tech’s passing game always has the element of surprise, which catches opposing teams off guard. Coach Johnson teams are 10-1 ATS vs. defensive teams who give up 17 or less points.

Both schools were superb away from home, with Iowa 4-1 and 5-0 ATS and the Rambling Wreck 6-1 SU and ATS. Underdogs are 5-1 ATS in Orange Bowl’s since 2004.

3DW Line – Georgia Tech by 3

Two Hardwood Televised Tilts

Today on the ESPN family of networks, two of the remaining four unbeaten teams in college basketball will lace’em up in trying to keep their noticeable fast starts intact. Fourth ranked Purdue continues their Big Ten schedule hosting Minnesota, while No. 2 Texas rekindles an old Southwest Conference rivalry with Arkansas.

Texas at Arkansas ESPN2

After defeating a number of notable teams in November and December, highly ranked Texas (13-0, 8-1 ATS) will try to keep the train rolling against Arkansas (7-7, 2-5 ATS). The Longhorns have only had one true road game at Rice, making this their first stop outside of the Lone Star State and a large crowd of Hogs fans is expected at Bud Walton Arena for these former conference rivals. Texas has comfortably lived up to all the preseason accolades and Damion Jones leads a roster of tremendously talented players. This comment might be the best way to describe Texas - "I think if we play to our potential, we can beat everybody we play," coach Rick Barnes said. The Horns are 8-1 ATS after leading their last two games by 10 or more points at the half over the last three seasons.

The start of the Arkansas season has been marred by two distinct aspects, injuries and suspensions. Sophomore guard Rotnei Clarke has been a scoring machine, but has missed time with knee tendinitis. Four players on scholarship have suspended for disciplinary reasons not all have returned to active roster. Coach John Pelphrey squad is going to have to shoot lights out just to compete with Texas and the Razorbacks are 8-17 ATS as an underdog in last 25 tries.

Bookmaker.com has Texas as 15.5-point favorite, with total of 149. The Longhorns convert 49.3 percent of their shots this season and Arkansas is 20-38 ATS versus shooting teams making 48 percent or more of their attempts.

Minnesota at Purdue 7:00E ESPN

In case you missed it, what an impressive performance by Purdue (13-0, 7-6 ATS) on New Year’s Day, whipping previously unbeaten West Virginia 77-62. The Boilermakers have been spotty on offense all season, however against the Mountaineers; they were spot on in hitting 50 percent of their shots and proved just how lethal they can be when their entire game comes together. “Once we get things clicking on offense, we’re very dangerous,” Center JaJuan Johnson said. Purdue is 16-4 ATS at home when playing against a team with a winning record over the last three seasons.

Minnesota (11-3, 8-5 ATS) arrives in West Lafayette, riding a seven-game winning streak that includes two conference wins over Penn state and Iowa. The Golden Gophers are led by senior guard Lawrence Westbrook, averaging a team-high 13.8 points. Minnesota will be without the services of center Ralph Sampson III, who is still nursing an ankle that forced him to miss previous game. Coach Tubby Smith is hoping Blake Hoffarber continues his sharp, averaging over 18 points a game during this win streak.

The Gophers are receiving eight points at Mackey Arena and are 8-20 ATS as an underdog over the last three seasons. Purdue has been outstanding in protecting the ball, but like most teams can’t be letter perfect every encounter and are 3-11 ATS after four straight games committing 14 or less turnovers.

Purdue goes for its 500th win at Mackey Arena (499-114) off to its best start in 16 years.

Dual in the Desert of Unbeatens

What is great about Monday night’s Fiesta Bowl is that it makes for fascinating debate. Starting with the winner will be just one of two unbeaten teams in the country when the season is completed Thursday evening, and will likely end up rated second or third in the country, depending on several factors. If one team is dominant in Glendale, AZ they can raise the discussion point wondering how they might have done against Florida or either of the two participants in the BCS championship contest.

In reading, studying and breaking the two teams down, two elements arise, one for each team. TCU is the better team, period. Think about this for a second, if Cincinnati doesn’t execute last minute touchdown drive against Pittsburgh and if the Texas kicker hits the ball one yard further to the left, the Horned Frogs are playing Alabama in a few days.

How good has TCU (12-0, 8-3 ATS) been, they won in Death Valley at Clemson, who almost made Orange Bowl trip and went to BYU and kicked some Cougar tail 38-7, who in turn blitzed Oregon State 44-20 in the Las Vegas Bowl. TCU’s resume is further enhanced by the fact they beat all five bowl participants they played (4-1 ATS) and those same five squads each won their bowl matchup.

Coach Gary Patterson’s team outscored last seven opponents by average of 47-10 and off their 51-10 nailing of New Mexico in late November, are 9-0 ATS after scoring 50 points or more last game. Here’s the rub, they played Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl last year, beating them 17-16 as three-point favorites, though dominated them in yardage 472-250. Most player quotes coming out of Fort Worth are similar to this, “Yes we are excited to be playing in BCS game against Boise State who is a very good team…….BUT we really would have liked to see how we would matchup against Florida or one of other BCS conferences teams”.

This does not signify that TCU won’t play an outstanding game, but you have to wonder at least a little about a club that is a seven-point favorite, facing a team in revenge mode, who feels they could be overlooked by opponent.

What does Boise State (13-0, 8-4 ATS) have to do to get beyond cute cousin status? Do they need to roll up the Smurf turf and maybe go to black turf instead and maybe change uniforms to more menacing colors to get street cred? What about quarterback Kellen Moore, who has 39 touchdowns and three interceptions, along with 65 percent throwing accuracy, having the nickname –The Assassin.

Alas, Boise isn’t Miami, so no documentary about how this program arose from essentially nothing to a consistent Top 15 performer this past decade. Coach Chris Peterson looks more like the local high school track coach, not somebody who runs one of the top football programs in the country and lacks the Bobby Petrino and Brian Kelly mentality to win for the next better job.

Peterson may look gentlemanly, but coaches like him have the fire burning and the Broncos are 25-8 ATS after scoring 31 points or more in five straight games. Under Peterson, this is Boise State’s third unblemished regular season in the last four years and the school’s fourth in the last six. They won a memorable game three years ago in same location over Oklahoma and the only team to stifle the Oregon Ducks offense as much as Ohio State did in the Rose Bowl was the Broncos in the first game of the year. They held the Ducks to 152 total yards.

DiamondSportsbook.com sees this as a more offensive affair then a year ago, with the total at 53.5 compared to last year’s 46 points in San Diego contest. We’ll keep with our Monday night theme. We’ll provide reasons why either team should cover. In the Fiesta Bowl, when the line is 5.5 or higher, the underdog has emerged the spread winner seven of last nine. In regards to the total, when the number is 51 or higher, the results have been 6-2 UNDER in most recent matchups.

Boise State covers if they can match TCU’s physicality. The offensive line is going to have to provide occasional creases against rugged Horned Frogs front for RB’s Jeremy Avery and Doug Martin. The Broncos only allowed five sacks all season, they are bound to give up a few to DE Jerry Hughes and others from aggressive TCU defense, hopefully they can minimize the damage and Moore can find targets quickly as he has all season. That is why first and second down will be so important for Boise State, trying to stay out of third and longs. The Broncos cannot allow TCU ground game to churn, they must shed blocks and fill gaps, something they did struggle with at different times against better rushing teams. The Broncos are 24-6 ATS versus offensive teams averaging 425 yards a game and have revenge and possible disrespect card to play.

TCU covers if they come to make a statement. Though it is not always easy to tell against a variety of substandard competition, Coach Patterson’s team appears capable of beating ANY team in the country on a given day. If TCU plays with the same purpose they have all season and doesn’t have fascinations about Gators, Longhorns or a team from Tuscaloosa, they win by at least 10 points. Coach Patterson’s crew has speed edge and can be disrupt any offensive. QB Andy Dalton matured into an accurate thrower as a senior (22 touchdowns and five interceptions) and truly does have a stable of running backs to run behind a punishing offensive line that could wear down Boise State. It’s not an accident the Frogs are 13-4 ATS after allowing 125 or less rushing yards in consecutive games.

Bowl System – Play Under in any bowl game, in a non-conference game between two teams from second tier non-BCS conferences. (38-14, ATS L10Y)

Pittsburgh visits the Queen City

The Pittsburgh Panthers drew the dreaded Saturday-Monday Big East slate to begin league play, both on the road. The first part of the process was no problem after upsetting previously undefeated Syracuse 82-72. Now it’s off to the Queen City for the Panthers (12-2, 5-4-2 ATS) who have won five in a row.

Pittsburgh has survived despite having its fewest number of returning starters in years. Brad Wanamaker has emerged as more of a scoring guard than expected and Nasir Robinson has added to the offense. Jermaine Dixon is finally healthy and making solid contributions and Ashton Gibbs has been dropping some three-point bombs.

Even with how good Pitt basketball has been for a number of years, highly-touted freshman Dante Taylor is their first McDonald’s All-American in 21 years. Pittsburgh comes into this game 10-1 ATS after four straight wins by 10 points or more over the last three seasons.

Cincinnati (10-3, 4-4-1 ATS) is a tweener team, they could be better or worse than preseason prognostications or just middle of the pack in the Big East. The potential is there for the Bearcats to be quite good as the backcourt Deonta Vaughn, redshirt freshman Cashmere Wright and true frosh Lance Stephenson could be second only to Villanova. For Cincy to be noticed, they must be unbeaten at home and close to .500 on the road.

The Bearcats have started strong in Big East play with wins over Connecticut and Rutgers and to move up on the next rung of the conference ladder, they must overcome 5-18 ATS record after playing a game as favorite.

DiamondSportsbook.com Cincinnati has 4.5-point favorites, with total of 126. The Bearcats are unsightly 0-10 ATS after playing consecutive games as favorite and 11-2 OVER in home games after three contests allowing a shooting percentage of 40 percent or less. Pittsburgh is well aware of Cincy’s failures vs. better clubs (2-9 ATS against teams with win percentage of 80 percent or higher the last two years) and will have to match their intensity on the road. The Panthers are 10-2 OVER when the total is 129.5 or less over the last three seasons.

ESPN has this telecast for the unofficial start of Big Monday and Pittsburgh has won five of last six encounters against Cincinnati with .500 spread mark.

Top Monday NBA Systems

The first Monday of the New Year in the NBA finds four games on the NBA agenda. All season we have been providing winning information on this day of the week, with our top situation that matches up with each NBA contests. Here is a look at the top systems for today. Numbers from DiamondSportsbook.com.

Atlanta at Miami (+1.5, 195.5)

The Atlanta Hawks have hit their first slump of the season, losing three of four, however, tonight’s opponent and division rival Miami is also carrying three game losing streak. When a situation like this arises, look to play on road favorites after two or more consecutive losses, if they have winning 60-75 percentage on the season. Over the last three seasons, this system checks in at 32-12 ATS.

Oklahoma City at Chicago (-2, 194)

When it comes to three-point shooting, it’s hard to matchup two worst teams than these two. Oklahoma City is 26th (31.7 percent) and Chicago is tick behind at 31.6 percent. Even without this as part of the offensive arsenal, look to Play Over in a game involving two poor three point shooting teams, with the Bulls an average ball handling team (14.5-16.5 TO's) against an average pressure defense like the Thunder (14.5-16.5 TO's). In the last five seasons, this system is solid 82-45 OVER.

New Orleans at Utah (-7.5, 196)

The Hornets don’t have a number of offensive weapons, which is why they rank 19th in scoring at 98 points per game. They travel to Utah off a pair of close home victories over Miami (95-91) and Houston (99-95). It has been best to play against teams like New Orleans who are decent on offense (98-102 points per game) against a defensive team like the Jazz (92-98 PPG), after two straight wins by six points or less. Since 2005, this system is 33-9 ATS, 78.5 percent.

Portland at L.A. Clippers (-4, 189.5)

Any rest in the NBA is looked upon as being good, considering the grueling schedule. This can refresh the legs and help any team player better defense with more energy. In this Western Conference conflict, check out the UNDER, since home teams are 38-18 when the total is between 180 and 189.5 points, after successfully covering the spread in two or more games, playing four or less games in 10 days.

NFL Week 17 Betting Stuff

This is the final week for sports bettors in the NFL to take one last look at a full card before next September. There are meaningful matchups, potentially interesting contests and other games that are about as intriguing as watching “Cougar-Town”. Let’s take one last ride and go through all the relevant betting information for the final week of the NFL season.

Playoff Picture

The NFC playoff teams are set, it just a matter of who plays who. New Orleans is top seed and Philadelphia is second seed if they win at Dallas. However, if the Cowboys win, there are two ways they could end up with second seed, two ways Minnesota could be second seed and one way Arizona could jump from fourth to second seed. For the wild card, Green Bay is presently fifth seed, but with a loss in the desert, probably falls to six seed. The Eagles will be either a second, fifth or sixth seed.

The AFC wild picture is more muddled, just not at the top; Indianapolis and San Diego are essentially off this week and next (more on that in a moment). If New England wins at Houston, they are third seed, but slip to fourth if they lose and Cincinnati wins later Sunday night. If Baltimore and the New York Jets win, they are the last two playoff teams in the AFC, if they lose; suddenly the Rubik’s Cube is easier to figure out. As a public service here is how it works out in the AFC if either the Ravens or Jets falter.

Real Life or Football

Though football can sometimes feel like life or death, here is further proof it is not. Imagine your company is on pace for record year 10 months into your fiscal and the national sales manager decides to take his key sales people off the road for a couple of weeks during the last two months and let less qualified sales staff handle accounts. The national sales manager’s reasoning is that the company already had a very successful year and company strategists have created bonus plans for the first quarter of the next year if it is a record first quarter. Here’s the kicker, the CEO and president agree with NSM. And the Indianapolis Colts are wondering why they’ve been criticized for not going after 16-0 season.

Week 17 Angles

* Teams off exactly three ATS losses are 8-17 ATS the last week of the regular season.( Jacksonville - Seattle)
* Teams off three or more spread losses are 23-7 UNDER in the last week of the regular season. (New Orleans)
* In the last week of the regular season, home favorites of three or fewer points are 18-10 ATS. (Cleveland – Dallas- Arizona)
* In Week 17, home underdogs off an away game are 4-11 ATS. (Detroit- Oakland – Seattle –Note: These same clubs are also 11-21 ATS off a loss which each suffered)
* Teams that have played Over three times or more coming into the final game of the regular season are 6-1 ATS and 6-1 OVER. (N.Y. Giants – Denver)
* Teams that have played Under exactly three straight games are 7-3 OVER to conclude the season. (New Orleans – Dallas)
* Teams that have played Under four or more games in a row are 23-13 OVER in final contest ( San Francisco- Buffalo- Tampa Bay- Atlanta –New England)
* The Indianapolis Colts are 4-14 ATS in regular season finales.
* The New England Patriots are 18-6 ATS in their last regular season game.
* The Oakland Raiders are dismal 5-17 ATS in their final regular season contest.

Killer NFL Systems

*Play On all teams like Philadelphia when the line is +3 to -3, revenging a loss against opponent, in a game involving two good teams (60% to 75%) in the second half of the season. Over the last ten seasons, this system is 27-3 ATS, 90 percent.
*Play On a non-conference home teams like San Diego off SU road win in their final game of the season. In the last nine years this system is 12-4, 75 percent.

Super Duper Trends

*Seattle is 0-8 ATS as an underdog this season, losing by 19.9 points per game.
*Arizona is 8-0 ATS vs. good passing teams averaging seven or more passing yards per attempt over the last two seasons winning by 9.9 points per contest.
*Baltimore is 9-0 ATS playing against a team with a losing record since last season, destroying them by 23 points per game.
*Indianapolis is 7-0 ATS on the road in 2009. (Be careful here, however)
The SU winner of Philadelphia and Dallas is 31-5-1 ATS.

Slippery Slope Situations

*The Green Bay at Arizona contest is one of the three potential matchups for the first week of the playoffs next weekend. Arizona has more to play for since they could move up in seeding; however by game time they will know what they are playing for with Minnesota decision in. In truth, Green Bay could probably care less if they face the Cardinals or Vikings since they are on the road either way. Going into the game, coach Mike McCarthy has to figure its back to the desert and expect vanilla pudding game plans for both squads and a challenging wager any way you want to look at it.

*Cincinnati at New York Jets (See Sunday Night article)

*The Eagles and Cowboys have to give maximum effort with division crown and potentially No. 2 seed on the line. Both teams are playing their best football of the season and with the way New Orleans and Minnesota are struggling, it is not a stretch to surmise the winner of this game could well be the NFC representative for the Super Bowl.

*Bill Belichick has always been intent on winning every game, but the fact remains New England has a home playoff game next week and to get to the Super Bowl they will have to probably defeat San Diego and Indianapolis on the road, thus, which order they would play them has little bearing to them. Houston still has ample motivation, the playoffs are still a possibility, first-ever winning season on the line and creating buzz for next year, plus closing with four-game winning streak, though lamenting 1-5 and 2-4 ATS record in division.