Yikes!!
That was an abysmal APRIL FOOLS DAY yesterday and well, we are back to get everybody back on the right foot for the month of APRIL!!
That's right -- let's do it again tonight!!
One last night of FREEBIE WINNERS for everybody out there and this time we promise to bring the WINNERS with us!!
Let's roll....
TODAY'S FREEBIE ACTION -- YTD: (69-70-8) -5.80 UNITS
(NBA)
DALLAS MAVERICKS (-2.5) AND
OVER 210.5 HOUSTON ROCKETS @ DALLAS MAVERICKS
The Mavericks were our only casher yesterday and now we expect them to beat the Rockets here tonight in much the same situation. Houston has found it's form as of late, picking up the win in 5 of their L6 games overall heading into tonight's game. They have been doing so with an impressive run on the road as of late too, posting a 4-1 ML and ATS mark in their L5 games away from home. Houston is also 3-2 ATS in their L5 games when playing on the road and getting the points. They do have a beat-down by the Mavericks in that span, in which they were rolled 111-100 in Dallas as a +2.5 dog on February 20. However, their only other loss in their L6 games has come by 3 points at Toronto, 99-96. All indications are that this one will be close in the end, as these two teams always seem to battle it out when playing in Dallas. The Mavericks have gone 4-1 in the L5 meetings between the two teams on their home court, but only 1 of those games (that same 111-100 win) was decided by more than 5 points. The Rockets won in their last meeting there last season, 117-115, but prior to that, the Mavericks had won the previous 3 meetings by 3, 4 and 5 points, respectively. Dating back to the 2009 season, the Mavericks have now posted an 8-1 ML and 7-2 ATS mark in their L9 meetings against their in-state rivals on their home court. However, it has been slightly better than that against today's spread. All 8 of those wins in the last 9 meetings have come by more than 3 points. The Mavericks are coming in off a big win at Oklahoma City last night in which they outlasted another triple-double by Westbrook, taking a crazy 135-131 win. They have been scuffling lately though, dropping their previous 2 games at Indiana and at San Antonio, and have posted a 2-4 ML mark in their L6 overall. Their other win in that span was at home against the Spurs in the 2nd of a home-and-home series with them. Dallas has been playing especially well at home lately, winning 4-of-their-L6 there, while holding a 10-4 ML in their L14 home contests. Their ATS record isn't quite as impressive, as they hold a 7-6-1 ATS mark in that same span, although that too is a bit misleading, as they produce for their backers at a much better clip when playing as the home favorite. Dallas is 7-2-1 ATS when laying the points in those same 14 home games. If the Mavericks win, they should do so by more than 2-points, as only one time all season have they won a game by less than 3 points. Dallas has struggled when playing in the 2nd of back-to-backs, losing their L2 games in that situation by 15 and 17 points, but they are 8-6 ML (6-8 ATS) overall in those 2nd games. They have been a better team to back when playing at home in those games though, as they are 2-0 ML and 1-1 in their 2 games that completed a back-to-back set this season. Their last win in that situation was that same 111-100 win over the Rockets in Dallas. They have been absolutely money on the ML when playing as the favorite in the 2nd game of a back-to-back stretch, going 9-1 ML and 6-4 ATS in those 10 games this season. Houston has been pretty good in the 2nd game of back-to-back games as well, going 10-8 ML and ATS in those games this season. They are 3-3 when playing as the road dog in those games. Houston has also played to the Over at a 6-3 clip in their L9 on the road in a 2nd of a back-to-back, while Dallas has hit for a total of 211 or higher in both of their two home games that completed a back-to-back. Roll with the DALLAS MAVERICKS and the OVER in tonight's showdown.......
UNDER 209 PHOENIX SUNS @ GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS AND
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (-12.5)
The Phoenix appears to have fallen back to the ground as this Phoenix squad is playing horribly recently, dropping 4 straight games overall heading into this one, while failing to hit the 100-point mark in any of their L5 games overall. In fact, they have failed to hit for 100 points in 9-of-their-L12 overall and have only topped 102 points in 1 of those 12 games in that span. They have been money for their Under backers lately, staying under their usually inflated total in each of their L5 games overall and looking further the Under has hit for a 12-1 mark in their L13 games overall. Not only are the Suns not scoring themselves in that span, but they have been playing some pretty tough D as well, as yes, 3 of their L4 opponents have hit for 108 points or more, however in the previous 10 games before that, not a single opponent managed to hit for more than 102 in a game. Of course this Warriors squad is a much different story and they can score at will against anyone at any time and this Suns lineup is no different. But the Suns have kept the Warriors in check in their 3 meetings already this season, only allowing Golden State to top the 100-point mark one time (106) in those meetings. In fact, in those 3 meetings, these two teams have only managed to top the 200 point mark one time (202) and have remained at a 192 and 193 combined total in the other two. The last time this Warriors squad was held under 100 points was against the Suns, 13 games ago, but they have hit for a 111 PPG average in the 12 games since. However they have only mustered 106 PPG or less in 7 of their L10 played in the Bay Area. They too have been playing to an Under tilt lately, failing to go Over the total in 3 straight games and at a 1-4 clip in their L5 overall. They have been streaky on the Over/Under at home recently, posting a 5-1 mark for the Over in their L6 games in their own building, but had an 5-0 mark for the Under in the 5 games prior to that. When these two teams play in California they usually end up staying to a lower total too, as they have combined for over 208 points only 1 time in the L9 meetings at Golden State. The Suns have been shooting decently lately, hitting for a team-combined 44% FG rate in their L10 games, although they have been hitting for a mere 42% during their 4-game skid. The Warriors have been tough on their opponents lately as well, allowing their opponents to hit for just barely over 40% combined in their L5 games overall and in their L6 games at home. The Suns are going to be without the services of Alex Len and Brandon Knight tonight which is going to severely limit their offense further. There is absolutely zero chance the Warriors lose today's game on their home court, and they should cruise to yet another win in their home building where they hold a league best, 36-2 ML record this season. They are currently on a 10-game winning streak and just finished off the month of March with a franchise-record 16-2 mark. Do these guys know they are supposed to take their foot of the gas by now?! Phoenix does technically have a mathematical shot to still make the playoffs as the #8 seed in the Western Conference, but they are limping to the finish with 4 straight losses and 5 of their final 7 games of the season on the road. The final nail in the coffin is hammered in for Phoenix starting tonight, while the Warriors prepare for coast-mode.....tomorrow. Take the GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS and the UNDER in today's match-up......
(NCAA BB)
STANFORD CARDINAL (-2.5)
Okay, so we went against the Hurricanes the other night believing Will Cummings was going to carry Temple to the win, but the Owls stud came out shooting just horrendously and was 1-for-12 at one point shooting in the game -- including missing at one point 8 layups we counted!! Either that kid was seriously on the take, or this Miami defense of youngsters was just completely dominant on the inside. Once again, we are going to fade the youngster Hurricanes against this elder Cardinal squad that has a member or two still remaining from their NIT Championship win over Minnesota in 2011-12. In fact, they still have their leading scorer from that team, with Chasson Randle leading the team as a freshman, and now comes into tonight's game looking to end his career in the same way -- with an NIT Championship. This Miami team might have something to say about it, as they have only lost to 3 teams since February 11 and those 3 teams (North Carolina, Louisville and Notre Dame) were all pretty impressive in the big tournament. They have posted an 11-6 ML mark in their L17 games since February 1, with 3 of those losses (at Louisville, 55-53; at Wake Forest, 72-70; and at Florida State, 55-54) coming by 2 points or less. The Hurricanes have now posted a 4-2 ATS mark in their L6 games when listed as the underdog and have now posted a 5-2 ML and 4-3 ATS record when playing on a neutral court. Stanford has been rolling themselves lately, getting to the Championship game with wins over UC Davis (77-64), Rhode Island (74-65), Vanderbilt (78-75) and Old Dominion (67-60) in impressive fashion. They have posted a 5-1 ML mark in their L6 games heading into this one, although they haven't been as strong for their backers, going 3-5 ATS in their L8 games and 5-10 ATS over their L15 games overall. They have struggled to find the money when playing as the favorites, going 5-7 ATS in the L12 games when laying the points. But the experience will be key here. The Hurricanes appear to be missing not only Angel Rodriguez again for tonight's battle, but they also will be without the services of big man center, Jekiri, who averages nearly 9 PPG to go along with nearly 10 RPG and 1.5 BPG. That should be a big hit to this Hurricanes squad. Something this young and inexperienced team most likely won't be able to overcome. Only one Miami starter (McLellan) hit for double-digits against Temple, something that won't work against this Cardinal team that boasts 3 starters averaging 19.4, 14.9 and 13.5 PPG respectively. Take the STANFORD CARDINAL in tonight's NIT Championship......
OVER 142.5 NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS @ EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES
Both of these teams should end up topping the 70-point mark for this Championship showdown and make this a very entertaining game to watch. NAU had their scoring stretch slow down a little bit, as they hit for only 68 points in their last win against NJIT, but they had previously topped the 74 point mark in each of their 3 games prior to that. Perhaps the most impressive win of the entire tournament was the Lumberjacks 74-73 OT win over Kent State two games ago and NAU has shown they can hang with everyone lately, hitting for a 12-3-3 ATS mark in their L18 games overall. Evansville has been absolutely rolling through this tournament so far, hitting for 79 points or more in each of their L4 games and the Purple Aces have hit for the Over at a 6-1 clip over their L7 games. Expect a lot of scoring here today as Evansville has hit for just under 50% on the season from FG range overall and that rate has only risen since postseason play began. The Purple Aces are hitting for just under a 54% FG rate on their home court during their postseason run to this championship. They have also hit for 47% from beyond the arc in that span. Take the OVER in this one.......
There you have it!! That is our action for this THURSDAY night in the NBA and NCAA BB!!
Best of luck to all tonight!! Let's get that money!!
PORT PORT SPORTS