TheSpread.com

ATS Consultants

Newsletter Plays

Hoops
Chicago over Indiana 98-84 Best Bet
So there will be changes in Indiana? Great for Pacers fans, but not good for the players on the floor. The Bulls still have a shot at the playoffs in the awful Eastern Conference. Adding Larry Hughes and getting rid of Ben Wallace helped. The Bulls definitely have play-off talent and the Pacers have all but given up.

Philadelphia over new jersey 104-90 Preferred Play
Under in the Indiana/Chicago game 84-98 Preferred Play

Hockey
Boston over Montreal Preferred Play
Over in the NJ/Pittsburgh game Best Bet
Under in the Edmonton/Colorado game Preferred Play

AFL
Under in the Colorado/Chicago game Preferred Play

LT Profits

Marquette +3.0

We think that this matchup between the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Stanford Cardinal pits the best conference in the country with the most overrated, and we will gladly back Marquette as underdogs here.

The Golden Eagles won 13 games inside the Big East, and they then pulled away late to get the win and cover vs. the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday. Much has been made about Stanford’s height advantage with the Lopez twins here, but Marquette has become accustomed to guarding large centers in the Big East and lived to tell about it, and they may even have an advantage offensively with their quickness.

Now granted, Stanford is the second best team in the Pac-10, but this post-season has confirmed our belief that the conference is overrated, and we feel that the Cardinal’s easy 77-53 win over Cornell on Thursday in no way prepared them to face what is probably the toughest opponent they have faced all year.

We look for Marquette to continue to prove the Big East’s superiority with a statement outright win here.

Marquette +3

Texas A&M @ UCLA u125.0

The UCLA Bruins are one of the best defensive teams in the country while the Texas A&M Aggies prefer a half-court style of play, so this should be a low-scoring affair.

Also, Texas A&M figures to slow this game down more than usual as double-digit underdogs, in an attempt to give themselves the best chance of winning. Their road games have averaged a combined 125.8 points this season under normal circumstances, so if they employ the strategy we expect here, you can certainly shave some points off of that total.

As for the Bruins, they are allowing just 58.2 points per game on the year, and they are coming off of a scrimmage in the first round where they incredibly limited Mississippi Valley State to 29 points. No, we do not expect a replay of that here, but UCLA has not allowed nine of their last 10 opponents to get out of the 60s, and that figures to be the case here vs. an A&M team that has averaged just 59.7 points on the road for the year.

Finally, the Bruins played one other game vs. a Big 12 opponent this season, and that was their 63-61 loss to Texas, which is more potent offensively than the Aggies. Expect a slightly lower scoring game than that here.

Texas A&M, UCLA Under 125

Mighty Quinn
West Virginia


Brian Mac's Hotline Hotside
UMass


Trace Adams
Xavier -3


Jack Clayton
Purdue


Jimmy Moore
Houston +6.5



USA Sports Consulting
Wisconsin -4.5


TV Hotline
Purdue/Xavier Over


Mike Wynn
NDame/Wash St Over


Joe Wiz
Wisconsin
Nets


Vegas Steamline
Mich St/Pitt Under


John Fina
Pitt


Dr Vegas
Kansas


Glen Mcgrew
UMass


Totals4u
Ucla Over


RedZone Sports
Washington State.


ARTHUR RALPH
UMASS


Razor Sharp Sports
Sea/Utah Over


Scott Spreitzer
Bulls


Nick Parsons
Bucks


Easy Money Sports
UNLV


GAMBLERS DATA
Chicago/Nashville Over 5.5


Big Time Sports
Hou/Phx Over

Net Prophet

Duke -4 over West Virginia

Marquette +3 over Stanford

Trace Adams

2000* SECOND ROUND LEAD PIPE LOCK

Xavier -3

Savannah Sports

5 Units on Stanford -3.5

Karl Garrett

50 DIMER - STANFORD....20 DIMER - XAVIER....10 DIMERS - KANSAS & WISCONSIN

50 DIMER - STANFORD CARDINAL

Don't get me wrong, I like this Marquette team, but I think their lack of size is going do be their downfall today against Stanford, and the Lopez Twin Towers.

The Cardinal has to feel good after bowing out in the first round last year, they met the perfect 1st round foe in Cornell, as Stanford was able to get the jitters out of the way in a drill job. That win should help their confidence when they step on court today.

Marquette had a battle on their hands against Kentucky on Thursday, as that game went back and forth for a long while. Look for the Golden Eagles to be just a bit spent come crunch time in this one.

The predominantly Stanford crowd will also help matters today in Anaheim. The Cardinal has covered their last 3 when laying points, and 4 in a row overall.

Small chalk the way to roll in this one.


20 DIMER - XAVIER MUSKETEERS

Just as size will be the downfall of Marquette as I pointed out above, youth is going to be the downfall of Purdue today.

The Boilers will be brimming with some confidence after having an easy time of it against Baylor, but Baylor's style of play was a perfect fit for the Boilermakers. I don't see the Musketeers style of play suiting Purdue the same way today.

Xavier had a monster scare against upstart Georgia in the first round, as the Musketeers needed to rally from 11 down before wearing the Bulldogs down.

With a huge load off their shoulders, I expect the Musketeers to play a lot looser in this matchup, and their experience to be the difference come the closing minutes.

Keep this in mind, Xavier is 14-2 straight up their last 16 games with their only losses coming at the hands of their bugaboo - St. Joseph's.

X marks the spot in round two.


10 DIMERS - KANSAS JAYHAWKS

Make no mistake, UNLV is no patsy, but today they are in over their heads. The Rebels style of play is tailor-made for this Kansas edition.

The Jayhawks like to push it, and they are very good at doing just that. The Jayhawks also have a deep bench, and plenty of size, something that Lon Kruger's team just doesn't have an answer for.

Kansas has won their last 8 games, and they have covered their last pair, and 5 of their last 7. Care to add to those positive numbers today? Kansas will do just that.

Lay the double-digits, as this one smells of rout from the get-go!


10 DIMER - WISCONSIN BADGERS

Are you detecting a theme yet?

That's right, ALL chalk today, as I came into this tournament and made a mental note that the upper-echelon seeds are just that much better than those on the lower-tier, and I think that fact qualifies in this matchup.

Wisconsin is just so tough defensively, and I think that Kansas State's youth will become rattled when the Badgers bottle up Beasley. Beasley will get his points, but don't expect a highlight reel against this defense.

The Badgers have quietly won 11 straight, covering in 9 of the 11.

The Wildcats are just 3-5 straight up their last 8, and their win over Southern Cal was K-State's first cover in those 8 games!

Badgers snuff out the 'Cats.

Aj Apollo

3* Action Purdue vs Xavier UNDER 132.0

3* Action Washington State -2.0 vs Notre Dame

3* Action Marquette 3.0 vs Stanford

7* Top Michigan State 2.5  vs Pittsburgh

7* is his GOY.

Robert Ferringo

2-Unit Play. Take Pittsburgh (-2.5) over Michigan State
Let’s ride the hot hand. This game comes down to one thing: heart. If this game is a grinder, which it should be, do you trust Michigan State not to fold up its tents like it has so many times this year? Me neither. The Spartans are 1-4 ATS as a dog recently, with their one cover coming on a garbage ending in the Big 10 tournament. Beyond that the other four losses came by an average of nearly 11 points apiece. Pittsburgh has proven over the past two years that it can win games against top competition on neutral courts. Michigan State has not. The Spartans have been a poor road team and I don’t think they’ll be up to task. MSU is just 1-5 ATS against the Big East, while Pittsburgh is a healthy 9-2 ATS against the Big 10.

2-Unit Play. Take Massachusetts (-5.5) over Akron
While all of the focus is on the NCAA Tournament, home teams and favorites have been cashing left and right in the NIT. Massachusetts looked great in its opening round win over Steve Austin and with a load of seniors and five double-digit scorers I think they advance here. The A-10 has held its own in the nonconference this year. And I think Akron is completely out of its element, having stayed in Boston since Wednesday. Akron did not play well at Florida State, but won to advance. I think the Minutemen have too much offensively and they continue the trend of home favorites taking care of business.

2-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 125 Texas A&M vs. UCLA
The ‘under’ is 30-17 when the total is 130 or lower in the opening two rounds over the past three years. Both of these teams play gritty defense and neither is naturally gifted from 3-point range. I’m expecting a grinder, with both teams digging deep and playing a tight game. The ‘under’ is 23-11 in UCLA’s last 34 after a win of 20 or more and is 5-1 in the Bruins’ last six tournament games. The ‘under’ is also 5-2 in A&M’s last seven neutral site games and last seven overall.

1-Unit Play. Take #525 West Virginia (+4) over Duke
Duke is lucky to still be playing. They were lucky in their win against Belmont on Thursday and I think they were exposed as a second-tier team. The Blue Devils want to hang out on the perimeter and chuck 3-pointers. WVU invented that style, and they do it more efficiently. I think WVU is better defensively and I noticed in the Belmont game that the officials, unlike crews in the ACC, weren’t giving the Blue Devils ridiculous calls. That’s a huge advantage they could be without. I like Joe Alexander as the best player on the floor and I think that WVU will be sharper on offense and grittier on defense in this one. The Mountaineers are 43-20-1 ATS in nonconference games, 14-6 ATS in neutral site games, and 7-0-1 ATS in NCAA Tournament games. The Blue Devils are 1-7 ATS in the NCAA Tournament and just 2-6 ATS against the Big East

2 Minute Warning:

UCLA