Category: Basketball

70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units

2-3-1 this season down 5.74 units

Stanford had 3 chances to score a basket to cover the +17 against UNC’s practice squad at the end of the game, but couldn’t do it. Then both of my money line favorite play covered the spread easy so I lost some value there. Just how my young college basketball season has been going.

Tennessee State -6 for 5 units. Arkansas Little Rock was one of the worst teams in college basketball last season and needed overtime to beat a D2 school in their opener. Fade Little Rock.

Pepperdine +10.5 for 3 units. Pepperdine cane shoot from deep and that will help them cover this spread. Northern Colorado and Pepperdine both smacked a D2 school in their opening game, so this line confuses me a little, but not enough to scare me away.

Georgia Tech +16 for 2 units. Tennessee returns a lot of players this year and they deserve to be highly ranked, but this line is just too high for me. Jose Alvarado has the ability to be an All-ACC type player for GT this season. Brandon Alston is a solid senior guard as well. Strong guard play will help the Yellow Jackets cover against a more talented Tennessee team. Shembari Phillips, the transfer from Tennessee, can give GT some inside scouting..

61-53-2 on NBA in 2018 up 9.28 units

8-10-1 on NBA this season down 7.84 units

Took a break from NBA because I was losing. Been watching the games and feel confident getting back on the horse tonight. The refs have been so bad this early season. I mean that 6th foul on Kevin Durant in overtime against the Clippers was a joke and sealed the win for the Clippers. The Hornets got robbed in Philly against the 76ers and the league admitted it. These NBA refs make me appreciate how good the NFL refs have been this season honestly. I am not blaming the refs for my poor results so far this season, but it dampens the watchability of the product on the court.

Rockets/Nuggets over 214.5 for 3 units. Houston shot a lot better in their last game against the Pacers than they were in the first few games before. Too many players can get hot in this one and send this over to bet the under. I think this number should be around 220 so I will bite.

70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units

0-2-1 this season down 5.00 units

VCU at -350 for 4 units. VCU plays well at the Siegel Center. Bowling Green played well against St. Johns, but let the game slip away in the second half. Justin Turner can ball for Bowling. VCU has a more balanced approach than they have had in the past few years. Justin Tillman is playing basketball professionally in Korea now, while Mo-Alie Cox is catching touchdowns for the Colts. Those two dominant big men are gone, but Issac Vann, Sean Mobley, Mike’l Simms, Michael Gilmore, Malik Crowfield, and De’Riante Jenkins can all ball. VCU wins at home.

Stanford +17 for 3 units. This UNC team is flying under the radar a little bit (Zion and Duke getting all the love) as they are balanced and talented. Maye is still there and Nassir Little is a beast of a freshman. Cameron Johnson finally looks to be healthy for UNC and has been paying well. Kenny Williams (the former VCU commit) can drain some 3s. Stanford is by far the most talented team UNC has played this season. Stanford beat a solid UNCW team on this east coast swing and will look to play well again here. Kezie Okpala will give the UNC big men some trouble. I think UNC wins, but they won’t cover.

Oklahoma at -400 for 4 units. Christian James and the Sooners get the win here. This line should be closer to -800. UTSA lost to St. Edwards, which is not even a division 1 basketball team. The -8 scares me a little bit because this feels like it should be closer to -15, but I am confident in the money line. -400 may not look like value, but there is value here.

70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units

0-0 this season. All of my predictions this season will be posted on this site. Went down a lot in College Basketball last regular season, but won it all back and more in March. Going to take what I learned and apply it to this season..

Oklahoma St. -12.5 for 2 units. The Cowboys had a lot of roster turnover form last season, but Cameron McGriff and Lindy Waters are still there. Charlotte lost their last game to Chattanooga by 11 and Oklahoma St. has way more talent than them. This line should be at 17 or 18 so I will bite. Oklahoma State has won 23 straight openers. Trey Reeves was surprised with a scholarship for OSU in one of those feel good stories, but he will have to show up for this to cover. Great teams cover.

William & Mary +4 for 3 units. The Tribe won their first game against High Point by 10. This is Duquesne first game of the season. Tony Shaver is a solid coach for William & Mary. This game is a pickem so take the points.

Pepperdine -9.5 for 4 units. When it is a Tuesday night in December and you get back from the bar plastered and want to bet… Bet Pepperdine. When it is a rainy Saturday and all your college football picks lose.. Bet Pepperdine. Seriously though, this Pepperdine team is wet from 3. They shot almost 50% from behind the arc in their first game. Pepperdine has been kind to bettors for about 6 months now, let’s keep it rolling.

18-16-1 on NBA in 2017 up 7.22 units

61-53-2 on NBA in 2018 up 9.28 units

7-9-1 on NBA this season down 5.34 units

Hornets -5 for 4 units. No Kris Dunn, Lauri, or Denzel Valentine for the Bulls. Kemba Walker was just named Eastern Conference player of the week. He has been sizzling. Charlotte looked bad against Toronto, but they will pick it back up here.

Lakers at -200 for 2 units. Lebron won’t lose to the Suns right? His missed free throws, not guarding his man on the next San Antonio 3, and then missing the game winner was ugly.

18-16-1 on NBA in 2017 up 7.22 units

61-53-2 on NBA in 2018 up 9.28 units

7-6 on NBA this season down 0.34 units

Magic/Celtics over 209.5 for 2 units. Magic have given up 118 points a game over the last two games. Boston will score tonight and lapse a little on defense. I see a 110-99 type finish here.

Lakers at -115 for 2 units. Lebron gets his first win as a Laker tonight. The Lakers have looked okay in their first two games, I still think they need to find a solid 3-point shooter. The Spurs won’t have the answers to Lebron and Co tonight. No Ingram or Rondo in this one. Lonzo Ball will get more playing time. Lebron can’t keep losing right?

Bucks -11 for 5 units. Knicks are bad. Giannis isn’t.

Hornets +8.5 for 1 unit. Kemba is too hot not to bet on them, even against the hot Raptors. MKG is a solid counter to Kawhi. Malik Monk is Charlotte’s second leading scorer at 14.7 PPG. It is weird that Steve Clifford wouldn’t play him last season….

18-16-1 on NBA in 2017 up 7.22 units

61-53-2 on NBA in 2018 up 9.28 units

4-4 on NBA this season down 2.48 units

Raptors -2 for 2 units. Kawhi and the Raptors have been playing some good basketball to start the season. They have a good bench which makes me worry less about the second night of a back 2 back being on the road. Serge Ibaka and Fren VanVleet have been aggressive to start the year. Kyle Lowry always gets up in games against John Wall.

Hornets +4 for 3 units. Kemba has been sizzling this season. Coach James Borrego has Charlotte looking a lot better than they did last season.

Suns +10 for 2 units. Devin Booker has been silky shooting this season. Ariza and Anderson add some nice veteran experience. The Suns beat the Mavs by 21. The Suns are going to be better than a lot of people think.

Rockets at -155 for 3 units. Lakers don’t have 3-point shooters and Houston does. It is that simple.

The Lebron Lakers lost to the Blazers by 9 in Portland last night. LA’s defense obviously needs to improve, but I don’t think they are going to win 48 games this season if they don’t go get a deep threat. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Lance Stephenson are their best 3-point shooters right now. When the Cavs were at their best with Lebron, they had 3 sharpshooters spreading the floor. Lonzo, Ingram, and Kuzma are all talented, but they are not shooters. Lillard is still good, but Nik Stauskas went off for Portland shooting 5-8 from deep and finishing with 24 points. Lebron is now 0-4 in season debuts with new teams.

Miami covered the spread and sneaked out a win against the Wizards. Same old story for Washington, Beal and Wall go off, but coaching and bench play hold them back. Josh Richardson was the best player in the Heat for this one. Dwayne Wade came off the bench and missed the game winning shot, but Olynyk got the putback for the win.

The Bulls scored 58 first half points, but still lost to Philly by 19. Ben Simmons had some dimes and got his triple double. Embiid dropped 30. LaVine dropped 30. Covington played a lot better for the 76ers in this game than he did against the Celtics.

18-16-1 on NBA in 2017 up 7.22 units

61-53-2 on NBA in 2018 up 9.28 units

1-2 on NBA this season down 1.12 units

I want to bet the Hornets -2.5, but the public is betting them heavy and I am a Hornets fan so I am going to stay away. Too much emotional attachment and all that. Another game I want to place a wager on is Raptors/Celtics. All the money is on Boston +3, but the line hasn’t moved which makes me want to bet Toronto. Kawhi looked good in his first game for the Raptors and had this absurd play.

Thunder +1 for 3 units. Dennis Schroder, Paul George, and Steven Adams all looked good in the season opener, and now they get Westbrook back. Clippers don’t have the offense or defensive anchor without DeAnder Jordan. The Warriors got 17 offensive rebounds against Oklahoma City, the Thunder will make sure that doesn’t happen against the Clippers tonight.

Nets -3.5 for 3 units. Hollis-Jefferson and Allen Crabbe will play in this one. No Porzingis. Spencer Dinwiddie was frustrated with the close loss to the Pistons. I think this Brooklyn team is pretty good. The Knicks win against the Hawks doesn’t impress me. Nets win by 8 or more.

Warriors at -143 for 2 units. Jazz were the only team in the NBA to beat the Warriors 3 times last season. Golden State won’t let that happen again. That is all.

Bucks at -165 for 2 units. I like both of these teams a lot. If the Bucks can outlast Kemba and the Hornets drilling 3s all night, they can beat the Pacers. Also, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Timberwolves/Grizzlies Parlay for 1 unit to win 0.72 units. Cavs and Hawks are not good. Grizzlies will win their home opener. Timberwolves barely lost to the Spurs. They have too much talent to let Kevin Love beat his old team here.

18-16-1 on NBA in 2017 up 7.22 units

61-53-2 on NBA in 2018 up 9.28 units

1-1 on NBA this season down .09 units

I am going to separate this season from last year’s “2018” numbers as to not be misleading. I thought the 76ers would play a little better than they did last night. Their offense was pretty bad, but maybe that is a credit to Boston’s defense. Fultz only had 5 points in 25 minutes. The Celtics have now won 15 out of the past 17 regular season matchups between these two. Embiid said after the game “They always kick our ass. So this is not a rivalry.”

The Warriors took care of business and beat the Thunder. Oklahoma City was without Westbrook and Andre Roberson. Steven Adams is still a beast. The refs were awful in this game. They called a clear path foul and Schroder, when Schroder did not even touch Curry. Quinn Cook got called on a 3-point shooting foul against Raymond Felton. The fact that Felton’s NBA career has lasted this long is impressive (Roy Williams knows point guards), but he is not a 3-point threat. Cook looked at the ref like “You know I don’t even have to close him out if you are gonna call a foul like that holmes.”

Hawks +3 for 3 units. Knicks are awful without Porzingis. Kevin Knox will not start. 3rd year pro Taurean Prince is going to toss some cookies and have a great season for the Hawks. He averaged nearly 10 more points a game last season than he did his rookie year. Trae Young will play well in his first appearance at MSG. Jeremy Lin will be back where Linsanity started tonight. Vince Carter goes back to MSG tonight too, where he used to work the Knicks as a Net. Hawks are supposed to love every game this year, but I like taking the points here as New York already has some drama and is not at full strength. I don’t know where NY is going to get their points from without Kristaps (Enes Kanter I guess).

Timberwolves +2.5 for 2 units. Jimmy Butler is going to go off. That is all. Don’t believe me? Watch this “interview”. Man is on one recently.

Nuggets -1.5 for 4 units. Denver is just better than the Clippers. The Staples Center will be fairly quiet with the Dodgers playing and everything else in LA. Denver has missed the playoffs the past two season by one game. They will come out hot this season. Jokic and Jamal will step up. A healthy Paul Millsap will add a lot to a team’s defense that struggled last season. Gallinari and Gortat don’t scare me. Lou Williams could always get hot and drop a 40 bomb, but I like Denver to win this one easily.