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**Udog** · 01-20-2016, 09:28 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

-- Peyton Manning banks an extra $2M Sunday if the Broncos win and he plays 70% of the offensive snaps; same thing goes for the Super Bowl.

-- If you care about such things, Australia is 16 hours ahead of us here in the east.

-- Cal Bears' primary ballhandler Tyrone Wallace is out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand. That gets him back in time for the Pac-12 tournament.

-- Over the last 12 years, Gonzaga is 22-3 in the WCC tournament, winning it nine times. It is tough to be that dominant for that long a period.

-- Providence 71, Butler 68-- Friars sweep Butler, kind of surprising.

-- Chicago Blackhawks beat Nashville Tuesday, have won 12 games in a row.

**********

Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Random thoughts on a winter day.....

13) Tuesday was the worst kind of winter day here in upstate NY; temps in 20s, but with a vicious, cutting wind that would cut thru any number of layers of clothes, and make you question your intelligence for choosing to live here. The good part is the wind will be gone today and a normal 25 degree day will feel like springtime.

12) Maryland 62, Northwestern 56 OT-- Wildcats are 15-5, 2-4 in last six games; on Selection Sunday, if Northwestern doesn't make the tournament (again), they can look at this game as a big reason why. Winning at Maryland would've been huge- they have a #264 strength of schedule (#346 non-conference) and badly need quality wins. Right now, their best wins are at home over Wisconsin/Nebraska- no bueno.

11) How on God's green earth does getting an endorsement from Sarah Palin help someone become President of the United States? I'd rather get an endorsement from Julianne Moore, who played Ms Palin in a movie called Game Change. Ms Palin is a walking, talking Saturday Night Live skit; Tina Fey had to be delighted yesterday.

10) Oklahoma State 86, Kansas 67-- Cowboys had lost four in row coming into this game, third straight loss for Jayhawks in Stillwater. It is January 20 and I have zero freakin' idea who the best team in the country is. An interesting season.

9) South Carolina 77, Ole Miss 74 OT-- Gamecocks scored the last 11 points of regulation, handing Ole Miss a bitter loss. Gamecocks are an underappreciated 17-1, with only loss at Alabama- they don't play A&M or Kentucky until next month.

8) When Duke lost to Syracuse Monday, they were 13-25 inside arc, 10-37 outside the arc, only 6-9 on foul line, very un-Duke-like numbers. If you do not attack the basket, you're not going to get calls from refs. Duke doesn't play great great defense because they have no depth; now they're not getting the ball inside on offense.

7) RIP coach Johnny Bach, one of Phil Jackson's assistants with the Jordan-era Bulls. Coach Bach grew up in NYC at the same time as my dad, who would tell stories about his high school playing Bach's high school. Coach Bach and Tex Winter teamed to give Phil Jackson a pair of experienced voices to lean on, when he needed it. RIP, sir.

6) Eagles introduced Doug Pederson as their new coach, where he was grilled over the Chiefs' play-calling late in their loss at New England Saturday. Didn't take long for the honeymoon to end there.

5) UNLV 80, Utah State 68-- Ten days, UNLV changed basketball coaches; they are 3-0 since then, winning all three games fairly easily, begging the question:

a) UNLV changed basketball coaches ten days ago..........they were 0-3 in league.
b) Since then, UNLV is 3-0, winning by 12-36-12 points.
c) Did a) cause b)? If the Rebels keep winning, the powers-that-be in the desert are going to have a very interesting decision to make- promote the (much cheaper to hire) interim coach to permanent coach, or go national and hire a big name? .

4) There have been 22 OT games in the NFL this season; five of the 22 ended with a TD being scored by the team having the ball first.

3) San Diego State 73, Fresno State 67 OT-- For team with such great experience, Fresno plays too willy-nilly for me. Bulldogs are #12 in experience in country, but in last 0:10 down 3, Marvelle Harris (4-20 from floor) jacks up a hideous 3-pointer with 0:06 left and its an airball, which is rebounded by the shortest player on the court under the hoop, who races out to the corner and knocks down a ridiculous fadeaway 3 to tie the game at the buzzer. Fresno was right for the wrong reason.

If you bet Fresno +7.5, you needed a 3-pointer in last 0:20 of OT to cover. Aztecs are on a winning streak now, but they're still offensively-challenged.

2) Pacers 97, Suns 94-- Phoenix is 13-30; they should bring Mike D'Antoni back.

A story to close out today.........
1) Long time ago, I coached Little League in a wealthy suburb; one year, a doctor was one of my assistant coaches. Smart guy, but he hated the way I coached and we did not interact that much (hard to believe, huh?). Anyway, the doctor loved to play golf-- that year, Arnold Palmer came to the area in a charity event, and the doctor did volunteer work that day and met Mr Palmer.

So the next day at our Little League practice, I asked the doctor how the golf outing was. He was not prone to praise or overstatement, but he looked at me and said, "It was the greatest day of my life." That is the effect Arnold Palmer has on people.

**Udog** · 01-20-2016, 09:28 AM

Three spot bets the wiseguys are looking to wager this week

The Clippers have a big showdown against the Cavaliers Thursday, but could fall victim to a letdown spot the next night in New York.

Letdown spot

The Los Angeles Clippers watched the Golden State Warriors take apart the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night and smell blood in the water with the schedule taking them to Cleveland Thursday night. After an intense overtime win at Houston Monday, the Clippers have two full days to recover and game plan for LeBron & Co.

That big matchup leaves Los Angeles open to a letdown spot the very next night. Following Thursday’s showdown with the Cavaliers, L.A. heads to the Big Apple to play the New York Knicks Friday. The Knicks also needed overtime to win Monday, edging Philadelphia and host Utah Wednesday before a day off Thursday. With L.A. coming off a huge matchup on short rest, there could be added value on the home side at MSG Friday.

Lookahead spot

The Villanova Wildcats have a Big East Saturday showdown against Providence this week, a battle between two ranked teams that will go a long way in deciding how the conference trickles down. But before the Wildcats host the Friars, they have to make the trip next door to New Jersey Wednesday.

Villanova visits Seton Hall in a possible lookahead spot for Jay Wright’s kids. The Pirates, while not ranked, are no pushovers. Seton Hall is 8-1 at home with a 5-3 ATS record in those lined games. The Pirates have had the Wildcats’ number in recent home dates with Villanova, going 4-1 ATS in their last five against their Big East rivals inside the Prudential Center.

Schedule spot

Sometimes a road trip can be a good thing, especially when it pertains to a team struggling at home. Getting out of town can take some of the pressure off the club, which is something the Minnesota Wild are hoping for with their current four-game road swing, which opened with a 3-0 shutout loss in Nashville Saturday - extending their losing skid to four games.

Since then, the Wild have had some time to refocus and travel to the left side of the country for three games against West Coast teams. Minnesota picks up in Anaheim Wednesday, then faces Los Angeles Thursday, before closing this trek in San Jose Saturday. The Wild opened the season with a similar stretch, playing at Arizona, L.A. and Anaheim in a period of four days, going 1-1-1 in that span.

**Udog** · 01-20-2016, 09:38 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, January 20

St. Louis @ Detroit

Game 51-52
January 20, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
11.774
Detroit
13.113
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Detroit
by 1 1/2
4 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit
-125
5
Dunkel Pick:
Detroit
(-125); Under

Buffalo @ Colorado

Game 53-54
January 20, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Buffalo
9.189
Colorado
10.727
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Colorado
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Colorado
-170
5
Dunkel Pick:
Colorado
(-170); Over

Minnesota @ Anaheim

Game 55-56
January 20, 2016 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
12.754
Anaheim
11.288
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Anaheim
-130
5
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(+110); Under

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, January 20

Hot teams
-- St Louis won four of its last five games. Detroit won five of its last seven.
-- Buffalo won four of its last five games. Colorado won four of last five at home.
-- Anaheim won three of its last five games.

Cold teams
-- Minnesota lost its last four games, outscored 9-3.

Series records
-- Blues lost their last four games with Detroit.
-- Sabres lost their last nine games with Colorado.
-- Ducks won four of last five games with Minnesota.

Totals
-- Five of last six Detroit-St Louis games stayed under.
-- Last seven Buffalo-Colorado games went over total.
-- Under is 4-0-1 in last five Minnesota games.

Back-to-backs
-- None

NHL

Wednesday, January 20

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. DETROIT
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
St. Louis is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Detroit is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games at home

10:00 PM
BUFFALO vs. COLORADO
Buffalo is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Colorado
Buffalo is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Colorado
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo
Colorado is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo

10:30 PM
MINNESOTA vs. ANAHEIM
Minnesota is 2-10 SU in its last 12 games when playing Anaheim
Minnesota is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
Anaheim is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Anaheim is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing Minnesota

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**Udog** · 01-20-2016, 02:21 PM

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, January 20

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ST LOUIS (27-15-0-7, 61 pts.) at DETROIT (23-14-0-8, 54 pts.) - 1/20/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 9-14 ATS (-10.9 Units) in non-conference games this season.
ST LOUIS is 98-79 ATS (+178.7 Units) in road games after a non-conference game since 1996.
DETROIT is 3-11 ATS (-13.5 Units) in home games when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 4-1 (+4.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 4-1-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.9 Units)

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BUFFALO (19-23-0-4, 42 pts.) at COLORADO (23-21-0-3, 49 pts.) - 1/20/2016, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 117-101 ATS (+283.8 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 30-24 ATS (+5.0 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 26-13 ATS (+9.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 2-8 ATS (-7.1 Units) in home games in non-conference games this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
COLORADO is 4-0 (+4.0 Units) against the spread versus BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
COLORADO is 4-0-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.0 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA (22-15-0-8, 52 pts.) at ANAHEIM (19-18-0-7, 45 pts.) - 1/20/2016, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 2-7 ATS (-7.8 Units) in January games this season.
MINNESOTA is 2-7 ATS (-7.8 Units) second half of the season this season.
MINNESOTA is 9-15 ATS (-12.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
ANAHEIM is 27-11 ATS (+11.8 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 463-387 ATS (+69.3 Units) second half of the season since 1996.
MINNESOTA is 172-153 ATS (+329.6 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.
ANAHEIM is 19-25 ATS (-23.5 Units) in all games this season.
ANAHEIM is 3-10 ATS (-11.1 Units) after a division game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 6-2 (+3.6 Units) against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 6-2-0 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.3 Units)

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NHL
Short Sheet

Wednesday, January 20

St Louis at Detroit, 8:05 PM ET
St Louis: 13-5 ATS after one or more consecutive overs
Detroit: 10-21 ATS in home games after 1 or more consecutive unders

Buffalo at Colorado, 10:05 PM ET
Buffalo: 1-11 ATS off a road win by 1 goal
Colorado: 15-9 ATS after 1 or more consecutive unders

Minnesota at Anaheim, 10:35 PM ET
Minnesota: 29-17 ATS after scoring 2 goals or less in 5 straight games
Anaheim: 3-10 ATS after a division game

Announcement

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 1/20

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 1/20

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