Announcement

**Udog** · 03-30-2017, 07:39 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Odds to win the college football national title game next year:
Odds are from the Westgate SuperBook
3-1— Alabama
8-1— Florida State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC
10-1— Louisville
12-1— Michigan, LSU
20-1— Clemson, Oklahoma State, Texas
25-1— Penn State, Auburn

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Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud……

13) Tennessee Volunteers are only team that played all four teams in the Final Four this season; they were 0-5 against them, losing twice to South Carolina.

12) 1982 title game: North Carolina 63, Georgetown 62. UNC’s bench played a total of 13:00, Hoyas’ subs played total of 22:00. Maybe things have changed less than I think.

11) Was pricing some Air Jordan sneakers the other day, have never owned any. Damn, they’re expensive!!!! No thanks.

10) When a mid-major basketball school with limited resources wins a lot, it usually means they hire a lot of coaches, since the $$ schools poach their coaches. Take VCU, for instance…….

2002-06— Jeff Capel 79-41, 50-22 in CAA (went to Oklahoma)
2006-09— Anthony Grant 76-25, 45-9 in CAA (went to Alabama)
2009-15— Shaka Smart 163-56, 74-30 in CAA/A-14 (went to Texas)
2015-17— Will Wade 51-20, 28-8 in A-14 (went to LSU)
2017-present— Mike Rhoades (hired from Rice)

Keep in mind Capel/Grant both got fired and Smart is struggling at Texas. Maybe it is best to be the big fish in a smaller pond. And VCU does pay its coach well (Wade made $1.4M this season).

9) Detroit Red Wings will miss NHL playoffs this season for first time in 26 years.

8) Having instant replay stuff decided by NFL people in New York instead of by the ref on the field will be a good thing. Problem is, if there are ten games on at 1:00 and four of them have replay issues at the same time, which games take precedence?

7) UMass hired Matt McCall as its new basketball coach, after Pat Kelsey skipped out on them at the last minute last week. McCall is a former assistant for Billy Donovan at Florida; he went 48-18 in two seasons as the coach at Chattanooga.

6) Interesting article on espn.com this week, on how in the 90’s, Gonzaga University was in financial trouble; their undergraduate enrollment had dipped from 4,176 in 1990 to 2,791 in 1998.

Gonzaga’s basketball team started winning in ’99; in 2000, the freshman class was 900 kids and now, since 2004, seven new buildings have been built on campus, so the school that is located in eastern Washington (Spokane) is thriving, in part because of basketball’s success.

Undergraduate enrollment this year is 5,160.

5) Mets closer Jeurys Familia got a 15-game suspension for domestic violence issues.

4) Red Sox OF Mookie Betts has bowled seven perfect (300) games. Impressive.

3) Wyoming 81, Coastal Carolina 57— Last year, Nevada lost the opener of CBI final and then beat Morehead State twice in Reno to win tourney title. Same thing could be happening here; Cowboys made 12-31 on arc, while Coastal was 5-26 playing in high altitude. Final in Friday.

2) St Peter’s 77, Furman 51— Niko Medved is a coach who just jumped from Furman to Drake; he didn’t wait until the Paladins’ run in the CIT was over- he just bolted, so they played this game at St Peter’s with an interim coach. He couldn’t have waited a couple days? Coach Medved did his players a big disservice; in my opinion, he’s a creep.

For the record, Furman plays in the SoCon, the #13 league- they tied for first in and are #95 in country. Only two teams in the MVC, the #10 league, are ranked higher than Furman- Wichita State and Illinois State. Drake is the #258 team; not even sure why this guy changed jobs. Can the money be that much better?

To their credit, St Peter’s made 13-27 on the arc in this game; their reward is a trip to Corpus Christi for the tournament final Friday.

1— Corpus Christi 79, UMBC 61— Retrievers played without Jairus Lyles, were held to their lowest scoring output of season. Corpus Christi hosts the championship game against St Peter’s on Friday night— solid national TV exposure for these teams.

**Udog** · 03-30-2017, 09:26 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Thursday, March 30

Houston @ Portland

Game 709-710
March 30, 2017 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Houston
126.442
Portland
122.840
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Houston
by 3 1/2
232
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Houston
by 1
228
Dunkel Pick:
Houston
(-1); Over

LA Clippers @ Phoenix

Game 707-708
March 30, 2017 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
LA Clippers
121.235
Phoenix
112.248
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
LA Clippers
by 9
230
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
LA Clippers
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
LA Clippers
N/A

LA Lakers @ Minnesota

Game 705-706
March 30, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
LA Lakers
106.913
Minnesota
120.508
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 13 1/2
212
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 10 1/2
220 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(-10 1/2); Under

Cleveland @ Chicago

Game 703-704
March 30, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Cleveland
114.698
Chicago
122.198
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 7 1/2
216
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Cleveland
by 5 1/2
210
Dunkel Pick:
Chicago
(+5 1/2); Over

Brooklyn @ Detroit

Game 701-702
March 30, 2017 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Brooklyn
110.159
Detroit
120.634
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Detroit
by 10 1/2
204
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit
by 6
213
Dunkel Pick:
Detroit
(-6); Under

NBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, March 30

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BROOKLYN (16 - 58) at DETROIT (34 - 41) - 3/30/2017, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 48-31 ATS (+13.9 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in home games in the second half of the season this season.
DETROIT is 24-11 ATS (+11.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 10-1 ATS (+8.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record - 2nd half of the season this season.
DETROIT is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) in home games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
BROOKLYN is 24-10 ATS (+13.0 Units) in road games after a division game since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
BROOKLYN is 7-2 against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
BROOKLYN is 5-4 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CLEVELAND (47 - 26) at CHICAGO (35 - 39) - 3/30/2017, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CLEVELAND is 20-36 ATS (-19.6 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) after scoring 85 points or less over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 13-22 ATS (-11.2 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
CHICAGO is 15-28 ATS (-15.8 Units) off an upset win as an underdog over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 12-5 against the spread versus CLEVELAND over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 9-8 straight up against CLEVELAND over the last 3 seasons
9 of 17 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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LA LAKERS (21 - 53) at MINNESOTA (29 - 44) - 3/30/2017, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LA LAKERS are 31-41 ATS (-14.1 Units) in all games this season.
LA LAKERS are 32-45 ATS (-17.5 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 9-19 ATS (-11.9 Units) in March games over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 19-33 ATS (-17.3 Units) against Northwest division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 24-39 ATS (-18.9 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 48-68 ATS (-26.8 Units) in home games over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 23-35 ATS (-15.5 Units) in home games revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) in home games after scoring 115 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 11-20 ATS (-11.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
MINNESOTA is 17-31 ATS (-17.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
LA LAKERS is 6-3 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
LA LAKERS is 5-4 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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LA CLIPPERS (45 - 31) at PHOENIX (22 - 53) - 3/30/2017, 10:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LA CLIPPERS is 7-4 against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS is 9-2 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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HOUSTON (51 - 23) at PORTLAND (36 - 38) - 3/30/2017, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
HOUSTON is 42-32 ATS (+6.8 Units) in all games this season.
HOUSTON is 24-12 ATS (+10.8 Units) in road games this season.
HOUSTON is 23-10 ATS (+12.0 Units) in a road game where the total is greater than or equal to 220 over the last 3 seasons.
HOUSTON is 98-59 ATS (+33.1 Units) in road games off a upset loss as a favorite since 1996.
HOUSTON is 25-11 ATS (+12.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
HOUSTON is 16-7 ATS (+8.3 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
HOUSTON is 24-13 ATS (+9.7 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
PORTLAND is 6-16 ATS (-11.6 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PORTLAND is 5-4 against the spread versus HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
HOUSTON is 5-4 straight up against PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, March 30

Nets are 3-2 in their last five games; they covered five of last six road games. Over is 10-5 in their last 15 games. Pistons lost five in row, eight of last nine games; they’re 13-4 vs spread in last 17 home games. Under is 9-2 in their last 11 games. Home side won seven of last eight Brooklyn-Detroit games; Nets lost last three visits to Motor City, by 5-12-14 points. Three of last four series games went over.

Cavaliers lost three of last four games; they’re 4-7 vs spread in last 11 road games. Four of their last five games went over. Chicago won three of last five games, is 3-5 vs spread in last eight home games. Three of their last four games went over. Bulls won six of last seven games with Cleveland; three of last four series games went over the total. Cavaliers lost last three visits to Chicago, by 2-3-6 points.

Lakers lost 16 of last 18 games, are 1-5 vs spread in last six road games. Four of their last five games went over. Timberwolves lost six of last seven games, are 6-3 vs spread in last nine home games. Over is 6-2 in their last eight games. Lakers are 5-3 in last eight games with Minnesota, but lost by 1-26 points in last two visits to the Twin Cities. Over is 8-2 in last eight series games.

Clippers lost four of last five games away from Staples Center; they’re 2-5 in last seven away games. Over is 10-6-1 in their last 17 road games. Suns lost their last nine games (2-7 vs spread); they’re 0-4-1 vs spread in last five home games. Three of their last four games went over. Clippers won their last three games with Phoenix, by 18-11-10 points; they won three of last five games in the desert (2-2-1 vs spread). Three of last four series games went over.

Rockets won seven of last nine games, are 6-1 vs spread in last seven road games. Over is 5-2 in their last seven games. Trailblazers won/covered seven of last eight games; they’re 5-3 vs spread in last eight home games. Four of their last five games stayed under. Rockets won/covered last three games with Portland; over is 7-2 in last nine series games. Houston won last two visits here, by 14-16 points.

NBA

Thursday, March 30

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Trend Report
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7:30 PM
BROOKLYN vs. DETROIT
Brooklyn is 5-20 SU in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Brooklyn's last 21 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Detroit's last 21 games when playing Brooklyn
Detroit is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games at home

8:00 PM
CLEVELAND vs. CHICAGO
Cleveland is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Cleveland is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games

8:00 PM
LA LAKERS vs. MINNESOTA
LA Lakers are 3-18 SU in their last 21 games on the road
LA Lakers are 1-8 SU in their last 9 games
Minnesota is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games when playing LA Lakers
Minnesota is 7-18 SU in their last 25 games when playing LA Lakers

10:00 PM
LA CLIPPERS vs. PHOENIX
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the LA Clippers last 5 games on the road
LA Clippers are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games on the road
Phoenix is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games
Phoenix is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games

10:30 PM
HOUSTON vs. PORTLAND
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Houston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Portland is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home
Portland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston

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**Udog** · 03-30-2017, 12:28 PM

NBA
Short Sheet

Thursday, March 30

Brooklyn at Detroit, 7:35 PM ET
Brooklyn: 0-7 ATS after 3 straight games being outrebounded by opponent by 5 or more
Detroit: 10-2 ATS in home games after 2 or more consecutive unders

Cleveland at Chicago, 8:05 PM ET
Cleveland: 33-15 ATS when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days
Chicago: 8-21 ATS off a road win

LA Lakers at Minnesota, 8:05 PM ET
Los Angeles: 24-14 OVER after having lost 6 or 7 of their last 8
Minnesota: 19-45 ATS off a road win by 3 points or less

LA Clippers at Phoenix, 10:05 PM ET
Los Angeles: 30-51 ATS after allowing 120 points or more
Phoenix: 9-4 ATS off 3 or more consecutive road losses

Houston at Portland, 10:35 PM ET
Houston: 12-3 ATS on the road when the line is +3 to -3
Portland: 3-13 ATS after successfully covering the spread in 3 or more consecutive games

**Udog** · 03-30-2017, 12:39 PM

NBA

Thursday, March 30

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Thursday’s NBA Game of the Day: Rockets at Trail Blazers
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Over is 4-1 in Rockets last 5 vs. a team below .500 and the Over has cashed in 9 of their last 11 trips to the Moda Center

Houston Rockets at Portland Trail Blazers (+2, 230)

The Houston Rockets averaged 128 points in two victories over Portland earlier this season and look to complete a three-game season sweep when they visit the Trail Blazers on Thursday. Star guard James Harden averaged 32 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in the wins that came by an average of 16.5 points.

Portland is one of the hottest teams in the NBA with a 12-3 record in March and it holds a one-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference after registering a 122-113 victory over the Nuggets on Tuesday. "(The game) was a battle for the keys to the car," standout point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. "We got the keys - now we have to control where it's going. We know what the destination is, but we have to make sure to stay locked in to get it to where we need to go." Houston is opening a three-game road trip and is close to clinching the third seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets dropped a 113-106 decision to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday after winning seven of their eight previous contests.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT

LINE HISTORY: The Rockets hit the betting board as 1-point road favorites heading to Portland and has been bet up a full point to an even 2. The total opened at 228.5 and has been inching up since opening, currently up to 230.

INJURY REPORT:

Rockets - PF Montreal Harrell (Out, personal), PF Ryan Anderson (Mid April, ankle)

Trail Blazers - C Festus Ezeli (Out For Season, knee), PF Ed Davis (Out For Season, shoulder)

POWER RANKINGS: Rockets (-9.4) - Trail Blazers (-2.6) + home court (-3) = Rockets - 3.8

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (51-23 SU, 42-32 ATS, 38-35-1 O/U): Harden racked up his 20th triple-double of the campaign with 24 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds against the Warriors but was struggling with an injured left wrist. Harden has played in all 74 games and said he has no interest in sitting out and will seek treatment and ice the wrist to make sure he is ready to go against the Trail Blazers. "It's pretty tough, man, I'm not going to lie," Harden told reporters. "I don't like to feel sorry for myself at all, but just the shot is short and frustrating when you can't really follow through and whatnot. I'm going to continue to go out there and do my best."

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (36-38 SU, 34-40 ATS, 41-33 O/U): Center Jusuf Nurkic scored a career-best 33 points and recorded 16 rebounds against Denver - the organization that traded him to Portland in February. "He's had this game circled since he got here," shooting guard CJ McCollum told reporters. "We got the slogan for Big Nurk, 'From the bench to the playoffs.'" The 22-year-old Nurkic is averaging 15 points and 10.4 rebounds in 19 games since joining the Trail Blazers and has become a huge fan favorite in Portland.

TRENDS:

* Rockets are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Trail Blazers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 vs. NBA Southwest.
* Over is 4-1 in Rockets last 5 vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
* Over is 4-1 in Trail Blazers last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Over is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings in Portland.

CONSENSUS: 67 percent of the point spread wagers are siding with the road chalk Houston Rockets and 70 percent of the totals picks are on the Over.

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Announcement

Thursday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 3/30

Thursday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 3/30

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