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**Udog** · 02-18-2018, 08:08 AM

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

— 1B Eric Hosmer gets $18M a year for eight years from the San Diego Padres.

— Georgetown covered six of its last seven games.

— Indiana Hoosiers are 8-0 vs spread in conference home games.

— There were no seniors on either roster in Alabama-Kentucky game. None.

— Notre Dame 84, BC 67— Matt Farrell was 10-12 on the arc for the Irish.

— Tampa Bay traded P Jake Odorizzi to the Twins for a SS prospect; they also acquired 1B CJ Cron from the Angels, and DFA’d DH Corey Dickerson- he was an All-Star LY.

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Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a college hoop Saturday

13) Kansas 77, West Virginia 69— Jayhawks were 26-35 on foul line, West Virginia was 1-2, in a game the Mountaineers led by 12 with 10:18 left. To say they got hosed is an understatement.

This is third straight series game Mountaineers had a double-digit lead over Kansas but lost.

12) Michigan State 66, Northwestern 60— Spartans were down 27 in first half, 22 at the half. This was one of those scores, when I saw it, thought it was a girls’ score or a mistake, but then State rallies for an unlikely win.

11) South Carolina 84, Auburn 75— Tigers split their last four games after a 21-2 start. Auburn lost 6-7 McLemore, a solid rebounder, with a severe leg injury.

10) Idaho 79, Montana 77 OT— Vandals made 12-19 on arc as Grizzlies went 0-2 this weekend after starting the week unbeaten in Big Sky play. Big Sky is ranked as the 18th-best conference this year, highest it has been rated since 2010- they were 25th or lower the last six years.

9) Marquette 90, Creighton 86— Marquette lost five of its last seven games; they allowed 85-86 points in the two wins. Not a strong defensive team.

8) Villanova 95, Xavier 79— Wildcats were only 3-5 on foul line, 16-34 on arc- this is not the way to get to a Final Four— you need some kind of inside presence and production. This is obviously a good win, but unless Villanova gets more scoring inside, they’ll have a short March.

7) Upsets of the Day:
Eastern Kentucky (+11.5) 72, Tennessee State 59
Santa Clara (+9) 72, Pacific 68
James Madison (+8) 69, Towson State 66
Marquette (+7.5) 90, Creighton 86
Cal-Davis (+7.5) 71, UCSB 54
VMI (+7) 75, Citadel 71
Texas (+6.5) 77, Oklahoma 66

6) UCLA 86, Oregon 78 OT— Tough weekend in LA for the Ducks, who lost at the buzzer at USC in last game Thursday. Bruins were 16-33 on the arc; they’re a surprising bubble team.

5) There was a triple OT game Thursday and one on Friday; if you wagered against all four teams in their next game Saturday, you would’ve won three of four bets.

4) A kid on Arizona State wore one maroon sneaker, one gold sneaker in the ASU-Arizona game Thursday. A player on Alabama wore one crimson sneaker, one white one in the Tide’s loss at Kentucky Saturday. Not sure if this is a growing trend, but if it is, you know each kid has another pair of sneakers at home, just like the mismatched pair.

3) Texas 77, Oklahoma 66— Sooners lost five in row, 8 of last 10 games, as the Trey Young bandwagon is stuck in reverse. ESPN’s hype machine did this to the Ben Simmons-LSU team couple years ago; they put a target on the kid’s back by talking about him endlessly, then looked on in wonderment when the team suffers.

2) Nebraska Cornhuskers won their last six games, covered 13 of their last 14 league games.

1— Shout out to the fine folks at Albany Park & Ride; when I go to Las Vegas, often leave my car there, and they shuttle me to the nearby airport. When I come back, they have the car waiting for me in their lot and it is all very convenient, especially in winter time. Good place.

**Udog** · 02-18-2018, 08:11 AM

NBA All-Star Game betting preview and odds: Team LeBron vs. Team Stephen

Team LeBron vs. Team Stephen (+2.5, 341)

The best and brightest stars in the basketball universe converge upon Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon in the latest edition of the NBA All-Star Game. This year's version of the mid-season spectacle features a new wrinkle, with captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry choosing their teams. The result: Teammates facing off against each other, and allegiances you would never see outside of an Olympic Games. And while Team Stephen has enjoyed much better health in the weeks leading into the game, you can never count out a team with LeBron at the helm.

These games have been high scoring affairs in the past, but after last year's combatants combined for an absurd 374 points - 22 above the total - oddsmakers are not taking any chances, making this year's total the highest in All-Star Game history. And with these two lineups and their likely aversion to defense of any kind, look for the over to be a consideration. The format change brings an end to the Western Conference's All-Star dominance; it had won eight of the previous 10 games coming into this weekend, including each of the last three. This is the third All-Star Game held at Staples Center.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, TSN

LINE HISTORY: Team Steph opened as a 3 1/2-point favorite but has taken a tumble since, and is now a slight underdog. The total meanwhile has seen one of the most remarkable moves you'll ever see in sports betting. Most books opened the number at 366 but since then bettors have hammered the Under moving the line a unfathomable 25-points.

WHAT BOOKS SAY: "Not much to report on regarding the spread. We opened Team LeBron -3 and haven't budged off that number. Right now, we have almost 70 percent of the bets on that side and most of it is public money. The total has been bet down four points to 342 since the open. Perhaps bettors are subscribing to the notion of this being a more serious game with the new lineups." - Scott Cooley, odds consultant BetDSI.

ROSTERS (* - injured and will not play)

Team LeBron Head Coach: Dwane Casey
Team LeBron Starters: G Kyrie Irving F, LeBron James, F Kevin Durant, F/C Anthony Davis, *DeMarcus Cousins (replaced on roster by F Paul George)
Team LeBron Reserves: G Bradley Beal, *G John Wall (replaced by Andre Drummond), G Russell Westbrook, G Victor Oladipo, F/C LaMarcus Aldridge, *F/C Kevin Love (replaced by Goran Dragic), *F/C Kristaps Porzingis (replaced by Kemba Walker)

Team Steph Head Coach: Mike D'Antoni
Team Steph Starters: G James Harden, G Steph Curry, G DeMar DeRozan, G/F Giannis Antetokounmpo, F/C Joel Embiid
Team Stephen Reserves: G Damian Lillard, G Kyle Lowry, G Klay Thompson, G/F Jimmy Butler, F Draymond Green, F/C Al Horford, C Karl-Anthony Towns

ABOUT TEAM LeBRON: It's hard to handicap James's team, since we don't yet know who the fifth starter will be; Cousins was supposed to round out the starting five, but his season-ending Achilles injury leaves that selection in the hands of Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. Regardless of who gets that spot, this lineup has plenty of length, between James, Durant and Davis. The bench is heavy on guards, and if Casey is smart, he'll consider starting the electrifying Westbrook alongside Irving. That might lead to awkwardness between Durant and Westbrook - and LeBron and Kyrie, too - but you can't top the skill level Durant, James, Irving and Westbrook bring. Rounding out that group with a superstar in Davis could mean a rough start to the game for Team Stephen.

ABOUT TEAM STEPH: Curry's five-man unit has remained completely healthy, and will be all about the ball handling; Harden and Antetokounmpo are elite passers at their respective positions, and Curry can thread the needle with the best of them. DeRozan should be in for a half-dozen uncontested dunks while Embiid is the biggest wild-card; he's nursing a sore right ankle and could be on a minutes restriction in this one, but he has proven to be positively destructive even in limited action. This bench is small but versatile, with Butler and Green expected to make life difficult for Team LeBron shooters. Lillard and Thompson can hit from anywhere on the floor, and Towns is considerably better than any reserve big on the Team LeBron roster.

ALL-STAR GAME MVP ODDS (PER PINNACLE):
LeBron James +463
Russell Westbrook +520
Giannis Antetokoumpo +598
Stephen Curry +632
Kevin Durant +701
James Harden +817
Anthony Davis +1027
DeMar DeRozan +1450
Kyrie Irving +1701
Joel Embiid +1763
Paul George +1823
Klay Thompson +1940
Damian Lillard +2662
LaMarcus Aldridge +4490
Bradley Beal +5078
Al Horford +5642
Andre Drummond +5642
Draymond Green +5642
Goran Dragic +5642
Jimmy Butler +5642
Karl-Anthony Towns +5642
Kemba Walker +5642
Kyle Lowry +5642

TRENDS:

* The favorite has covered in each of last five years and is 5-2 ATS the last seven games.
* The last three All-Star Games have gone over the total, and the game is 6-1 O/U in the past seven years.
* No All-Star team has scored fewer than 155 points since 2013.
* Both of the previous two All-Star Games played at Staples Center were decided by six points or fewer.
* Team LeBron boasts five of the previous six All-Star Game MVPs (Westbrook x 2, Durant, Irving, Davis).

**Udog** · 02-18-2018, 08:14 AM

New NBA All-Star Game format forces the biggest line move you will ever see
Ashton Grewal

The opening total for the 2018 NBA All-Star was the second-highest Over/Under number in 10 years of All-Star Weekends. However, due to the new draft format of the annual NBA showcase – instead of East versus West – sharp money pounded the total and forced one of the biggest line moves you will ever see in sports betting.

Some offshore sportsbooks opened the All-Star Game total at 365.5 points Friday and immediately got blasted by Under money, forcing a drastic adjustment to the total. The number plummeted as far as 340 points – a 25.5-point move – before settling around 342.5 points Saturday afternoon.

Of course, this year the league introduced a new format for the composition of the two teams. It’s no longer East vs. West: it’s Team LeBron vs. Team Steph.

There are some, like Joe Fortenbaugh, who think there will be more intensity in this year’s game because of the team selection process. The massive line adjustment would back up that theory, as sharp money attacked the opening total expecting more pride on the line due to the draft format.

Bragging rights are not the only stakes that have increased. The NBA doubled its prize payout to each player on the winning team from $50,000 to $100,000. A six-figure cash prize might be enough to see some players get down in a defensive stance before the last two minutes in the fourth quarter.

This Under action is contrary to recent NBA All-Star Game betting trends, which have seen the Over cash in during eight of the past nine exhibitions. Oddsmakers had steadily increased the betting total year after year as the East and West All-Stars easily toppled those lofty totals.

Three-point shooting has been the biggest culprit when it comes to high-scoring All-Star Game finishes. The 2010 event had 38 attempts from distance and in just six years the record was set for the most 3-pointers attempted in an NBA All-Star game with 139. The All-Star record for most total points was set in 2016 (369 points) and then broken the very next year (374).

That lack of defense sparked the league to alter the way in which the All-Star Game is played, dropping the traditional conference competition and installing a draft format with superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry selecting teams from a pool of selected standouts.

The spread for Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game has also seen some wild movement. It opened with Team Steph as a 3.5-point favorite but has since jumped the fence, with Team LeBron now a 3-point chalk for Sunday’s showcase in Los Angeles.

**Udog** · 02-18-2018, 10:52 AM

The total for this evening's NBA All-Star Game now down to 338.5. After opening late last week as high as 365.5 this number has seen an insane drop of 27 points heading into game day.

**Udog** · 02-18-2018, 12:28 PM

The betting total for the NBA All-Star Game is now down to 336.5 or 337 at most books.
After opening at 365.5 the movement on this number is now at 28.5 or 29 points downward.

**Udog** · 02-18-2018, 01:29 PM

Total continues to fall.
Now at 335.5 at most books.

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Sunday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 2/18

Sunday's NBA Trends and Indexes - 2/18

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