Saturday Trends and Indexes 11/22 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, CFL, Misc.)

[Udog]

NHL


Saturday, November 22


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Ice picks: Saturday's best NHL bets
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Vancouver Canucks at Pittsburgh Penguins (-145)

The Canucks are racking up the frequent flyer miles on their current road trip. They've crossed the continent for two games in New York then jumped to Minnesota before finishing up in Pittsburgh Saturday night. That's three games in four days with any down time spent cooped up in a plane.

Vancouver is tired and turned to backup goaltender Curtis Sanford Thursday to give Roberto Luongo a breather after facing 42 shots from the Rangers. Luongo should be back in goal against the Pens' explosive scorers.

Vancouver will try to slow Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Both snipers are on fire, leading the Penguins to seven wins in their last eight games.

Pick: Penguins -145



Washington Capitals at San Jose Sharks (N/A)

The Sharks should welcome back goaltender Evgeni Nabokov against Washington Saturday. He's missed the past six games with a lower-body injury suffered against St. Louis November 6.

"I feel pretty good," Nabokov told the San Jose Mercury News. "They obviously want me to be at 100 percent, and I feel like I am."

Nabokov is 10-2 on the season and led San Jose to five straight wins before getting hurt. He has a 2.71 goals against average and a .891 save percentage.

The Sharks went 4-1-1-0 with backup Brian Boucher filling in. They've won three straight and now face the struggling Capitals at home.

Pick: Sharks


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[Udog]

NBA
Short Sheet


Saturday, November 22nd

Houston at Orlando, 7:05 ET NBATV
Houston: 30-11 Under off Over
Orlando: 21-6 ATS in November

Milwaukee at Charlotte, 7:05 ET
Milwaukee: 5-2 ATS in road games
Charlotte: 9-2 Under this season

Indiana at Miami, 7:35 ET
Indiana: 22-8 Over after a loss by 6 points or less
Miami: 1-10 ATS as a home favorite of 6 points or less

Atlanta at Cleveland, 7:35 ET
Atlanta: 9-20 ATS playing their 3rd game in 4 days
Cleveland: 22-10 ATS at home off BB Unders

Washington at New York, 7:35 ET
Washington: 18-5 ATS Away off home loss
New York: 16-3 Under after a game where opponent grabbed 65+ rebounds

LA Clippers at New Jersey, 7:35 ET
LA Clippers: 19-8 Under off BB ATS wins
New Jersey: 9-21 ATS vs. Western Conference

Oklahoma City at New Orleans, 8:05 ET
Oklahoma City: 0-5 ATS L5 games
New Orleans: 29-13 ATS playing on back-to-back days

Utah at Memphis, 8:35 ET
Utah: 5-1 Over off an Over
Memphis: 13-4 ATS off road division loss

Portland at Phoenix, 9:05 ET
Portland: 31-15 ATS revenging DD road loss
Phoenix: 13-4 Under off division game

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

[Udog]

NCAAB
Short Sheet


Saturday, November 22nd

Loyola-Chicago at Western Michigan, 2:00 ET
Loyola Chicago: 13-26 ATS Away off combined score of 125 points or less
Western Michigan: 7-0 ATS at home off SU win

George Washington at Auburn, 2:00 ET
George Washington: 4-13 ATS as road underdog
Auburn: 19-6 Over off ATS win

Wright State at Central Michigan, 2:00 ET
Wright State: 9-2 ATS in road games
Central Michigan: 25-43 ATS off BB non-conf games

(TC) Drexel at Georgetown, 1:00 ET
Drexel: 2-11 ATS as an underdog
Georgetown: 54-34 ATS in non-conf games

(TC) VA Commonwealth at Rhode Island, 8:00 ET
VA Commonwealth: 16-6 Over in road games
Rhode Island: 12-4 ATS in non-conference games

Harvard at Colorado, 4:00 ET
Harvard: 1-8 ATS as road underdog
Colorado: 0-6 ATS at home in non-conference games

Fresno State at San Diego State, 4:00 ET
Fresno State: 9-19 ATS L28 games
San Diego State: 10-3 Under as DD favorite

George Mason at East Carolina, 4:30 ET
George Mason: 3-0 ATS after allowing 55 points or less BB games
East Carolina: 11-25 ATS off DD home win

Kansas State at Cleveland State, 7:00 ET
Kansas State: 0-6 ATS Away after playing as home favorite
Cleveland State: 10-3 Under as home favorite

Clemson at Charlotte, 7:00 ET
Clemson: 20-7 ATS off home win
Charlotte: 13-5 ATS as underdog

Eastern Michigan at Detroit, 7:00 ET
Eastern Michigan: 50-76 ATS off ATS win
Detroit: 35-55 ATS off road game

Northwestern at Brown, 7:00 ET
Northwestern: 2-9 ATS as favorite
Brown: 12-7 ATS off ATS loss

Buffalo at Evansville, 8:00 ET
Buffalo: 0-6 ATS as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points
Evansville: 12-2 ATS as favorote

Arkansas at Missouri State, 8:00 ET
Arkansas: 13-28 ATS as a road underdog of 6 points or less
Missouri State: 7-1 Under in November

(TC) Boston College at St. Louis, 2:00 ET
Boston College: 12-3 ATS as a road favorite of 3 points or less
St. Louis: 0-2 ATS vs. ACC

(TC) UAB at Old Dominion, 4:00 ET
UAB: 22-10 Under as road underdog
Old Dominion: 2-10 ATS off ATS win

DePaul at Illinois Chicago, 8:00 ET
DePaul: 6-0 ATS Away off home game
Il-Chicago: 29-14 Over as home favorite

Louisiana Tech at Ark Little Rock, 8:00 ET
Louisiana Tech: 9-2 ATS Away after playing as underdog
Arkansas Little Rock: 3-12 ATS after a win by 6 points or less

WI-Milwaukee at Marquette, 8:30 ET
WI-Milwaukee: 22-9 ATS after a win by 15+ points
Marquette: 18-9 Over off home game

Central Florida at New Mexico, 9:00 ET
Central Florida: 2-9 ATS on Saturdays
New Mexico: 10-0 ATS as a home favorite of 12.5+ points

Minnesota at Colorado State, 10:00 ET MTN
Minnesota: 5-15 ATS after allowing 60 points or less
Colorado State: 25-12 ATS at home vs. non-conference

Oregon State at Nevada, 10:00 ET
Oregon State: 7-20 ATS after scoring 50 points or less
Nevada: 20-8 ATS in November

Glen Wilkes Classic
Daytona Beach, FL
Second Round

Marshall vs. Wisc Green Bay, 2:00 ET
Marshall: 6-1 Under off SU loss as favorite
Wisc Green Bay: 3-11 ATS playing with one or less days rest

Morgan State vs. Utah, 4:15 ET
Morgan State: 1-7 ATS on neutral court
Utah: 9-1 Over in tournament games

Paradise Jam
Virgin Islands S&F Center (St. Thomas)
Second Round

LaSalle vs. Southern Miss, 6:00 ET
LaSalle: 12-3 Over playing with one or less days rest
Southern Miss: 11-3 ATS off ATS loss

Iona vs. Valaparaiso, 8:30 ET
Iona: 1-6 ATS on neutral court
Valparaiso: 19-8 ATS after a non-conference game

Billy Minardi Classic
Louisville, KY
Opening Round

(TC) Morehead State at Louisville, 5:30 ET
Morehead State: 2-11 ATS vs. non-conference
Louisville: 29-19 ATS as favorite

(TC) Florida A&M vs. South Alabama, 8:00 ET
Florida A&M: n/a
South Alabama: 1-5 ATS after allowing 80 points

Basketball Travelers Invitational
Provo, UT
Final Round

North Florida vs Rice, 8:00 ET
North Florida: n/a
Rice: 8-2 ATS off loss by 20+ points

Cal Poly SLO at BYU, 10:30 ET
Cal Poly SLO: 32-12 Under after having lost 2 of their last 3 games
BYU: 85-51 ATS in home games

Added Games

Eastern Kentucky at Texas Tech, 2:00 ET
Eastern Kentucky: 12-3 ATS after a DD win
Texas Tech: 0-7 ATS after 3+ consecutive wins

Appalachian St at Niagara, 4:00 ET
Appalachian St: 11-2 ATS AWAY after playing as a underdog
Niagara: 7-20 ATS at home on Saturday

Jacksonville St at Georgia St, 4:00 ET
Jacksonville St: 2-8 ATS in non-conference games
Georgia St: 7-0 ATS after 3 consecutive non-conference games

Northern Arizona at UC Riverside, 5:00 ET
Northern Arizona: 2-10 ATS when playing their 2nd game in 3 days
UC Riverside: 9-2 ATS after a home game

Weber State at Long Beach State, 7:05 ET
Weber State: 17-1 ATS on Saturday
Long Beach State: 1-5 ATS when playing with 5 or 6 days rest

Manhattan at Fordham, 7:00 ET
Manhattan: 2-10 ATS after playing a home game
Fordham: 9-1 UNDER off a DD road loss

Cornell at Siena, 7:00 ET
Cornell: 12-3 ATS as a road underdog
Siena: 1-5 ATS off a home win by 20+ points

Ohio at Austin Peay, 8:00 ET
Ohio: 79-48 ATS off a home game
Austin Peay: 4-14 ATS in non-conference games

Elon at Tennessee Martin, 8:00 ET
Elon: 2-10 ATS AWAY after a home game
Tennessee Martin: 6-0 ATS after allowing 90+ points

Western Kentucky at Murray State, 8:00 ET
Western Kentucky: 14-5 ATS AWAY after consecutive wins
Murray State: 10-19 ATS in all games

Idaho St at Boise St, 9:05 ET
Idaho St: 8-21 ATS when playing only their 3rd game in a week
Boise St: 22-10 ATS at home off a DD loss

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

[Udog]

NHL
Short Sheet


Saturday, November 22nd

Vancouver at Pittsburgh, 2:05 ET
Vancouver: 1-7 SU after having won 6 or 7 of their last 8 games
Pittsburgh: 41-17 SU as a home favorite

NY Rangers at Ottawa, 3:05 ET
NY Rangers: 7-2 SU when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days
Ottawa: 0-6 SU on Saturday

NY Islanders at Buffalo, 7:05 ET
NY Islanders: 13-6 SU when playing on back-to-back days
Buffalo: 6-15 SU after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game

Chicago at Toronto, 7:05 ET NHL
Chicago: 0-6 SU after scoring 3+ goals in 4 straight games
Toronto: 97-76 SU after 2+ consecutive losses

Columbus at Atlanta, 7:05 ET
Columbus: 8-2 SU after 3+ consecutive overs
Atlanta: 7-21 SU after 2 straight close losses by 1 goal

Phoenix at Philadelphia, 7:05 ET
Phoenix: 10-6 SU AWAY after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6
Philadelphia: 8-22 SU at home on Saturday

Boston at Montreal, 7:35 ET
Boston: 8-1 SU in November
Montreal: 3-11 SU off a road win by 1 goal

Anaheim at Dallas, 8:05 ET
Anaheim: 13-3 UNDER AWAY after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game
Dallas: 68-36 SU after a blowout loss by 3+ goals

St Louis at Minnesota, 8:05 ET
St Louis: 15-35 SU after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6
Minnesota: 16-5 SU on Saturday

Detroit at Calgary, 10:05 ET VER
Detroit: 16-4 SU AWAY off a road win
Calgary: 3-8 SU at home after having won 3 of their last 4

Washington at San Jose, 10:35 ET
Washington: N/A
San Jose: N/A

Colorado at Los Angeles, 10:35 ET
Colorado: 50-28 SU AWAY after a 1 goal loss
Los Angeles: 8-23 SU after scoring 4+ goals

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

[Udog]

NBA


Saturday, November 22


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Tips and Trends
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Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns [9 PM ET]

Blazers: Portland rookie Greg Oden will meet Phoenix center Shaquille O'Neal for the very first time, and he will look to help the Blazers break a 10-game series losing streak. Oden has played in six games off the bench since returning from a sprained ankle, averaging 9.7 points and 6.8 rebounds. The team should be well-rested after Friday's 117-96 win at Sacramento, as only LaMarcus Aldridge played more than 30 minutes. Portland has won its last two games by a combined 63 points. “I’ve had lots of rest the last two games,” said Portland guard Brandon Roy.

Blazers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
Blazers are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games overall.

Key Injuries - G Martell Webster (foot) is OUT.

PROJECTED SCORE: 96

Suns (-5.5, O/U 198): Phoenix is looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season following Thursday's 105-92 home loss to the Lakers. The Suns shot 44 percent from the field and made 6-of-18 attempts from 3-point range against LA. “We’re not really shooting the ball well,” O’Neal said. “When the jumpers aren’t falling you’ve just got to put it on the floor and take it to the floor and just mix it up a little bit. We just have to fight back and keep it going.”

Suns are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
The UNDER is 4-1 in Phoenix's last 5 games overall.

Key Injuries - G Leandro Barbosa (personal) is OUT.

PROJECTED SCORE: 102


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[Udog]

NCAAB
Write-Up


Saturday's College Basketball

I'm still trying to find an adequate format for college hoop this season, that will be informative without having me spend more time typing than handicapping. I'll try some different formats in pre-conference play......

Important information for Saturday's games.........there are 41 games on today's card-- we handicapped all of them, narrowed it down to the 13 best games of the day. Here is information on those games.........

East Carolina upset George Mason 68-65 LY; Mason lost to Hampton in its last game, after crushing Brown before that. C-USA home teams are 5-0 vs spread in non-conference games. CAA road faves are 1-4.

Charlotte beat Clemson 82-72 as 15-point dogs LY; 49ers lost their last two games, by one point at home to Old Dominion, then in double OT at Appalachian State. Tigers won last game by 53, after going 3-0 in the tournament at Chrleston, beating TCU, Temple.

Brown went to Evanston and beat Northwestern 73-67 LY (+9); Big 11 favorites are 7-5 vs spread out of conference, 1-0 on road. Ivy League dogs are 6-4 vs spread, 2-0 at home. Bears won at Holy Cross after they got killed by George Mason in the game before that.

Evansville went to Buffalo and lost 81-60 LY (+3); both these teams are 2-0, and have all five starters back from LY. Bulls won at Youngstown, then beat Canisius to get off to the good start. MAC underdogs are 11-4 against spread this season. MVC home favorites are 5-2 vs spread.

Missouri State (+7.5) lost 70-51 at Arkansas LY, but Hogs lost all five starters from LY and have struggled so far, beating SE Louisiana in OT, then barely getting by Cal-Davis. Bears have three new starters, a new coach-- they split their first two games.

Saint Louis lost 61-39 at Boston College LY; Billikens lost last game in OT to Kent State- they have three starters back in Majerus' second year there. BC just beat Loyola MD, St John's at home, are 3-0 with four of their starters back from LY.

UAB is 3-0 after beating Arizona in Tucson during week; Blazers have four starters back from 23-11 team, but also have trip to NYC looming for NIT semifinals. Old Dominion won by a point in Charlotte- they got beat 73-57 LY at UAB.

Ill-Chicago (+8) won 85-80 at DePaul LY; home team won both Flames' games so far- UIC has three starters back from 18-15 team. Teams from Horizon League are 5-13 vs spread, 2-2 as home favorite. Big East dogs are 3-2 against the spread.

Marquette crushed Wisc-Milwaukee 100-65 LY (-18); Big East favorites are 6-8 vs spread, 5-6 at home. UWM is 3-1 but lost by 18 at Iowa St. Horizon League road underdogs are 2-9 against spread this season.

Tubby Smith's Minnesota goes on road for first time after 3-0 start; they beat Colorado State 91-74 (-19) LY. Rams were 7-25 LY, but are 2-0 so far. Mountain West underdogs are 2-5 vs spread, 0-2 at home. Big 11 favorites are 6-4; Big 11 road teams are 3-0 vs spread.

Texas Tech ain't scoring 167 today; Eastern Kentucky allowed a total of 111 points in their first two games, going 1-1, losing by 3 at Fla. Int'l, after being up 10 at the half. Pat Knight is playing really easy schedule in Tech's first five games; EKU plays West Virginia style, this game will be slower style than what Tech is used to.

Siena (-2.5) went to Ithaca LY and lost 83-77 to Cornell, so revenge is in order for explosive, veteran Saints, who crushed Boise State by 30 pts in their opener Sunday. Cornell is best team in Ivy, but they lost during the week to St John's on neutral court. Ivy road dogs are 4-3 vs spread.

Murray State has four starters back from 18-13 team, is picked 2nd in OVC- they lost 87-63 at Western Kentucky LY (+11.5). Hilltoppers are 1-1 after losing by nine at Houston, after leading by 10 at half. Sun Belt road teams are 5-7 vs spread. OVC teams are 5-8 vs spread in non-OVC games so far this season.

[pm530]

Weekend's six-pack

Some NFL knowledge, with Week 12 just about here.......

-- 49ers are 0-7 vs spread in last seven non-division road tilts

-- Ravens covered five of their last six home games.

-- Dolphins covered four of last 18 divisional home games.

-- Rams are 7-18-1 vs spread in lastr 26 games as the dog.

-- Redskins are 12-5 vs spread in last 17 post-Dallas games.

-- Titans covered six of last eight as a non-divisional favorite

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Saturday's List of 13: Random thoughts on a cold day........

13) Would love to have heard the phone conversation between Bob-Pat Knight after Texas Tech hung 167 on East Central Oklahoma Thursday night; Tech was 13-25 from arc, so not like they're running the Westhead/LMU system, but how they play in first year under young Knight bears watching.

12) Mike Singletary's son had 16 points in 15 minutes for Tech in that game, by the way; luckily, the elder Singletary wasn't coaching East Central last night, or halftime might have become ugly once again.

11) One more Knight item; will be curious to see what games ESPN assigns Knight to-for instance, the two Memphis-UAB games should be good theater, but will they assign him to a game Mike Davis coaches, and if so, how would Knight handle it? Tact has never been one of his strong suits.

10) Why would a mid-major program hire Mike Jarvis (Fla Atlantic) or Tommy Amaker (Harvard)? If they couldn't win at major programs, why would they win with less resources?

9) Jerry Jones' new stadium in Arlington got the 2014 Final Four, and Reliant Stadium in Houston also got a Final Four, but for some reason the Cardinals' new stadium didn't get one. Wouldn't Phoenix be a better destination than Houston?

8) Never thought I'd see the day where Miami Hurricanes gave up 472 rushing yards in one game. Georgia Tech riddled them constantly Thursday-it was ugly.

7) If you want to win a bar bet, ask someone what QB/WR tandem holds the all-time NCAA record for most TD passes? Just make sure the person you ask didn't go to Rice, because Chase Clement-to-Jarrett Dillard (48 TDs and counting) hold the record.

6) If Illinois loses to Northwestern, they'll be first Big 11 team since 1965 to go from Rose Bowl to having a losing season.

5) Michigan has more turnovers (28) than touchdowns (27) this season.

4) Mike Mussina's career record was 270-153, but nine of the 18 teams he played on made playoffs; Bert Blyleven's record was 287-250, but his teams only made the playoffs in three of 22 seasons, so he played on much worse teams and still won more games than Mussina.

3) So should Blyleven, Mussina or Tommy John (288-231) make it to Cooperstown? John was 6-5, 2.31 in the postseason, Blyleven 5-1, 2.47, Mussina 7-8, 3.42. Fact that John and Blyleven haven't made it in is a bad sign for Mussina.

2) Shouldn't the doctor who pioneered Tommy John surgery be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a contributor?

1) A woman I work with had a dad who bowled two 300 games in his life. Guy's name was Ed, and his only two perfect games came in the same building, thirty years to the exact day of each other. What are the odds of that happening?

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