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**bryce** · 01-28-2010, 05:02 PM

Good luck Stardust.

**daveyd** · 01-28-2010, 05:05 PM

Good luck

**Tnbreakers** · 01-28-2010, 05:19 PM

Bol Bum!

**StarDust Bum** · 01-28-2010, 05:23 PM

Inside the Paint - Thursday

It’s Thursday, which means TNT is back with its weekly double-header. Tonight’s card starts in the Eastern Conference when the Celtics and Magic square off from the Magic Kingdom at 8:00 p.m. EST. Shortly after, the Mavericks will look to stay hot on the road against a Suns team that is looking for answers.
Gamblers following the weekly double-header on national television have been watching game of ping pong lately. The Cavaliers and Nuggets both captured straight up and against the spread victories over the pair of squads from the Los Angeles, the Lakers and Clippers respectively.

While the home favorites cashed last Thursday, two weeks prior saw the Bulls and Jazz win outright as underdogs. The ‘under’ cashed in both those games, which pushes the low-scoring streak to four on TNT. Shall that change with the pair of tilts below?

Let’s break ‘em down!

Boston (29-13 SU, 17-25 ATS) at Orlando (29-16 SU, 20-21 ATS)

Round 3 between the Celtics and Magic takes place from Central Florida on Thursday and gamblers could be scratching their heads on this matchup. For starters, neither team has been great versus the point-spread this year, plus the pair has shown glimmers of promise and signs of weaknesses as well.

Boston is mired in a five-game losing streak against the spread and it recently snapped a three-game slide, but those wins came at home against the banged-up Trail Blazers (98-95) in overtime and the Clippers (95-89). Should we believe Doc Rivers’ team will snap out of the funk in Orlando or perhaps the following night at Atlanta?

The only constant for Boston lately and the entire season has been its defense, which is held its last six opponents to 100 or less. The ‘under’ has gone 4-2 during this span. Defense has been the key and often stated whenever the Celtics and Magic get together too.

The ‘under’ has cashed in both of the first two meetings this season and the ‘under’ prevailed to a 5-2 mark in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals series during the playoffs. What’s even more amazing is that the century mark was only busted three times by either the Magic or Celtics in the last nine encounters.

For those of you who forget Orlando defeated Boston in the postseason last year. The Magic defeated Boston 83-78 on Nov. 20 in Beantown but the Celtics got even with an 86-77 road victory of their own on Christmas.

A lot of Orlando’s success in past seasons has come on the road but that hasn’t been the case this year (13-12 SU, 10-12 ATS). However, Stan Van Gundy’s team has turned into a bully at home, owning a 16-4 SU and 10-9 ATS ledger. Keep in mind that Boston has gone 16-6 SU and 11-11 ATS on the road this season.

The Magic will complete the mini-round robin on Saturday when they host the Hawks, who will be playing on zero days rest after hosting Boston on Friday.

Dallas (30-15 SU, 20-25 ATS) at Phoenix (26-21 SU, 22-24 ATS)

The Mavericks and Suns were once considered a great rivalry in the West unfortunately it’s now starting to look like just another matchup. Both teams have succumbed to the age factor and the world rebuilding is often in both the Lone Star State and in the desert too.

Fortunately for Dallas it has owner Mark Cuban, who has deep pockets and will do whatever it takes to put out a quality product. The Mavericks sit in first place of the Southwest Division, which is easily the toughest group in the NBA and the only division that features every team with a winning record.

What makes the Mavericks stand out is their ability to win on the road (16-8 SU, 15-9 ATS) this season. The club recently finished up a five-game road trip against the East, which saw them go 3-2 both SU and ATS, highlighted by a 50-point victory against the Knicks (122-78).

Phoenix will try to cool off the Mavs on Thursday but it needs to right its own ship first. The team dropped an overtime decision (109-114) to Charlotte on Tuesday, which was their seventh loss in the last nine games. And the two victories came against New Jersey (3-40) and Golden State (13-30).

Trade rumors have been circling around Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire lately and it’s probably just a matter of when not if. The loss of point guard Leandro Barbosa (wrist) hurts the offense and Grant Hill (heel) is banged up as well. The Suns are currently holding the eighth and final playoff spot in the West but the loss of Stoudemire might be the start of a serious fire sale, perhaps point guard Steve Nash as well.

The Suns opened as short favorites in this battle but most would assume the betting public will switch their attention to Dallas by tip off and deservingly so too. Phoenix started the season 10-0 (6-3-1 ATS) at US Airways Center but has since gone 7-6 SU and 5-8 ATS.

Dallas won and covered three of the four regular season meetings against Phoenix. This season, the two squared off on Dec. 8 and the Mavericks stopped the Suns 102-101 at home in a game that wasn’t as close as the one-point margin. The Suns did cover as 4 ½-point road underdogs and the combined 203 points snapped a four-game ‘over’ streak in the series.

**StarDust Bum** · 01-28-2010, 05:23 PM

Trend Report - Thursday

Raptors at Knicks – The Raptors are 0-9 ATS (-6.8 ppg) since February 08, 2008 after playing the Heat. The Knicks are 9-0 ATS (10.0 ppg) since March 07, 2008 at home with at least one day of rest after a game in which they shot at least 50% from the field. The Knicks are 7-0 ATS (7.4 ppg) since March 16, 2002 at home after a double digit win in which their DPS was at least plus 15 points. The Knicks are 0-6 ATS (-9.1 ppg) since March 09, 1999 after a double digit win in which their opponent shot at least ten three-pointers and made at least half of them.

Celtics at Magic – The Magic are 8-0 ATS (16.2 ppg) since March 10, 2006 at home after a game in which they were whistled for at least 30 personal fouls. The Magic are 8-0 ATS (10.4 ppg) since November 23, 2007 at home off a road loss that broke at least a three-game winning streak.

Mavericks at Suns – The Mavericks are 8-0 ATS (8.2 ppg) since March 06, 2007 with at least one day of rest after a game in which more than 75% of their baskets were assisted. The Mavericks are 7-0 ATS (9.2 ppg) since December 07, 2004 on the road after playing as a home favorite when their opponent is off an overtime game. The Mavericks are 7-0 ATS (6.6 ppg) since February 28, 2008 on the road with at least one day of rest after a game at home in which they scored less than 15% of their points from the free throw line. The Suns are 0-8 ATS (-7.9 ppg) since February 08, 2006 when seeking revenge for a loss as a dog in which they led at the half. The Suns are 0-7 ATS (-10.1 ppg) since March 19, 2003 with at most one day of rest off an overtime game as a home favorite.

**StarDust Bum** · 01-28-2010, 06:44 PM

Thursday Hoops Action

There won’t be any shortage of college basketball action on Thursday with a full card of contests. Even better for the gambling public is that there are several televised games that will take them well into the early morning hours. Let’s look at a pair of those tilts that we can pace the floor about in the comfort of our own living rooms…or bars.

Wisconsin at Purdue – 7:00 p.m. EST, ESPN

Wisconsin (16-4 straight up, 9-7 against the spread) is holding onto its second place perch in the Big Ten with an iron grip. Although the Badgers had to work to keep pace in the league in their 79-71 win over Penn State in Madison on Jan. 24. Wisky found itself down 52-36 with just over 11 minutes left in the second half to the Nittany Lions. Bo Ryan’s crew buckled down on defense and relied on Jordan Taylor to score eight of his 20 points in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime. Wisconsin would prove too much for lowly Penn State, but still failed to cover the spread as a 12-point home favorite. The combined 150 did easily surge ‘over’ the closing total of 117.

The Boilermakers are in no danger of missing the NCAA Tournament from what ESPN’s Joe Lunardi is saying (he’s got them as a No. 4 seed, if you were wondering). What Purdue (16-3 SU, 8-9-1 ATS) has to determine is how to beat the Big Ten’s better programs. Matt Painter’s crew lost suffered three straight losses in league play to Northwestern (not as bad as we’ve seen in the past), Ohio State and to these same Badgers on Jan. 9. The main issue for the Boilermakers in those contests is the fact that they shot less than 46 percent from the field in two of those three setbacks (41% vs. NW, 43% vs. OSU), which is their season average.

One thing Purdue has going for itself is Robbie Hummel. The junior forward is averaging 16.1 points per game this year with 7.0 rebounds per game. Hummel had a great game against Wisky earlier this season, picking up 13 points and seven boards in a losing effort.

While you don’t want to say you can afford to lose a game, Wisky can do just that. Wisconsin would end up with a split of the season series if they lose on Thursday night, but would still hold onto the No. 2 seed for the Big Ten. Purdue, however, would find itself plummet to sixth in the conference standings.

That win by the Badgers in the first meeting was something of an albatross. Before that setback, Purdue had gone 5-1 SU and 6-0 ATS in the six games versus Wisconsin in that time.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) has decided to list the Boilermakers as 10-point home favorites.

The ‘over’ has gone on a tidy 3-1 run when these two teams meet up. Could that lead to a nice long trend for us? Possibly as the ‘under came through in four straight meetings from March 2005 to January of 2008.

Purdue has been a friend to the ‘over’ bettors recently to boot with it going 4-1-2 in its last seven contests. The Badgers, on the other hand, has watched the ‘under’ go 9-2 in their past 11 fixtures this season.

Mississippi at Auburn – 9:00 p.m. EST, ESPNU

Perhaps Ole Miss (15-4 SU, 10-5 ATS) has stopped the bleeding. The Rebels opened the season with a 12-2 SU record in non-conference play. Once they jumped into their Southeastern Conference, the wheels fell off of the cart as they dropped two of their first three league games.

The Rebels appear to have turned that all around now with two straight wins over LSU and South Carolina. Mississippi lost the rebound battle in both of its SEC losses (Mississippi State and Tennessee) to start the league campaign. In the wins over the Tigers and Gamecocks, Ole Miss held a 63-57 advantage on the glass. Not a big edge, but it’s enough to determine if a team wins or loses.

Andy Kennedy has to hope his team can stay tough on the boards since a tourney berth is not a given. Lunardi only has them as an eighth seed in his brackets. Being an eighth seed is a where most of the lower level major conference schools will find themselves.

Auburn (10-10 SU, 6-8 ATS) doesn’t have to worry about making the NCAA Tournament. Hell, they don’t really have to worry about getting into the NIT at this point.

The Tigers have failed to show the ability to put together a full effort during the season. Normally they can put up one half of quality basketball, followed up by a bunch of disorganized pay. Auburn showed this off once again last Saturday at Vanderbilt. The Tigers jumped out to a surprising 43-32 lead at halftime. They proceeded to allow the Commodores to outscore them 50-31 to lose 82-74. At least Auburn played well enough to cover as a 13-point road pup. That is actually the only saving grace to the Tigers right now is that they’ve covered the spread in their last three games.

LVSC has tabbed the Rebels as five-point road faves for this contest.

Despite the lousy season Auburn has fared well against Ole Miss recently, as evidenced by a 3-1 SU and ATS record against the Rebels. And even though this isn’t the same Tigers’ squad that performed that well, they do have home court advantage, which has allowed them to go 3-1 SU and ATS since 2006.

Something will have to give here if we want to cash in with a totals play. The ‘over’ has hit in two straight for the Rebels, while the ‘under’ is on a 3-0 roll for Auburn.

If you need a tiebreaker for playing a side on the totals, then we’ll point you to the ‘under.’ Over the last nine meetings between these SEC foes, the ‘under’ has posted a 6-3 mark, hitting in the last two games.

**StarDust Bum** · 01-28-2010, 08:48 PM

Late-Night Action

Gamblers have a nice array of college basketball options for Thursday. A pair of important ACC games will come off the board early at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. The Big East is also in the mix, as Pitt will play host to St. John's. Thanks to the SEC's new deal with ESPN, we also have two games from that conference.

As usual, though, most of the Thursday action will go down on the West Coast, giving bettors a plethora of late-night options. That's where our focus will be, but we start out in the Big Ten with a huge showdown slated for tip at 7:00 ET. on ESPN.

**UCLA at Oregon**

--LVSC opened Oregon (10-9 SU, 5-11 ATS) as a four-point favorite. As of early this afternoon, the number was still four with the total at 139.

--Ernie Kent’s squad has dropped five in a row both SU and ATS, including Satuday’s 84-69 loss at Stanford as a 4 ½-point underdog. Tajuan Porter had a team-high 16 points after being kept out of double figures in the Ducks’ three previous games.

--Porter’s struggles have been well documented this season. The senior guard is a high-volume shooter who doesn’t distribute much and is averaging a career-low 12.5 PPG. Porter’s s 37.5 shooting percentage from the floor is also a career low. He’s dishing out only 2.1 assists per contest.

--UCLA (9-10 SU, 8-8 ATS) has won back-to-back games both SU and ATS, including Saturday’s 74-62 win over Washington St. as a 2 ½-point home ‘chalk.’ Nikola Dragovic scored 18 points to pace the Bruins.

--Oregon has been mediocre at home, compiling an 8-5 SU record to go with an abysmal 3-7 ATS ledger.

--As a road underdog this season, UCLA is 1-2 both SU and ATS. The Bruins lost at Stanford and at Notre Dame, but they pulled an upset at Cal by capturing a 76-75 overtime win as 14-point ‘dogs.

--UCLA sophomore guard Jerime Anderson is “questionable” with a hip injury. Anderson has missed the Bruins’ last two games. He averages 6.2 points and 3.9 assists per game.

--Ben Howland’s team has won five in a row over the Ducks. In addition, the Bruins are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 meetings with Oregon.

--The ‘over’ is 8-3 overall for Oregon, 4-2 in its home games. Meanwhile, UCLA has seen the ‘under’ cash in four consecutive games although it is 8-8 overall for the year.

--FSN will have television coverage at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.

**Gonzaga at Santa Clara**

--LVSC opened Gonzaga (16-3 SU, 9-6-1 ATS) as a 13-point favorite.

--Mark Few’s team has won eight in a row, going 6-2 ATS during that stretch. However, we should note that both non-covers came in the Bulldogs’ last two games, including Satuday’s 85-69 win over Loyola-Marymount as a 20 ½-point home favorite. Elias Harris paced the ‘Zags with 22 points and eight rebounds against LMU. Matt Bouldin added 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

--Santa Clara (9-13 SU, 7-10 ATS) snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday be winning 66-65 at San Francisco as a six-point underdog. Marc Trasolini erupted for a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field to lead the Broncos to victory.

--Santa Clara is 5-8 SU and 4-6 ATS at home. The ‘under’ is 8-6 overall for the Broncos, 5-4 in their home assignments.

--Gonzaga is 4-0 ATS in true road games this year, 5-0 if we count a game against Illinois in Chicago (we should). However, the ‘Zags haven’t been a double-digit road ‘chalk’ until this spot.

--Santa Clara has been a double-digit home underdog just once this season. In that situation, the Broncos took the money in an 80-72 loss to Saint Mary’s as 12 ½-point puppies.

--Bouldin is the catalyst for Gonzaga, leading the team in scoring (16.4 PPG), assists (4.1 APG) and steals (1.8 SPG).

--Gonzaga has won seven straight against Santa Clara, going 4-3 ATS. When the Bulldogs went to Santa Clara last season, they won by an 81-73 count but the Broncos covered the number as 10-point underdogs.

--The ‘over’ is an incredible 15-2 in the last 17 head-to-head meetings between these WCC rivals.

--The ‘over’ is on a 7-1 run for Gonzaga and is a lucrative 13-3 overall for the season.

--Tip-off is scheduled for 11:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--For the first time since the 1964-65 campaign, Vanderbilt has started SEC play with a 5-0 record following last night’s 85-76 win at Tennessee as a 6 ½-point underdog. The Commodores hooked up money-line backers with a plus-220 payout (paid $220 on $100 wagers). Jermaine Beal led the winners with a game-high 25 points, lighting up Thompson-Boling Arena with a plethora of 3-pointers when Vandy took charge in the second half.

--Multiple media outlets have reported that Kentucky freshman center DeMarcus Cousins has been accused of punching a South Carolina student when fans rushed the court after the Gamecocks’ win over previously-unbeaten UK on Tuesday night in Columbia. However, the guess here is that there might not be much – if any – substance to this story. I say that because Cousins is the only UK player who was made available to the media at the post-game presser. Would John Calipari have done that if he had any inkling of such an incident? I seriously doubt it.

--Georgia had covered the spread in eight of its last nine games until going into Gainesville last night. The Gators dealt out an 87-71 shellacking in what was clearly their best performance since early-season victories over Michigan State and FSU. Ervin Walker was sensational, scoring 21 points and dishing out 10 assists. Alex Tyus and Kenny Boynton finished with 23 and 21 points, respectively.

--The ‘over’ has hit in seven straight Georgia games.

--You’ve been spared all (basketball) season from me breaking out any ALL-TIME GATOR TOP-FIVES on you… until now! Since Walker has now entered my top-five point guards in UF history, I’ll share the updated list of PGs:

1-Andrew Moten (1984-87)
2-Taurean Green (2004-07)
3-Clifford Lett (1985-88)*
4-Dan Cross (1992-95)
5-Erving Walker (2008-Present)

--If the season ended today, my All-American team(s) would look like this…

--First-Team:
Sherron Collins (Kansas)
John Wall (Kentucky)
Wesley Johnson (Syracuse)
Damion James (Texas)
Evan Turner (Ohio State)

--Second-Team:
Devan Downey (South Carolina)
Scottie Reynolds (Villanova)
Luke Harangody (Notre Dame)
Jon Scheyer (Duke)
Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga)

**StarDust Bum** · 01-29-2010, 12:29 AM

Partial of tonights schedule:

Date WLT Pct Net Units Record
01/28/10 33-21-2 61.11% +4710 Detail

Daily Pick record for 01/28/2010
Sport Game Score Pick Amount Result Units
NCAAB Manhattan 71 Manhattan +5 300 WON +300
Rider 74

NCAAB Ball St. 75 Ball St. +11 200 WON +200

NCAAB Siena 66 Siena -6 500 WON +500

St. Peter's 58 Under 128.5 500 WON +500

NCAAB Charleston 71 Charleston +7.5 500 LOSS -550
Davidson 86 Over 146 300 WON +300

NCAAB New Orleans 46 New Orleans +15 300 LOSS -330
Middle Tennessee St. 66

NCAAB Eastern Kentucky 76 Austin Peay -2 500 WON +500
Austin Peay 80 Under 139.5 500 LOSS -550

NCAAB North Texas 84 North Texas +8 500 WON +500
Western Kentucky 83 Over 142 500 WON +500

NCAAB Denver 57 Denver -3 400 LOSS -440
Arkansas-Little Rock 69

NCAAB Stanford 68 Arizona -6 500 WON +500
Arizona 76 Over 144 500 PUSH 0

NCAAB Southern California 45 Southern California -3.5 300 LOSS -330
Oregon St. 51 Under 111.5 500 WON +500

NCAAB Fairfield 73 Fairfield -1.5 500 WON +500
Loyola-Maryland 69 Under 128 300 LOSS -330

NCAAB Virginia Tech 76 Virginia -2.5 200 LOSS -220
Virginia 71

NCAAB Western Carolina 67 Chattanooga +6.5 300 WON +300
Chattanooga 80 Under 146 300 LOSS -330

NCAAB St. John's 53 Pittsburgh -8 300 WON +300
Pittsburgh 63 Under 126 300 WON +300

NCAAB Duquesne 50 Xavier -11.5 300 WON +300
Xavier 86 Under 143 500 WON +500

NCAAB Seton Hall 74 Seton Hall -2 300 LOSS -330
South Florida 76

NCAAB Wake Forest 58 Georgia Tech -5.5 500 WON +500
Georgia Tech 79

NCAAB Central Michigan 51 Central Michigan +6.5 300 LOSS -330
Miami (OH) 64

NCAAB Elon University 55 NC-Greensboro -4.5 300 WON +300
NC-Greensboro 62

NCAAB Mississippi 84 Mississippi -4 500 WON +500
Auburn 74

NCAAB Citadel 58 Georgia Southern +2.5 500 WON +500
Georgia Southern 61 Over 126 500 LOSS -550

NCAAB Southern Illinois 65 Indiana St. +1 300 WON +300
Indiana St. 68

NCAAB Loyola-Chicago 63 Detroit -9.5 300 WON +300
Detroit 83

NCAAB Marist 42 Iona -19.5 300 LOSS -330
Iona 61 Over 123.5 500 LOSS -550

NCAAB Illinois-Chicago 43 Wright St. -18.5 300 WON +300
Wright St. 79

NCAAB Appalachian St. 68 Appalachian St. +1.5 300 WON +300
Samford 55

NCAAB Louisiana-Monroe 56 Troy -10 500 WON +500
Troy 75 Over 146 500 LOSS -550

NCAAB Louisiana-Lafayette 60 Arkansas St. -2 300 PUSH 0
Arkansas St. 62 Under 133 300 WON +300

NCAAB Florida Atlantic 70 South Alabama -2 300 LOSS -330
South Alabama 59

NCAAB Eastern Illinois 65 Eastern Illinois +3.5 300 LOSS -330
Tennessee Tech 75 Over 142.5 300 LOSS -330

NCAAB California 78 Arizona St. -3.5 500 LOSS -550
Arizona St. 70 Over 135.5 500 WON +500

NCAAB Morehead St. 65 Morehead St. -7.5 500 WON +500
Tennessee St. 50

NCAAB Montana St. 58 Northern Arizona -2 300 WON +300
Northern Arizona 71

NCAAB SE Missouri St. 55 Jacksonville St. -12 500 LOSS -550
Jacksonville St. 58

NCAAB Wisconsin 57 Purdue -9.5 500 LOSS -550
Purdue 60 Under 128 500 WON +500

NCAAB Montana 64 Montana +5.5 500 WON +500
Northern Colorado 62

NCAAB Georgia St 40 Old Dominion -17 300 LOSS -330
Old Dominion 56 Under 118 300 WON +300

Announcement

The Bum's Thursday's Best Bets + PODS !

The Bum's Thursday's Best Bets + PODS !

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