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**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:13 PM

Lakers try to end two-game skid on Tuesday

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (8-2)

at MILWAUKEE BUCKS (5-5)

Tip-off: Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Line: OFF Total: OFF

All good things must come to an end, and the Lakers’ perfect start was no exception as they suffered back-to-back losses before heading to the Midwest for a three-game stint. The reigning champs fell short by six in Denver last Thursday and went down Sunday at home 121-116 against Phoenix, which shot an incredible 22-of-40 from three-point land. The 22 three-pointers were the second-highest total in NBA history. Despite outrebounding (62-38) and outscoring (68-28) Phoenix in the paint, L.A. was unable to stop the Suns’ phenomenal outside shooting. Kobe Bryant was one rebound away from a triple-double, and Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom both had more than 20 points and 10 boards. If the Lakers take this offense on the road, they will have no problem beating Milwaukee Tuesday night. Bryant is 21-4 in his career against the Bucks, averaging 23.9 PPG against them. Look for L.A. to bounce back in these next three road games, all of which are against teams at .500 or below.

Milwaukee is on a three-game win streak and was afforded two days of rest after a 79-72 win against the Warriors in the Bradley Center. John Salmons led the team with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting and Brandon Jennings had his third double-double on the season with 19 points and career-high 11 boards. This matchup against the Lakers will be the Bucks’ fourth straight game against a top-10 scoring team. Milwaukee held its last three opponents to an average of 19.8 points below each team’s scoring average on the season. The Bucks, who are allowing a league-low 89.4 points per game, will need to play tight defense against the league’s top-scoring Lakers (112.5 PPG) if they want any chance to get a win against the defending champs.

The Lakers have won the past five games SU in the series, but Milwaukee is 7-1 ATS in the past eight meetings with the Lakers. This FoxSheets stat favors Los Angeles:

Play On - Road favorites (LA LAKERS) - after being beaten by the spread by 24 or more points total in their last three games against opponent after going under the total by 54 or more points total in their last ten games. (38-14 since 1996.) (73.1%, +22.6 units. Rating = 2*).

**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:14 PM

K-State favored by 6 over Virginia Tech

VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (1-0)

at KANSAS STATE WILDCATS (1-0)

Tip-off: Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Kansas State -6

In a battle of Top-25 teams, Virginia Tech tries to begin the long march to March that will culminate with the Hokies participating in the madness that Tuesday’s opponent, Kansas State, was in the thick of last spring.

The core nucleus of the team that went 25-9 last season but missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth, despite its 10-6 record in regular season conference play, is back for head coach Seth Greenberg. Guard Malcolm Delaney (20.2 PPG) led the ACC in scoring last season, while backcourt mate Dorenzo Hudson (15.2 PPG, 4.5 APG) led the team in assists. On the front line, senior Jeff Allen is the active leader in the ACC in rebounds, steals, and blocked shots. Throw in junior forward Victor Davila (5.3 PPG) and senior Terrell Bell (6.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG) and you have an experienced team with all five starters back from last season. Last year, Virginia Tech’s schedule ranked as the 339th toughest in the nation. Playing a top-10 team like Kansas State should improve that metric considerably at tournament selection time. Getting a win over the Wildcats would be even sweeter.

To make that happen the Hokies will need to contain arguably the best guard in the nation in Jacob Pullen, a preseason All-American choice. Pullen (19.3 PPG, 3.4 APG, 2.6 RPG) will receive even more attention this season as he moves over to the point for head coach Frank Martin. Up front, last year’s Sixth man of the Year in the Big 12, Jamar Samuels (11.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 23.2 MPG) prepares to move into the starting lineup. Senior forward Curtis Kelly (11.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG), the team’s top returning player on the boards as well as its second leading scorer, is doubtful to play due to disciplinary reasons.

Kansas State won its season opener over James Madison on Friday 75-61, behind Pullen’s 20 points. Virginia Tech defeated Campbell 70-60 to win its first game as well, but like the Wildcats, Tech was far from impressive in its debut performance. Hopefully those games were just the warm up for a big early-season matchup between two teams with eyes on the Elite Eight, and beyond.

The FoxSheets believe that Kansas State will win and cover based on this coaching trend:

Frank Martin is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) after a game where they made 50% of their 3-point shots or better as the coach of KANSAS ST. The average score was KANSAS ST 75.6, OPPONENT 63.0 - (Rating = 2*) .

**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:15 PM

Michigan State favored heavily over South Carolina

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS (1-0)

at MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (1-0)

Tip-off: Tuesday, 10:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Michigan State -16

A tale of two coaches with two approaches highlights the contest between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Michigan State Spartans. On the one hand, Spartans coach Tom Izzo is trying to carefully monitor the health of his All-Big Ten senior guard Kalin Lucas, still recovering from his ruptured Achilles tendon from last March. South Carolina coach Darrin Horn isn’t trying to figure out how to account for an injury, but rather a vacancy, as he must solve the problem of trying to compete without last year’s SEC leading scorer Devan Downey.

Horn’s squad will enter the Breslin Center with a team that carries only two seniors. One of them, Sam Muldrow, started all 31 games for South Carolina, averaging 10.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG. Sophomore forward Lakeem Jackson started 30 games and tallied 7.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG. If South Carolina is to have a prayer of keeping up with the Spartans, it cannot allow itself the type of defensive performance that became the norm last season. The Gamecocks were 10th in the SEC in scoring defense (70.9 PPG) and 12th in rebounding margin (-5.1 RPG).

The Spartans are coming off of a 96-66 victory over Eastern Michigan that left many people impressed. Tom Izzo was not among them. Twenty turnovers for the game combined with a 67% FT performance will never do much to enamor your coach as to your perceived level of excellence. Izzo was impressed with the performance of Lucas, who scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half, en route to playing 26 minutes on the night. The return of Korie Lucious (suspended for the season opener) back to the rotation should ease the load on Lucas, who just returned to the court within the past six weeks.

South Carolina knows a thing or two about pulling off the upset. Last January they defeated then-No. 1-ranked Kentucky 68-62. But that game was at home in Columbia, and it was played when the Gamecocks had the league’s leading scorer to lean on. These two factors will not be a factors Tuesday night in East Lansing.

The FoxSheets like Michigan State to win and cover the spread versus South Carolina.

Tom Izzo is 168-141 ATS (54.4%, +12.9 Units) as a favorite as the coach of MICHIGAN ST. The average score was MICHIGAN ST 73.2, OPPONENT 61.6 - (Rating = 1*).

S CAROLINA is 3-11 ATS (21.4%, -9.1 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons. The average score was S CAROLINA 64.9, OPPONENT 73.6 - (Rating = 1*).

**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:16 PM

OSU-Florida meet in rematch of 2007 title game

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (1-0)

at FLORIDA GATORS (1-0)

Global Sports Invitational
Tip-off: Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Florida -1.5

How long has it been since Ohio State and Florida last played one another? Well the last time the two teams met, Florida was in the 2007 Championship game . . . versus Ohio State. Since then, the Gators have had more NIT berths than NCAA ones. As for the Buckeyes, Greg Oden was healthy enough to put up 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in a losing effort on that championship night.

Yes, it has been awhile.

Now after a couple of years that included its share of disappointment for both programs, the Gators and Buckeyes are back, both in the top-10, and will headline an intriguing early-season contest on a marathon day of college basketball.

Like in 2007, the buzz in the Ohio State program centers around a freshman center. Jared “Big Sully” Sullinger enters Ohio State as one of the top three freshmen in the nation. He has gained a great deal of attention for his wide body, soft hands, ball-handling skills and tenacity. Throw in senior Dallas Lauderdale up front (6.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG) and three returning upperclassmen who all averaged double figures in scoring last season (David Lighty, William Buford and Jon Diebler combined for 40 PPG) and you can understand why Buckeyes coach Thad Matta has visions of improving on his Sweet 16 showing of last season.

Billy Donovan has some firepower of his own. Donovan’s Gators returned all five starters (three of them seniors) to a team that went to the NCAA Tournament before losing a first round overtime heartbreaker to Brigham Young. All five of his starters averaged double figures, led by guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker (14.0 PPG & 12.6 PPG respectively). The front line of Alex Tyus, Vernon Macklin, and Chandler Parsons all averaged between 5.5 and 6.9 RPG. In addition, Donovan has added some much needed depth with incoming freshmen Scottie Wilbekin and McDonald’s All-American Patric Young.

It would be a treat if this game was simply a dress rehearsal for a rematch that would come in March, but for now the outcome will probably just settle two questions: how good the Gators still are, and how good the Buckeyes might be.

This highly-rated FoxSheets stat expects Florida to win Tuesday.

Play On - A favorite (FLORIDA) - in a game involving two teams who had good records (60% to 80%) from last season, with all five starters returning from last year in the first 5 games of the season. (52-17 since 1997.) (75.4%, +33.3 units. Rating = 4*).

**jt4545** · 11-16-2010, 08:17 PM

Good luck star

**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:18 PM

Gators, Buckeyes top Tuesday NCAAB odds

College basketball officially opened its doors last week, in case you missed it. The schedule offered little more than an extension of exhibition tune-ups for the most part, something that will change this week with several matchups between ranked teams.

Included on that list is Tuesday's meeting between the Florida Gators and Ohio State Seminoles at Gainesville's Stephen O'Connell Center (3 p.m. PT). Not only is it a battle of top-10 schools, it's also a rematch of a recent NCAA Finals contest and pits combatants who are hopeful of returning to the championship this season.

The 11th meeting between the two schools comes almost three years since the most recent get-together between the Buckeyes and Gators. After beating Ohio State 84-75 in the NCAA Championship in April that year as six-point favorites, the Gators visited Columbus just before Christmas '07 and were served a little payback by the Buckeyes, 62-49. Ohio State was the six-point fave in that matchup, running its all-time series record to 6-4 against Florida.

Thad Matta's gang warmed up for Tuesday's game by skating past North Carolina A&T last Friday, 102-61. The mismatch failed to make the NCAA betting board.

Ohio State features four starters returning from a year ago, with the missing piece being All-American Evan Turner who was the second over pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in this past June's NBA draft. If Friday's game against the Aggies is any indication, the Buckeyes aren't going to miss Turner at all. Matta and the Buckeyes enjoyed a huge recruiting class that included small forward Deshaun Thomas who came off the bench to lead Ohio State with 24 points while grabbing eight boards.

The Buckeyes ruled the glass with a 55-17 rebounding gap over North Carolina A&T. Jared Sullinger (19 points) and Dallas Lauderdale (12 points) posted double-doubles in the game with 14 and 13 boards respectively. Lauderdale also added eight blocks. If there was a shortcoming for OSU on the stats sheet it was long-range shooting where the Buckeyes canned just five of their 22 three-point attempts.

While the Buckeyes were busy dismantling NCAT last Friday, Florida was taking down North Carolina-Wilmington by a 77-60 count. The Gators failed to cover the 26-point line in shooting a tad better than 49 percent from the field, 6-of-19 from beyond the arc.

Senior Chandler Parsons, one of the returning five starters from a year ago, paced four Gators in double digits with 16 points. Kenny Boynton scored 10 but was ice-cold from the outside without a single three-pointer in six attempts.

Both teams were listed as runner-ups by oddsmakers in their respective conferences. Florida was a plus 150 choice behind Kentucky to win the SEC East, with the Gators going off at 20/1 to take the national title. Ohio State was originally a 3/1 choice in the Big Ten behind both Purdue and Michigan State. Robbie Hummel's preseason injury dropped the Boilermakers in the rankings, however, pushing the Buckeyes up behind the Spartans.

In a scheduling flip-flop, the Gators and Buckeyes will each meet common foes in their next games. Florida's next game is at home in the O'Dome on Thursday when they host North Carolina A&T while Ohio State heads back to Columbus to take on NC-Wilmington this Saturday.

**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:19 PM

Butler, Louisville in early betting battle

The Butler Bulldogs have an interesting early-season college basketball battle when they visit the Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday night. This is the first regular season game at the new KFC Yum! Center.

These schools are situated near each other with Butler’s Indianapolis campus only 115 miles away. Butler was ranked No. 17 in the AP preseason poll, while Louisville was unranked.

Fourth-year coach Brad Stevens has done an incredible job turning his Horizon League squad into a national force. The team’s miraculous run to the NCAA Championship Game (61-59 loss to Duke) was the crowning point of an 89-15 straight-up record under Stevens. This year’s squad also looks good despite key losses.

Butler lost two key components in sophomore Gordon Hayward and senior Willie Veasley. Hayward was an NBA first-round pick after leading the team with 15.5 PPG and 8.2 RPG. Veasley was a defensive guru who also chipped in 9.8 PPG. The Bulldogs would have been a top-5 team if Hayward stayed.

Butler unveiled its new-look on Saturday with an 83-54 win over NAIA Marian. There was no spread for that contest. Guard Shelvin Mack had 20 points and he’ll increase his 14.1 PPG average with Hayward gone. Big man Matt Howard (11.6 PPG last year) and point guard Ronald Nored combined for just 11 points against Marian, but those returning starters will be big factors this year.

The more pressing question is the supporting cast. Senior guard Shawn Vanzant and junior forward Garrett Butcher have moved into the starting lineup. The most promising bench player could be 6-foot-11 sophomore center Andrew Smith, who had 10 points in the opener. Three talented freshmen (Erik Fromm, Kyhle Marshall, Chrishawn Hopkins) will also play roles.

The Bulldogs went 7-4 SU and 4-7 against the spread last year in November and December non-conference games. They were 33-5 SU and 18-20 ATS for the season. This is a defensive-minded club with the ‘under’ finishing the year at 10-1.

Louisville is making its season debut after a 20-13 SU (10-18 ATS) year that ended with a disappointing first-round NCAA tournament loss to California (77-62). Four starters are gone from that team, including guards Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith, plus swingman Reginald Delk.

The big loss, both literally and figuratively, was Samardo Samuels. The 6-foot-9 wide-body entered the NBA draft after his sophomore year against the advice of coach Rick Pitino. Samuels wasn’t even drafted and the loss of his 15.3 PPG and seven RPG really hurts.

Pitino is ready to look forward to the future and start the rebuilding process. He’s also ready to end the sex scandal talk that has dominated the headlines, culminating with the conviction of his rape accuser Karen Sypher for extortion.

This year’s leading returning scorer and rebounder is 6-foot-8 Jared Swopshire (7.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG). He should start up front next to 6-foot-9 Terrence Jennings eventually, but is doubtful Tuesday with a groin injury. Rakeem Buckles should get the start.

The starting guards should be Preston Knowles and sophomore point Peyton Siva. Chris Smith and Kyle Kuric will both see time at the wing position. There are a lot of moving pieces for Pitino and even he’s not sure how the rotation will pan out.

One thing for sure, this is a tough opening test against a battle-hardened Butler team. Louisville is 1-6 ATS in its last seven non-conference games.

ESPN will have the broadcast at 5 p.m. (PT).

**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:20 PM

Ducks travel to Stars for NHL odds match

The Anaheim Ducks have already gotten the best of the Dallas Stars and the NHL odds twice this season, winning 4-2 at home on November 12 and 5-2 in "Big D" on October 26. Act three will be played on the ice at the Dallas' American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.

The Quack Attack is rolling right now, as it has picked up at least one point in seven in a row. This was a six-game outright winning streak until the Chicago Blackhawks snapped the skid on Sunday night in the Windy City with a 3-2 overtime defeat.

Still, solid goaltending for the Ducks has been the theme during this roll that has gotten them all the way up into second place in the Pacific Division after spending the majority of the first month of the year in the cellar. Goalie Jonas Hiller has brought his GAA down to 2.83, and though that number is still a high one, it is significantly better than where it was over 3.00 when this hot spurt started. He was the victor in five of the six games, and has now stopped at least 93 percent of his shots in three straight and seven of his last eight starts.

Defensively though, Anaheim is a wreck. This team is allowing 36.6 shots per game, the worst mark in the NHL. It isn't like the offense is really doing much either in terms of shot production, as 27.4 per game is third to last in the league.

The six top point men on the Ducks are really the heart and soul of this team. Corey Perry leads the way with eight goals and a dozen assists, but the rest of Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan, Lubomir Visnovsky, and Saku Koivu all have either seven goals or at least ten assists on the year. No one else on the team has more than three goals or six assists.

Dallas is going to be glad to be back at home after a disastrous 0-3-0 road trip that resulted in three losses by at least two goals apiece. The Stars have won three straight at home, all of which came by at least three goals.

The lack of offensive production for some of the big offensive stars of late has really cost the men from the Lone Star State. Mike Ribeiro still hasn't scored a goal this year, while Brad Richards only has one goal and no helpers in his last three. Loui Eriksson only has one assist in this stretch of bad fortune as well.

The goaltending situation hasn't helped out much either. Kari Lehtonen has been a disaster between the pipes of late, allowing at least three goals in three straight and giving up an average of 3.33 GPG in his last six with just a .873.

Anaheim might have the upper hand in this series this year, but it has not played very well of late on the road, especially in Dallas. The Ducks are just 17-36 in their last 53 road games and are only 7-18-1 in their last 26 trips to the Lone Star State.

The Stars could shoot out of the gates in this one as well. They have won four of their last five returning games to the American Airlines Center following a road trip that lasted at least seven days, and they are 57-22 in their last 79 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of less than 40 percent.

**StarDust Bum** · 11-16-2010, 08:21 PM

NBA Odds: Improved Rockets host Bulls

The Chicago Bulls will begin a season-high seven-game road excursion Tuesday night with a stop in Houston to play the Rockets. Chicago enters the contest riding a three-game winning streak, with all three contests dipping ‘under’ the closing total.

Chicago won every outing on its recently completed three-game homestand, including Saturday’s 103-96 victory against Washington. But the Bulls failed to cover as 10-point favorites, lowering their NBA spread record to 4-3-1.

It was Chicago’s last home contest until Dec.1, as the circus invades United Center.

Derrick Rose collected 15 of his 24 points in the second half to lead the Bulls, while Joakim Noah added 21 points and nine rebounds. Luol Deng also played a big role in the Chicago victory by contributing 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

The Bulls forced 23 Washington turnovers, which lead to 18 points. Chicago also enjoyed a wide advantage at the charity stripe, making 26-of-34 foul shots compared to 4-of-8 for the visiting Wizards. The Bulls also out-rebounded the Wizards, 55-48, and held a 34-28 edge in points in the paint.

Coach Tom Thibodeau has his Bulls playing some tough defense lately, evidenced by his squad limiting the opposition to less than 100 points in each of the last five wins. As a result, the Bulls have moved up to 13th in the league defensively by allowing 100.4 points per game.

Chicago ranks sixth on offense thanks to its 105.0 points per game average. The club is fourth in field goal percentage (48.3 percent) and fourth in rebounding (44.5 RPG). Free throw shooting remains the Bulls’ lone offensive weakness. They are shooting just 71.8 percent from the charity stripe, which ranks a poor 25th.

Though the Houston Rockets started the current campaign with five straight losses, they have since captured three of their last four contests. That includes the last two games on a recently completed three-game road trip.

Improved defense has been the key to Houston’s improvement. That was evident during Sunday’s 104-96 victory at New York as a 2 ½-point road underdog. The combined 200 points ducked below the 213 ½-point closing total, marking Houston’s fourth consecutive ‘under’ game.

Kevin Martin scored 28 points and Luis Scola added 24 to lead a Houston club that is playing without starters Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks, both out with ankle injuries. Ming is listed as “questionable” for Tuesday game, while Brooks is not scheduled to return until next month.

The Rockets have now allowed less than 100 points in each of those last four outings. Unfortunately, they are still yielding an average of 107.1 points per game, which ranks a poor 28th in the league.

Putting the ball in the bucket has not been a problem so far for the Rockets. They rank fourth in the league on offense thanks to a 107.7 point per game average. That figure is a bit confusing considering the club is shooting just 44.6 percent from the field, which ranks 22nd.

Chicago swept the two-game season series against the Rockets last season, including a 104-97 victory as six-point underdogs in the lone game at Houston. The combined 201 points slithered above the 199-point closing total, enabling the ‘over’ to go 10-2 in the last 12 series meetings.

It is interesting to note that Chicago is 10-3 ATS in its last 13 road encounters dating to last season, while the Rockets are 8-21 ATS in their last 29 home outings.

The Bulls will continue their road swing through Texas with a Wednesday game in San Antonio and a Friday date in Dallas against the Mavs. The Rockets hit the road for the next two games starting with a Wednesday matchup at Oklahoma City.

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The Bum's Tuesday's Best Bets NCAAF-NCAAB-NBA-NHL !

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