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**StarDust Bum** · 11-28-2010, 11:13 AM

Gators visit Seminoles for college hoops clash

The dream weekend between the Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles continues on the hardcourt with a Sunday night game at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee.

This contest comes a day after the big football clash between these fierce in-state rivals. Both hoops teams are looking for repeat trips to the NCAA tournament after losing in the first round last year.

The Gators have earned their fair share of critics despite a 4-1 straight-up record. They failed to ‘cover’ in closer than expected wins against North Carolina-Wilmington, Morehead State and Florida Atlantic. They did dominate North Carolina A&T (105-55), but there was no spread listed. They’re 0-4 against the spread overall.

Their one big-name opponent was Ohio State and the Buckeyes rolled to a 93-75 road win as 2 ½-point ‘dogs. OSU shot 62.9 percent from the field and took advantage of 18 Florida turnovers. Florida has 68 turnovers on the season compared to 80 assists, a poor ratio.

Florida wasn’t expected to struggle with five returning starters and a No. 11 Coaches Poll preseason ranking. Shooting guard Kenny Boynton leads the squad at 15.6 PPG and teams with point guard Erving Walker (13 PPG) to form one of the best backcourts in the nation.

The frontcourt has surprisingly gotten overpowered at times this year. Center Vernon Macklin has been dealing with a knee injury, limiting him to just 21.2 minutes per game. He’s expected to play on Sunday, but freshman backup Patric Young could be forced to play a bigger role. Starting forwards Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus will also need to hit the glass more.

Coach Billy Donovan now has to take his team on the road for the first time this year. The Gators went 5-5 SU and 6-3 ATS in true road games last year.

Florida State is a perfect 5-0 on the season, but have benefited from an easy schedule. Only the two road games (Florida International, UNC Greensboro) had spreads, with FSU ‘covering’ both. Florida State went 13-3 SU at home last year, but just 2-10 ATS.

The Seminoles are scoring 83.6 PPG on the season and allowing 60.4 PPG. Last year’s squad scored just 68.4 PPG in its grind-it-out style, but played great defense at 60.4 PPG (19th nationally).

Junior forward Chris Singleton is a big reason for the offensive improvement and is proving he’s an NBA prospect at 17.4 PPG and 10.8 RPG. He’s shooting 54.9 percent from the field, way up from 41.2 percent last year.

Singleton’s maturation process was important with the departure of 7-foot-1 center Solomon Alabi. The 6-foot-9 Singleton is the second tallest starter next to 6-foot-11 junior Xavier Gibson. Junior college transfer Bernard James (6-foot-10) provides depth off the bench.

The Seminoles have a three-guard starting lineup with Derwin Kitchen, Deividas Dulkys and Michael Snaer. Each range between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, giving them a decided height advantage over the Gators backcourt.

Both of these teams have been off since Nov. 23. Florida beat Florida Atlantic 79-66 as 18-point home favorites. Florida State had a 79-55 home win over Mercer and is allowing just 54.3 PPG in its three home games so far.

Florida beat Florida State 68-52 as 1 ½-point home favorites last year. Florida State shot just 19-of-57 from the floor (33.3 percent). However, the Seminoles are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three home games against the Gators.

Tip-off will be at 4:30 p.m. (PT).

**StarDust Bum** · 11-28-2010, 11:14 AM

Bruins close NHL betting week in Atlanta

A trip to Atlanta to play the Thrashers might be just what the doctor ordered for a slumping Boston Bruins squad that has dropped three of its last four outings. After all, the Bruins have captured the last 10 meetings against the Thrashers, including the last four in Atlanta.

Boston is off Friday’s 3-0 loss against Carolina as a hefty 180 NHL odds favorite. It was the second time the Bruins were blanked this season and lowered their home record to 4-5-0-2 and their overall ledger to 12-7-0-2. The Bruins are a sparkling 8-2-0-0 on enemy ice.

The combined three goals against Carolina ducked below the 5 ½-goal closing total, which enabled the ‘under’ to cash in Boston’s last three games. In fact, the ‘under’ is 14-5-2 in Boston’s first 21 contests and 7-1-1 in its last nine efforts.

The Bruins entered Friday’s contest with the league’s top penalty killing unit, with the Hurricanes ranked 29th in power play success. But those statistics didn’t stay true to form, as the Bruins allowed the Hurricanes to register three power play goals.

The bump in the road saw the Bruins’ penalty killing unit slip to third in the league with an 87 percent success rate.

Boston goaltender Tim Thomas (11-2-1) lost for just the second time this season. Ironically, both of Thomas’ losses were shutouts at home. Thomas still leads the league with a 1.56 GAA, a .951 save percentage and four shutouts.

The strong goaltending has helped the Bruins rank first defensively, allowing just 1.9 goals per game. Boston ranks 18th offensively, scoring an average of 2.8 GPG.

Atlanta enters this contest on a four-game winning streak, with two of those victories occurring via the shutout. In fact, the Thrashers have allowed just two goals during the four-game streak.

The Thrashers are off Friday’s 3-0 victory against Montreal as 125 home favorites. The win raised Atlanta’s home ledger to 7-5-0-1 and their overall record to 11-9-1-2. The club has scored just two more goals than the opposition this season (73-71).

Though the combined three goals dipped ‘under’ the closing total, the ‘over’ is still 14-8-1 in Atlanta’s first 23 contests. Another strange statistical quirk has the ‘under’ going 7-5 in the Thrashers’ first 12 home games, while the ‘over’ is 9-1 in their first 10 road encounters.

Atlanta netminder Ondrej Pavelec made 25 saves for his second shutout in a week, while Rich Peverley scored twice to lead the offense. Toby Enstrom added a goal and an assist for the Thrashers.

Pavelec, who has four career shutouts in 74 games, also blanked Washington 5-0 on Nov. 19. He is now 5-4-0-2 with a miniscule 1.68 GAA and a sparkling .946 save percentage.

Despite the recent stingy defense, Atlanta is still ranked just 24th defensively by allowing an average of 3.0 goals per game.

The club is ranked fifth offensively with a 3.1 GPG average. Much of Atlanta’s offensive success can be attributed to a power play that is clicking at a 24.5 percent success rate, which ranks third in the league.

Atlanta left winger Fredrick Modin has now missed the last five games with an upper body injury. Don Best Sports lists him as “day-to-day.” Boston defenseman David Krejci (flu) is listed as “questionable.”

Boston stays on the road for a Wednesday contest at Philadelphia, while Atlanta begins a three-game road trip with a Tuesday meeting at Colorado.

**StarDust Bum** · 11-28-2010, 11:15 AM

NBA Odds: Suns look to burn Nuggets

A three-game winning streak for the Denver Nuggets will be on the line on Sunday night in the second of a five-game homestand, as the Phoenix Suns pay a visit to Pepsi Arena for an NBA betting battle.

Phoenix has been poisonous for bettors of late, with the Suns just 1-5 against the NBA spread in their last six overall. Offense clearly isn't the problem, as the Suns are averaging 107.9 PPG and are shooting 47.2 percent from the field as a team.

Hakim Warrick is coming off of the biggest game in his young career, as he came off the bench to net 25 points and pull down six boards. It was the second straight game in which he played at least 36 minutes and scored at least 20 points.

As always though, you're going to have to stop Steve Nash and Jason Richardson to put away the Suns. Richardson, who had 29 points in their most recent game against the Los Angeles Clippers, is averaging 19.9 PPG and 4.4 RPG. Nash is already gunning for another appearance in the All-Star Game with 19.0 PPG and 9.5 APG.

The real problem for Phoenix has been staying consistent on the glass. Robin Lopez is out of the lineup for at least a couple more weeks with an MCL and PCL sprain. Lopez was really supposed to step in and help out in the rebounding department after losing Amare Stoudemire to the New York Knicks in free agency. No one on the squad is averaging more than 5.4 RPG, and as a team, Phoenix is only at 39.0 RPG. That's the second-lowest total in the NBA and is terrible news for a team that runs up and down the court.

Not only are the Suns giving up the most rebounds in the NBA at 45.9 per game, but they are allowing teams to shoot 49.0 percent from the field and are allowing 110.2 PPG, the second worst mark in the league.

Carmelo Anthony just continues to be a beast for the Nuggets in spite of the fact that he is still insistent that he wants out of Denver. Anthony is averaging 25.2 PPG this year, and he is coming off of a game against the Chicago Bulls in which he scored 22 points and nailed the game winning shot in the dying seconds.

Anthony's counterpart, Chauncey Billups has been out of the lineup for the past two games with a wrist injury. He is questionable for this one, but at least to this point, it hasn't hurt the team with him being out of the fold.

The "Birdman" is back as well, as Chris Andersen has been back for two games. So far, he has 13 points, seven boards, and a pair of blocks in his first action of the year, but he could be in for a significantly bigger game against an undersized group of Suns.

The Suns have covered five straight in this series and have won four in a row outright. The home team is 16-5 ATS in the last 21 meetings, while the favorite is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings.

Coming into the weekend, the Nuggets were two games out in the Northwest Division standings, while the Suns would be the first team left out of the playoffs in the Western Conference if the playoffs started today.

**StarDust Bum** · 11-28-2010, 12:33 PM

Added College Hoops:

Sunday, November 28Game Score Status Pick Amount

Tennessee Tech - 1:00 PM ET Michigan St -25.5 500
Michigan St -

Colorado - 1:00 PM ET Harvard -2.5 500
Harvard -

California - 1:00 PM ET Boston College -1 500
Boston College -

Stanford - 1:30 PM ET DePaul +8 500
DePaul -

Gardner-Webb - 2:00 PM ET Mercer -3 500
Mercer -

Siena - 2:00 PM ET Siena -2 500
Princeton -

South Dakota - 2:00 PM ET South Dakota -4 500
Louisiana-Monroe -

San Diego - 3:00 PM ET San Diego +18.5 500
New Mexico -

Albany - 3:00 PM ET Albany -2.5 500
Bowling Green -

Furman - 3:30 PM ET Furman +12.5 500
Penn St. -

Toledo - 4:00 PM ET Illinois-Chicago -12 500
Illinois-Chicago -

Northern Arizona - 4:00 PM ET Pepperdine +1 500
Pepperdine -

Louisiana State - 4:00 PM ET Louisiana State -3 500
South Alabama -

Tulsa - 4:00 PM ET Tulsa -11 500
CSU Northridge -

Western Carolina - 4:30 PM ET Western Carolina +5 500
William & Mary -

Georgia - 4:30 PM ET Georgia -16.5 500
Manhattan -

Jacksonville St. - 4:35 PM ET Over 124 500
Illinois St. -

UC Riverside - 5:00 PM ET UC Riverside +15 500
San Jose St. -

Niagara - 5:30 PM ET Detroit -10 500
Detroit -

Charleston - 5:30 PM ET Charleston +13.5 500
North Carolina -

Murray St. - 6:00 PM ET Oklahoma St. -2 500
Oklahoma St. -

Notre Dame - 7:00 PM ET Wisconsin -3 500
Wisconsin -

Florida - 7:45 PM ET Florida +4 500
Florida St. -

Creighton - 8:30 PM ET Northwestern -7.5 500
Northwestern -

UNLV - 9:00 PM ET UNLV -3.5 500
Virginia Tech -

**StarDust Bum** · 11-28-2010, 12:34 PM

Florida looks to hand FSU its first loss

FLORIDA GATORS (4-1)

at FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (5-0)

Tip-off: Sunday, 7:45 p.m. EDT
Line: Florida State -3.5

Florida looks for its first ATS win this season when it travels to unbeaten Florida State for a Sunday night matchup. The Seminoles try to avenge last season’s loss when the Gators jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead (forcing 16 first-half turnovers) and coasted to a 68-52 win. Florida, which returns all five starters from last year, has not played its best basketball yet this season, going 0-4 ATS. The Gators have also lost three straight games in Tallahassee.

Kenny Boynton leads Florida with 15.6 PPG, while Alex Tyus had his best game of the season on Tuesday against Florida Atlantic, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven boards. The Gators only created 11 turnovers in each of their past two games, but they will look to increase that number drastically with its full-court press on Sunday. FSU’s two point guards Derwin Kitchen and Luke Loucks are certainly mistake-prone, combining for 22 assists and 24 turnovers in the first five games, all against weak competition (FIU, Gardner-Webb, UNCG, North Florida and Mercer).

FSU gets its first real test of the season, as it has won its first five games by an average margin of 23.2 PPG. Chris Singleton has four straight double-doubles, but he has not played well against Florida in his career, averaging just 11.0 PPG on 30 percent shooting from the field. Singleton only scored 10 points in Tuesday’s win over Mercer, but Xavier Gibson tied his career-high with 17 points against the Bears.

FSU was 2-10 ATS at home last season while Florida was 6-3 ATS on the road. These two FoxSheets trends also lean towards Florida to win on Sunday night.

Billy Donovan is 37-16 ATS (69.8%, +19.4 Units) versus very good shooting teams - making >=48% of their shots as the coach of FLORIDA. The average score was FLORIDA 77.3, OPPONENT 69.0 - (Rating = 3*).

FLORIDA ST is 2-13 ATS (-12.3 Units) versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 8+ points/game over the last 2 seasons. The average score was FLORIDA ST 63.3, OPPONENT 63.9 - (Rating = 3*).

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