Announcement

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 08:48 AM

Daily Sports Roundup: March 28

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The struggling Knicks get a visit from the Magic, the CBI begins its championship series, and the Blackhawks play on the road versus Detroit.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

Six games make up the NBA's schedule for Monday, with Boston at Indiana, Milwaukee at Charlotte, Philadelphia at Chicago, Portland at San Antonio, Washington at Utah, and Orlando at New York. The Magic (47-26 SU, 30-41-2 ATS) are on a five-game winning streak heading into Monday's matchup, getting past New Jersey 95-85 at home last time out behind 21 points from Dwight Howard. The Knicks (35-38 SU, 40-31-2 ATS) have lost six games in a row, dropping a 114-106 decision in Charlotte in their last game on Saturday despite Carmelo Anthony's 36-point performance. The Magic have won all three meetings with the Knicks so far this season, going 2-1 ATS in those three contests.

As well, the College Basketball Invitational tournament begins its best-of-three championship series on Monday, with Creighton playing host to Oregon in Game 1. Oregon won its semifinal matchup 79-71 over Boise State, while Creighton beat UCF 82-64 in its semifinal contest. Creighton is pegged as the 4.5-point favorite for Monday.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are just two games on the NHL's schedule for Monday, with Colorado at Anaheim and Chicago at Detroit. The 40-26-8 Blackhawks will looking to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Anaheim in their last game on Saturday night. Marian Hossa scored the lone Chicago goal in that contest, while Corey Crawford gave up two goals on 25 shots. The 44-22-9 Red Wings beat Toronto 4-2 in their last game on Saturday, with Henrik Zetterberg picking up a goal and an assist and Jimmy Howard making 15 saves before leaving the game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Detroit, though, trails Chicago 2-1 in the season series, falling 4-1 at home when they last met on January 22.

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 08:53 AM

Monday's betting tips: Spurs slump continues, Ginobili hurt

Who’s hot

NBA: The under is 10-1 in Boston’s last 11 games.

NBA: The Chicago Bulls have covered in 21 of their last 28 games.

NHL: Chicago has won 11 of its last 16 overall.

NHL: Anaheim has won nine of its last 10 meetings with Colorado.

Who’s not

NBA: The New York Knicks have lost six in a row, both straight up and against the spread. New York has also lost each of its last six meetings with Orlando.

NBA: San Antonio has covered in only two of its last eight meetings with Portland.

NBA: Washington has covered in just eight of its last 31 road games.

NHL: Colorado has just three wins since Jan. 26.

Key stat

7 – The Washington Wizards have allowed at least 110 points in seven of their last 10 games and not surprisingly, have won and covered only one game over that span. However, despite their rotten defense, the club has played under in 41 times this season including five of the team’s last seven games.

Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked

Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics: Rondo sat out Sunday’s game against Minnesota with a sprained pinky finger and his status for Monday’s game against Indiana is up in the air. Rondo is putting up 10.2 points and 11.4 assists per game. Oddsmakers have yet to post a line for this matchup.

Game of the day

Orlando Magic at New York Knicks (1, 206.5)

Notable quotable

"There is a little anxiety and there is a little 'oh my gosh,' but I think the locker room's great and I think they know where we are, they realize the situation. And
Monday we got Orlando to rectify it. We still have our goals of making the playoffs and doing something in the playoffs." – New York Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni about Monday’s big game against the Magic.

Notes and tips

The San Antonio Spurs have lost three straight games for the first time this season. San Antonio dropped a 111-104 decision to Memphis on Sunday and also saw leading scorer Manu Ginobili go down with a quad injury late in the second quarter. He returned to play a bit in the second half, but wasn't himself. “At first, when I came to the bench, I thought I was going to be OK,” Ginobili said. “Then it stiffened up. I can’t put my full weight on it.” His status for Monday’s game against Portland is now uncertain.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard hurt his shoulder in the third period of Sunday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and won’t be in goal for Monday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. An MRI came back negative and the team currently lists him as day-to-day. Joey MacDonald is expected to start in Howard’s absence against Chicago.

NBA referee Leon Wood has seen more of his games play under the total than any other ref in the Association. The over/under record in the games he has worked is 25-38 with his average game total of 196.4, which is also among the lowest numbers of regular NBA refs.

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 08:57 AM

Monday's six-pack

-- 1980, 2006 and now 2011; the only Final Fours without a #1 seed.

-- This is the first Final Four ever without a #1 or a #2 seed.

-- Jim Calhoun is 68 years old, older than Brad Stevens/Shaka Smart, if you add up their ages (67).

-- Stevens' salary takes up over 10% of Butler's athletic budget. If you haven't noticed, he's worth every penny. I think he'll stay at Butler, and if I'm coach Smart, I'm very, very picky. NC State is a bad job until Coach K/RoyWilliams retire.

-- Tennessee hired Missouri State's Cuonzo Martin as its new coach, so thats one less school that will woo Shaka Smart. Martin played ball at Purdue, so it could be a sign that Matt Painter ain't going to Missouri.

-- Richmond's Chris Mooney signed a 10-year extension, taking himself off the job market. For now, Missouri becomrd the best alternative for Smart, if he'd like to move up in the financial world.

********************

Monday's List of 13: Things I've (re-)learned during hoop season

13) Butler-VCU in a Final Four game? Wow. March Madness is no doubt the best sporting event in this country. Not even close.

12) Teams Bill Self has lost to in March Madness as Kansas' coach: Georgia Tech, Bucknell, Bradley, UCLA, Michigan State, Northern Iowa and VCU. Four of those seven teams count as low or mid-majors.

11) When Self was a player at Oklahoma State, one of his buddies was a javelin thrower named Garth Brooks. Yes, that Garth Brooks.

10) Gout is caused by high levels of uric acid. OK, I watch too much TV.

9) If the president of Nike went to your school (Oregon) it means your new gym is going to be really, really nice. It also means the new playing floor is going to look hideous on TV.

8) I learned that if you're a D-I head coach, its a bad idea to get into a very public shouting match with a booster from another school, especially if you just had your picture taken with fans with a drink in your hand.

7) Addition by subtraction: Larry Drew II leaving North Carolina.
Subtraction by addition: Knicks trading for Carmelo Anthony.

6) I'm pretty sure college football fans are missing out on a great deal of fun, and TV networks are losing out on major money by not having some kind of playoff system. Interest in a football playoff would be huge.

5) Jimmy Johnson (football coach) takes Extenze, and boy, does it work well for him. Like I said, I watch way too much TV during hoop season.

4) NBA has a serious problem unless they can find a way for teams in the smaller markets to keep their stars. This trend of stars teaming up to go to form elite teams in glamorous markets isn't healthy for the league.

3) UConn was picked to finished 10th in the Big East; they're in Final 4. West Virginia was picked to finish 10th last year; they made Final 4. I'm just saying, coaches might be begging to get picked 10th next year.

2) I learned if you shoot 2-21 from the arc and 15-28 from the line, being a 10-point favorite doesn't matter, because you're going to lose.

1) VCU did extremely well hiring its last two coaches, Anthony Grant and Shaka Smart, both Florida assistant coaches. Florida's assistants now are Larry Shyatt, Rob Lanier and Richard Pitino Jr. Hmmm.........

Lanier was a disaster as Siena's head coach. Shyatt was head coach at Wyoming and Clemson, and young Pitino is, well, Rick Pitino's son, who at age 28, has been an assistant at Charleston/Northeastern/Duquesne/ Louisville and with the Gators. Will VCU stay with a winning formula? Or will Smart stay where he is and forego making a quick fortune?

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 08:59 AM

Final Four opening line report: Kentucky now the favorite

Kentucky has emerged as the favorite to win the NCAA tournament.

Jay Rood, sportsbook manager at the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas, made the Wildcats +160 favorites to win it all right after John Calipari’s young squad dusted off North Carolina to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1998.

Kentucky will face UConn (+200) in Saturday’s second game in Houston. The Wildcats opened as 1.5-point favorites over the Huskies, but were quickly bet up to -2 at the Mirage. The total opened around 141 online.

UConn (30-12, 21-12 ATS) clobbered Kentucky, 84-67, in Maui in November. Kemba Walker scored 29 points and the Huskies jumped out to an early big lead against the Wildcats (29-8, 16-15-1 ATS). Kentucky star freshman point guard Brandon Knight was held to just six points. He had 22 against North Carolina and has hit two game-winners in the NCAA tournament.

In the other seminfinal, Butler opened as 2.5-point favorite against Virginia Commonwealth, shortly after the Rams disposed of top seed Kansas in the early game Sunday. Pinnaclesports, BetED and BetCRIS were among the first online sportsbooks to post numbers for Saturday’s Final Four showdown between a pair of Cinderellas from mid-major conferences.

Eighth-seeded Butler has gone from a +1,500 longshot to a serious threat to win it all. Rood had the Bulldogs at +380 on Sunday. VCU, the second 11th seed to reach the Final Four (LSU, 1996), is +640 to win the tournament.

“VCU could win it, you know? Very easily” said Rood. “Athlete-for-athlete, they’re as good as anyone left.”

Still, Rood opened Butler as 3-point favorites over the Rams, citing the Bulldogs’ tournament experienced. But Vegas pros pounced on VCU +3 and bet the number down to 2.5. Sharp bettors also bet under 133 quickly, forcing Rood to move the total down to 132.

“I just think it might be a little higher-scoring than some guys believe,” said Rood.

Butler (27-9, 19-13-1 ATS) heads to Houston having won 13 straight. The Bulldogs are 9-2-1 against the spread during the run.

VCU (28-11, 18-20 ATS) lost four of five to end the season and snuck into the NCAA tournament as one of the First Four. Shaka Smart’s Rams have been an underdog is seven straight games, covering the spread in all but their 75-70 loss to Old Dominion in the Colonial Conference Tournament title game.

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:04 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Philadelphia at Chicago
The Sixers look to build in their 9-4 ATS record in their last 13 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600. Philadelphia is the pick (+10) according to Dunkel, which has the Bulls favored by only 8. Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (+10). Here are all of today's picks.

MONDAY, MARCH 28

Game 731-732: Milwaukee at Charlotte (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee 116.802; Charlotte 113.155
Dunkel Line & Total: Milwaukee by 3 1/2; 175
Vegas Line & Total: Charlotte by 1 1/2; 178
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (+1 1/2); Under

Game 733-734: Boston at Indiana (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Boston 119.671; Indiana 115.160
Dunkel Line & Total: Boston by 4 1/2; 185
Vegas Line & Total: Boston by 3; 189
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-3); Under

Game 735-736: Orlando at New York (7:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Orlando 122.003; New York 116.354
Dunkel Line & Total: Orlando by 5 1/2; 209
Vegas Line & Total: Orlando by 1; 206 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Orlando (-1); Over

Game 737-738: Philadelphia at Chicago (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia 119.095; Chicago 127.075
Dunkel Line & Total: Chicago by 8; 195
Vegas Line & Total: Chicago by 10; 191 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (+10); Over

Game 739-740: Portland at San Antonio (8:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Portland 121.190; San Antonio 125.379
Dunkel Line & Total: San Antonio by 4; 184
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 741-742: Washington at Utah (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Washington 106.231; Utah 116.740
Dunkel Line & Total: Utah by 10 1/2; 192
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:07 AM

NBA
Write-Up

Monday, March 28

Hot Teams
-- Milwaukee is 8-4 vs spread in its last dozen games. Bobcats won last two games, by 2-8 points, after losing 10 of last 12 games before that.
-- Celtics won last three road games by 4-10-3 points.
-- Orlando won last five games, but only covered one of them.
-- Chicago won 12 of its last 13 games (10-2-1 vs spread).
-- Portland won five of its last seven games (6-1 vs spread).

Cold Teams
-- Pacers are 5-7 vs spread in last dozen games as an underdog.
-- New York lost six games in row and nine of last ten.
-- 76ers lost three of their last four games.
-- Spurs lost their last three games, by 3-2-7 points.
-- Jazz lost their last six games, are 1-5 vs spread in last six as favorite. Washington lost 10 of last 11 games (3-8 vs spread).

Totals
-- Five of last seven Milwaukee games went over the total.
-- Last ten Boston games stayed under the total.
-- Last three New York games went over the total. Five of Orlando's last seven games stayed under.
-- Last five Chicago games went over the total.
-- Four of last five San Antonio games went over the total.
-- Three of last four Utah games stayed under the total.

Back-to-Back
-- Celtics are 1-7 vs spread on road if they won the night before.
-- 76ers are 7-4 vs spread if they lost the night before.
-- Portland is 9-5-1 vs spread on road if it played night before.
-- Washington is 0-6 vs spread if it covered the night before.

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:10 AM

NBA

Monday, March 28

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
MILWAUKEE vs. CHARLOTTE
Milwaukee is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games on the road
Milwaukee is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing Charlotte
Charlotte is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Charlotte's last 8 games at home

7:00 PM
BOSTON vs. INDIANA
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games
Indiana is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing at home against Boston

7:30 PM
ORLANDO vs. NEW YORK
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Orlando's last 7 games
Orlando is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
New York is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of New York's last 12 games

8:00 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 7 games
Philadelphia is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing at home against Philadelphia

8:30 PM
PORTLAND vs. SAN ANTONIO
Portland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland's last 6 games on the road
San Antonio is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Antonio's last 6 games at home

9:00 PM
WASHINGTON vs. UTAH
Washington is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Utah
Washington is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Utah
Utah is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Washington
Utah is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games

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**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:13 AM

NBA

Monday, March 28

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Pick 'n' roll: Monday's best NBA bets
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Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls (-10, 192)

With Derrick Rose getting all sorts of MVP talk lately and the Bulls on a healthy hot streak that has seen them lose just once over the past 13 games, you wouldn’t think coach Tom Thibodeau would have too much to complain about.

However, Thibodeau isn’t happy with his club’s slow starts lately.

The Bulls gave up 48 points to the Bucks in the first half on Saturday with Milwaukee shooting 47 percent. After the break, Chicago clamped down on defense and held to Bucks to 39 points in the second half on 31.7 percent shooting.

That was enough to help Chicago to a 95-87 victory, cashing in as a 5.5-point favorite.

"We're a team that has a lot of confidence in our defense," forward Joakim Noah said. "We feel we're never out of it. We're a team of fighters and a lot of character."

That much is true, but this line looks too fat to us.

Pick: 76ers

Milwaukee Bucks at Charlotte Bobcats (-1.5, 177.5)

The Bucks and Bobcats are battling for eighth spot in the Easter Conference – a spot that Indiana currently occupies.

Charlotte heads into the game coming off a pair of big wins over Boston and New York. The Bobcats dropped the Knicks 114-106 as a 4.5-point underdog on Saturday, with eight different players scoring in double figures.

Meanwhile, the Bucks are just coming off that tough loss to the Bulls after leading by as many as 15 points.

“We still got a chance (at the playoffs), it’s gonna come down to probably the last couple games of the season - we’re still right there,” swingman John Salmons told reporters. “We just have to continue to play (hard) down the stretch for the rest of the season and see what happens.”

There’s talk that Michael Redd may make his debut on Monday, but we like Charlotte’s depth here.

Pick: Bobcats

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**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:14 AM

NCAAB
Dunkel

Oregon at Creighton
The Bluejays look to build on their 10-1 ATS record in their last 11 home games. Creighton is the pick (-4 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Blue Jays favored by 6. Dunkel Pick: Creighton (-4 1/2). Here are all of today's games.

MONDAY, MARCH 28

Game 743-744: Oregon at Creighton (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oregon 60.241; Creighton 66.321
Dunkel Line: Creighton by 6
Vegas Line: Creighton by 4 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Creighton (-4 1/2)

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:16 AM

NCAAB
Long Sheet

Monday, March 28

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OREGON (19 - 17) at CREIGHTON (22 - 14) - 3/28/2011, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OREGON is 24-41 ATS (-21.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
CREIGHTON is 15-7 ATS (+7.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:18 AM

NCAAB
Short Sheet

Monday, March 28

CBI Tournament - Championship Series - Game 1 (Best of 3)

OREGON at CREIGHTON, 8:00 PM ET HD NET
OREGON: 42-23 ATS off BB home wins
CREIGHTON: 13-3 Over off 2 straight double digit wins

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:19 AM

NCAAB
Write-Up

Monday, March 28

Dana Altman coached Creighton for 16 years, then moved on to Oregon last spring; now he finds himself in best-of-3 series against players that he recruited (Bluejays have four starters back from LY). Creighton has covered its last six games as a favorite; they're very tough at home. MVC home favorites of 6 or less points are 9-7 vs spread. Pac-10 road dogs of 6 or less points are 8-10. Oregon won five of last six games, but are 1-4 in last five road games- this is their first true road game since March 5. Over is 8-3 in Ducks' last 11 games overall.

**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:21 AM

NCAAB

Monday, March 28

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Trend Report
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8:05 PM
OREGON vs. CREIGHTON
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oregon's last 6 games on the road
Oregon is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Creighton is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Creighton's last 5 games at home

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**Udog** · 03-28-2011, 09:23 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Chicago at Detroit
The Red Wings look to take advantage of a Chicago team that is 2-5 in its last 7 games as a road underdog from +110 to +150. Detroit is the pick (-130) according to Dunkel, which has the Red Wings favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Detroit (-130). Here are all of today's picks.

MONDAY, MARCH 28

Game 1-2: Chicago at Detroit (7:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Chicago 10.782; Detroit 12.480
Dunkel Line & Total: Detroit by 1 1/2; 4 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Detroit (-130); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (-130); Under

Game 3-4: Colorado at Anaheim (10:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado 9.929; Anaheim 12.071
Dunkel Line & Total: Anaheim by 2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Anaheim (-240); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Anaheim (-240); Over

Announcement

Monday's Trends and Indexes - 3/28 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, Misc.)

Monday's Trends and Indexes - 3/28 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, Misc.)

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