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Insider Edge Sports – Report For Thursday December 2, 2004
Folks, we do it again on Wednesday as member plays go 4-1, the only loss coming by a bucket with the Pioneers (all recaps below). Another guaranteed winning card! For Thursday, it’s a small card but a strong one nonetheless. We have the MAC Championship winner along with the free member NCAA Hoops release below. And yes the guarantee continues – 2-0 tonight or 7 days are on us.
• NFL is 37-28 (57.0%) this season
• NCAA Football is 69-48 (59.0%) this season
• Game of the Year Releases are 6-1 (85.7%)
• NCAA Hoops are hitting 59.5%
*** Click Here For Thursday’s One Day Pass - $19.95 *** (GUARANTEE)
We are in the homestretch of the NCAA Football season and in position to claim the 2004 NCAA Football Handicapping World Championship! I’m sure you’ve heard of these big name guys:
Big Al McMordie
Larry Ness
Jimmy Spats
Dave Scandaliato
Brian Gabrielle
Ted Sevransky
Tony George
Taking nothing away from these top class guys, but well, I’m ahead of all of them. High priced marketing and advertising gets these guys what they want but what gets me what I want is winning! 2nd place proves it! 1st place is just a few games away and the coveted NCAA Football World Handicapping Champion that goes along with it.
Procappers NCAA Football Standings Here
The point? If you aren’t with us for the whole football season, there really are no excuses. We are kicking tail on the gridiron and our results prove it as we are as close to 60% you can be without being there. Ask a majority of other services where they are monitored and what their season record is and you will most likely be ignored. Join us for the rest of the season. We are offering a special that will get you everything for the remainder of the football season right through the Super Bowl. $249 gets you every winner in every sport for the next 2+ months. Cash in like our numerous long-term clients are this season and don’t be left behind.
*** Click Here For Our Football Remainder of the Season Special - $249.00 ***
Can’t stress enough how important it is to join us long term. You see the results – don’t be left sitting in the stands. Basketball is here and we are ready to win yet again. Get the entire basketball season (NBA and NCAA) for only $499. This includes everything in all sports right through the NBA Finals. Winning selections for just over $2 per day? That’s an easy choice.
*** Click Here For Our Basketball Season Package - $499.00 ***
Free Service Play for Thursday, December 2, 2004
Fordham Rams at Iona Gaels 7:30 PM ET
Iona Gaels –13 –110 (2 Units)
Fordham returns only four scholarship players from last year’s squad, including three starters. Back are senior captains Derrick Breland and Mushon Ya’akosi along with fellow returning starter junior guard Jermaine Anderson. Also back is sophomore forward Dominic Osei. The Rams lost seven players from last year’s team and to make up for it, Fordham has five walk-ons who were on the roster in 2003-04. The Rams are allowing 53.6% shooting from the floor and 41.9% shooting from behind the arc. Their only win came against St. Francis (NY) but if not for a 19 rebound advantage and 38.9% free throw shooting from the Terriers, they might still be winless. They followed this effort up with a 15-point loss to Boston University. Not Boston College, Boston University. They then lost by 16 at home to NYC rival Manhattan. All in all, this is not a good team as they are extremely young and very inexperienced. Iona is coming off a loss to an America East team as well and that was Vermont. The Catamounts however were the same team that took Kansas down to the wire two weeks ago. Vermont shot 46.7% from the field which was the first Gael opponent to connect on better than 40.0% of its shots. The Gaels other loss came at a tough Creighton team by just 6 points. Big win over Northern Arizona and St. Bonaventure show that they know how to beat up on the patsies and Fordham sure falls into that category. Unlike the Rams, Iona is pretty experienced and they will have by far the two best players on the court in Greg Jenkins and Ricky Soliver, who were both named to the preseason All-MAAC Second team. The two are averaging 29.5 ppg and 10.8 rpg. Jenkins is ranked 16th nationally, and first in the MAAC, in field goal percentage at 71.4% from the floor. Overall, Iona’s post players have connected on a high rate of success from the floor - 49-for-79 (62.0%). Through four games so far in 2004-05, Iona is averaging almost 50.0% shooting from the floor (49.3%, 101-205) and almost 40.0% from three-point land (38.5%, 20-52). Those numbers are nearly identical to what Fordham is allowing on the season. In addition to its offensive proficiency, Iona’s defense has been strong, holding opponents to just 36.8% shooting from the field (86-234). Since the 1995-96 season, Iona is 10-9 vs. A-10 opponents, a good indication showing they can play up to the competition. Even though Fordham isn’t considered to be on that same level.
Wednesday’s 4-1 recap:
Toledo Rockets at East Carolina Pirates 7:00 PM ET
Toledo Rockets +3 –110 (2 Units)
We are still not sold on this Pirates team who is 3-2 but is coming off a lopsided win against a D-II school and lost by 30 points prior to that to Gardner-Webb. Moussa Badiane leads the team in scoring at 16.5 ppg but he did tally 28 in their last contest so in reality, he is averaging around 12 ppg. Overall, this is a very young team that has to deal with the loss of four of his top six scorers from a season ago. They have started 5 freshmen and sophomores so far this year while 4 freshmen are seeing significant playing time. That will be a great benefit later in the season but right now it is still a learning experience. East Carolina is 11th in CUSA in scoring and their youth definitely shows by them committing 15 turnovers per game, also 11th in the conference. Toledo is a surprising 0-2 to start the season but the losses to Vanderbilt and Wright St. aren’t completely shocking as those teams should have good seasons. Vanderbilt will be a force again in the SEC while the Raiders are 3-1 with their lone loss at Arizona. The biggest surprise is the lack of production from guard Keith Triplett, who is averaging just 7.5 ppg and 4 turnovers per game. Triplett earned all-MAC First-Team honors this past season after leading the league in steals (2.6 spg), ranking second in scoring (19.6 ppg) and 11th in assists (3.1 apg). Their backcourt of him, Sammy Villegas and Justin Ingram is averaging only 23 ppg and they have a surprisingly bad 0.75 A/TO ratio. Triplett has hit only 11% of his shots from behind the arc after hitting 41.5% last season so that will come around especially against a team that has allowed 95 ppg to their last two D-1 opponents. The Rockets are getting great production in their frontcourt off the bench as Florentino Valencia and Anton Currie are averaging a combined 27 ppg and 11.5 rpg. Toledo has started slowly in each of its first two contests, falling behind 11-2 at Vanderbilt and 14-4 at Wright State. Having it happen twice will be enough motivation for the Rockets to come out strong in this one.
New Mexico St. Aggies at New Mexico Lobos 9:00 PM ET
New Mexico Lobos -12 –110 (2 Units)
Danny Granger, who transferred from Bradley a couple years back, is being picked as the preseason Player of the Year in the MWC and for good reason. He currently leads the team in scoring at 17 ppg and he is 5th in the MWC. He is also third in the conference in rebounding and he is near the top in both FG% and 3FG%. In total 4 starters return from last season and their experience is evident. Four players are averaging double figures while their top 6 players in minutes are all juniors and seniors. As a team, the Lobos are 1st in scoring (83.2 ppg), 1st in FG% (53.1%), 2nd is 3FG% (40.5%) and 1st in assists in the MWC. Their lone loss on the season came by only 4 points at Oregon, considered by many as a top-3 Pac 10 team and a very tough place for visitors to win at. The Aggies are in disarray to a point as they lost coach Lou Henson due to health reasons and they are very young both inside and out. New Mexico St. has picked up the defense this season, holding their opponents to just 41.1% shooting from the floor this year. The Aggies are also tough out on the 3-point line, as their opponents are making just 28.0% of their shots from long range. However, this game represents their first true road game of the season and it couldn’t come at a worst place right now. New Mexico improved to 5-0 at home this season and has captured 18 of its past 20 in The Pit. The Lobos have shot 56.5% (144-255) at home this year, hitting no fewer than 51% of its shots in any home game to date. They have twice shot better than 60% from the floor, including 60.9% against the Northern Arizona in their last outing. The clubs split their series last season as the Lobos rolled to a 16-point win at home. The Aggies won on their floor as Duane John was the difference in Las Cruces, exploding for 33 points off the bench. John was expected to lead the offense this season but he has not stepped onto the court because of academics. John was the Aggies second leading scorer a year ago averaging 13.1 points and 5.2 rebounds a game and was chosen on several All-Sun Belt preseason teams. At 5-1, New Mexico is off to its best start since the 2000-01 team began 10-1. The Lobos have won 21 straight games when shooting better than their opponent, including a perfect 12-0 in 2003-04.
UNLV Rebels at California Golden Bears 11:00 PM ET
UNLV Rebels +3 –110 (2 Units)
Three seniors and a junior make up the starting five for UNLV and with a great coach like Lon Kruger, there is no telling how far this team can go. The Rebels have arguably the best forward in the conference Odartey Blankson is averaging 18.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg after averaging a double-double last season. His numbers this season put him 3rd in the conference in scoring and 4th in rebounding and is just ahead of teammate Louis Amundson who is averaging 9.0 rpg. The Bears will miss Leon Powe more than they can imagine in this spot down low as the Rebels should dominate the glass. In the backcourt, Jerel Blassingame is one of the best passers in the game. He is 2nd in the MWC with 6.5 apg and he is in the top 20 in the country through two games. Romel Beck is just under his 14.2 ppg scoring average from last season coming off the bench. The Rebels lost their opener to St. Mary’s and although he was disappointed by the loss, Kruger feels that this game was not indicative of the way the Rebels will play this season. It showed their next game as they handled a good Oregon St. team by 25 points. California is without their best player, who could be back by conference time. In the meantime, they are leaning on a sophomore and a junior to handle the scoring duties. There is not a single senior on this roster. To make matters worse, the Bears are now without Ayinde Ubaka for the next couple months. Ubaka was their third leading scorer at 7.7 ppg through the first three games and also led the team in assists at 4.0 apg. For the first time since the inception of the Mountain West Conference, UNLV was picked first in the league’s 2004-05 preseason poll, showing the talent this team has. The Rebels were 17-2 last season when they recorded more assists in a game than their opponent and they are 1-0 in that category this season. They should win the assist battle against the Bears who at this point have no proven point guard and had just 6 assists in their last game at BYU.
Denver Pioneers at Loyola Marymount Lions 10:05 PM ET
Denver Pioneers +2 –110 (2 Units)
The Denver backcourt should be one of the two or three best in the Sun Belt Conference. Erik Benzel was fifth in the nation in three-point field goals made per game and 26th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.422). Benzel was a second-team all-conference selection last year. Along side him is Rodney Billups, brother of the Detroit Pistons’ Chauncey, who brings in a great ability to penetrate. He is already averaging 6.7 apg. JUCO transfer Andrew Carpenter is third on the team with 10.7 ppg and actually leads the team from behind the arc at 57.1% (4-7). This team lost a lot down low but there is considerable upside led by senior center Yemi Nicholson, who leads the team in scoring with 18.3 ppg and rebounding with 10.7 rpg. He is a huge presence down low that led the team in blocks (30) last year despite averaging 12.5 minutes. Denver has won 31 games the past two years and with a win over Big Sky power Eastern Washington and a close loss at Big XII Kansas St., there is reason to believe this is a team that will continue to rise. Against the Eagles, Denver shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23) in the second half and led by as many as 18 points. Loyola Marymount is in for another long season as they have only one senior on their roster. They lost a pair of outstanding forwards in Sherman Gay and Keith Kincade, who accounted for 28.5 ppg last year. The frontcourt is now thin because of that and that is where Denver has the big advantage. The backcourt remains the strength of the team with 4 solid players but defensively is where the weakness will show. They allowed 70 points to Monmouth and 79 points to Riverside, two teams that should not be scoring that many points against a WCC team. Riverside outrebounded Loyola Marymount 49-32 and a similar outcome is likely in this game.
Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic 7:05 PM ET
Orlando Magic -6 –110 (2 Units)
Prior to their game against Miami, Toronto has lost 7 of their 8 road games this season including their last 6 and they are on a 2-8 run over their last 10 games. They are 3-9 in their last 12 games after starting the season 3-0. Teams are lighting them up at 46.6% shooting from the floor including 36.9% from behind the arc. Their last 4 road losses have all been by at least 6 points and the average loss during this span is 10.0 ppg. The big matchup against the Heat and Shaquille O’Neal does not help in preparing for the game with Orlando. Orlando is coming off just their 2nd home loss of the season against Boston but the Celtics had a little extra in the tank as Doc Rivers was facing his former team that fired him last season so the motivation was definitely in place. Orlando fell behind early against Boston after Steve Francis took a seat on the bench with two quick fouls while his teammates missed 22 of their first 31 shots in the game, ensuing in the insurmountable 37-20 first-quarter lead. The Magic are quietly off to a 8-5 start and trail Miami by just one game in the Southeast division. The Magic were 1-11 at this point last November so this is a big deal. Even with the loss, they are 4-2 their last 6 games and they have solid wins at home against Dallas, Los Angeles and Utah. They are averaging 100.7 ppg at home this season on 44% shooting. They have eclipsed the century mark in 4 of their last 5 home games, the only exception being against Portland who has the 2nd best defense in the league. In comparison, Toronto has the 6th worst defense in points allowed and 8th worst in field goal shooting. Toronto is not focusing on basketball right now with players sniping at coaches, coaches dissatisfied with players, teammates questioning the roles of each other and the ever-present distraction of Vince Carter's future hanging over the team.
Folks, we do it again on Wednesday as member plays go 4-1, the only loss coming by a bucket with the Pioneers (all recaps below). Another guaranteed winning card! For Thursday, it’s a small card but a strong one nonetheless. We have the MAC Championship winner along with the free member NCAA Hoops release below. And yes the guarantee continues – 2-0 tonight or 7 days are on us.
• NFL is 37-28 (57.0%) this season
• NCAA Football is 69-48 (59.0%) this season
• Game of the Year Releases are 6-1 (85.7%)
• NCAA Hoops are hitting 59.5%
*** Click Here For Thursday’s One Day Pass - $19.95 *** (GUARANTEE)
We are in the homestretch of the NCAA Football season and in position to claim the 2004 NCAA Football Handicapping World Championship! I’m sure you’ve heard of these big name guys:
Big Al McMordie
Larry Ness
Jimmy Spats
Dave Scandaliato
Brian Gabrielle
Ted Sevransky
Tony George
Taking nothing away from these top class guys, but well, I’m ahead of all of them. High priced marketing and advertising gets these guys what they want but what gets me what I want is winning! 2nd place proves it! 1st place is just a few games away and the coveted NCAA Football World Handicapping Champion that goes along with it.
Procappers NCAA Football Standings Here
The point? If you aren’t with us for the whole football season, there really are no excuses. We are kicking tail on the gridiron and our results prove it as we are as close to 60% you can be without being there. Ask a majority of other services where they are monitored and what their season record is and you will most likely be ignored. Join us for the rest of the season. We are offering a special that will get you everything for the remainder of the football season right through the Super Bowl. $249 gets you every winner in every sport for the next 2+ months. Cash in like our numerous long-term clients are this season and don’t be left behind.
*** Click Here For Our Football Remainder of the Season Special - $249.00 ***
Can’t stress enough how important it is to join us long term. You see the results – don’t be left sitting in the stands. Basketball is here and we are ready to win yet again. Get the entire basketball season (NBA and NCAA) for only $499. This includes everything in all sports right through the NBA Finals. Winning selections for just over $2 per day? That’s an easy choice.
*** Click Here For Our Basketball Season Package - $499.00 ***
Free Service Play for Thursday, December 2, 2004
Fordham Rams at Iona Gaels 7:30 PM ET
Iona Gaels –13 –110 (2 Units)
Fordham returns only four scholarship players from last year’s squad, including three starters. Back are senior captains Derrick Breland and Mushon Ya’akosi along with fellow returning starter junior guard Jermaine Anderson. Also back is sophomore forward Dominic Osei. The Rams lost seven players from last year’s team and to make up for it, Fordham has five walk-ons who were on the roster in 2003-04. The Rams are allowing 53.6% shooting from the floor and 41.9% shooting from behind the arc. Their only win came against St. Francis (NY) but if not for a 19 rebound advantage and 38.9% free throw shooting from the Terriers, they might still be winless. They followed this effort up with a 15-point loss to Boston University. Not Boston College, Boston University. They then lost by 16 at home to NYC rival Manhattan. All in all, this is not a good team as they are extremely young and very inexperienced. Iona is coming off a loss to an America East team as well and that was Vermont. The Catamounts however were the same team that took Kansas down to the wire two weeks ago. Vermont shot 46.7% from the field which was the first Gael opponent to connect on better than 40.0% of its shots. The Gaels other loss came at a tough Creighton team by just 6 points. Big win over Northern Arizona and St. Bonaventure show that they know how to beat up on the patsies and Fordham sure falls into that category. Unlike the Rams, Iona is pretty experienced and they will have by far the two best players on the court in Greg Jenkins and Ricky Soliver, who were both named to the preseason All-MAAC Second team. The two are averaging 29.5 ppg and 10.8 rpg. Jenkins is ranked 16th nationally, and first in the MAAC, in field goal percentage at 71.4% from the floor. Overall, Iona’s post players have connected on a high rate of success from the floor - 49-for-79 (62.0%). Through four games so far in 2004-05, Iona is averaging almost 50.0% shooting from the floor (49.3%, 101-205) and almost 40.0% from three-point land (38.5%, 20-52). Those numbers are nearly identical to what Fordham is allowing on the season. In addition to its offensive proficiency, Iona’s defense has been strong, holding opponents to just 36.8% shooting from the field (86-234). Since the 1995-96 season, Iona is 10-9 vs. A-10 opponents, a good indication showing they can play up to the competition. Even though Fordham isn’t considered to be on that same level.
Wednesday’s 4-1 recap:
Toledo Rockets at East Carolina Pirates 7:00 PM ET
Toledo Rockets +3 –110 (2 Units)
We are still not sold on this Pirates team who is 3-2 but is coming off a lopsided win against a D-II school and lost by 30 points prior to that to Gardner-Webb. Moussa Badiane leads the team in scoring at 16.5 ppg but he did tally 28 in their last contest so in reality, he is averaging around 12 ppg. Overall, this is a very young team that has to deal with the loss of four of his top six scorers from a season ago. They have started 5 freshmen and sophomores so far this year while 4 freshmen are seeing significant playing time. That will be a great benefit later in the season but right now it is still a learning experience. East Carolina is 11th in CUSA in scoring and their youth definitely shows by them committing 15 turnovers per game, also 11th in the conference. Toledo is a surprising 0-2 to start the season but the losses to Vanderbilt and Wright St. aren’t completely shocking as those teams should have good seasons. Vanderbilt will be a force again in the SEC while the Raiders are 3-1 with their lone loss at Arizona. The biggest surprise is the lack of production from guard Keith Triplett, who is averaging just 7.5 ppg and 4 turnovers per game. Triplett earned all-MAC First-Team honors this past season after leading the league in steals (2.6 spg), ranking second in scoring (19.6 ppg) and 11th in assists (3.1 apg). Their backcourt of him, Sammy Villegas and Justin Ingram is averaging only 23 ppg and they have a surprisingly bad 0.75 A/TO ratio. Triplett has hit only 11% of his shots from behind the arc after hitting 41.5% last season so that will come around especially against a team that has allowed 95 ppg to their last two D-1 opponents. The Rockets are getting great production in their frontcourt off the bench as Florentino Valencia and Anton Currie are averaging a combined 27 ppg and 11.5 rpg. Toledo has started slowly in each of its first two contests, falling behind 11-2 at Vanderbilt and 14-4 at Wright State. Having it happen twice will be enough motivation for the Rockets to come out strong in this one.
New Mexico St. Aggies at New Mexico Lobos 9:00 PM ET
New Mexico Lobos -12 –110 (2 Units)
Danny Granger, who transferred from Bradley a couple years back, is being picked as the preseason Player of the Year in the MWC and for good reason. He currently leads the team in scoring at 17 ppg and he is 5th in the MWC. He is also third in the conference in rebounding and he is near the top in both FG% and 3FG%. In total 4 starters return from last season and their experience is evident. Four players are averaging double figures while their top 6 players in minutes are all juniors and seniors. As a team, the Lobos are 1st in scoring (83.2 ppg), 1st in FG% (53.1%), 2nd is 3FG% (40.5%) and 1st in assists in the MWC. Their lone loss on the season came by only 4 points at Oregon, considered by many as a top-3 Pac 10 team and a very tough place for visitors to win at. The Aggies are in disarray to a point as they lost coach Lou Henson due to health reasons and they are very young both inside and out. New Mexico St. has picked up the defense this season, holding their opponents to just 41.1% shooting from the floor this year. The Aggies are also tough out on the 3-point line, as their opponents are making just 28.0% of their shots from long range. However, this game represents their first true road game of the season and it couldn’t come at a worst place right now. New Mexico improved to 5-0 at home this season and has captured 18 of its past 20 in The Pit. The Lobos have shot 56.5% (144-255) at home this year, hitting no fewer than 51% of its shots in any home game to date. They have twice shot better than 60% from the floor, including 60.9% against the Northern Arizona in their last outing. The clubs split their series last season as the Lobos rolled to a 16-point win at home. The Aggies won on their floor as Duane John was the difference in Las Cruces, exploding for 33 points off the bench. John was expected to lead the offense this season but he has not stepped onto the court because of academics. John was the Aggies second leading scorer a year ago averaging 13.1 points and 5.2 rebounds a game and was chosen on several All-Sun Belt preseason teams. At 5-1, New Mexico is off to its best start since the 2000-01 team began 10-1. The Lobos have won 21 straight games when shooting better than their opponent, including a perfect 12-0 in 2003-04.
UNLV Rebels at California Golden Bears 11:00 PM ET
UNLV Rebels +3 –110 (2 Units)
Three seniors and a junior make up the starting five for UNLV and with a great coach like Lon Kruger, there is no telling how far this team can go. The Rebels have arguably the best forward in the conference Odartey Blankson is averaging 18.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg after averaging a double-double last season. His numbers this season put him 3rd in the conference in scoring and 4th in rebounding and is just ahead of teammate Louis Amundson who is averaging 9.0 rpg. The Bears will miss Leon Powe more than they can imagine in this spot down low as the Rebels should dominate the glass. In the backcourt, Jerel Blassingame is one of the best passers in the game. He is 2nd in the MWC with 6.5 apg and he is in the top 20 in the country through two games. Romel Beck is just under his 14.2 ppg scoring average from last season coming off the bench. The Rebels lost their opener to St. Mary’s and although he was disappointed by the loss, Kruger feels that this game was not indicative of the way the Rebels will play this season. It showed their next game as they handled a good Oregon St. team by 25 points. California is without their best player, who could be back by conference time. In the meantime, they are leaning on a sophomore and a junior to handle the scoring duties. There is not a single senior on this roster. To make matters worse, the Bears are now without Ayinde Ubaka for the next couple months. Ubaka was their third leading scorer at 7.7 ppg through the first three games and also led the team in assists at 4.0 apg. For the first time since the inception of the Mountain West Conference, UNLV was picked first in the league’s 2004-05 preseason poll, showing the talent this team has. The Rebels were 17-2 last season when they recorded more assists in a game than their opponent and they are 1-0 in that category this season. They should win the assist battle against the Bears who at this point have no proven point guard and had just 6 assists in their last game at BYU.
Denver Pioneers at Loyola Marymount Lions 10:05 PM ET
Denver Pioneers +2 –110 (2 Units)
The Denver backcourt should be one of the two or three best in the Sun Belt Conference. Erik Benzel was fifth in the nation in three-point field goals made per game and 26th in the country in three-point field goal percentage (.422). Benzel was a second-team all-conference selection last year. Along side him is Rodney Billups, brother of the Detroit Pistons’ Chauncey, who brings in a great ability to penetrate. He is already averaging 6.7 apg. JUCO transfer Andrew Carpenter is third on the team with 10.7 ppg and actually leads the team from behind the arc at 57.1% (4-7). This team lost a lot down low but there is considerable upside led by senior center Yemi Nicholson, who leads the team in scoring with 18.3 ppg and rebounding with 10.7 rpg. He is a huge presence down low that led the team in blocks (30) last year despite averaging 12.5 minutes. Denver has won 31 games the past two years and with a win over Big Sky power Eastern Washington and a close loss at Big XII Kansas St., there is reason to believe this is a team that will continue to rise. Against the Eagles, Denver shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23) in the second half and led by as many as 18 points. Loyola Marymount is in for another long season as they have only one senior on their roster. They lost a pair of outstanding forwards in Sherman Gay and Keith Kincade, who accounted for 28.5 ppg last year. The frontcourt is now thin because of that and that is where Denver has the big advantage. The backcourt remains the strength of the team with 4 solid players but defensively is where the weakness will show. They allowed 70 points to Monmouth and 79 points to Riverside, two teams that should not be scoring that many points against a WCC team. Riverside outrebounded Loyola Marymount 49-32 and a similar outcome is likely in this game.
Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic 7:05 PM ET
Orlando Magic -6 –110 (2 Units)
Prior to their game against Miami, Toronto has lost 7 of their 8 road games this season including their last 6 and they are on a 2-8 run over their last 10 games. They are 3-9 in their last 12 games after starting the season 3-0. Teams are lighting them up at 46.6% shooting from the floor including 36.9% from behind the arc. Their last 4 road losses have all been by at least 6 points and the average loss during this span is 10.0 ppg. The big matchup against the Heat and Shaquille O’Neal does not help in preparing for the game with Orlando. Orlando is coming off just their 2nd home loss of the season against Boston but the Celtics had a little extra in the tank as Doc Rivers was facing his former team that fired him last season so the motivation was definitely in place. Orlando fell behind early against Boston after Steve Francis took a seat on the bench with two quick fouls while his teammates missed 22 of their first 31 shots in the game, ensuing in the insurmountable 37-20 first-quarter lead. The Magic are quietly off to a 8-5 start and trail Miami by just one game in the Southeast division. The Magic were 1-11 at this point last November so this is a big deal. Even with the loss, they are 4-2 their last 6 games and they have solid wins at home against Dallas, Los Angeles and Utah. They are averaging 100.7 ppg at home this season on 44% shooting. They have eclipsed the century mark in 4 of their last 5 home games, the only exception being against Portland who has the 2nd best defense in the league. In comparison, Toronto has the 6th worst defense in points allowed and 8th worst in field goal shooting. Toronto is not focusing on basketball right now with players sniping at coaches, coaches dissatisfied with players, teammates questioning the roles of each other and the ever-present distraction of Vince Carter's future hanging over the team.
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