[University of Sportsbooks]

Starting off with Duke -3.5.
Will be back with more later and some write ups.

[University of Sportsbooks]

Xaiver -3

Kansas -13

I expect UNLV’s inexperience to really show in this matchup against a very experienced Jayhawks squad. Kansas made a trip to the Elite 8 last season and the Jayhawks will not be satisfied with anything less than a National Championship this time around. I expect Kansas to come out running and gunning to get the tempo going in its favor. While UNLV has been good defensively this season, it has not had to play a team which is better than them at every position. UNLV will have to work so hard defensively against Kansas that it will not have enough energy on the offensive end. Kansas scores 81.6ppg and holds its opponents to just 61.6. No team in the country, with the exception of UCLA perhaps, is as good on both ends of the floor.

Wisconsin -4.5
The Wisconsin Badgers continue to get little respect even though all they do is win. Odds makers must not like the style of basketball the Badgers play with their defense-first philosophy. Head coach Bo Ryan is one of the most underrated generals in the business. He will come up with a great plan to slow down Beasley and Walker from Kansas State, making their role players try and beat the Badgers. It won’t happen Saturday. Kansas State is 1-9 ATS in road games after failing to cover 4 of their last 5 against the spread since 1997. Wisconsin is 8-0 ATS after a game outrebounding opponent by 20 or more since 1997. The key to this game will be the Badgers’ ability to keep Kansas State off the boards. The Wildcats won’t see the second chance points they did against USC.

Notre Dame/Washington State OVER 133.5
I think the Washington State Cougars are going to have to be a little more offensive minded than normal to beat the Irish and that will carry this one over the number. Notre Dame is 10-1 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record after 15 or more games this season, 6-0 OVER versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 8+ points/game after 15+ games this season and 11-1 OVER after having won 12 or more of their last 15 games this season.

Texas A&M/UCLA UNDER 125
Oddsmakers are begging us to take the over here, but we won’t bite. Both of these teams pride themselves on defense and we’ll see plenty of solid “D” in this one, keeping the score down. Texas A&M is 19-11 UNDER in all games this season, 9-1 UNDER in road games after 4 straight games committing 14 or less turnovers over the last 3 seasons, and 9-2 UNDER in road games after one or more consecutive overs over the last 2 seasons. UCLA is 11-2 UNDER after game - where they allowed a shooting pct. of 33% or less over the last 3 seasons, 13-3 UNDER when seeded 4 or higher in the NCAA tournament since 1997, and 14-5 UNDER in road games when playing their 2nd game in 3 days over the last 3 seasons. Texas A&M knows its only chance is to keep this a half court game so we expect the Aggies to be very patient on offense.

NIT GAME:
Massachusetts -5.5
With Umass playing this NIT battle at home against Akron, we have to get them the edge as just a small favorite. Umass is 12-3 in home games this season, scoring over 82 points per game and outscoring their opponents by 10 points per contest. Head coach Travis Ford of Umass is 30-16 ATS after failing to cover 2 of their last 3 against the spread in all games he has coached since 1997. Akron cannot win back-to-back tough road games after beating Florida State their last time out. FSU didn’t play with any heart in that game, while Umass played with tremendous heart in their opener with a 20-point win over Stephen F. Austin. Umass will try to win this NIT by knocking off Akron today in the process. Bet Massachusetts at home.

NBA
Phoenix Suns -7
Phoenix gets the Rockets after Houston won a thriller over Golden State last night by a final of 109-106. This is a great match-up for the Suns due to the fact that Yao Ming is out for Houston. Dikembe Mutumbo will not be able to perform well on back-to-back nights. Amare Staudamire and Shaquille O’Neal will have their way with Houston’s big men in the paint. This is where the game will be won tonight. Phoenix has won 6 straight games by at least 8 points a piece, going 5-0-1 ATS in the process. Shaq is making his presence felt and Staudamire is getting more open looks because of it. Phoenix is 7-2 SU and 8-1 ATS in their last 9 meetings with Houston over the last 3 seasons. This has been a great opponent for the Suns and we expect them to roll tonight by double-digits tonight.