If you lived somewhere you could legally gamble on sports, and you played every game in last week's blog for the same amount, you would have ended up ahead for the weekend, which is always nice.  I did terribly in the NBA, but had a great debut in college hoops and gained back some of the early losses in the NFL.  As always, read the disclaimers in the first blog (short version: don't do anything illegal), and then proceed with the rest of this weekend's edition. 

 

Blog Records:

 

College Basketball:  3-0, +$300

NBA:  2-6, -460 

MLB Playoffs:  5-3, +325

College Football:  13-13-1, -130

NFL:  4-5-1, -150

 

 

College Basketball

 

     Well, I couldn't have started much better.  I won all 3 of last weeks picks with ease.  College basketball and baseball are where you can find a lot of bad lines if you have the time to look for them.  Here are four more for Friday night:

 

Baylor -4.5

 

     I was somewhat stunned when I looked at Baylor's roster for this season and discovered that they have a really good team down there that nobody is talking about.  Coach Drew has taken a team left for dead after the horrible actions of the previous coach, the Bears return a trio of very good guards this season along with a lot of size up front.  Wichita State has one really nice player left from the successful teams of the past few years, but they are basic starting over this year.

 

Fordham +10.5

 

     Syracuse has a very young team with a lot of potential, but they have not looked impressive so far.  Fordham returns all 5 starters from last year's team and all 5 are seniors.  I'll take that kind of experience plus double-digit points over unproven potential every night.

 

Temple -3  1st half

 

     Temple's starting backcourt includes the top 2 scorers in the Atlantic 10 Conference from last season, and I was impressed with their performance last night against a very solid Providence squad.  I don't think the College of Charleston has the weapons to keep up tonight, and I think they come out a little flat in the first half after getting ripped by Arkansas yesterday.

 

Connecticut +9

 

     Memphis is one of the favorites for the Final Four this year, but with starting center Joey Dorsey re-aggravating his shoulder injury last night, the young talented UConn kids should be able to hang close enough to cover this number tonight.

 

 

NBA

 

       Even if it were legal, it would be hard to put real money on the line in the NBA.  With a lot of the players, you just never know what nights they will give it their all and which nights they will just go through the motions.   With that said, on to the picks for Friday night:

 

Sonics +8 

 

     Seattle doesn't have the talent and experience of most teams in the league, but they are playing hard every night and been in most of their games.  Due to injury, the Hawks will be without Lorenzen Wright, Speedy Claxton, Acie Law, and, most importantly, Josh Smith in Atlanta tonight.  As a result, Seattle should be able to at least stay close in this one.

 

Rockets Under 178.5

 

     Tracy McGrady will miss tonight's game against the Spurs and his absence will have two big impacts on the total.  First, obviously, a player with huge scoring potential has been removed from the game.  Second, without T-Mac, the Rockets will likely pound the ball inside to Yao Ming all night, thus slowing down the pace of the game.  The Spurs are happy to play at that pace and do the same with Tim Duncan.

 

 

College Football

 

     A narrow loss last week, ending up 2-3 overall.  With the season winding down, I'm hoping to do well enough to end the year on a winning note.  Saturday's picks:

 

Ohio State -4 

 

     Offensively, these teams are pretty close at full strength.  However, as I write this blog entry, both Chad Henne and Mike Hart are listed as game-time decisions.  If either of both of them cannot go, that's a big advantage for Ohio State.  On the defensive end, the game is no contest.  Michigan had some serious losses due to graduation from last season, while Ohio State is the 2nd ranked overall defense in the country.  Buckeyes roll.

 

North Carolina +10 

           

     Georgia Tech is the better team, but Carolina's defense is pretty solid.  Tech can't throw the ball anyway, but with Tashard Choice less than 100% with knee injury, I think UNC is gonna make this one interesting.

 

Cincinnati  +6

 

     The Bearcats are a live home dog in an important Big East matchup against West Virginia.  Cincinnati has a balanced offensive attack and is stout against the run, which is West Virginia's offensive strength.

 

Vanderbilt +11.5

 

     I can't honestly say that Vandy is a better team than Tennessee, but their defensive numbers are better than the Vols, and they have a better rushing attack.  If Tennessee players are looking ahead at all to next week's game against Kentucky, they are going to have a real game on their hands tomorrow.

 

 

NFL

 

     I've had two winning (undefeated) weeks in a row in the NFL after a lousy start.  Here are three more for this week:

 

Browns -2.5

 

     I got a winner with the Browns last week, and I'm going back to the well again.  The Ravens are just awful this year, and I'm not expecting them to turn it around now.

 

Titans +2.5

 

     Something is wrong with the Broncos this season.  Jay Cutler doesn't inspire confidence and it is unknown if Travis Henry will play in the Monday night game.  The Titans have been solid this year, and they should pick up a big road win in front of the Monday night audience.

 

Rams -3

 

     This game might be unwatchable, but that doesn't mean you can't pick a winner here.  The Rams are getting healthy (Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson), while the 49ers are going the opposite direction.  Trent Dilfer gets the start for SF this week, and I'm not sure I need to say any more than that.