This is a play on the BOSTON CELTICS for our NBA Thursday Star Attraction. Boston had won nine straight games before heading to Orlando and Miami for a pair of back-to-back games and the Florida narrative, be it true or not, hit Boston as it lost both games and has now failed to cover four straight games which could add some value to this number. The Celtics are back home where they are 18-5 that includes seven straight wins and getting back into the win column against a bitter rival would make it even better. Boston is still in first place in the Eastern Conference as it leads Philadelphia by three games. The Knicks snapped a four-game losing streak with a home win over Cleveland as a small underdog and heads to a bad place to start a winning streak. New York has been better on the road than at home and they are the only team in the NBA that has a losing record at home and a winning record on the road. This is a total aberration and will eventually come back to the median and most of the success has come against the weaker teams as it is just 1-3-1 ATS as an underdog of five or more points. Here, we play on home favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points in the second half of the season after two or more consecutive unders, with a scoring differential of +3 to +7 going up against teams with a scoring differential of +/- 3. This situation is 39-15 ATS (72.2 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (504) Boston Celtics

This is a play on the USC TROJANS as part of our CBB Thursday Three Pack. UCLA is coming off its first conference loss of the season after winning its first eight Pac 12 games and has its overall 14-game winning snapped with a six-point loss at Arizona last Saturday. While a bounce back can be expected here, the Bruins are laying a big number on the road against a quality team and a rival to top it off. UCLA is 5-1 on the road and it hits its second straight tough environment with the potential of losing two straight games for the second time this season. The Trojans are coming off a win at Arizona St. last Saturday to move to 6-3 in the Pac 12, a half-game behind Utah for second place and could make a big jump with an upset win here. USC opened the season with a home loss against Florida Gulf Coast but has won nine straight home games which is its longest single-season home winning streak since beginning the 2016-17 season 9-0. This is a revenge game as USC rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to take the lead with 30 seconds left but lost by two on a late UCLA three-pointer. Here, we play against teams averaging between 74 and 78 ppg and after scoring 55 points or less going up against teams averaging teams averaging between 67 and 74 ppg. This situation is 116-73 ATS (61.4 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (808) USC Trojans

This is a play on the RICE OWLS as part of our CBB Thursday Three Pack. Rice is not getting the respect it deserves as it has won three straight games to improve to 14-6 on the season including 5-3 in C-USA which includes an upset win at North Texas last time out to move a game out of second place in the conference. It opened conference action way back on November 15 in a 35-point loss at Middle Tennessee St. but have gone 13-3 since then with all three losses coming by no more than two possessions. The Owls are back home following a two-game roadtrip where they are 9-2 and are basically a pickem here. Charlotte snapped a two-game losing streak with an upset win at Western Kentucky on Saturday and it is now 4-5 in the conference following a 1-4 run prior to the Hilltoppers win. To their credit, the losses by the 49ers were all close and this is the third straight road game where they are 3-5. The other two road wins were at Davidson by just two points and at 1-19 Monmouth. They play at a slow pace but face one of the fastest teams in the country which favors the home team. Here, we play against underdogs averaging 53 or fewer shots per game on the season, after two straight games making 50 percent of their shots or better. This situation is 52-27 ATS (65.8 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (778) Rice Owls

This is a play on the UL MONROE WARHAWKS as part of our CBB Thursday Three Pack. Marshall is tied atop the Sun Belt Conference at 6-2 and the Thundering Herd head home following a pair of road wins by eight and nine points respectively and they are now laying a massive number. Of their last 11 wins against Division I teams, only two have been by more than what they are laying tonight and this is by far the most they have been favored by over their last 16 lined games. Marshall is 12-1 at home but this line is overaggressive. It is safe to say UL Monroe is a formidable team as it comes in 9-12 but has been much more improved of late after getting some chemistry going with a very new roster as it has won seven of its last 10 games and is currently tied for fourth place in the conference at 5-3. The Warhawks are just 3-6 on the road but those three wins show that they can compete and not simply fold like a lot of teams. They have been double-digit dogs only twice over their last 12 games with the spread being 11 both times so this line is loaded with value. Here, we play on road underdogs of 10 to 19.5 points off a blowout loss by 20 points or more to a conference rival going up against an opponent off a no-cover where the team won straight up as a favorite. This situation is 109-61 ATS (84.1 percent) since 1997. 10* (739) UL Monroe Warhawks

This is a play on the ST. THOMAS TOMMIES for our Summit League Game of the Month. St. Thomas has lost three straight games to fall to 4-5 in the Summit League but all three of those games were on the road where the Tommies are just 2-9 but now they are back home for the first time in 19 days with one of the best home floors in the conference. They are a perfect 9-0 at home and despite a losing record in the conference, a pair of wins would move them from No. 7 to potentially No. 3 as the middle of this conference is all jumbled up. St. Thomas entered the week ranked No. 204 out of 363 teams in the NCAA Evaluation Tool Ranking, second among all Summit League teams so that is saying a lot. South Dakota St. has won four straight games to improve to 11-9 overall and 6-2 in the conference and the Jackrabbits are in solo second place in the Summit League, two games clear of Western Illinois and North Dakota St. while likely the last remaining team that can catch undefeated Oral Roberts. But that seems unlikely as they seem to be more of a team that is in this jumble in the middle of the conference as they lost to Oral Roberts by 39 points in the first meeting. This is the start of a three-game roadtrip where they are 3-7 but that does include two straight wins which is keeping this line down. 10* (782) St. Thomas Tommies