Date | Match Up | Rating | Score | Result | Profit | Lead Time | Analysis |
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03-04-22 | Bucks v. Bulls +5 | Top | 118-112 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 18 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Chicago Bulls +5 over Milwaukee Bucks, 7:30 PM ET - This is a big game in the Eastern Conference as the Bulls currently sit 3rd overall at 39-24, the Bucks rank 4th at 38-25. The Bulls are clearly the more desperate team here having lost 3 straight games. Chicago had won 6 straight games prior to that and the three losses came to Memphis, Miami and Atlanta so it’s not like they were lower level teams. The value in the line clearly sides with the Bulls considering they were just +5 AT Miami the other day and even +2.5 at home against a red-hot Memphis team who is 26-7 their last 33 games. Milwaukee is coming off a big win at home against the Heat and may let down here. The Bucks were down in the 4th quarter of that game and rallied from behind for the last second win. The Bucks defense has slipped this season ranking 16th in points allowed per game and 12th in 3-point% defense. The Bulls can take advantage with the 8th highest scoring offense in the league and the best 3-point shooting percentage in the NBA. The Bulls are 14-9 ATS off a loss this season with a +2.4PPG differential. Milwaukee is 3-10 ATS their last 13 when coming off a win. |
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03-03-22 | TCU v. Kansas -10.5 | Top | 68-72 | Loss | -110 | 22 h 36 m | Show |
#760 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Kansas -10.5 over TCU, Thursday at 8 PM ET - These two just met on Tuesday and TCU pulled the upset beating Kansas 74-64 as a 6.5 point dog. It was KU’s 2nd straight loss after getting beat @ Baylor on Saturday. Coming off 2 losses and in a quick revenge spot, we expect Kansas to play very well at home tonight. The Jayhawks shot very poorly on Tuesday hitting only 37% of their shots and averaging just 1.02 points per possession. That’s way below their season averages of 49% (12th nationally) and 1.20 PPP (4th nationally). Crazy as it may sound, TCU is probably in a bit of a letdown spot here. Not only did they beat KU at home on Tuesday they also knocked off Texas Tech at home on Saturday. They went into their final home stand of the season with the goal of knocking off the 2 highly ranked opponents to lock themselves in to an NCAA tourney bid. They did just that and the Frogs now venture out on the road where they’ve lost 3 straight games by margins of 9, 10, and 13 points. They turned the ball over a season low 8 times vs Kansas which was very uncharacteristic of a team that ranks below 300 in TO rate coughing it up on over 23% of their possessions – last in the Big 12. They also dominated the boards (+12) and while they are a very good rebounding team, KU is solid on the glass as well. This will be a very tough turnaround in a venue (Allen Fieldhouse) where the Frogs have lost 10 straight. TCU struggles offensively at times (247th nationally in scoring) and that will be a problem here vs a fired up KU offense that averages 82 PPG off one of their worst performances of the season on Tuesday vs this team. A win here for Kansas puts them back in first place in the Big 12 tied with Baylor. Lay it. |
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03-02-22 | Wyoming v. UNLV -1.5 | Top | 57-64 | Win | 100 | 25 h 35 m | Show |
#722 ASA TOP PLAY ON UNLV -1.5 over Wyoming, Wednesday at 10:30 PM ET - Love this spot for UNLV. They are playing their best basketball of the season but coming off a home loss on Saturday vs Boise State, the highest rated and 1st place team in the Mountain West. While the Rebels last played on Saturday, Wyoming beat Nevada at home on Saturday, lost to San Diego State at home on Monday and now travel to UNLV for their 3rd game in 5 days. Coming off an always physical game vs the defensive minded Aztecs is always tough especially when having to play on the road just 48 hours later. This is UNLV’s final home game so it will be significant for the 4 Seniors who are in the starting line up. The Rebs have won 3 of their last 4 games including a 21 point win over Colorado State who ranks 20+ spots higher than Wyoming in our power rankings. They have won 4 of their last 5 home games with their only loss coming vs Boise which we discussed above. The Cowboys are solid offensively but their numbers on the road slip fairly drastically. They average 81 PPG at home and that number drops to 68 PPG on the road. UNLV’s defense ranks 2nd in the MWC in eFG% allowed and 1st in 3 point % allowed. They are allowing opponents to score just 61 PPG on just 37% shooting at the Thomas & Mack Center. After winning 21 of their first 24 games, Wyoming is now trending in the wrong direction losing 3 of their last 5. Their only wins during that stretch were at home vs Air Force (10th rated team out of 11 in the MWC) and Nevada who is reeling losing 8 of their last 11. There is a reason the 17-12 team is favored over the 24-6 team in this one. We like UNLV. |
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03-01-22 | Florida v. Vanderbilt | Top | 82-78 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 44 m | Show |
#636 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Vanderbilt pick-em over Florida, Tuesday at 8:30 PM ET - Vandy is playing their home finale here and they’ll have some extra motivation to knock off Florida after they played perhaps their worst game of the season earlier this year in Gainesville losing 61-42. To say the Commodores played poorly on offense would be an understatement. They made only 29% of their shots, just 17% from deep and only 52% from the FT line. They averaged only 0.72 PPP in that loss which is WAY down from their season average of 1.06 PPP. It was a 3 point game at halftime and Vandy went on to make THREE field goals the entire 2nd half scoring just 14 points. Vandy star forward Scotty Pippen, who will be the best player on the court tonight, played only 20 minutes in that loss due to fou trouble and scored a season low 6 points. Needless to say they’ve been waiting for this rematch. Florida has underachieved all season long, especially on the road where they are just 3-6 SU on the season. Their 3 road wins on the season came vs Georgia, Mizzou, and South Carolina, 3 of the 4 lowest rated teams in the SEC. The Gators have a -5 PPG margin on the road and shoot only 28% from beyond the arc. That’s a big problem tonight as Florida relies more on scoring from 3-point range than any other team in the SEC and Vanderbilt’s defense ranks 2nd in the league defending the arc allowing just 28% in conference play. Despite losing 4 of their last 5, we like the way Vandy is playing right now. Two of those losses were on the road vs Tennessee and Auburn, two of the top teams in the country, and both were competitive. Their other 2 losses during that stretch were at home by 2 points vs Alabama (better team than Florida) and by 5 points @ Miss State (better team than Florida). The Commodores continue to be undervalued covering 8 straight games and we have them as a favorite in this game. Take the host to win tonight. |
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03-01-22 | Warriors +1 v. Wolves | Top | 114-129 | Loss | -110 | 13 h 23 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Golden State Warriors pick’em over Minnesota Timberwolves, 8:10 PM ET - Much like our win last night on the Bucks, the Warriors fall into a similar situation here against the Wolves. Golden State is off a horrible loss the other night (we had them), when they gave up a 19-point lead in the 4th quarter and lost to the Mavs. The Warriors have a day of rest off that terrible loss while the Wolves are coming off a game last night in Cleveland. So not only is the 2nd night of a back-to-back but their 4th game in six days. That’s significant considering the Wolves are 3-7 SU this season when playing without rest with an average loss margin of -7PPG and they’ve failed to cover 5-straight. These two teams have some similar numbers offensively, but the Warriors are far superior on the season defensively ranking 1st in defensive efficiency while the Wolves rank 17th. Golden State has the 8th best average margin of victory on the road this season and a 17-11 SU record. Expect a bounce back in this one. |
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02-28-22 | Kansas State v. Texas Tech -12.5 | Top | 68-73 | Loss | -105 | 9 h 39 m | Show |
#872 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Texas Tech -12 over Kansas State, Monday at 9 PM ET - This one sets up very nicely for one of the best teams in the country. Tech is playing their final home game which will be big as they start 4 Seniors. They are also coming off a disappointing 69-66 loss @ TCU on Saturday. The Red Raiders played a poor game yet still led most of the way. KSU’s first lead of the 2nd half came with just 2:00 minutes remaining. Tech committed a season high 20 turnovers and allowed TCU, who averages 0.96 PPP in conference play, to put up 1.05 PPP. TT’s defense ranks 2nd nationally allowing only 0.86 PPP so you can see that TCU’s offense played well above their heads in that game that still went to the wire. Expect a very good defensive effort from the Raiders tonight at home. KSU has hit the skids losing 3 straight games and their defense has been poor allowing 102, 82, and 74 points in those 3 losses. They now rank 9th in the Big 12 in defensive efficiency. We look for Tech’s offense to play very well vs the Cats struggling defense while looking for their defense to really slow down Kansas State. Another added incentive is the fact that Texas Tech lost at KSU earlier this year. It was perhaps their worst game of the Big 12 season. The Raiders averaged a terrible 0.77 PPP in that game which was their 3rd lowest mark of the entire season. They were also outrebounded by a Kansas State team they should destroy on the boards which we expect they will tonight. Texas Tech is 17-0 at home this year winning by an average score of 80-58. They are 17-4 ATS their last 21 games as a home favorite and a perfect 7-0 ATS when coming off a loss. This one could get ugly. |
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02-28-22 | Hornets v. Bucks -10.5 | Top | 106-130 | Win | 100 | 8 h 14 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Milwaukee Bucks -10.5 over Charlotte Hornets, 8:10 PM ET - This is a solid spot to back an elite team like the Bucks off a home loss, playing at home and play against a Hornets team off an OT road game yesterday. Last time out the Bucks lost a big game at home to the Nets as a -9.5-point favorite. Milwaukee is 10-6 SU off a loss, playing at home this year, 8-8 ATS. Going back to 2018 there is no team better in the NBA when coming off a loss that the Bucks who have a 70-34 SU record. In general, the Bucks are 123-36 SU at home their last 159 at home with a +10PPG average. The Hornets played a fast-paced over-time game yesterday in Detroit and haven’t fared well in recent years when playing without rest with a 16-37 SU record. Lastly, these two teams met they played a back-to-back set of games in Charlotte with the Hornets winning both which will provide a little extra incentive for Milwaukee here. The big difference between these two teams is defense. The Bucks have been one of the best defensive units in the NBA in recent years and currently rank 13th in defensive efficiency. The Hornets are 22nd in DEFF overall, 24th on the road and are 28th in points allowed per game which makes it that much easier for a double-digit favorite to cover a big number. |
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02-27-22 | Mavs v. Warriors -4 | Top | 107-101 | Loss | -110 | 13 h 58 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Golden State Warriors -4 over Dallas Mavericks, 7:40 PM ET - We like the Warriors in their first game after the All-Star break for several reasons and we feel this team is poised to make a serious run at the top spot in the West. Golden State shot 51% as a team and held the Blazers to just 39% in their 132-95 blowout win the other night. Dallas is off a loss at Utah as a +6.5-point underdog on Friday night and we don’t feel the adjustment by the oddsmakers is warranted here. These two teams are somewhat similar defensively with the Warriors holding a slight edge but offensively it’s close. Golden State is 10th in points per game, 6th in FG% and 6th in 3-point percentage. Dallas on the other hand is 20th or worse in those same categories. Golden State has the best home court differential in the NBA this season at +11.8PPG and they beat the Mavs here handily earlier this season 130-92. Golden State lost their most recent home game so expect a focused effort in this one and a double-digit win. |
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02-27-22 | Nebraska v. Penn State -10.5 | Top | 93-70 | Loss | -110 | 21 h 19 m | Show |
#850 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Penn State -10.5 over Nebraska, Sunday at 7 PM ET - PSU playing solid basketball right now winning 3 of their last 4 games including 3 straight at home. This will be their home finale so they will bring everything they’ve got on Sunday night. Nebraska, on the other hand, could be a bit flat. They gave Iowa a decent run at home on Friday night before losing by 10 and now 48 hours later they are on the road where they are 0-8 on the season. The Huskers home loss on Friday also guaranteed they will finish in last place in the Big 10. In their road games this year, the Nebraska defense has been non-existent allowing 87 PPG losing by an average margin of 16 PPG. Speaking of defense, they rank dead last in the Big 10 in efficiency, eFG% allowed, 2 point % allowed, and 13th in 3 point % allowed. Tough to win, or play close, on the road when your defensive numbers look like that. Penn State’s defense, on the other hand, has been outstanding allowing opponents to hit only 41% of their shots on the season. At home they have played 8 conference games winning 6. Their only losses here have come by 1 point vs Michigan and vs Purdue. The Nittany Lion defense has held 6 of their 8 opponents at home to 60 points or less. Nebraska has played 6 Big 10 road games (lost all 6) and 5 of those games were double digit losses. PSU gets the win and cover at home. |
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02-26-22 | Colorado State v. Utah State -2 | Top | 66-55 | Loss | -110 | 24 h 58 m | Show |
#806 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Utah State -2 over Colorado State, Saturday at 10:30 PM ET - This line speaks volumes in our opinion. Looks to good to be true if you like Colorado State in this one. The team who sits at 22-4 and 12-4 in the Mountain West is an underdog to the team whose record is 16-13 overall and just 7-9 in conference play. There is a reason USU is favored here. They are better than their overall record. CSU has a great offense ranking 19th nationally in efficiency. Utah State is right there with the Rams ranking 35th nationally in offensive efficiency. USU is the better defense allowing 0.98 PPP in MWC play while Colorado State allows 1.01. Despite their record disparity, Utah State actually has a better points per possession differential in conference play at +6.4 to CSU’s +6.1. The Aggies played a few key conference games without starting guards Jones & Rock-Lytle losing to Wyoming, Boise State, and Fresno State when one or both were out. They are back and full strength. USU returned a key reserve as Brock Miller vs New Mexico on Tuesday after he missed all games since early January. In their first meeting in mid January the Aggies took CSU to the wire on the road losing 77-72. They made just 4 three pointers in that game with CSU making 10 which was the difference in a tight game. We look for them to shoot much better in their home finale – 48% overall and 35% from 3 at home – on Senior night. Utah State gets the win here. |
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02-26-22 | Kings v. Nuggets -8.5 | Top | 110-115 | Loss | -110 | 14 h 27 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Denver Nuggets -8.5 over Sacramento Kings, 9:10 PM ET - These same two teams just met in Sacramento the other night with the Nuggets winning by 18-points. You would think that makes this a revenge spot but we can’t ignore the value in the number and will side with Denver. The Nuggets were just a 4-point road favorite at Sacramento and are now laying just a few more points at home. Denver was covering this game the entire 4th quarter and had a remarkable shooting night. The Nuggets shot 56% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc, which is abnormally high, but what’s to say they can’t repeat that performance? Sacramento is 29th in scoring defense allowing 115.1PPG, 29th in overall field goal percentage defense and 26th in defending the 3-point line. That’s a bad matchup against a Nuggets team that is 13th in scoring, 3rd in FG% and 11th in 3-point percentage. Denver has the 10th best average margin of victory at home at +4.9PPG. Sacramento has the 27th worst road differential in the NBA at minus -8.5PPG. Bet the value, bet Denver. |
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02-26-22 | Auburn v. Tennessee -3.5 | Top | 62-67 | Win | 100 | 18 h 1 m | Show |
#660 ASA TOP PLAY ON 9* Tennessee -3.5 over Auburn, Saturday at 4 PM ET - Auburn is simply a different team away from home as many college teams are. While they do have a 7-2 road record, losing @ Florida and @ Arkansas, they’ve gone to the wire with a number of lower tier teams in the SEC. That includes barely getting by the 2 lowest rated teams in the conference on the road topping Georgia by 2 and Missouri by 1. They have shot just 41% overall and 28% from 3 point land in their 9 road games this season. That’ll be a problem on Saturday vs a Tennessee defense that ranks 3rd nationally in efficiency allowing just 0.88 PPP on the season. The Tigers have also come back down to earth a bit after winning 19 straight games from late November through early February. They are just 3-2 SU their last 5 games with all 3 wins coming vs team ranked in the bottom 5 in the SEC. Tennessee will be the highest rated team Auburn has faced on the road this year and 2nd highest rated overall only behind Kentucky. The Vols are playing very well right now winning 9 of their last 11 games with their only losses coming @ Texas and @ Arkansas. They are a perfect 14-0 at home this season including a 13 point win over Kentucky (the top rated team in the SEC) and a 4 point win over Arizona (#2 in the country right now per Ken Pom). Going back to the start of last season the Vols are 27-3 SU at home. This season they are holding their opponents to just 59 PPG here at home while winning by an average of 20 PPG. Just a huge home game for Tennessee sitting 2 games behind Auburn and 1 game behind Kentucky in the SEC standings. |
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02-24-22 | Warriors -9 v. Blazers | Top | 132-95 | Win | 100 | 15 h 10 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Golden State Warriors -9 over Portland Trailblazers, 10 PM ET - The Warriors limped into the All-Star break with losses in 4 of five games, including their most recent 2 games against the Clippers and Nuggets. Portland on the other hand won 4 straight games with quality wins over the Lakers, Bucks and Memphis. The Blazers though were dealt another injury blow as starting center Nurkic (scored 32-points last game) is out for this game which leaves a short-handed Blazer team even more depleted. Portland used to be fantastic at home with a 76-44 SU home record between 2018-2021 but are just 16-16 SU this season with a negative differential of minus -0.8PPG. Golden State struggles can be directly attributed to some poor shooting by Steph Curry who found his stroke in the All-Star game, scoring 50-points. We expect that momentum to carry over here. The Warriors are 4-0 this year when playing on 4 or more days rest with a +12PPG differential. They have beaten the Blazers by double-digits twice already so a third doesn’t seem to be asking too much. Lay the points. |
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02-24-22 | Cleveland State v. Detroit +1.5 | Top | 67-74 | Win | 100 | 12 h 24 m | Show |
#760 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Detroit +1.5 over Cleveland State, Thursday at 7 PM ET - We jumped on Detroit at home on Sunday vs a red hot Wright State team and picked up a win. The Titans won by 5 points but led by 26 points with just over 12:00 remaining and pretty much dominated a game that Wright State never led. That win moved them to 9-6 in conference play which is quite an accomplishment since 11 of their 15 games have been on the road! Even worse, they played 25 total games this season and only 7 have come at home. They are a perfect 7-0 at home on the season and they’ve won 14 straight as a host dating back to last season. After a 5 game road trip between Feb 4 and Feb 13, Detroit has now played their last 2 games at home, both wins over Northern KY and Wright State, the 3rd and 4th place teams in the Horizon. Cleveland State could be a bit flat here as the clinched the #1 seed in the post-season tourney and conference title @ UWGB on Sunday. In the first meeting back in mid January CSU barely held on for a 2-point win over Detroit at home. The Titans, who are 2nd in the Horizon making 36% of their 3’s, made only 4 of 21 from deep (19%) in that game yet still had a shot to win on the road. Now the Titans are at home where they hit 45% of their 3’s and average 82 PPG with an average winning margin of +18 PPG. We like Detroit to keep their winning ways in tact at home tonight. |
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02-23-22 | Texas State v. South Alabama -3 | Top | 55-52 | Loss | -110 | 13 h 27 m | Show |
#726 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* South Alabama -3 over Texas State, Wednesday at 8 PM ET - The 5th place team in the Sun Belt is a 3 point favorite over the 1st place team in the league in this game. That may seem surprising but we have USA rated higher overall and so does Ken Pom. This line says that these teams are basically even on a neutral court and we don’t agree. South Alabama is the better team, especially at home where they are 12-1 SU on the season with their average PPG margin of +20. They allow just 58 PPG at home this season and Texas State has struggled offensively on the road putting up only 65 PPG. We also get the Jaguars off a loss @ Appalachian State on Saturday. Texas State comes in having won 7 straight games yet the oddsmakers still have them as underdogs. The Bobcats have played the easiest schedule in the Sun Belt and 5 of their 7 most recent wins have come vs teams ranked in the bottom 5 in the league. Texas State is just 5-5 on the road with a PPG differential of -4. If you subtract their 2 road games vs teams ranked below 300, the Bobcats are 3-5 on the road with 4 of the 5 losses coming by double digits. These 2 did not meet last year but the home team has covered 6 of the last 7 meetings. Texas State has played 5 of their last 7 games at home and now they face the highest rated team they’ve played on the road this season on conference play. We like South Alabama to win and cover here. |
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02-22-22 | UNLV v. Nevada -2.5 | Top | 62-54 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 38 m | Show |
#656 ASA TOP PLAY ON 9* Nevada -2.5 over UNLV, Tuesday at 11 PM ET - The Rebels are officially overvalued here having covered 6 of their last 7 games. They are coming off 2 huge wins over Fresno and CSU. UNLV was a 5 point home underdog in their game Saturday vs Colorado St (they won by 21) and now they are just a short underdog @ Nevada. This line opened pick-em and immediately moved in Nevada’s favor and we agree with that move. We have Nevada as a 3.5 point favorite so still some value on the host. From January 25 – February 8, the Wolfpack went on a 6 game losing streak and 5 of those losses came at the hands of San Diego State, Colorado State (twice), Fresno State, and Utah State – 4 of the 5 highest rated teams in the league. The other loss during that stretch was @ UNLV by the final score of 69-58. Nevada’s offense was outright bad in that game averaging only 0.88 PPP which was their 2nd worst offensive performance in Mountain West play this season. Part of the problem was their best offensive player, Grant Sherfield (19 PPG, 6 APG, and 4 RPG), was out. He actually missed 3 of Nevada’s 6 games during their losing streak which minimizes those results. Since he's come back from injury, the Pack have a 3-1 SU record and they’ve averaged at least 1.15 PPP in each of their 3 wins. UNLV is just 3-6 SU in true road games this year with a PPG margin of -6 in those contests. Since the start of the 2015 season, these 2 rivals have met 7 times on Nevada’s home court and the Wolfpack have won 6 of those games. We’ll lay the small number here. |
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02-22-22 | Michigan State +6.5 v. Iowa | Top | 60-86 | Loss | -110 | 6 h 3 m | Show |
#615 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Michigan State +6.5 over Iowa, Tuesday at 7 PM ET - Love this spot for MSU. A definite buy low, sell high situation. The Spartans have lost 4 of their last 5 games including 2 in a row @ Penn State and at home vs Illinois. Iowa has won 4 of their last 5 including a big road upset on Saturday @ Ohio State. The Hawkeyes were +5.5 in that game @ OSU and now they are laying 6 or 6.5 at home vs Michigan State. We have OSU & MSU rated only a few spots apart in our power ratings so this is a big adjustment in our opinion. For comparison’s sake let’s take a look at some MSU road lines along with a few Iowa home lines. MSU was +3 @ Wisconsin (and won outright), +2 @ Illinois (and lost by 1), and favored in every other Big 10 road game. Iowa at home was an underdog vs Purdue (and lost), favored by 5 vs Michigan (and lost), and favored by 4.5 vs Indiana. The 3 highest rated teams Iowa has played at home (Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan) all beat them on their own court. This line is set too high based on recent results. Sparty has proven they can get it done on the road with a 5-3 SU record including 2-0 ATS as an underdog. Iowa has a grand total of ONE win this year vs a team ranked inside Ken Pom’s top 45 and that was Saturday vs Ohio State. They are 1-6 SU overall vs top 45 games and Michigan State sits at #27. MSU is the much better defensive team in this one and the Hawkeyes have had problems with teams that are strong on the offensive glass which the Spartans are. Michigan State is also won of the top 3 point shooting teams in the nation (9th) and they make 80% of their FT’s in conference play. We think this one will be tight and we’ll take the generous points. |
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02-20-22 | Wright State v. Detroit +1.5 | Top | 75-80 | Win | 100 | 16 h 54 m | Show |
#820 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Detroit +1.5 over Wright State, Sunday at 1:00 PM ET - The fact that Detroit has a record above .500 in the Horizon is amazing. They are 8-6 in conference play and have played 11 of those 14 games on the road! You read that correctly. They’ve only played 3 home games in Horizon League play. Even worse, they played 24 total games this season and only 6 have come at home. They are a perfect 6-0 at home on the season. They beat Northern Kentucky here at home on Friday night and they close out the season with 3 more at home including today’s game vs Wright State. The Raiders are coming off a huge road upset on Friday night knocking off 2nd place Oakland 78-74. Now on the road for an early afternoon game means from the time their Friday night game tipped off to the start of this game is just 39 hours. That’s a tough turnaround for Wright State to come back to earth and get ready for another solid opponent after a big road win. The Raiders already have 3 conference road losses to teams ranked lower in Ken Pom than this Detroit team. The Titans have been waiting for this rematch as well after getting blasted 90-59 @ Wright State in early February. It was by far their worst performance of the season and they are set to atone for that today at home. WSU was favored by 4 in that game at home and now they are favored in this one on the road. Almost no adjustment in the line which is a mistake. We have Detroit as a small favorite in this game. The Titans shot terribly in the first match up including just 27% from 3 and on the season they are one of the top 3 point shooting teams in the Horizon. Wright State struggles to defend the arc ranking 8th in the league to those results from game 1 were not the norm. Detroit is undervalued due to their overall record which is the result of a brutally tough schedule. The catch Wright in an overconfident spot here as a road favorite. Take Detroit to win at home. |
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02-19-22 | Tennessee v. Arkansas -3 | Top | 48-58 | Win | 100 | 9 h 32 m | Show |
#674 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Arkansas -3 over Tennessee, Saturday at 4 PM ET - Tough spot for Tennessee coming off their big revenge win at home over Kentucky on Tuesday. It was a game the Vols had circled after getting blasted by the Wildcats 107-79 in their first meeting this season. Now they have to go on the road to play a red hot Arkansas team who will have this game circled getting a chance to knock off a highly rated team. The Razors have already proven they can do just that as they beat Auburn here 11 days ago giving the Tigers their only SEC loss and just their 2nd loss of the entire season. Arkansas has won 10 of their last 11 games to move into 3rd place in the SEC, one game behind Tennessee. Their only loss during that 11 game stretch was @ Alabama by 1 point. The Vols are 3-3 on the road in conference play with all 3 of those wins coming vs teams that all currently have losing records in SEC play (Vandy, South Carolina, and Miss St). They’ve faced 3 top half of the conference teams on the road and lost all 3 vs Kentucky, LSU, and Alabama. The Vols have averaged just 69 PPG on the road and they are taking on an Arkansas team that put up 82 PPG at home and limits their opponents to just 65 PPG. Their defense ranks #1 in the SEC (conference games) in defensive efficiency and they are allowing opponents to hit only 29% of their 3’s which will be key vs a UT team that shoots a lot of them. The Razorbacks have been nearly unbeatable at home winning 32 of their las 34 games here at Bud Walton Arena and the last time UT won here was way back in 2009. We don’t get Arkansas at home as a low favorite like this very often and we’re going to take advantage of it. The Razors lost most recent meeting between these teams last January but that one was at Tennessee. Now they avenge that loss as they catch the Vols off the huge revenge win versus Kentucky. Great set up here and value with the home team and we take advantage of it. |
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02-18-22 | Butler +8.5 v. St. John's | Top | 57-91 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 46 m | Show |
#865 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Butler +8.5 over St Johns, Friday at 5 PM ET - These 2 played just 2 weeks ago and St Johns squeaked out a 75-72 win. The 3 point margin of victory was the Johnnies largest lead of the game and their first lead of the 2nd half came with just 4 minutes remaining in the game. STJ attempted 25 FT’s in the game (made 21) while Butler attempted just 5 FT’s (made 4) and yet still led for the majority of the 2nd half. We don’t expect that to happen again as ST John’s fouls more than any other team in the Big East. The Johnnies are also the worst FT shooting team in the conference hitting only 64% on the season yet made 84% in the first meeting. Butler is playing their best basketball of the season right now. After starting the Big East with a 2-6 record, the Bulldogs have now won 4 of their last 7 games and their 3 losses have come by a combined 7 points. Two of Butler’s top players, Nze and Hodges, missed their game @ DePaul on Tuesday and they still knocked off the Demons on the road. Both players are listed as game time decisions on Friday and we’ll keep a very close eye on that. If they both play, Butler can absolutely pull this upset. St John’s has already lost 5 home games this year including 4 in conference play. This has been a close series with 4 of the last 6 meetings in this series have been decided by 3 points or less or in OT. Take the points here. |
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02-17-22 | IUPU-Indianapolis v. Robert Morris -14.5 | Top | 66-56 | Loss | -105 | 10 h 24 m | Show |
#774 ASA TOP PLAY ON 9* Robert Morris -14.5 over IUPUI, Thursday at 7 PM ET - IUPUI has 2 wins on the season vs Spalding and East West. No we didn’t make those up. They are 0-22 SU vs Division 1 teams and 0-13 in Horizon League play with 10 of those 13 losses coming by at least 30 points. Their offense is the worst in college basketball averaging just 51 PPG on the season. If you throw out their games vs the 2 non Division 1 opponents, IUPUI has reached 60 points ONE TIME in 22 games. They rank dead last in the country (358th) in offensive efficiency, 356th in eFG%, and 358th in turnover percentage coughing up the ball over 26% of the time! Laying big points vs this team isn’t as risky as most since they can’t score points and their possessions are limited due to their heavy TO rate. Robert Morris started the conference season losing 7 straight games but they have improved drastically going 5-5 since that poor start. They faced this IUPUI team on the road earlier this month and won by 17. The Colonials average 72 PPG at home which should be more than enough vs this inept IUPUI offense that doesn’t even average 50 PPG on the road (49 PPG). Not only are the Jaguars bad, they’ve gone through massive attrition this year. They are down to 6 scholarship players and that’s it. They have played no more than 6 players in any of their last 8 games. They have ONE player coming off the bench. This is a brutal spot for a thin, bad team as IUPUI is playing their 4th straight road game in the span of 8 days. They’ve traveled to Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and now Pennsylvania in the last 8 days. Another blowout awaits the Jaguars tonight. |
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02-16-22 | Nuggets v. Warriors -5.5 | Top | 117-116 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 28 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Golden State Warriors -5.5 over Denver Nuggets, 10 PM ET - We have an opportunity to buy low with the Warriors here who have lost 3 of their last four games overall, including a most recent loss against the Clippers. That ties into this wager as the Warriors are 12-3 SU off a loss, 8-1 SU at home off a beat. The Warriors are 26-5 SU at home and have the best home court point differential in the league at +12.2PPG. Golden State is coming off a very poor defensive showing against the Clippers and will play with a chip on their shoulder here. The Warriors have #1 ranked defensive efficiency numbers at home this season allowing just 1.019-points per possession. They also have the 8th best offensive efficiency at home The Nuggets will have a size advantage with Jokic but the Nuggets concern comes on the defensive end of the court where they rank 13th in defensive efficiency and 22nd in opponents FG%. The Nuggets are 16-15 SU on the road this season with a negative differential of -0.2PPG. The Nuggets have lost 3 of their last four road games against similar opponents to the Warriors. Golden State has covered 6 of the last seven meetings between these two teams at home and we like them to get a double-digit win in this one. |
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02-16-22 | Illinois v. Rutgers +4.5 | Top | 59-70 | Win | 100 | 21 h 45 m | Show |
#686 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Rutgers +4.5 over Illinois, Wednesday at 7 PM ET - The RAC is one of the toughest venues in college basketball. This season alone Rutgers has already beaten Purdue, Michigan St, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio State here at home. Those are 5 of the top 7 rated teams in the Big 10 with only Wisconsin and Illinois missing off the list. That’s because they haven’t played host to those teams yet and they get their shot at the Illini tonight. The Scarlet Knights are 39-7 SU at home since the start of the 2020 season. On top of that none of those 7 losses have come by double digits so even their setbacks have been close. Rutgers is a sneaky 9-5 in conference play and if the Illini don’t come ready they’ll get knocked off. They may anyway. Rutgers has won 10 of their last 14 games and 3 of those 4 losses have come by 1, 3, and 8 points. Illinois has a huge game vs Michigan State on deck. Their last 2 games they struggled with Northwestern winning by 7 at home and got smoked at Purdue. The Illini are 2-2 their last 4 road games losing big to Purdue & Maryland, squeaking by NW by 3, and winning impressively @ Indiana. Rutgers defense has been impressive all season but it has been great at home. They have allowed just 59 PPG at the RAC on just 39% shooting. Illinois has a point margin of just +3 PPG on the road and this will be one of their toughest road dates of the season. The host has won 8 of the last 10 in this series and we give Rutgers a great shot at the upset. If not, we’re still getting a cushion here at +4.5. |
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02-15-22 | Celtics v. 76ers +3.5 | Top | 135-87 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 39 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Philadelphia 76ers +3.5 over Boston Celtics, 7:30 PM ET - This is a bad line and a clear over-reaction to the Celtics current hot streak so we will grab the value and play on Philadelphia. Boston is 10-1 SU their last eleven games and gaining ground in the Eastern Conference. At closer look though the current streak might be a little overrated. The best wins came at home over a depleted Hawks and Heat team and the Denver Nuggets. The road wins the Celtics had in that stretch came against a Nets team without Durant, Harden and Irving and versus Orlando, Detroit, New Orleans and Washington. Those four teams have a combined record of 76-155 SU. The 76ers have two straight wins including a solid win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Philly was dealing with distracting issues during the trade deadline and now are rid of Ben Simmons in the deal for James Harden who is not expected to play tonight. Granted, the 76ers are without Seth Curry now but they were just favored by 1.5-points at home against the Suns and are now a home dog to Boston? That doesn’t add up according to our model. Philly has covered 7 straight in the series and 4 in a row at home. Embiid and company get it done tonight. |
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02-15-22 | Michigan State v. Penn State +3 | Top | 58-62 | Win | 100 | 11 h 30 m | Show |
#606 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Penn State +3 over Michigan State, Tuesday at 6:30 PM ET - Penn State comes in off 3 straight losses and each of gone to the wire. They lost @ Wisconsin by 2 points, home vs Michigan by 1-point and @ Minnesota by 6. This team has been very solid and competitive at home with wins over Iowa, Indiana, and Rutgers along with that 1 point loss vs Michigan we stated above. The Nittany Lions have covered 6 in a row at home. This is a dangerous spot for MSU who is coming off a huge home win over Indiana and Sparty has a home date with Big 10 leading Illinois this weekend. The Spartans also beat PSU by 16 earlier this year so it might be tough for them to fully focus here with a big look ahead game on deck. They’ve already shown they aren’t great handling short term success as they are 1-5 ATS when coming off a SU win. PSU is one of the slowest paced teams in the nation (351st) and they will turn this game into a crawl which is not how Michigan State likes to play. Versus the 2 slowest paced teams in the Big 10 this year besides Penn State, MSU has been blown out @ Rutgers and played 2 close games vs Minnesota (winning by 2 & 7). Sparty has played the easiest schedule thus far in Big 10 play (PSU has played the 2nd most difficult) and vs bottom half of the league teams on the road they haven’t been overly impressive. They were destroyed @ Rutgers, won @ Maryland by 2, and won @ Northwestern by 6 after trailing by 13. PSU is a very solid defensive team (54th nationally in defensive efficiency) and they hold opponents to just 64 PPG here at home. They have great shot at the home upset here and we’ll take the points. |
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02-14-22 | Spurs +3.5 v. Bulls | Top | 109-120 | Loss | -110 | 7 h 26 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* San Antonio Spurs +3.5 over Chicago Bulls, 8:10 PM ET - We like the Spurs and the points over the short-handed Bulls are expected to be without Zach LaVine here. The Bulls are 21-8 SU at home, yet have the worst average Margin of Victory at home of all the teams that have 20 or more home wins this season. Chicago wins at home by +4.8PPG which is 9th in the NBA. A big reason why the Bulls don’t win by large margins is their lack of defense at home. Chicago ranks 21st in defensive efficiency at home allowing 1.119-points per possession. The Bulls have the best home efficiency numbers in the league at home but will be without one of their main offensive weapons in LaVine. San Antonio is 11-17 SU on the road this season but their average loss margin is -0.4PPG. The Spurs have the 7th best road defensive efficiency numbers in the NBA allowing 1.088PPP. The Spurs have two straight wins as road dogs and we expect them to keep this game close. |
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02-13-22 | Wolves -5.5 v. Pacers | Top | 129-120 | Win | 100 | 5 h 41 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Minnesota Timberwolves -6.5 over Indiana Pacers, 3:10 PM ET - Let’s consider this basic analysis first. Before the trade deadline the Pacers were just a +1.5 home underdog to the Chicago Bulls. They then traded away their two leading scorers in Sabonis and LeVert along with key role player Craig and were +6.5 points at home to the Cavs in the first game after the trade. Yes, they added talented Haliburton and Hield but clearly the oddsmakers feel they will regress in the short-term. The Wolves are off back-to-back losses but had won 5 straight games prior to that with a pair of impressive double-digit wins over the Jazz and Nuggets. The Pacers are on an 0-5 ATS streak while the Wolves are 5-1 ATS their last six games coming off a double-digit loss. As a favorite the Wolves have an average +/- of +9PPG and they have covered 11 of fifteen on the road against sub .500 teams. Don’t be scared off by the number, bet Minnesota. |
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02-13-22 | Marshall v. UTEP -6 | Top | 88-79 | Loss | -105 | 8 h 10 m | Show |
#856 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* UTEP -6 over Marshall, Sunday at 3 PM ET - We were on Marshall on Thursday night at home vs FIU in what we thought was a perfect setup for the Herd to pick up a win. They played a disappointing game and sent us home with a loss getting upended 72-71. That dropped Marshall to 1-10 SU in CUSA play and we expect them to be flat here going on the road a few days after losing a home game they felt they really needed to win. Speaking of the road, the Herd are 1-9 SU away from home including 0-5 on conference play. All but one of their conference losses have come by more than 10 points with an average loss margin of -15.4 PPG. UTEP is playing well winning 6 of their last 7 with their only loss coming @ North Texas, the #2 rated team in the league, by 8 on Monday. That gives UTEP nearly a full week to get ready for this game and Marshall just played on Thursday as we mentioned. The Miners will give the Marshall offense big time problems in this one. They rank 2nd in CUSA in defensive efficiency, 2nd in eFG% defense, and 1st in 3-point FG% defense. Marshall ranks near the bottom of the conference in offensive efficiency and eFG%. The UTEP defense also creates a lot of turnovers (2nd in conference) and Marshall coughs the ball up a lot (12th in the conference). On the other end the Miners shoot a lot of 3’s and they shoot them well ranking 2nd in CUSA in 3 point FG%. Marshall’s defense ranks 331st at the arc. Lastly if they need to salt this one away late, UTEP hits 77% of their FT’s as a team. This one sets up very nicely for the host. |
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02-12-22 | Vanderbilt +12.5 v. Tennessee | Top | 64-73 | Win | 100 | 12 h 28 m | Show |
#743 ASA TOP PLAY ON 9* Vanderbilt +12.5 over Tennessee, Saturday at 6 PM ET - Vandy is playing their best basketball of the season right now and they are catching Tennessee in a tough spot. The Commodores have won 3 of their last 4 games with their only loss during that stretch coming by 7 points @ Kentucky. The Vols are coming off a huge road win @ Mississippi State in a game that was much closer than the final score which was 72-63. In that win the Vols never led by more than 5 until under 1:00 minute remaining in the game and outscored the Bulldogs 11-2 in the final 3:00 minutes. They played that game without one of their best players, Nkamhoua, who was lost for the season in their game prior to playing MSU. We think that’ll take a toll on UT as we move forward. Tennessee also hosts a huge game on Tuesday with Kentucky coming to town. Good chance they don’t play at their peak here vs a team they beat 68-60 on the road earlier this season. In that game, Vandy led at half and never trailed by more than 8 points. The Commodores match up nicely here as UT takes a lot of 3’s and Vanderbilt is #1 in the SEC defending the arc allowing just 27%. In the first game they held the Vols to just 22% from deep but Tennessee made 9 more FT’s which was the difference in the game. On the other side, almost 40% of Vandy’s points come from beyond the arc (1st in the league) and UT’s defensive weakness is defending the 3 ranking 11th in the SEC. The Dores have proven they can get it done on the road with 4 true road wins this season (including @ Arkansas who is 19-5 overall and 8-3 in the SEC). They actually shoot better on the road this season from both inside and outside the arc. We think they’ll give Tennessee a real scare in this one and we’ll grab double digits. |
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02-10-22 | Bucks v. Suns -3 | Top | 107-131 | Win | 100 | 9 h 22 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Phoenix Suns -3 over Milwaukee Bucks, 10 PM ET - The Suns are 44-10 SU on the season and clearly playing at another level. Milwaukee is turning the corner and moved to 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. We don’t use “revenge” often in the NBA but that’s the case tonight as the Suns will be at another level emotionally tonight after losing to the Bucks in the Finals last year. The Bucks do have a positive road differential of +3.6PPG on the season but the Suns are 22-5 SU at home this season with the second-best margin of victory at +8.3PPG. Both teams are highly rated in terms of offense, but the difference tonight will be the Suns defense that ranks 4th best in the league in efficiency compared to the Bucks who rank 15th in points allowed per game this season. The energy and home crowd will carry the Suns to a double-digit win here. |
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02-10-22 | Florida International v. Marshall -4.5 | Top | 72-71 | Loss | -110 | 6 h 29 m | Show |
#764 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Marshall -4.5 over Florida International, Thursday at 7 PM ET - These 2 played just a few weeks ago and Marshall was favored by -2.5 / -3 on the road in that one. Now we’re getting them at home -4.5 / -5. Great value here. A main reason for the low number is Marshall’s 1-9 CUSA record. Let’s keep in mind the Herd have played the #1 strength of schedule in conference play and #117 overall – the most difficult of any CUSA team. FIU, on the other hand, has played the #310 SOS which is the easiest in CUSA and despite that they are just 3-8 in conference play. In their first meeting FIU pulled off a 4 point win but now Marshall gets them at home where they play much better. In fact, Marshall’s most recent home game was a win over UAB, the top team in the conference. They also played North Texas and MTSU (2 of the top teams in the league) to the wire here before losing tight games. The Herd have played 5 conference home games and 4 of those were vs teams ranked in the top half of CUSA. FIU is 0-8 SU on the road this year losing by an average of 11 PPG while shooting only 37%. They’ve lost 16 straight road games dating back to last season. The Panthers are in a tough schedule spot having played Saturday & Monday already now traveling just a few days later. Marshall has been off since Saturday. FIU has never won @ Marshall. They are 0-7 SU with every loss coming by at least 9 points. We’ll take Marshall here. |
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02-09-22 | Tennessee v. Mississippi State +1.5 | Top | 72-63 | Loss | -110 | 13 h 60 m | Show |
#746 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Mississippi State +1.5 over Tennessee, Wednesday at 9 PM ET - Our power ratings have MSU as the favorite in this game so we’re taking the points with the home team. The Bulldogs are an impressive 12-1 SU at home this season where they shoot 50% as a team with an average winning margin of +16 PPG. They are a perfect 5-0 SU at home in SEC play while going 0-5 SU on the road for the largest home/road dichotomy in the league. They are coming off a road loss @ red hot Arkansas (8 straight wins) but played the Razors to the wire (down by 2 with 1:00 minute remaining) before losing. Tennessee is coming off a blowout road win over South Carolina (3rd lowest rated team in the SEC) but the Vols still have a losing road record at 3-4 SU. Their 3 road wins have come vs teams that are currently rated 80th or lower and they just starting forward Nkamhoua (9 PPG / 6 RPG) to a season ending ankle injury vs South Carolina over the weekend. UT’s overall defensive numbers are really high but since getting into SEC play they’ve fallen off drastically. In SEC games only the Vols defense ranks 11th in eFG% allowed, 12th in 3-point % allowed, and 10th in 2-point % allowed. That’s alarming for a team that hangs their hat on defense. MSU ranks 3rd in the SEC in offensive efficiency so they should have plenty of success in this one. Tennessee has just 2 wins in conference play vs top 8 in the league (LSU & Florida both at home), all other wins come vs bottom of the league. They should not be favored in this one and we side with the home dog. |
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02-08-22 | Marquette +7 v. Connecticut | Top | 72-80 | Loss | -110 | 10 h 24 m | Show |
#605 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Marquette +7 over UConn, Tuesday at 6:30 PM ET - Marquette is no doubt the hottest team in the Big East winning 8 of their last 9 with their only loss during that stretch by just 2 points @ Providence who is 10-1 in the Big East and 20-2 overall. The Golden Eagles started this run with a massacre of that same Providence team winning by 30+ points at home giving the Friars their only conference loss this season. Not only did they top the Friars, but Marquette has also beaten Villanova (twice), Seton Hall (twice), and Xavier during this run. We feel UConn is a bit overvalued right now. Half of their Big East wins have been by 8 points or less and their 3 other conference wins were vs Butler (twice) and Georgetown, 2 worst teams in the league. They’ve played the easiest schedule in conference play and they only team they’ve beaten that ranks in the top half of the conference is this Marquette team. They beat the Golden Eagles by 8 on the road when Marquette was in the midst of a 4 game losing streak back in December. Marquette also played that game without one of their top players, Daryl Morsell (13.5 PPG), who is also their top perimeter defender. Even with Morsell out and Marquette in a bit of a slump in mid December, this was still a very close game throughout. The Eagles are now playing at another level as we discussed. UConn is a poor 3-point defensive team (9th in the Big East) while Marquette is the #1 three point shooting team in the conference hitting nearly 40% in league play. The Eagles have 4 regulars that shoot at least 35% from deep. Marquette is also the #1 defense in conference play in terms of efficiency, eFG% allowed, and 3-point % allowed. We give them a great shot to win here and getting 6 points gives us a great cushion. |
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02-07-22 | Kansas v. Texas +1 | Top | 76-79 | Win | 100 | 24 h 32 m | Show |
#908 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Texas -1 over Kansas, Monday at 9 PM ET - Any time a top 10 rated team is an underdog it makes us take a look. Most will automatically take the top rated dog but we often look at the favored team depending on the match up. There is a reason that team is favored vs a highly ranked opponent. Texas is very talented team that plays great defense (9th nationally in defensive efficiency & #1 in the country allowing 55 PPG) and they like to take fast paced teams out of their comfort zone by slowing the pace. That’s not a good match up for Kansas who loves to get up and down the court but will be locked into a half court game here with the Horns (347th in tempo). The team most comparable to the Longhorns in the Big 12 would be Texas Tech. The Red Raiders also play great defense yet like a slow tempo game. Tech gave Kansas all kinds of problems in their 2 meetings beating the Jayhawks by 8 at home and losing on the road in double OT. Texas has won 4 of their last 5 with their only loss during that run coming @ Texas Tech. They just walloped a good Iowa State team by 22 points here on Saturday. They are 14-1 at home with a point margin of +21 per game. They catch Kansas off a huge home win over Baylor on Saturday and this will be the first time this season the Jayhawks are facing one of the top 4 teams in the Big 12 on the road. Two of KU’s conference road games were down to the wire where they came from a 2nd half deficit to top KSU and Oklahoma each by just 3 points – both teams ranked far lower than Texas. The Horns match up very well here with KU as they have length and defend the interior very well which is where the Jayhawks like to operate. Texas gets the win at home. |
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02-06-22 | Nevada v. San Diego State -12.5 | Top | 63-65 | Loss | -110 | 19 h 5 m | Show |
#856 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* San Diego State -12 over Nevada, Sunday at 4 PM ET - SDSU has been money coming off a loss this season. They’ve also been money at home and we get both here. The Aztecs lost 53-52 @ Colorado State on Friday after making a furious comeback late. They were down 12 with just over 2 minutes remaining and took the lead with 14 seconds remaining at CSU, a very tough place to play. Now they are back home where they are 10-1 on the season with a point differential of +14 per game. In conference play their 3 home wins have come by margins of 30, 25, and 25 points and two of those were bounce back games off a loss. Nevada will be on the road for their 3rd game in just 6 days. The Wolfpack lost Tuesday @ UNLV by 11, Friday @ Fresno by 17 and they are now back at it on the road less than 48 hours later. They are just 1-6 SU on the road this year with their only win coming @ Air Force, the 2nd lowest rated team in the Mountain West. Nevada has been without 2 of their top players, Sherfield and Washington, the last few games due to injury and there is a good chance they won’t be back here. Their offense has been brutal during their current 4 game losing streak scoring 66, 49, 58, and 56 points in those games. We don’t anticipate it getting any better here facing a San Diego State defense that ranks 2nd nationally in efficiency and 4th in eFG% allowed. The Aztecs have not allowed a team to score more than 55 points in any of their conference home games. Offensively they’ve scored at least 72 points in 4 of their last 5 home games and most likely won’t need to get to that number to cover this game. We like San Diego State to roll up a big win. |
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02-05-22 | Oregon State v. Colorado -9 | Top | 63-86 | Win | 100 | 18 h 4 m | Show |
#728 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Colorado -9 over Oregon State, Saturday at 6 PM ET - CU is coming off a home loss and we really like this spot for the Buffs. They lost here vs a red hot Oregon team (won 8 of last 9) on Thursday night and this becomes a must win with 3 of their next 4 games on the road. The Buffs are 5-7 in league play but they’ve played the toughest strength of schedule in Pac 12 play to date. They do have 4 homes losses this year but they are vs the 3 of the 4 highest rated teams in the conference (UCLA, USC, Oregon) along with Tennessee who is one of the best teams in the country. Oregon State is rated as the worst team in the Pac 12. They are 3-16 overall on the season and just 1-8 in conference play. Their wins this year have come vs Portland State (274th ranked team), Nicholls State (217th ranked team), and Utah (2-11 record in the Pac 12 ahead of only Oregon St). On the road this team is 0-7 SU and 1-6 ATS. They lost @ Utah who is 2-11 in the conference by 25 points on Thursday night. The Beavers are getting outscored by an average of 14 PPG on the road and shooting only 39%. On top of all that, this is the toughest back to back in the conference and has been known as such for a long time. Playing in altitude @ Utah followed up by playing in altitude again @ Colorado 2 days later is brutal. OSU has the worst defensive efficiency in Pac 12 play this season and they are also last in eFG% defense. And they foul a lot which is good for Colorado who shoots 74% from the FT line as a team. 7 of OSU’s 8 conference losses have come by double digits and this has the makings of a blow out. Take the Buffs at home. |
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02-04-22 | San Diego State v. Colorado State -3 | Top | 57-58 | Loss | -115 | 13 h 0 m | Show |
#892 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Colorado State -3 over San Diego State, Friday at 9 PM ET - CSU was 16-1 entering last weekend and they proceeded to lose 2 straight vs UNLV and in OT @ Wyoming. We like them to bounce back at home in Moby Arena where they have won 27 of their last 30 games! It can be tough for teams to come into high altitude and play well which is one of the many reasons that CSU has such a strong home court. San Diego State attempted was in a similar situation last week traveling to play Utah State in altitude and they lost by 18. SDSU then went home and blasted New Mexico so they are coming off a win. The Rams are fantastic offensive team ranking 18th in offensive efficiency nationally, 7th in eFG%, 18th in 3-point %, and 12th in 2-point %. They also make 79% of their free throws. San Diego State really struggles on offense at times. Especially on the road where they are averaging just 59 PPG on 37% shooting. They have played just 4 true road games and they are 1-3 SU in those games. This is a big time revenger for CSU after losing by 30 @ San Diego State one month ago. The normally sharp shooting Rams hit just 28% of their shots in that game and only 15% of their 3’s. SDSU is very good defensively but we look for a much better offensive performance from Colorado State who averages 83 PPG at home while shooting 52% overall and 40% from deep. The Aztecs will have trouble keeping up offensively here and we side with Colorado State to win and cover this short number at home. |
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02-03-22 | Washington v. California -2 | Top | 84-63 | Loss | -105 | 10 h 1 m | Show |
#854 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* California -2 over Washington, Thursday at 11 PM ET - Cal has lost 8 straight games and now they are a favorite in this one. We actually have the Bears power rated as a 4.5 points favorite here so we like the value with the team coming off a big stretch of losses. They have a misleading 2-9 record in Pac 12 play as over half of those losses (5) have come vs the top 3 teams in the conference (UCLA, Arizona, and USC). They have lost 3 straight home games, however those were again vs the top teams in the Pac 12 (UCLA, Arizona, and USC). Prior to that the Bears had won 9 straight home games. Washington is 6-3 in conference play but they’ve played one of the easiest schedules in league play having played Arizona just once and they have not faced USC or UCLA. The Huskies do have 2 conference road wins but those came vs Oregon State and Utah, the 2 lowest rated teams in the league. Their other 3 conference road games resulted in losses of 28, 16, and 14 points. UW just struggled big time with Utah at home over the weekend winning in double OT. At this number the oddsmakers are pretty much asking Washington to win on the road and they simply don’t shoot the ball well enough to be trusted here. They rank 312th or lower nationally in eFG%, 2 point FG%, and 3 point FG%. This has been a home team series with the host winning 9 of the last 10 outright and covering 7 in a row. Cal views this match up as a great chance to end their losing streak and they’ll bring a great effort at home tonight. Lay the small number. |
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02-02-22 | Blazers v. Lakers -3.5 | Top | 94-99 | Win | 100 | 11 h 31 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* LA Lakers -3.5 over Portland Trailblazers, 10:40 PM ET - Man, I hate betting on the Lakers! LA is obviously a very popular and public team which means they more than likely are over-priced most nights. Since LeBron joined the Lakers, they are a money-burning 136-162-6 ATS (45.6%) which is the second worst spread record in the NBA since 2018. Portland has been horrible on the road this season though with a 7-17 SU record and the 4th worst average loss margin of -8.9PPG. They rank 25th in offensive efficiency on the road and last in road defensive efficiency. The Lakers have played a large portion of the season without Anthony Davis, so their home statistics are somewhat misleading. In games he’s played at home they are 9-7 SU. Yes, the Lakers will be without James here, but the Blazers continue to play and lose without their best player Lilliard. LA has covered 4 straight when coming off a spread loss and recently beat the Blazers by 33 at home. We like Los Angeles to get a solid home win and cover on Wednesday. |
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02-02-22 | Purdue v. Minnesota +10.5 | Top | 88-73 | Loss | -103 | 11 h 44 m | Show |
#672 ASA TOP PLAY ON 9* Minnesota +10.5 over Purdue, Wednesday at 7 PM ET - This line is off. Our power ratings have Purdue -8.5. For comparison’s sake, Minnesota was just +11 @ Wisconsin on Sunday and now they are getting basically the same number at home vs Purdue. The Boilers are in a tough spot coming off an important 81-78 home win vs Ohio State on Sunday. They hit a tough 3-point shot at the buzzer to get that win. Purdue plays another important game at home on Saturday vs Michigan. In the meantime they are @ Minnesota who sits at 2-7 in Big 10 play and this sets up as a perfect spot for a Boilermaker letdown. They have played just 5 true road games on the year and they have a 3-2 record in those games with none of their wins coming by more than 10 points (losses @ Rutgers and @ Indiana). They average 84 PPG overall this season but that drops by 7 points when they have played on the road. Purdue’s road point margin is just +4 per game. The Gophers are finally back to full strength after their Covid slow down. They were missing key players on and off over the last few weeks but had everyone back for the first time in awhile in their game @ Wisconsin on Saturday, including big man Eric Curry who hadn’t played since January 12th. They gave the Badgers all they could handle in a 66-60 loss – game was tied 60-60 with 2:20 remaining. Minnesota is a bit undervalued in our opinion and they’ve been a very competitive team despite their 7 losses. Only 1 of those losses came by more than 13 points. Their average point margin in Big 10 play is -6.5 points per game and we think they keep this one close. |
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02-02-22 | St. Louis v. George Mason +2 | Top | 92-90 | Push | 0 | 11 h 38 m | Show |
#680 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* George Mason +2 over St Louis, Wednesday at 7 PM ET - We were on George Mason one week ago today as a home dog vs St Bonnies and picked up a nice win with the Colonials coming out on top 75-66. We’re getting the underrated GM team at home as a dog again and we’re jumping on them vs St Louis. They are playing really good basketball right now winning 7 of their last 9 games with their lone losses coming by 1 point @ George Washington, a game Mason played without their leading scorer Oduro, and @ Kansas by just 9 points. GM is a very good shooting team ranking 14th nationally in eFG% and 15th in 2-point FG%. They are tough to guard with 4 players averaging double digit points including 3 key transfers from Colorado, Tennessee, and Morehead State. St Louis is 5-2 in A10 play but they’ve faced the easiest schedule in the conference. The Billikens have played ONE team on the road that ranks in the top 7 in the conference and that was a loss @ Dayton. SLU has historically struggled on the road with a 2-3 record this season and they are 13-28 in conference road games under head coach Travis Ford. They are coming off a rare road win on Saturday vs Duquesne, one of the two worst teams in the conference, and they are now on the road for the 2nd straight game. George Mason is 8-1 at home this season with a +13 PPG margin and they are also 6-1 ATS as a dog this season. We like the Colonials to get it done again at home vs SLU. |
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02-01-22 | Nuggets v. Wolves -4 | Top | 115-130 | Win | 100 | 7 h 16 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Minnesota Timberwolves -5 over Denver Nuggets, 8:10 PM ET - We like the home team to prevail by double-digits in this matchup and will back the Wolves here. Let’s get this out of the way first. The Nuggets are playing lights-out right now with 5 straight wins and 8 of their last ten. We do like they are coming off a blowout win of the World Champion Milwaukee Bucks and may letdown here, especially with a potential look-ahead with the Jazz. The Nuggets have won 4 straight on the road but other than the Bucks they won at New Orleans, at Brooklyn who played without the Big 3 and at Detroit. In contrast, let’s look at the Wolves' most recent home games. They beat the Jazz by 20, the Nets by 11 with Irving and Harden and the Warriors by 20. Minnesota is 6-1 SU their last seven at home with all six wins coming by 6 or more points. The Nuggets are a respectable 15-12 SU on the road this season but only 6 of those wins came against teams with a winning record. That ties into the Nuggets 8-18 ATS record in their last twenty-six road games versus a team with a winning home record. We like the Wolves by 10+ |
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02-01-22 | South Carolina v. Mississippi State -7.5 | Top | 64-78 | Win | 100 | 12 h 48 m | Show |
#622 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Mississippi State -8 over South Carolina, Tuesday at 7 PM ET - Bad spot and bad match up for South Carolina. They are catching MSU coming off 2 road losses vs 2 of the top teams in the nation. The Bulldogs lost @ Kentucky last Tuesday and took the Cats to OT on the road. Then they traveled to Texas Tech and they were out of gas both physically and emotionally after their Kentucky loss. Noticed it very early in the game and Tech rolled up an easy win. Now back at home where MSU is 4-0 in SEC play (11-1 overall) winning by an average of 12.5 points per game in league play. They have a +16 points per game margin in all 12 home games with 9 of their 11 wins coming by double digits. South Carolina is on the road for the 2nd time in 4 days after upsetting Texas A&M on Saturday. In SEC play the Gamecocks have a points per possession margin of -0.4 and MSU is +0.5 in that category. SC ranks 13th in the SEC (league games) in offensive efficiency, 13th in eFG%, and 13th in TO margin where they cough it up a whopping 23% of the time. They are also a poor defensive rebounding team (308th nationally) and MSU is one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the country. Those 2 things alone (TO’s and rebounding) should lead to a bunch of extra possessions for the home team. Since South Carolina is a poor shooting team, they rely on their defense to create TO’s which turn into easy baskets. That’ll be tough here vs the Bulldogs who are #1 in the conference in TO rate giving it away just 16% of the time. The Gamecocks are aggressive defensively thus they foul A LOT. They foul more than any other team in the conference and their opponents % of points from the FT line is nearly 25% which is the 7th most in the entire nation. MSU is a solid FT shooting team at 72% while South Carolina has hit just 59% of their FT’s in conference play. Mississippi State by double digits. |
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01-31-22 | Blazers -3.5 v. Thunder | Top | 81-98 | Loss | -110 | 7 h 1 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Portland Trailblazers -3.5 over Oklahoma City Thunder, 8:10 PM ET - This is one of those “plug your nose” bets as we are backing a losing team as a road favorite. We will though for several reasons including going against a Thunder team that is 14-34 SU on the season and a team without their best player. The Thunder have the 4th worst overall point differential in the NBA at minus -7.2PPG and lose at home by an average of -4.3PPG. OKC is better than the Blazers statistically on the defensive end of the court but are much worst offensively. The Blazers are 16th in offensive efficiency ratings and are the 7th best 3-point shooting team in the NBA. The Thunder rank 30th in points, FG% shooting and 3-point% shooting with the worst offensive efficiency numbers at 1.025-points per possession. Scoring will be even tougher tonight without their best players Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is averaging 24.4 points, 7.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds in wins this season. The Thunder haven’t won this season without SGA in the lineup and stand 0-5 SU on the year. In those five losses the Thunder have been beaten by 12, 6, 73, 18 and 9 points. Going back further we find the Thunder are a miserable 6-36 SU without Alexander over the past two full seasons. OKC has lost 12 of their last thirteen. Portland is on a 5-0 spread run their last five games when coming off a loss of 10 or more points. The bet here is backing Portland. |
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01-30-22 | Blazers v. Bulls -5 | Top | 116-130 | Win | 100 | 4 h 22 m | Show |
ASA top play on 9* Chicago Bulls -5 over Portland Trailblazers, 3:40 PM ET - We like the situation to play an elite team in the NBA off a disappointing loss, versus a bad team off a win. The Bulls are coming off a loss in San Antonio and have been solid at home when coming off a beat with a 6-2 SU, 5-3 ATS record. Portland defeated the Rockets in their most recent game and have struggled in this situation with a 3-8 SU/ATS record when coming off a win and on the road. Portland is 7-15 SU away this year with the 4th worst point differential in the league at minus -8.4PPG. The Blazers have the 29th ranked road defensive efficiency and 22nd offensive efficiency numbers. Chicago is 17-6 SU at home with the 8th best average MOV at +4.7PPG. The Bulls were recently a -4-point home favorite over the Raptors who are playing much better than the Blazers and now this line is only a 1.5-points higher? |
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01-30-22 | Indiana State v. Bradley -7.5 | Top | 52-67 | Win | 100 | 21 h 23 m | Show |
#844 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Bradley -7.5 over Indiana State, Sunday at 2 PM ET - Bradley is one of the hottest teams in the MVC winning 5 of their last 6. Their only loss during that stretch was @ Illinois State, a game Bradley led by 20 points late in the first half. Prior to this 6 game stretch, the Braves faced the 2 best teams in the conference, Loyola & Missouri State, and played very well. They lost those games by 2 points vs Mizzou State and in OT @ Loyola, a game they led by 16 in the 2nd half. So this team has been playing outstanding basketball over their last 7 games. Prior to that, they took on this Indiana State team on the road and lost by 5. The Braves were favored by -3.5 on the road in that one and now we’re getting them at -7 (as of this writing) so value on Bradley. In that 5 points loss the more physical Braves dominated the glass (+13) including 14 offensive rebounds. That led to 13 more FG attempts but they simply shot poorly in the loss. We expect them to handle ISU on the glass again here and if they shoot close to the 47% they average at home this should be an easy win. Indiana State is one of the youngest teams in the nation (3 freshmen starting) so it’s understandable why they are just 1-6 SU on the road this season. The Sycamores are also coming off a huge upset at home beating Missouri State earlier this week. They caught Mizzou St off a huge win of their own as they beat Loyola last weekend so it was definitely a letdown spot for the Bears. We like the red hot Braves in this revenge spot. |
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01-29-22 | Wizards +5.5 v. Grizzlies | Top | 95-115 | Loss | -110 | 21 h 14 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Washington Wizards +5.5 over Memphis Grizzlies, 8:10 PM ET - The Grizzlies are coming off a big game last night versus the Jazz and are ripe for a letdown. Memphis is playing the 2nd of a back-to-back, 3rd in four nights and 7th in thirteen days. Washington meanwhile has been off since the 25th and will come into this game well rested. The Wizards are getting healthy with Dinwiddie, Beal, Bryant and Hachimura all back in the lineup. Washington is coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Clippers (lost by 1-point after leading by 35-points) the last time out and will be highly motivated here. Memphis is 5-4 SU when playing without rest, but their average margin of victory is minus -1.7PPG. The Wiz are a respectable 10-13 SU away from home on the season and not only do we like them to cover here, but we also won’t be surprised if they win outright. |
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01-29-22 | Middle Tennessee v. Western Kentucky -5 | Top | 93-85 | Loss | -108 | 19 h 14 m | Show |
#658 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Western Kentucky -5 over Middle Tennessee State, Saturday at 3 PM ET - This is a huge home game for WKY. They are 2-5 on conference play and have lost 4 straight games but they are much better than their record. The Hilltoppers have played one of the toughest schedules in CUSA play so far having already faced the 3 highest rated teams in the league (UAB, North Texas, and La Tech). They were very competitive in all 3 of those losses getting topped by 1, 3, and 5 points. The most recent coming at home on Wednesday vs UAB the best team in the conference. WKY lost that game 68-65 and made only 4 out of 17 three pointers (24%) but still had the game tied with under 10 seconds to go when UAB made a 3 at the buzzer. MTSU, on the other hand, has played the easiest schedule in CUSA play and they have a 4-2 record. Their last 3 games were vs FIU, Southern Miss, and Marshall, 3 of the 4 lowest rated teams in the league. They struggled big time @ Marshall (0-7 CUSA record) on Thursday night squeaking by with a 2 point win. The Blue Raiders trailed for most of the game but made 2 FT’s in the final seconds to win. MTSU was 0-6 SU on the road entering that game vs Marshall and they are now playing their 2nd road game in 3 days. They are a very poor 3-point shooting game (330th nationally) and they rely on getting to the FT line more than most teams. Problem here is Western Kentucky fouls as little as anyone in the nation allowing just 10.8% of opponents points to come from the stripe (lowest percentage in the country). The Hilltoppers are the much better offensive team ranking 3rd in CUSA (conference games) in eFG%, 3rd in 3 point %, and 4th in 2 point %. The are also the much bigger team, the more experience team, and they create bunches of TO’s (best in CUSA) which will make it difficult for an MTSU team that turns the ball over a lot. WKY is the better team despite their CUSA record and they are backed into a corner in a must win spot. We’ll lay it. |
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01-28-22 | Bulls +1.5 v. Spurs | Top | 122-131 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 14 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Chicago Bulls +1.5 over San Antonio Spurs, 8:40 PM ET - We successfully played against the Spurs the other night with part of our analysis touching on scheduling and fatigue being a factor for San Antonio. It showed late in the game and the Grizzlies took advantage with a cover. This isn’t a back to back for the Spurs but this will be their 9th game in sixteen days. The Bulls are 30-17 on the season and sit second in the East behind the Heat. Chicago went through a funk recently with a 4-6 SU record their last ten games but that was largely due to injuries to Zach Lavine and DeMar DeRozen. Both are back here and played well in their most recent game, a win over Toronto. Chicago ranks in the top half of the NBA in most key statistical categories when playing on the road. The Spurs on the other hand rank 25th in defensive efficiency at home which will show in this game with the weapons the Bulls have offensively. Chicago is the 2nd best overall shooting team in the NBA, 1st in 3-point percentage and they should take advantage of a Spurs defense hemorrhaging points in the paint. The Bulls get this road win. |
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01-28-22 | Rhode Island +6.5 v. Dayton | Top | 51-53 | Win | 100 | 11 h 42 m | Show |
#877 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Rhode Island +6.5 over Dayton, Friday at 7 PM ET - We were on URI earlier this week vs Richmond and came up short as they lost 70-63. It was a game the Rams led by 15 in the 2nd half but were outscored 15-1 in the final 5:45 as URI did not make a single shot during that stretch. It was a game they should have won and they blew it. Dayton also played on Tuesday and squeaked by Fordham the 4th lowest rated team in the A10. Final score was 68-61 and Fordham played without their 2nd and 3rd leading scorer in that game . Not overly impressive for Dayton. The Flyers are expected to have some ups and downs as they are the YOUNGEST team in college basketball. They start 4 freshmen and 1 sophomore and their first 3 players off the bench are also freshmen. As you would expect with a very young team, Dayton turns the ball over A LOT ranking 324th nationally in that category. URI is very good at creating turnovers defensively – 4th best in the conference – so this isn’t a great match up for Dayton when it comes to that. The Flyers also score most of their points from inside the arc (55% which is 31st most in the country) and that is the Rams strength on defense as they limit opponents to just 43% shooting from 2 point range – 9th best in the nation. Rhode Island has been a solid road team going 3-3 so far with losses @ Providence (one of the top teams in the Big East), @ Davidson by 4 (top rated team in the A10) and @ Florida Gulf Coast by 1. They are one of the better teams in the nation defensively (13th nationally in eFG% defense & allowing just 63 PPG). They are set up very well to cover as a dog and we think they have a great shot to win this one. Take the points. |
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01-27-22 | Loyola-Chicago v. Southern Illinois +6.5 | Top | 44-39 | Win | 100 | 12 h 37 m | Show |
#812 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Southern Illinois +6.5 over Loyola Chicago, Thursday at 8 PM ET - These two just met on Saturday @ Loyola and the Ramblers won 59-47. The game was much closer than that with Loyola leading by just 3 points with under 3:00 minutes remaining in the game. The Ramblers went on an 11-2 run in the final 3 minutes to win by 12. Southern Illinois shot terribly (33%) and made 5 fewer FT’s and still were in the game until the final few minutes on the road. SIU is better than their 10-10 record (3-5 in conference play). They have played the 3rd toughest schedule in league play and 7 of their 10 losses have come by 8 points or less. Loyola has played the easiest schedule in league play and their 2 road wins in the MVC have come @ Evansville (last place in the conference) and Indiana State (2nd to last place in the conference). The Ramblers other 5 league games have all come at home. SIU is 3-1-1 ATS this year as a dog in MVC games and 6-3 ATS overall getting points. Their overall numbers at home (PPG, FG%, and 3 point %) are all much better than on the road as to be expected. We can expect Loyola to be in a letdown spot here after just beating Southern Illinois and with a huge game vs Drake, the team that sits in 2nd place behind them, on deck. Take the points. |
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01-26-22 | San Diego State v. Utah State +1.5 | Top | 57-75 | Win | 100 | 8 h 39 m | Show |
#750 ASA TOP PLAY ON Utah State +1.5 over San Diego State, Wednesday at 10:30 PM ET - Utah State is in must win mode after starting MWC play with a 1-5 record. USU has played an extremely tough schedule this season (41st SOS) and 6 of their 9 losses have come by 5 points or less. They have an SOS of #2 in conference games and they have lost 4 in a row all by 7 points or less and their 2 home games during that stretch came by 2 vs Wyoming (4-1 conference record) and by 3 vs Boise State (7-0 conference record). The Aggies are much better than their 10-9 record and they are the only team in the Mountain West that ranks in the top 80 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency. This team was 20-9 last year and lost to Texas Tech in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They really need a win here and they are rested and getting healthy after a full week off. They catch San Diego State playing their 3rd game in 5 days. A very quick turnaround for the Aztecs after beating UNLV on Monday night. SDSU hasn’t played a road game since January 1st and their offense really struggles at times to say the least. On Saturday they scored only 37 points in a home loss to Boise. In road games they are averaging just 60 PPG while shooting 37% from the field and only 20% from beyond the arc. The Aztecs are very good defensively but you need to score some points to cover games on the road, especially as a favorite, and they simply don’t do that. These two conference rivals met 3 times last year and Utah State won 2 of those games. USU has been favored in every home game this year, including vs Boise last week who is undefeated in conference play. We like the value of the home dog here and we have Utah State winning this one. |
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01-26-22 | Grizzlies -4.5 v. Spurs | Top | 118-110 | Win | 100 | 6 h 4 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Memphis Grizzlies -4.5 @ San Antonio Spurs, 8:40 PM ET - We love the spot to fade the Spurs and back the Grizzlies in this matchup. First off, the line on this game looks “fishy” and higher than it should be. San Antonio was just a +1-point home underdog against Brooklyn and Philadelphia and are now catching 4 or more points here? Vegas clearly wants you to bet on the Spurs so in contrarian fashion we will back Memphis. The Spurs are coming off a game last night in Houston and played their best basketball of the season. But now they are unrested playing the second night of a back-to-back, their 3rd game in four nights and 8th game in only 13 nights. Fatigue will be a major factor tonight. Memphis meanwhile is coming off a loss on the 23rd in Dallas so they are rested and hungry for a W. The Grizz are 6-2 SU with 2 days rest this season while the Spurs are 4-5 SU without rest. Memphis is significantly better in terms of offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency with a 15-8 SU road record to their credit. Spurs are on an 0-5 ATS streak as a dog, Grizzlies have covered 4 straight off a spread loss. Lay it! |
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01-24-22 | Jazz v. Suns -9 | Top | 109-115 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 49 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Phoenix Suns -9 over Utah Jazz, 7:10 PM ET - The Jazz have struggled offensively of late with Donovan Mitchell sidelined. The Jazz managed just 92 points last night against the Warriors and put up 111 in games against Houston and Detroit who are two of the worst defenses in the NBA. Utah has the #1 ranked offensive efficiency in the NBA for the season but in the last five games they slip to 10th. It will be especially tough to score tonight against a Suns team that is 2nd in the NBA in defensive efficiency allowing .995-points per possession. The red-hot Suns have won 9 of their last ten games and five straight with the average margin of victory in those five games coming by 15.4PPG. This is a really tough spot for the Jazz who are playing the 2nd night of a back-to-back, 3rd game in four days AND 6th game in nine days. These same two teams met again in Utah on Wednesday so expect the Suns to make a statement here. |
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01-24-22 | South Dakota v. Western Illinois -6 | Top | 75-72 | Loss | -108 | 21 h 0 m | Show |
#768 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Western Illinois -6 over South Dakota, Thursday at 7 PM ET - South Dakota sits ahead of WIU in the Summit standings with a 4-3 record (WIU 3-4) but WIU is the better team by our metrics. South Dakota has played one of the easiest schedules in the nation (348th) and they have played the easiest schedule so far in the Summit League (10th). They still have 3 conference losses despite that. They may look like they are on a bit of a roll winning 4 straight but those wins have come vs the 4 lowest rated teams in the conference with all 3 rank below 267th nationally. They Coyotes have struggled on the road with a 2-5 SU record and their only wins away from home came @ North Dakota who is 4-14 on the season and 0-5 in conference play and @ St Thomas who is 8-10 overall and 2-4 in league play. They haven’t beaten a single team ranked inside the top 200 this season and they are 0-4 SU vs teams ranked higher than 200. WIU is coming off a home loss vs the top team in the conference, South Dakota State. They will be hungry for a win here as their 2 home games in conference play (both losses) have come vs the top 2 teams in the league. They are 6-0 in their other home games this season. Offensively they average 80 PPG and an even better 85 PPG at home. They should have success in this one vs a South Dakota defense that ranks 308th nationally in eFG% defense and 353rd in 3-point defense (out of 358). The Coyotes were just on the road in Minnesota on Saturday (St Thomas) and now they are in Illinois just 2 days later to play this make up game that was originally scheduled for last week. WIU has been at home since January 15th. Tough spot for the road team. Lay it. |
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01-23-22 | Hawks v. Hornets -3 | Top | 113-91 | Loss | -110 | 7 h 21 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Charlotte Hornets -3 over Atlanta Hawks, 7:10 PM ET - The Hornets are quietly making some noise in the East with an overall 26-20 record, while the Hawks have disappointed at 20-25. On the season the Hawk are 9-14 SU on the road with a negative differential of minus -3.1PPG which ranks 20th. A large reason why Atlanta has struggled away from home is their defensive efficiency ratings which is 2nd to last in the NBA. Charlotte has the 9th best average point differential in the league at home at +4.4PPG. They have the 5th best home OEFF numbers which is clearly a significant advantage against the Hawks D. Charlotte has won 7 of their last eight games with impressive wins against the Bucks (twice), at Philly and at Boston. Atlanta has won three in a row but all three were at home. Charlotte is 9-3-1 ATS the last 13 meetings with Atlanta in Charlotte. |
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01-23-22 | Xavier v. Marquette +2 | Top | 64-75 | Win | 100 | 13 h 21 m | Show |
#838 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Marquette +2 over Xavier, Sunday at 2 PM ET - Don’t look now but Marquette just might be the hottest team in the Big East. The Golden Eagles have now won 5 straight games including wins @ Villanova earlier this week and home wins vs Seton Hall and Providence – 3 of the top teams in the conference. They are catching Xavier in a tough spot playing their 2nd straight road game with the stomach flu running through the team. The Musketeers topped DePaul 68-67 on the road Wednesday but it was a struggle. They trailed for much of the game and actually took their first lead of the 2nd half with just 2:00 minutes remaining. DePaul played that game without their leading scorer Freeman-Liberty (21 PPG) so an unimpressive effort from Xavier. They had 2 key players under the weather for that game and now another starter (Freemantle) is battling the flu. They may or may not play but none are 100%. These 2 met back on December 18th when Marquette was in the midst of a 4 game losing streak and simply not playing well. Xavier won the game 80-71 and that margin came at the FT line where the Musketeers attempted 35 FTS’s (made 21) to just 12 attempts for the Eagles (made 8). Marquette has been scorching from deep hitting at least 43% from beyond the arc in 4 of their last 5 games and Xavier has struggled guarding the 3 their last few games allowing 43% and 38% vs Creighton and DePaul. This sets up very nicely for the Golden Eagles to win at home. |
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01-22-22 | Florida State v. Miami-FL -2.5 | Top | 61-60 | Loss | -110 | 16 h 40 m | Show |
#646 ASA TOP PLAY ON Miami FL -2.5 over Florida State, Saturday at 2 PM ET - Huge revenge game for Miami from just 11 days ago. Miami led on the road @ FSU for a majority of the game and lost 65-64 when the Canes (with a 1 point lead) were called for a foul with 1 second left on the clock. FSU hit both FT’s and won by a point. That loss is the Canes only setback in their last 11 games. This team is playing very well. They beat Duke on the road and just walloped UNC at home by 28 points all within the last 2 weeks. FSU is also on a bit of a roll winning 5 straight but 4 of those wins came at home. For the season the Noles are just 2-4 SU in road games. Dating back to last season FSU has covered just 1 of their last 9 road games. They are averaging just 66 PPG and shooting only 41% from the field in their 6 road games this season. Miami is 9-1 at home this season averaging 84 PPG and hitting nearly 50% of their shots. We like the red hot Canes to get their quick revenge at home in this one. |
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01-21-22 | Pistons v. Jazz -13.5 | Top | 101-111 | Loss | -110 | 8 h 1 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* UTAH JAZZ -13.5 over Detroit Pistons, 9:10 PM ET - Detroit is 4-19 SU away from home and they’ve been beaten by an average of -14.2PPG which is the worst numbers in the NBA. The Pistons are LAST in the league in offensive efficiency on the road averaging less than 1.000 points per possession and they 26th in DEFF allowing 1.151PPP. Detroit is 24th in points allowed per game, 29th in opponent FG% D, 28th fin 3-point percentage D and 25th in rebounding. Now they face a jazz team that is 1st in scoring, the 3rd best shooting team at 47.5%, 6th in 3-point percentage and 4th in rebounding. Offensively the Pistons aren’t any better than they are defensively. Detroit is 28th in scoring, 29th in FG%, 29th in 3-point percentage and 28th in offensive rebounding. The Jazz are top 12 defensively in all the key categories. What makes this play more attractive is the fact the Pistons are coming off a big come from behind win at Sacramento while the Jazz are off a disappointing home loss to the lowly Rockets. The Jazz recently lost in Detroit as a -10.5-point favorite and will get a 20-point win here. |
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01-21-22 | Evansville v. Illinois State -7.5 | Top | 56-94 | Win | 100 | 5 h 29 m | Show |
#888 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Illinois State -7 over Evansville, Friday at 7 PM ET - We look for ISU to play very well at home after playing very poorly in their worst loss of the year @ Missouri State. Prior to that blowout loss, the Redbirds, who are 9-9 on the season, had 5 losses by 6 points or less or in OT. That included tight games @ top 10 Wisconsin (lost by 4) and vs a very solid St Louis team on a neutral court (lost by 6). ISU has had a rough stretch of games over the last 30 days with 4 road games and just 1 home game. In that 1 home game they topped Bradley by 9 points. Tonight they take on an Evansville team that is 0-5 in the MVC and just 4-12 on the season. The Aces wins have come vs DePauw (non Division 1), IUPUI (ranked 358th out of 358 teams), Eastern Illinois (ranked 354th) and Tennessee Tech (ranked 273rd). They are 1-5 SU on the road this season (only win vs Eastern Illinois) and 4 of those 5 losses have come by at least 20 points. ISU is very good offensive averaging 79 PPG and they rank 17th nationally hitting almost 39% of their shots from beyond the arc. That’s a bad match up for this Evansville defense that allows opponents to make 42% of their 3’s which is the 2nd worst mark in the country. On top of that, Evansville struggles to score averaging only 59 PPG which won’t get it done here vs the higher scoring Redbirds. We’ll lay the points. |
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01-20-22 | North Dakota v. Oral Roberts -20.5 | Top | 76-80 | Loss | -105 | 11 h 13 m | Show |
#806 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Oral Roberts -20.5 over North Dakota, Thursday at 8 PM ET - This one will be ugly. ORU has a top notch offense that ranks 77th nationally in adjusted efficiency, 32nd in eFG% and 13th in 3 point %. The are the 8th highest scoring team in the nation averaging 83 PPG and at home they are putting up a ridiculous 91 PPG. That’s going to be a massive sized problem for a North Dakota defense that ranks DEAD LAST in the country (358th) in defensive efficiency. The Hawks allow their opponents to hit 40% of their 3-point shots and we already mentioned ORU’s prowess from beyond the arc. ORU is coming home after sweeping a 3 game road trip and their last home game was on January 1st vs Nebraska Omaha. Why do we bring that up? Because Nebraska Omaha and tonight’s opponent are very similar defensively (both stink) with Omaha actually ranking 11 spots higher in defensive efficiency. How did that game turn out? Oral Roberts won 107-62! Don’t be at all surprised of the Golden Eagles hit triple digits in this game. Does North Dakota have any chance of keeping up? Nope. The Hawks rely fairly heavily on the 3 point shot and they aren’t very good at it (288th nationally). They are facing an Oral Roberts defense that has allowed opponents to make only 29% of their 3’s which is the 38th best defensive mark in the country. They are 0-8 on the road losing by an average of 19 PPG. The 3 worst teams in the Summit are North Dakota, Nebraska Omaha, and Denver (all ranked below 300). ND played the other 2 conference cellar dwellars on the road this month and lost @ Denver by 19 and @ Nebraska Omaha by 16. Now they are playing the 2nd best team in the league on the road and it’s gonna get ugly. |
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01-19-22 | Pistons v. Kings -5.5 | Top | 133-131 | Loss | -110 | 14 h 37 m | Show |
ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* SACRAMENTO KINGS -6 over Detroit Pistons - Scheduling clearly favors the Kings here with the Pistons coming off a marquee game versus the Warriors on Tuesday night. When playing without rest the Pistons are 2-5 SU this season with a net differential of minus -17PPG. Detroit is 3-18 SU away from home and they’ve been beaten by an average of -14.8PPG which is the worst numbers in the NBA. The Pistons are LAST in the league in offensive efficiency on the road averaging less than 1.000 points per possession and they 26th in DEFF allowing 1.147PPP. Sacramento hasn’t been great at home this year with a negative differential of minus -2.7PPG and a 12-15 SU record but they have won 3 of their last six at home with quality wins over the Lakers and Heat included. The Kings most recent home game was a disappointing loss to the Rockets who shot incredibly well for the game at 54% overall and 40% from 3. The Kings have been off since Sunday and are 3-0 ATS +10PPG when in this scheduling situation. Detroit is playing the 2nd of a B2B, 3rd in four nights and 4th in 6 days. |
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01-19-22 | Iowa v. Rutgers +3.5 | Top | 46-48 | Win | 100 | 12 h 12 m | Show |
#712 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Rutgers +3.5 over Iowa, Wednesday at 8:30 PM ET - Rutgers is on a nice little roll winning 5 of their last 6 games. They’re unbeaten at home in Big 10 play with wins over Purdue, Michigan, and Nebraska. Iowa has played 3 conference road games losing 2 of those. Their lone Big 10 road win was on Sunday @ Minnesota facing a Gopher team without 2 of their best players in the line up (Curry & Sutherlin). The Hawkeyes have been very good at home this year (10-1 record) but their numbers drop off drastically on the road. When compared to their overall season numbers, Iowa averages 15 fewer PPG, -4% shooting, and -%7 percent from deep when playing on the road. Last year Iowa had their best team they’ve had in 20 seasons and they were -3 @ Rutgers and struggled to get by with a 77-75 win. Rutgers is the much better defensive team (54th in defensive efficiency to 158th for Iowa) and they are the bigger team. Iowa will struggle inside the arc offensively in this game. The Knights are 9-1 SU at home this season and 37-6 SU at home since the start of the 2020 season. We like the host to win this one outright. |
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01-18-22 | Tennessee -6.5 v. Vanderbilt | Top | 68-60 | Win | 100 | 13 h 53 m | Show |
#657 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Tennessee -6.5 over Vanderbilt, Tuesday at 9 PM ET - We expect UT to play with an extra effort here after getting absolutely embarrassed over the weekend @ Kentucky. The Vols lost that game 107-79 and the Wildcats averaged a ridiculous 1.47 points per possession in the win. It was the first time since 2006 that the Vols allowed a team to reach 100 points. That was a enormously poor effort from the UT defense that STILL ranks 5th nationally in adjusted efficiency even after that performance allowing just 0.89 PPP. UK is ranked 4th nationally in offensive efficiency and now the Volunteers face a Vandy team that ranks 10th in the SEC in offensive efficiency. We expect the Commodores to struggle on offense vs one of the top defenses in the nation who will play with a little extra passion here. Vandy’s home court advantage has been little to none this year as 5 of their 6 losses have come at home. They are just 2-4 SU vs top 100 teams this year with all 4 losses coming by double digits. While Vanderbilt’s strength of schedule is ranked outside the top 100, Tennessee has played one of the toughest slates in the country (14th SOS). The Vols come in with 5 losses on the season and ALL 5 have come vs teams ranked inside Ken Pom’s top 17 (Villanova, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, and Texas Tech). UT was favored by 12 @ Vandy last year (won 70-58) and now they are laying half that number despite the Vols ranking 14th this year (per Ken Pom) while they were 28th last year when this game tipped off. Vandy is off a 7 point win over UGA (the lowest rated team in the SEC) but they are running into a buzzsaw here. The Vols have won 5 in a road @ Vanderbilt and this is a must win type of game after their blowout loss. Lay it. |
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01-17-22 | Wyoming v. Nevada -2.5 | Top | 77-67 | Loss | -105 | 21 h 52 m | Show |
#892 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Nevada -2.5 over Wyoming, Monday at 8 PM ET - We love this spot for Nevada. Their most recent home game was a 15 point loss vs Boise State last week. They Wolfpack were favored by 2.5 in that game vs a BSU team that is ranked 30 spots higher than this Wyoming team yet we’re laying the same number. Wyoming, on the other hand, is coming off an upset 2-point win at Utah State on Saturday with the Aggies playing without 2 of their best players. It was a huge win for the Cowboys who hadn’t played a game since December 25th prior to Saturday. They are a thin team with a short bench and now must play 2 nights later after not having played for 20 days. The Wolfpack also have some revenge in mind here after losing both games vs Wyoming last year. Both were on the road and just 2 days apart due to the Covid situation. Nevada was FAVORED in both of those road games last year but lost tight games by 5 & 7 points. They returned 6 of their top 8 players from last year’s 16-10 team and they will be extra motivated here. Nevada has played the tougher schedule so their record isn’t as impressive as Wyoming’s, but the Wolfpack have won 7 of their last 9 after a slow start to the season. The only 2 losses during that run were vs Boise State & Kansas. If this one is tight late and Nevada needs to hold on to a lead, we love the fact they shoot 78% from the FT line (Wyoming shoots just 69%). The Pack has a great home court advantage with a 61-7 SU record last 68 home games. We side with Nevada tonight. |
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01-17-22 | Raptors v. Heat -4 | Top | 99-104 | Win | 100 | 20 h 16 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Miami Heat -3.5 over Toronto Raptors, 7:40 PM ET - We like the situation here with the Heat coming off a horrible home showing and loss, while the Raptors are off a big road win over the Bucks. Miami is 13-5 SU at home with a +/- of +6.6PPG which is 4th best in the NBA. The Raptors are 9-8 SU away from home with a negative differential of -1.7PPG. The Heat have won 4 of their last five at home and are coming off a brutal loss to the 76ers. Miami shot just 38% for the game and 26% from beyond the arc which are both well below their season averages. Butler, Lowry and Robinson combined to shoot 4 of 31 from the field. The Heat have the 2nd best offensive efficiency numbers in the NBA over their last five games at 1.210PPP compared to a Raptors team that is 18th over that span of games. Toronto is better defensively in the last five games but only barely with a DEFF rating of 1.102PPP compared to 1.111PPP for the Heat. Given the situation we like Miami to get a solid home win here. |
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01-15-22 | Oregon v. USC -6 | Top | 79-69 | Loss | -110 | 24 h 22 m | Show |
#812 ASA TOP PLAY ON 9* USC -6 over Oregon, Saturday at 11 PM ET - Great value here with the Trojans. As of this write up they are laying just 6 at home vs Oregon who is playing their 2nd straight road game. Because USC struggled a bit at home on Thursday with Oregon State (won by 10) and Oregon upset UCLA in OT this line is off. The Ducks opened +11 @ UCLA and we have USC rated the EXACT same (within 2 spots) of UCLA and this line is just 6. Now way the Bruins are 5 points better than the Trojans on a neutral site which is what this line suggests. A letdown is in order here for Oregon and this is a very tough spot as they are playing their 3rd road game in 6 days (Beat Oregon St by 2 on Monday and UCLA in OT on Thursday). USC is a fantastic defensive team that has held 12 of their 15 opponents to 40% or less from the field. Not a great match up for an Oregon team that shoots just 43% on the road and just 32% from deep. These teams have faced off here @ USC 3 times since the start of the 2019 season and the Trojans have won those games by 17, 14, and 14 points. We love this spot for USC and we’ll lay the points. |
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01-15-22 | Notre Dame v. Virginia Tech -6 | Top | 73-79 | Push | 0 | 20 h 30 m | Show |
#754 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Virginia Tech -6 over Notre Dame, Saturday at 6 PM ET - This is an absolute huge home game for Tech. They have underachieved but they are much better than their 8-7 record. They are 0-4 in the ACC and after this game they play 3 consecutive road games which basically makes this a must win. The Hokies enter this game off 3 straight losses (vs Duke, NC State, and Virginia) and Notre Dame has won 6 straight yet Tech is favored by 6. That alone speak volumes. The average rating of ND’s last 6 opponents, all wins, is 160 and 4 of those games were at home. The Irish have played 3 road games thus far in the ACC and they are vs the 3 lowest rated teams in the league. They lost by 16 @ BC, beat Ga Tech in OT, and beat Pitt by 1. Va Tech has a fantastic defense ranked 26th nationally in adjusted efficiency and 41st in eFG% defense. Where they really excel is defending the arc allowing 26% good for 9th in the nation. Bad news for ND who lives at the 3-point line with 39% of their points coming from deep – 32nd in the nation – and they are even better at home hitting 41% from beyond the arc. On the flip side, VT is a great 3-point shooting team hitting 39% of their triples (15th best in the country) and the Irish struggle to defend the arc allowing 34% or 200th nationally. This one sets up really well for the home team in must win mode vs a road team that’s played very easy conference slate thus far (2nd easiest in the ACC). Lay it with Virginia Tech. |
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01-14-22 | VCU +3 v. St Bonaventure | Top | 53-73 | Loss | -110 | 11 h 53 m | Show |
#889 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* VCU +3 over St Bonaventure, Friday at 7:30 PM ET - We’ll be honest. We don’t love taking road teams in college hoops unless the situation is right. One thing we do need most of the time when siding with a road team is good defense which travels. Teams can lose their shooting acumen at times on the road, but defense is a constant. That’s absolutely what we have here with VCU. They rank 3rd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, 2nd in eFG% defense, 3rd in 3 point % defense, 14th in 2 point % defense, and 8th in PPG allowed. This team is simply as good as it gets defensively. Their offensive numbers for the season are not great but they are absolutely trending in the right direction on that end of the court as well. The Rams have scored 75 or more in 3 of their last 5 games including topping 80 points in each of their last 2 games. If they do that, they are pretty much unbeatable with the defense they play. They are a perfect 4-0 SU on the road this year including 2 wins over top 100 teams Vanderbilt and Dayton. They average more PPG offensively in road games and allow fewer PPG away from home. This team just simply seems to play better away from home. St Bonnies is a solid team but they need to knock some rust off. They’ve only played one game since December 17th and that was an OT win @ LaSalle on Tuesday. For a recent reference point, VCU just played LaSalle on the road as well last Saturday and dominated the game beating the Explorers by 19 points. The Bonnies defense isn’t nearly at the level of VCU’s ranking 109th in adjusted efficiency and 235th guarding the arc. They have allowed 8 of their last 10 opponents to score more than 1.00 point per possession which isn’t great. For comparison’s sake, VCU has not allowed a single opponent to score 1.00 PPP in a game this year. Zippo in 14 games. The closest was Baylor who put up 0.99 PPP in their 8 point win over VCU and the Bears rank 4th nationally in offensive efficiency. Take the points with the better team and the better defense in this one. |
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01-13-22 | Florida Atlantic v. Middle Tennessee -3.5 | Top | 57-70 | Win | 100 | 10 h 32 m | Show |
#790 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Middle Tennessee State -3.5 over Florida Atlantic, Thursday at 7 PM ET - MTSU is just glad to be back at home after not playing here since mid December. The Blue Raiders are coming off 3 straight losses, all on the road. Two of those losses were vs Chattanooga, the top team in the Southern Conference, and then a 7 point loss @ UNT, the 3rd ranked team in CUSA. We were impressed how they fought a very good North Texas team in a very tough spot. MTSU was coming off a tight road loss @ Rice just 2 nights earlier and catching UNT off a rare home loss. FAU, on the other hand, upset Marshall on the road Saturday as 5 points dogs. The Herd played without one of their better players (Darius George) while FAU shot lights out at 54% which was more than 10% higher than their road average coming into the game. The Owls were 0-3 in road games entering that won with losses vs High Points, New Mexico, and VCU. That was a rare road win for Florida Atlantic on Saturday and with that win they’ve still won just 5 of their last 23 true road games. They are a poor defensive team (276th in eFG% defense) and more so on the road where they have allowed opponents to hit 49% of their shots from the field. Defending the arc is a huge problem for the Owls as well ranking 353rd allowing a ridiculous 41% on the season. They also turn the ball over on almost 20% of their possessions which is not good vs MTSU who is very adept at creating turnovers (41st nationally). It’s a double revenger for Middle Tennessee after losing both meetings last year. Both were on the road on back to back nights as that’s the way the played it last year with the Covid situation. Now they get FAU to play FAU here at home and the Raiders will play with urgency coming off 3 losses. Lay it. |
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01-12-22 | Nets +2.5 v. Bulls | Top | 138-112 | Win | 100 | 11 h 50 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Brooklyn Nets +2.5 over Chicago Bulls, 10 PM ET - Scheduling has a lot to do with this bet as the Bulls are playing their 4th game in seven days and the 2nd of a back-to-back tonight when they face the Nets. Of course, playing status can change throughout the day but as of now the Nets will have their Big 3 in the lineup with Irving, Durant and Harden. The Nets had won 3 straight road games prior to a loss in Portland the other night, but they were without Harden. The Bulls have been a great surprise this season and are playing well but their 9-1 SU results recently are misleading. In their last nine wins, only one has come against a team with a winning record (Washington 21-20 SU) and they lost the lone game against a winning team in Dallas. Brooklyn is looking up at the Bulls in the standings and have lost to them twice already this season making this game a little more important for them. The glaring advantage the Nets have in this game is their 3-point defense which is 1st in the league compared to the Bulls which ranks 20th. |
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01-11-22 | Suns -3.5 v. Raptors | Top | 99-95 | Win | 100 | 20 h 30 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Phoenix Suns -3.5 over Toronto Raptors, 7:40 PM ET - Any chance we get to back an elite team off a bad loss we’ll consider it and tonight we get that opportunity with the Suns. Phoenix lost their most recent game at home to Miami 100-123, and it was never close. The Suns shot just 38% for the game which was below their season average of 47.3% which is 3rd best in the NBA. Phoenix is 13-4 SU on the road this season with a +/- of +5.4PPG which is also 3rd best in the league. Toronto is playing well right now with 6 straight wins, but we’re not overly impressed with that resume considering the competition included New Orleans, San Antonio, the Knicks and Clippers. The two wins over the Bucks and Jazz in that stretch is misleading as the Bucks were without 3 starters including Giannis and the Jazz sat everyone that game. Toronto really doesn’t enjoy much of a home court advantage (12-10 SU) as fans aren’t allowed in Canada. Phoenix is 25-11 SU off since the start of last season with an average differential of +7.1PPG. Easy call with a focused Phoenix team. |
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01-10-22 | North Dakota State v. Denver +5 | Top | 87-69 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 32 m | Show |
#886 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Denver +5 over North Dakota State, Monday at 8 PM ET - Denver is playing their best basketball of the year right now and we feel they are undervalued. 3 of their best performances of the season have come in their last 5 games including an easy 19 point win over North Dakota here on Saturday. The Pioneers have won 3 of their last 4 home games with their only loss coming by 4 points in OT. Their record looks poor at 6-11 but we need to take into account they played a brutal schedule from late November through mid December. During that stretch they played 6 consecutive road games in an 18 day span that were all losses. Since that stretch Denver is 3-2 SU with an OT loss (mentioned above) and a loss @ Oral Roberts, the 2nd highest rated team in the Summit. They have shot 49% during that stretch (their seasonal average is 46%) and averaged 76 PPG (seasonal average 69 PPG). NDSU hasn’t been great on the road where they have a losing record. They were barely able to get by @ Nebraska Omaha on Saturday, the worst team in the Summit, winning by 4 despite taking 13 more FT attempts. Now 2 days later they are on the road again, in altitude, which will be tough for a team that basically plays 7 guys. The Bison average 13 fewer PPG away from home this year (72 PPG overall and 59 PPG on the road) and shoot nearly 10% lower from the field (44% overall and 35% on the road). In Saturday’s win vs Omaha they were only able to average 0.89 PPP vs a team that ranks 346th nationally in defensive efficiency. They’re catching Denver playing confident basketball and we think the Pioneers have a solid shot to win this one outright. Take the points. |
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01-10-22 | 76ers -10.5 v. Rockets | Top | 111-91 | Win | 100 | 8 h 58 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Philadelphia 76ers -10.5 over Houston Rockets, 8:10 PM ET - The Rockets look like a dumpster fire right now and are in a tough spot here coming off a game yesterday, playing their 3rd game in four days AND facing a rested Sixers team. Houston gave up 141 points last night to Minnesota and continue to be the worst defensive teams in the NBA. The Rockets give up 127.8PPG on the season and 1.233-points per possession. Houston is getting beat by an average of -8.6PPG on the season, but in their last five games they have a negative differential of minus -14.4PPG. Philadelphia on the other hand is playing really well right now with a +/- differential of +12.4PPG in their last five games. In that same span of five games the Sixers have the 5th best offensive efficiency numbers and 9th best defensive efficiency numbers. These two teams just played in Philly earlier this month with the 76ers winning by 20 points. Philadelphia is rested and will be primed for a big road win here. Lay it. |
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01-09-22 | Wisconsin v. Maryland +1.5 | Top | 70-69 | Win | 100 | 22 h 24 m | Show |
#856 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Maryland +1.5 over Wisconsin, Sunday at 7:30 PM ET - The Badgers have started the New Year with a bang beating Purdue on the road and stomping Iowa at home. This is still a very young team that will have ups and downs this season and this is a really tough spot for them on the road after those 2 huge wins. Maryland is a solid team and they are in must win mode. The Terps have started the Big 10 season 0-3 with losses @ Iowa, @ Illinois, and vs Northwestern. They can’t afford to lose this one at home before they take to the road again next Wednesday. Maryland is 8-6 on the season but they’ve been very competitive with all but one of their losses going to the wire. They’ve actually held the lead in the 2nd half in all but one of their losses so this team is much better than their record. Wisconsin is not a great shooting team ranking 275th in eFG% and 302nd in 3 point percentage but they thrive at getting to the FT line (21% of their points come from the stripe). Maryland does a very good job at not fouling so the Badgers will have problems getting to the line on the road in this one. This line has been over adjusted due to recent results. Wisconsin was just a 13 point dog @ Purdue earlier this week and now they are favored @ Maryland? We have the Terps as a small favorite here and expect them to get the win in their first home game as an underdog this season. |
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01-08-22 | Oral Roberts -1.5 v. Western Illinois | Top | 87-86 | Loss | -110 | 4 h 44 m | Show |
#665 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Oral Roberts -1.5 over Western Illinois, Saturday at 3 PM ET - WIU is improved this year after finishing 7-15 a year ago but much of that is due to an easy schedule (321st SOS). Almost half of their games (7) have come vs teams ranked below 300 or non Division 1 teams. This ORU team will be the highest ranked team WIU has played this season. The Leathernecks are not playing well right now losing 3 straight games, including a 6 points loss vs Nebraska Omaha who is ranked as the 338th team in the nation (out of 358 teams). We have a very solid comparison point with these 2 teams as they’ve each played the same 3 conference teams in their last 3 Summit League games. Those teams were Denver (ORU won by 17 / WIU won by 4 on OT), Nebraska Omaha (ORU won by 35 points / WIU lost by 6), and St Thomas (ORU won by 15 / WIU lost by 13). This is a terrible match up for Western as Oral Roberts loves to shoot the 3 and they are solid at doing so (38% which is 24th nationally) while the Leathernecks are really bad at defending the arc (324th nationally). On the other end of the court Western Illinois also gets a bunch of their points from beyond the arc but the Golden Eagles are one of the best at defending the 3 point line allowing just 29% (46th nationally). ORU has 6 losses on the season, however 5 of those came vs teams ranked inside the top 100. WIU, on the other hand, has played only 1 team all season ranked inside the top 100 (21 point loss). We’ll lay this small number on the road. |
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01-07-22 | Spurs v. 76ers -7.5 | Top | 100-119 | Win | 100 | 8 h 57 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Philadelphia 76ers -7.5 over San Antonio Spurs, 7:10 PM ET - The Spurs are not in a good situation here playing their 5th straight road game and are short-handed without their second and third leading scorers, Kelson Johnson and Derrick White. Also out tonight are key reserves Vassell and Young. The 76ers have a few players out too but have their key players available in Embiid, Harris and Curry. The Sixers are 7-8 SU at home but come into this game having won 5 straight games. Their most recent home game was a 20-point blowout win over the Rockets. San Antonio is 8-12 SU on the road this season with a negative differential of minus -0.6PPG. In their last five games the 76ers have some impressive numbers with the 9th best defensive efficiency and the 4th best offensive efficiency rating. In comparison the Spurs are 27th in OEFF their last five games, 17th in DEFF. Lastly, the 76ers have a +12.8PPG average differential their last 5 games and our analytics say that will be the margin here. Bet Philly |
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01-06-22 | Ohio State v. Indiana -2 | Top | 51-67 | Win | 100 | 20 h 46 m | Show |
#750 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Indiana -2 over Ohio State, Thursday at 7 PM ET - This is a huge early season game for the Hoosiers. They currently sit with a 1-2 Big 10 record and they can’t afford to drop to 1-3 with a home loss. OSU is 3-0 on the season but they are fortunate to be in that spot as they nearly lost @ Nebraska on Sunday. The Huskers, rated 141st nationally and the only Big 10 team outside the top 100, led OSU by 5 points with 35 seconds remaining in the game on Sunday. A late key 3 pointer by OSU and missed FT’s by Nebraska sent the game to OT where the Buckeyes won. OSU shot nearly 50% from 3 point land (16 of 34) and still struggled to put away the worst team in the Big 10 on the road. IU will be highly motivated coming off a 3-point loss @ Penn State. Sort of the opposite of the Buckeye win on Sunday, Indiana shot very poorly @ PSU hitting just 39% overall and only 23% from beyond the arc and still had 2 shots in the final 10 seconds to tie the game missing both. IU could easily be undefeated on the season as their 3 losses were all tight road games including a OT loss @ Syracuse and a 5-point loss @ Wisconsin a game they led by 20 points before the Badgers made a furious comeback. The Hoosiers have the best defense in the Big 10 ranking 14th nationally in efficiency, 4th in eFG% allowed and 1st in the nation at defending inside the arc allowing opponents to shoot only 39%. IU is unblemished at home with a 9-0 record and 7 of those wins coming by double digits. A great defense at home in a must win spot has been a solid long term money maker and we’ll jump on the Hoosiers here. |
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01-05-22 | Texas Tech v. Iowa State -1 | Top | 47-51 | Win | 100 | 23 h 10 m | Show |
#728 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Iowa State -1 over Texas Tech, Wednesday at 9 PM ET - ISU is coming off their first loss of the season on Saturday getting tripped up at home 77-72 by Baylor – Ken Pom’s #1 rated team. In that game the Cyclones made ONE three pointer in 14 attempts which put them at 7% from beyond the arc. Even with that, they made a nice comeback and nearly took out the Bears. Prior to that loss ISU was 12-0, including 4-0 vs top 50 teams with 3 of those 4 wins coming by double digits vs Iowa, Memphis, and Xavier. Tech has played the 3rd EASIEST schedule in the nation thus far (356th ranked SOS). The Red Raiders have played 3 top 50 teams and they are 1-2 in those games. It’s been almost 3 weeks since they played a team with a pulse which is not ideal. On top of that, they’ve played only one true road game this year – loss at Providence – and that was back on December 1st. If you subtract those 3 top 50 opponents Tech’s average opponent rank is 292nd. Iowa State is a great defensive team ranking 7th in efficiency, 11th in eFG% allowed, 5th in 3 point % allowed, 10th in PPG allowed (57), and 6th in defensive turnover rate. We love good defensive teams at home as a dog or low favorite, especially off a home loss. ISU was terrible last year but their new head coach Otzelberger has total revamped this team with big time transfers from Kansas, Penn State, Minnesota, Washington State and UNLV. The remain undervalued in our opinion and we like them to win this one. |
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01-05-22 | Pistons v. Hornets -10 | Top | 111-140 | Win | 100 | 7 h 47 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Charlotte Hornets -10 over Detroit Pistons, 7:10PM ET - This line looks “fishy” in our opinion as if the oddsmakers are baiting you to bet the Pistons. We won’t bite and will side with the Hornets. Detroit is coming off their biggest win of the season, a road victory at Milwaukee. The young Pistons let down here against a Hornets team off two straight losses. Prior to their most recent losses the Hornets had won three straight including a 24-point home win over the Rockets as an 8-point chalk. Detroit is 3-15 SU on the road this season with a negative differential of minus -11.4PPG. Charlotte is a respectable 9-5 SU at home with a +1.9PPG +/-. Charlotte is 4-0 ATS at home off a loss this year, Detroit is 1-6 ATS off a win. |
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01-04-22 | Spurs v. Raptors -6.5 | Top | 104-129 | Win | 100 | 7 h 49 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Toronto Raptors -6.5 over the San Antonio Spurs, 7:10 PM ET - Our handicapping methods have certainly been altered the past few years as you can’t rely solely on statistics to base your wagers. Much of what you do today has to rely on the lineups and who’s playing on any given night. The Raptors don’t have great overall statistics this season as they’ve been dealing with injuries and covid more so than most teams. They are getting back to full strength, and it’s shown in their play with two straight solid wins over the Clippers and Knicks. San Antonio is dealing with covid and injuries with Doug McDermott and Lonnie Walker IV joining Dejounte Murray in Covid protocols which means the Spurs will be down their 1st, 5th, and 6th leading scorers. The Raptors have been a strong home team in the past and we like them to get a double-digit win here against a depleted Spurs team. |
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01-04-22 | Florida State v. Wake Forest -1 | Top | 54-76 | Win | 100 | 21 h 52 m | Show |
#626 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Wake Forest -1 over Florida State, Tuesday at 7 PM ET - Wake will be desperate for a home win after losing 2 straight down to the wire road games. At Louisville last Wednesday, Wake led by 1 with just over a minute remaining and lost by 4 despite shooting just 38% overall, 25% from deep, and making 11 fewer FT’s. At Miami on Saturday the Deacs shot much better but were only awarded 8 FT attempts the entire game while the Canes shot 27 from the line. Despite that WF was down 3 with under 3:00 minutes remaining and lost by 8. Now back at home where they are 7-0 this year and average 84 PPG, we expect them to play very well. They catch FSU off a huge road win @ NC State on Saturday and now playing again on the road just a few days later. They shot lights out (51%) in that 2 point win over NC State which is well above their season average. Even after that effort FSU is still shooting just 43% on the road so expect a big regression here vs a solid Wake defense which has allowed opponents to shoot just 38% here at home. Prior to Saturday’s win, the Noles were 0-3 SU on road games with 2 of those losses coming by double digits. They are now 0-7 ATS their last 7 road games. These 2 met last year @ FSU and a Wake team that was ranked 115th at the time nearly pulled off the upset vs an FSU team that was ranked 15th at the time. The Deacs lost that game in OT. Wake is MUCH better this season and FSU has regressed. We expect the Demon Deacons to pick up a home win on Tuesday. |
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01-03-22 | Jazz -9 v. Pelicans | Top | 115-104 | Win | 100 | 8 h 44 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Utah Jazz -9 over New Orleans Pelicans, 8:10 PM ET - We like the situation as an elite team like the Jazz are off a loss against one of the leagues weaker teams. Utah has nearly everyone back at full strength but the Pels do not as Ingram and Valanciunas are both doubtful tonight. New Orleans was just a -12.5-point underdog at home to the Bucks and lost by 23 points. Utah is 12-3 SU on the road this season with the best average differential of +11.8PPG. The Jazz have the best offensive efficiency numbers away from home and the 2nd best defensive efficiency numbers. The Pelicans have the 24th worst average +/- at home and 24th in DEFF on their home court. A motivated Jazz team get a 16-point win here. |
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01-01-22 | Villanova v. Seton Hall +1.5 | Top | 73-67 | Loss | -110 | 16 h 14 m | Show |
#620 ASA TOP PLAY ON Seton Hall +1.5 over Villanova, Saturday at 2 PM ET - The Hall is coming off a loss on Wednesday losing by 5 points @ #21 Providence. The Pirates shot just 39% overall and only 21% from beyond the arc but still had a shot down 3 with less than 30 seconds remaining. They were a bit rusty having not played a game since December 12th so that game should help them here. Nova, on the other hand, has now been off since December 21st and are in a similar situation going on the road for this one. The Cats have not been great on the road this year with a 2-3 SU record. Their road wins have come against teams ranked 250 or lower and their 3 losses have come vs solid competition all in the top 100. Seton Hall absolutely falls into that category ranking 28th in our power ratings. Villanova relies on the 3-point shot almost more than any team in college basketball with over 42% of their points coming from deep (13th most nationally). The problem here is the Cats have been a really poor shooting team on the road hitting only 29% of their 3-point shots and they are facing a SH defense that ranks 7th nationally defending the arc allowing 25%. This is a good match up for the undervalued Pirates playing at home. The dog has covered 5 of 6 in this series and we like Seton Hall to win this one. |
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12-30-21 | Cavs v. Wizards -3.5 | Top | 93-110 | Win | 100 | 7 h 54 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Washington Wizards -3.5 over Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:10 PM ET - This is a wager on the team with “less attrition” as the Cavaliers are decimated at the point guard position right now. The Cavs lost Sexton early on but didn’t miss a beat with Garland and Rubio filling in, but now both of those players are out now too. Cleveland is also missing Osman and Allen, both key rotation players. The Wizard are also shorthanded, but they may be getting Bradley Beal back tonight if he clears protocols. Without Beal the Wizard battled in Miami the other night getting key contributions from Gafford, Kuzma, Dinwiddie and Bertans who all scored 16+ points. Washington has been a solid bet on team at home off a loss this season with a 3-1 ATS record. Cleveland on the road off a loss is 1-3 ATS. The bet here is Washington. |
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12-29-21 | Tennessee v. Alabama -2 | Top | 68-73 | Win | 100 | 23 h 33 m | Show |
#698 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Alabama -2 over Tennessee, Wednesday at 9 PM ET - Love this spot at home for the talented Crimson Tide. They are coming off an upset loss at the hands of Davidson. They were 9 point favorites in that game and lost by 1 point. Meanwhile UT is off a huge upset win over Arizona who came into the game 11-0 on the season. That game was at home for the Vols and now they play just their 2nd true road game of the season. Alabama’s schedule has prepared them for these type of games as they’ve already faced 8 top 100 teams this season. They have wins over both Gonzaga and Houston who both rank higher than this Tennessee team. The Vols have played 5 top 100 teams this year and they are 3-2 SU in those games. The remainder of their wins come vs teams that rank 150 or lower. Tennessee’s defense has been very good this year but this will be the best offense they’ve faced so far (Bama 9th in offensive efficiency) and again the game is on the road. Bama shoots a lot of 3’s and if there is a weakness for UT’s defense it’s defending the arc (91st nationally). The Vols also get to the line very rarely generating just 11% of their points from the stripe which is 352nd in the nation. Tough to win on the road in a game like this if they don’t get some significant points from the stripe. Bama has Won 22 of their last 25 home games and they get another here. |
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12-28-21 | Cavs -4.5 v. Pelicans | Top | 104-108 | Loss | -110 | 9 h 39 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Cleveland Cavaliers -4.5 @ New Orleans Pelicans, 8:10 PM ET - Both teams are missing a few key players with either injuries or Covid protocols, but the Pelicans losses are more significant at the moment. The Cavs have had a few games to adjust to without key personnel and the Pels have not. The line on this game is telling us as much and you shouldn’t be scared off by this number considering the Cavs recent success. Cleveland's past 11 wins have come by at least 10 points, and the Cavs lead the Eastern Conference with 15 double-digit victories. Cleveland has the 3rd best average point differential on the road this season at +5.7PPG. The Cavaliers are one of very few teams in the NBA that can boast a top 10 offensive and defensive efficiency on the road this season. Speaking of defense, the Pelicans don’t play any. New Orleans is 24th in DEFF ratings allowing 1.123-points per possession. They are 23rd or worse in 3-point field goal percentage defense, 26th in FG% D and 27th in points allowed per game. Cleveland can pull another double digit road win here. |
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12-28-21 | Notre Dame v. Pittsburgh +4 | Top | 68-67 | Win | 100 | 22 h 17 m | Show |
#612 ASA TOP PLAY ON Pittsburgh +4 over Notre Dame, Tuesday at 8 PM ET - Pitt struggled early in the season losing 6 of their first 8 games but they’ve righted the ship. It also wasn’t as bad early on as it may have seemed with 4 of those losses coming vs top 100 teams including two 1-point losses vs Minnesota & Virginia. The Panthers have now won 3 of their last 4 including an impressive road win @ St Johns. Their defense has picked up holding 3 of their last 4 opponents to 0.90 PPP or less and 5 of their last 6 opponents to less than 60 points. Notre Dame has underperformed all season with just a 2-8 ATS record. They are just 1-5 SU away from home (road or neutral) and their only win was vs Chaminade. In games away from home the Irish are hitting just 42% of their shots while allowing 50%. Last year Pitt was favored at home in this match up 3.5 points and now they are getting 4 points. Too big of a swing in the spread and we really like the way Pitt is playing right now. The dog is 10-3-1 ATS in this series and we like the home puppy getting points here. |
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12-25-21 | Warriors v. Suns -5.5 | Top | 116-107 | Loss | -110 | 28 h 57 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* PHOENIX SUNS -5.5 over Golden State Warriors, 5:10 PM ET - This is certainly a contrarian play as this number doesn’t look right at all. Consider this, the Warriors have been an underdog twice this season. Once recently in Toronto when they sat their starting lineup and again the first game of the season versus the Lakers. The Warriors were recently a 7-point favorite at home against the Suns and won by 22. Phoenix didn’t have Devin Booker in that game and they shot well below their season average by hitting just 38% from the field. The two teams had met in Phoenix prior to that game with the Suns winning by 8-points as a -3.5-point chalk. Phoenix has the 2nd best home point differential in the NBA at +10.8PPG while the Warriors have a +3.7-point differential on the road. The home team has won 5 straight in this rivalry and all five of those wins came by 6 or more points. Merry Christmas from ASA. |
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12-23-21 | Rockets v. Pacers -8.5 | Top | 106-118 | Win | 100 | 12 h 40 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* INDIANA PACERS -8.5 over Houston Rockets, 7:10 PM ET - The Rockets are coming off a big road game in Milwaukee last night and they’ve really struggled when playing without rest. Houston is 0-4 SU on the year when playing the 2nd night of a B2B with a negative differential of minus -17PPG. The Rockets are playing their 6th game in 10 days and 3rd in four nights. Fatigue is going to be a major issue. Indiana is coming off an embarrassing 96-125 loss in Miami on Tuesday night and will be primed for a good effort here. The Pacers are much better than their 13-19 SU record as they rank 13th in offensive efficiency and 16th in DEFF. Houston is 27th in both offensive and defensive efficiency. |
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12-22-21 | Nuggets -6 v. Thunder | Top | 94-108 | Loss | -110 | 20 h 46 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* DENVER NUGGETS -6 over OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER - Thunder off a satisfying win over the Grizzlies who had beaten them earlier this season 152-79 and now let down against the rested Nuggets. Denver has been off since the 17th after their game against the Nets was canceled due to covid. It’s not like OKC has a great home court as they are just 5-10 SU at home this year. The Thunder have the 3rd worst home point differential in the NBA at minus -5.6PPG. The Nuggets have the 8th best OEFF on the road and should outscore a Thunder offense at home that is 3rd worst in the league at 1.040PPP. Lay it. |
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12-22-21 | Oral Roberts +8 v. South Dakota State | Top | 76-82 | Win | 100 | 19 h 20 m | Show |
#761 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Oral Roberts +8 over South Dakota State, Wednesday at 8 PM ET - Too many points here. Last year ORU was +4.5 @ SDSU and won the game outright by 2 points. The Golden Eagles return 5 of their top 6 players from last year and will give South Dakota State problems again this season. ORU won the Summit League tourney last year, went to the NCAA tourney and beat both Ohio State and Florida making the Sweet 16 where they lost by 2 points vs Arkansas. We’re getting value in the number on Oral Roberts here. They’ve already played 2 road games vs teams that are rated higher than SDSU and the Golden Eagles were getting fewer points in BOTH of those games (+8 @ TCU and +7.5 @ Missouri State). SDSU, on the other hand, was just favored by 12 points (just 3 points more than this number) on Monday vs a UMKC team ranked nearly 100 spots lower than Oral Roberts. The Jackrabbits have relied on getting to the FT line a lot this year (111th in percentage of points from the FT line) and ORU doesn’t foul very much. On the other end, the Golden Eagles are a very good 3 point shooting team (31st nationally) and 48% of their points come from deep which is 2nd most in the nation. SDSU is poor at defending the arc (257th) so Oral Roberts will have success offensively. We give ORU a decent shot to pull the upset here and they are getting nearly double digits. Take the points. |
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12-21-21 | Xavier v. Villanova -5.5 | Top | 58-71 | Win | 100 | 18 h 31 m | Show |
#624 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Villanova -5.5 over Xavier, Tuesday at 7 PM ET - We are siding with one of the best teams in the nation coming off 2 losses. This is a great spot to jump on Nova at home. The Cats lost their last 2 games @ Baylor and @ Creighton, with their most recent game vs the Blue Jays being their worst effort of the season. We look for them to play very well at home in a must win type game early in the season. They have only played 3 home games this season which resulted in wins of 40, 29, and 19 points. They are 35-3 SU their last 38 home games! The Wildcats have prepared themselves well by playing one of the top 10 SOS’s in the country. Nova has already faced FOUR teams ranked in Ken Pom’s top 10 – Baylor, Purdue, UCLA, and Tennessee. The rolled Tennessee and led by double digits in the 2nd half vs both Purdue & UCLA before losing tight games. Xavier is solid but they’ve feasted on home games so far this season. They’ve played just ONE true road game @ Oklahoma State a few weeks ago. Despite shooting a terrible 10 of 50 from 3-point land their last 2 games Villanova is still ranked 8th nationally in efficiency averaging 1.14 points per possession and they are still making a very solid 36.2% of their 3’s on the season. The favorite has covered 13 of the last 17 in this Big East battle and Xavier is 0-6 SU @ Villanova since joining the Big East. We like Nova to bounce back in a big way at home tonight. |
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12-20-21 | Maryland-Eastern Shore +12.5 v. Charlotte | Top | 54-70 | Loss | -110 | 7 h 27 m | Show |
#306227 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Maryland Eastern Shore +12.5 over Charlotte, Monday at 7 PM ET - UMES is undervalued right now as they step into this game with a perfect 7-0 ATS record. They have played well on the road winning 2 games already as an underdog and losing by 12 or less @ UConn, @ St Joes, @ Liberty, and @ Campbell, all teams rated higher than this Charlotte squad. UMES has some momentum winning 3 in a row and they’ve had 9 days off to rest up and get ready for this one. Charlotte just played Friday in a huge game for them @ Wake Forest. They lost by 3 but the final was misleading as Wake led the game by 19 before Charlotte made a furious comeback. With only a few days rest we anticipate a letdown here. The 49ers are 5-5 this year and their home wins have come by 2, 7 and 12 points along with a 17 point home loss vs Davidson. Not one of their wins this season has come by more than 12 points. The 49ers are poor defensively ranking 325th in eFG% allowed so they have a tough time pulling away in their games. UMES doesn’t have great overall stats on the year but they don’t turn the ball over and they shoot the 3 quite well at 35%. Facing a Charlotte defense that allows opponents to hit 35.6% (ranked 266th) we like Maryland Eastern Shore to hang around in this game. Take the points. |
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12-19-21 | Mavs v. Wolves -3.5 | Top | 105-111 | Win | 100 | 12 h 1 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Minnesota Timberwolves -3.5 over Dallas Mavericks, 8:10 PM ET - The Wolves have made great strides defensively this season and it’s showing in their record. Minnesota ranks 11th in defensive efficiency this season after ranking 28th a year ago. The Wolves are averaging 108.7PPG which is 12th best in the NBA and are the 10th best rebounding team. Dallas is 26th in scoring this year and the 24th worst offense rebound team in the NBA. Dallas does hold teams to 104.6PPG this year but a lot of that has to do with how slow they play (3rd slowest in the NBA). The Mavs have the 22nd ranked FG% defense in the league. The Wolves have three impressive wins in a row over Portland, Denver and the Lakers most recently by 18-points. The Mavs are coming off a 3-point loss to that same Lakers team. Lay the points with Minnesota. |
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12-18-21 | Knicks v. Celtics -4.5 | Top | 107-114 | Win | 100 | 8 h 33 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Boston Celtics -4.5 over NY Knicks, 7 PM ET - Something isn’t quite right with this number and it looks very much like a trap to bet on the Knicks. So, we’ll side with Boston here minus the points. Granted the Celtics are coming off a game last night, but they also had 3 days off prior to Friday’s action so lack of rest isn’t an issue. The Knicks started the season out hot with a 5-1 SU record in October but since then they’ve struggled with an 8-15 run. In the Knicks most recent nine games they have just 2 wins and they came at the expense of the 9-20 Rockets and 10-17 Spurs. On paper the Celtics look similar to the Knicks with a 1-5 SU record in their last five games but take a look at that schedule. They’ve faced the Lakers, Clippers, Suns, Bucks and Warriors. Those five teams all rank top 9 in defensive efficiency and now the Celtics face a New York team that is 22nd in DEFF. Boston has advantages on the offensive end of the floor with the 13th highest scoring average compared to the Knicks 23rd ranked average. New York beat Boston in October at home by 4 in OT and we like the Celtics to get a measure of revenge here with a double-digit win. |
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12-17-21 | St. Mary's -2 v. San Diego State | Top | 53-63 | Loss | -110 | 23 h 48 m | Show |
#867 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* St Mary’s -2 over San Diego State, Friday at 10 PM ET - This game is being played on a neutral court in Phoenix. St Mary’s has been waiting for this one. That’s because when these two faced off last year (first time in 10 years) SDSU embarrassed the Gaels 74-49. St Mary’s returned 100% of their minutes from last year so this veteran team was all there last year during that debacle. They are 10-2 this year and have already beaten 3 top 100 teams. San Diego State is 0-3 vs top 100 teams this year with 2 of those losses coming by double digits. The Aztecs are a poor shooting team which will be a problem here vs the 8th most efficient defense in the nation. SDSU ranks 302nd in FG%, 312th in 3 point FG%, and 320th in scoring. On top of that they only make 66% of their FT’s. San Diego State is 6-3 on the year but they’ve also had some luck on their side as their opponents have only shot 60% from the FT in games vs the Aztecs which is the 4th worst in the nation. Both teams are very good defensively but St Mary’s is the much better shooting team, extra motivated, and one of the more veteran teams in college basketball. This number is too small in our opinion. Take St Mary’s. |
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12-15-21 | Wizards v. Kings +2.5 | Top | 105-119 | Win | 100 | 8 h 34 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Sacramento Kings +2.5 over Washington Wizards, 10 PM ET - The Kings are coming off a couple road losses and return home where they had won 2 straight and 3 of their last four. The Kings held a player only meeting after the recent 3 game road trip and aired some differences regarding effort amongst the team. Now that they are back at home, we expect a much better effort in this one. Washington meanwhile is coming off a tough game in the higher altitude of Denver on Monday night and will be shorthanded again here without Kyle Kuzma who is in Covid protocol. The Wizards opened the season by winning 6 of their first eleven road games but have since lost four of five away from home. Washington has the 21st worst average road differential in the NBA at minus -3.9PPG. If you look at overall season statistics it shows Washington has an advantage defensively but when you focus on their last five games the Kings have the better defensive efficiency numbers. Offensively the Kings have been better all season long and in their most recent five games too at 1.126-points per possession. Sacramento gets it done tonight at home. |
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12-15-21 | South Dakota State v. Missouri State -2.5 | Top | 63-75 | Win | 100 | 10 h 33 m | Show |
#660 ASA TOP PLAY ON 10* Missouri State -2.5 over South Dakota State, Wed at 7 PM ET - Terrible spot for South Dakota State here. They are playing their 3rd straight road game and coming off an upset win over Washington State (game played in Spokane). They won by just 3 points in a game they shot 62% from beyond the arc with Washington State hitting only 25% of their triples. Wash State also played without one of their better players (Jackson) in that game. Prior to that win, SDSU lost @ Idaho by 14 on Wednesday. That’s an Idaho team that ranks below 300 and whose only win previous to beating the Jackrabbits was over something called George Fox University. Missouri State returns all 5 starters from a team that went 17-7 last season. One of those starters is out with an injury but they are experienced on their bench as well. The Bears are currently rated as the 2nd best team in the MVC only behind Loyola Chicago. They are a solid shooting team that is facing a most likely tired and terrible defensive team in South Dakota State – ranks below 250th in most major defensive categories. If they need to protect a lead late MSU hits 80% from the line as a team. Great spot for the Bears facing a SDSU team that has traveled to Idaho, then Washington, and now Missouri all in the span of a week. |
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12-14-21 | Suns v. Blazers +3 | Top | 111-107 | Loss | -110 | 13 h 19 m | Show |
ASA top play on 10* Portland Trailblazers +3 over Phoenix Suns, 10 PM ET - Scheduling certainly favors the home team Blazers as the Suns are off a game last night against the Clippers. That’s significant considering the multitude of injuries the Suns currently have with 6 players out including starters Booker and Ayton. Portland has been much better at home than on the road this year with a 10-5 SU season record and four of those losses have come this month. Portland is coming off a home loss as a favorite and primed for this huge Western Conference showdown. This will be the third meeting of the season with the home team winning both and 6 of the last seven meetings. Phoenix has been dominating this season but that is with a full supporting cast. Not tonight. Bet the Blazers. |