Cashing In

Your "Bad Beat" for Tuesday is on:

Princeton (minus 13) vs. Penn.

There were a number of Bad Beats on Tuesday. The Colorado Avalanche blowing the 4-1 lead and losing 6-4 at home to Vancouver certainly was one of them.

Also Seton Hall not covering the 5 1/2 after leading 55-39 at the half and then 70-45 in the second half was borderline criminal. The Pirates allowed 67 second half points in the crazy 109-106 victory at the Garden.

But the "Bad Beat" of the day comes from the Ivy League where the Penn Quakers were getting absolutely embarassed against rival Princeton. The Tigers literally led 35-8 with 4 minutes to go in the first half. The game then went to the break at 40-14.

But Jerome Allen's halftime speech worked as the Quakers nailed over 53% of their shots in the second half compared to only 25% from the field (5-20) by the Tigers.

Penn actually got the game to within seven with a few minujtes to play and lost 68-56 narrowly covering that baker's dozen.

Unreal, 35 to freakin' 8 and cannot cover!?!?!?!?



Your winners for Wednesday are on:

4* Iowa State (plus 9) vs. Texas.

2* South Florida (plus 7) vsa. Georgetown.

Another 2-0 on Tuesday as my 3* on George Washington cashed the ticket and the 2* on Penn did so as well in miraculous fashion.



I am very anti Texas right now and for good reason. Nothing at all has gone right for about six weeks now for Rick Barnes' Longhorns. Remember back how Texas was number one in the country but ever since they have been awful. Both Ward and Balbay are lost for the season with injuries and the 'Horns have been absolutely terrible for awhile now.

UT has won some games in Austin but they have also been mediocre at best overall at home and beyond brutal on the road. Pittman and James are tough to defend down low and they will get some offensive boards but all in all Texas is just not a very good ballclub right now.

Iowa State is the weaker team for sure but they did just have that amazing overtime outright win in Kansas State over Clemente and Pullen and are a team with a stud in Craig Brackins. This guy is the real deal and can do it all. To get almost double digits with him alone is worth it and then when you throw in Marquis Gilstrap I can see the Cyclones not only cover but possibly win the game.

It is asking a lot for Iowa State here as they are far from being much of anything but Texas is a whole lot of nothing right now themselves and in this game in Missouri there is no reason to believe that the 'Horns can just regain that power.



I don't feel as great about the Bulls from South Florida because Georgetown is the better team and should be fresher after South Florida had to tangle with DePaul yesterday. But with that said the Hoyas are very very inconsistent and to get Dominique Jones and a Bulls team that a few months ago shockingly won at Georgetown is enough for me at this number. The underdogs' confidence level should be pretty high here knowing they already beat G-Town and have now won four in a row overall.

Greg Monroe is an instant mismatch and a guy that should dominate down low but in the end I do not trust John Thompson III's Hoyas in any regard and in any spot laying a half dozen plus.

Georgetown should advance but I don't think it'll be very easy as these Bulls are a scrappy club and should compete until the very end.

Your "Bad Beat" for Sunday is on:

Florida State (minus 2 1/2, first half) vs. Clemson.

This is truly insanity! Florida State took the early 9-0 lead against Oliver Purnell's Clemson Tigers. It actually took the visitors seven full minutes to score a single point and eight minutes to finally get a field goal. The Seminole lead was an unreal 19-6 with only 4 minutes to go in the entire first half, yes 25 points in the first 16 minutes of game action, yuck!

It was 21-12 with under two to go before the break. Clemson mounted a bit of a comeback to get within 21-16 in the final minute but asking for the cover was still fairly silly.

Derwin Kitchen missed a three for the 'Noles and then at the buzzer Andre Young threw in a 50 foot prayer to make the score 21-19 Florida State at the break and a ridiculous/amazing/sensational cover for those Clemson Tigers!



Your winner for Monday is on:

3* Oklahoma (plus 14) at Texas.

A poor 0-2 Sunday, no other way to put it.



One play today as I'm just not going to push it. Jeff Capel's Oklahoma Sooners have been terrible this season and there is no other way to put it. This is not the Oklahoma program we are used to and certainly not the one that just boasted both Blake and Taylor Griffin among others. Things are terrible and OU should lose another game here but who the heck is Texas right now to be laying this much lumber!?!?!?

Rick Barnes had a team that was ranked first in the nation and then the you know what really hit the fan. Texas is still very talented with a beast down low in Damion James but these guys have now lost two point guards for the season in Varez Ward and Dougas Balbay and are a team that has very little momentum right now.

The Longhorns were just pounded at Texas A&M and are not worthy of even being in the top 25 right now. James, Bradley and Pittman along with a few others should be too good and get some revenge for the loss a few weeks back in Norman but I don't see a woodshed beating from UT.

I'm not too sure what Texas is right now. They have lost game after game and have failed to cover over and over again in the last month or so.

The 'Horns will get the win but not the cover!

Your "Bad Beat" for Friday is on:

Niagara (minus 3 1/2) at Manhattan.

There are bad beats and then there are bad beats!!!!

This one was insane and worthy of people jumping off a bridge over.

Niagara led the whole way and owned the 73-60 lead with six minutes to play. The Purple Eagles had been playing some great ball as they had won five of six and the Jaspers from Manhattan are fairly terrible. This thing seemed to be going according to plan and then bang.

Niagara literally scored one point in the final six plus minutes, missed five of six free throws from 82% and 77% ft shooters and walked away with the 74-72 win and non-cover absolutely destroying their backers in the most unbelievable way possible.

Go into some internet threads regarding this game and you will see a lot of words that say "fixed".

Absolutely beyond belief insane!



Your winners for Saturday are on:

4* Kentucky (minus 2) at Tennessee.

3* Texas A&M (pk) vs. Texas.

3* Virginia Tech (minus 1) vs. Maryland.

One Friday play and one easy Friday winner as the 3* on Fairfield was like stealing!



Sure I'll take John Calipari's Wildcats once again here at this bargain basement number. Could these yong guys lose in Knoxville? I guess, maybe, they did fall in South Carolina but these "diaper dandies" have smarted from that and if they come to play at all they are so much better than the Volunteers.

Tennessee is just not that good. Bruce Pearl has a team that may not even be top 25 worthy. They just stunk up the joint in Gainesville after falling in Rupp thanks to a late implosion after getting embarassed and destroyed in Vanderbilt.

Of course playing back home will be a lot easier but Wayne Chism is not healthy and to ask these guys to beat John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and this loaded KU team is asking way too much.

Laying two is basically a pick and Kentucky is just too freakin good!



Texas is another team that has been regressing for awhile now. Rick Barnes' Longhorns were number one and then bang, they stunk and still stink, relatively speaking of course. Dougas Balbay is done for the year after Varez Ward's injury earlier in the season and this team is just not what we thought they were earlier in the season.

A&M lost in overtime in Austin back when UT was a much better ballclub. Now back home is going to be too much for the visitors who have done nothing at all on the road of late. Texas has actually failed to cover in seven of their last eight away from Austin.

James and Pittman will bang down low and Avery Bradley is a young stud but the 'Horns are a bit of a disease right now and the way these Aggies have been for awhile now I can't believe anything changes.

Donald Sloan is a stud and at home the Aggies, who played toe-to-toe with Kansas a few weeks ago, will continue the 'Horns recent misery.



Maryland has just won incredible back-to-back games, the buzzer beater against Georgia Tech and then the great second half comeback against Clemson. That was at Cole and now venturing back out on the road to Blacksburg is going to be quite a difference.

Malcolm Delaney is great and Seth Greenberg's team is no fluke. The Hokies have yet to lose at home and in a game that is for second place in the ACC I don't see a good but far from great Terrapin team creating the first blemish.

The Turtle has been very good this season but they are not as rock solid on the road and just should not win this game in the end. Greivis Vasquez should be good and the Terps should not get blown out but to ask them to win is asking too much.

Your "Bad Beat" for Sunday is on:

Colts rushing yards prop (over 100 1/2 yards).

The Penguins plus 165 on the ice leading 4-1 and losing 5-4 in overtime in Washington certainly is a bad beat.

But the "Bad Beat" of the day comes from Miami in a bad bad prop beat.

The Colts rushing yards were 100 1/2. The odds were even tilted towards the over so anybody who played the high was getting about 170 back for every 100 they wagered.

Joseph Addai looked great early as Indianapolis rumbled for about 60 yards after the first quarter. The Colts then got it up to 101 after three, making it an over. Should be cake right, I mean what are the odds they actually lose yards in the entire fourth quarter?

Early on Addai had a negative two rush to get back to 99 but then a few plays later he picked those two back up to get back over the hump at 101. There were no more runs for awhile and then down 31-17 after the Tracy Porter pick 6 Peyton Manning and the Colts had to just start flinging the ball all around the field so it appeared that the over would be a winner by that small half of a yard.

With a little over a minute to go and down to the New Orleans 5 because of the pass the Colts for some God forsaken reason on 3rd and goal decided to run the ball with Addai up the middle and he lost two yards to get back to 99. Then on 4th the Colts could not convert.

Drew Brees took a knee and this thing was in the books with the Colts finishing with 99 yards and all of the over players were flat out losers!?!?!



Your winner for Monday is on:

2* Kansas (pk) at Texas.

A 2* losing Sunday as the Colts certainly did not come through but that was offset some as the under worked like a charm.



An ugly Monday and I'm burnt out from the Super Bowl on Sunday. Instead of taking a full pass of the board I'll fade the suddenly struggling Texas Longhorns against the nation's best.

Kansas is awesome and pretty much rolling right now. They did not look great against Nebraska over the weekend but Bill Self's team is awesome and oozing with talent. Aldrich, Collins, Henry and the Morris Brothers and others form a dangerous dangerous team.

Texas is also loaded but they have absolutely no momentum right now after the dreadful last three weeks. The Longhorns have dropped four of their last six games after the great start to the season and Rick Barnes is left scratching his head in disbelief. The talent is certainly there with big boys like Pittman and James to go along with Bradley, Brown and others from the perimeter but these guys are fading away right now.

Being in Austin may help but it didn't last weekend in the loss to Baylor.

Kansas can lose this game as Texas is still a talented and deep squad but I will back the Jayhawks as they are still the better and hotter team right now.

Your "Bad Beat" for Sunday is on:

Celtics (plus one) vs. Los Angeles.

There were some choices when it comes to the "Bad Beat" on Sunday but the Celtics imploding late took the cake.

The other candidates include Wiscy Milwaukee on the college hardwoods and the Devils on the ice.

Kobe and the Lakers were in a ton of trouble yesterday in Beantown. Boston controlled the game from the second quarter on and led by 11 with 9 minutes to play. That certainly should have been enough for the victory, I mean up 11 at home with 9 to play, 81-70, come on!?!?!?

But Phil Jackson's boys are the champs for a reason and are now 37-11 for a reason as well.

The Lakers went on an immediate 8-0 run to get within three and then down 89-88 in the waning seconds had their man, Kobe Bryant, nail a jumper with seven seconds remaining over unreal defense by Ray Allen, but it just didn't matter. Allen then missed a long three at the buzzer and the Lakers won by a single point in this great comeback and basically pushed the number.



Your winners for Monday are on:

4* Wizards (plus 5) vs. Boston.

2* Texas (minus 2) at Oklahoma State.

A poor poor 0-2 Sunday as my big play on 4* North Carolina was quite possibly the worst call I have ever had in my entire life!



The Wizards are fairly terrible and a team going absolutely nowhere with or without Gilbert Arenas but the way the Celtics have been playing and the fact they have played a ton of basketball of late (fourth game here in the past five days including this back-to-back) I'm not so sure that Washington won't win this game.

Of course Allen, Pierce, Rondo, Garnett and Wallace form the much better team but Boston is also a cold and gassed team that will be dragging in a major way today. They lost in a tough tough finish at Orlando blowing a huge lead, then the next night were swept 4-0 in the season series by the Hawks and yesterday (look above) crapped in their pants late against the Lakers in a narrow and depressing loss.

Things have not been going well for Doc's team of late and say what you want, Kevin Garnett, healthy or not, is not the same dominant force he used to be.

The Wizards are not good but Jamison and Butler are always at least dangerous and the C's have now lost three in a row and six of eight and are playing a fourth game in five days. Put all of that together and this is far from being an ideal spot for the visitors.



I just believe that Texas is too good tonight even if they are on the road in Stillwater. Oklahoma State has been good this season and Travis Ford is a quality coach who will have his boys get after it. James Anderson should fill it up and the Cowboys probably do believe they can beat the struggling Longhorns but when all is said and done I don't see that happening.

UT has not been nearly as good over the past few weeks as they were in the undefeated start where they were ranked number one but I do believe that Rick Barnes' squad is better than they have shown of late and will get the win here as they are just too big up front and too good and deep overall.

Look for James and Pittman to get after it in the paint and for the 'Horns depth to take advantage in the end as they get a big-time Big 12 road victory.

Your "Bad Beat" for Monday is on:

William & Mary (moneyline minus 450) vs. NC Wilmington.

Somebody out there was afraid to lay the 9 or so with the Tribe and figured that there was no chance at all that the home squad would lose outright. That certainly looked to be the case for awhile as Bill and Mary, who were seeking a school record 11th straight victory, jumped out to the 37-29 halftime lead.

With wins over Wake Forest, Maryland, VCU and Richmond under their belts already and seeing how Wilmington lost their last game by 34 to VCU and how the Seahawks were a poor 5-9 there appeared to be little fear of the visitors coming all the way back.

Or was there!?!?!?

Wilmington led only three times in the entire game but one of those was at the most important time, the end. John Fields had a tip in with right around 3 seconds remaining for the shocking comeback victory.



Your winners for Tuesday are on:

3* Arkansas (plus 16) vs. Texas.

2* Georgia Tech (minus 5 1/2) at Georgia.

A poor poor 0-2 Monday as neither TCU nor Cincinnati did what I thought.



The Arkansas Razorbacks are far removed from their glory years as this team is one of the worst teams we have seen in years. On the opposite extreme Texas is a beast that may be thee single best team in the entire nation.

But Arkansas-Texas is still an old school rivalry type of a game and to get such a hefty number at home is too good to pass up.

Of course the Longhorns should win the game but after looking as shaky as they did in the pedestrian 6 point victory over 5-7 Texas A&M Corpus Christi I can see Rick Barnes' squad go through the motions a bit here. Damion James and Dexter Pittman will control the glass and get a ton of offensive rebounds as they did in the huge win over North Carolina but to lay this much is just too much.

John Pelphrey's team is not very good at 7-7 but they did come back and compete in that last game against a solid UAB team and I can see Michael Washington and his boys stay close enough for the cover today.



Iowa is that team that just seems to find a way to stay close in any game they play, whether it's against a far better team or a far worse team. Ricky Stanzi can make plays against quality opponents and he can also wet the bed against poor competition. That definitely does scare me because I am laying a full handful here but when all is said and done I believe that Paul Johnson's triple option offense is too good and has too many athletes to be stopped.

The Yellow Jackets had a great season and were extremely dominant at times with Josh Nesbitt, who should have been a Heisman Trophy candidate. Throw in a future NFL running back in Jonathan Dwyer and I think Tech makes a few too many plays to not cover this thing.

Iowa has offensive issues against anybody so the Tech defensive struggles really should not be that big of a deal here. It's not like Iowa is a quick strike offense so Derrick Morgan, Morgan Burnett and the Jacket defenders should be alright.

We have seen Johnson's crew score 40 plus a ton. They may not get that high today but they will do enough to cover this contest.