Nothing on the NBA schedule is jumping out at me today, so let’s go nuts and try a couple college plays.
Purdue -4.5 vs. Illinois
Notes: -5 at Bodog, WSEX, SPORTSBETTING and Sportsinteraction
Pick: Purdue -4.5. Not much to say here. Purdue is the better team and is looking to strengthen their positioning in the tourney. Illinois is a very young team and can go through major droughts on offense. They played a close, tense game last night against Penn State, while Purdue hasn’t played since the 9th. I see Purdue taking control towards the end of the first half and keeping a 10-14 point cushion throughout the second half. Illinois has lost the last 4 ATS in this matchup.
UCLA -8.5 vs USC
Notes: -8 available at a number of books including: Sportsbook, Belmont, Superbook, 5Dimes, Sportingbet
Pick: USC +8.5. This pick is based more on UCLA’s recent play than anything USC has done. UCLA was very, very fortunate to get those wins against Stanford and Cal a few weeks back. A horrible foul call against Stanford on a last second block, and an equally horrible non-call on a last second hack by the Bruins against Cal, followed by an illegal shot that wasn’t called kept the Bruins alive for a top seed in the tournament. That remains their motivation for winning the PAC1o tournament, but I think their recent habit for sluggish starts will continue tonight. USC made it deep into the NCAA Tournament last year and they’ve played in the championship game of the conference tourney three straight years. They’re riding a 3-game winning streak, including quality wins against Arizona St. and Stanford. I think UCLA’s defense and interior scoring will be too much for the Trojans to handle, but I look for USC to keep it close all game and cover the points.
I would definitely go with USC against UCLA. USC always seems to step up their game against their rivals and the last two times I have picked UCLA, USC has beat me.