quick picks

Canisius +4
Duke -9.5
Xavier over 136

Picks From The Great White North

Overall: 40-27-1 / CBB 38-24-1 / NBA 2-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 19-7

Sac St. faded in the second half but Siena cruised and Canisius was a paid pick winner giving us a profitable evening.  Here's what we like so far, check back for possible additions later in the day.

Iowa St vs Colorado -4

Maryland +1.5 vs V Tech

Duq vs Saint Louis -4.5

NMU vs BYU -8

Ball State -5 vs Toledo

Greetings from Northern Ontario

Overall: 39-26-1 / CBB 37-23-1 / NBA 2-2 / NFL 0-1| Paid Picks: 18-7

Its never a bad night to go 2 for 3 but when Utah State was 3 points away from giving us another perfect night, we do grumble under our breath a bit but we also remember to not get greedy.  Come on guys, let's grind out another profitable night.

Northern Arizona vs Sacremento St +3

Siena -6.5 vs Rider

Its beautiful here in Timmins, very different from Austin.  Big card tomorrow stay tuned.

Great Night!

Overall: 37-25-1 / CBB 35-22-1 / NBA 2-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 18-7
 
We had a fabulous night going 5-0 overall including our paid pick on DePaul +14.

Games we like based on opening lines. Utah St -13 Loyola Marymount +4 & Tennessee st on the ML. Let's keep it going while I'm on the road.


-posted from the sharpbettor's iPhone

Location:Ring Dr,Manor,United States

Mavs!

We are taking Dallas on the moneyline tonight against the Lakers.


-posted from the sharpbettor's iPhone

Location:Cedar Park,United States

Battle Will Battle

Overall: 33-25-1 / CBB 32-22-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 17-7


Ohio St. -7 vs Penn St.

Talor Battle will play his heart out and may even outscore Evan Turner but Ohio State still wins by 10-15 here.  The Buckeyes have bigger fish to fry but they won't look past this game.  They have been playing great lately with an understandable loss at home to Purdue being the only blemish since Evan Turner's return to the lineup. This line opened at 7 and I would jump on it as soon as you can.  The books will be pulling for Penn St. since this will be a very public play but remember, half the time the public is right- its our job to find out when they will get burned like they did with Northeastern last night.

Clemson vs Maryland -5

This is a revenge game for Maryland who lost at Clemson.  Clemson is a different team on the road.  We love Maryland here.  Gravis and company are lights out at home and even though they had a let down game against a talented and deep GTech team, we like them to win here going away.  Stamp it.

Xavier vs Saint Louis Over 129

Really not sure why this total is so low considering the firepower involved.

Please tell everyone you can about our blog.  Post our link whereever it would be appropriate and appreciated by other sports bettors.  Thanks Guys...

Traveling Man

Overall: 31-25-1 / CBB 30-22-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 16-7


Sooners had a strong second half to give us a relatively easy cover considering what they were up against.  The line there was 22 and probably should have been 15-17 but oddsmakers think very little of the sooners at this point and we should keep that in mind moving forward.

Illinois +3 vs Michigan

Hofstra +11.5 vs Northeastern

Some of my posts over the next two weeks might not be formatted nicely with cool team pics per usual.  I will be traveling and posting to the blog mainly from my iphone blog application.  But I will post daily so stay tuned!

Boomer Sooner?

Overall: 30-25-1 / CBB 29-22-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 16-7


Ty Abbott lost his mind and exploded on us. We will grimace, take the split and move on.

Oklahoma +22 vs Kansas

Kansas is good but this line is inflated.

Freight Trained Slowed A Bit

Overall: 29-24-1 / CBB 28-21-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 16-6

Talk about a cup of cold water in the face.  Yesterday was nasty all the way around.  Let's regroup.

Saint Louis +1.5 vs UMass

The Billikens come into this one hot and UMass comes into it 1-6 against the spread at home so far this season.  This game is the best value of the day outside of our paid pick.

Arizona St. vs Arizona +2

The Wildcats went on the road and torched the Sun Devils earlier this season.  They match up well with ASU and even though there is a revenge angle here we like the home team to sweep the season series.

BracketBuster Saturday

Overall: 28-22-1 / CBB 27-19-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 16-5

We gave out another paid pick winner with Northern Iowa covering easily.  Our paid picks are running hot but we are always blistering the books with public picks.  Please pass our site onto your friends.  You can let them know that over the last 6 days we are 14-4-1 with free picks.

Our public play is ready to fire out.  Support the site by signing up to get it and let's make money together.

No. Illinois vs Eastern Illinois -5

Morgan St. vs Murray St. -12.5

Winthrop vs Eastern Kentucky -7

Totally On Fire.

Overall: 27-22-1 / CBB 26-19-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1 | Paid Picks: 15-5

Our blistering run continues with a 3-0 night publically and both of our paid picks hitting (saint marys -7 & oregon st +6) giving us a combined night at 5-0.  Free picks are 13-4-1 over the last 5 days.

Cornell -2.5 vs Harvard

Yes, Cornell had a lousy game at Penn which perhaps gives us a bit of value on this line with oddsmakers factoring in that poor showing followed up by a narrow win against a good Princton team.  Harvard will not blow out Cornell so we are either looking at a blowout for Cornell or a close game.

Check out this injury info:

Pat Magnarelli doubtful Friday vs. Cornell ( Ankle )
Keith Wright doubtful Friday vs. Cornell ( Achilles )

Andrew Van Nest doubtful Friday vs Cornell ( Pneumonia )

Keith Wright is important to Harvard and if he isn't 100% - we lean even more to Cornell here.  The public will back Cornell here and we think they will be on the winning side.  Grab it at the best number you can and good luck.

Hot Streak Continues

Overall: 23-22-1 / CBB 23-19-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1  |  Paid Picks: 13-5

Our record over the last four nights publically is 10-4-1.  Our paid picks are hitting even more often with BYU -9 coming through easily.  We encourage you to give the paid picks a shot if you are following us publically.

Are we finally on fire?  Hubris does not become us.  This is a humble man's passtime for certain.  Let's stay smart and keep finding value.

Portland -10 vs Pepperdine

This might be the most obvious play on the board.  There is a serious talent mismatch here.  San Diego - abysmal as they are - went on the road to face the Waves and smoked them.  The Waves losing woes might make you think they are due for a solid effort but we doubt that considering how solid Portland is in conference against anyone not named Gonzaga or SMC.

Arkansas St. +7 vs UL Lafayette

Arkansas St. is playing extremely solid basketball of late.  This is the sort of value we look for on the board.  Teams that aren't household names that are outperforming expectations against the spread.  Giving them 7 against a team they played tightly looks like value to us considering Ark St's solid road record.  Some teams don't travel but this one appears to.

Syracuse +2 vs GTown

Do you really think the orange will lose three in a row?  Do you agree with me that their recent lackluster efforts might be the effects of looking ahead to this game?  No they won't and yes it was.  Now granted, GTown lost to Rutgers in their look ahead game as well.  However, Syracuse is the better team here and they will be properly motivated after embarassing themselves at home against Louisville.  The Orange are 9-0 so far this season on the road straight up and here there is no spread to cover.  GTown at home ATS?  5-5

I'm saving tonight best two picks for anyone who buys a package of 3 paid picks or more.  2 for 1 as a way to say welcome aboard.  Happy Hunting Everyone!

Another Great Night

Overall: 20-20-1 / CBB 20-17-1 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1  |  Paid Picks: 12-5

Last night, we go 3-1-1 giving us a 7-2-1 record over the last three nights in college basketball.  Let's keep it going folks.

Oklahoma vs Colorado -4

Willie Warren is out with mono.  Pledger is doubtful.  Tiny Gallon was suspended the last game. This team stinks on the road.  How motivated will they be to go into Colorado and hang tough?

Rhode Island -1.5 vs Saint Louis

Rams are a solid road team.  The Bilikens are young and mistake prone in tight games.

Wofford ML vs Davidson

Best team in the Southern conference on the road against a team people bet on hoping Stephan Curry will show up.

Maryland -4 vs NC St.

Terps roll here.

Ok St vs Iowa State +2

Benn is out for the year for the Cowboys. The Cyclones are poised for a win here.  They are playing hard regardless of the score.  We've gone against them a few times this season and really like them in this spot to get a home win.

Picking Up Steam

Overall: 17-19 / CBB 16-16 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1

Off a solid (dare we say easy) win with Maryland, we are 4-1 in the last two days.  Things are picking up in the right direction.  Here we go...

Kentucky -2.5 vs Miss St.

Creighton +9.5 vs UNI

Eastern Illnois -4.5 vs Tenn Martin

Houston vs Central Florida +3

Northeastern -9 vs NC Wilmington

Terps!!

Overall: 16-19 / CBB 15-16 / NBA 1-2 / NFL 0-1

Not a bad day.  We go 3-1 thanks to a backdoor cover from Marist.  Here's what we like for tomorrow.

Virginia vs Maryland -9

Maryland was crushed on the road by Duke in their last outing.  Don't let that fool you though, they are dominant at home.  We like them because they continue to score even after they've covered the number.  Look for a double digit victory here as their home dominance continues.

Follow Cautiously

Obviously we are nearly stone cold the last few days.  Follow with caution until we heat back up.

Ohio State -1

Illnois has been hot but we think OSU has more talent with Turner on the court and a line this short.  Think about moneyline here strongly.

Northwestern +1.5

Another moneyline play if you prefer.   Minnesota isnt strong on the road and NW plays well at home.

La Salle +4.5

Gut feeling here.  La Salle is a scrappy bunch and the Dukes cough up leads.

Marist +21.5

Niagara will be on cloud nine after beating Siena and not focused on clobbering Marist giving us a cover.

Big Saturday Card

Wofford -5 vs Samford

Murray St. -11.5 vs Jack St.

Iowa +19.5 vs Purdue

Cincy vs UConn -6.5

1-1-1 = Yuck

Tenn-Martin refused to roll over for us in the second half and we were luck to get a push there.  Cal rolled Washington as planned but the Nuggets took the night off, presumably looking forward to the All Star break.  That play cost us dearly and but its a new day.  Marathon not a sprint and all that Jazz.

Just one play tonight, short card...

Siena -4 vs Niagara

Cutting It Close

Baylor pushed for the site.  A lackluster effort out of the bears to be sure.  We missed the Spiders/Rams total by a narrow margin.  Way off on Drexel.  Spot on with Duke.  All in all a bad night.  We will do our best to lead you to a more profitable night this evening.

Spurs vs Nuggets -5.5

The Spurs are at the tail end of their long road trip.  They just played twice in LA and they are headed into the Mountain time zone and high altitude.  Fatigue and looking ahead to getting back home will bog the Spurs down while Carmelo looks 100% back from his injury in the Nuggets recent blowout of the Mavs.  Dallas was in the same spot as the Spurs are here, come off a long west coast swing coming into Denver.  Its a nice place to fade the road team no matter who it is but considering how well Denver played against Dallas, we like the Nuggets here by double digits.

Tenn-Martin vs Jacksonville St. -12

Another swing at our favorite ATS pinata.  We love Tenn-Martin, in that we love fading them.  Even in their win at home against SeMo, they still didn't cover with the Redhawks best player sidelined.  Fade them in this road spot.

Washington vs California -4.5

The Huskies have two very talented players in Poindexter and Isiah Thomas Jr., but they are clearly struggling this season on the road.  We recall taking them on the road as a three point favorite at UCLA and cringing at how close that game was down the stretch with the Bruins winning outright.  In fact, Washington is 16-1 straight up at home and 0-5 at home.  On the other side, Cal is 11-1 at home with some dominant wins and only 4-7 straight up on the road.  We will ride that trend and take the Bears to roll since its the Bears first home game in quite a while.  The crowd should cheer them onto a nice win.

Mid Afternoon Over Play

We like Richmond and URI over 138 tonight.  Good Luck Everyone.

Road Warrior Trifecta

Overall: 11-12 / CBB 10-10 / NBA 1-1 / NFL 0-1

SeMo and WF got us two one point winners.  However, the Nets caused us to reconsider their power level moving forward, they appear to be playing better of late and we may find a spot to ride them soon.  They keep us from a perfect night, forcing the 2-1.

Baylor -2 @ Nebraska

Nebraska is the worst team in the big 12.  On a neutral court, Iowa St. would hammer the Cornies.  Nebraska was able to hang around in Kansas and cause problems because the Jayhawks were in a look ahead spot with an eye towards the Texas game.  Baylor is the second or third best team in the Big 12 and have proven themselves on the road against better teams.  High flying Quincy Acy (see right) is just one reason why -

Duke -5.5 @ UNC

If you haven't already noticed, the Tarheels are in serious danger of not making the tourney.  Plus, this is a huge rivalry game, and they are at home.  Reasons enough to take the home dog here?  Nah.  We like Duke to follow in Wake Forest's footsteps and add to Roy's misery.  Growing pains for UNC as they rebuild, they'll be back but not this year.  Look for Plumlee to post a double/double. 

Drexel +1.5 vs Hofstra

Drexel isn't getting respect from the oddsmakers for how dominant they've been playing.  The Dragons are on a roll and while this is a revenge spot for Hofstra, we like Drexel to prevail here and save their letdown game for another night.  Go Dragons!

Another Pinata Swing

Overall: 9-11 / CBB 8-10 / NBA 1-0 / NFL 0-1

SE Missouri St. +4 vs UT-Martin

Its a battle of two bad teams, we'll take SEMO here as they have been better ATS so far this season and dominated UTM by 12 points earlier this season.

Nets vs Cavs -16

This is a big number but also a big time mismatch.  Devin Harris is doubtful and the Nets are seriously outgunned here.  We have this handicapped at -22.

Boston College vs Wake Forest -6

Trapani is listed as doutbtful for BC and Wake plays great at home. They handled Miami and covered, expect more of the same. The Ish-Smith show.

Super Bowl Hangover

Overall: 8-10 / CBB 7-9 / NBA 1-0 / NFL 0-1

The Saints played some inspired football.  Much of that inspiration came from Sean Payton's ballsy coaching.  He played to win it instead of by the book.  The Colts looked like they thought it would be much, much easier than it turned out to be.  Kudos to the Saints, that town deserves something to celebrate.  Iona's lackluster effort held us off from a perfect CBB day.  Overall we go 3-2.  And onto a new day.

Niagara -1 vs Rider

Rider is 1-6 ATS at home so far this season.  Niagara has Bilal Benn back in the rotation and is rounding into their usual February dominant form including a great defensive outing on the road against a decent Canisius team.  If you can grab the ML at a decent number, thats always smart on a short line like this.

App St. -4.5 vs UNC-Greensboro

App State has a potent offense with a tall frontcourt.  UNC-G has a bad offense that jacks up way too many missed threes.  We like App State to finish up their road trip with a solid win.

Super Bowl Sunday

Overall: 5-8 / CBB 4-8 / NBA 1-0

No. Arizona +11 vs No. Colorado

Total letdown spot for NoCo.  NAU hangs tough on the road.

Iona -13.5 vs Marist

This line should be -18 and Iona might very well win by 20 or more.

UNC vs Maryland -6.5
That ain't last years Tarheels folks.  Terps are great at home.

Syracuse -4.5 vs Cincy

Cuse rolls Cincy here.

Colts ML -200

Best value on the board.  Colts win Super Bowl.

Mid Afternoon Action

We are rolling with Northeastern -3 & Colorado +5 this afternoon.  Good Luck Everyone!

Huge College Card

Overall: 3-3 / CBB 2-3 / NBA 1-0

We were spot on with the Mavs losing outright but way, way off with Harvard and Princeton having far too low an output in the first half to make it to our target number.  Yet another 1-1, so we'll break up the pattern with the big card today and make three public picks.

Xavier +3 @ Dayton

Outside of Chris Johnson, the Flyers don't have a scoring threat that really gives me pause to go against them here.  If he gets hot, this one could be close.  While Dayton plays good defense against medicore teams, we like Xavier here because their offense is just a little too salty of late for Dayton to keep in check.  Our research shows that Xavier thrives in early morning tipoffs so far this season.  Look for Jordan Crawford to have a solid outing to lead the X-Men.

Kansas State -4.5 @ Iowa State

We continue to wonder who is tougher to play for Frank Martin of Kansas St. or Bob Huggins of West Virginia.  If I was a talented high school recruit, I would have great reservations playing for a tempermeister like Frank Martin.  He might just be this generation's Bob Knight in terms of temper and lack of sideline demeanor.  He looks at a player like he is ready to straggle them dead out of pure contempt at least 4 or 5 times each half.  But the man apparently gets results and recently a contract extension - even if his style isn't classy he is getting results.  Ride the KSU side here, they aren't getting respect from oddsmakers yet.  Their number was short against Nebraska and its short here as well.

Drake +10 vs Illnois State

Drake has been an ATS monster ever since moving to a three guard lineup.  Outside of a trip to league leading Northern Iowa, Drake has covered every game since January 3rd going 8-1 ATS.  While the Redbirds are tough at home, I think this one will be close and Drake keeps us in within the number.

Crimson Machine

Overall 2-2 / CBB 2-2

Tennessee Martin's big half of the season cost us dearly.  After hammering Austin Peay -9 and leading by 11 at the half, we felt good up until the 60-49 point in the second half.  The Skyhawks caught fire from deep and Austin Peay's defense went into hiding.  Definately a bad beat for us as Tenn-Martin picks up their second cover of the entire season against us.  Kent State continued their hot streak, giving us a second consecutive split decision sort of evening.

Princeton vs Harvard -8 / Over 120.5

We love the over in this game.  The side action gives us a lean towards the Crimson but these are two of the better Ivy League schools which could lead to a close margin of victory inside the spread.  Both schools offensive outputs have been skewed by encountering Cornell's defense and some tough non conference schedules to start the year.  Both teams can score in bunches so expect one of the two teams to get into the 70's giving us a cover.

Timberwolves +10.5 @ Mavericks

I grew up in Dallas and love the Mavs.  The simple truth is they haven't played with focus at home.  Their success this year has been on the road and it baffles the team why they can't seem to put teams away at home.  Even if the Mavs have a large lead in this game, watch for them to allow the TWolves to sneak in for a backdoor cover.

My Favorite Pinata

Overall Record: 1-1 / CBB: 1-1

We go 1-1 out of the gate with Georgetown laying a huge egg at home versus USF.  Baylor gave us a split with a very strong second half over the Cyclones.  And we move onto a very promising card...

Austin Peay -9.5 vs Tennessee Martin

Tenn-Martin is one of my two favorite pinatas so far this year.  I take a swing at them just about every game they play.  They are wretched on offense and play colander style defense.  They can go for several minutes without a FG rather easilly.  This makes for easy covers.  Austin Peay isn't as strong as Morehead St. and Murray St. but they will do the job just fine.  The Governors over the Skyhawks here folks, an easy easy play.  String up that pinata and take a whack or three.

Kent State -3.5 vs Eastern Michigan

A couple of weeks ago, after a loss to Bowling Green, Kent St's head coach was livid.  A report I came across said he told the team they were dissappointing him so he made all the starting jobs available to the entire team.  Open competition for minutes and no defined roles sounds like a risky mid-season desperation move, but it worked.  The starters kept their jobs and got the message.  They went on to go 4-1 ATS and 5-0 straight up into tonight's game against Eastern Michigan.  Conversely, Eastern Michigan is coming off a straight up win over Akron on the road as a 12 point dog.  Prior to that game though, EMU failed to cover 5 out of 6 including some very weak competition including the likes of Northern Illnois and Ball State.  We completely expect the better team to cruise here.  Grab this one before the lines moves against Kent anymore than it already has.

Hoyas & Bears - Oh My!

Feb 3 2010

Coming off of their tough loss @ 'Cuse, the Hoyas bounced back with a quality win at home vs. Duke.  I expect them to play well and cover versus the Bulls of USF.  Looking at their track record at home so far this year against conference opponents, they are winning comfortably each time against the likes of Seton Hall, Rutgers, DePaul, etc.  Expect a 15-23 point win here.  

Hoyas -12.5 over USF. 

Predicted Score: Hoyas 82 - Bulls 63

Craig Brackens is a solid player but Iowa State's season is truly a mess.  Their point guard, Lucca Staiger, left the team in mid January in favor of playing in Europe.  This left the Cyclones short handed entering the thick of Big 12 play.  On the other side of this contest, Baylor is riding high after downing Texas on the road.  Ekpe Udoh's shot blocking ability gives Baylor's guards the chance to overplay angles knowing that opponents can't waltz to the basket if they get past them off the dribble.  Look for Baylor to cruise at home beyond a big night from Lace and Tweety.

Bears -11 over Cyclones.
Predicted Score: Bears 77 - Cyclones 63

Site Launch

Over the last few months I've been following a couple of sites and tracking their success picking against the spread (ATS).

First, I followed Break The Book. That site had a strong start and then the partners split up. The partner who stayed behind went on a frigid cold run and appears to have abandoned the site - at least for now.

His partner went on to create another blog called Perfect Picks. I strongly encourage you to follow this site. Bookmark it. These guys know their stuff.

My site will focus more on college basketball but will occasionally include NBA and MLB picks. For NHL, Perfect Picks has solid picks so I defer to them for the world of hockey.

I will post one or two public plays and soon will have paid play package available for purchase heading into March madness. Please leave comments and participate each day. Rude comments will be removed but I welcome constructive criticism or any insights readers might have.

Cheers-

BreBro