Free Betting Pick: West Virginia +6.5 (-110) – Sat January 31st 2009 12:00p
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The Louisville Cardinals and the West Virginia Mountaineers are both ranked in the Top 10 in the Pomeroy Ratings, so we look for a tight slugfest here that goes right down to the wire, giving the Mountaineers value with this line.

Now Louisville is certainly on fire, having won eight straight games including going a perfect 7-0 in Big East play. Keep in mind though that they were in tight battles with the three highest rated Pomeroy teams they have beaten during the stretch, beating Pittsburgh (3) by six, Villanova (20) by one and Kentucky (23) by three.

None of those margins would have been good enough to cover this number, and we look for an equally tight battle here vs. a West Virginia team that is ranked eighth by Pomeroy. After all, the Mountaineers are ranked sixth in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, a category that Louisville leads the nation in.

That takes away a huge advantage that the Cardinals usually have on their opponents, and remember also that West Virginia already owns a statement road Big East win, going into Georgetown and trouncing the Hoyas by 17.

Look for a tight battle here at the very least, with an upset not beyond the realm of possibility.

College Basketball Free Pick: West Virginia +6.5 (-110) – Courtesy of LT Profits

Free Pick: Xavier -16.0 – Sat January 31st ’09 12:00p
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10th ranked Xavier brings all sorts of glossy numbers into today’s game against U-Mass. Xavier is 18-2 on the year, including a 9-1 SU record at home and 9-1 SU on the road. They’re also on a sparkling 8-0 ATS run.

Xavier has opened Atlantic 10 play 6-0, its best start since the 2001-02 season. They’ve alsO won 19 straight at home. Are you sold yet?

Xavier finished 12-2 in non-conference play this season, beating the likes of LSU, Memphis, Virginia Tech, Missouri, Auburn, Miami (Ohio), Cincinnati and Virginia. Their defense has held 14 of its first 20 opponents to under 40.0 percent shooting
from the field and only Duke shot over 42 percent against XU this season.

The Musketeer’s boast a three-headed monster in Derek Brown, C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond. All three players are all capable of putting up double-double type numbers.

U-Mass comes in with a record of 7-11 overall, 2-3 in conference play and 1-7 ATS in their last eight outings. The Minutemen are also 1-6 ATS in their last seven road outings.

Xavier’s defense will be the difference in this one. U-Mass will be lucky to score more than 45 points in this one.

Lay the lumber and take the X-Men.

Free Pick: Georgia Tech +8.0 – Sat January 31st 2009 12:00p
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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-1,4-1) are in big time let down situation this Saturday afternoon, after taking out No.1 Duke in their last trip to the hardwood.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech (9-10, 0-6) their opponents are winless in ACC play and in a hyped up desperation mode. A win here would be huge , for the Yellow Jackets. and would give them some much needed momentum going forward . Needless to say this young group, could well be prepared to play their best game of the season in this spot.

I know these two teams are currently operating at the proverbial opposite end of the performance spectrum, but considering the above mentioned circumstances taking the points with the home team is not a bad bet, and rather the contrary.

The ramblinreck have held late late leads vs Virginia,Maryland, Boston College , and NC State, but fell apart , and buckled under pressure ,losing three of those games in over time. This Saturday I expect Techs 3 guard set, to give the Deacons all they can handle, and for the nations. No.6 ranked team to have a hard time breaking the programs current 4 game road losing streak here at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Final notes & Key Trends: GTech has seen 10 games this season decided by 7 points or less , and last season they had 21 of 32 games decided by 10 points or less, which signifies a team that competes, and does not give up. Last year Gtechs 5 home losses came by a total of 8 points.Tech’s three home ACC contests this season , saw two go to overtime and were decided by four points each.

Play on Georgia Tech to cover – Courtesy of Alex Smart

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – January 30th, 2009 7:30PM – Click Here for NBA Betting Odds
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Off last night’s loss, the Cavs are extremely heavy favorites here. After all, they’re undefeated at home and the Clippers practically never win on the road. However, the situation favors the visiting Clippers, who had last night off.

In addition to last night’s huge showdown at Orlandom the Cavs have another really big game vs. Detroit on deck. In other words, it should be easy for them to overlook the lowly Clippers. This is more than just a “typical back to back situation” for the Cavs too, as they’re also playing their third game in the past four nights.

Yes, the Clippers looked bad in their last game and have now lost three straight. They’re slowly starting to get healthier though, having gotten both Camby and Davis back last game. With another game under, those two “stars” should be stronger and the rest of the team will have had a chance to adjust to their return.

As for the Cavs, they’re still without West and Ilgauskus remains questionable. Ilgauskus certainly makes the Cavs a better team over the long run. However even if he did return tonight, that wouldn’t necessarily make them better for tonight’s game. Often, as the Clippers found out when Davis and Camby returned, teams don’t perform as well as expected, in the very first game when a star (or stars) returns to the lineup.

It’s true that the Clippers have just one win in the last seven games in this series. A closer look shows none of the six losses were by more than 17 points though and that five of them were by 14 points or less. Look for the Clippers to be the “fresher” team and for them to give their hosts a tougher game than most are expecting. Consider LA

Pennsylvania +6.0 (-110) – Fri January 30th ’09 7:00p
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A quick glance at the records may suggest that the 9-7 Harvard Crimson have the edge when they host the 4-10 Pennsylvania Quakers tonight, but a closer look reveals that Penn has value here getting this many points.

This is actually the Ivy League opener for the Quakers, so their record is a bit deceptive, as they have played some major programs during the non-conference portion of their schedule. Remember that Penn is a Big Five school, so facing Villanova, Temple, St. Josephs and La Salle is a nice way of preparing for the weaker teams of the Ivy League.

Penn did cover the number vs. La Salle, and they also show a narrow two-point loss to Drexel and even a covering loss at North Carolina on their ledger. Harvard is obviously much more in their element, and we feel that the Quakers could only benefit by playing all those quality teams early on.

Harvard has already played two conference games, and they were already shocked here at home by Dartmouth in overtime last game as 15-point favorites. The biggest claim to fame for the Crimson so far this season is their upset win at Boston College, but do not forget that they were playing a very flat Eagles team that night that was coming off of a shocker over North Carolina.

Looking at the Pomeroy Ratings, Penn has a Strength of Schedule ranked number 127 in the nation, while Harvard has played a cream puff schedule that ranks just 318 even with that Boston College game factored in.

Look for a more toughened Penn team to fight right down to the final buzzer here.

College Basketball Free Pick: Pennsylvania +6 (-110) – Courtesy of LT Profits

Article courtesy of Ted Sevransky, a professional sports handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are looking for free NBA picks from Teddy for this weekend you have come to the right place. Be sure to check out Ted Sevransky’s premium basketball picks for this weekend at Touthouse.com

Victims of Circumstance: This Weekend’s Spot Plays in the NBA

I’ve got to admit, this column is working out rather well so far. In my first two weekends writing it, I’ve listed four spot plays. Those four plays have gone 4-0 straight up and 4-0 against the spread. Let’s see if we can keep it rolling with two more spots that look good on paper for this weekend.

Free NBA Picks: Friday, January 30th – Miami @ Indiana
Single game road trips are often problematic for the visiting squad, particularly when their opponent is a difficult matchup. And when that single game road trip is on the first night of a back-to-back situation, with a very winnable home game on tap for the next night, focus and energy can consistently be a problem. The Heat find themselves in this very situation on Friday Night as they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Pacers.

Indiana is playing their best basketball of the season, winning five of their last eight and covering the spread at a 75% clip over their last dozen games. Even without Danny Granger in the lineup (listed as questionable for Friday Night), the Pacers are an extremely difficult team to defend since Mike Dunleavy returned from his season long injury. Indiana hung 107 in a win and cover against the Bucks without Granger earlier this week, getting five players into double figures and shooting 52% from the floor. Starting forward Troy Murphy: “I feel we are …about to really get ourselves going. I feel more comfortable about myself and the team every game we play.”

Miami doesn’t have the same level of balance or depth, more of a ‘one trick pony’ type of team. Dwayne Wade might be capable of carrying this team to the playoffs, but he has not been capable of getting the Heat into the win column in these ‘one game road trip’ situations. The results don’t lie – Miami is just 1-5 SU on single game trips like this one, including SU and ATS losses at the Knicks, Bobcats and Grizzlies, all sub .500 teams like the Pacers. With trade rumors swirling around the Heat right now, and a very winnable game at home against the Wizards on Saturday, look for this Friday Night affair to be a real flat spot for the road team.

Free NBA Picks: Saturday, January 31st – Chicago @ Phoenix
This is one of my favorite situations in NBA betting – a ‘bet on’ spot for the home team coupled with a ‘bet-against’ spot for the road team. The only thing that makes this game problematic is the pointspread we might be asked to lay. Then again, this pointspread might not be too high, considering the fact that the Suns are currently the single worst team against the spread in the entire NBA this season, and the betting marketplace is finally starting to catch up with them.

NBA teams are routinely ‘bet against’ squads in their first game back home off a road trip. The spot becomes even better to fade these teams when they return home ‘fat and happy’ after ending the road trip on a positive note. Look no further than the Cleveland Cavaliers returning home earlier this week after winning the final three games of their West Coast swing, including outright upsets at Portland and Utah. The Cavs were installed as 14.5 point home favorites against lowly Sacramento, but the money rolled in on the Kings, and the Cavs never even sniffed a pointspread cover in a seven point win, but non-cover.

Phoenix found themselves in a very similar spot on Thursday Night against the Spurs. It was the Suns first home game after a long six game East Coast swing. The trip started poorly, but Phoenix stepped it up after losing three of their first four, reeling off back-to-back wins on back-to-back nights to close out the road trip, including a solid upset victory at Atlanta. They came home ‘fat and happy’ as a result, and that first home game turned out to be a real dud, as San Antonio came to town and dominated the second half, earning a double digit victory.

OK, all of this is just prelude to our positive situational setup on Saturday Night. A loss in that first home game following a long road trip that ended with a positive finish sets up an excellent spot on the home team in their second game back. They are no longer ‘fat and happy’. Instead, they tend to be ‘focused and hungry’, exactly what we’re looking for when betting the NBA. Whatever distractions they had upon returning home – wives, girlfriends, charity commitments, etc – have already been dealt with. This is very much a ‘bet-on’ spot for the home team, particularly as a favorite against a team they know they can beat.

Meanwhile, the Bulls ended their five game losing streak with a win at the hapless Clippers to open up the West Coast portion of their road trip. Then they played Sacramento on Friday night; another game that Chicago is more than capable of winning – they are favored in that game, after all. The Saturday night game at Phoenix is on the second night of back-to-backs. We can expect Chicago to be the ‘fat and happy’ team here, not what we want to support, particularly when we look at the Bulls 2-6 ATS mark this season as an big underdog of eight points or more.

Below is a list of NBA basketball’s hottest teams to bet on against the spread (updated January 29th 2009) according to Alex Smart, a professional basketball handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting on the NBA this season be sure to check out Alex Smart’s NBA betting analysis each day at Touthouse.com.

1) Boston Celtics (37-9) (26-20 ATS) (5-0 ATS L/5 +$500): Think the defending champs had enough of its naysayers after dropping four in a row both SU and ATS from January 4th to the 9th? Well, if you don’t, you better start thinking that way because Boston’s playing like the squad many believed would topple the 1996 Chicago Bulls’ record of 72-10. The Celtics disposed of its four opponents last week and covered each game with ease. They outscored their opposition by a 104-87 combined average, which included a dominant two-game road performance in the state of Florida against Miami and Orlando. They also thrashed Dallas and Phoenix at home en route to an easy pair of home wins and covers. They’ll close this week out with home games against Sacramento and Minnesota with a road game at Detroit sandwiched in between. They could very well improve their winning streaks both SU and ATS to 11 in a row before invading Philly early next week.

2) New York Knicks (19-25) (25-19 ATS) (5-0 ATS L/5 +$500): The Knicks got back into the good graces of their betting backers with a 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS mark over the course of its L/5 games played. The winning streak all started with a MLK Day home win and cover against the Chicago Bulls. They then went on to upend a discombobulated Phoenix Suns team as six-point home underdogs (109-104), and followed it up with a pasting of the Memphis Grizzlies (108-88) as 5.5-point home chalks. NY’s three-game winning streak came to a stop at Philly, 116-110, but it managed to cover for the fourth game in a row by sticking within the 7.5-point closing spread. This week kicked off with a solid home win and cover as one-point home favorites against T-Mac and the Houston Rockets. They outscored their opponents by an average score of 108-102 over the five game stretch, and HC Mike D’Antoni has to be thrilled that his team is currently scoring more than they’re allowing. They’ll look to close the month out in style with a home game against Atlanta before making a brief one game stop in Indiana to take on the Pacers.

3) Charlotte Bobcats (19-26) (27-18 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290) The Bobcats are just a half point away from being the NBA’s most lucrative investment over the L/18 days of NBA betting action. They went 2-2 SU & 3-1 ATS in its four games played last week, and picked up a shocking SU win and cover against the LA Lakers as lofty 11-point road underdogs their last time out. Charlotte currently stands 6-2 SU and 7-1 ATS its L/8 overall contests, but it’ll have to go at it without leading scorer Gerald Wallace for an undetermined amount of time after he suffered a rib injury in the closing stages of the 4th quarter against the Lakers. They’ll close out the month of January on the road with stops in Portland, Denver, and Utah scheduled over the next six days, and will then have three days off before having to lace them up at home against Atlanta.

If you need college basketball betting picks for Monday, January 29th 2009 you have come to the right place. Below are some free college basketball predictions from a few of our professional sports handicappers at Touthouse.com. If you are looking for updated basketball betting information and current college basketball betting odds be sure to visit Touthouse.com today.

Troy @ North Texas u161.5 – Thu January 29th 2009 8:00p
North Texas and visiting Troy the Sun Belt’s top two scoring offenses are ready to go head to head at the Super Pit tonight. The linesmakers know how the public will perceive this tilt and have hung a pretty hefty number out for bettors to bet into. The Mean Green and the Trojans are averaging 77.7 and 76.9 points per game respectively , and will of course, make sure they concentrate on shoring up their defensive schemes, against each others explosive attacks. This I believe will contribute to a combined score, that stays below the number. My own scoring projections have both teams sticking to their season offensive averages, which when combined beats this opening number comfortably. Final notes & Key Trends: The Trojans have gone under in 10 of their L/14 road games. In HC Jones (Mean Green) last 51 home games as a favorite, an average combined score of 145.1 PPG have gone on the score board. Play UNDER – Courtesy of Alex Smart

Troy +6.0 (-110) – Thu January 29th 2009 8:00p
Two hot clubs square off tonight when the North Texas Mean Green host the Troy Trojans in Sun Belt Conference play, and we will side with the underdog Trojans with these generous points here. After all, Troy has turned their season around lately, winning four straight games to go over the .500 mark for the season at 11-10 straight up. Even more impressive has been their play on the road, where they have now won three straight after upsetting Arkansas-Little Rock in Little Rock on Saturday 63-58 as eight-point underdogs. The key to the Troy turnaround has been their shooting, as they have hit 47.6 percent of their shots from the floor while averaging 78.4 points over the last five games. They now rank a respectable 61 in the country in effective field goal percentage at 52.4 percent, and they have hit 51.5 percent of their two-point attempts, ranking 49. The Trojans also do an excellent job of holding on to the ball, turning the ball over on just 17.9 percent of their possessions to rank 32 in that category, and therein may lie the key to this game. Yes, North Texas has won four consecutive games themselves and they are 12-7 for the season. However, one thing they have not done well is force turnovers. The Mean Green is only allowing turnovers on 18.1 percent of opponents possessions, so look for Troy to continue the nice offensive flow they have had the last five games again tonight, resulting in a safe cover and quite possibly an outright upset. CBB Free Pick: Troy +6 (-110) – Courtesy of LT Profits

The Pittsburgh Steelers are ready to battle with the Arizona Cardinals in this years Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday, February 1st 2009. If you plan on betting on the Steelers vs. Cardinals be sure to Claim your $100 in Free Bets at Betus

The Steelers lead the historical series with the Cardinals, which goes all the way back to 1933, by a 31-23-3 record. Whisenhunt won his only meeting with Pittsburgh since leaving there, by coaching the Cardinals to a 21-14 win in Week 4 of 2007 at his home field.

Pittsburgh won the two previous games before last years match-up, beating Arizona by a 28-15 score at Pitt in 2003 and winning a 26-20 overtime game at Arizona in 1997.

The Steelers are 4-1 in Tampa all-time, winning against the Buccaneers there in 1980, 1989, 2001, and 2002 and getting their only loss at Raymond James Stadium in the year 1998. Two of Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl wins have come in the sunshine state, as they won against the Dallas Cowboys for the title twice in the Orange Bowl in a span of four seasons. Pittsburgh lost to the Jaguars by a score of 9-0 when they last played in Florida, in 2006.

The Cardinals are 4-6 in Tampa, including losing affairs in their past three games there. Arizona last won in Tampa in 1988, also getting wins there in ’83, ’87, and ’88. Arizona’s most recent victory in the state of Florida was in 2004, in a 24-23 win over Miami.

5dimes.com oddsmakers currently have the Pittsburgh Steelers set as 7 point betting odds favorites agains the Arizona Cardinals in this years Super Bowl, with the games over/under betting total posted at 47 points.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals
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Here are some football betting trends to consider for the Super Bowl:
Steelers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite.
Steelers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 playoff games.
Steelers are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
Cardinals are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on grass.
Cardinals are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
Cardinals are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.

Here are some over/under betting trends to consider for the Super Bowl:
Over is 5-0 in Steelers last 5 games after allowing less than 250 total yards in their previous game.
Over is 7-1 in Steelers last 8 playoff games as a favorite.
Over is 6-1 in Steelers last 7 playoff games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0.
Over is 6-0 in Cardinals last 6 games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game.
Over is 5-1 in Cardinals last 6 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game.
Over is 20-6 in Cardinals last 26 games following a ATS win.

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Vanderbilt vs. South Carolina – Wed January 28th 2009 7:00p
Free Pick: Vanderbilt +6.5 (-110)
Expert college basketball analysis courtesy of LT Profits
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The Vanderbilt Commodores are in a bit of a tailspin now as they have lost three straight games, but we feel that has actually resulted in some nice line value here as they visit the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Commodores were torched for 94 points by the Florida Gators on Sunday, but they had actually been playing quite well defensively before that atrocious effort, and we look for the defense to bounce back here.

After all, Vanderbilt is still allowing just 61.6 points per game this season even after the Florida game, and they are limiting their opponents to just 38.4 percent shooting from the field. Furthermore, the 39.8 percent shooting they are allowing in two-point attempts ranks them seventh in the country in that category.

That makes for a tough matchup for the Gamecocks, as they are only converting on 49.6 percent of their two-point shots, ranking 109 in the country. Sure, South Carolina is capable of making three-pointers at 38.2 percent, but we do not feel they will shoot enough of them here to build up a hefty lead.

Finally, Vanderbilt is a much better offensive rebounding team than South Carolina, so we feel that the combination of second chance points and stiff defense should result in a tight game not decided until the final buzzer.