Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A Few Wednesday Thoughts



6:30 – Wisconsin +4.5 @ PURDUE


The Underdog is 8-2 ATS in the last 10, Wisconsin is coming off a big win over previously #1 ranked Ohio State. Illinois lost the previous meeting between the two.


Pick: Wiscy +4.5



7:00 CINCINNATI – 1 VS. Louisville


Our friends over at Pregame.com like the Bearcats, however Cincinnati has lost 6 of their last 10, and Gates has been struggling.


Pick: Lville +1



7:00 UCONN -2.5 VS Georgetown


The Hoyas have won the last four meetings and eight straight overall, Uconn has been struggling as of late, losing 3 of their last 5.


Pick: Gtown +2.5



8:30 ILLINOIS -9.5 VS Michigan


Once again we acknowledge our friends over at Pregame, who like Michigan tonight. CT$ likes them as well, they have won 5 of 6 and are streaking at the right time as we head towards March Madness. Tim Hardaway Jr. also coming off a big game, and 9.5 is a lot of points.


Pick: Wolverines +9.5



NBA
7:00 Miami -9.5 @ Toronto


It’s tough to win back to back road games, and that is exactly what this is for the Heatles as they took care of an Indiana team that battled pretty hard last night. Chris Bosh also returns to Toronto, where he should hear it from the fans. Raptors are coming off a win against the Clippers, let’s see if they can sneak up on Miami.


Pick: Toronto +9.5


7:30 BOS -10.5 vs NJ


Boston has been off for three days and are pretty beat up. Have played some tough games recently and I look for the Nets to go in there looking to play hard against a division foe. Believe it or not, New Jersey is also the better rebounding team in this matchup.


The Pick: Jersey +10.5



NHL
8.00 Min +160 @ CHI


The Wild have been red hot as of late. One thing we like to touch on at CT$ is Value Bets. This is a value bet. You have a team with an overall better record +160 ML playing a struggling Chicago who have lost 6 of 10. Minnesota should give the defending cup champs a tough one, and Pat Kane also has been suffering from the flu.


The Pick: Minnesota +160

Congratulations



CT$ headquarters is located in the northeast region of the country. New England to be a little less broad. And while spending time in this area, we are granted the opportunity to be exposed to some of the best (and worst) media in the country.


Growing up around New York City, this typist was exposed to Mike Francesa and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo on 660 WFAN in NY. Understanding for a long time that these were "the best in the business", I chose to accept that. Over the past few years I have been able to expand my radio listening ability, and more recently I have been glued to 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston.


As a follower of NY sports teams and Boston sports teams, I now get to listen to some of the best personalities in sports media (and once again, some of the worst, looking at you Michael Kay).


So without further ado, let me congratulate Michael Felger & Tony Massarotti of Felger & Mazz on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Yesterday their top rivals, 850 WEEI announced a shuffling of their format, dropping noted midday guy Dale Arnold and re-formatting the midday show and "The Big Show".


This is clearly a +1 for Felger & Mazz and the crew at 98.5, who are far and away the more talented and skilled of the two shows. Listening to those two everyday is great, and I hope they continue to blow away WEEI in the ratings.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Big Conference Matchups on Big Monday


Seriously, what gets you more fired up on a Monday than a girl from K-State dressed like that and two semi-doable broads from West Virginia with Nick Lachey? And On Valentine's Day no less!
Ok now to the real fun. You're feeling down, you probably spent too much on your girl today (Anything over $5 qualifies as too much), or you don't have a girl to spend anything on. Don't worry, follow the advice of us here at CT$ and you will be trying to find ways to do your TV later tonight.
SYRACUSE -6 vs. West Virginia
The Orange have lost 6 of 8, and it's probably the first time since 1735 they have lost three in a row at home. This is a dicey matchup, because many think 'Cuse can right the ship tonight at the Carrier Dome. That very much could be true, but giving SIX to a good conference foe in West Virginia is tough to do. We have seen it at all year in the Big East, just as one team zigs it takes a massive turn and zags. Don't get us wrong, the better team is Syracuse but the folks here at CT$ don't like to bet against Bob Huggins, especially if he's getting six.
WVU is the better rebounding team, and even though they are just .500 on the road, they play road games close.
The Pick: WVU +6
Kansas -7 @ Kansas State
This line opened up somewhere between 4.5 and 5.5 today, and depending where you look it's skyrocketed all the way up to between 6 and 7. Kansas is good, Kansas is probably the best team in the country. It's a rivalry game, they should go in there and blow the doors off of the Wildcats and leave them for dead like a sorority whore after a keg party.
I'll take K-State thank you very much. Jacob Pullen is going to show up big time tonight, the Wildcats are 12-1 at home. Coming off a heartbreaking loss to a good Colorado team in Boulder Frank Martin WILL have his guys ready to go tonight. It's been a rocky road up and down year for Kansas State, but in this rivalry game at home they should be in this game and show some pride. Take the points.
The Pick: Kansas State +7
Good luck at all.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Underdog Thursday


Tonight we will look at a couple of NCAA underdogs.


Game 1: Florida State -2 @ Georgia Tech


Listen to me, it is hard to win on the road in college basketball. Listen to me again. IT IS HARD TO WIN ON THE FUCKING ROAD IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL.


Game 2: Uconn -2.5 @ St. John's


See Above.


We here at CT$ like our underdogs, hell, we almost only bet underdogs. We're not saying both dogs cover tonight, hell the way things work they will probably get blown out by 60, but just keep that in mind when playing road favorites. We especially mean this in the Big East, it was less than two weeks ago the Red Storm blew out Duke at The Garden . Calhoun's teams are known for letdowns, Steve Lavin is trying to mold an image at St. John's.


In terms of FSU/GT, the underdog has covered 17 of the last 21 meetings. We don't love trends here, but that's something to look at as well as GT's 8-4 home record vs. FSU's 5-4 road record. Best of luck to all of you this evening, but I'd watch out for the dogs.