Marketwatch 12/10 – 12/16
Written by Bruce Friedman (follow him on twitter @notthefakebruce)
BUY:
Marshall (12-15, Cincinnati)
The Thundering Herd welcome the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats to Huntington Saturday in what looks to be walk in the park for Cincy. This is the highest Cincinnati has been ranked in years (12th), but could could they get caught looking ahead against a Marshall team that has failed to cover the spread yet this year?? Yes, thats is right, Marshall is 0-6-1 ATS this year. Now granted, Cincy is only 3-2 ATS, but they have still met Vegas expectations at least once. Cincy should be over confident before they even make the trip, whereas Marshall will be ready to pull off an upset (wishful thinking). This will be a game similar to Illinois-Western Carolina where I stated that Illinois already knew they won and played down to the Catamounts with the dog cover never in doubt. We will not have to sweat Marshall in this game, take the points and grab lunch.
USC (12-15 UC Riverside)
Trojans are coming off a 5-game losing skid with the last two losses against formidable teams in New Mexico and Minnesota. UC Riverside should be just what the doctor ordered to help the Trojans get back in the win column. I believe this is a matchup that USC desperately needs to get back on track and will come out knowing that they need to handle their business. Look for a surprisingly decisive win for the offensively challenged Trojans.
SELL:
Indiana (12-15 Butler)
Butler visits the Hooisers in what should be a fairly interesting game. Butler brings their “we can beat anyone” mentality against the best team in the country and I believe they will compete. When I say compete, I tend to mean compete witinh the number. Indiana has been dominating every opponent they faced so far with signature wins against Georgetown and UNC. They are coming off two games against something called Central Connecticut State and Coppin State and could be hindered by the lack of top tier competition and week of rest. Look for Butler to be competitive throughout and lets not forget they beat UNC as well.
Creighton (12-15 @ Cal)
Creighton has been a machine all year except for their hiccup against Boise State where they lost outright as 14 pt chalk. Cal followed up their drubbing in Madison with a heartbreaking loss on Sunday against UNLV so expect the Bears to be undervalued. Cal has played well to start the year and they are certainly much better than Boise State. With Cal playing within the confines of Haas Pavillion, I’ll look to bet the Bears as a short home underdog in a game they can win outright.
PRO SPECIALS:
BUY:
Brooklyn Nets (12-11, Knicks, 12-12, @ Raptors, 12-14, Pistons, 12-15, @ Bulls)
Nets are 0-4 ATS their last four games but this week should provide a turnaround for them. Granted, they face the Knicks in a rematch, and we all know the Knicks will be looking for blood after gifting the Nets an OT win late last month. However, the Nets have not had many things to smile about since then and I believe a rematch with their new rival will bring out the competitive spirit in them even if Lopez is still sidelined. A strong performance against the Knicks should spark the week for the Nets. The next 7 days sends them to Toronto to handle the disaster that is the Raptors before returning home to face the lowly (but semi-tough) Pistons. Brooklyn’s 4 gam set wraps up with a trip to Chicago to face the inconsistent Bulls. Look for a great week for the Nets when it comes to the covering department.
SELL:
San Antonio Spurs (12-10 @ Rockets, 12-12 @ Jazz, 12-13 @ Blazers, 12-15 Celtics)
Spurs are just being the Spurs, winning as usual. They are an astounding 8-2 ATS last ten games however now are faced with a high volume of games during the week that could spell trouble. We may see Popovich do something similar to the Heat game where he rested all of his with this time trying to “limit their minutes significantly.” It will be tough to run around with Houston, take a travel day to Utah to battle the scrappy Jazz followed up with a date against the Blazers the following night before hosting the Celtics. I believe Spurs will go 1-3 ATS this week, but 0-4 is a definite possibility.
