Alex Smart, The Smart Money

MLB Betting – Who’s Hot MLB’s Hottest ‘Over’ Teams

MLB Betting – Who’s Hot MLB’s Hottest ‘Over’ Teams

Even though the numbers have slowed down in recent weeks, statistically speaking, run production this season is as high as it’s ever been in baseball history! Which teams are knocking the ball out of the yard and struggling with their arms? Here’s this week’s list of the top ‘over’ teams for the L/5 days!

(Rank) (Team) (O/U Record) (O/U Record in L/5)

1: Florida Marlins (35-27-4) (4-0-1 in L/5) Depending on what number you got in yesterday’s Boston/Florida game, you might be a perfect 5-0 for the ‘over’ in Florida’s L/5 games. The offense had been humming along at a great clip of late for the Fish, as they had scored at least four runs in seven straight games before losing 8-2 to the Sox last night. In their previous four leading up to last night, the Marlins had scored a whopping 7.0 runs per game. SS Hanley Ramirez is starting to heat up against for Florida, which is bad news for the rest of baseball. He’s hit safely in four straight games, and is batting a cool .438 in that stretch. Now if they could just get their starting pitching staff together, all would be well in South Florida, but Josh Johnson is the only starter with more than five starts under his belt to have an ERA less than 4.30.

2: Toronto Blue Jays (34-31-1) (4-1 in L/5) Thanks to Florida’s hot bats, the Blue Jays also appear on this list. They conceded 24 runs to the Fish in a bad three-game sweep at home over the week, but did come back and beat Philly 8-3 in the City of Brotherly Love last night. The best news for ‘over’ bettors and worst news for Toronto bettors is that Roy Halladay may be hampered by a groin injury he suffered against the Marlins this weekend. Though he’s reporting no pain and probably won’t miss a start, if there’s any hitch in his step, the Jays are done for. They’re still averaging 5.02 runs per game this season, but the harsh reality is starting to set in that this team isn’t nearly as good as they were playing to start the season.

3: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (33-28-2) (3-1-1 in L/5) Objects in rear view mirror may be closer than they appear… The Halos have rolled off five straight very impressive victories in Interleague play, and are now just two games behind Texas for the lead in the AL West. The offense has exploded after a relatively dry first 55 games of the season, as they have scored at least six runs in five straight and have averaged 8.60 runs per game in that stretch. The pitching hasn’t been too shabby either. Even though they’ve given up 15 runs in the L/5 days, 13 of those runs came in two games. In his nine-game hitting streak, CF Torii Hunter is batting .382 with four dingers and nine ribbies. If he can get the bat going through the summer, the Halos should be back in first place in no time.

And the rest…

4: Arizona Diamondbacks (33-29-3) (3-2 in L/5)

5: Houston Astros (27-33-2) (3-2 in L/5)

MLB Who's Hot on the Road

Home field advantage in the majors this season has been as important as ever. Not all teams have struggled away from their own park though. Check out this week’s list of teams that are on a roll on the road…

(Rank) (Team) (SU Road Record, $$$) (SU Road Record in L/5, $$$)

1: Philadelphia Phillies (13-4, +$982) (5-0, +$501 in L/5) Manager Charlie Manuel has to be confused as to why his club is a pitiful 8-12 at home, but a fantastic 13-4 on the road this season. Regardless, a ten-game road trip has opened up in style this week, as the defending champs swept four games in DC and took Game 1 of a three-game set in Cincinnati yesterday to start the trip. The Phils have scored 37 runs in those five games, and though the pitching staff hasn’t been fantastic (as they have allowed 25 runs in those five games), when you’re averaging 7.4 runs per game, you can afford to give up a few dingers. Keep your eye open for Raul Ibanez, who suddenly has 13 homers on the season after knocking out three over the course of the L/4 days.

2: Atlanta Braves (12-8, +$493) (4-1, +$448 in L/5) The Braves are a sneaky, sneaky team in the NL East. While Florida has dropped back to earth, the Phillies and Mets haven’t found a way to keep the Braves too far away from them. Manager Bobby Cox knows that he doesn’t have a team of mashers (case in point, Chipper Jones leads the team with just four homers on the season), nor does he have a team that is full of speed (they only have eight stolen bases for the season, the worst mark in baseball), but he does have a team that plays the game right and just finds ways to keep scratching out victories. Atlanta recently took four out of five games in New York and Philadelphia, which provided a huge boost for Braves bettors. The starting trio of Jair Jurrjens, Derek Lowe, and Javier Vazquez has been fantastic this season, as they are a combined 12-7, and all three have sub-4.00 ERAs. If that keeps up, watch out for Atlanta to return to the summit of the NL East after a lackluster ’08 season.

3: Milwaukee Brewers (13-7, +$753) (4-1, +$336 in L/5) The Brewers are smoking hot no matter where they are playing right now. They have rolled off seven straight victories and have won 14 of their L/16 overall. They’re 7-1 on the road in that stretch, and are doing it with their pitching. Teams are only averaging 3.31 runs per game on this winning stretch. Ask the Cardinals just how well Milwaukee’s arms are going. They only mustered six runs in three days against Braden Looper, Manny Parra, Jeff Suppan, and the Milwaukee bullpen. It also doesn’t hurt when your slugger, Ryan Braun, has reached base safely eight times over the L/3 days. The Brew Crew has five more games on the road before returning to Miller Park for their next six.

And the rest…

4: Houston Astros (9-9, +$170) (3-2, +$236 in L/5)

5: New York Yankees (11-10, -$125) (3-2, +$51 in L/5)

MLB Coldest Teams

 MLB Coldest Teams

(RANK) (TEAM) (SU RECORD) (SU RECORD L/5 -$$)

1) Baltimore Orioles (6-7) (0-5 SU L/5 -$500): Baltimore Manager Dave Trembley would much rather forget about what transpired on the field last week after his club managed to win just twice in seven tries. After picking up road wins in a pair of slugfests against the Texas Rangers in the first two games, the O’s went on to get outscored 49-20 which included a 19-6 defeat at the hands of the Rangers in a game that saw 2B Ian Kinsler hit for the cycle with a 6-for-6 effort. The offense has been above average scoring 5.38 runs per game (#8) and hitting .269 for the league’s 10th best team batting average, but the pitching has been flat out atrocious. Their 7.01 ERA and 1.82 WHIP rank dead last amongst the 30 teams in the league. Of the 13 starts made to date, only three were deemed as quality and the defense currently ranks 19th overall already having made eight errors. With 3B Melvin Mora already on the DL and CF Adam Jones hurting, the offense has already started to taper off (2 runs combined in L/2 games played at Boston). That spells big trouble for this club, but a prime opportunity for baseball bettors looking to make some nice coin backing their opponents; as well as the ‘over’.

2) Tampa Bay Rays (5-8) (1-4 SU L/5 -$435): Things haven’t gotten off to quite the start Manger Joe Maddon would have liked throughout the first two weeks of the 2009 season, and Rays bettors have paid dearly for it. Tampa Bay was one of the most lucrative teams to back throughout the 2008 season; especially at home. That said; they’ve already cost baseball bettors close to 400 on the year with most of the bankroll crippling occurring at home where they’ve won just two of their seven games (-$450). While they’ve had no problem hitting the long ball (ranked #5 with 20), they’ve had problems manufacturing runs evidenced by their poor 4.77 run per game average that has them ranked 15th overall. The pitching staff has taken a major step back, especially the bullpen. They own the league’s 22nd ranked team ERA of 5.37, and they’ve only gotten six quality starts from their overhyped starting pitching staff. After getting rolled up by both Chicago and NY last week, it might be good for them and their betting backers to get away from Tropicana Field where they’ve posted a profit going 3-3 on the year.

3) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (4-8) (1-4 SU L/5 -$330): The 2009 season started off terribly for the Angels franchise when Nick Adenhart was shockingly killed in a car crash just hours after he toed Angels Stadium’s mound. Since that game, the Angels have managed just three total wins in nine tries and most recently got swept right out of the HHH Metrodome by the Minnesota Twins. They now get six straight at home, but both Detroit and Seattle have been playing very well of late.  Injuries to starting pitchers John Lackey and Ervin Santana have crippled the staff, but the injury to their big bopper, Vladimir Guerrero, has really hampered what was already a limited offensive attack. The Halos are currently ranked 25th in the league with a 4.00 run per game average, and their .250 batting average and eight total home runs rank amongst the league’s worst. Look to continue fading the perennial AL West winners until it gets healthy in many areas.

And the rest….

4) Colorado Rockies (11-2) (1-4 SU L/5 -$215)
5) Atlanta Braves (9-4) (1-4 SU L/5 -$365)

NBA’s Hottest ‘Under’ Teams

(RANK) (TEAM) (SU RECORD) (O/U RECORD) (O/U RECORD L/5 +$$)

1) Orlando Magic (52-18) (32-38 O/U) (0-5 O/U L/5 +$500): Since alternating O/U’s in their previous five games, the Southeast Division leading Magic have rattled off five straight under’s for NBA bettors. They did so by limiting each of their last five opponents to just 93.8 points per game; better than a point off their regular season allowance of 95 points per game.  The ‘under’ streak began with a 105-87 dismantling of the Utah Jazz at home, which fell comfortably ‘under’ the 203-point closing ‘total.’ They then lost a tough defensive minded affair against the Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
That effort was followed up with another blow-out of Milwaukee, before outlasting New York in back-to-back non-divisional ‘under’ battles. This team really looks to have rounded into form with Rafer Alston now looking 100% comfortable at the point guard position. You always look for balance in the NBA playoffs, and the Magic are about as balanced a team as possible. Their offense ranks 8th in the league scoring an average of 102.3 PPG, while the defense also chimes in at #8 allowing the aforementioned 95 PPG. It would take a monumental collapse by Cleveland for Orlando to sneak into the #1 slot, but if this team continues to excel at the defensive end of the court, there’s no reason to believe they can’t do some major damage in the post-season.

2) New Orleans Hornets (44-25) (29-38 O/U) (0-5 O/U L/5 +$500): ‘Under’ bettors have now cashed six straight ‘under’ tickets in New Orleans’ L/6 games, and it looks as if the Hornets have their defensive swagger back to close out the regular season. None of their last five opponents reached the 100-point plateau with the highest point total reached against them being 97 (Chicago). Hornets ATS backers weren’t happy with them being outscored 91.6-90.4 during that stretch of games, but they limited the Golden State Warriors to 89 and the Memphis Grizzlies to 84 in their last two games. The Hornets really are what a carbon copy of an ‘under’ team is. They own the leagues 25th ranked offense scoring an average of 96 PPG, and the defense is top 5 material currently ranked 4th overall allowing opponents an average of just 93.3 PPG. That said; look for the offense to gain some much needed confidence with four of their next five games  against some of the worst defensive teams in the league (Denver, NY, SA (#2 DEF), Sacramento, LA Clippers). Sunday’s divisional battle against the Spurs should be a bloody battle….

3) San Antonio Spurs (-26) (33-34 O/U) (0-5 O/U L/5 +$500): The Spurs lost their grasp of the top seed in the Southwest this past week to frustrate their fans and betting backers, but ‘total’ players reaped the rewards as they continued to play inspired ball on the defensive end of the court. Since allowing the Lakers to rack up 102 points back on March 12th, none of their L/5 opponents tallied higher than their seasonal average of 92.8 PPG (2nd best defensive mark in the league). Each of their L/5 games averaged 167 combined points per game as the Spurs 24th ranked offense (96.6 PPG) continued to sputter never managing to reach the 100-point plateau (85, 77, 93, 76, 88). If they fail to at the very least reach their seasonal average in their next game against Golden State, something’s rotten in “San Anton”.

And the rest…..

4) Indiana Pacers (29-42) (37-32 O/U) (0-5 O/U L/5 +$500)
5) Oklahoma City Thunder (20-50) (32-37 O/U) (0-5 O/U L/5 +$500)
6) New York Knicks (28-42) (34-36 O/U) (0-5 O/U L/5 +$500)
7) Utah Jazz (43-26) (33-35 O/U) (1-4 O/U L/5 +$290)

Alex Smart's College Hoops Power Poll

 1. UCONN

After taking care of Marquette in Milwaukee and downing Notre Dame home, the Huskies have wrapped up a first-round bye in the Big East tournament while retaking the top spot on this week's poll; all that's left before the post-season begins, is a rematch at Pitt.

2. MEMPHIS

The Tigers are only two games away from wrapping up another perfect Conference USA regular season; Memphis' win over UAB ran their conference winning streak up to 56 games, including the post season.

3. UNC

A rejuvenated Tar Heels team had the entire week to get back on track after being upset at Maryland, which wasn't good news for visiting Georgia Tech; UNC spanked the Jackets by 30, and now awaits a visit from Duke to end the regular season.

4. DUKE

Duke looked impressive in a pair of road wins over Maryland and Virginia Tech this week; a senior-night win at Cameron won't be easy to come by with Florida State coming to town on Tuesday.

5. PITT

Upset-minded Providence finally put an end to Pitt's run at number one, but the Panthers bounced back by sinking the Pirates of Seton Hall over the weekend; DeJuan Blair gave everyone a scare when he collided knee-to-knee with a Seton Hall player early in the first half, but came back to collect 9 points and 10 boards in the win.

6. LOUISVILLE

With UConn, Pitt and Marquette stealing headlines this week (MU for the season-ending injury to Dominic James), the Ville was flying under the radar in the Big East; Rick Pitino didn't see it as a problem as the Cards scored wins over Georgetown and the aforementioned Golden Eagles this week.

7. GONZAGA

Back to back road wins at Santa Clara and San Diego meant the Zags locked up a perfect regular season in the WCC; USC-Upstate pays a visit to Spokane before the post season begins.

8. OKLAHOMA

A healthy Blake Griffin came back to lead the Sooners past Texas Tech in Lubbock; watching him play, one would never guess he suffered a concussion just one week earlier... can we say, Player of the Year?

9. MICHIGAN STATE

The Spartans spoiled senior-day in Champaign on Sunday, sweeping the season series with the Illini for the second consecutive year; the win gave MSU a share of the Big Ten title, Tom Izzo's fifth in 13 seasons at the helm in East Lansing.

10. WAKE FOREST

Wake's win at Virginia on Saturday looked a lot closer on the box score than it did in reality; this young team finishes at Maryland and against Clemson before taking a run at the ACC Tournament title.

11. KANSAS

Rock Chalk Revenge, and oh how sweet it was for the Jayhawks, who dominated their top-ten visitors from Mizzou on Sunday, 90-65; let's not forget that the defending National Champs also went to Norman on Monday and punched the Sooners in the mouth.

12. LSU

As mediocre as the SEC has been this season, LSU has been equally as consistent, running up a 13-1 conference record and all but assuring Trent Johnson wins the league's Coach of the Year.

13. UCLA

The Bruins struggled in taking down Stanford and Cal this week, both on the road; it looked as though UCLA was still feeling the effects of being upset by Washington State last weekend at Pauley.

14. PURDUE

It would take an MSU loss at Indiana and a win over those same Spartans in West Lafayette for Purdue to earn a share of the Big Ten crown; even if State locks it up in Bloomington, don't think for a second that the Boilers will go easy on senior night at Mackey Arena on Sunday.

15. SAINT MARY'S

To run off a 5 game winning streak to end the season, without Patty Mills, is plenty of momentum for the Gaels to take into the post season; it might take a deep run in the WCC tourney for Saint Mary's to grab an at-large bid.

16. VILLANOVA

The Wildcats struggled mightily at DePaul mid-week, only beating the Blue Demons (who remained winless in the Big East) 74-72; what went around, came around, as Nova was upset 58-56 by Georgetown on Saturday.

17. MISSOURI

What will be interesting is to see how Mizzou bounces back from it's worst loss of the season, Sunday at Kansas; to make matters worse, Oklahoma travels to Columbia for a Wednesday night throw-down.

18. CLEMSON

The Clemson team that pounded Duke by 27 points to start February was nowhere to be found as the month came to a close; the Tigers were upset at home by Virginia Tech and again at Florida State over the weekend.

19. XAVIER

With George Washington and St. Joe's posing little problems last week, the waiting game for Xavier is finally over; Dayton will be in the Cintas Center on Thursday night for what is sure to be a must-see rematch of the A10's best.

20. TEXAS

The Longhorns have now dropped 3 of their last 4 on the road after getting tripped up by Oklahoma State in Stillwater; inconsistent perimeter shooting and late foul trouble has really hurt Texas.

21. SYRACUSE

Cuse's two wins this week over St. John's and Cincinnati came by 29 and 24 points respectively; this Orange team may not be contending for a Big East regular season championship, but never count them out once they head down to Madison Square Garden.

22. ARIZONA STATE

If ASU could have erased the Washington schools from it's schedule this year, no one in or around Tempe would have complained; with an overtime loss to the Huskies and a heart-breaking, last-second loss to the Cougars, both institutions swept the Sun Devils this season.

23. BUTLER

Hinkle Fieldhouse came alive in Butler's regular season finale against Cleveland State, a game that the Bulldogs claimed by a mere two-points, locking up another Horizon League crown.

24. RHODE ISLAND

The Rams? Really? Yes... really. URI has strung together an eye-catching six game winning streak, that included a mid-week OT upset of the visiting Dayton Flyers; an A10 title is not out of the picture, though the Rams would need to beat UMass and have Xavier lose one of it's final two.

25. TENNESSEE

Despite a 9-5 conference record, the Vols could end up as the SEC East champs after knocking off Mississippi State and Florida this week; of course South Carolina's loss at Vanderbilt put the teams in a first-place tie that will be settled when the Vols travel to Columbia on Thursday.

Alex Smart Top 25 College Hoops Power Poll

 1. UCONN - Surprisingly, Michigan gave the Huskies more of a scare than Louisville did; UConn breaks the #1 curse and remains atop the poll with Syracuse and Seton Hall up next.

 2. UNC - The Heels scored uncontested wins over Maryland and Virginia last week... this week? You guessed it... Duke at Cameron Indoor on Wednesday; a road contest at Miami on Sunday is no consolation prize either!

3. OKLAHOMA - Boomer Sooner will go as far as POY candidate, Blake Griffin, will take it; OU wasn't convincing in wins over TAMU and Colorado, but a win's a win, especially in the conference.

4. PITT - The Panthers jump back into the top five after crushing Robert Morris and DePaul this week, by 20 and 23 points respectively... and that was being kind!

5. LOUISVILLE - Louisville overcame a three-point halftime deficit at St. John's over the weekend to calm the Red Storm, 60-47; the Cards looked hung-over in the first half, which I'm sure, can be attributed to an early week loss to Connecticut at Freedom Hall.

6. MEMPHIS - Since Conference USA doesn't pose a challenge, coach Cal brought his team up to Spokane, Washington on Saturday; fans, along with the ESPN College Gameday crew, witnessed a Tyreke Evans take over in leading the Tigers to an 18-point victory over ranked-host, Gonzaga.

7. VILLANOVA - Behind 31-points from senior forward, Dante Cunningham, Villanova posted its highest point total in history against Syracuse, beating the Orange on Saturday, 102-85.

8. WAKE FOREST - Don't mention the name, Jack McClinton, to a Wake Forest fan for a while; the Miami senior posted a career best 32-points in the Canes' 27-point victory over the former #1 Demon Deacons; Wake rebounded nicely by clipping the wings of the BC Eagles on Sunday.

9. DUKE - Speaking of 27-point road losses on Wednesday of last week, Duke was owned by Clemson, warranting a Tigers floor-rush at the game's final whistle; Duke then needed overtime to beat Miami back in Durham despite McClinton setting a new career high in points with 34.

10. MARQUETTE - After starting off the Big East Conference schedule with nine straight wins, MU was tripped up at South Florida last week in a rare Friday night match-up.

11. UCLA - Since losing at Washington, UCLA has put together a four-game Pauley Pavilion win streak, which includes back to back victories over arch-rival USC as national-rival Notre Dame.

12. XAVIER - Too bad for Xavier, not only was their 11-game winning streak snapped at Duquesne, XU was also the first ranked opponent that the Dukes beat in their last 24 tries.

13. UTAH STATE - The Aggies added to the nation's longest active winning streak, now up to 18-games, thanks to a 60-52 escape from Louisiana Lafayette on Saturday.

14. CLEMSON - The worst thing Clemson could have done after dominating Duke by 27-points, was to lay an egg against Florida State over the weekend... sure enough, the Tigers choked and split the week's activities.

15. MICHIGAN STATE - With home losses already to Northwestern and Penn State, it's easy to look back and say that you had given Indiana a shot... and you were wrong; Izzo got after his team and watched Indiana continue to struggle from everywhere.

16. BUTLER - To continue the trend of streaks ending, Butler's 21-game Horizon League run came to an end, thanks to a 75-66 loss at Wisconsin Green Bay last Monday.

17. GONZAGA - Sure, the Zags have control of the WCC, but how will that prepare them for the tournament? If Saturday's loss to Memphis is any indication, it could be let-down city for the Bulldogs.

18. KANSAS - Slowly but surely, the defending champs are forcing themselves into the national picture again; the Jayhawks have won nine in a row and remain undefeated in the Big 12.

19. ILLINOIS - Mike Davis' double-double against Purdue was only one of the reasons that the Orange Crush went crazy on Sunday; however, Illini fans were less than pleased with their mid-week loss at Wisconsin.

20. MISSOURI - With consecutive wins over Baylor, Texas and Iowa State, Mizzou has CoMo rockin' as if it were football season; Kansas pays a visit on Monday... bring ear plugs, even if you're just watching on TV, because these schools downright hate each other.

21. PURDUE - Purdue's formula for success is very simple: No Hummel, no victory; the Sophomore guard is dealing with back problems and does not expect to be healthy for the remainder of the season.

22. TEXAS - Hook'em sure got hooked this week... twice! The Horns have now lost their last three, and fell victim to Nebraska students rushing the court after the Huskers' 58-55 win on Saturday.

23. OHIO STATE - The Buckeyes have pieced together a four-game winning-streak without the likes of David Lighty; once he returns, and B.J. Mullins wakes up, the Buckeyes could be a big time bubble buster come March.

24. ARIZONA STATE - After dropping a pair to the Washington schools last week in Tempe, the Sun Devils went up north to Oregon and stole a pair of "W's;" first on Thursday from the Ducks, then over the Beavers on Saturday.

25. DAYTON - Despite Dayton and Xavier both having lost this past week, nothing will take away the excitement and bitterness between the Flyers and Musketeers when they meet on Wednesday at UD Arena.

e #1 curse and remains atop the poll with Syracuse and Seton Hall up next.

NBA Hottest Teams ATS

 (RANK) (TEAM) (SU RECORD) (ATS RECORD) (ATS RECORD L/5 +$$)

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.

NBA Hottest Under Teams

The NBA sports betting season is in full swing, and the following teams have been hot for NBA ‘Under’ bettors throughout the last week of action:

(RANK) (TEAM) (SU RECORD) (O/U RECORD) (O/U RECORD L/5 +$$)

1) New York Knicks (14-22) (14-22 O/U) (0-5 O/U L/5 +$500): Things just haven’t gone as originally planned with Mike D’Antoni coming over from the desert to install his frenzied offensive attack in the “Big Apple.” With the Knicks boasting the 6th ranked offensive attack that averages just under 103 PPG and the league’s 28th ranked defense allowing opponents to tickle the twine for an average 106+ PPG, you’d expect the ‘over’ to have made a killing in Knicks games this season. Unfortunately, quite the opposite has rung true as the ‘under’ has been a profitable investment in NY Knicks games all season long. Each of the Knicks L/7 overall games has failed to surpass the closing ‘total’, and they’ve reached the 100-point plateau just three times during that stretch. However, they get to face Washington twice this week and they just so happened to play in one of their highest scoring games of the season when they first met back in late November.

2) Washington Wizards (7-30) (14-21 O/U) (1-4 O/U L/5 +$290): It makes perfect sense to see the Wizards on this list once again this week considering they boast the 29th ranked offensive attack in the league that’s averaged just 93.3 PPG throughout its first 37 games of the year. In its last five games, the Wizards managed to score 91, 89, 86, 93, and 80 points to chalk up a putrid 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS effort for the week. Even though the offense continues to fail them, the defense played almost five points better than its seasonal average (99.9 PPG) during that stretch to at least make them competitive in defeat. They’ll square off against the current best ‘under’ team for two to close out this week’s slate of action.

3) Detroit Pistons (22-14) (14-22 O/U) (1-4 O/U L/5 +$290): Stellar defense and a putrid offense have been key for NBA bettors that have backed the ‘under’ in Piston’s games this season. Yes, the offense has been without the efforts of guard Richard Hamilton for a number of games, but it still ranks near the bottom of the league (26th) in scoring averaging just over 93 points per game. That said; Detroit has always been about defense and this year is no different; regardless of who the head coach is. Only two games have gone over the ‘total’ in Detroit’s L/10 games, and those two games went over by a combined 3.5-points. Oddsmakers have a solid handle on this club in the total’s department, so pick your spots if you think the Pistons are ripe for a higher scoring game.

4) Memphis Grizzlies (11-27) (20-18 O/U) (2-3 O/U L/5 +$80): The Grizz have made ‘over’ backers a couple of units this season, but not last week where three of their five games failed to surpass the closing ‘total’. In fact, five of the Grizzlies last seven games have failed to surpass the closing number even though they allowed four of those seven opponents to hit the 100-point plateau. This leads me to believe that many more losses are in store for this club over the coming months since their offense looks to be running on fumes. The defense, currently ranked 17th allowing just under 100 PPG, will continue to falter if the offense continues to regress like it has over the last couple weeks. The offense will really have to step up this week against Utah and Detroit if it plans on halting its current four-game losing streak.

NBAs Hottest ATS Teams

NBA’s Hottest Teams ATS

(RANK) (TEAM) (SU RECORD) (ATS RECORD) (ATS RECORD L/5 +$$)

1) LA Lakers (27-5) (16-16 ATS) (5-0 ATS L/5 +$500): Ever since dropping 10 straight ATS throughout the bulk of December to bury its betting backers, the Los Angeles have rattled off five straight pointspread winners and enter this weeks action the hottest betting ticket in the league. It all started with an outright win against New Orleans as 2.5-point road underdogs, and the Lakers haven’t been stopped since. They got their revenge against Boston on Christmas Day, and then went on to hang 130, 113, and 100 points in its next three games to secure NBA bettors five straight winning tickets. They have a heavy slate of games scheduled to go this week against New Orleans, Golden State, Indiana, and Miami with three of those four coming at home where they’ve tallied a 10-9 ATS mark to date.

2) Washington Wizards (7-25) (14-18 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290): No, the Wizards aren’t an attractive commodity to make any post-season noise currently sitting at 7-25 SU and in last place of the NBA Southeast Division, but that didn’t stop them from picking up four covers in their L/5 with SU wins over Cleveland and Houston. They also managed to stay within the lofty number in the “Big Easy” against New Orleans. The loss of Deshawn Stevenson will limit their depth for now, but Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood are set to return in the coming month. For now, they’ll have to go at it a depleted bunch, but the opposition is much lesser than a week ago.

3) Oklahoma City Thunder (4-30) (21-13 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290): The Thunder might challenge the 1971 Philadelphia 76ers for most SU losses in a season when it’s all said and done, but the Thunder have been one of the most profitable ATS teams this year. They continued their assault on NBA pointspreads last week by cashing their betting backer’s tickets in four of five tries. They only won one of those games outright, but covered a pair of lofty spreads in a pair of two point losses against Denver and Detroit.

4) Milwaukee Bucks (17-19) (24-11-1 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290): Through just 36 games, new head coach Scott Skiles has transformed the Milwaukee Bucks from a Central Division laughingstock to a competitive squad both SU and ATS. This clubs produced winning marks ATS both home and away, and they currently hold a solid grasp on the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks have transformed from an offensive team that plays no defense to one that rebounds, shoots free throws at a high clip, and plays a solid brand of defense. Look for them to continue their upward trend this week with four games slated to go against sub .500 opposition.

5) Minnesota Timberwolves (8-25) (15-18 ATS) (4-1 ATS L/5 +$290): The post Kevin Garnett days have been tough for Timberwolves fans to stomach, but HC Kevin McHale has gotten his club to play a better brand of ball since taking over in early December. After dropping 13 in a row, the Wolves went 3-3 over their next six and cashed NBA bettor’s tickets in five of those six contests. They head into this weeks action on their first two-game winning streak of the season, and that number could balloon to six in a row if their play their cards right against Memphis, OK City, Milwaukee, and Miami this week.

Alex Smarts Top 25 College Basketball Poll -12-29-2008

 

1. North Carolina

The Heels hit a record-setting 12th straight double-figure win when they beat Rutgers 97-75 on Sunday, just some fine tuning before ACC play begins on 1/4

2. UConn

In-state rival, Fairfield, stood no chance, but cupcake time is over as Georgetown pays a visit to tip-off Big East action on Big Monday.

3. Pittsburgh

With no games this past week, the Panthers are gearing up for the Big East slate which begins before the New Year.

4. Oklahoma

The Sooners wont touch the Big 12 schedule until 1/10, but don't expect to see Blake Griffin's team with a loss before then.

5. Duke

Duke's another team that took the week off; Loyola(MD) is the last test before ACC play begins for the Blue Devils.

6. Wake Forest

A 41-point win over East Carolina is just scary... at least, if I was the Demon Deacons' next opponent, Radford, I'd be scared.

7. Texas

The Longhorns recorded a big win over Wisconsin in Madison to avoid back-to-back losses to the Big 10.

8. Notre Dame

Mike Brey's team is absolutely ready to tackle the Big East schedule, just as the Irish footballers tackled Hawaii on Christmas Eve.

9. Purdue

Two more wins over in-state opponents have the Boilers streak up to six games as Big Ten play gets underway on 12/30 against Illinois.

10. Tennessee

Bruce Pearl surely used his off-week to prep for Louisiana-Lafayette... or maybe he prepped for Kansas and Gonzaga, who the Vols face in succession to open up 2009.

11. Georgetown

The Hoyas doubled up Florida International, 76-38, on Tuesday; Big East play doesn't start easy with UConn, Pitt and Notre Dame right out of the gate.

12. UCLA

Josh Shipp's return to the line-up was well received as he led UCLA past Louisiana Tech for the Bruins' 6th straight W.

13. Syracuse

Guard, Eric Devendorf, could be reinstated just in time for the Orange's first conference game against Seton Hall on 12/30.

14. Michigan State

Sparty currently posses a 5-game win streak, but will it be enough momentum to lead State past Minnesota, in Minneapolis on 12/31, for MSU's first conference win?

15. Arizona State

Central Connecticut State is the last opponent for the Sun Devils, not only in 2008, but also before traveling to Stanford to begin PAC-10 play on 1/2.

16. Clemson

With a 12-0 record, the Tigers can round out 2008 with a lucky 13 if they beat arch-rival South Carolina on New Year's Eve in Columbia.

17. Louisville

After losing to Minnesota, the Cardinals bounced back nicely with a win over UAB; if this team finally, "clicks," watch out.

18. Michigan

Only North Carolina Central remains on Michigan's schedule before the nation gets to see how good this team really is against Big Ten opponents; Wisconsin's up first on 12/31.

19. Memphis

The fourth of a seven-game home stand takes place on Monday as Cincinnati visits the FedEx forum, followed by Northeastern to round out 2008.

20. Baylor

Portland State visits Waco on 12/29; anyone who once counted this game as a walk-in-the-park has quickly changed their mind.

21. Marquette

The Eagles finished 2008 on a three-game winning streak; Villanova comes to town on New Year's Day to open up Big East action.

22. Minnesota

The Gophers are 12-0 and off to their best start in 60-years; Next up is Michigan State on 12/31 to open up Big Ten play.

23. Butler

Howard, Hayward and Mack will lead Butler into the Horizon lead schedule which begins with Valpo on 1/3, but first they need to get by UAB on 12/30.

24. West Virginia

Bob Huggins' team embarrassed Ohio State, in Columbus, for it's fourth straight victory to close out 2008; Seton Hall is next up as they enter the Big East slate on 1/3.

25. Illinois

A six-game winning streak is plenty impressive for the Fighting Illini, though if they reach seven, that would mean Bruce Weber scored a road-win over Purdue on 12/30.