Alex Smart, The Smart Money

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.