Bruce's Picks (2 Live)
Plenty to like about the Golden Hurricane, as Eric Konkol has done an admirable save on his job that was on the line entering this campaign. The portal yielded ex-Rhode Island F David Green (16.9 ppg), ex-St Thomas G Miles Barnstable (14.8 ppg), and ex-Cal Baptist G Tylen Riley (14.5 ppg), not to mention juco All-Name bombardier Ade Popoola, who leads the American in 3-point shooting and buried eight triples on Sunday vs. USF. It's one of the nation's most-prolific offenses at near 87 ppg, while close to 50% from the floor and 40% beyond the arc. Andy Kennedy and UAB know all about the Golden Hurricane, who blasted the Blazers 99-77 in Birmingham on January 18 when hitting 61% from the floor. Play Tulsa
Kristi Noem might tell us the right team is favored here but we're not sure the host Coyotes should be laying even a short price in the Battle of the Dakotas. USD has managed to cobble together a 6-5 mark in the Summit but that's mostly been at the expense of the lower-tier of the loop, with woeful Kansas City and Oral Roberts accounting for three of the wins. UND stormed to a 96-80 win in the first meeting on January 17 at Grand Forks when hitting 55% from the floor as frosh sharpshooter G Greyson Uelman scored 26, and the Fighting Hawks were good enough to recently upset Summit heavyweight St Thomas in St Paul. Play North Dakota
They played the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge last Saturday and perhaps the most-impressive effort was turned in by Troy, which slowed down potent Mid-American heavyweight Akron in an impressive 79-69 win. This is the same Troy that leads the Belt, won at San Diego State and came within one second of doing the same at USC in December and boasts of great balance, with five DD scorers led by F Victor Valdes (15.5 ppg). Note the host Bobcats have won four straight but weren't close to the Trojans in the first meeting when Troy hit a blazing 63% from the floor on New Year's Eve. Play Troy
Interpreting how to play this zig-zag is open to interpretation, as the Clippers lost last night...but managed a spread cover in a 102-95 setback. In the bigger picture, the Rockets have become increasingly unreliable, covering just 5 of their last 21 games, that big hammer we saw early in the season having disappeared. It seems a case of rinse-and-repeat lately for the Rockets, as whenever Kevin Durant gets double-teamed or denied in the 4th Q, Houston's offense seems to struggle. The Clippers still await James Harden successor Darius Garland in the backcourt, but ex-Pacer Bennedict Mathurin made his LA debut last night, and as long as Kawhi Leonard is on the floor (he scored 24 points last night), the Clips merit consideration. Play Clippers
How to explain the Pacers continuing to rise to the occasion vs. the Knicks after an earlier near-miss in December and last night's OT Indiana win? Maybe the absence of OJ Anunoby is more consequential than we realize for Mike Brown's bunch, but the Knicks had won nine of ten into last night (including at Philly on January 24), with both Jalen Brunson and KAT available and very productive on Tuesday. It's the first night home for Philly after a long trip thru the Western Conference, and maybe this time we have to take Joel Embiid's name on the injury list a bit more seriously after he missed Monday's heavy loss at Portland with knee issues. Play Knicks
The nine-game Hornets win streak didn't end with a whimper on Monday, erupting in fisticuffs in the third quarter and resulting in suspensions to Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate, beginning tonight vs. the Hawks. Still, "Big 3" scorers Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, and Kon Knueppel all remain active after proving the key cogs in the recent surge into a play-in position in the East, and a long win streak that included a 126-119 success vs. Atlanta on Saturday at State Farm Arena. The Hawks, very active at the deadline and trying to fit some new pieces into their puzzle, continue to play streaky and bring a two-game losing streak into the Bee Hive after getting routed by the T-wolves on Monday. Play Hornets
The venerable NBA zig-zag appears again after these two met on Monday night in Orlando with the Magic rolling 118-99. History suggests a quick turnaround, and the Bucks had been playing better in front of Monday, having won three in a row (two of those vs. the Pacers) and seeming to adjust as well as possible minus Giannis, who remains out. Though too sloppy on Monday with a whopping 20 turnovers, a fundamental issue that Doc Rivers must properly address before the rematch. Orlando hadn't been providing great spread value (9-22 previous 31) before Monday, though they have now won three straight. Top scorer Franz Wagner did return 48 hours ago but only made a modest impact, scoring 14 points in 17 minutes. Play Bucks
We're finally seeing the real Alijah Arenas at USC, and what all the hype was about, as it's all come together in the last two games for Arenas, with 29 points against Indiana and 24 against Penn State, scoring the winning bucket in the last second vs. the latter. Those were both wins, too, important for Eric Musselman's side that is hanging in on the safe side of the Big Dance cut-line in most projections into this week. It's perhaps more crucial for Selection Sunday hopes on the Buckeyes' side, but their Big Ten pattern has been rather predictable, beating the sides beneath them in the table and losing to the ones above, such as Sunday when Michigan rolled by 21 at Columbus. Play USC
Scott Parker is hearing it from Burnley supporters who see where this is headed--back to the Championship--for the Clarets. Last weekend's 2-0 loss to West Ham felt like a death knell for survival hopes, though Burnley was also a whisker away from climbing back into that match. We maintain this will be a lesser challenge, because Palace looks like it could still be dragged into the relegation whirlpool even after last weekend's win over Brighton. Palace was winless in 12 straight prior, saw star defender Marc Guehi leave for Man City during the transfer window, and manager Oliver Glasner says he won't be back next fall. New add striker Jørgen Strand Larsen from Wolves needs to hit the ground running. Play Burnley on Spread
Villa has conspired to drop points here and there but also hit the straps for about three months when they only lost once, so we mostly dismiss the pundit class that seems to go out of its way to remind that Villa aren't really a title threat. Unai Emery's squad is in a healthy third place, and still has plenty of international-caliber quality to call upon, namely Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins, the two most likely to turn this fixture on its ear. That might not take much doing as Brighton hits Villa Park in hasty retreat, with just one win in the Prem since the start of December, and Fabian Hurzeler's status behind the bench increasingly in the air. Play Aston Villa on ML
We're pretty sure no one has to remind Jon Scheyer that fellow Dookie and Coach K disciple Jeff Capel upset him with his Pitt side two years ago at Cameron Indoor...something Scheyer likely didn't have to remind his Blue Devils in their one matchup vs. the Panthers last season that Duke won by 29. Now another factor could favor the Blue Devils as they're off a rare loss, a grating one at that to Tobacco Road enemy UNC. Tonight, who better to take out some frustrations against than the Panthers, enduring a miserable campaign and off three straight double-digit defeats. Here's a chance for Cameron Boozer (23.3 ppg) to do some real damage. Play Duke.
With Devin Booker back to active duty (scoring 21 against the Sixers on Saturday), the Suns might start looking more like the Suns again, though they won't be completely whole until Grayson Allen returns from his knee injury sometime after the All-Star break. Still, Booker (25.3 ppg) provides that sharp edge Phoenix has missed lately, and even as the Suns lost narrowly to Philly on the weekend, they're still 12-5 in the last seventeen games in which Booker has played. Meanwhile, the Mavs seem directionless as the losing streak hits seven and the team tries to recalibrate after the distractions at the trade deadline. Cooper Flagg's points aren't enough if the defense sags as it did in recent losses to the Spurs. Play Suns
This Ohio Valley rivalry isn't currently burning too bright as each is struggling. That might be putting things mildly for the host Leathernecks, who've dropped a numbing 14 straight and occupy the OVC basement by themselves. The last three losses have been especially brutal--40, 25, and 27-point margins. Though we wonder if we can trust the visiting Panthers, who haven't performed that much better and barely squeezed a 57-55 win in the first meeting at Charleston on January 13. What we do have, however, are two of the worst offensive teams in the country, both ranked low nationally as they score in the mid 60s pg, and if like the first meeting, this pillow fight might have trouble getting to 133 points. Play EIU-WIU Under