The Nets proved they can beat the Pistons last night, as New Jersey ended Detroit’s 11-game winning streak with a 91-84 win at the Meadowlands. It marked New Jersey’s NINTH straight home win, but the Nets are back tonight in Cleveland, one of 13 games in a packed NBA schedule.
New Jersey owns five straight wins over Cleveland (two this year) but has lost its last five road games (0-5 ATS), while the Cavs enter a six-game winning streak (5-0-1 ATS). , in which LeBron has averaged 36 PPG. Cleveland is favored by 6 1/2 points with a total of 187 1/2 (7:05 ET).
My free game on Wednesday is varsity hoops. Take Kentucky onto Miss St at 8:00 ET. I have a HUGE Wednesday! At CBB, I have two 20* GOY plays (MWC/C-USA) and a Triple 10* Game of the Month Report. In the NBA, it’s only my second LEGEND play of the season (I won my first)! Get it all and pay only AFTER you win!
Other notable NBA games tonight include Minnesota at Detroit (7:35 ET), Atlanta at Charlotte (7:35 ET) and Dallas at Memphis (8:05 ET). Flip Saunders won in his return to Minnesota on 1/24 (107-83), but the T-wolves are 12-4 against the Pistons since the start of the 1997-98 season. Detroit’s loss ended an 11-game win streak, only the team’s SIXTH loss this year. How have the Pistons fared after their first five losses? Very good thanks, winning by an average of 12.8 PPG. Detroit is favored by 8 1/2 points with a total of 184 1/2.
Charlotte attempts to end the current longest losing streak in the league (12 in a row), when the Bobcats host the Hawks. The Bobcats are missing leading scorer Gerald Wallace and last season’s rookie of the year (Okafor) and have averaged just 89.5 points per game during their losing streak. The good news is that Atlanta is 3-17 on the road this season. Atlanta is favored by 1 1/2 points with a total of 200 1/2.
With the Detroit loss, Dallas now owns the longest winning streak in the league at nine in a row. The Mavs have limited all nine of their opponents to under 100 points in the streak, but tonight against the best defensive team in the league in Memphis. The Grizzlies allow just 87.1 PPG, compared to Dallas’ average of 93.7 PPG. The Mavs, 18-6 on the road this year, are favored by 1 1/2 points with a total of 180 1/2.
As mentioned yesterday, Northern Iowa (ranked 25th) ranked for the first time in its 106-year history. That ranking won’t last long, though, as the Panthers lost 63-55 last night to Creighton (10th straight loss in Omaha to the Blue Jays). Another Panther team, Pitt, lost at No. 1 U Conn, 80-76. While Panther oddsmakers ‘covered’, Pitt still has never beaten a No. 1-ranked team in its 100-year history (0-13).
There are 43 games on the college board tonight, highlighted by doubleheaders on ESPN and ESPN2. Additionally, Southern Illinois, tied with Illinois and Gonzaga for the longest current home winning streak in the country (at 33), will host a team from Indiana State at 8:00 ET, which has lost 11 straight games ( Salukis is a 16-point favorite with a total of 114).
No. 11 West Va hosts Notre Dame at 7:00 ET on ESPN. Notre Dame opened 1-6 in the Big East, its worst start since joining the conference in 1995-96. However, the Irish have beaten the Mountaineers 11 times in a row! West Va, the Big East’s only undefeated team in conference play (6-0), will attempt to beat Notre Dame for the first time since 1999. West Va is a 7 1/2-point favorite with a total of 143. At 9 :00 ET, it’s No. 2 Duke at No. 15 Boston College. BC opened 0-3 in its first year in the ACC but has won four in a row. Duke is favored by 5 1/2 points with a total of 150.
ESPN2 opens with No. 23 Iowa at Purdue (7:00 ET) and follows with No. 7 Texas at Missouri (9:00 ET). Purdue is just 1-7 in the Big-10 (last place) and has lost 13 straight games to ranked opponents. Iowa is an eight-point favorite with a total of 125. Texas, which had its nine-game winning streak snapped by Oklahoma on Saturday, faces a Missouri team that has lost three straight, all by double figures. Texas is favored by 11 1/2 points with a total of 135 1/2.
Super XL update… First we had a controversy over what color jersey the Steelers would wear, now it’s Texas A&M filing a restraining order against the Seahawks for their “12th man” marketing campaign. Do you think two weeks is too long between the conference title games and the “main event”?
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